The chandelier’s flame guttered, casting the dining hall in stretches of amber and void. Rain lashed against the stained glass, each drop a tiny, frantic fist. Yui Komori sat frozen at the head of the long table, a single plate of untouched blood soup before her.
Laito’s smile was a crescent of sharp white. “Liar. I can hear your heart. It’s pounding like a caged bird.” He reached out, one pale finger tracing the collar of her dress. “You’re always so deliciously afraid.”
Because he was here.
She didn't dare lift her spoon.
A single tear slipped down Yui’s cheek. It landed on the table with a sound softer than the rain.
“I’m… not hungry,” she whispered, her voice a fragile thing.
The air changed first—thickening with the scent of antique roses and copper. Then came the sound: the soft, deliberate click of a heel on the marble floor. She didn't need to look up. She knew the cadence of that walk. The predator’s patience.
And Laito laughed—a low, velvet sound—before his fangs finally sank in. This piece captures the key dynamics: psychological torment, intimate horror, and the twisted codependency between the vampire and his “sacrificial bride.”