Chapter 4: Old Friend

As soon as he finished speaking, the familiar voice of the vampire broke into a whisper, he covered his mouth with his palm, staring at me with constricted pupils.

"You're..."

I shook my head, pressed my hands to my chest, leaning my back against the wall behind me. I let the smooth surface support me, because I wasn't sure I could continue to stand on my bare feet or not.

"How is that possible?" I shook my head erratically.

Alden, my childhood friend, my first friend, before Aylmer. The son of the palace cook. Bright, noisy but kind. He was with me on my darkest days. He had never been shy about the scar on my left eye.

Although I was always a shy and timid child, it was Alden's radiance that made up for and reconciled the shortcomings of both. A fresh and clear color for my uncertain life.

But seven years ago Alden disappeared. He left with the people of the palace to trade with the neighboring country, but in the end more than two-thirds of the crew went missing, including him. They said he drowned in the river, I vividly remember how devastated I was at the news. I had to endure that struggle for a very long time, because there was no way to accept the loss. Even with Aylmer beside me, sometimes I wake up with a wet pillow.

And at that moment, when the wound had been sharpened but still smoldering… A person with the same face, the same name, and the same fragrant amber was standing in front of me. Except for the red eyes and the body that seemed to have lost its warmth at first.

What did he do with his beautiful brown eyes? I couldn't help but wonder.

"That's stupid. There's no such thing as a coincidence in the world."

I whimpered pitifully, shook my head, and suddenly felt an unforgettable burning sensation under my wrinkled eyelids.

And from the side of the door, a deep breath immediately resounded. Raising my trembling hand, I touched my cheek, felt the moisture on the pad, then freezed, I was white with terror.

Blood.

I was shedding blood right in front of an Alpha vampire.

Horrified as the gilded bandage on my face was wet with blood, Alden froze, covering his mouth with his hand, feeling his fangs slip from his gums, itching to the point of burning.

Alden closed his eyes tightly, banishing the obsession, then shook his head, using the little will he had left to retract his fangs. And he could have thought carefully about his position, or how he'd been taught since he was a child, how a servant should behave, how respectfully he should behave to a member of the royal family, above all - someone who would soon become his master. But Alden only moved his lips but couldn't utter a single "Your Highness." Just stood there staring at me, a lost Omega in the midst of a horde of demons, with red, smelly tears in my eyes, drenched peach cheeks.

"Little cat."

A familiar name which was dusted for so many years, rolled over his lips and drifted into the air.

His cold fingers caressed my cheeks, which were trembling and stained with blood. I was stunned by the all-too-familiar action. Alden gently pressed his soft lips to my forehead. Like hundreds of times before.

"How could this happen? Am I already dead, because how can I see you again?"

My voice was bewildered and uncertain.

"How do you know this nickname? Why is your face so similar to his, why is everything so familiar and yet so foreign?"

I couldn't help but panic as the panic was about to take over.

"Because that's me, Jerome. It's Alden who talks about silly things. His eyes would clear up once he saw his favorite dessert, who often brought trouble to the kitchen helpers. The one who will hold your hand and show you how big and beautiful the world is. With the unfulfilled promise that one day we will explore each land together."

Lowering his head, Alden covered his painful eyelids, it seemed that both he and I had forgotten our difference in positions, because of the way he held me, while I sobbed in his arms. Placing his lips on my forehead, lowering the kiss and hiss fill his lungs. While I clutched my hand to the chest of my shirt, groaning at the touch of cold skin, there was still more than enough strength to calm my emotions though.

Even though his heart had lost its beat, I knew he was right here in front of me and alive.

"I miss you so much, Alden."

Alden hummed in response, and I felt my heart warm.

"What happened to you?"

My voice was hoarse from crying so much, but it didn't matter at that moment.

Alden didn't answer, instead cupping my face.

"You're bleeding."

Alden whispered, biting his fangs on his lips:

"Let me help you first, and we'll talk later, okay?"

I touched the blindfold, realizing that it was soaked with blood.

So with a nod, I let Alden lead me to the bathroom.

"If anyone hears me addressing a member of the royal family in this way, I'll bet my head will hang somewhere on the city gates early tomorrow morning. Vampires have stricter rules than humans do. No one will care how close we are as a friend, even if this gets your permission or not. It's all handled with discipline, that's all. That is how Lord Darion rules this Kingdom."

Alden gently sat me on the edge of the sink, touching the hem of the golden mask with the carvings of the irises.

"When I was told I was going to be the personal servant of the Prince of Flower Kingdom, I thought it must be Lord Aylmer."

Alden was with me in the early days when my left eye was intact, and it was he who helped me change the bandages along with the famous doctor of the palace. So, I might be scared to expose my ugly scar in front of anyone but the person in front of me right at that moment.

"And now I've become a Prince."

I laughed heartily for the first time in seven days.

Alden looked me in the eye for a long moment, then said,

"Jerome, tell me if Lord Regus did something to you?"

"Nothing."

I knew in that situation anyone would think the worst way. So I had to make sure that no one thought badly of the Flower Kingdom's royal family, whether it's Lord Regus, or Aylmer.

"Lord Regus was never a selfish king, you know he would rather sacrifice himself than sacrifice his people to the fangs of wolves."

"But what good is it when you're already here to fulfill a mission that doesn't belong to you, Jerome."

"You're wrong, Alden."

I looked straight into Alpha's crimson eyes and said,

"Since I set foot on this land, this duty has become mine. You also have to know that this is what I want, not forced by anyone."

"Have you always loved Aylmer that much, Jerome?"

Looking at Alden's tired, painful look, I knew my choice wouldn't make everyone happy. Before that fateful night. Alden was the only one who knew how I felt for Aylmer, and he was so supportive during those difficult years.

"Don't ask me what you have the answer to."

I sighed quietly.

Even if Aylmer destroyed my heart, my heart still went foolishly towards him.

"If Lord Aylmer is still the one in my memory, then he is certainly not heartless. So how could he accept you to go here instead of him?"

It seemed that my long silence had given Alden the answer. He just carefully dried my face with a warm towel.

"Hopefully Prince Aylmer will not live with anxiety for the rest of his life."

" He will not, Alden." I answered him in my head.

Because surely Aylmer was very disgusted with me at that time.

Ending the conversation in an imperfect atmosphere, Alden gently wiped the remaining warmth from my face with a dry towel. Then he helped me back to the bedroom.

"I had to go to the pharmacy to get disinfectant and bandages. It won't be long, just stay here and wait for me to come back. This castle is like twice the castle of the Flower Kingdom so I think it will take a while for you to get used to the situation."

I hummed in agreement, then clutched the blindfold again in my hand. Then a weightless touch fell on my head and ruffled my blond hair. When I looked up, I saw Alden grinning toward the door, leaving the room.

And, once again I was left alone in a strange place. I crouched down trying not to feel insecure. Alden's presence made me seem to forget the reason for my presence in the Demon Land. I wonder if the old friend turned out to be one of those who would be fed with my own blood, or would the Sovereign decide to personally taste his spouse?

My fantasies about the coming marriage, with my mind painted with all the old stories, I couldn't think of any bright spots for the status of a vampire's spouse. Why did a powerful and dangerous monster need a different species to be his mate? Obviously to gobble it up to the bone.

"I guess Luna decided to please me by letting me find my old friend before I became a dried-up empty corpse."

I sighed, though quietly rejoicing at this grace.

"Even if I die, I believe I will be happy, at least for the time being. And I will enjoy it."