Chapter 3. Vampire's Servant

A long, long time ago, there lived a wicked, dark creature in the kingdom of Joseon. A man who lived by sucking human blood and killing them tragically. A cruel creature who would massacre hundreds of people in the blink of an eye without any hesitation just to satisfy his own desire. Every living being is terrified by just hearing his name. They would feel a goosebump just by talking about his existence.

Every night, people can't sleep because they're afraid he'll come to visit them and bite their neck. Even the king, the most powerful person in the kingdom, can't do much to fight him. Thus, the king becomes a shell who leads the country by following his every command. The king can only stay as the doll king by sitting still and watching all of his people get killed by the dark creature. The king can't do anything to oppose his will caused by the fear that the terrifying creature would also kill him. Helios, the vampire, is the name given to the cruel being.

"My lord, I give you an offering to serve you," said Minister Choi, bringing a beautiful little girl with him. They are standing together in the empty, dark cave. Even though it is a bright sunny day now, there is not a single light that could enter the cave. The air felt really humid and terrifying. The cave is only brightened by the light of the blasting fire.

"Hmm... who is she?" asked a deep, daunting voice of a man from the other side. He was sitting on the higher rock, which looked like a king's chair in front of the minister and the girl. He doesn't look interested at all. He does not really want to eat her because he just finished his meal of two virgins who he put in a pool of blood which is not far away from his throne.

"She is my daughter, Choi Moon Ryeong. She is really smart. I am sure she would serve you properly, my lord. " Minister Choi shows his polite bow in front of the vampire. He... who is always hungry for power, willingly gives his own child to the vampire in order to obtain his heart. He knows that Helios is the strongest creature in the kingdom, maybe even in the world. He is sure if he can get on his good side, it would benefit him a lot.

"A young child to serve me?" Helios lifted his chin and stared at the little girl.

His icy eyes pierced her. But yet she doesn't seem to be budging at all. In fact, she doesn't feel scared even when she watches two corpses of beautiful young girls in the pool of blood. She doesn't fear anything at all. Moon Ryeong keeps showing her dignity and flat expression. At first, he was actually not convinced to accept her as his servant. But looking at the little girl who dared to stare directly into his eyes without being scared actually intrigues him.

"Just go and leave her here," said the vampire to Minister Choi coldly.

"Yes?"Minister Choi is confused. He wants to use his brilliant daughter to impress the strong vampire. But if Helios just dismissed him like that, he was afraid that the vampire wanted to kill Moon Ryeong. He worries that he can't succeed in his plan to gain more power.

"I said leave her here." Helios put emphasis on his voice sternly. He warns the minister to go right away. His stern and cold voice terrified the man.

Moon Ryeong is also frozen in place. She is staring at her father from the corner of her eyes, not really sure if making even a slight move would be any good now. She is not sure why the vampire sounds angry. Well, he was always dissatisfied with everything. And now he wants her to be alone with him in the cave. What would he possibly do to her? She wonders.

"Ye... yes... my lord," minister Choi replied, his voice trembling. Even though it is difficult for him to abandon the girl to the monster, he does not want to risk his life by infuriating the vampire. Minister Choi takes some steps backward, then leaves the cave immediately.

After the departure of the minister, Moon Ryeong and Helios just kept silent on their own position. The handsome vampire keeps staring at the little girl intently while she lowers her gaze. She feels it would be improper for her to stare directly at the man who has become her master now.

Helios stood up from his throne and got down to walk toward her direction. When he was already in front of her, he walked around her and observed the girl from head to toe from all directions. He inhales her scent. She smells really good. She is an appealing meal for him. very young, pure, and lovely. Her blood surely feels really sweet.

"Are you not afraid that I would kill you here?" asked the vampire when he was already standing right in front of her again.

"If you are going to kill me, I will take it as my fate," said the girl calmly.

The day her father mentioned his will to give her to the vampire, she already felt dead inside. She knows that his father never got attached to her. He always wanted to have a son who could succeed in their blood line. But yet, his wife only gave birth to a daughter. She knows how greedy her father is. Handing his worthless daughter to a great vampire wouldn't be hard for him if he could get more power from that.

"Do you really want to serve me as your only lord?" Helios asked her again, lowering his upper body so he could match the girl's eye level.

"Yes, my lord," answered the little girl without any hesitation.

"Heh.. why?" the vampire asked again. Moon Ryeong swiftly shifted her gaze to look directly into his eyes. She is silent for a while, trying to figure out what would be the best answer to satisfy him.

"Truthfully, I know that you are the most powerful creature here. I know that even the king promised you that he and his ascendants would always give a special place to you for the price of your killing his enemies. There are no more people who could defeat you, my lord, so I think being by your side would be really good for me." She answered him with her honest opinion.

"So you do have something that you want from me, huh?" Helios shows his smile. He never thought that a little girl like her would try to gain a benefit from a monster like him.

"Isn't it natural for us to make an agreement for the price that benefits each other?" She answers him with another question.

"Haha true... Tell me your desire then. " Helios was really curious to know what that little girl wanted from him. What could a ten-year old girl really desire to make herself try to get into a contract with the most dreadful creature in the world?

"Make me become the next queen of this kingdom," she told Helios her wish. He tilts his head and frowns his eyebrows. Becoming a queen sure is a really tempting deal for every girl in Joseon. But he is still curious about the reason behind her wish. Is she merely wanting the position because of the fame, wealth, and prosperity that come with being the wife of a great king?

"Rather than becoming a queen, why don't you ask me to give you more than that? I can give you everything in the world," said Helios, showing off his power. Moon Ryeong falls silent for a second before looking straight at the vampire. He shows her his prideful expression and arrogant smile.

"I just want to have a higher position than my father." She replied.

"I was sick of him using his power to get everything he desired by using my exsistance as his own daughter." Helios nods his head. So Moon Ryeong wanted to have more power than her father. Minister Choi offers her to him in order to get power, and she is secretly stabbing her father's back to gain more power than him to oppose her own father. It somehow sounds really interesting to Helios.

"And your offer to me is?" Ask the vampire to demand more benefits from humans who want to use his power as a dark and cruel creature.

"I am offering you my life. I would give you all of my life to serve you and help you fulfill your desires. You can use me all you want and order me to do everything," said the little girl without even blinking. She looked so sure about what she said. She never even imagined that someday in the future, there would be a time when she wanted to kill him.

Since that day, the little girl has spent all of her time serving the vampire in his cave. She had to witness his cruelity with her own eyes. There is the time when Moon Ryeong prepares the pool of warm water before he brings his prey and bathes in her blood. Helios mostly takes beautiful young women as his meals because their blood feels sweet and addicted. But there are also times when Helios brings men to his cave. He chose to hang the man at his feet, then slash his neck with his sharp nail. He would order Moon Ryeong to collect each drop of blood in a bowl and help him drink it.

Moon Ryeong has to deal with the strong fishy smell of blood every day and watch people die in a tragic way. But yet, she never showed any fear to Helios nor mercy to the victims. She just does what Helios orders her to do without any more questions and lives her life on the dark side of Joseon by accompanying the vampire everyone is terrified of.