ꨄ˙∘ Chapter I: Story Background ∘˙ꨄ

𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚛: 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.

...│──⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚🦇˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆──│...

...𝒊: Story Background...

Cassie Arlette was a world-leading psychologist, one of the best in her field. At just twenty-four years old, her research led to the groundbreaking discovery of the latent second mind, earning her a Nobel Prize and a grand debut in the world of psychology. Following her widespread fame and success, she was fondly acclaimed as the 'Mind Whisperer' because of her expertise in understanding and healing broken minds. Ironically, no one would ever suspect that beneath all that bravado was a broken woman with an impenetrable heart of stone.

Every person has a skeleton or two in their closet, but hers took the gold for being the darkest of all. The accumulation of years of childhood trauma she never addressed culminated in her deep-rooted hatred for the male kind. She was well aware that she, of all people, wasn't meant to harbor such a malicious mindset, but it couldn’t be helped—not after everything she went through at the hands of men. Even after time had done its part, making her the beloved psychologist the masses idolized, she still had no power over the panic attacks and mental breakdowns that struck whenever certain words were uttered or certain images flashed in her mind. She knew she was a hypocritical wreck: Cassie Arlette, the beautifully divine Mind Whisperer sentenced to fix all the other wrecks that thrived on her closeted hypocrisy.

But what else could she do except mask her pain and scars beneath the wise, sympathetic smile that washed away her patients' troubles like a calming stream? It was her duty as a mental health professional to ensure that no one ever experienced the same things she did. She believed she owed that to the world. Thus, she worked herself to weariness every day to make this desire of hers a permanent reality, while she drowned hopelessly in the murky pits of her trauma.

The savior who never saved herself or had anyone to save her… until the end. A tale of tragedy at its finest.

Nevertheless, there was one outlet Cassie had, a harbour that kept her from completely spiraling off the rails all those years: Cassie loved to read. She was never picky, as she saw all genres as an invitation to explore new prospects. She basked in the liberty she felt every time a world so different from the one she knew unfolded in her mind. Each letter, each word, each paragraph made her want to reach out and grasp that reality, even for a fleeting second. Whenever she imagined herself in the place of a character she had taken a liking to, she'd feel an unfamiliar grief shake her core. She knew she was being a coward by wishing to run far away from her life’s demons, but running was the only solace in her life at the time.

The day she discovered the unpopular web novel The Vampire King's Obsession Leads to Ruin, she had mixed feelings. The novel was still being serialized and had a viewer count close to zero, which was eerie considering it had over four hundred chapters released. Now, Cassie was a curious person by nature, which was why she made such an apt psychologist. She had to see for herself why a novel so consistent wasn't getting any engagement at all.

Five chapters in, and she still had her doubts. Fifty chapters in, and she was sold. It was one hell of a good novel! The author had an uncanny way with words, almost as if they were baiting the reader to use the full strength of their wits and imagination. They kept the reader on the edge of their seat, then sharply plunged them into a well of twists and uncertainty. Making them sure of their theories and predictions one moment, then making utter rubbish out of them the next. It was indeed a chaotic masterpiece of a book, one that soon became the apple of Cassie's eye.

Contrary to what one might expect, given her great fondness for the novel, Cassie utterly despised the male lead. In fact, you could say she despised all the characters in the novel except the male lead's mother: Elysia de Valmont. The human queen consort married off to the current vampire king, and the male lead's father, as a rite for the preservation of the peace treaty that was signed between both races to bring an end to centuries of bloodshed. She was but a young princess from a humble monarchy when she was chosen by the vampire king as his grand consort. As she wasn't in line for the throne and was exempted from typical royal duties due to her ‘fragile gender,’ she had planned on living the rest of her life quietly, and maybe someday leave the palace to pursue her dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Unfortunately, her ambitions were soiled shortly after her debutante ball when she received a marriage proposal from the big shot, widely desired ruler of the vampires. She wasn't given a choice or say in it. She was to obediently play her role as the human bride of the vampire king for the sake of world peace. Become a sacrifice for the well-being of others—a fate that deeply resonated with Cassie; she sympathized with Elysia. They were the same, after all. Two women forced to live up to the expectations of the masses, completely forsaking their own.

Cassian de Valmont was the first son born of the vampire king’s union with his human mate, and the male lead of the novel. She loathed him not only because he grew to become a wicked, vain tyrant who wreaked havoc on society; her detest for him was irredeemable after he committed treason that led to the death of his parents and his immediate ascension to the throne. He murdered her precious Elysia—his own mother. Cassian was a character that made Cassie's hostility towards the male kind justified. No man was worth it in her book. All they were ever capable of was lying, cheating, and ruining people. Like they did to her. It was no different regardless of what world or reality they were from. They were all the same: sick, haughty, and greedy.

Following Elysia's death, Cassie remained devastated. She simply wanted to know why. Elysia was a doting mother to Cassian. She raised him with an endearment that no mother could ever replicate, so why? She refused to believe it was just Cassian’s insatiable thirst for power that made him commit a crime so heinous and unforgivable. Something must have occurred between the lines, and she was itching to know what it was. Cassie's frustration only mounted when the novel's author abruptly stopped posting new chapters after chapter 550. Oh, how she waited. Hours became days; those days became weeks, and those weeks became months. Yet, there were no signs of an update from the author. Not resigning, she looked into every source that could give her a lead on their whereabouts, even going as far as hiring private investigators. She knew she was going too far for a hobby—a mere recreational activity—but she was far from reasonable. Seeing the end of that story wasn't a want, it was a need. She needed to have that closure.

Alas, all evidence that surfaced pointed to such a person never having existed to begin with. The only thing that tied their existence to this world was the novel itself. Cassie admitted defeat then, her spirit utterly crushed. She was never going to see the end of Elysia's story. She was never going to see her death avenged. Not only that, but she was never going to see Cassian get every last drop of karma he deserved. She was never going to know why he did it. Likewise, she was never going to know whether the vampire king knew about his son's planned mutiny, and if he had done anything to stop it. She had a trunk full of unresolved questions; ones she knew were never going to get answers, so in the interest of her heart, she decided to drop everything then. There was no point in crying over spilt milk.

The events of her life went back to fake-normal, back to the days before she discovered the novel. She was still Cassie Arlette, after all, and the world needed Cassie Arlette. It was time she stopped giving excuses and running away; she couldn’t do that forever. Just when she had finally mustered the spirit to confront the greying skeletons in her closet, one at a time, the most unexpected and mind-boggling incident happened, altering the future she had predicted entirely. It was absolutely ridiculous—no, downright absurd. How was this even possible? More importantly, what was she supposed to do now that it had happened?

Just how was she supposed to survive in this unfamiliar world as Elysia de Valmont—the unfortunate mother of the future tyrant vampire king who was damned to meet a tragic end? More importantly, how was she supposed to ‘mother’ that monster? Ah, she was going to end up losing her mind before the story reached its climax. Heavens help her as all the events she spent a good portion of her free time rereading start to unfold before her very eyes.

...│──⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚🕸˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆──│...

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