CHAPTER FOUR: ANCESTRY (4)

Walking to the school, Dennis covers his head with the hood as he tries to hide his inconspicuous hair and eyes. The sky is still dark. It's easier to escape the orphanage in the morning without being detected.

He enters a mini market and buys some bread. He chooses a coffee bun and a bottle of milk. Dennis went to the counter and held out his blue card. The card PIN is the date of his birthday. The transaction is a success.

Dennis sighed in relief. This money is real. Then, he shudders in fear. This money is too much for him. The orphanage gives each child thirty Novas per month. With this amount of money, he can live independently. He needs to cut off his relationship first. Dennis walks and sits on the public garden bench. He is looking at the vast lake in front of him.

He ate the bun and frowned. Vampire origin sense was created with corpses. It's only natural that he tastes nothing. He can only feel a lump of soft bread in his mouth. He opens the milk and drinks it. It's tasteless. Dennis keeps eating. Nothing makes the difference. Instead of coarse and hard bread, soft bread is better.

The wind blows as he closes his eyes. He might not have a sense of taste. Well, he has a strong sense of smell. He can smell the blooming morning glory and gardenias. The sounds of the birds flapping their wings, the movement of the fish in the water, and a footstep that suddenly stops behind him. His enhanced hearing is working fine.

"What can I do for you?" Dennis keeps staring at the vast lake. He ignores the man's glances as he looks at the lake. Claude feels uncomfortable. Instead of the coldness that he felt yesterday, this coldness is sharp. Claude is still a dhampir. His nature as a vampire still exists. His mother is a level-A vampire. He should be able to resist, but he can't.

"I have no bad intention. May I sit down?" Holding back his trembling hand, Claude asks the boy permission. He curses himself. He, a hundred years old, dhampir is asking a newly awakened pureblood permission to sit down. If Eric saw him, he would laugh his butt off.

"Sure. Do whatever you want." Dennis is confused too. This big man is asking him permission to sit down. He is lowering his head. Both of them looked at the lake. A few minutes passed by, and they didn't say anything. The silver head looks at the sky and coughs a few times. He is squirming around like a little girl. He glances at the source of light and speaks with a smile.

"The sun looks bright. Isn't it?" Dennis stops listening as he hears the man's question. Does the sun already rise? Where? He doesn't know it was already morning. There should be two hours before sunrise. He glances at the source of the bright light. As expected, he can sense the tension in the man. Claude is just too nervous to start a conversation. He misspoke.

"It's not even 7.00 a.m. That's the moon." Claude covers his face in humiliation as he creeps further away from Dennis. He had time with teenagers before. None of them are hard to interact with compared to this cute little child. He can't believe it. How should he start this conversation?

"Uhm. So yeah..." Dennis can hear the man hesitate before speaking. It's better if they can tell each other what they need. With that, he hopes both of them achieve what they want. Dennis is aware of what Claude wants from him. He wants Claude to help him do something for his family.

The existence of a pureblood vampire is enough to shake the foundation of vampire society. Currently, three large pureblood families reside in Valentine's City. The other two lives in the countryside. They had been affiliated with each other since the old civilization.

They can't kill each other. But it's not for Dennis. He is new blood. The oath or pledge does not imply for him. Eric's words are meant to prevent the association from using this child as a hunting dog for them in the future.

"I have no intention of hearing your greeting cut to the chase. What do you want from me?" Dennis keeps biting his bread. It might be tasteless, but he needs something to distract himself. This man's anxiety is not helping him. Claude needs to get his shit together and tell him the truth. What is it that he wants from him?

"I see. You know my identity." Claude is shocked but quickly catches his breath. It's normal. Dennis must be able to sense his origin. Sitting up straight, Claude starts to calm himself down. Dennis was finally able to decrease the tensions between them. This is good. He starts asking questions.

"I do. You know me too, right?" The fact that he finds him instead of his family makes Dennis believe he knows about his family situation. Is this person thinking of sending him back to that hell hole?

"I do. A human from the Acardia family. A disgrace. That's what Noah wrote in the note. " Hearing that man's words, Dennis stares into the lake again. Disgrace. The same words that keep repeating in his mind for seventeen years. Noah resents him for his 'human' attribute. He's weak. He somehow believed his family threw him away to protect him. He was blind. Blinds with the hope they love him like his brother.

"But, if they know you're a pureblood, they will accept you. Do you want to go to them?" Go back? Even Claude understands his unanswered questions. Did he still have familial love towards his parents? Maybe he wants to be accepted by his family. Those sorry beings of parents will use him as their tool. It seems that his worry is non-existed. Dennis has chosen his path. He doesn't know wheater to praise this boy or feel sorry for him.

"I planned to cut off our relationship instead," Dennis told Claude his choice. If he is still stuck with the name of the Acardia family, he will never grow up. He planned to sever them and starts a new life. Just like Dosdite told him, he should find his happiness rather than worrying himself about some irrelevant people.

"I see. You need to register yourself first. We will provide you with some blood tablets. We can't let a vampire roams unattended, especially when they are pureblood." As long as Dennis has his name and title in the supernatural world, even Noah won't be able to touch him. He needs to inform Eric about this. A free-roaming vampire in the street is a wrong choice.

"Alright. But I don't want to be tied down. I hope my position is being kept a secret." Dennis nodded. Dosdite tells him the more people are aware of his bloodline, the more he exposes himself to danger.

