Chapter 1: The haunted forest

The night was quiet, only a few howls of wolves echoed, and sometimes the rustling of leaves because of the chilly wind blowing from time to time.

The full moon floated in the sky, gradually finding a rare space between the dark leaves to see a man with a beautiful face, like a statue lying on a branch of an old tree.

The gentle light from the sky touched the noble-style clothes embroidered with extremely eye-catching patterns with gold thread, making Samson even more outstanding in the dark background. What belongs to him has an almost unique beauty: eyes, lips, mouth, and even hands, and feet.

- Throw her away, don't regret a few more dollars. We cannot escape with a child.

A voice interspersed with gasps from below startled Samson, his ruby eyes immediately looking down at the dense dwarf trees.

It's already ten o'clock at night. He didn't expect that there would be someone brave enough to venture into this place known as the "Haunted Forest".

With eyes capable of seeing through the dark, Samson easily recognized them as two men, one tall and one short.

On the man of short stature's shoulder was a little girl, who seemed to have lost consciousness because her arms were hanging loose and swaying with the short man's movements.

The tall man with a large, hairy face continued to persuade his companion when he saw the person opposite him lingered.

- Hurry, before we get discovered we need to go back and get the rest of the money.

- Then let's kill the girl.

The short man said as he threw the little girl into the dry leaves and quickly pulled out a sharp knife.

However, just as he raised the knife high, Samson removed the expensive diamond attached to the collar of his shirt and threw it so hard that the knife punctured a hole and fell into the bushes.

The two men immediately raised their frightened eyes to look up, but the four sides were just rustling leaves.

- The ghost… the ghost… the ghost…

While the short man was still stammering because he saw those ruby eyes flashing in the dark, Samson quickly moved closer to the two men with a light jump like a feather.

He was still standing on a tall tree branch, crossed his arms, and looking down.

The howls of wolves calling for the pack suddenly resounded, breaking the silence. The wind was also getting stronger and stronger, blowing the carpet of dry leaves everywhere, revealing a bright red diamond.

No one told anyone. The two men simultaneously turned their backs and ran with both legs and arms, looking as if they were mimicking the movements of wolves.

The corner of Samson's lips curled up into a small smile and in a moment he jumped down next to the diamond and picked it up and put it back on his collar.

Although his movements were very agile, he exuded an elegant and polite look, not rushed or hasty.

- Girl, you're lucky. Let see.

Samson said as he approached the little girl and reached out to brush her messy blond hair that was hiding her dusty face and streaks of black smoke.

If he guessed correctly, this girl was only about eight or nine years old, and he didn't know how her parents took care of her and let her be taken away by traffickers.

- I will only take care of you until you wake up. Anyway, your blood is not of good quality.

He picked the girl up and glided quickly in the night wind and in an instant, the two of them appeared in front of the ancient castle.

As soon as he reached out to push the gate, two blue rays of light suddenly swept through and a woman's voice sounded as if she was laughing.

- Your taste has changed, right? Did you go to the place where people live to catch prey?

As soon as Maris finished speaking, she also stopped in front of Samson. She stared at the little girl in the arms of the owner of the gold-plated castle.

It had been a long time since Maris had seen a child because it had been twenty years since she had decided not to step foot in the place where humans lived.

- Sell this girl to me. I need someone to clean the house and yard so that I have time to take care of my beauty.

- How much are you going to pay me? – Samson narrowed his eyes and asked.

- How many bags of blood are enough? Because you need nothing more than blood. – Maris shrugged and said.

- Come inside and help me change her clothes.

Maris shrugged again and followed the handsome vampire into the castle.

This was the second time she had seen Samson bring a human to the castle.

A hundred years ago, he also saved a girl with blonde hair, but in the end, his care and affection for the girl were in vain.

When she discovered his identity as a vampire, she tried to escape and was torn apart by wolves.

Although the tragedy had tormented Samson for many years, Maris felt it was a good thing because if the girl escaped the forest, there would be no certainty of his safety.

