Chapter 1: Memories

A melodious song woke him up in that dark night, in the breeze carrying with it the rhythm between the gaps. Curious he got up to find out who the owner of that beautiful voice was, he slowly walked until he reached the back garden.

A woman in a long dress that hung down to the bottom seemed to be picking flowers, it was clear that the melodious voice was coming from her.

Ah...

The singing was stopped suddenly by a light scream, he immediately walked over to the woman and saw a beautiful face that was grimacing. His index finger was bleeding from being pierced by a sharp thorn.

"Give me your hand." he said holding out his hand.

The woman obeyed and blushed when her injured finger was sucked gently until the blood was no longer traced.

"Be careful next time." he reminded.

"I want to decorate the room with these beautiful flowers." said the woman.

"Celine, was your room always decorated with flowers?" asked the man.

"Yeah, there are lots of flowers in our yard. I always pick them every day and grow them in my room." she replied.

"Okay, I'll pick the flowers for you."

Celine nodded with a smile, she was so happy to see her husband picking flowers for her. Even though he has a cold face and rarely smiles, as a husband, Reiner always gives a little attention that actually means something to him.

"Celine." call Reiner.

"Yes?"

"Could you sing that song for me?"

"Of course."

Catherine took a deep breath and began to sing.

"When the sky shows its light then it's time to close...

Lock all the doors and windows otherwise he will come

Without knocking, exhale on your neck

The wolf will howl

and you will fall asleep."

"You have such a beautiful voice, Celine."

Celine just smiled blushingly.

"But why do the lyrics seem to have a hidden meaning?" he asked.

"This is the lullaby my mother used to sing to me when I was little, before she would tell me a story."

"You want to tell me that fairy tale?"

"Of course!" answered Celine happily.

"There was a little boy who always played on the outskirts of the forest alone, he would catch fireflies or play chase with his shadow. One day, he played too far into the forest until finally he got lost and didn't know the way yet went home. In a state of fear he was rescued by an old man. He was also brought home to the old man's house which turned out to have a child the same age as him. That fear disappeared when he met the child, he felt he had a friend to play with. But over time he felt sad because he missed his parents, finally the old man took him home.

He was very happy after he returned home but he was sad because he had to part with his new friend. Because he couldn't bear to see his child sad, his parents also gave him a present on his birthday, namely the old man and his new friend would live with him forever."

"That's quite an interesting fairy tale." said Reiner after listening to the story from Celine.

"Well..."

"I'm done picking flowers, let's go back to the room." ask Reiner.

Celine smiled and walked beside Reiner.

***

In a room full of wood dust, Reiner sat alone with his hands that didn't stop carving, the door suddenly opened and it was seen that Celine entered the room still carrying a cup of red liquid.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Making a pirate statue."

"You like that kind of thing?"

"I used to collect them with my sister. We used to fight over them." replied Reinner remembering about his past.

"What do you mean it's Anna?" asked Celine curiously.

"That's right, Anna, whose name was often mentioned because of various controversies."

"You guys seem really close."

"We are really close, even so close we can't meet each other if we meet we will definitely fight."

"Hmmm, that's how it is with brothers and sisters. If they are close, they fight, but if they are far away, they miss each other." Celine said with a smile.

"uh.." Reiner suddenly groaned while rubbing his eyes.

"What is it?" Celine asked worriedly.

"My eyes seem to have dust in them."

"Let me see." Celine said putting her hands on Reiner's cheeks.

He looked carefully but found nothing but the reflection of his face, in Reiner's eyes were blown so as not to hurt anymore. But a few seconds later he realized Reiner's eyes were fixated on him, he felt warmth behind the gaze too and something very attractive.

Celine slowly released her hand but now it was Reiner who touched her. He began to touch Celine's waist to her back, caressing gently while pulling her closer.

They looked at each other, smiled at each other then moved closer to each other. The surge in their hearts began to burn them, creating a hot air that they released through their noses and mouths.

"Celine.." Reiner called in a soft voice.

"I love you." he said without the slightest doubt.

***

"Reiner! I hereby declare that you have officially become king. From this moment on, all vampires will be loyal to you and obey your orders." said an official who had just finished putting a crown on his head.

Reiner proudly rose from his prostration and turned to look at his people.

"Long live the glorious Reiner!" exclaimed one of the vampires.

"Long live the glorious Reiner!" replied the others in unison.

The new king's coronation party was officially held, music playing enlivened the atmosphere with the best quality wine in every glass.

There is also a red liquid which is a staple drink for those who can't stand wine.

Reiner walked gallantly toward Celine, with a slight bow Reiner's outstretched hand was welcomed by Celine.

They stepped onto the dance floor and started dancing together with the others, on that happy day Celine looked even happier with her blushing face.

"You must be very proud to hold the status of empress." whispered Reiner.

"Of course, my husband has just been granted an honor that is hard for any noble to attain."

"Is that so? So if I'm just an ordinary Vampire you won't be happy?"

"It's not like that, there's something else that makes me happy."

"What's that?" Reiner asked curiously.

"Since the first time I met I thought I would marry a cold, rough man, but after your return from the battlefield it turns out that you are very nosy and good at flirting."

"Hey! I don't do that to other women, I only do it to you My wife."

"I know, that's why I'm very happy. In the future, even though you will be busy with work matters, still act like this to me, I will also be an obedient wife for you."

"Then I will give my first order to you."

"Really? what is it?"

"My Empress, as a king I order you to give me offspring."

"What if I don't want to?" she teased.

"Then I will take a year off to bring you home, at your mother's residence every day we will try our best until we succeed."

