Elena’s POV

When I went back home, I wrapped my arms tightly around my parents.

In my previous life, when I ignored their advice and insisted on staying by Kael’s side, my family had already been hurt by my choices.

They still supported me from behind, yet I could feel the distance and awkwardness in our conversations.

I was the one who betrayed their kindness.

I chose to stay with a vampire regarded as a disgrace.

In the end, I even caused their tragic deaths.

They spoke in hurried concern,“Elena, what is it, did something happen?”

I shook my head.

“It’s nothing. I just missed you……so much.”

My mother brought a towel and gently dried my hair.

My father sat nearby, repeatedly asking if I had encountered anything upsetting.

My parents had always doted on me.

They had always supported every decision I made unconditionally.

In my previous life, I had distanced myself from such a lovely family for Kael.

After a moment of thought, I decided to tell them the truth.

Kael had chosen to cancel the engagement, and I did not oppose it.

They fell silent for a brief moment.

“Elena, it’s good that you were able to think it through on your own. Kael and that human have already become the laughingstock of everyone.”

My mother held my hand.

“This is my daughter. No matter what decision you make, you will always be my only heir.”

“Breaking off the engagement is fine. Kael is already seen as a disgrace among vampires. Even if he had not brought it up, we would have.”

I smiled and teased my father.

“If Kael and I don’t marry, what about the cooperation between our families?”

To my surprise, my father looked at me seriously.

“My daughter is exceptional. You don’t need to rely on cooperation with anyone.”

Hearing the certainty and pride in his voice, my eyes grew moist.

I took a quiet breath and pressed the surge of emotion down.

“Then,” my voice was clear and steady, carrying the strength of renewal, “let me begin by making decisions that truly benefit our family.”

In just three months, I would be fully prepared to leave the sphere of Kael’s family power.

After that,

I would have nothing to do with Kael ever again.

Elena’s POV

A week later, the banquet held by the vampires for the new moon arrived as scheduled.

Although my relationship with Kael was no longer as close as before, there were other vampire branches at the banquet who were still in cooperation with my family.

I arrived wearing a simple black gown, and as I turned my head, I saw Kael and Sylvia.

The relationship between Kael and that human blood servant was no longer news.

What truly caused a stir was the dress she was wearing.

The red off shoulder gown was a masterpiece that only the most elite vampire tailor could complete after years of work.

More importantly, I recognized it.

Three months ago, Kael had bought it at an auction and had my name embroidered into the lining.

And now, the dress that should have belonged to me was on Sylvia.

The gown had clearly been altered in haste.

The waist was stretched too tight and the shoulder line sat awkwardly.

Her slightly hunched posture only dulled the elegance the dress was meant to convey.

Kael guided her through the crowd and walked straight toward me.

There was a trace of tension on his face.

“Elena.” He spoke first, his gaze sweeping over my simple dress and pausing briefly.

“I hope you won’t mind. Sylvia didn’t have a suitable gown, and there wasn’t enough time to prepare one. So I gave this gift to her.”

Sylvia twisted her fingers into the overly long sleeves.

She looked up at me, her voice soft and hesitant.

“I’m sorry, Miss Elena… the dress is so beautiful. I was afraid it might look odd on me. Kael told me you didn’t care for it anymore, so I thought… if it’s really all right… I could wear it.”

Glances began drifting over from all sides, carrying amusement from other vampires.

An elderly countess even covered half her face with a lace fan and whispered something to her companion, drawing a soft laugh.

Everyone was waiting to see my reaction.

I looked at the dress.

In my previous life, this had been the gown I wore at my engagement ceremony.

In this life, it had become something I supposedly “disliked”.

An idle piece that could be casually given away.

“Strange?” I tilted my head slightly, my tone as flat as if I were commenting on a piece of furniture.

“The tailoring doesn’t really suit your figure. For such an important banquet, perhaps Kael should put more thought into having a gown made specifically for you.”

Sylvia’s face turned pale in an instant.

Kael frowned and stepped forward, placing himself between us.

“Elena,” his voice dropped, tinged with reproach.

“Since when did you become so harsh? You know she’s nervous attending this kind of banquet, yet you still speak to her from such a condescending position.”

Sylvia had been standing with her head slightly lowered, her eyes rimmed with red.

But the moment Kael began to accuse me, the corner of her lips curved upward for the briefest second, unable to hide that flicker of triumph.

She leaned against Kael’s shoulder, her gaze carrying a hint of provocation.

I looked away, unwilling to entangle myself with them.

“It’s just a dress. Give it to whoever you like. I didn’t mean anything by it. You’re overthinking.”

After a few seconds of silence, he looked at me with a trace of resignation, almost indulgent.

“At next month’s ball, I’ll have something better made for you. A unique design. Consider it as my…”

“No need.”

I cut him off and slowly shifted my gaze from his face to Sylvia beside him, who looked as though she might cry at any moment.

“Since Miss Sylvia feels so uneasy wearing this dress, worried that she might offend me, and since you feel the need to explain and make amends to me…”

I set my glass down and lightly tapped the stem of the cool crystal with my fingertip.

“Then, to avoid more misunderstandings, perhaps we should see each other less in the future.”

With that, I inclined my head slightly.

Without sparing a glance at either of them, I turned and walked back into the banquet.

At the edge of my vision, the familiar crimson sheen of the gown flashed once more.

Kael stood frozen in place.

His hand hovered in midair as if he wanted to grab hold of something, yet closed only around empty air.

