Two Centuries Wasted on a Lie

For a week, Vincent didn't return to the castle.

But I knew his every move.

Just like now, my phone screen lit up, a notification popped up: Camilla's latest post.

Nine high-definition photos filled the screen.

In the pictures, she was wearing the couture wedding gown I'd had commissioned, standing by the edge of the Blood Springs in the Undercity.

One even showed them in an intimate embrace under the faint moonlight.

Through those posts, I once again saw a completely different Vincent.

It turned out the formidable, bloodthirsty Prince could be as tender as a mortal lover.

I laughed coldly and placed my phone face down on the table.

With ten days until the ceremony, I kept busy.

There were too many of my things in the estate; it took me several days just to pack everything.

I also made a trip back to my own clan's territory.

"Elena, what's this I hear from the Milan workshop about the order being canceled?" the First Elder of my clan asked, his voice laced with concern.

With a calm expression, I handed him the invitation from Europe's Supreme Institute for Vampiric Research.

"Elder, I'm going to Europe to lead a top-secret research project," I explained. "The gown won't be necessary. We'll have a simple ceremony."

I couldn't afford any complications before my departure, so I had to hide the truth about the breakup.

"Has Prince Vincent agreed to this?" the elder asked with a frown.

"Yes. He's handling all the arrangements for the ceremony," I lied calmly, giving them no chance to ask more before I turned and left.

I knew that if I said more, they would only worry.

They had watched the two centuries I'd spent humiliating myself in pursuit of Vincent.

And they had long been aware of the Prince's cold, dismissive attitude toward me.

They had warned me before, subtly, that I meant too little to Vincent and that I should reconsider.

But back then, I was blindly confident, convinced that with enough time, I could warm his heart and win him over completely.

Looking back now, I should have listened.

Late that night, I returned to the empty castle and called my best friend, Linda.

"Bring your most potent erasure potion. Get here now."

Ten minutes later, Linda teleported into my room.

Seeing the empty closets and drawers, her eyes widened in shock.

"Are you insane? You're going to erase your presence from this place entirely?" Linda grabbed my hand in disbelief.

"The Unification Ceremony is in ten days! You know how powerful a pureblood's scent-tracking is. You really want to leave him without a single trace of yourself?"

Linda was incredulous. She remembered how I had dragged her out for a full night of celebratory blood-wine when Vincent finally agreed to the ceremony.

I had gotten completely drunk, repeating endlessly how my two hundred years of devotion were finally paying off.

But now, here I was, demanding to destroy it all.

"You're actually serious," she said, her eyes wide. "I thought you were just blowing off steam at the bar the other day when you talked about canceling."

She paused, her brow furrowed. "I watched you pine after him for two centuries. What on earth happened? How can you bear to let go?"

Perhaps because my departure was so close, the long-suppressed need to confide finally broke through.

"He's staging a mock wedding with Camilla."

"And they formed a Mutual Blood Bond two weeks ago. In secret."

CRASH.

At my words, the glass vial slipped from Linda's hand and shattered on the floor.

"After you poured your heart out for him! He forms a life bond with another woman right before your ceremony, then has the gall to strong-arm you into accepting it? What is that lunatic thinking?"

I lowered my head, swallowing the sharp, bitter lump in my throat.

"I know. The unbreakable ancient code of honor. I can't fight that."

When she heard the words "ancient code of honor," Linda went rigid.

Her eyes blazed with fury. "Then what about the permanent sun-scars you got saving his life! How dare he treat you like this!"

I bit my lip, unable to say another word.