My Three Beautiful Vampire Wives can hear my Inner Thoughts-Chapter 117: Taking Faith

The grand hall of the Moonshade Blood Tower remained crowded, thick with the scent of iron and incense, the air heavy with pride and suspicion.

Tall pillars carved from dark stone stretched toward a ceiling painted with scenes of ancient victories.

Crimson banners hung between them, each embroidered with the Moonshade crest, a crescent blade cutting through a rising tide of blood. Candles burned in silver holders, their flames steady yet casting long shadows that danced across the polished floor.

Cain stepped inside quietly, though the sound of his boots still echoed faintly. His eyes moved at once, scanning the room with sharp focus.

He already understood what he was seeing.

The pure blood nobles stood gathered near the center, their robes rich and detailed, their expressions guarded. Those sent outside to subdue the chaos were the halfling nobles, the blood soldiers, the blood servants, and the blood slaves.

The true lineage of Moonshade had remained within these walls, guarded by status and confidence.

His gaze searched for one person.

Cornelia.

He spotted her near the front, standing among other young nobles. Her curly brown hair caught the candlelight, and her face held tension she tried to hide. She was speaking to an older woman beside her, though her eyes often drifted toward the entrance as if waiting for news.

Cain did not hesitate.

He sprinted forward, weaving through clusters of murmuring nobles, ignoring the startled looks thrown in his direction.

Then he passed someone.

And his body stopped before his mind could.

It was as though time slowed.

Long black hair fell down her back like ink poured over silk. Her skin was pale, almost luminous under the candlelight. She wore a simple dark dress that followed her form without decoration, yet it did not need any. She stood straight, hands folded before her, her expression calm yet distant.

Faith.

The world narrowed around her.

Cain felt his breath catch in his throat. The noise of the hall faded into a dull hum. He could see only her, as if the rest of reality had blurred into nothing.

"Faith..." he murmured under his breath.

A heartbeat passed.

"Moonshade."

Her name felt heavy on his tongue, filled with years he had buried deep within himself.

And in that instant, the past flooded him.

He saw them as children again, running through the dark rosy garden behind the tower. The roses had always bloomed deep crimson, even at night, their petals catching the faint moonlight.

They would hide behind marble statues, laughing as they played hide and seek. Faith had always been faster. Always sharper.

"Cain, you are too slow!" she would call out, her laughter bright as bells.

He would chase her, pretending to be offended. "I let you win!"

"You always say that!"

They would pick up wooden practice swords and clash clumsily, their small hands trembling with excitement. Faith would lunge forward boldly, her strikes wild but full of spirit. Cain would block and stumble, and she would grin proudly when she managed to tap his shoulder.

"I win again," she would say, standing tall despite her tiny size.

As the years passed, their games became training.

The wooden swords were replaced with real steel. Their laughter grew softer, replaced by focus. Faith’s talent began to show in ways that left the elders whispering.

"She is a darling of the Moonshade line."

"Her blood purity is extraordinary."

"Her control is beyond her age."

Cain watched her advance through mana mastery stages with a speed that left him breathless. At first, he kept up. He trained until his muscles trembled, pushed his blood until his veins burned, refused to fall behind.

They would sit together on the stone steps at dusk, exhausted from sparring.

"Cain," she once said softly, her eyes reflecting the red sky, "do you think we will always stay like this?"

He had laughed then. "Of course. I will not lose to you forever."

She smiled at that, but there was something deeper in her gaze.

Years passed again.

Faith began to attend meetings with elders. She was praised openly in the grand hall. Her name was spoken with respect. Cain’s was not.

He began to feel the distance.

Not because she changed, but because the world around them did.

He saw how the elders treated her like a treasure. He saw how other young nobles looked at her with admiration. He heard the whispers when he walked by.

"He is only a side branch."

"His blood is thin."

"Why does she spend time with him?"

Cain trained harder.

He bled more.

He forced himself forward.

Still, Faith advanced faster.

Then came the night she stood before him in the garden once more, older now, her long hair brushing against her waist.

