The Couple

A streak of crimson light shot across the sky.

"Aolei? Who is that? Who is this bastard, daring to anger Lady Aina..."

Niya hovered in midair, her scarlet eyes churning with murderous intent. The teddy bear in her arms let out a mournful sound of tearing fabric—its head had been twisted a hundred and eighty degrees backward, and a large gash had split open at the seam where head met body, spilling out a clump of cotton.

"Daring to humiliate me in front of Lady Aina... you will pay for this..." Niya hissed through clenched teeth, her fingertips digging deep into the teddy bear's body.

"No, wait. Lady Aina told me to bring him back... she probably wants to question him. I can't kill him yet." Niya suddenly remembered this and suppressed the boiling bloodlust rising in her chest.

"Right, first I need to complete Lady Aina's task. Lady Aina's matters are the most important."

Niya's wings snapped open with a violent beat, and layer upon layer of sonic booms erupted around her. Her petite figure shattered the sound barrier in an instant, tearing a vacuum-trail through the clouds.

Though she had flown dozens of kilometers in a fit of rage, Niya suddenly realized she had made a foolish mistake.

The Leyo family's territory was in the demon realm, but she had been summoned by Lady Aina to the human realm—that was quite a distance.

"Blood Refining Secret Art."

She raised a hand, and her blood coalesced before her into a magical array. Niya's petite figure vanished into it, the air rippling like water before returning to stillness.

...

Inside the great hall of Leyo Castle, the air suddenly grew thick and heavy. A petite figure stepped out of the blood mist that materialized out of nowhere.

"Lady Niya, what brings you here?" A handsome middle-aged man in an ornate crimson robe rubbed his hands together humbly, his face plastered with an ingratiating smile.

Seeing this scene, no one would ever guess that this man was the current head of the Leyo family, Anlu Leyo. Among the blood kin, he was a figure of considerable renown... but the one before him held far too high a station—one of only three dukes in existence among the blood kin, the Crimson Archduke Niya.

This was someone who could directly serve that Lady, carrying out the will of the Primogenitor herself.

"Hmph! Anlu, do you have any idea what you people have done!"

Niya demanded sharply.

Anlu blinked in confusion.

What had they done?

All this time, they had remained obedient under her management, never daring to defy any order, and all blood provisions for the clan were strictly obtained according to regulations...

"P-please enlighten me, Lady Niya," Anlu asked with a wounded expression. "If any member of the clan has violated the precepts, I will not go easy on them..."

Niya paused.

She didn't actually know what they had done to incur Lady Aina's wrath. She had only received Lady Aina's orders.

And because she didn't know, that was exactly why she was asking.

"Then let me ask you—does your family have someone named Aolei?" Niya's tone seemed to soften slightly, her fingertip idly tracing the teddy bear's mangled head.

"Aolei?" A hint of confusion flickered in Anlu's eyes as he searched his memory. "As far as I know, there is no one in the Leyo family bearing the name Aolei."

"Are you trying to shield that bastard?" Niya raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Impossible! Lady Niya, could there be some mistake? The Leyo family truly has no such person. I couldn't have misremembered." As the head of the house, he knew every descendant intimately.

"Are you implying that Lady Aina's orders could be wrong?" Niya's voice turned cold again.

"What? This is an order from the Primogenitor herself?" Anlu's expression shifted dramatically.

"What do you mean by that? You obey Lady Aina's orders, but you'd brush off mine?" Niya's face fell.

"Of course not, Lady Niya..." Anlu offered an apologetic smile and cleared his throat. "The entire Leyo family would walk through fire and water for you..."

Though it was terribly improper... the duchess was just too adorable, exactly like his little granddaughter throwing a tantrum.

It was genuinely hard to stay serious in front of her.

Soon, all the family members were hastily summoned by Anlu.

The main hall of the Leyo family was grand and gloomy, its tones dark, its towering vaulted ceiling adorned with ancient murals depicting the legend of the blood kin's Primogenitor. Massive marble pillars were carved with bat motifs, their stone bodies casting long shadows in the flickering candlelight. Deep crimson velvet curtains hung from the walls, embroidered with the Leyo family crest in golden thread.

Inside the hall, dozens of silver-haired, scarlet-eyed blood kin stood in silence, their whispered murmurings echoing beneath the arches.

"Why has the head summoned us so suddenly?"

"Who's that beside him? A new consort? Or an illegitimate child?"

"That's a possibility..."

Unbeknownst to them, Niya caught every word. Her fingertips unconsciously tightened, and a few more wisps of cotton leaked from the teddy bear's neck.

"Anlu, what is the meaning of this?" Niya's expression soured as she turned to him.

"Ah, whatever do you mean, Lady Niya?" Anlu made no move to silence his kin below, instead playing dumb.

"Is this the breeding of the Leyo family?" Niya said, her tone hostile. "Are you courting death, Anlu?"

Sensing the rising fury radiating from her, Anlu finally straightened up.

With a light cough from Anlu, the murmuring below fell silent.

"Show some respect! This is the one who serves the Primogenitor of the blood kin—the Crimson Archduke, Lady Niya!" Anlu then turned to Niya. "Some of the younger ones may never have had the honor of beholding your majestic presence. I hope you can forgive them."

Only then did Niya wave a hand dismissively. Though she felt a bit aggrieved at having been taken advantage of, she truly couldn't fault him for anything.

"Among you all," Anlu turned to his kin, his voice suddenly sharpening with authority, echoing through the silent hall, "does anyone here know someone called Aolei? Whoever holds him as their consort, hand him over now to Lady Niya, and you may yet receive leniency!"

At this moment, Anlu finally looked like a true head of the household, a stark contrast to the sycophant who had groveled before Niya moments ago.

"Aolei?"

"Whose consort is he?"

"Never heard of him..."

The kin exchanged glances, murmurings rising once more.

Just as Anlu's patience was about to run out, in the darkest corner of the hall, a gaunt figure raised a trembling hand. The kin around him parted like a tide, leaving him alone in the center of the open space.

"H-head of the house..." His voice was as thin as a thread, nearly dissolving into the shadows. "Aolei... he seems to be my consort..."