CHAPTER 4: The Elder's Advice

The midnight sky was fading, welcoming the dawn and sooner, the morning daylight. Most people were at the peak of their dreams at this time of the hour, except those who belonged to the vampire tribe. While several vampires went hunting, careful of their actions, so they won’t be found out, the elders in the Duke’s mansion were having their predicament.

“Ah!” Landro screeched in pain when Sebastian snapped his left arm without moving an inch from his seat.

“My lord! Please consider it!” Landro continued to petition for his wish.

“Nonsense.” Sebastian shook his head in disagreement and did the same trick with Landro’s right arm. “Speak once more and your head will be next,” he warned.

The elder zipped his mouth. He might be a few hundred older, but the lord was tenfold stronger than him.

“This is expected,” Cisto, the other elder and the head of the Lohbrev, said. “If you’re against his idea,” he gawked at the poor elder with twisted arms, “You’d better focus on how to make Lavinia pregnant.”

Sebastian stared at the elder. For him, Lohbrev was the only one who made use of his brain. “It’s easy to impregnate her, but she won’t drink human blood.”

Cisto shook his head, “It’s not that simple. She grew up caged in the dark. When the de Llava siblings fell for each other, Lavinia was born. The other true-blood clans found it disgraceful, forcing the siblings to leave. To protect the seed of their love, they headed to the sacred cave, and together, they died, leaving the poor little girl by herself,” he explained, looking straight into Sebastian's eyes.

Sebastian remained quiet. He wanted the elder to continue the tale that only a few, within their race, know of. It had been three months since he met Lavinia, but he never heard of her back story as to why she refused to drink mortal blood.

“Now that she got out of the dark, Sebastian, that was when you broke the seal on that sacred cave where she stayed since she was born. If she were born a human, no, even if she were a pure-blood vampire, she wouldn't be able to survive alone in that cave. But she did, she’s a true-blood vampire, after all, the strongest among the vampire race. Imagine how hopeless she could be. Until you came to save her. But what have you done? You forced her to drink human blood, without understanding why she had to. It was all strange for her,” Cisto paused, observing how the young lord would take his advice.

Lorenzo and Landro were startled, they never learned of the actual reason Lavinia was concealed. It was a tightly sealed secret that only the true-blood clan should know, the pure-blood clans were only informed later that the de Llava siblings killed themselves as they’re tired of being immortal, they knew this incident as the great de Llava tragedy. No one could explain how they perished. But right now, Cisto talked about it like he witnessed how events took place.

“Let her go,” Cisto continued. “If you cherish her, let her leave. If you’re worried, then live by her side but don’t lock her up. The more you alter her memories, the further complicated situations will be. You won’t be able to deal with it. If you love her, be ready to face her wrath once she regains her memories by herself. Remember, among the true-blood clan, de Llava has been the most powerful, even your clan can't hold against one of them. That young lady is the only de Llava left in this world.”

“My lord,” Lorenzo stood from his chair when Sebastian went outside his mansion right after Cisto finished talking.

“You should arrange a carriage. The Lord has something to take care of,” Cisto mumbled.

Fortunately, a carriage provided by Claudia was then waiting outside when Sebastian stepped out the exit, so he didn't make a fuss.

“To my mansion,” he ordered.

The sound of the carriage wheels combined with the bird’s humming filled the air while the dawn was about to end.

?

Lavinia opened her eyes when she felt the bed move. She blinked several times, and couldn't believe to see such a handsome man first thing in the morning.

“Good morning,” she greeted and gave him a peck.

The man wanted to return the smile but couldn’t. After learning about Lavinia’s past, Sebastian could only feel remorseful about the things he had done. Cisto was right, he should have not locked her up inside his home. He should show her the world and make her happy to make up for the time she spent in the dark. Sebastian's thoughts were interrupted when Lavinia’s stomach growled.

“Um, I missed dinner last night,” Lavinia said in embarrassment.

A vampire doesn’t necessarily need to eat human food as long as they consume blood. This made the man wonder, what did Lavinia eat inside the cave to survive?

Since Lavinia arrived at his manor, he had to ensure that they had lots of food supplies in the kitchen. He also had to order the servants who came thrice in a week to check the food stock now and then. If he remembered it correctly, the servants often had to go to the market and go back with loads of ingredients.

‘She forgot about the ‘meal’ we had last night,’ Sebastian thought to himself. Manipulating her memories wasn’t always a bad thing, but he needed to consider what Cisto told him, or he’ll only get more irritated by the elders if they start to convince him about sleeping with someone else again.

“All right, how about ham and bread?” Sebastian asked and pulled the lady up.

“Oh! I haven’t dressed yet,” Lavinia protested, making the man chuckle. “I want milk, don’t forget that,” she added while looking for her clothes.

“It’s fine sweetie, I’ve seen you naked many times,” Sebastian teased. “Let me watch you bare for a while to boost my mood, hmm?”

“You just mentioned that you’ve looked at me exposed many times, when will you get enough of it?” Lavinia tiptoed and kissed him. “Now, can you let me wear something first?” Lavinia picked up her clothes scattered on the floor. She moaned when Sebastian pinched her ass, teasing her more.

“Oh, gosh!”

“Haha, I’ll prepare breakfast. Be quick,” Sebastian said before turning his back.

“Don’t forget the cheese and eggs,” Lavinia shouted when the man left the room.

“What a wonderful sky trip, if he'll wake me up like that every morning, my day will blossom more colors,” Lavinia muttered while tying her hair up.