The Vespera mansion shone under the night lights. It was hard to believe that there, among crystals and polite smiles, existed stories as cold as the one Lily carried with her.
The hall was decorated with lilac flowers and delicate ribbons; Violet had chosen everything with care for her own birthday.
And yet, Lily could not feel completely present. There was something floating in the air — a subtle unease, like the vibration of a thread about to snap.
Marvelous walked beside her. Even surrounded by dozens of guests, his presence stood out like a conscious, living, almost pulsating shadow.
There was something in him too elegant to be human… and yet, something too out of place to be just a butler.
Lily felt comfort having him so close, but also a serene kind of tension, as if within him there was a storm held by fragile chains.
— You look pale.
He murmured, leaning slightly to look at her more closely.
— Just… tired.
She replied, averting her gaze.
It was a lie. And Marvelous knew it.
But he didn't confront her. He just observed. His red eyes held something unfathomable, but when they rested on her, Lily felt they were almost… gentle.
— If you want, we can go to the garden.
He suggested.
— There are fewer people. And the air is lighter out there.
She hesitated, but nodded.
Marvelous did not offer his arm in an exaggerated or formal way. He simply took a step beside her, like someone opening a path without drawing attention, like someone who guards without trapping.
The garden was lit by magical lanterns, floating like tiny stars eager to be seen. Lily breathed deeply, finally.
— I'm sorry.
She murmured.
— I didn't mean to ruin Violet's night.
— You're not ruining anything.
He replied, naturally.
— You just exist. And that's no inconvenience to anyone.
She swallowed. Marvelous had a strange way of saying things that seemed simple, but reached deep.
— Do you always talk like that?
Lily asked, trying to lighten the weight on her own heart.
— Like what?
He seemed genuinely confused.
— As if you were… reading what's going on inside people.
Marvelous looked away for a second. When he looked back at her, there was something softer in his eyes.
— I don't read anything. I just observe.
Silence.
The kind of silence that doesn't hurt.
— Still.
She murmured.
—… thank you.
He blinked slowly, as if gratitude were something rare, or perhaps too unsettling.
. . .
The music from the hall reached them like a distant echo. Some guests passed near the garden, talking loudly, laughing, carrying champagne glasses that shone under the suspended lights. It was a beautiful night. A night that should have been easy.
But Lily felt her whole body on alert, for no apparent reason.
Marvelous noticed.
— Your heart is racing.
He commented, almost without thinking.
Lily turned her face immediately.
— I-it's not!
— It is.
She huffed lightly, crossing her arms and leaning toward the central fountain in the garden. The water glimmered under the moon, so smooth it looked like liquid glass.
— It's just that I don't like parties, Marvelous. That's all…
She insisted.
He approached from the side, with steps as silent as the night around them.
— You don't need to pretend with me.
His tone was not accusatory. Just… sincere. Direct. As always.
Lily pressed her fingers against the blue fabric of the dress she had chosen — or rather, that Marvelous had convinced her to choose. Thinking about it made her cheeks warm for a moment.
— It's just…
She began, biting her lower lip.
— I don't like so many people looking at me.
Marvelous tilted his head.
— You're going to play the piano today, aren't you?
Just hearing that made something tighten inside her. Lily averted her gaze, nervous.
— I don't know if I can… in front of so many people… with so many eyes…
Her voice faltered.
Marvelous took another step. He stopped just a few inches away, but didn't touch her.
— You've already played for me.
He said quietly.
— And it was beautiful.
Lily felt her whole face heat up.
— Playing for one person is different.
She murmured.
— It's different.
He agreed.
— But I can stay by your side. All the time, if you want.
She slowly lifted her gaze, meeting the soft red of his eyes.
Marvelous did not smile. He didn't know how to smile. But there was something in the way he looked at her that made her chest warm more than it should.
— Would you really stay?
She asked, hesitant.
— I stay wherever you are.
He replied, so naturally that Lily lost her breath for a moment.
The wind blew, carrying the scent of freshly bloomed flowers. The closest lantern flickered, as if acknowledging the change in the atmosphere.
Marvelous noticed the slight tremor in her hands.
— Are you afraid?
He asked.
— Yes.
She confessed.
He raised his hand, slowly, with a delicacy that contrasted with all the darkness inside him. Without touching her, he just brought the palm of his hand close to Lily's back, so near that she could feel the warmth that shouldn't exist in a vampire's body.
— Then trust me.
He said.
Lily breathed deeply, feeling her chest release a little.
— I trust… I think.
Marvelous looked away for a moment, as if that had affected him more than it should.
