Heredera sin igual

Capítulo 4

“I took this decree from the King, and now it’s useless.” He tore the piece of paper in his hand into pieces and threw them on the ground. “God curses you, Louisa!”

After saying that, the prince turned and left.

"Harry, Harry!" Louisa chased after him. "Quaid is the wizard, he saved me. Harry, you love me, you should believe me!"

“My lady, my love for you was merely a momentary impulse,” the prince said cruelly, turning back. “What can you bring to this country? No, you have none. You have no status, no wealth; you are merely a little maid manipulated by the devil, harboring dreams of instant power. Marrying you would invite the scorn of all the kings of Europe. Let me tell you, so give up. Although I have brought you the king's decree of clemency, before I came here, I had already promised my mother that I would marry Princess Margaret. She is the heiress of Vinia, my dear cousin, a pure, beautiful, and noble girl; only she is worthy of the crown that this country will bestow upon her in the future. My lady, if you dream of becoming queen, go to hell with your devilish lover and ascend the throne.”

Louisa's face was deathly pale, and I could see that she seemed unable to stand.

"What are you saying!" I lunged at the prince in anger. "Sir, you can insult me, but you cannot insult a girl who loves you!"

"You devil!" The prince jumped aside and drew his sword with a "clang".

"You gullible, weak, and fickle man!" I leaped and reached out. Before the prince could react, the sword he was gripping was in my hand, its sharp tip pressed against his throat.

“Quide,” I heard Louisa’s weak, ethereal voice, “let him go, Quaid.”

I stared into those slightly panicked, blue-gray eyes, and slowly lowered my sword. "You are unworthy of Louisa's love," I said softly, then tossed the sword to the prince.

The prince took the sword and walked up the stairs without saying a word, with the nun holding the candlestick quickly following him.

“Let’s go.” I extended my hand to Louisa.

“You, sir,” she glanced at the corpse on the ground, “tell me your identity.”

“Me?” I gave a bitter smile. “I am a vampire. A vampire who loves you but is not loved by you.”

I thought she would be shocked, scream, or tremble with fear upon hearing what I said. But she simply uttered, "Vampire?" before floating past me and heading up the stairs.

I heard a series of hurried footsteps overhead; there were many people. I paused, then suddenly realized something, and ran upstairs. Sure enough, I saw a squad of fully armed guards approaching.

I grabbed Louisa's hand and rushed over.

A fierce battle ensued, and I felt transported back to the battlefield four hundred years ago, to the bloody struggle against infidels. Back then, I fought to defend God's honor. But now? They are fighting me, the devil, in the name of God!

Blood flowed, staining Louisa's pristine white robes crimson. I pulled her along, breaking through the encirclement and running through the monastery's corridors. When we could no longer hear our pursuers, Louisa and I were in the garden. Looking up, I saw a sliver of white light appearing in the grey sky. Dawn was approaching! I thought in alarm. I couldn't make it back to my lodgings!

Louisa could no longer hold on; she slid to the ground, leaning against a white statue.

I looked around and, near a small door, I smelled the stench of decaying corpses. The cemetery—this place leads to the cemetery!

I picked up Louisa, used magic to open the small door, and went inside. The door closed automatically behind me.

After navigating the winding corridors of the cemetery, I found a hidden burial chamber.

As I closed the door, I heard Louisa let out a soft sigh. I looked down and saw her eyes wide open, filled with an unfathomable gray. I put her down, and she quickly retreated to a corner of the tomb, crouched down, and curled up there.

"How are you?" I asked.

She didn't answer, and I didn't expect her to. I knew she wasn't hurt, and the blood on her wasn't hers.

I opened the coffin inside the tomb, threw the skeletons on the ground, and then jumped in.

Lying comfortably in the coffin, gazing at the somber vaulted ceiling, I suddenly felt I should let Louisa settle things with me, and also with her. Perhaps this would bring me relief, allowing me to bid farewell to the long, endless, and lonely years to come.

“I am a bloodthirsty, cursed devil. Miss, I led you into darkness, to the edge of hell. You should hate me.” I said calmly, arms crossed. “Kill me while I sleep. Pierce my heart with a pearwood stake shaped like a cross, and I will vanish into nothingness. And you, you will be embraced by God again. Kill me, miss, I am waiting for you.”

After saying that, I closed the coffin lid and drifted off to sleep.

Louisa did not assassinate me while I was asleep. When I awoke, I was still lying safely in the coffin, and the lid had not even been moved.

Stepping out of the coffin, I saw Louisa sitting on the ground, leaning against mine, her head slightly turned to one side, her eyelids drooping, as if deep in thought. "You should eat something," I said, not expecting an answer, and she didn't.

Leaving the cemetery, I wandered around the monastery. The traces of last night's fierce battle had long been erased; the corridors were quiet, as if nothing had ever happened, as if nothing had ever occurred. I found some bread and fruit in the empty kitchen, then returned to the cemetery.

Louisa remained seated, and I placed the bread on a silver platter in front of her.

“Quide,” she called to me, the first time she had spoken to me in the tomb.

"What is it?" I asked her, facing her.