"Rei!" called Celine while pinching the waist.

They laughed and went back to enjoying the rest of the party peacefully.

Reinear woke up from her sleep and found her breakfast ready on the table. That day when she wasn't feeling well, Celine deliberately prepared breakfast in the room so that Reiner could rest.

"Good morning, Your Majesty!" say hi Celine.

"Morning."

"Your breakfast is ready, Your Highness had better hurry and eat before things get cold."

"What about my Empress?"

"I'll have breakfast after you finish eating."

"How could that be!" Reiner said as he pulled Celine's hand so she sat beside him.

"You should have breakfast too, so let's eat it together."

Reiner started scooping the soup, blew a few times and gave Celine the first mouthful of it. Celine happily opened her mouth and ate it, they took turns feeding each other until the food was finished.

"Rei, it's been a long time since we visited your family. Are they okay?" she asked.

"Ah you're right. The last time we went there was Hans' birthday."

"Then when are you going to visit there again?"

"Right now I'm still busy with palace affairs, maybe after some of my business is done. What's wrong?"

"It's okay, I'm just tired of being in the palace all the time. But it's very inappropriate for us to travel in this chaotic situation."

"Yes, be patient my wife. I will definitely take you out of the palace." Reiner promised.

Byuuurrr! Arrrrhhhh hhh hh

"Wake up, Fool!" someone shouted at him.

Shreg! The sound of chains sounded as his hands touched his aching head. It seemed that the chain was binding both of his wrists. Vaguely in his sight a person with a large and muscular body with hands holding a bucket was standing right in front of him.

"Here! Finish your food quickly!" he shouted, kicking a spilled bread and soup.

He quickly took the bread and ate it in large mouthfuls, even though the bread tasted bad and was quite hard it was better than starving to death.

As a cover, he sipped the soup, which only had a few drops left.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Laughter could be heard echoing in every corner of the room.

"Who would have thought a Vampire king with a dirty and smelly body drank soup to lick the plate because he couldn't stand hunger." the person said while pointing at Reiner.

If it had been the Reiner he was sure would have risen up to attack the person who had insulted him, but now he was just a masterless slave whose life was no more than a bug.

He exhaled a long breath while recalling the beautiful memories that had been a flower in his dreams. He was pensive, lamenting the bad luck in his life.

He tried to think about where the mistake he had made ended up being pathetic like this, but he couldn't find the answer.

Reiner closed his eyes again, he really wanted to sleep because only then could he feel happy by dreaming of his beloved wife.

It was not easy for Reiner to get to the throne, he had to go against a tradition that had been going on for thousands of years. For a while he wanted to give up but the thought of Anna gave him the spirit again. Anna had sacrificed a lot for peace, because now it was her job to keep the peace.

Until he finally succeeded in occupying the throne of the king.

But in fact there are still a handful of people who are not happy about it. Especially the higher-ups who incidentally are elders with old minds, they often overwhelm Reiner to the point of falling ill.

But all that was nothing compared to the slander that made him end up in that place, a dark room with his hands and feet bound in chains.

What he didn't understand was why he was still given life? even though it's obvious if someone who dropped him from the throne of the King why bother to lock him up and give him life after knowing that Reiner is nobody anymore.

"S-gentlemen!" called the person nervously.

Her impudent attitude suddenly turned into obedience when a man walked into the room, Reiner helplessly looked up slowly.

"Has he been fed?" asked the man.

"Yes sir."

"Good." he replied.

He squatted down and took a closer look at Reiner's face to confirm that Reiner was the person he was looking for.

"Wh-who are you..?" asked Reiner quietly.

"You don't need to know who I am, let's just say I'm your angel who will save your life but also take your life at the same time." he replied.

"Make sure he always gets food, don't hurt him too much I don't want him to be disabled." he said to the guard.

"Yes sir, I understand."

The man tapped the guard on the shoulder and started to leave but Reiner with the last of his strength tried to stop the man even with a low scream.

"Wait! Say what you want?! Why did you lock me up like this? I have no family or throne anymore."

Again, the man's laughter boomed in the narrow room, echoing in every direction and quite deafening.

"I'm not interested in your throne. But.... Yeah! I'm interested in your family. Don't you still have a sister? A girl who is quite uproar because of her royal blood? If you tell me where she is then I will give you a present." said the man.

"You mean?..... You're looking for Anna?" he asked.

"Sure! who else? I'm only interested in him, more precisely his strength. So how is it?"

"I don't know. Anna just disappeared, no one knows where she is."

"Arrggh, that's a shame. Even if you want to tell me, I'll tell you about your wife's death." he smiled slyly.

"What do you mean?!" asked Reiner quickly.

"Well, I can only say what if the wife didn't die in that incident, maybe she still survived."

Reiner was frozen thinking back to how the tragic incident had befallen his little family. One night when slander made him lose the throne he fled to avoid the wrath of the masses, but still he was hunted like a hunted animal.

Alone, he tries to save his small family by sacrificing himself. He was half dead fighting the vampire warriors until he was tired and what was even more saddening was when he saw Celine fall down, her body was injured and her hand was stretched out to her as if asking for help and a few seconds later a loud scream was clearly heard.

A sword stabbed his heart, tears flowed wetting the dry leaves. Shortly thereafter more heartbreaking screams were heard, he thought it was the sound of a wolf in the middle of the forest but everyone said it was Reiner who screamed.

Still with only half of his consciousness left, he held tightly to Celine's hand, who had closed his eyes, but several soldiers tried to separate them until in the end someone hit him on the head until he was unconscious.

When he woke up, he was already in this room with both hands and feet bound in chains.