Raven Nox Margrave, head of a vampire margrave house, has spent eight years burying every emotion behind a mask of ice. To him, a fiancée is nothing more than a contract—a blood-sealed arrangement for the sake of the house, renewable every three years, dissolvable only by the council of the Seven Blood Covenant families. Love has no place in it.
But on the night he rides out to receive his bride-to-be, an ancient contract vanishes from the archive without a trace of tampering. A wolf howls from
Fiancé Before Dawn - The Dawn of the Contract — With the Hand You Chose
The air before dawn was a blade.
Yuu stood before the Gate of Dawn, Raven's hand clamped around his wrist. Cold from the flagstones crawled up through the soles of his bare feet. And yet the wrist Raven held burned like fire.
Each of Raven's fingers dug deep into Yuu's slender wrist. Hard enough to make the bones creak. The pain wasn't unwelcome. It felt like the one certain proof that Raven was here, now, with him.
Before the gate stood an old woman, her silver-white hair pulled back tight.
Olga Vesper. Raven's grandmother, and the head of this house. The stone tip of the cane in her hand was carved in the same crest that marked the back of Raven's left hand. Her gray eyes glinted cold in the half-dark.
"…Is your departure prepared, before the Gate of Dawn opens?"
Her voice was low and heavy, and it made the frozen air tremble. Yuu shrank back. Olga's gaze wasn't on Yuu—only on Raven. Not a word about the contract, not a word about the house's laws. Just a confirmation of departure. Nothing more.
Raven didn't answer.
Instead, still holding Yuu's wrist, he stepped half a pace forward.
"…Grandmother."
His voice was flat, the same as always.
But Yuu could tell. Raven's hand was gripping his wrist a little tighter than before. The fingers were trembling, faintly.
Yuu looked up at Raven's profile. Short, near-black brown hair. Eyes tinged with red. In the dim light, that profile was as still as a carved statue. Not a single brow moved. His lips stayed pressed firmly together.
"I'm breaking the contract."
The words were too quiet, and too clear, ringing through the pre-dawn air.
For an instant, nothing could be heard. The wind, the footsteps of the night watch, the distant howl of the mist wolves—all of it vanished. Only Raven's words remained in the world.
Yuu's heart gave one great leap.
Olga didn't move. Her gray eyes fixed on Raven. The chill before dawn deepened another degree.
"…What did you just say?"
"I'm breaking the contract. I'm not giving Yuu back."
Raven's voice didn't waver.
"I choose Yuu."
Those words drove deep into Yuu's chest.
Heat rose behind his eyes. A sharp ache stung the back of his nose. His vision blurred, slowly. Yuu bit down on his lip.
Olga narrowed her eyes, slowly.
"…Do you understand what breaking a contract means?"
"I understand."
"It means casting aside the laws of this house. It shakes the order of the Seven Blood Covenant families to its foundations. This won't end as a problem for your house alone. The Covenant Audit Office will move. Your assets will be seized—you'll lose this mansion, your family name, everything."
Each of Olga's words dropped into Yuu's chest like lead. His heart leaped again—this time, for a different reason.
"R-Raven, I—I can't let you—"
Yuu's voice was shaking.
Raven cut him off.
"I know all of it."
Flat, brief words.
"To protect the house, I let Yuu go. I thought that was my duty. But I was wrong."
Only then did Raven turn toward Yuu. His red-tinged eyes caught Yuu straight on.
"What I should protect isn't the house, and it isn't the law. It's the one standing right in front of me."
Yuu forgot to breathe. Something hot swelled in his chest. Emotions churned together into a mess, threatening to spill over as tears.
"…Raven."
He couldn't say anything more.
After a long silence, Olga slowly opened her mouth.
"…You'll regret this."
That was all. A low voice, stripped of feeling.
"It's because I think of the house that I ought to stop you. But if you've said that much, I have no right to stop you. …Do as you like."
Olga tapped her cane against the flagstones with a small clack. The tiny sound echoed strangely loud in the pre-dawn stillness.
"But don't forget. The law is the law. Those who break it always pay the price. …You'll learn for yourself what waits at the end of the path you've chosen."
Leaving only those words, Olga turned her back. The hem of her black garments swayed faintly in the cold wind.
"At least try not to regret it."
She vanished into the depths of the mansion without a single attendant. The sound of her cane receded. Clack. Clack. Before long, even that was gone.
Only Raven and Yuu remained before the gate.
For a while, neither spoke.
Raven was still holding Yuu's wrist. As firmly as ever.
As if to confirm that warmth, Yuu gently laid his own fingers over Raven's. Raven stirred, faintly. But he didn't let go.
"…Raven."
He called, softly.
"Thank you."
A single tear traced down his cheek.
"I can't give you anything back, Raven. You threw away everything for me, and I—"
His voice trembled.
"I'm sorry. Because of me, you—"
"…You're wrong."
Raven cut him off, shortly.
"I chose this. It isn't your fault."
"But—!"
"You told me not to send you back. If not for those words, I would have obeyed the contract. …You're the one who made me take your hand."
The words seeped slowly into Yuu's chest. Without even wiping his tears, Yuu looked up at Raven's face.
"…I swear I'll never make you regret choosing me."
His voice shook, but it was clear.
"I'll live for you, Raven. No matter what happens, I won't leave your side."
Raven said nothing. Only, the hand gripping Yuu's wrist tightened—just a little.
That was Raven's answer.
*Gogogogo…*
A heavy sound broke the pre-dawn stillness. The mansion's gate was opening. The night-watch attendants had turned out in full force, pushing the great iron doors apart.
Yuu caught his breath. The gate, which should always be shut before dawn, was now being opened—for him and Raven.
"…Let's go."
