Chapter 44 — Late Regrets

"Haven't you been looking for your father? Now you no longer need to look for him because he already stands before you."

"Your father is me. From now on, you will live with me."

"As of today, your name will be Cliff Dawson. You are a noble vampire because you are my son."

"From now on, this castle is your home, and everything in this castle is yours too."

"This room was my favorite room when I was your age. Now it's your room."

"You are indeed my son. Even our hobbies are the same."

"A tiger. It's amazing for a newbie like you."

"Strangle him? Though you can kill him more easily with your claws. You can stab him with your claws. At least that way, you don't have to use all your strength. But I applaud you for being able to strangle and break his thick neck. You are indeed my son. I am proud of you."

"Think of these spankings as a father's way of punishing his son for wrongdoing."

"Think of it as a father teaching his son to stop sinning."

"And think of it as a father's way of awakening his son to return to the right path."

"If my death can remove the hatred in your heart, get you back on the right path, and make you return to how you used to be a kind and gentle man like your mother. So I'm willing to lay down my life for you."

"No matter what you have done to me... you are still my proud son. I will always love you, Cliff Dawson."

"If you've been following your mother's teachings, from now on, follow what your father taught you."

"Stop killing people. You are strong now. You can use your power to protect the people you care about."

"You are still very young. You still have a long life, son. Someday you will have people who are precious to you, so you will protect them even if you have to risk your life."

"A man shouldn't shed tears. It will make you look weak."

Cliff wiped away the tears that suddenly flowed from his eyes when various memories of his father flashed in his head. He still vividly remembered some of the words his father had said.

"Mother, this bastard is dead, and he will soon face you in the underworld. Shouldn't I be happy? Shouldn't I be happy? But why does it hurt this much in here?" He muttered as he squeezed his left chest.

"It hurts, Mother. Why does my heart hurt so much?" he muttered again, tears flowing from his eyes. He was still in the same position, sprawled on the floor with Rowan's body pressed against his body.

His eyes could see clearly and were no longer throbbing in pain. He turned his head, looking into his father's face, who was smiling peacefully.

"You are such a cheat, Rowan Dawson. Look, you can smile peacefully at the end of your life, and you leave me here alone with all this pain. You let me bear this pain alone. Hey, why are you being so mean to me?" he said as his hands shook Rowan's lifeless body.

Tears continued to flow when Cliff looked at his father's face. His father's face with eyes closed, blue skin, and a peaceful smile on his lips added to his handsomeness.

"Why do you have to show your affection to me in your last seconds? You make everything even more difficult for me. Are you deliberately trying to impose guilt and regret on me? Hey, answer me!" He kept on asking Rowan to talk even though he knew there was no way Rowan could answer him. He also continued to shake his father's body, just like Cliff did when he saw his mother die first.

Then suddenly, he hugged his father's stiff body, hugging him so tight.

"Why are you doing this, Father? Why did you sacrifice your life for me? It would help if you let me kill you with my hands so I wouldn't feel this guilty. So that I don't realize how much you love me." Cliff was contemplating all the events that had just happened. An incident that made him regret ignoring other people's words in the past. He remembered that Bastian had said how much his father loved him and always considered him his proud son. At that time, Cliff refused to believe it. However, a moment ago, his ears heard the words coming out of his father's mouth.

"I'm sorry, Father. I'm sorry," he sobbed again, still hugging his father tightly.

They hugged each other for a long time, or instead, Cliff hugged his father because it was impossible for Rowan to hug his son back.

Then suddenly, Cliff flipped his father over onto the floor. He rose and drew the sword still stuck in Rowan's chest.

"Sorry, Dad. I can't take your advice to protect the people I care about because I don't have one. I'll catch up with you and Mom soon. I'll catch up with Ariana soon too. I can't live alone in this world."

Cliff positioned the sword with the blade's tip directly in front of his heart. He had already decided, as initially planned he would kill himself after completing his revenge, and that was what he would do now.

