Chapter 2

Draven's POV

I finally saw her again.

She had grown up, different from the little girl who used to follow behind me calling me "sir."

She was intellectual, graceful, even more beautiful than when she was young, making my heart race uncontrollably, forcing me to drink blood plasma to suppress the throbbing.

I had entered her dreams countless times, accompanying her as she grew up.

The summers in Duskfall City were damnably hot, always keeping my precious Mira from sleeping well, but fortunately my body ran cold, and holding me seemed to bring her some comfort.

This was somewhat torturous for me—she smelled too sweet, I could barely resist the temptation, but compared to that, I was even more unwilling to let her come to harm.

Fifty years ago, I was ambushed during a power struggle and fell into slumber, and it was Mira who awakened me—or more precisely, it was her blood that awakened me.

That was sixteen years ago, when she looked like a pitiful little thing, thrown by several kidnappers into a dilapidated house in the suburbs, her hands and feet bound, her arm scratched by something, blood staining her sleeve, the sweet scent emanating from the wound on her arm.

Tape covered her mouth, her large eyes filled with fear and panic, tears brimming in them, and vampires have no hearts, yet I felt my heart ache.

What a strange feeling—my focus wasn't on her neck, but on her eyes?

I heard the kidnappers calling her father, but the call never went through, and her eyes shifted from fear to despair before she finally closed them.

Those kidnappers wanted to do something terrible to her, and of course I didn't give them the chance.

I planted them in the soil, hoping they might grow into towering trees by next year.

I had been starving for over thirty years, and now I should feed.

She was sweet, and I wanted a taste.

But then she threw her arms around me without warning and burst into tears.

"Waaah, my daddy doesn't want me anymore..."

"He left me all alone."

"Why would he do this to me, waaah, I'm so sad..."

She cried so loudly.

And she soaked my clothes with her tears—how excessive, how could a little girl have so many tears?

Hm? Why did she cry herself unconscious?

Fine, it wouldn't do to taste her out in the elements—better to take her back to my castle.

Every hundred years, Duskfall City produces an Awakened One, whose blood holds a fatal attraction for vampires, and if a vampire drinks an Awakened One's blood, they gain the ability to walk in sunlight.

I could confirm that Mira was the Awakened One, which was why she could rouse me from slumber.

This was an enormous temptation.

I wanted to devour her.

But then she woke up and clung to me, saying it hurt, asking me to bandage her wound.

How troublesome children are to raise—I really hated it.

I didn't know how to tie a bow, so the bandaging looked rather ugly, and she actually laughed at me.

How outrageous—I really should have drained her dry.

Children are truly too noisy—she followed me around all day calling me sir, sir.

Like a clingy little pet.

I tried to scare her: "If you keep being so noisy, I'll eat you!"

Not only was she unafraid, she hugged me.

She said: "You're so beautiful, how could you eat people?"

"Don't think your sweet talk will stop me from eating you."

I gave a cold snort, then gave her two pieces of bread and a slice of steak.

She was too thin—she needed to fatten up a bit, otherwise there wouldn't be enough of her to eat.

A month passed, and the little pitiful thing had gained quite a bit of weight, no longer that skinny, tiny appearance.

I asked her: "Would you be willing to become a vampire's wife?"

But she blinked and hugged my arm:

"I would only be willing to become your wife."

"Then you'd better remember what you said."

But I didn't have the chance to wait for her to grow up—my enemies came.

The Awakened One was a very sensitive existence, and any vampire who recognized her wouldn't let her go.

So I used a drop of blood to create a water-drop pendant to conceal her aura, and sent her to an orphanage in the neighboring city.

To prevent her from looking for me, I used amnesia magic on her, so she could grow up healthy.

I admit I felt a bit sad in that moment.

Later I successfully became the president of the Duskfall City Council and founded Dusk Holdings, but she was no longer at the orphanage.

Finally, she came back.

I said I had insomnia and needed her help.

But how could a vampire have insomnia?

I didn't need sleep at all.

What I needed was her, Mira, my love...

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Mira's POV

"I'm sorry, I don't drink during work hours. By the way, how long have you had insomnia, Mr. Cross?"

I declined that strange glass of red wine, took out my notebook, and began my inquiry.

Draven set the wine glass on the table and poured me a glass of water instead.

It was lemon water—I had loved drinking it since childhood.

I accepted it with both hands, feeling somewhat flattered as I thanked him.

"Thank you."

People outside said that the CEO of Dusk Holdings was an extremely cold and decisive person, and that he had founded Dusk Holdings just over ten years ago, developing it into Duskfall City's largest multinational corporation.

But from my contact with him today, I found he wasn't as cold as the rumors suggested.

"About ten years, but it's been worse this year."

He looked at my face, his tone casual, but the dark circles under his eyes were obvious.

I was somewhat surprised—ten years, that was very stubborn insomnia.

"How long did you sleep last night?"

"I didn't."

He looked away: "I worked all night, I wasn't sleepy."

I frowned: "When your insomnia got worse, did anything happen in your work or life?"

Draven returned to his desk, propping his head up with his hand, thinking it over.

"No, or rather, I'm not sure."

I asked a few more routine questions, but his answers couldn't help me accurately determine the cause.

"If you don't mind, could you let me follow you around for a while? I need to understand your usual living and working conditions. Of course, I'll excuse myself during your important work."

This was actually quite an aggressive approach—my presence might make the patient more anxious, but it was the fastest way to discover the root cause.

I didn't know if it was my imagination, but I seemed to see a trace of delight in Draven's eyes.

But that emotion vanished in an instant, returning to his usual impassive expression.

"That's fine, no problem. Do you need me to arrange a workstation for you?"

He agreed very quickly, as if afraid I might change my mind.

"It's okay, I can just sit in a corner."

I smiled at him, and seeing the curtains behind him, I couldn't help but remind him:

"It's already morning now, you can open the curtains and get some sun, it's also good for your health."

Draven shook his head: "No, except at night, I won't open my curtains."

I was puzzled: "Why is that?"

Draven looked at me strangely, and the next second he said:

"I have a severe UV allergy, I can't be in the sun."