Immediately afterwards, his hands left the piano and moved downwards, slowly but undeniably tightening their embrace around Willy's waist.

He buried his face in the neck that carried a faint fragrance, and closed his eyes slightly.

Blood was gushing beneath his skin, a position that seemed far too dangerous for a vampire, but Vili showed no sign of resistance and even lazily yawned.

"Brother, did I wake you up?"

Elijah gently shook her head, remained silent for a moment, and her lips brushed against his delicate skin as they opened and closed, sending a sensitive tremor through him.

"...Why didn't you tell me?"

Hearing his question, Willy tilted his head in confusion.

"What did you say... you're still sleeping..."

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

In those similar red eyes, he saw flickering sparks, like fuses lit in the darkness.

It was a complex mix of emotions, where the boundaries between love and pain were not clear, and it ultimately merged into a paranoid desire for control.

...This reminded Vili of when he first came into this world.

At that time, his identity was that of Elijah's "lost and found" blood relative.

Despite the attentive care of the servants in the castle, this anxious vampire brother was still uneasy and took over everything related to him personally.

It wasn't until he became preoccupied with his revenge and spent long periods away from the castle that he reluctantly relinquished control, but he required the old butler to record his brother's daily life in detail and report back weekly...

Vili was not unaware of this matter.

Today, their relationship has long been entangled in an ambiguous and complicated way, but Elijah's possessiveness remains unchanged.

Perhaps this is just his true nature.

As Vili was thinking this, he suddenly felt an inexplicable force on his shoulder, and his body turned in that direction. The piano keys collided and made a discordant sound. His exclamation, which was about to come out, was gently swallowed.

Under the boundless moonlight, the bats outside the window had their view blocked by the suddenly drawn curtains, and could only hear the soft, intimate sounds coming from inside the room.

"Hmm..."

The air grew hotter, and Vili's instinctive response soothed Elijah. After the kiss, he gently released the dazed boy from his arms, slowly brushing aside the strands of hair stuck together by sweat on the boy's face. But he couldn't resist the temptation of that blush and took a light bite, as if sucking on it.

"……elder brother!"

Willie covered the soft flesh on his cheek, his watery eyes filled with accusation.

"sorry."

Elijah apologized verbally, but a hint of regret flashed in his eyes.

From that day on... apples became his favorite human food.

"Next time, please let me know where you're going."

"That's too much trouble..."

Vili's complaint was only halfway through when, under Elijah's gaze, his voice gradually lowered until it disappeared completely.

"I see."

Whether he carries it out or not depends on his mood.

Clearly, Elijah understood his thoughts, but instead of pointing them out, she reached out and gently smoothed the boy's disheveled hair.

His voice was deep and gentle, almost melting in the wind.

"good."

Even Willy calmed down unconsciously under his gaze, his long eyelashes casting faint shadows under his eyes. He blinked gently and suddenly spoke.

"Brother, what are you worried about?"

Elijah Hughes, a lone avenger, fueled by the blood of his fallen comrades, yet also bound by their shackles. He drags them forward, step by step, until the scythe of death reaps the lives of all the traitors.

He re-engraved the Hughes name in the history of the vampires, reclaiming the glory that belonged to the Hughes family with his own hands.

In the clichéd stories of humankind, revenge is a recurring theme. Whether successful or not, after the climax, what remains seems to be endless nothingness.

But Elijah is different.

He also has Vili.

They left the castle together and started a new life, and those few words alone were enough to fill Elijah's heart with endless anticipation and motivation.

As for what happened next... it was almost a matter of course.

In the dead of night, as quiet as ever, he couldn't help but kiss the boy sleeping beside him.

Not the forehead or cheeks, but the lips. And not even a fleeting touch, but a bold and unrestrained exploration.

Even the saints enshrined in the court of judgment cannot remain unmoved by the lover who is by their side day and night. What's more, he is merely a vampire who restrains his desires.

And Vili... opened his eyes at that moment.

Elijah had forgotten what he was thinking at the time. He only remembered that he was not pushed away. It was like a snow scene inside a crystal ball. He thought he would melt, but in the end he just spun and fell to the bottom, and then floated back into the air in the swaying.

In the end... the two white snowflakes embraced each other and became one.

After that, the change in their relationship was almost inevitable, but in the end, their way of getting along was no different from before.

So, Vili sometimes does wonder what exactly Elian is so uneasy about.

From the day he agreed to leave the castle with the other party... the current development is the ending he has tacitly accepted.

After all, magicians never like to impose moral constraints on themselves. Having cast aside external limitations, and after much contemplation, he would admit—

"I love you."

Looking at the silent man in front of him, Vili tiptoed and kissed his tightly pursed lips, as gentle as a feather, yet as heavy as a thousand pounds.

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