Over the great dark forest, the full moon was the only source of light that illuminated Lilith's beautiful face, a young woman with long black hair and her bright red eyes creating great contrast to her pale white skin.
Lilith had a calm expression on her face as she was crouched filling her canteen in the dark forest river, despite being in one of the forbidden areas of the empire, which was highly dangerous for the existence of demons and other dark creatures.
As she filled her canteen, the woman's expression changed as she heard a baby's cry coming from far away on the river. Turning her gaze towards the sound, Lilith sees a basket, inside which is a baby with no clothes and pale skin crying.
Without thinking too much, she just extends her hand towards the basket and a red aura comes out of her palm, quickly bringing the baby close to her.
Taking the baby in her arms, Lilith notices that him body was cold, almost as if he were dead, and takes off her coat to wrap the baby who until then was without any robe.
She then lights a fire to further warm the baby, who soon stopped crying and quickly fell asleep in her arms.
Gently caressing the baby's face, Lilith lets out a light sigh with a sad look on her face.
"Poor little one..."
Lilith looked at the tiny, fragile human baby in her arms, wondering how she should take care of him, considering he was just a baby, a human at that, who was abandoned in the dark forest.
She knew she couldn't just take him to the empire, as it was strictly forbidden for humans to enter there, and even with their status it still wouldn't be a simple matter.
In addition, Lilith still had obligations that she could not abandon in any way, as they were of the utmost importance.
After thinking for a few minutes, she makes up her mind and stands up with the baby in her arms, before walking into the dark forest.
...
After a long walk, the sun was already rising when Lilith arrived at a small house that appeared to be falling apart, which seemed to blend in perfectly with the shadow forest where the house was located.
In front of the house, a large shirtless man was swinging a large sword that was 2 meters long, being the same size as the man, as if the sword was as light as a feather.
The man had a large scar on his face, which ran from his lip to his bald spot. The man's gaze was fierce, even though he only had his left eye and an eye patch covering his right eye, which was where the scar went.
The man had noticed Lilith, but didn't seem to mind her and intended to just continue swinging his sword, until he notices the baby in Lilith's arms and stops him movements, dropping the sword to the ground causing a loud thud.
Before the man could say anything, the door to the small house swung open and a woman who was even bigger than the man came out and ran right up to Lilith.
The woman was tall and muscular, and wore only a pair of short shorts, leaving her large bosom on display without any shame. The woman, like Lilith, also had red eyes and black hair, despite her hair being cut short with a masculine cut.
The woman completely ignored the man and quickly observed the baby in Lilith's arms, who was already awake and looking curiously at the people around him.
"Sooooo cuteeeeee..." The woman let out a high-pitched cry before taking the baby from Lilith and lifting it over her head, which made the baby start laughing and she let out another high-pitched cry.
"I see you're still the same as ever, Vayne." Lilith spoke with a slight smile on her lips as she looked at Vayne playing with the child.
The man approached the two with slow steps and looked for a few seconds at the baby before turning to Lilith with a curious look and a smile on his face.
"Finally you found someone crazy enough to have your baby?" The man spoke with a loud laugh, before jumping quickly and seeing the place where he was being exploded by a red aura that came from Lilith.
Lilith's smile faded and she shot the man a cold look before sighing and shaking her head.
"I see you haven't changed at all Mike, unfortunately, unfortunately you haven't changed at all..." she spoke to Lilith before turning back to look at Vayne with a complicated look on her face.
Feeling Lilith's gaze, Vayne stopped playing with the baby and turned her gaze to Lilith.
"Speak Lili, what happened?" Vayne asked with a smile on her face.
A hesitant look flickered in Lilith's eyes before she sighed and said, "Remember that 6-year-old favor? I'd like to ask a favor now." After speaking, Lilith felt Mike and Vayne's strange gazes before they returned their gaze to the baby.
Vayne looked at the baby and Lilith alternately for a few seconds before looking at Lilith with a strange look and asking, "Are you sure about that? No matter how absurd they were, i would definitely do my best to make them come true but... really want to waste one of them like that?"
Hearing Vayne, Mike nodded in confusion as well. A favor from Vayne wasn't a simple thing, and he knew it well.
Mike and Vayne were surprised at one of the favors being spent in such a simple way.
Despite her considerations, Vayne saw Lilith's resolute eyes and just sighed with a smile on her lips before shaking her head.
"Fine. Do you want permission to raise this human in the empire or do you want me to find someone suitable to raise him?" Vayne asked Lilith, but she just shook her head.
"No, I want you to take care of him. You're one of the few people I trust, and for some reason I really liked this kid." Lilith spoke with a slight smile as she gently caressed the face of the baby who was looking at her curiously.
The look in Vayne's eyes first flashed in confusion before flashing in excitement.
On the other hand, the look in Mike's eyes quickly changed from curiosity to fear.
"I..." Before Mike could get a word out, Vayne yelled aloud with great excitement.
"Alright, deal is deal." Before hugging the child with great affection.
It might seem like this was just a favor for Lilith, but it was a great thing for her too. Vayne had always wanted a child, but she knew it was impossible for her, a vampire, to get pregnant with her lover, Mike, who was only human.
Seeing the excitement on Vayne's face and the emotion in her voice, Mike just swallowed his words before sighing and shaking his head.
Vayne had often considered adopting a child, but Mike was always against it, saying it would be dangerous or creating any other excuse that came to his mind. He really didn't like the idea of ​​being a father, especially when he'd never had one himself.
However, this time he knew there was nothing he could do, as Vayne had promised Lilith and she would definitely never go back on her word.
Looking at the scene, Lilith had a slight smile on her face when she saw her friend's excited and happy face, but her smile widened even wider when she saw the dismay on Mike's face.
"I'll leave now, as I still have some errands to do. See you later Vayne, I hope I know the little one's name next time I get back." Lilith spoke and said goodbye before leaving and leaving the couple who were in stark contrast to each other.
While one looked happy and excited, the other looked depressed and resentful.
...