Chapter 809: Happiness Or Revenge
But knowing that also brought shame.
Carmela was so much older than him.
A sixty-year-plus-old vampire who’d lived through horrors, who’d killed thousands of people, who was supposed to be cold and detached.
And there she was, blushing like a schoolgirl over a young nobleman.
She felt like a cow eating young grass, especially since she regularly drank his blood full of youthful vitality.
But she couldn’t deny it anymore. She fiercely looked up at the moon and silently admitted the truth to herself.
She was in love with Cassius.
Not just Cassius—she was in love with everyone in this family as well.
She’d truly found her place in life.
In the past, whenever she’d thought of her mother in Heaven, Carmela had always wanted her mother to look away, not to see what her daughter had become.
A killer. A monster. Someone who’d sacrificed everything for revenge.
But now, Carmela wanted her mother to watch. To see just how happy her daughter had become.
She wished she could see her mother one more time, just to tell her everything.
To tell her that she’d finally found peace.
That she’d built something beautiful from the ruins of her past.
That she’d found love, family, and a true home.
She was sure her mother would be happy for her.
A sad smile crossed Carmela’s face. Her mother wasn’t in this cruel world anymore.
But that was okay. Carmela had a happier, brighter future ahead, and she was stepping toward it.
With that thought in mind, she turned back toward the mansion, intending to go to sleep.
But then she stopped on the spot, blinking her eyes in realization.
Cassius was sleeping alone right now.
Everyone in the mansion had been so exhausted from the festival that they’d collapsed wherever they could.
Cassius, ever the caretaker, had carried all the women to their beds before finally collapsing himself. And now he was in his bedroom. Alone.
Carmela’s heart began to race. An opportunity. A perfect opportunity!
She thought about the blood. His blood. The most delicious blood she’d ever tasted.
But it wasn’t really about blood anymore, was it?
No. She just wanted an excuse to be intimate with him. To be close. To feel his warmth.
Just as Cassius had mentioned to Joy, Carmela had started doing something new when drinking his blood. Instead of biting his neck, she’d been drinking from his cock instead.
She’d sink her teeth into that thick, fat shaft, ignoring his wince as her fangs pierced his skin, and drink the hot blood straight down her throat.
It was so much better than the blood from his neck—hotter, more vital, more intoxicating.
It made her eyes roll back with pleasure, the sheer intensity overwhelming her senses.
But more than that, once she started drinking from below, Cassius would inevitably ask her to suck his cock properly.
And Carmela would act as if she was reluctant, as if she only did it because he forced her.
The truth was much simpler. She’d planned it from the beginning.
She loved his blood. But she loved his seed even more.
It was so delicious, so addictive, and she’d grown to crave it almost as much as she craved him.
And there was another thing—Carmela realized with a start that she was the only virgin left in the entire household.
Joy had lost her virginity. Maria had too, along with all the sisters.
Even Aqua, his own sister, had done it with Cassius!
But Carmela, even though she’d done many other things, had never taken that final step.
Before, this had relieved her. Sex was something messy, complicated, and unnecessary.
But now, after seeing everyone else moving forward, after feeling so much love and warmth, she felt...left behind. Vexed.
But the final step was also the scariest.
Even the fearsome vampire she was, the Noble Killer, the woman who’d struck terror into the hearts of corrupt nobles across the continent, was scared of taking that last step.
But tonight felt different.
The rest of the household was asleep. She was filled with warmth and happiness.
The moment felt perfect.
Carmela already imagined the sensation of Cassius’s massive cock sliding inside her, filling her completely.
Her body grew hot at the thought. Tonight was the night.
She would give herself to Cassius. Fully. Completely. Completely.
With that intention burning in her heart, Carmela stepped forward into the mansion.
---
And then she heard it.
A screech coming from the sky.
"Screeech—!"
Carmela’s face immediately went cold. The look of shy anticipation vanished, replaced by a deep frown.
A premonition of something terrible settled in her chest like a stone.
She turned toward the sound, her crimson eyes sharp and searching.
A bat was descending from the night sky. It was larger than any normal bat, its leathery wings flapping methodically.
And it was flying toward her with unmistakable purpose.
She knew this bat. She’d been expecting it—though she’d hoped she would never have to see it again. Not now. Not when she’d finally found happiness.
