"Excuse me, sir Gabriel. Could I have a moment of your time?"
It was some woman's voice. Gabriel figured it was one of Rachel's attendants, so he opened the door, spotting a short blonde vampire woman in a maid outfit. She smiled at him, and said:
"Thank you for opening the door, sir. It's, um... My name's Sarah, and I'm one of house Vermillion's head chefs. I was just wondering... Do you have a certain preference in food, and is there anything you hate?"
Gabriel paused for a moment.
"Do you mean that we can actually eat food?"
She tilted her head slightly. "Yes? Vampires can eat normal food too. It's just that we can't handle spices very well, as it messed with our Blood Manipulation. That's why we use blood to season our food."
'I thought I'd be on a blood only diet... I'm glad.'
"Well, then I don't think I have any problems eating anything."
Sarah smiled, then took a step and pulled over a cart filled with food. There was meat, dessert, and even some weird gelatin dishes.
"I figured you hadn't eaten today, so I brought some food for tonight. If you don't mind, I'll leave this here, and I'll pick it up once the sun starts to rise. Is that fine with you, mister Gabriel?" Sarah asked kindly.
He was taken aback by so much respect and kindness. Though, by the time he snapped out of it, Sarah had already left. He pushed the tray of food over to his bed, and with a slightly reluctant look, he took a bite.
To his surprise, the food tasted amazing, almost better than when he was a human. It was definitely because of the lack of spices, since the blood seasoning more than made up for it.
It was actually so good that Gabriel couldn't stop himself from trying everything on the tray, until finally, there was not even a single crumb left.
His belly was full, and so now, for the whole night, Gabriel was determined to practice his Blood Manipulation.
***
By the time morning came, Gabriel was now proficient in at least controlling the blood he spilled. He couldn't do it for very long periods of time, but for now, this was much more than he could've done when he first started.
A knock resounded on his door, and when he got up and opened it, he saw Sarah again. This time, her appearance was a bit more tidy, and above all else, her eyes weren't as crimson as they were yesterday. They were more like a bright red.
"Did you enjoy the food?" she asked.
Gabriel nodded. "It was delicious. Not the bread though... I'm not really a fan of soggy bread."
Sarah let out a chuckle. "Bread to vampires is what broccoli is to humans. Every vampires hates it, but it's very healthy for you."
'My mom did this before... I'm not falling for it a second time.'
"I'll take the tray away now. Also, sir Gabriel, Rachel wants to see you. She's in her garden. She mentioned that it's important."
He gave her a thumbs up and let her take his tray away. As for Gabriel, he began walking toward Rachel's room since he had no idea where the garden was. But he hoped that by following the hallway, he'd find it.
Thankfully, he was right, since at the very end of the hallway was a nice archway leading to a giant garden. There were dozens of flowers of all kinds scattered around, and amongst them, was Rachel.
She was crouched down by some roses. Without turning to him, she said:
"We might have a little teeny tiny problem?"
"That problem is...?"
"Remember when I said I saved you from the other Vampire Nobles who were in the area? Well... It turns out some of them noticed, and now, they're on their way to our estate." Rachel brushed her hand across a rose, and finally stood up.
In the meantime, Gabriel just stared at her. 'I heard vampires don't get along, the same is with Vampire Nobles. If they're coming here, then there's definitely going to be a fight...'
"I learned how to use Blood Manipulation a little, but I don't know if I'll be very helpful. I'm a little too weak."
Rachel raised a brow. "You can use Blood Manipulation already? Ah... Can you show me?"
Gabriel nodded, and then bit the tip of his finger. In the next instant, he controlled a small wave of blood and made it fly around her head, forming a rough, unstable blood crown. Then, he brought the blood back into his finger and sealed the wound shut.
"Woah... You're a really fast learned. Wait, since you managed to do this, then it's only a matter of time before you can use the other things as well." Rachel gestured for him to approach. "I guess I can let you in on a few secrets, come here."
He skeptically approached her, and then froze when she suddenly grabbed his hand an began explaining.
"The main special traits of Vampire Nobles are Kin Creation, Blood Storage, and Blood Domain. Ah, Sunlight Immunity too, I guess. You don't have access to most of them yet, since you're too young, but you'll be able to use them soon."
She raised a finger. "Blood Absorption, Damage Reduction, Damage Enhancement, and lastly, Evolvable Blood Manipulation. That's what every vampire has, and you do too. Yours is just way better than the others, and it'll become even better the more you workout your body, or practice your Blood Manipulation."
Rachel paused for a moment, then put her finger over her cheek. Only then did Gabriel realized her cheeks had turned slightly red.
"Ahem... Now as for the blood funneling you mentioned earlier... The reason why we can do it, and why it works, is because the moment I shared my blood with you, and even infused my bloodline into your body... We got married, and so when we share blood, the effect is exponentially enhanced."
Gabriel felt like he had misheard. But he quickly realized she was dead serious.
"So let me get this straight, you stabbed me through the chest, kidnapped me, and then forced me to marry you?"
At his words, Rachel tilted her head.
"Yes? Isn't it obvious?"