Sarka loved his mother.
Because his mother loved him so very much.
While disciplining his siblings as if she would kill them all, she had never once gotten angry at or scolded Sarka.
Because Sarka was his mother’s only legitimate heir.
Among his mother’s children, Sarka was the only one who had received the Complete Pureblood grade.
This also meant that Sarka was his mother’s most cherished child, and her only cherished child.
In the Leogrante household, the power of the successor was absolute.
Breaking children’s legs and making them crawl on the floor for being late to breakfast or talking back to their mother without following etiquette—these were justified punishments.
The woman who would crush siblings’ tongues and shatter their jaws for a single slip of the tongue would generously listen to anything Sarka said.
Even when he occasionally broke etiquette, she would ask for reasons, believe him, understand him, and forgive him.
She always asked Sarka what he wanted, showed interest in him, and tried to grant even somewhat unreasonable requests if they came from Sarka.
How could he dare doubt that such a woman did not love him?
When his mother became violent in a bad mood, only Sarka could soothe her.
One day, while Sarka was out, his mother had gone half-mad with rage and rampaged, threatening to kill all the siblings.
Eventually, the servants sent by his mother’s spouse urgently sought out Sarka for help, and when Sarka rushed home, the living room was already a complete mess.
“Mother.”
At his quiet call, his mother finally stopped her screaming. His mother turned her head and looked at Sarka.
“…Sarka?”
As their eyes met, the green eyes that had been colored with rage and madness subsided for a moment.
His mother, who had been looking at Sarka while catching her breath, soon turned her head again, unable to overcome the surging anger, and roared at the siblings.
“If only you resembled even half of Sarka! If you had followed even Sarka’s footsteps, I wouldn’t say anything!
You worthless things who can only stuff your faces and irritatingly chatter…”
As his excited mother began screaming again, Sarka remained silent and turned his gaze away.
Only after a long while did his mother, having poured out all the words in her throat, pant and catch her breath.
His mother, who had barely calmed down, glared at the siblings with a hateful gaze before turning around.
His mother, who looked back at Sarka, walked toward him with a piercing expression and reached out to embrace her son.
“Come here, Sarka. How much Mother has…”
Sarka stepped back half a step, avoiding her hand.
His mother hesitated.
Sarka looked up at his mother obliquely and asked quietly.
“…You’re not thinking of hugging me with those hands, are you?”
His mother, who finally looked down at her own hands, let out an empty laugh at her palms covered in blood and hair.
His mother, who had now regained her reason, wiped the blood splattered on her face with hand movements so elegant it was hard to believe she was the woman who had just been trying to flay the siblings’ skin, and tidied her hair with a slightly embarrassed air.
His mother, who brushed the bloodstains on her sleeves, let out a light breath and obediently admitted.
“Yes, I’m quite a sight.”
Sarka quietly stepped back to clear the entrance and gently gestured toward the bathroom.
“Please go wash up. I spent the entire morning choosing a gift for you, and I was hoping you’d receive it with a more dignified appearance.”
At the polite request, a faint smile appeared on his mother’s lips.
His mother, who pulled and straightened her crumpled clothing and raised her chin, answered affectionately as if tilting her head, as if she had never acted violently.
“Yes… I should maintain courtesy toward my son.”
His mother, who turned around gracefully, went up to the bathroom with elegant steps.
As his mother disappeared beyond the stairs, Sarka, who finally erased the smile from his lips, turned around.
Sarka, who looked around at the siblings sprawled in the living room sobbing in miserable states, asked quietly.
“What was the problem?”
His mother’s spouse, who had been sobbing in the corner, answered in a tear-filled voice.
“She was sitting in the study, and the voices coming up from the backyard seemed to irritate her. Today the children were playing a somewhat noisy game…”
“Did you call a healer?”
“They’re waiting outside. However, without the mistress’s permission, we cannot have them treated…”
Looking at his mother’s spouse who was paralyzed with fear, Sarka spoke calmly.
“If Mother asks, tell her I instructed you. I’ll also make it so that I called the healer on my way here. Have dinner sent up to Mother’s room so she can dine with me alone, and it would be best to be careful that my siblings don’t encounter Mother until tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, young master. …Please… take care of the mistress.”
His mother’s spouse, who had finally calmed down, bowed in greeting.
As the nannies and tutors gathered up the siblings, the servants began wiping away the bloodstains.
Sarka, who confirmed that all the siblings had been carried outside, turned around.