"Of course. If you become independent, you need economic support. How about I adopt you? Until you're old enough, you can live by yourself later." Eric told him he wanted this child to grow up under their wing. Seeing this child reminds him of Adrianna.

"I have my resource. Don't worry. I don't do anything illegal. Can you help me to contact a lawyer?" Does he have resources? That answer blew his mind off. Where did this child get his money? Lawyers, he can get some of them. It's not a problem. Well, a pureblood vampire might inherit his ancestor's wisdom or something. But, he didn't have ancestors. How did he awaken safely?

Shaking his head, Claude stood up and dragged the boy's hand. Dennis lets the man hold his hand and follows him. They arrive at the garden's parking lot. A Honda Civic with silver color is located near the exit. Yeah, it's his car. It's a popular choice in human society. It's better to drive it in the daylight instead of a Ferrari or Lamborghini. "Of course. Come with me to the association first to get your documents."

Dennis suddenly stopped in his tracks. Now? But, "I have school."

"..." Claude stared at him unimpressed. For the sake of the future of society, the educational program that most students call prison is the last thing they should be worried about. If he likes school that much, he can attend school as many times as he wishes in the future. Vampires aged slower than humans, werewolves, and witches.

"Let's go." Knowing what the man is thinking, Dennis coughs and removes his hood.

At that moment, Claude's heart stop. His pair of crimson eyes is calm and cold. His long hair was obsidian black. There are some silver strands in his hair. It's not dyed. It's natural. The sharps and pale skin are in contrast with the blazing eyes. Claude swore to himself. "Your appearance-"

"Yeah, it changes. Are you scared of me?" Smirking slightly at Claude, who is backing away from him, he laughs. Claude blushed in embarrassment as he realized what had happened to him. He wants to refute Dennis's words, but he can't. He is scared of this boy. He has to admit it.

"Kind of. You look like a real vampire." He didn't realize his blunder as he remembered the nasty fact about the vampire races. They will lure you with their charming appearance and suck off your lifespan. Thinking back on his words, he feels weird. Dennis is a real vampire.

"I'm a vampire." Dennis laughs again and gets into the car. Claude just covered his face and went to the driver's seat. This is too early, but he misses his coffee already. Dennis keeps laughing, but Claude is not buying it. Finally, he picks up his courage and shouts to Dennis.

"You know what, never mind! Stop here."

*****

"You're my brother's child. Even though he is no longer here, the fact that you inherit his bloodline and the hunter's blessing qualify you to become one of the three circle candidates." The man clenches his chair hard. He seems angry.

"Unfortunately, the former patriarch of the Shade clan has passed away. He has too many enemies. I shall take you as my daughter instead." Those eyes were filled with a blazing gaze. He can no longer admit the person standing there is not his daughter.

Why? Since he was born, it's always been his brother, Hariel Shade! He thought that man was erased from this world. Adrianna can only nod and laugh. She is grateful for the fact that she now has a father. The villagers will no longer harass her mother.

*****

Dennis shook his head. Where is he? The last thing he remembers is he falls asleep in the car, heading towards the Hunter association of the Canelis branch. He is standing on the snow.

There is a transparent wall separating his position and the current scenario. He is just like an observer. The camellias petals fell on his legs. He keeps staring at the child. He can't see her face. A girl is standing not far from him. It seems that she is an observer too. Dennis notices the vivid scenario. They are somehow alike. It's a memory.

A falling glass, a broken mirror, and destroyed furniture. Holding her face, the woman started calling for a man who no longer existed. The unending rumors, the more humiliation, and a hundred more painful punishments. She can only remember the man she loves and calls with hope. "Hariel."

*****

Adrianna once again pulled into a pitch-black hole. This time, the woman is angry with her. Hariel wouldn't leave her if the child were not born. It's her fault. She falls with a human! She lost the bet. The goddess won. The madness that was contained within her unleashed. This is the child's fault. She repeated the mantra. If she punishes the child, Hariel will still be alive. The goddess will forgive her and return Hariel for her.

*****

Dennis walks and follows the girl closely. He can't see her face. But he can feel her feelings. He only watches. He wants to wake up, but his body refuses to move. Adrianna.

"The woman is not fit to take care of you. I shall talk to your father. Unfortunately, you must stay away from her for the time being." Her stepmother caresses her cheeks as she tells her with false benevolence. The child smiled and nodded. Adrianna spectates everything as if she knows the ending of the story.

The story will be ended in tragedy. A tragedy that kills the child's emotions. She twisted her thought. To reach salvation and end her suffering, she must grant them death. Dennis watches the child smile brightly as she fulfills her mother's wish.

"If you love me, my child, kill me."

"I love you. Can you kill me?"

"Can you let me find him?"

The woman keeps pleading with her. The roses fall to the floor as he looks at her sadly. The child reached out the kitchen knife and plunged it into her body. The woman retains her madness and falls to the floor.

Whose memory is it? Which is the truth? The older Adrianna kneeled by her mother's body and finally remembered the overwritten false memory. It's to protect herself. She just mocked herself even more. Dennis can sense the sadness and deep calm within the girl's heart.

'Look, you are a monster! You keep deceiving yourself with the false memory!'

With that final scream, his eyes turn dark. Adrianna. The girl's name is Adrianna. He needs to find her.