The cup was tilted slightly, and the liquid under the candlelight flowed along the cup wall, gleaming with a faint pomegranate red luster, leaving a trail before being drunk in one gulp.

"The wine has a rich fruity aroma, but the aftertaste of alcohol is very warm..."

Willie commented like a professional connoisseur, his eyes shining as he looked at the next glass, but then he lowered his gaze in distress.

"I want to drink more, but I'm full."

"Gulp." The system swallowed non-existent saliva and stammered, "Host, is it really delicious?"

Why would I lie to you?

He lazily rested his chin on his hands, gazing at the scene before him, slightly lost in thought, his previous gloom completely swept away.

"I never imagined that blood would smell like this to vampires. No wonder they clamor for it."

"This strange sense of satisfaction is subtly different from the feeling humans experience after eating..."

Even he found it difficult to control himself.

Just as Vili was struggling to tear his gaze away from the blood that tasted like milk tea, a pale, slender hand reached out and took the wine glass in front of him.

Looking in that direction, he met the boy's gaze.

Her platinum blonde hair shone with a cold light, her face was flawless like a classical work of art, her skin was almost transparent, and her thin lips were slightly pursed, revealing an unapproachable indifference and fragility.

"Young Master Elijah."

The butler revealed his identity.

Elijah nodded slightly to him:

"Good evening, Deville."

He then looked at Vili again, his lips curving into a faint, indifferent smile.

"Nice to meet you."

His ruby-like eyes dimmed almost imperceptibly for a moment, as if he had looked away, but it was only an illusion caused by the dim light.

“I am Hughes, Elijah Hughes.”

Willie didn't answer him; instead, his gaze swept from top to bottom back to the cup in his hand.

—To be precise, it was his hand.

Fingertips were pressed so hard they turned white, and a creaking sound was heard. Tiny cracks appeared on the fragile glass, and the next second, it shattered and fell to the ground with a bang in front of everyone.

"..."

"I'll handle it."

The butler hurried forward, and Elijah, following his movements, took two steps back, looking bewildered.

He's such an idiot.

He thought he could pretend nothing was wrong.

Now, he's messed everything up...

A strand of hair fell loose from his forehead, the boy's expression was inscrutable, and red liquid spun between his fingers before dripping onto the ground, its sound echoing in the silent room.

A clean white handkerchief appeared before me.

"Let me wipe it."

Because of his vampire identity, Elian's hand was not cut by the glass shards at all; the blood was just residue from the cup.

...Hmm, it's milk tea flavored.

Willy licked his lips with a hint of regret, and seeing the unmoved look on the person in front of him, he handed the handkerchief forward again.

"How are you?"

"elder brother."

Like a spell, Elijah suddenly looked up.

"What—what did you call me?"

Elijah was much taller than him, and Willy's arm was getting tired from holding it up. Just as he was about to change his posture, the boy snatched the handkerchief from his hand and clutched it in his palm, leaving it in a messy, disheveled state.

Vili took two steps back, put his hands behind his back, looked up at him, and tilted his head.

"elder brother."

He repeated it again.

"You look older than me. Can't I call you that?"

"……sure."

Elijah seemed to have finally calmed down, suppressing his surging emotions. He lowered his eyes and unfolded the already wrinkled handkerchief, but did not care at all as he carefully wiped the liquid from his fingers.

The butler had already cleaned up the broken pieces on the ground. He watched the two of them with a smile, waved his hand to quietly dismiss the other servants, and then quietly left as well.

For a moment, only the two of them remained at the dining table.

Willie returned to his seat.

The chair was designed for an adult, so it was a bit too high for him. When he sat on it, his little feet dangled in the air and wobbled a couple of times.

This was probably very impolite, but Elijah watched for a while and said nothing.

In the silence, a strange, sarcastic voice rang in Vili's ears.

"Brother~"

Vili: ?

"Host, how could you call him that!"

The system held back for a long time, but finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"What's the problem? He was originally the original owner's brother."

Although he finally fell asleep yesterday, he still overheard some of Elijah and Deville's conversation.

“But you have amnesia now!” The system hummed for a long time, “These vampires who value their status would never use such intimate terms to address each other.”

"And...and in the original story, the original owner never called Elijah 'brother' until his death!"

"..."

The system assumed that the host's silence meant that he had been persuaded, and was about to say a few more words in triumph when it heard Willy's sigh.

"That's terrible."

"Il, is this what they call a 'beautiful, strong, and tragic' character?"

"...Gah?"

"They are clearly the only family member, yet we cannot acknowledge them, we cannot even say it aloud, and we can only treat them as strangers..."

Elijah keenly noticed Vili's gaze and subconsciously looked over. His eyes softened instantly, and the boy gave a natural smile, his face even unconsciously flushing slightly, which was very noticeable against his pale skin.

"..."

It's hard.

The system felt its fist had hardened.

"He looks about the same age as Teru Hasegawa."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!