Sincerely,
Your concerned Master
To Sir Isaac
Knight of Sangre
Has my heartkeeper confided to you of any troubles lately? She has been noticeably withdrawn in our last few exchanges, more so than her usual.
Sincerely,
Lord Mihail Gheorgiu
Marquis of Sangre
To His Lordship
Marquis of Sangre
I have reached out to milady as soon as I received his lordship’s letter, and it is with the deepest regrets that I must say we have an unfortunate situation.
Milady has apparently been harboring certain misassuptions about his lordship for some years. She appears to have been under the impression all this time that his lordship’s physical countenance and, er, interests would be commensurate with what is normally expected from one who’s had lived for centuries. To further elaborate, milord, her ladyship has assumed that your age would leave you disinterested in engaging in activities that are physical in nature. Instead, she believed that her primary responsibility as both pet and heartkeeper would be to provide his lordship with a healthy supply of high-quality blood through intravenous means.
Pray command me as you will on this matter, milord, and until then I remain your humble and loyal servant,
Sir Isaac Booth
To Sir Isaac Booth
Knight of Sangre
Correct me if I am wrong with this, Booth.
Are you saying Rhapsody believed she had been exchanging letters with a wrinkly old man all these years, and that being my heartkeeper was simply being on call for blood transfusions?
And now that she knows none of those is true, and that she has ample reason to assume my dick is still in working order, this is what has made my heartkeeper suddenly cold towards me?
Mihail
To His Lordship
Marquis of Sangre
I’m afraid that is entirely correct, milord.
Respectfully,
Sir Isaac Booth
To Sir Isaac Booth
Knight of Sangre
FUCK.
Part Two
Glossary of Terms,
Names, and Places
Academia Nu Exista (ANEX) – A self-governing school that officially does not exist; it is dedicated to aiding human students with special abilities to develop their full potential. Its administration is known to disapprove of relationships between humans and demons. Recent circumstances have also caused human-run management to severely minimize interaction with otherworlders of all kinds.
Alexandru Gheorgiu – The younger brother of Mihail Gheorgiu, the Marquis of Sangre, and acknowledged as the most skilled hunter of rogue vampires and other types of otherworlders. His heartkeeper is Zari Baltimore, a soul seer.
Asphodel – The only territory in the kingdom of Chalys that is open to non-citizens. A technology ban has been implemented in the last 200 years or so to limits its carbon footprint. This prohibits the use of the Internet and mobile phones among others as well as making any modern mode of transportation unavailable. Generally speaking, citizens of Asphodel as well as the rest of the human population are unaware that inhabitants of the other territories in the kingdom are otherworlders.
Aquarius – An island territory located at the west of the kingdom’s mainland and primarily inhabited by Ceti (singular; Cetus), a race of otherworlders that holds dominion over water. This territory is nominally ruled by The Demon Duke of Aquarius, whose son is one of the Galeré.
Brimstone – The only territory in the kingdom that is under the absolute rule of a half-demon, Silviu Draghici. It is home to most otherworlders with mixed bloodlines.
Chalys – A kingdom secretly inhabited by otherworlders; only one of its territories is open to human travelers. Access to other territories, namely Aquarius, Brimstone, Ciel, Lunare, Sangre, and Sulphur, is severely restricted. Both the otherworlder and human citizens making up the kingdom live and dress according to the customs and times of the Regency period.
Charles Orpheline – A former soldier, Charles is now the Baron of Woodmere and father to three adopted daughters. All women have been saved from certain death, having been thrown away as infants because they were discovered to be ludifia.
Ciel – The only territory that is permanently closed to all other territories of the kingdom. It is inhabited by a race of earth-bound angels and is under the nominal rule of the Duke of Ciel. Angels and demons are the only living races of otherworlder that are immortal. All others, however, possess longer lifespans than humans.
Enforcers – A secret government agency of Asphodel that employs fighters to defend humans from otherworldly threats of all types. Certain missions or assignments may also require deployment of enforcers outside the kingdom.
Galeré – The collective term used to refer to the three powerful half-demon marquises that had made a blood bond to devote their lives to protecting Silviu Draghici, the Duke of Brimstone. This consists of Mihail Gheorgiu of Sangre, Adrijan Vasilache of Aquarius, and Ilie Marcovici of Lunare.
Georgina McCartney – The human future duchess and heartkeeper of Silviu Draghici, the Demon Duke of Brimstone. She is one of the fated potential heartkeepers for the Marquis of Lunare. The last verified sighting of Ms. McCartney was in one of the back roads leading out of Brimstone.