Sarka, who stopped at the door, caught his breath for a moment as if controlling his tension.
After organizing his mind and nodding briefly, the servants reported inside.
Soon permission was granted and the door opened.
His mother, freshly washed, sat like a painting wearing a splendid indoor gown. It was such a refined scene that the recent mess was unbelievable.
“…Did I accidentally open Lady Lobelia’s room?”
At the joke, his mother smiled elegantly.
“I must maintain dignity to meet my son. …Is this enough?”
His mother spread her arms in a playful gesture, showing off her elegant sleeves. Sarka smiled back and entered.
After carefully conversing with his mother, Sarka soon realized what the fundamental problem was.
Some time ago, after the second Complete Pureblood daughter they had barely obtained died before reaching one year old, that rage had been redirected toward the low-bloodline siblings.
Even vampires, whose average lifespan was much higher than humans due to advanced medicine and self-healing abilities, had infant mortality rates similar to or sometimes higher than humans.
It was because of a symptom called Germination Disease.
A newborn vampire baby was no different from a human. They couldn’t use supernatural powers, and their bloodline couldn’t be measured.
But over time, the baby would experience Germination Disease, where heat flowers bloomed all over their body and supernatural powers manifested, and they would awaken as a vampire.
Low-bloodline vampire babies manifested supernatural powers within a few months after symptoms like a mild cold, but the higher the bloodline grade, the later this Germination Disease occurred and the more serious the symptoms.
For Complete Pureblood grade, they would awaken as vampires after suffering a near-death high fever almost a year after birth, or they would die unable to endure that period.
Because many vampire babies, especially those with higher bloodlines, died unable to overcome this Germination Disease, the population of each class decreased exponentially as bloodline grades increased.
One reason why Complete Pureblood, the highest bloodline, was treated as the rarest and most precious existence in vampire society was that.
Sarka, around the time he turned one year old, successfully overcame the severe Germination Disease and awakened as a Complete Pureblood vampire.
However, Sarka’s siblings from the second spouse began showing Germination Disease within just a few months.
True to the quickly arriving Germination Disease, all survived after mild symptoms, but their bloodlines were all markedly lower than their mother’s.
When the children she had carried in her womb for ten months began receiving only Pureblood or Muddled Pureblood, even Mixed Blood grades, his mother was enraged.
His mother, who believed this must be the Helper’s fault since she had the track record of giving birth to Complete Pureblood Sarka, mercilessly divorced and expelled the second spouse.
The Helper brought in through the third duel had a submissive personality, and his mother obtained one daughter through him.
When Germination Disease didn’t come to the youngest daughter even after over a year, his mother intuited the child was a Complete Pureblood and began to get excited.
But the joy was brief. When Germination Disease began, the child couldn’t overcome the severe fever.
When the Complete Pureblood child obtained after a long wait futilely stopped breathing, his mother screamed and couldn’t emerge from grief for several months.
Though she gradually recovered with Sarka’s comfort and encouragement from those around her, after that child’s death, his mother’s anger toward the siblings had approached hatred.
His mother couldn’t endure the fact that her legitimate heir who had perfectly inherited her bloodline had died, while the defective ones who had failed to inherit Complete Pureblood remained alive and well, laughing and chattering.
She found the siblings irritating just for breathing, and would pick on them for anything and interrogate them.
Today’s mess was ultimately like that too. His mother vented her longing for the lost daughter, saying she couldn’t bear it because every time she heard the voices of the defective ones, she was reminded of her youngest daughter’s eyes.
Her eyes soaked in rage and madness were fierce.
Sarka carefully took his mother’s hand, met those eyes, and whispered quietly.
“I’m here, Mother. …Am I not enough?”
His mother, who turned her head, looked at Sarka and let out a deep sigh.
His mother, who shook her head faintly, clasped Sarka’s hand and made an expression asking how he could ask such a question.
“Sarka…”
His mother’s voice, raising her other hand to stroke her son’s cheek, trembled wetly.
Pain and resentment rose again in her eyes as she looked at Sarka.
His mother, who bit her teeth, whispered in a voice filled with murderous intent, her green eyes glistening.
“…Let’s keep only you. The others aren’t needed. They’re just bothersome and irritating. …Let’s get rid of them all.”
There was sincere murderous intent in that voice. Sarka swallowed dryly.
Sarka, who quietly grasped and lowered the hand stroking his cheek, carefully met her eyes.