— "You think?"
He repeated, almost like a whispered complaint.
Lily laughed, a small, discreet, short, but genuine laugh.
— You complicate everything.
— I'm not complicating it.
He murmured, a little offended.
— I'm trying to help.
— I know…
She looked back at the fountain water, trying to organize her thoughts. And it was at that exact moment that the hall erupted in applause.
Violet had just gone to the center of the hall to thank the guests.
— Shall we?
Lily asked.
Marvelous nodded.
She took a step forward. But before walking toward the hall, Lily felt a light pressure on her wrist; Marvelous had taken her hand, extremely gently, as if he feared hurting her.
She turned her face, surprised.
— So you don't get lost.
He said simply.
Lily didn't respond. She couldn't.
She just let him intertwine his fingers with hers.
And together, they walked back to the hall.
The night was calm.
The air was sweet.
And Marvelous was by her side.
That was all that mattered.
. . .
She was so nervous, those eyes suffocated her, she wanted to run away from there.
Her fingers trembled. She looked around, not expecting there to be so many people.
Until, in the middle of the crowd, she saw Marvelous.
His red eyes stood out among the crowd; many would have felt fear, but for her, that was her point of support.
She breathed deeply.
She placed her fingers on the keys.
Exhaled the air trapped in her lungs...
And played, with her whole being.
The elegant music filled the main hall, where the golden chandeliers seemed to reflect in her simple blue dress.
The music took shape even before Lily realized it.
The entire hall seemed to hold its breath.
Conversations ceased.
Footsteps went silent.
Even Violet, radiant in her lilac dress, turned slowly, surprised by the delicate sound that filled the room like sliding silk.
Lily, however, saw none of that.
Because her eyes, though fearful, found only one point in the hall:
Marvelous.
He didn't move. He didn't blink. He just looked at her, with those eyes that always seemed to pierce the darkness — this time, fixed on her as if she were the only living thing in the entire room.
And somehow, that was enough.
The melody gained body.
The timidity of the notes transformed into firmness, into pure emotion. It was as if Lily were telling her own story through the music — the fear, the silence, the hidden pain, and along with it, the faint light that now tried to emerge.
The light he had seen in her.
Marvelous, leaning against the wall near the stage, felt something tighten in his chest. Something… uncomfortable. Something warm. Something that wasn't part of the nature that ran in his blood.
A feeling too human.
People around whispered, amazed:
— Who is she?
— Incredible…
— I've never heard anything so beautiful…
Lily heard nothing.
It was her, the keys… and him.
With each measure, Marvelous moved a little closer, without even realizing it. His steps were silent like a whisper, but the pull was inevitable, as if the music had hooked an invisible thread in his chest.
When Lily reached the most emotional part of the piece, her breath failed for a second.
The memory came involuntary, cruel:
The stifled scream.
The hand gripping her arm tightly.
The pain.
The fear.
The dark room.
She almost missed a note. The air escaped like a trapped sob.
But Marvelous took one more step.
Just one.
And it was enough.
She remembered his soft voice, that night in the garden: "I stay wherever you are."
And she found strength.
Her hands glided over the keys, firm as if they had wings.
The melody exploded in beauty.
And when it ended — when the last note hung in the air like a suspended sigh — the entire hall remained silent for a moment… before erupting in applause.
Sincere, warm applause, shining like stars breaking the darkness.
Lily lifted her head, surprised. Her cheeks burned, and she could hardly believe what she had done.
But Marvelous didn't clap.
He just looked at her, with something she couldn't name. Something that seemed like a glow… or a silent confession.
Lily stepped down from the small stage carefully, her heart still racing. Some people tried to congratulate her, but she moved aside, shyly, until finally standing in front of him.
— I…
She murmured, moving her fingers.
— I think… it was… okay?
Marvelous replied without hesitation:
— You were… extraordinary.
The word fell between them, heavy and gentle at the same time.
Lily swallowed.
— Thank you for… being there.
— I promised I would.
He tilted his head.
— And I will continue.
She smiled a small smile, almost nonexistent, but real.
That smile made something twist inside him.
— You're still trembling.
He murmured.
She hesitated and looked at her own hands, noticing that yes, they still trembled.
Marvelous extended his hand, slowly, as if approaching something sacred from an altar.
— May I?
Lily didn't respond with words.
She just placed her hand in his.
Cold.
Delicate.
Alive.
Marvelous held it so gently it seemed he feared she might dissolve under his fingers.
The music continued in the background, soft and distant. People laughed, glasses clinked, but they were suspended in another time, in another place, as if everything around had blurred.