The group of vampire hunters is still hiding everywhere.

The existence of two castles deep in the murky forest and separated from human view by a thick fog has been a secret for a thousand years.

- These dresses were prepared by you in advance, right? Samson, are you planning to raise an adopted child? – Maris exclaimed in surprise when she saw a large closet filled with elaborate dresses of all sizes.

- I entrust her to you. Don't hurt her.

He laid the little girl down on the bed and looked at Maris's long, sharp claws.

She nodded slightly and in an instant, her hand was back to normal, small and beautiful.

After Samson left, Maris immediately chose a simple dress and carried a basin of water to the bed to clean the little girl's body.

The speed of a female vampire was extremely agile, but because she was afraid that she would carelessly scratch the little girl, her movements were rather slow.

The human girl's face was as white as winter snow and her lips as red as lipstick and her long curled eyelashes made Maris admire her.

- If you stay here, I will be ranked second. Oh, this beauty does not seem to belong to the earth.

After Maris changed the new dress for the little girl, she quickly left the room.

She also did not forget to hold in her hand an old dress that was torn and burned in some places.

As Maris stepped out of the room, she saw Samson standing with his arms crossed and his back against the wall. From this angle, he looked even more prominent.

As soon as he heard Maris' clogs hit the precious wooden floor, he immediately turned to her.

- I just help her clean and change her clothes. When she wakes up, please wash her hair. – Maris laughed and said.

- Thank you. - Samson replied.

- I'm a little curious...

- If it's not your business, don't ask.

Maris's lips stretched as her question was interrupted by the handsome vampire. She just helped him change the little girl's clothes and now he's saying she wasn't involved?

Maris gave the dress to Samson and quickly left the castle because it was time for her to feed the owls late at night.

As she passed the living room, she saw a bottle of dried blood on the table and took it because she understood it was her reward.

Samson was always so fair from the day she met and knew him. Every time he asked her to do something, he would repay her with dried blood.

The sour smell of the rumpled dress in his hand almost made him vomit down the hallway. He also didn't understand what was wrong with his nose just now that he couldn't sense the mixed smell and he could hold that human girl. Compared to Maris's owls, it was even more terrifying.

- Ah… ah… ah…

The sound of a child's cry made Samson startle and rush into the room.

If he guessed correctly, the little girl must have woken up and realized she was in a strange place, so she was scared.

However, when the door opened, he saw the little girl was still closing her eyes, her hands were tightly clenched on the blanket and her mouth was constantly screaming, her forehead was wet with sweat even though the night air in the deep forest was extremely cold.

While Samson didn't know how to comfort the human girl, she grabbed his hand and held it tight.

In the end, he had to accept sitting next to her because he was worried that if he pulled his hand away, she would have nightmares again.

Under the golden candlelight, he noticed that on the little girl's neck was a gold chain with a star pendant.

His other hand was free, so he reached out and turned the star upside down.

Just as he thought, underneath was an extremely finely carved inscription.

- Lucasta? Is this your name, little girl?

Samson's gentle smile was like a flickering fire in the middle of a winter night.

This room once imprinted the footprints of the girl he loved with all his heart and also the girl he hated the most.

If the victim was an adult girl, he would have scared the two men and run away and then he would have left her to the god of luck. However, this girl is still too young.

- Samson, did you catch any of my owls? – Maris's question came from the small window.

- No. – He replied.

- Dammit. I just fed it half an hour late, and it left.

Maris sighed and continued walking around Samson's castle, her blue eyes constantly looking around.

After all, her neighbor was only him and he openly hated her owls.

He called them stinky and dirty, even though she cooked rose water and bathed them every day.

While Maris was depressed because she couldn't find the lost owl, it came back and sat on her shoulder.

The red water on the owl's beak startled her, and she quickly wiped it away with her hands and brought it back to her castle because she knew it had just eaten the vine that Samson loved most.