“Mother. Even if their grades are low, they inherited your genes, so once they become Helpers, if they’re lucky, they’ll produce better bloodlines in the next generation.
Wouldn’t eliminating Helpers who received your genes be too great a loss to vampire society?”
His mother stared silently at her son who spoke calmly.
Sarka, who noticed the anger and murderous intent still hadn’t faded from her face, carefully stroked his mother’s arm.
Looking straight into green eyes identical to his own, Sarka spoke gently.
“You and I are Complete Purebloods. We are the brightest stars that will illuminate vampire society.
Great stars establish the order of the night sky. I learned that no matter how dim a star is, we must not carelessly disturb the constellation by dropping a star that maintains its position.
It must be upsetting, but please calm your heart for my sake. Didn’t you personally teach me that Leogrante vampires must not make decisions swept up by emotions?”
His mother stared silently at her son for a long while.
The green eyes identical to her own were composed, and the voice was elegant.
A faint satisfaction rose in the eyes of his mother, who had been quietly watching her son speak coherently without a single disturbance.
His mother, who let out a light breath, reached out and swept back Sarka’s silver hair.
His mother, who had been looking into Sarka’s face for a long while, whispered in a soft voice.
“…You’re completely right, Sarka.”
It was a voice full of affection beyond compare.
Sarka felt faint relief as he looked at his mother’s eyes that were beginning to stabilize.
His mother stroked her son’s cheeks and hair as if caressing a carefully carved sculpture.
Sweeping down the silver hair gently wrapping behind her son’s ear, his mother whispered in a voice full of arrogant pride.
“We are great stars. With generous hearts… we must shine upon the dust of the world.”
His mother, who released Sarka’s hair, smiled gently.
Sarka, who noticed his mother’s mood had improved, also smiled gently along.
“…The mother I respect has finally returned.”
His mother quietly pulled Sarka’s head and kissed his forehead.
Sarka was finally completely relieved.
That evening, dining together in his mother’s room, Sarka succeeded in completely turning around his mother’s mood.
His mother, who tore open Sarka’s gift and ordered wine glasses to be brought in her excitement, enjoyed herself half-drunk before falling asleep.
Confirming his mother had completely fallen asleep, Sarka carefully left the room and closed the door.
“The siblings?”
When he asked in a lowered voice, the butler who had been waiting outside the door until late hours answered.
“They’ve finished treatment and retired to bed. They’ll be fine. You worked hard, young master.”
“You all worked hard. Everyone rest.”
As Sarka nodded and commanded, the relieved servants finally dispersed.
It was always like that.
The siblings didn’t dare even speak to Sarka.
How old had he been? At a breakfast gathering, a Mixed Blood grade sibling who was conversing with Sarka had accidentally made a reply that violated etiquette.
His enraged mother, saying she would re-teach manners, barehanded shattered that child’s jawbone.
“Did you think Sarka was your friend? How dare you be rude to my son!”
The grip strength of his mother, a Physical Complete Pureblood, could break steel. The sibling whose jawbone was shattered received treatment within an hour and returned with a clean face, but the shock that scene gave the siblings was indelible.
The siblings carefully avoided Sarka, and Sarka also avoided the siblings when possible.
When he, who received his mother’s favor, and the siblings who received his mother’s hatred were entangled in one place, no matter what they did or how they did it, it irritated his mother’s eyes. It was better for Sarka to monopolize his mother’s attention and remove the siblings from her sight.
At every breakfast, Sarka continued to speak to his mother and worked to draw her attention to himself so that his mother’s interest wouldn’t turn toward the siblings.
While his mother was absorbed in conversation with Sarka, the best consideration Sarka could provide was to allow the siblings to quietly finish their meals away from her gaze.
The siblings were always existences that came and disappeared silently like shadows.
Only Sarka received kisses from his mother during morning greetings and could kiss her. The siblings were just nominal attendants who came to greet her.
His mother always conversed only with Sarka, smiled only at Sarka, and showed interest only in Sarka.
She couldn’t even properly remember the ages of the other siblings, and occasionally confused their names.
The siblings all resigned themselves and lived according to their respective bloodline grades.
Everything in the house operated according to strict discipline and etiquette.
Sarka always organized and tended to them so they wouldn’t become disordered.
Everything had to be in its place so as not to provoke his mother’s anger.
Sarka knew clearly what would happen if that pyramid rashly became distorted.
Just one. How the one sibling who attempted to refuse their position had met their end.
