Vampires were known not for their outstanding reproductive ability so the number of pureblooded vampires was not high. It was a common sense that the purer the blood, the harder it was to conceive. Every noble house usually only had less than ten True Vampires in their ranks, and to be honest, even that was possible only if the family had more than a thousand years of history.
One such example was the House Edevane.
Despite existing for several thousand years, the House only had seven Purebloods alive. The rest of the vampires inhabiting the castle were 'turned' members or workers employed through the merchant guild.
The Count was more than a thousand years old. The Countess was younger than him by two hundred fifty years. Their eldest son, June Edevane, was five hundred years old. However, something happened and he got disowned by the family which left the heir position open.
The two other members of House Edevane were the Count's brothers and both were eligible to be candidates. Unfortunately, none of them were married yet. They also rarely stayed in the castle as they were both busy with work and traveling, plus none of them were actually interested in managing the territory.
In other words, before Melissa was born, there was only one person qualified to be the heir. That was Marietta Edevane, eldest daughter of the House. The woman was of age. She was beautiful, powerful, and talented. Although she was arrogant, she still had a lot of friends which meant that she had a lot of connections. Her head was also smart enough.
However, while everyone else believed that she would be the next Countess, the key person to making this notion formal never confirmed it. Hundreds of years passed. Even Marietta became impatient. Yet, before she could bring up the topic of succession to the Count, Melissa's existence was suddenly revealed.
What should somebody like her, who believed that the heirship was hers all along, feel in this situation?
No one would be able to imagine the shock she felt when she first heard about it.
Marietta utterly hated this suddenly gained sister of hers with every fiber of her being, especially when the Count declared Melissa as another heir candidate. She was not a fool to see their father's intentions. But on what grounds? Was the girl even half as competent as her? Or was her blood much purer?
"Marietta. Go test your sister. I want to know what your father saw in her."
When Georgia ordered her to do this, she was at a loss for words, before she felt more hatred in her heart blossom.
"You want to test her, huh? Does it mean that you hold some expectations in your heart?" She sneered.
At that time, Marietta did not even know how to describe what she felt. All she knew was that a month ago, she had no choice but to play the role of an obedient and compliant daughter. She contacted her acquaintances and said a few words. Then not long after, her little sister was reported to be receiving bad treatments at school.
The news definitely reached the Count and the Countess. Were those two disappointed? She did not know, but she kept her silence as she inwardly thought, 'they should have no other option now, right? They have no choice this time but to accept the truth, that I, Marietta Edevane, am the rightful heir.'
However as days went by, her heart grew colder from not receiving any news from the Count.
...
'Ho. I could not believe it. So she finally snapped? However, does she know it's already too late?'
The vampire lady was at the party hosted by her mother when she heard what her sister Melissa did a day ago.
"I'm sure my mother would find her reason for challenging the little lady from the Jackson family ridiculous." While gently stirring a goblet filled with blood, a captivating smile formed on Marietta's lips.
Donna Mason, a friend of hers, smiled broadly as she replied, "If I were the Countess, I would also not be amused. Maybe the Countess would want your help to remind your sister how the high society works?"
"Great minds really think alike, Donna. Yes. It is simply a daughter's duty to alleviate her parent's worries, especially when they already have too much on their plate," Marietta said while sipping on her glass.
In the background, soothing music played as couples dressed in fashionable dresses and suits danced in the middle of the hall. The atmosphere in the place was elegant and mesmerizing, except for the scent of blood that lingered from time to time.
Marietta let herself get carried away by the ambiance, sometimes joining the dancing crowd, sometimes exchanging words with her girl friends at the corner.
But when the event was about to end, she left the venue for her sister's room at the main castle.
Without anybody to escort her or announce her presence, she pushed the door open with more strength than usual, then strode in like she owned the place. There she saw her sister standing awake with bloodshot eyes. Melissa obviously had not slept a wink and looked as if she was totally drained. Was it because the realization finally hit her? That her actions toward the heiress of the Jackson family could only be considered a huge blunder?
Thinking of this, Marietta almost did not manage to stop herself from laughing.
Of course, a second later, the vampire lady recollected herself and adjusted her expression. As someone who had been alive for more than a hundred years, it was easy for her to put on an act, that she was especially angry after knowing about Melissa's deeds the previous day.
"Melissa." Her voice was loud, yet it was also as cold as a glacier from the northern seas. She looked up from her hand that grabbed nothing.
Some time then passed. On the first second of arriving at the room, Marietta thought that this would just be a regular episode of venting. However, she was a bit surprised when her previously annoyingly timid sister withstood her aura for several seconds and even dodged her sudden attack.
But that was it. Marietta glanced around to see the frightened servants that were trying so hard to not make a sound. As her perception was very good, she felt the sudden arrival of the three other members of the Edevane Household. One was their father the Count, the other their mother, the last one their youngest uncle. The three did not conceal their presence from her, but did they do the same to Melissa? Could the girl sense them even if they did not mask their auras?
'Ah, she asks why I unconditionally believed Leonora even though I haven't heard her side yet.' A smile full of ridicule appeared on Marietta's face before she opened her mouth...