Moonlight Filled the Water

The Blood Moon Rite is the most sacred ceremony of the vampire race. It is held when a vampire of noble blood is to wed a vampire of royal blood.

Vampires of the vampire race have a natural sense of superiority. They are born noble, and they will only bow their heads in front of those who are stronger—who they deem stronger than themselves.

But now they were asked to perform such a grand ceremony for a little girl of the human race? It would be a big lie to say that they were willing to do it. However, they still had to do it, even if they did not want to.

They have to obey the vampire king's orders. Otherwise, they would only face death when the vampire king himself had already "kindly" warned them.

The sentence "anyone who dares not follow will be killed without mercy" kept echoing in their minds.

Only a fool would go against such an order.

They never had a choice in the first place.

The scenery outside the window is dark, and the gray sky full of layers of interweaving clouds is no more. Only black greets Venera's eyes, with a bright and big moon—one so round that Venera could see herself holding it in her arms—hanging high above the sky.

There were no stars, not even one as far as Venera's eyes could see. Only one moon alone decorated the inky black atop everyone's heads. The whole earth seems to have fallen asleep.

Speckles of orange and red hues caught Venera's attention from the corners of her eyes, and she turned her head around to catch the sight of the glowing lanterns.

Bright lanterns appeared one after another—lining the walls of the throne room, lining the sides of the altar, and there were even those that were hung up from the ceiling like a makeshift chandelier when crowded together. Hundreds, or thousands of lanterns were burning together, and the fire was brilliant, looking extremely beautiful. It was a grand feast for the eyes.

Venera mentally commended the vampire race for doing a good job planning everything here. Everything was a sight to see.

Caius glanced downward at the little figure by his side, and a gentle smile unconsciously spread across his lips. His pitch-black eyes narrowed slightly as he relaxed in the golden glow.

"Are you nervous?" Caius found himself whispering to the little girl.

Venera blinked and raised her head to meet Caius' warm eyes.

"Nervous?" Venera repeated Caius' last word of his sentence aloud and asked, "Why would I be nervous?"

The gentle warmth in Caius' eyes turned into one of helplessness.

Right now, Venera is just a little girl who has only been alive for a few years. She still had not understood everything that was happening now, but that was fine too.

As long as he was by her side, there was no need for her to worry.

"Right, you do not have to feel nervous," Caius said. "As long as I am by your side, you can always do anything you want to do." He continued, "You do not have to be afraid."

It is because he is the vampire king. A tyrant with an infamous reputation, feared by many far and wide.

Venera stared blankly at the man in front of her with question marks above her head.

What do Caius' words mean? Why did she not understand even a little bit of what he said?

She can seem to understand his words word by word, but when they are combined to form a sentence, she is at a loss.

So confusing!

Venera scratched her head lightly. But even if she was puzzled about what was going on, she still obediently puffed out her chubby cheeks and said with a serious face, "Okay, I understand."

Venera did not know that her perplexed and bewildered emotions were written all over her face. It was so endearing that Caius could not help but pinch her chubby cheek.

So soft.

"Good girl," Caius praised, reaching out a hand to pat Venera's little head encouragingly. His voice was different; it was lower and rougher, with a noticeable note of hoarseness in it, Venera noted.

Caius glanced across the hall, then back to Venera's adorable little face.

"Shall we?" Venera heard Caius say as he leaned in a little bit closer.

Snow white hair briefly covered the pair of eyes, the same color as the sky outside the castle, and Caius' lips curled up in a mischievous smirk. The vampire king's features were picturesque, and his long white eyelashes only enhanced them.

Caius reaches out his hand and gently touches Venera's cheek before holding his palm out to face her.

Venera did not speak, seemingly in thought.

"Shall we go together?" Caius asked again in the same low, deep voice and ever so patiently said, "Everyone is waiting for us." He lightly poked her button-like nose.

This time, Venera paused, replied with a soft "okay," and placed her tiny hand in his big one.

Venera still does not understand what the so-called Blood Moon rite is, but that did not make her shy away from Caius' invitation.

She was sure that Caius would not lead her into any danger.

So even if she were to walk into the unknown, into the abyssal darkness, or into life-threatening danger, she would still trust him as long as he was by her side. After all, they have promised to hold each other's hands forever.

Caius gently covered her hand in his and led her to the altar. When the two stepped to the center of the altar, the altar under Venera's feet glowed a mystical purple.

"Wow!" Venera gasped in awe. "So pretty!"

It was magical!

"Um." Venera could hear laughter in Caius' voice. He was having fun with her.

Venera looked up to meet his smiling eyes.

Caius' smile is extremely beautiful as if the gentle moonlight filled the water with its silver glow.

Caius looked at the little girl's smiling face, and his heart softened.