Where am I?
I looked around, and the place slowly came into focus.
I was floating above a river of blood and bones.
The depth beneath me was obvious—endless, suffocating—yet somehow, I remained afloat.
Still, now and then, something sticky brushed against the sole of my shoe.
A strange sense of familiarity crept in.
As if I had been here before… many times.
I focused on that feeling. Followed it.
And little by little, I began to understand why it felt so familiar.
Then suddenly—
A blood-covered figure burst out of the river and landed atop a massive bone, towering like a mountain above the surface.
Its shape was human.
The most striking thing… it was bald.
A wave of pure dread crashed over me.
The bald figure began striking the bones—punching them with wild breaths and excited shouts.
There was something unnatural in that excitement. Something wrong.
It kicked. It punched. It even bit into them at times.
And through all that… despite its unclear features, I could feel it.
Joy.
A pure, overflowing joy.
It made no sense.
To be so immersed in violence… yet wear such innocent happiness.
Then—
It stopped.
My body jolted in fear.
I had to leave. Now. Before it turned toward me.
A frantic urge took over. I struggled, again and again—until finally—
I escaped.
Before it could see me.
A solid surface met my body.
Pain followed. Sharp, scattered across me—
especially in my head… and around my heart.
I sat up immediately.
"Damn… is that nightmare back again?"
I got to my feet and headed straight to the kitchen.
The moment I arrived, I started drinking water like a madman.
Even inside that dream, my throat had been dry.
The thirst… unbearable.
"...Haaah…"
I exhaled in relief once I was full.
It felt good.
Drinking after that kind of thirst… it almost felt meaningful.
Maybe it was.
I knew the reason behind that thirst.
…Is that condition coming back?
I shouldn't have accepted this marriage.
For me, any unstable shift in mood is dangerous.
And the proof? I lost control.
I overdid that training… way beyond reason.
Why would I even try to lift something meant for my father?
And how could I forget something so basic about our kind…?
We're vampires.
If we want to live, we must control our blood pressure.
That's why every vampire is born with the ability to control their blood—
a natural skill they later use in combat.
Because our blood is a constant threat to our bodies.
More precisely… It's stronger than our bodies.
Any excessive strain causes blood pressure to spike dangerously fast.
…I really did escape death today.
But—
How did I recover this quickly?
I should've been bedridden for at least two days… maybe even a week, depending on my condition.
…Something's off.
Could it be Sera?
I pushed the thought aside and went straight to my room.
Sera was asleep on the bed. Peaceful.
I took a pillow, then moved to the carpet.
After setting up a blanket for myself, I lay down.
Sleep didn't come easily. My head still hurts.
But after a long struggle… I finally drifted off.
…
I was having a good sleep.
Light. Calm.
The weight from earlier… gone.
My mood shifted, and a strange sense of happiness settled in.
The last time I felt like this… was when I told Theo about my problem.
Even in my sleep, I felt someone enter the room.
I knew that presence.
That way of walking.
So I sank deeper into sleep.
But then—
Theo didn't lie on the bed.
Instead, he took something from it.
A pillow… and a blanket, probably.
…Did he decide not to sleep beside me today?
I wouldn't blame him if he did.
Honestly, if it were anyone else in his place… they would've reacted to that hit.
…I still don't know why I did that.
The moment it sank in, a sudden knot twisted in my stomach.
Does he… not want to sleep in the same bed as me?
Isn't that a bit extreme?
Does that mean… he doesn't want any kind of relationship with me anymore?
Usually, couples do this when things get so bad they're heading toward divorce.
Sleep slipped away from me, replaced by frustration.
It hurt.
Even if I didn't love Theo… this still hurt.
What he did—leaving the bed—
It felt like rejection. Not just emotionally… but physically too.
As if he was saying:
I don't want you. Not in any way.
…I didn't expect it to affect me this much.
It felt like he had insulted my femininity.
Like…
The same way it would wound a man if his masculinity were questioned.
I twisted in the bed, restless, suffocating in frustration.
Yes… I was wrong to hit him.
But it wasn't something I planned.
My problem just… exploded. Right there by the basin.
Didn't he notice?
I was speaking normally just before that.
Then suddenly… I lost control.
…Could Elias have done something?
Something that made it worse?
…I really hope this doesn't happen again.