Still holding Yuu's wrist, Raven started walking. Yuu followed that first step with all his might. Cold flagstones beneath his bare feet. But he wasn't cold. The heat of Raven's hand warmed him from the inside out.
The gate swung fully open.
And in that instant—
A single ray of light came slanting down from the eastern sky.
Pale golden light, from beyond the misty forest, slowly began to illuminate the mansion's gate.
"…Ah."
Yuu stopped without thinking.
The light of dawn dyed Raven's profile gold. His near-black brown hair caught the light and shone, faintly. His red-tinged eyes, in the morning light, looked clear as rubies.
Raven in the darkness of night was frighteningly beautiful. But Raven in the light of dawn had a soft beauty entirely unlike that.
Raven looked straight into the dawn. For a vampire, direct sunlight burns the skin and drains his strength. And yet Raven didn't retreat a single step. He walked out into the light.
"Raven, is the light—are you all right…?"
"…A little is no problem."
He answered flatly and faced forward.
"Besides, you're beside me. Dawn doesn't frighten me."
Yuu's chest tightened with a pang. This time he squeezed back on the wrist he held. Raven's eyes widened, faintly. But at once, he faced forward again.
And on that profile, the corner of his mouth seemed to loosen—just a little.
Yuu couldn't be sure. But just thinking so made something in his chest glow warm.
The two of them walked on through the light of dawn, side by side. Not as fiancés bound by a contract—but with hands they had chosen of their own will.
After they passed through the gate and had walked a while, Yuu steeled himself and spoke.
"Um, Raven."
"…What."
"If you break the contract, what happens to you?"
His voice was still a little shaky. But he thought he had to know. He hated the idea of being the only one who didn't know the price Raven would now have to bear.
Raven was silent for a moment. The dawn light stretched their shadows long across the ground.
"…The Covenant Audit Office will move. Assets seized, family name stripped. Depending on the case, there's also the sanction of memory alteration."
His voice was flat.
"But it has nothing to do with you. You're human. The Audit Office's targets are the vampire who broke the contract, and his house alone."
"…I'll bear the price alone."
Yuu shook his head, hard.
"No!"
His voice rang sharp through the morning quiet.
"I'm the human you chose, Raven. If you're going to bear it alone, then I'll bear it with you."
He gripped Raven's hand with both of his.
"I can't be someone who just gets protected and knows nothing anymore. I've decided to stand beside you."
His amber eyes burned straight ahead. They were wet with tears, and yet behind them was a light of strong will.
Raven stopped walking. And for the first time, he looked at Yuu head-on. His red-tinged eyes peered straight into Yuu's. Yuu felt his heart jump at the force of that gaze. But he didn't look away.
"…You're strong."
Raven murmured, almost to himself.
"All I know is to keep my distance in order to protect. But you're different. …You say you'll stand beside me."
His voice was flat. But to Yuu, behind those words, there seemed to be a faint surprise—and something just a little warm.
"…I see."
That was all he said before walking on again. Without letting go of Yuu's hand.
"Raven, wait—you haven't answered yet—"
"I don't need to answer. …If you've decided to stand beside me, then stand."
A blunt way of putting it. And yet, somehow, it made Yuu happy.
Yuu trotted to fall in beside Raven. And then, the wrist that had been held—this time he twined his own fingers around Raven's. Finger by finger, slowly, he laced them together.
Raven's fingers were cold. But that coldness was pleasant to Yuu.
"…Hey."
Raven's brow shifted, faintly.
"Ehehe. We're holding hands."
He laughed, as if to hide his embarrassment.
"Your hand is cold, Raven. But it feels nice."
"…You're not letting go?"
"I'm not. So you'd better not let go either, Raven."
He squeezed the linked fingers tight. Raven said nothing. But the linked fingers squeezed back—just a little.
That was the most Raven could manage as an answer.
The two of them walked on through the light of dawn, hand in hand.
By the time they returned to the mansion, the sun had climbed fully into the eastern sky.
As they passed through the gate, Seraphy came running.
"Lord Raven! Lord Yuu! Thank goodness you're both safe!"
The small girl bowed, her pale lilac-silver hair swaying. A little ring of keys jingled from her apron pocket.
"Seraphy! We're back!"
"Welcome home, Lord Yuu. …And, um, your hands are…"
Seraphy glanced at their joined hands and smiled brightly.
"Fufu, so you've finally become honest with yourself, Lord Raven."
"…Don't say unnecessary things."
He said it in a low voice. But he didn't let go of the joined hands.
Seraphy's smile only widened.
"Oh my, oh my. Neither of you has had breakfast yet, have you? I'll prepare it right away. Today it's fresh-baked bread and warm soup—Lord Yuu's favorite."
"Wow, I'm so happy! Thank you, Seraphy!"
Yuu's face lit up. Seeing that smile, Raven's mouth loosened again—just a little.
Yuu didn't miss that small change.
After breakfast, Raven went alone to the archive. Yuu said he'd help Seraphy tidy the rooms, and saw Raven off.
The depths of the archive were wrapped, as ever, in deep darkness. No morning light reached the windowless room. Raven walked through the dark without hesitation. To a vampire with the eyes of the night watch, this darkness was as clear as day.
Raven stopped before an old shelf. The shelf where the contract had vanished. The ancient book, lost along with its covenant seal. He stared at the empty space. He ran his fingers along the shelf's edge. The cold feel of wood.
Then his fingertip touched something.
In the back of the shelf that should have been empty, something had been placed. Raven drew it out, slowly.
A letter. A black envelope, worked with gray embroidery.
Raven's eyes narrowed, faintly. He knew this embroidery. The Covenant Audit Office. The sanction-enforcement organization that upheld the laws of the Seven Blood Covenant families. The gray ledger that hunted contract-breakers, meting out memory alteration and seizure of assets.
He turned the envelope over. The seal
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