She reached out and hooked her arm around my neck, resting her head on my shoulder. Her long, curly hair cascaded across my chest, and I gently stroked it, inhaling the scent of dewy grass.

"I only have you." She closed her eyes, a teardrop resting on her long eyelashes.

“Me too.” I hugged her tightly and pressed my cheek against her hair.

She let me hold her, her soft body pressed against mine. "Quide," she whispered in my ear in a dreamlike voice, "let me be like you, I'm willing to be your companion in the dark world."

“That was a painful experience, Louisa,” I told her. “Never seeing the sunlight again, forever abandoned by the world and by God.”

“I have been abandoned by the world and by God,” she said softly, her voice barely audible.

“No. Louisa, God will not punish or abandon an innocent girl. You still have a bright future. I can let Adam take you to another country, where you can love again and enjoy the happiness and peace of a mortal life.”

“I don’t want to try again.” She hugged my neck tightly. “Quide, for me, you’re the only one in this world who won’t abandon me. I only believe in your love. Quaide, bite me, bite my veins…”

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [13]: She brought her slender, white neck close to my lips, the bluish, pulsating veins enticing me, and I felt my chest tighten in waves. "Bite me..." she continued, "Let my blood flow into your body, you will feel pleasure..."

"No—" I pushed her away forcefully. "Don't tease my desire! Louisa, think of the grave, the coffin, the corpse that will accompany you."

I walked to the door, took a deep breath, and said, "Luisa, think it over. Don't make a decision that will affect your whole life so easily."

"I've already thought about it."

“Alright then, if you still feel the same way tomorrow night, I'll grant your wish.” I opened the door. “I want to go back to the city to take care of some business. If you'd like to come with me—”

"No, go ahead. Since you've given me another day to think about it, I want to sit here quietly by myself." She rested her head on the coffin, her gaze drifting aimlessly.

Although I didn't immediately agree to Louisa's request, I was still very excited that she was willing to be my companion in eternal life. On the night I made the promise to her, I returned to the cemetery and saw her lying beside the coffin, looking very weak. She hadn't touched the food and fruit I had prepared for her.

“Luisa—” I knelt down and hugged her.

“I’ve thought it through.” She grasped my hand; her hand was cold. “Quide, let me be one of you. I can’t live much longer anyway. I’m fading away, can you see? My life doesn’t need you to end it; it’s already slowly fading away. Do you want to see me wither away like this?”

“Okay, I promise you.” I held her tightly, gently stroking her long hair with my fingers, especially the strands that hung down her neck. My movements were incredibly gentle, and as she was lost in her blissful trance, my sharp teeth pierced her soft skin. She let out a soft “Ah,” and her body convulsed. I sucked hard, warm blood flowing into my body from her delicate veins. I could hear her heart pounding, and her veins seemed to be beating too. But as she lost a lot of blood, her heartbeat weakened, and her veins seemed to turn pale. Her eyes were wide open, but her gaze was dull and lifeless; her life was rapidly slipping away. Finally, I lifted my head and laid her down on the ground.

I took off my coat, unbuttoned my shirt, and used my sharp nails to cut open my chest near my heart. "Drink, Louisa, my love, my eternal companion," I cried out to her, lifting her head and dripping the blood from my heart into her slightly parted lips. As my blood flowed into her body, her eyes began to liven, and her lips moved slightly.

I pressed her head against my chest. "Drink, Louisa, drink," I encouraged her, and she began to suckle. Ah, my heart seemed to fly out of my chest with her suckling; I felt as if I were floating in the air, enjoying my lover's kiss. Every forceful suck from Louisa brought me indescribable pleasure.

Her skin began to grow paler and paler. She reached out and hugged me tightly, and I placed my hand on her chest. When I felt her heart pounding wildly, I pushed her away. "Okay, Louisa!" I quickly buttoned up my shirt.

She was still very weak, so I picked her up and crawled into the coffin.

The coffin was so narrow that Louisa was practically lying on top of me, but I loved being held so tightly. It made me feel deeply that Louisa belonged to me, and that I would no longer be alone in the days to come.

Her heartbeat gradually stabilized, and the hand on my chest moved slightly. She seemed to have touched something—oh, it was my necklace pendant. She held it in her hand, and after a while, she opened the small, round box.

I know that she can now see in the dark.

“Who is she, Quaid?” she asked. “She looks a bit like me.”

“My former lover.” I took a breath. “Back then, I hadn’t become a vampire yet. Emily was my cousin, and we were deeply in love. Before I went off to fight the heretics, we pledged our lives to each other. But when I returned from my expedition, she had already married someone else.”

"She's changed her mind?"

"No. She was the daughter of a grand duke. For the sake of her family, she married a neighboring prince whom she did not love. After the marriage, she was always depressed and soon died of exhaustion. I met her once before she fell ill. The crystal shoes I gave you were the ones she gave me on the day we met. When we were in love, she danced in front of me many times wearing those shoes."

"And then what happened? How did you become a vampire?"

“Luisa, I don’t want to talk about those painful memories anymore.” I put my arm around her waist. “You should get some sleep. When you wake up, I’ll take you somewhere.”

