Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate-Chapter 299: Trust Me, I’m (Not) Lying

If Kaan had more time, he would have come up with a more polished plan. A true masterpiece of deception. At the very least, he could have found the perfect assassin—one who wouldn’t make Riona raise an eyebrow.

Someone with a totally believable grudge against Eira’s royal family. Someone whose entire existence screamed revenge-worthy villain and neatly tied up the fake vendetta Kaan had been crafting in his head.

There were the elders from the last war—except, well, Kaan had personally handled most of them. Whoops. Still, he could spin it as the last remaining elder loyalists seeking revenge. That would work.

The whole elder rebellion had been because of Riona and her whole Blood Moon child situation, so the motive was already pre-packaged.

The problem was that this little scheme required patience, meticulous planning, and not looking like an idiot if something went wrong. And time was a luxury Kaan no longer had.

This was a golden opportunity, one that could slip through his fingers at any moment. Sure, he’d be traveling with Riona, and other chances might present themselves, but priorities had shifted. He needed her blood, and he needed it now.

So Kaan did what only an emperor could do—order his subordinate to risk everything in the name of imperial command.

Kaan summoned a scholar and commanded, "Grab a knife and coat the blade with a poison that can kill vampires."

The scholar blinked. Then blinked again. Surely, he had misheard. But no—Kaan’s expression was as serious as ever.

"Uh... pardon?" he asked, hoping the emperor might realize how insane this sounded.

Kaan did not.

The scholar swallowed hard. He had never expected to be put in charge of murdering one of his own. He’d spent years buried in books and research, not plotting assassinations. But, of course, saying no to the emperor was a great way to fast-track himself to be particles of dust.

Maybe he could lie. Claim that such poisons didn’t exist.

Unfortunately, that wouldn’t work, because they did exist. The underground research team had, in fact, uncovered a vampire-killing poison during their studies on forbidden magic.

And he wasn’t the only one who knew about it. If he denied its existence and Kaan learned the truth from someone else, his life would be forfeit. He wasn’t about to risk everything for an unknown victim.

"...Yes, Your Majesty," he said, plastering on a forced smile while dying a little inside. In the end, obedience was his only choice.

With a heavy heart, he prepared the blade. But before handing it over, he discreetly mixed in a few drops of a mild antidote—just enough to dull the poison’s full effect.

If all went well, the victim might have a chance to survive once Kaan believed his mission was accomplished. A risky move, but his conscience left him no choice. He made sure no one saw.

Exhausted from his secret act of defiance, he couldn’t even summon the energy to deliver the blade himself. Instead, he handed it off to a junior scholar.

"Here. Take this to His Majesty," he instructed, his voice flat. Let the kid deal with it. He was done.

And the kid really did deal with it. Not just the delivery of the poisoned blade—oh no, he got roped into something much worse. The kind of situation that, in retrospect, would make him wish he’d just called in sick that morning. It would cost him his life.

And the senior scholar? Well, he’d spend the rest of his long years drowning in regret.

"Keep the blade with you and hide behind the shrubs. When I give the signal, stab the Blood Moon child," Kaan instructed, as if this were the most normal after-school activity ever.

The kid, to his credit, did not immediately pass out. But he did tremble like a leaf in a hurricane. He wasn’t cut out for this. He liked studying. He liked learning new things. The how, the why—unraveling mysteries, understanding the world.

That was why he’d chosen the path of a scholar. That was why he’d postponed marrying his childhood sweetheart. He had wanted time to learn, not time to kill.

"W-what...?"

"You heard me," Kaan said, his voice low, calm—like he wasn’t currently pressuring an academic intern into a life of crime.

He couldn’t afford to draw Roderick’s attention. That guy needed to stay at arm’s length from this entire situation—too much interference, too many morals. He could ruin everything.

The young scholar’s face had gone pale, his fingers tightening around the blade as if it might bite him.

Seeing the sheer terror on the kid’s face, Kaan sighed and put on his best trust me, I’m totally not lying expression. "Relax. Nothing bad will happen to you." His voice dripped with confidence. "Just do what I say, and I promise to protect you."

And just like that, the boy’s fate was sealed.

"There’s no helping it. It’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault, really. That’s just how fate works," Thessara said, her voice dripping with forced sympathy as she tried to soothe Kaan. She had noticed the flicker of doubt on his face and, naturally, assumed he was having a moral crisis.

He wasn’t.

Guilt? Second-guessing? Please. Kaan was simply entertaining a far more amusing thought—what would this tiny, unsuspecting scholar think if he actually understood the grandeur of his contribution?

If this young scholar truly understood what he was part of—really understood that he was helping Kaan claim the ultimate power that was rightfully his—how would he react?

Would he leap with joy at the honor? Burst into tears, moved by the sheer importance of his role? Maybe he’d drop to his knees in gratitude, whispering, Thank you, my lord, for allowing me to be a footnote in your glorious rise to power!

Kaan, of course, didn’t bother correcting Thessara’s assumption. Let her believe whatever she wanted. Instead, he turned to the scholar and gave him his next instruction.

"Act like you have a personal grudge against the Blood Moon child," he said simply. It had to be convincing.

He didn’t spell it out, but the scholar caught the unspoken warning loud and clear—if you value your life, you’ll make it believable.

The boy had made it believable—really, he put on quite the performance. Some of the watchers even bought it.

But then there was Puck. Because of course, there’s always one guy who just has to ruin everything.

So when the boy begged Kaan to keep his word—that nothing bad would happen to him—well... that was awkward. Because something very bad was about to happen to him.

Kaan didn’t want to kill him, per se, but at this point, it was less of a choice and more of an unfortunate workplace policy. Loose ends had to be tied up.

And until he got his hands on Riona’s blood, secrecy was priority number one.

RIP, kid. You tried.