"Cain," she said quietly, her voice steady but her fingers trembling slightly.

He had felt his heart pounding.

"Yes?"

"Will you become my husband one day?"

The words struck him harder than any blade.

He remembered staring at her, stunned. He remembered the warmth in her eyes, the sincerity.

And he remembered the shame that flooded him.

He saw the gap between them. The darling of Moonshade and a lowly branch vampire. He imagined the ridicule.

The rejection from elders.

The way they would look at her.

He could not bear the thought of dragging her down.

"I... cannot," he had said.

He remembered the way her expression faltered.

"I need to become stronger first," he added quickly. "I will get along first with your sisters before I face you."

He made that vow to himself that night. He would rise. He would prove his worth. He would return to her not as a burden but as an equal.

But fate did not wait.

She died.

The news came like a blade to the heart.

A mission gone wrong.

An ambush.

Blood spilled on foreign soil.

She died.

The last member of the Moonshade family died, hunted by the Crimson Blood King army back in his past life.

He had not been there.

But even if he’s there... He’d be helpless...

He was her greatest regret.

And she was his.

The memory stabbed deep, but Cain forced himself back to the present.

This was not the time to think about those time.

He stepped forward.

"You come with me," he said firmly.

Faith turned toward him, her brows drawing together. She did not recognize him. His face was altered by disguise magic. His aura masked.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice calm but wary.

He did not answer.

He reached out, grasped her wrist, and pulled her toward him.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

He moved fast, drawing her close and then leaping back toward the entrance.

"Help!" Faith cried out instinctively.

The hall froze.

Pure blood nobles stared in shock as an unknown soldier grabbed one of their finest and fled.

Outside, Cain moved swiftly through the corridors, using a gentle current of blood magic to shield her body from sudden force. He would not let even a single strand of her hair be harmed.

Faith struggled fiercely.

"Release me!" she shouted, twisting in his grip.

Her blood surged, forming sharp crimson blades in the air around her.

They shot toward him.

Cain turned his body slightly, evading with precise footwork. He raised his hand and deflected one blade with a thin barrier of condensed blood energy.

"You dare attack a Moonshade noble?" she yelled, fury blazing in her eyes.

"I would never harm you," he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

Another wave of blood spears formed around her.

She launched them without hesitation.

Cain ducked, twisted, and parried each one with careful control, redirecting their path so they shattered against walls instead of flesh. He refused to counterattack.

He only defended.

Faith grew more frustrated.

"Stop running!"

She attempted to pull free, channeling blood into her legs to break his grip. Cain responded by wrapping a soft band of energy around her wrists, binding them just enough to halt her motion.

"Unhand me!" she snapped, her voice echoing down the corridor.

She drove her knee toward his side.

He caught it with his palm and gently pushed her leg down.

"Calm down," he said, though his own heart raced wildly.

Her eyes widened at his tone, something faintly familiar in it, but she pushed the thought aside.

She gathered power again, this time forming a wide arc of blood that swept toward him like a blade of liquid steel.

Cain leaped backward, pulling her with him, and the attack sliced through the stone floor where he had stood.

"You are strong," she said through clenched teeth. "Who are you?"

He did not answer.

He moved faster now, carrying her through the final corridor and out into the open courtyard where chaos still lingered.

Rampaging vampires still fought those trying to restrain them. The effects of the Blood Moon had not fully faded. Growls and cries filled the air. Their roars were echoing to the ground they are now standing on.

Worse, their blood Mana.

They are dense.

Strong.

And wildly uncontrolled.

Faith saw the scene and faltered for a moment.

"What happened here..." she whispered.

Cain slowed, setting her down gently while maintaining the soft bindings around her wrists.

He looked across the battlefield, watching as soldiers restrained their comrades instead of killing them. No bodies lay exploded on the ground.

He exhaled deeply.

"They are not yet killing each other," he murmured.

Faith stared at him. "You know something about this."

He turned his head slightly, his voice low but firm.

"Time to cure them."