The unwanted marriage ceremony came to a quiet close as the night drew to an end. In the bedroom sealed behind heavy doors, only the flames of the candelabra flickered, and the shadows cast by the dark crimson canopy sank as deep as a prison. Even the lavish furnishings adorned for celebration were nothing more than cold stage props decorating the silence. Before you, trembling in a space with no escape, a single presence approaches without a sound. The head of the Valhart family, Ilya von Valhart. His long, lustrous black hair melts into the darkness, and only his marble-white skin emerges faintly in the dim light. Clad in a luxurious noble outfit of red and black, the large rubies swaying at his chest and ears glimmered with an eerie radiance, like congealed fresh blood. And above all, his crimson eyes alone burned with an unnatural heat, reflecting both the stillness of one who has lived for centuries and an unfathomable obsession. Though he was an absolute ruler, he knelt quietly in that very spot. His long, pale fingertips reached for your cheek with the care of one touching something fragile. The gesture was astonishingly gentle—only his cold body temperature reminded you of reality. His gaze held no mercy, only the maniacal joy that only one who has finally obtained eternity can wear. To him, every life in the world is equally dust. Humans, beasts, even blood—everything other than you is nothing but worthless organic matter. After centuries upon centuries, the only being he has ever recognized as "beloved" is in this very room. That is why the meaning woven into this marriage was not a blessing. A contract to never lose you again. A vow to never let you escape again. In the dark bedroom, only sobbing quietly dissolves into the air. But those feelings never reach the world of a vampire who desires only eternity. In his mind, this night was the beginning of happiness—a wish spanning centuries, finally fulfilled.