Chapter 258. The Ritual Ends

Chapter 258. The Ritual Ends
A few more minutes passed before William spoke again. “Having my blood drawn to create the next heir really hurt. There were times I couldn’t endure it and dropped to my knees, begging them to stop, but they kept torturing me anyway. Regulus was standing right there beside me, and he didn’t do a thing.”

By the time he said that, his voice was trembling, as though he were reliving the pain all over again. "Sometimes I really don't know what he’s thinking. He could have sacrificed a portion of his power to save me, and yet he just stood there and watched me suffer. That’s why, when I found out you were pregnant, I had no intention of telling him. I was afraid he’d be just like those ugly old men and hurt you."

Mira kissed the top of his head. Her eyes lowered slightly, as though she were lost in thought for a moment, before she said, "Maybe he has his own burdens, and responsibilities he can’t escape. Everyone has things that put them in a difficult position, don’t they?"

William fell silent. He knew Regulus had to put Crimsonvein’s interests first, but as a son, he truly could not accept that his own father had watched him being tortured without stepping in to save him.

At the time when William had been suffering the most, Regulus had even advised him to accept the option of mating with Crimsonvein’s female vampires instead of having his blood extracted. That way, he would no longer have to endure the pain.

At first, those elders had said that now that William had lost his power, his only remaining duty was to produce an heir. So they had summoned ten female vampires from the clan in a single night and demanded that he mate with them until they conceived.

William had refused, of course. He had struggled desperately to escape, but in his current state, he was no match for anyone in the castle, and he had been subdued almost immediately.

If William had not been prepared to kill himself back then, they truly would have raped him. So afterward, the elders changed their approach. They forced him to give blood to create embryos by artificial means. The moment those long silver needles pierced his flesh, a pain so intense it felt as though it would shatter his mind came crashing down on him.

Every time he remembered that feeling, William trembled without meaning to. So yes, he knew Regulus loved him, and yet he still could not trust his father. In his mind, Regulus belonged to the same vile breed as the elders.

William still held Mira’s hand tightly, unwilling to let go. Their fingers were interlaced so firmly that it felt as though no one would ever be able to pull them apart again.

Meanwhile, Regulus had returned to Crimsonvein Castle.

That evening, the council chamber of the elders was brightly lit.

The old men sat around the long stone table, every one of them looking displeased at having been summoned so abruptly by Regulus. What irritated them even more was William’s absence.

Regulus did not sit down right away. He stood at the head of the table, his icy gaze sweeping over each of them.

"From this day forward, every blood-extraction ritual performed on William for the creation of Crimsonvein’s next heir is abolished."

The entire room erupted at once.

One elder slammed his hand down on the table. "Impossible! The Crimsonvein bloodline—"

"Silence."

Regulus cut him off.

His voice was not loud, but the pressure of a ruler suddenly descended with such crushing weight that even the lamps on the walls trembled. The elders immediately went pale.

Another still forced himself to speak. "Doing this goes against the clan’s interests. William is the last direct descendant. If the ritual is not continued, Crimsonvein’s future will wither away."

Regulus took another step forward.

"I said it is abolished, so it is abolished."

Each word dropped cold and hard.

"Crimsonvein’s bloodline does not need to be preserved by draining dry a child whom all of you have already driven to the brink."

One elder asked in a trembling voice, "But in the beginning, were you not the one who did not object to the creation of embryos by artificial means?"

The pressure radiating from Regulus suddenly intensified. The crystal glass set in front of that elder shattered on the spot. Shards of glass flew outward, slicing across the back of the old man’s hand.

The whole room fell instantly silent.

Regulus stood there, his expression unchanged, but his eyes were enough to send a chill straight down anyone’s spine.

"From this day forward, if anyone dares mention that ritual again in my presence, I will consider it a direct challenge to Crimsonvein’s rule."

No one dared say another word. Only after Regulus turned and left the room did the suffocating atmosphere begin to ease.

But that silence did not last long.

After he was gone, the elders remained seated, looking at one another. No one spoke at first. Only when the door had fully closed did one silver-haired old man slowly wipe the blood from his hand and say in a frigid voice,

"He has become too soft-hearted."

Another nodded slowly. "Exactly. He should have killed that woman from the very beginning. And now look at us. We’re about to be finished because there will be no heir."

"The ruler of Crimsonvein should not have so many weaknesses, nor should he allow sentiment to decide matters of consequence."

The room sank into silence for several seconds. Then a hoarse voice rose from the far corner of the table.

"If Regulus is no longer suitable... then perhaps we should start making preparations."

"What do you mean?"

The old elder curled his lips into a faint smile, his gaze as cold as a venomous snake.

"Crimsonvein needs a new master."

The lamp hanging on the wall swayed faintly. The shadows of the old men stretched long across the stone floor, twisted and warped like demons just waking from sleep.

Back at the Wulfhart estate, Mira was sitting on the bed with her back resting against William’s chest. His hand still lay over her stomach, as though the moment he let go, he would lose the most precious thing in his life.

Mira tilted her head and rested her cheek lightly against his chin.

"William."

"Yeah."

"If our child takes after you, I bet they’ll be really stubborn."

William bent down and kissed her temple. "It’d be better if the baby took after you."

"Why?"

"Because if the baby is like you, I’ll love it with everything I have."

Mira was quiet for a moment, then smiled softly. "William, being loved by you... feels really wonderful."