The bat landed on her outstretched hand, its tiny claws gripping her skin. Attached to its bony leg was a small ring, barely noticeable in the darkness.
With trembling fingers, Carmela removed the ring.
She then sliced her finger with her nail and let a drop of blood fall into the bat’s waiting mouth.
It drank greedily, energized by the offering, before flapping its wings and disappearing into the night.
Carmela stared at the ring in her hand. She knew what it was. She knew what it meant. And she didn’t want to read it.
But she had to.
She shattered the ring with a single squeeze.
Inside was a small piece of paper, wrapped tightly and folded many times. She slowly unwrapped it, her fingers trembling slightly.
The note was brief, written in neat handwriting that she recognized immediately.
The time has come. The location is the old cathedral in the Northern Reach. Come alone.
— The Orphans of Ash
Carmela’s face went through a cascade of emotions.
Shock.
Anticipation.
And finally grim acceptance.
An event she’d been waiting for had finally arrived.
She crushed the paper in her hand, and with a flicker of magic, it burst into flames and turned to ash.
Carmela was left standing there, looking somber.
The warm, loving woman she’d become in this mansion was gone, replaced by the stoic vampire of her past.
Her past was calling her back.
Normally, she would have been ecstatic.
This note was something she’d been waiting for over a decade.
Even someone as cold as her would be smiling from ear to ear at this opportunity.
But now, she felt the exact opposite. A sense of reluctance washed over her.
She had finally found her home, her love, her friends. Everything she’d ever wanted was right here.
And now she had to throw it all away.
If she followed through with this note, everything she’d built would be gone.
She doubted she’d ever see Cassius or anyone here again.
There was a very high chance she’d lose her life as well.
She could only imagine how Maria and Olga would feel to see their daughter as a corpse in the papers one day.
She thought about Joy, her sister in pain and strength.
She thought about Skadi, whose letters had been so full of love. She thought about everyone who had welcomed her into their homes and hearts.
And she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them.
Of breaking their hearts.
But then she thought about her mother.
That beautiful, gentle mother who had been tortured and killed by that disgusting noble.
The mother who had sacrificed everything to protect her daughter.
The mother who had looked into Carmela’s eyes with nothing but love as she’d been dragged away.
Finally, an opportunity to take vengeance on the person who’d ruined her mother had arrived.
And just like that, she was caught between two sides.
One choice was to stay, to embrace her new life, to spend the rest of her days happy and loved.
It was what her mother would have wanted. It was what everyone in the mansion would want for her.
The other choice was to go, to finish what she’d started, to make sure her mother rested in peace.
It was dangerous, likely fatal, and it would almost certainly destroy everything she’d built.
Two sides of her heart were at war. And the war was tearing her apart.
For a long moment, Carmela was in immense turmoil.
But then she let out a deep sigh. A look of sadness crossed her face, and a small, tragic smile appeared.
The way she looked at the mansion, her eyes full of longing and regret, made it obvious what she was going to do.
This wasn’t because she didn’t cherish her new life.
This wasn’t because revenge was more important than love.
It was simply because sixty years of obsession couldn’t be abandoned overnight. No matter how happy she was, she knew she would never truly find peace until this matter was resolved.
So she had to go. Even if it meant losing everything she’d gained.
The guilt was overwhelming. She would be betraying everyone’s expectations, everyone’s love.
They’d given her so much, and she was about to run away like a coward.
But fate was toying with her. Just as she’d finally found happiness, it was telling her to go back to her primary ways.
And she couldn’t refuse.
She could already imagine the faces of everyone who would learn what she was about to do.
The thought made her let out a deep, heart-wrenching sigh.
But even though she knew she had to go, she wasn’t leaving without saying goodbye.
She’d give everyone her own final message before departing.
Even if she died on this mission, no one would be left unsatisfied.
Most of all, she wanted to see Cassius one final time. This would probably be the last time she’d ever see him.
She wanted to see his infuriating face one more time before she left.
And also, she realized with a sad chuckle, she was still a virgin.
A sixty-year-old-plus virgin. It was quite shameful to think about.
So she decided to get rid of that as well.
Now that her mind was made up, she stepped back into the mansion.
But not with the same thoughts as before.
Now she had the mindset of someone living their final night, someone walking toward a ruined end.
She had one night left. And she was going to make it count.
