Chapter 1050: 16.96 First Red Star - Illusionary Forest (III)

Just as Esther Dawn witnessed a part of his lover's past that he was never told about. He had no idea that Mayonaka Yoru was also watching his childhood memories. Esther Dawn's childhood can be described as happy. He is the son of a loving mother, a strict but loving father, and upcoming younger siblings.

The only thing he didn't know about his mother and father was their ident.i.ties. Thana Daybreak, Esther Dawn's mother, is a n.o.ble-ranking vampire. She is only one of the blood race's high-ranking vampires. The Daybreak Clan also had ties to the Progenitor of Blood, who transformed the only Duke-ranked Vampire Lord. This is why her lineage has a pureblood component, as does Duke Luther D'Arcy's.

But because human marriage to other races is illegal, the Dawn Family can only flee. Furthermore, Luciel Dawn is a Cardinal, which means he holds a high position and power in the Templar Temple. They would never allow such a person to be with someone of the opposite race.

In the end, the Dawn Family's happy family was shattered. Their home was raided by the Templar Temple. Despite his best efforts to protect his family in the aftermath of his wife's capture, Luciel Dawn can only surrender himself to do so. With a Cardinal Cla.s.s like Luciel Dawn threatening self-destruction, Kenan Light had no choice but to let go of his elder brother's family.

But would such a cunning snake let go of a vampire from his Templar Temple who had mated with a human? Certainly not! He left an order to kill his elder brother's wife. Thana Daybreak was forced to leave after purchasing a home and leaving all of her money to her children.

She didn't want her children to be pursued alongside her. Even though they are half-breed, they are inferior in the eyes of humans. They were despised, but not to the extent that other races were.

Even so, living without a guardian is difficult for two young human children. It didn't take long for their so-called relatives to take away Thana Daybreak's inheritance. They would have taken the mansion if they hadn't been afraid of being thrown in jail. Finally, the Templar Temple discovered Luciel Dawn's children and had them tested for their affinity with Light Elements. They had high hopes for the siblings because they were the children of the temple's most powerful cardinal in its history.

They did not fail, and the eldest son was born with a strong affinity for light elements. Esther Dawn was forced to flee with them in exchange for the safety of his younger sister, Amber Dawn. Esther had no idea at the time that the soul inside Amber Dawn's body was his younger brother's soul, not his sister's.

Esther Dawn was bullied by the other children when he entered the Templar Temple as a half-breed. He will fight back, but if there are too many of them, he will get beaten up even if he wins in the end. He meets Asher Light during his training. Because they were both orphans, they got along well. They become best friends, only to be divided by their future jobs. As the high-seated Holy Son, Asher Light was placed under the tutelage of the new Pope after the founder announced his death. Kenan Light, his uncle who destroyed his family, became a disciple of his friend.

During the time they were looking for a new job, their friend drifted. Esther Dawn entered the pool of missions alone, while Asher Light began his training as the Holy Son. He wanted to drown himself in a mission and forget about his problems. He keeps fighting, killing, and going on endless hunts against the other races. In those missions, he was on his own.

He would return wounded and pale, but all of his missions were completed, even if some of them were lethal.

He rose to the position of Archbishop solely through his own hard work. He aspired to Cardinal Cla.s.s, but that position allows him to be closer to his uncle. He wanted to a.s.sa.s.sinate him, but the Cardinal Positions had been filled by Kenan Light's subordinates, and no one else could take it.

Finally, his long-forgotten friend approached him again. Asking him to use him is necessary, and he would lend his a.s.sistance in achieving his goals. Asher Light, his friend, despised his teacher. Though Kenan Light treated him well, he is aware of what his teacher did to the family of his friend, Esther Dawn. As a result, he couldn't bring himself to trust his teacher.

Why would you trust someone who destroyed his own elder brother's family? Why would you harm your own family, regardless of the reason?

There was usually a reason for it. First, there's Envy. Envious of your brother's possessions.

Second, there is hatred. Why would you want to see someone happy if you despise them? Of course, you'd want to ruin the happiness of the person you despise. Asher Light understood that it was both for his teacher. Initially, his teacher lacked talent.

His power is entirely derived from outside a.s.sistance. Like the Snow Fenrir's fur and their ice hearts. Consuming the hearts of the Snow Fenrir was said to grant one the power of light or ice elements. Light elements would gather around the Snow Fenrir fur as long as it was worn by someone, making it easier to wield light elements. This is why Kenan Light annihilated the Snow Fenrir. He wanted all of these artifacts to be his alone and for his use only.

Esther Dawn only joined Asher Light's entourage after swearing that he would help him kill Kenan Light. It wasn't until they started working together that their old friends.h.i.+p was rekindled. However, there is still a significant difference in status between the two, and they must continue to act as subordinates and masters in front of the others.

