Chapter One: Humble Love
My name is Damian Lemaître, and I have humbly loved Seraphine Camarilla for ten long years in her cold, ancient castle.
I will always remember the blood pact ceremony ten years ago.
The temple was packed with nobles from the three great clans. I stood before the altar, clutching the short black divination stick in my hand—the divination stick of fate. Serafina sat on the high throne, breathtakingly beautiful in a scarlet gown.
When Lady Morgana asked me if I was willing, my legs went weak with emotion, and I knelt down on the spot: "Lady Serafina, I am willing to offer you my bloodline, my life, everything I have!"
She merely glanced at me indifferently, her eyes devoid of any emotion.
Back then, I didn't understand. I thought she was just aloof. I thought that as long as I was sincere enough, I could eventually melt her heart.
After the blood pact ceremony, Serafina sealed eighty percent of my power with a bloodline suppression spell. She said it was a "clan tradition," and that blood pact partners needed to demonstrate obedience. I didn't doubt it and obediently accepted.
From that day on, my nightmare began.
Serafina never let me into her chambers. I was assigned to live in the most remote tower of the castle, where the sun never shone, only the biting wind blew. Every day I had to go to the underground blood bank—she called it a "routine check-up," but in reality, it was to have my blood drawn.
"Lemaître's pure blood is very precious," the alchemist in charge of drawing blood said coldly. "Lady Serafina needs it for clan research."
I believed it.
Every time I saw her, she was busy with clan affairs or whispering with the half-breed Julian Cross. Julian was her chief assistant, handsome and eloquent. He always looked at me with a mocking gaze.
"Damian, you're here again?" One day, Julian leaned against the doorframe, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Lady Serafina is too busy to see you."
"I simply wanted to present a bouquet of snow roses to Lady Serafina." I held up the carefully cultivated bouquet, formed from the unique frost power of the Lemaître clan.
"Flowers?" Julian scoffed, snatching the bouquet and crushing it in front of me. "Damian, haven't you seen reality yet? You're just a tool."
The shattered ice crystals stung my cheeks, chilling me to the bone. But my heart was even colder.
"I don't believe it," I said through gritted teeth. "One day, Lady Serafina will see my true feelings."
"Truly?" Julian laughed. "Damian, do you know what she does with your blood every day? Business investments. She's using your pure blood as collateral to get loans and business partnerships from other clans. You think she loves you? She just treats you like a walking ATM."
I pushed him away and staggered backward. No, it can't be. Serafina wouldn't do this to me.
But the seeds of doubt have already been sown.
That night, I sneaked into the third basement level. The laboratory door was unlocked. I pushed it open, and the sight before me took my breath away.
The walls were covered with business contracts, financial records, and loan agreements. I saw my name appear on countless documents—"collateralized by Damian Flamel's pure blood," "guaranteed by the Flamel clan's property," "in case of default, all assets under Flamel's name shall belong to Camarilla."
I flipped through the documents with trembling hands. Every contract was eroding the wealth of the Lemaître family.
Then I saw the report—the investigation record of my mother's "accidental" injury three years ago. It clearly stated: Alice Flamel refused to transfer the core assets of the Flamel clan to Camarilla during negotiations and was stabbed with a silver dagger. The perpetrator—Camarilla's bodyguard. The instigator—Serafina Camarilla.
My hands trembled violently. The document slipped from my fingers.
"Damian, you shouldn't have come here."
Serafina's voice came from behind.
I turned around abruptly. She stood in the doorway, wearing a scarlet nightgown, as beautiful as an ice sculpture. When she saw me, a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, but she quickly regained her indifference.
"Did you...do all of this work?" I asked, pointing to the wall covered in documents, my voice hoarse.
"Yes," she admitted frankly, without the slightest guilt.
"Why? I love you so much..."
"Love?" Serafina sneered. "Damian, do you think I would fall in love with a tool? From the day of the blood pact ceremony, you've been nothing more than a pawn in my control of the Lemaître clan. Your sincerity, your sacrifices, your humility—it's all a joke."
She approached me and gently stroked my cheek. The touch was as cold as a snake: "The Lemaître clan is one of the three great clans of the West, controlling enormous wealth and commercial resources. Your father, Alaric, is too stubborn and refuses to cooperate. So I need you—an obedient puppet. By controlling you through a blood pact, I can gradually erode Lemaître's empire."
"Then my mother..."
"She discovered my plan and tried to stop me. So I had her eliminated," Serafina said calmly. "Unfortunately, I couldn't kill her, only severely wound her. But that's enough; your father will dare not act rashly from now on."
My heart sank completely.
"You've never loved me..."
Never.
She released her grip, turned, and left: "Keep licking me, Damian. You can't do anything else anyway."
The door slammed shut, leaving me kneeling alone on the cold floor.
In the days that followed, Serafina became even more outrageous.
At the clan feast, she made me kneel at her feet and serve her like a dog. Julian stood beside her, the two conversing intimately, glancing at me every now and then with a look of utter mockery.
"Damian, go pour Julian a drink," Serafina said casually.
I picked up the wine jug with trembling hands. Julian reached out and deliberately knocked over the wine glass, spilling the scarlet liquid on me.
"How stupid, you can't even pour a drink." He sneered.
The surrounding nobles burst into laughter.
"The purebloods of the Lemaître family have actually fallen to this state."
"How pitiful."
"Lady Serafina is so cruel."
But no one sympathized with me.
The number of blood draws per day increased from once to three. I could feel my body weakening and my blood vessels drying up. But Serafina didn't care.
"Lady Serafina...please...I really can't take it anymore..." After one blood draw, I knelt weakly in front of her and grabbed her skirt.
She looked down at me, her eyes filled with disgust: "Damian, you disgust me."
He kicked me away and turned to leave.
I lay on the ground, tears mingling with blood as they streamed down my face.
Why...why would I fall in love with a woman like this...?
Just when I was at my most desperate, Marcus Draven arrived.
Marcus is the young lord of the Draven clan, the same age as me, and a pureblood among purebloods. He is handsome, with amber vertical pupils that gleam in the shadows. We've known each other since childhood, but we've never been friends—because we're rivals.
That day, he came to Serafina to discuss business cooperation. I was made to wait outside the door, like a servant.
He stopped and glanced at me as he passed by.
"Damian Flamel, the esteemed young master of Flamel, is being treated like a dog by Serafina." He leaned against a pillar, a cold smile playing on his lips. "What a disgrace."
I gritted my teeth, but dared not refute him. Because what he said was true.
Marcus chuckled and pushed the door open to enter.
I overheard their conversation through the crack in the door.
"Lady Serafina, the Draven Clan is willing to provide commercial support; in exchange, we hope to share the Lemaître Clan's resources."
"Yes. But on one condition." Serafina's voice was icy. "Marcus Draven, you must help me completely annex the Lemaître clan."
"How do I do it?"
"Damian still holds the last right of inheritance. I need his signature to transfer all the assets to me. But he's recently become suspicious and disobedient. I need your help."
"Interesting." Marcus laughed. "That simp has finally woken up? Fine, I'll help you. In return, I want 30% of the Lemaître estate."
"make a deal."
Outside the door, I was trembling all over.
She wants to annex the Lemaître clan. She wants to take everything from me.
And I, still loving her like a fool.
At that moment, the love in my heart died completely.
But I dared not resist. Because my father and mother were still in her hands. Because the honor of the Lemaître clan could not be destroyed in my hands.
I can only continue to live humbly, continuing to fantasize that one day she will change her mind .
Until that day—she completely tore off her disguise, revealing her most cruel fangs.