He gripped the sword with both hands and prepared to plunge it into his heart. He closed his eyes, but suddenly an image of someone flashed through his head.

"I will wait for you here. I believe in you. You will come back to keep your promise to me."

That sentence that rang in his head instantly made Cliff surrender his grip on the sword. The blade made a clanking sound as it hit the floor.

"Laura, why do you have to be present in my life?" he muttered as he dropped to lie beside his father's body.

"Look, Father, how sad my fate is. I can't even kill myself even though I want to catch up with you guys soon," he cried like a madman because he kept talking about his father's body which had stiffened.

"Unlucky!! Unlucky!! It's because of you, Laura. You're annoying and annoying," he cursed, and then the atmosphere in the room became silent because Cliff prefers to cry in silence. He slowly closed his eyes. He no longer cared about anything around him or what would happen to him after this. He just wanted to sleep peacefully beside his father.

For two days, Cliff did nothing besides lie beside his father's body. He didn't even seem interested in putting his father's body in a particular cemetery for pure-blood vampires.

Then suddenly, he opened his eyes, which he had barely opened in those two days as if he had decided what to do after this.

He got up and carried his father's body while taking the sword that pierced his father's heart. No, he didn't take his father to the old building, which was the burial place of a pure-blood vampire. Instead, he took his father's body to another place.

He walked while carrying his father's body through the forbidden forest and stopped at his mother's grave. He laid his father's body on the ground and dug to bury him right next to his mother's grave. Even according to tradition, the body of a pure-blood vampire should be placed in a coffin because their body will never decompose. However, it seemed that Cliff had other thoughts.

When he finished digging the ground, he placed his father's remains in his dug hole. He also positioned his father's hands to hug the sword that had taken his life. Yes, Cliff joined in burying the sword that had been equipped with a magic spell, the sharpest sword in the world, with his father's body. He vowed never to use that sword again.

He was about to cover his father's body with dirt but had time to do it when he saw something coiled around his father's neck. It's a sunward necklace. Cliff took the necklace, not with the hidden intention. He just took it as a souvenir.

"Father, I will not drink your blood like I did to other pure-blood vampires. Let your extraordinary power be yours alone. Rest in peace. Hopefully, you can meet your mother in the world and get her forgiveness there. I hope you two can live together in the other world." Cliff smiled at the end of his speech. Then he covered his father's body with dirt until it was no longer visible.

Cliff leaned against a tree growing near the graves of his father and mother. His gaze was blank. I don't know what to do after this. Should he return to Laura's place to fulfill his promise to her? However, Cliff is reluctant to do so. He didn't want to marry that girl.

***

A girl was lying alone in a small hut. A hut that holds many memories with her maid and also the man she loves. She has curled up alone on the bed as a witness that the man she loved had lived in the hut.

She hugged herself, trembling because the girl was crying in pain.

Tonight is exactly one year since Cliff's departure, meaning the last night she has to wait for Cliff. Cliff promised to return to her if it's been a year since he left. However, until now, his figure has yet to be seen.

She knew Cliff must still be alive because her heart could feel it. She had always believed the man would come to keep his promise. However, at this time, for some reason, her heart began to doubt because, until the end of their agreement, the man had not yet shown his nose.

So far, many princes and even kings from other kingdoms have come to the Palace intending to ask for her hand. During that time, Laura always reasoned with her father that she was not ready to get married. She asked her father to give her time to think. She kept reasoning until she finally promised that after the time of her agreement to wait for Cliff ended, she would give her father an answer. She would choose one of the princes or kings to be her husband. That's what makes her cry now. She doesn't want to marry any man other than Cliff.

However, promises must be kept. Cliff didn't come to keep his promise. Like it or not, Laura must make a choice tomorrow.

"Cliff, why don't you come back? Why did you break your promise to me?" she muttered.

Her body was shaking because she was crying hysterically, crying over her heartache. After all, she didn't have the chance to be with her idol, and at the same time, crying over her fate that she had to marry a man she didn't love.