And Sylvia, still clinging to his arm, gripped the ill fitting skirt of that magnificent gown tightly, her fingers whitening from the force.

Elena’s POV

As the banquet drew to a close, I was speaking with two elders from the northern branch.

A restrained sound of sobbing approached from a distance and shattered the calm.

Sylvia was almost carried forward in Kael’s arms.

Her carefully arranged hair was in disarray.

Fresh scratch marks marred the exposed skin of her body.

She looked fragile and miserable.

Kael’s expression was dark.

His gaze cut through the crowd and fixed on me.

Disappointment and anger churned there without disguise, then he walked straight up to me.

“Elena.” He let out a cold, mocking laugh. “You said you didn’t care who I gave the dress to. And yet you sent people to take revenge on Sylvia behind my back?”

He paused, as if restraining himself, but the accusation in his words had already pronounced my guilt.

“Since when did you become so unreasonable?”

“Kael, don’t do this…”

Sylvia sobbed softly at his side and lightly tugged at his sleeve.

“Maybe… maybe Miss Elena was just angry for a moment. She didn’t mean it… it’s all my fault…”

Her attempt at mediation only drew more accusing and suspicious looks toward me.

I looked at Kael quietly.

I looked at the righteous fury burning in his eyes for another woman.

In my previous life, he had worn that same look when he drove a cross into my throat.

Now, it only made me laugh.

“She told you herself,” I repeated slowly, my tone devoid of emotion. “So you didn’t even ask me a single question. You just brought her here to confront me?”

Kael’s brow tightened further.

My calm was clearly not what he had expected.

But soon he composed himself.

That self assured pride of someone who believed he had seen through everything returned to his eyes.

“Elena, I know you’re jealous. But you went too far. Apologize, and then we can talk.”

“Talk about what?” I cut him off.

I met Kael’s gaze, already bored by his accusations.

“Why would I publicly instruct someone to attack a human blood servant whom you openly protect and whom everyone knows is connected to me?”

“Where is the logic in your verdict, Kael?” I tilted my head slightly, as if dissecting a poorly constructed riddle.

“If I truly harbored resentment toward her, with my abilities there are a hundred ways to make her disappear without a trace. Why resort to something so obvious?”

Kael frowned deeply, but a flicker of doubt passed through his eyes.

He knew the Elena from before.

Impulsive.

Direct.

Easily swayed by his emotions.

The woman standing before him now was composed, rational, almost cold.

And this woman standing in front of him felt unfamiliar.

Sylvia’s face went pale.

She looked at Kael in panic, tears flowing faster.

“I don’t know… maybe I was mistaken. The person who attacked me moved too fast…”

“Mistaken?” I echoed softly, a faint smile forming. “Or do you need more convincing ‘evidence’. Would you like me to help?”

The doubt in Kael’s eyes was instantly drowned by a surge of rage.

My composure, especially that nearly provocative question, struck directly at his need to appear an unquestionable protector before Sylvia.

“Elena!” He finally tore away the last pretense of restraint in his voice. “Look at what you’ve become. Bitter, cold blooded, even saying things like this to a defenseless human!”

He pulled the trembling Sylvia into his side, as if shielding her from me.

“Apologize. Now. Apologize to Sylvia. Immediately.”

His command was absolute, heavy with the authority of his status.

When he saw that I merely crossed my arms without even a flicker in my gaze, he glared at me for a moment.

Then he suddenly turned his head and spoke to Sylvia in a voice loud enough for the entire hall to hear.

“Treat her the way she treated you. I’m here. No one will dare stop you.”

The words fell like a thunderbolt.

To tolerate, even encourage, a human blood servant to strike a pure blood noble at a vampire banquet.

It nearly shattered every unspoken rule.

Sylvia seemed stunned.

She looked up at Kael, tears shimmering in her eyes, disbelief giving way to a twisted delight and barely restrained excitement.

She glanced at Kael’s resolute expression, then at me.

The fear deep in her bones was slowly replaced by warped triumph.

She took a deep breath, loosened herself slightly from Kael’s hold, and slowly raised her hand toward me.

Countless vampire gazes fell upon my back.

Just before her fingertips could reach my cheek.

I seized her wrist and held it in midair.

Her palm hovered inches from my face, unable to move any closer.

The cold from my fingers seeped into her skin.

My crimson eyes locked onto hers.

All color drained from her face, leaving only terror stricken white.

“It seems,” I said calmly, my voice carrying clearly through the dead silent hall, “Kael Aurelian, you have not only learned to pass judgment based on one sided claims, but also to indulge your people in overstepping their place.”

My gaze swept over Sylvia’s face, twisted by pain and fear, before slowly settling on Kael.

He had clearly not expected me to stop her so easily or so calmly.

Shock and humiliation warred across his ashen face.

“You think letting her strike me once would restore your dignity?”

I released my grip lightly.

Sylvia staggered back as if her support had vanished and fell once more into Kael’s arms, clutching her wrist and whimpering softly.

I unhurriedly took a napkin from a nearby tray, wiped the fingers that had touched her.

Only then did I meet Kael’s gaze again, his eyes blazing with fury.

“I’m done with this charade.” I shook my head slowly and let out a cold laugh.

“Based on your astonishing rudeness tonight and your open humiliation of me.”

I paused, ensuring every word reached those present.

“I, Elena, as the heir of the Valemont family, hereby I declare.”

“My family will terminate all cooperation with the Aurelian, effective immediately.”

“All funds will be withdrawn at once.”