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [14]: She stopped asking, pressed her face against my chest, and closed her eyes.

I closed my eyes, but Louisa's question had stirred my memories. Fragments flashed before my eyes: my tryst with Emily, the appearance of the Crown Prince wielding a dagger, the heart-stopping fight, the Crown Prince plunging his sword into Emily's chest. Blood, so much blood, rushed towards me. Weak and wounded, I stumbled into a church, the distant shouts of pursuers: "Seize him! Seize the assassin who tried to kill the Crown Princess!" I collapsed before the altar, raising my head with despair and hatred. "God, I hate you!" I roared at the cross. At that moment, the heavens and earth trembled, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and blood seeped from the cross. From that moment on, I was plunged into a world of darkness.

Night fell once again, and Louisa and I woke up from our sleep. After getting up, we walked out of the cemetery together.

In the woods outside the monastery, I found my horse, and together with Louisa, we rode to a villa on the outskirts of town.

Adam was already standing at the door, leading the horse and muttering something to himself. I didn't listen to him and pulled Louisa into the hall.

“This is our new home,” I said happily. “Although it looks dilapidated on the outside, it’s quite comfortable and clean inside.” I led her on a tour of the rooms, the last one being the bedroom, where two coffins were placed.

"Would you like to hear me sing?" I took my six-string guitar down from the wall, plucked the strings, and began to sing a Latin folk song.

Louisa sat on the coffin, gazing intently at me and listening to my singing and playing.

The time I spent with Luisa in the villa was the happiest time of my life as a vampire. Every night, we would stroll in the garden, play the piano, and sit snuggled on the swings watching the stars. Sometimes, we would dance in the hall, just the two of us holding hands and twirling around. And when morning came, Luisa would sleep in my coffin, embracing me (she never slept in her own coffin; she preferred to sleep with me). When she wasn't asleep, she would often twirl my hair with her fingers and whisper in my ear, "Quide, you're so beautiful. Why didn't I notice before?" I would then laugh and say, "Because you didn't love me then." She would also often play with the necklace around my neck and show me hers. It was a chain inlaid with precious gems, and inside the pendant was a portrait of a beautiful woman I vaguely recognized. She told me that it was her birth mother, and that the necklace had been around her neck since her adoptive father found her.

Louisa rarely goes out and never participates in nighttime hunting. When she is hungry, she only drinks the blood of animals and poultry, and I am happy for her to do so. She needs to gradually adapt to the vampire lifestyle.

News from the palace still frequently reached our ears, but Louise didn't react much. Only one day, when Adam mentioned that the prince and Princess Vinya would be married the following day, did I see a slight twitch in her brow. She was reading a book at the time, and she didn't stop, but I sensed that her soft, beautiful voice had become heavy and cold.

The next morning, she still slept in my arms. As I drifted off to sleep, I vaguely felt her stroking my face with her fingers, and her soft lips kissing my cheek as her fingertips slid across my skin.

When I woke up that night, I instinctively reached for Luisa's long hair, but she was no longer beside me. I got up listlessly, feeling inexplicably uneasy. "Luisa! Luisa!" I called out loudly in the hallway, opening the doors of every room. But no one answered, and there was no one in the rooms.

As I walked down the stairs, I saw Adam sitting on the steps by the door, polishing his shoes. I asked him where Louisa had gone. He pointed outside.

In the stable, I discovered my horse was missing. Suddenly realizing something, I grabbed Adam's horse, mounted it, and hurried towards the palace.

It was the night of the prince's wedding, and the palace was bustling with guests.

I search anxiously, I call out with my magic—Luisa, where are you? Luisa, where are you? Can you hear my call? I am Quaid, your lover, your partner! If you hear me, answer me!

My calls echoed throughout the palace, but there was no response. Yet I knew she was in the palace; she was there, but she simply didn't want to answer me.

I climbed the palace wall, searching for the prince's bridal chamber. It wasn't difficult; the prince's bridal chamber was the centerpiece of the evening, and I quickly found the luxurious suite on the third floor from the conversations and actions of the people.

Pressing my gaze against the windowpane, I saw a prince in a magnificent brocade robe embroidered with gold thread, arm in arm with a princess dressed in equally exquisite attire, standing by the door, staring in astonishment. Louise, in a plain white robe, stood in the center of the room; her face was smooth and white, her eyes sparkling, and her entire body seemed shrouded in a misty haze in the lamplight, beautiful yet unreal.

"You?" The prince looked Louisa up and down. "Miss, you look terrible in that outfit, like a prisoner about to be beheaded. Look at my bride, the noble Princess Margaret, the future queen. Are you envious, Miss?"

“Harry,” Louisa said, “think about the vows you made to me.”

"A vow? I only swear to one princess." The prince's eyes flashed with a malicious glint. "Miss, don't interfere with my first night with the princess!"

“I just want to speak with you alone for a few minutes. Harry, you won’t be afraid to approach me because you’re afraid of a woman who associates with the devil, will you?” Louisa’s lips curled up slightly, a very cute little gesture of hers.