Finally, the meeting of Esther Dawn and Mayonaka Yoru played out in front of his eyes.

You intended to murder his former self. He didn't want to believe he fell in love with a human when his heart was fluttering. The same human race that wiped out his tribe. So he schemes and plots against Esther Dawn on multiple occasions during their missions together. Esther Dawn would almost die under his plots at times, but she would always survive.

Mayonaka Yoru mumbled, "I really shouldn't have done that. Even though he is the nephew of that old b.a.s.t.a.r.d, deep inside I didn't believe his family was destroyed by that old b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I also knew he was attracted to me but I kept pus.h.i.+ng you away..."

Mayonaka Yoru can only observe Esther Dawn's hesitation to approach him. Coming over to heal his wounds when they are in deep sleep and even wrapping a blanket around him in missions where he tried to kill him. Then the scene he didn't want to see flashed before his eyes. The night he plotted against Esther Dawn.

Mayonaka Yoru had always a.s.sumed that his lover didn't know that the drug was from him because he sent his wine with an aphrodisiac. The mirror scene is played, as is the little priest he sent to give the drugged wine to Esther Dawn. He notices his subordinate trembling in front of Esther Dawn, who was holding the wine and smiling calmly. He had already consumed half of it when he realized it was laced with drugs. Unfortunately, Esther Dawn has complete control over his expression. Despite the aphrodisiac's effect, his face remains expressionless.

Esther Dawn asked, "This wine... Archbishop Mayonaka told you to present it to me. It's from himself?"

The little priest knelt before Esther Dawn, knowing that Archbishop Dawn had noticed that the wine was tainted, and begged for his life.

"Your Excellency, Archbishop Dawn! Please forgive this little one; I am being forced to do it, and I did not want to do it," the little priest said. "A-Archbishop Ma-," he says.

The priest's mouth was suddenly covered, and a wine bottle was pushed into it. The remainder of the wine bottle's contents were forcefully fed to the little priest. Esther Dawn, who was staring at him coldly, whispered something that surprised the little priest,

"This Lord knows... that you like your boss. Maybe it's painful to see him so taken with me. His denials were painful to hear, yet he didn't give you a single glance~"

The little priest could no longer keep his true feelings hidden and glared at the beautiful man in gla.s.ses before him.

"Y-You... You know... Hahaha, this is crazy! You knew everything and let everything unfold. Those scenes where you were almost half dead but still survived, did you do that so Lord Mayonaka would feel distressed? You are too calculative. I really want to let the Lord see your true face!"

"The person I fancy is only one, but my patience is dwindling. If he couldn't make a decision in the end, I am... willing to let go. After all... I am someone no one is meant to love after all. A human from that same race he should have loathed with all his being. Maybe... In the first place, I shouldn't have given my heart away..." murmured Esther Dawn.

If Asher Light saw him like this, he'd have trouble believing it was Esther Dawn. Esther Dawn, he knew, was a strong-willed man. A person who kept his back straight even in the face of death. Daring and tenacious. Not someone in such a distressed state, as if they had had enough and were about to give up.

After all, the effects of the aphrodisiac were doubled by the little priest, who collapsed on the ground groaning with misty eyes. He wanted to see this man in a drunken stupor, disgusting his beloved lord. Who would have guessed it didn't bother him? He can only stare at Esther Dawn and do nothing else. Suddenly, the little priest's hired man entered the tent on time, and the little priest believed he would be saved.

"You're here... F-Finally! Go... Go rape that b.i.t.c.h!!"

Who would have thought that the hooligan would smirk at him and salute towards Esther Dawn?

"Your Excellency, Archbishop Dawn. This servant is at your service!"

When the little priest saw this scene, he couldn't help but become terrified. What he had feared had become a reality. He could only watch as the cold-faced Archbishop looked at him and said,

"Do what you're supposed to do? Don't mind me..." Esther Dawn said as he opened a new bottle of wine and pulled out a book.

While the hired hooligan was undressing in front of the little priest, he realized what was about to happen. His lord only ordered that a wine with a slight paralytic effect be sent to Archbishop Dawn. It was up to him to change it to an aphrodisiac. He wanted to humiliate this man, whom his lord is secretly in love with. Who could have predicted that he would be the one to suffer such humiliation in the end?

Esther Dawn stood there indifferently watching as the little priest was pushed to the ground and raped. It was almost as if the person he was watching wasn't even human. Only then did the little priest realize who he had offended. He shouldn't have touched him in the first place. He can only watch as Archbishop Dawn blends into the darkness and vanishes. n.o.body knew what had happened to him.