My Three Beautiful Vampire Wives can hear my Inner Thoughts-Chapter 46: Altered Blood

There was no longer any room to delay.

The air itself seemed to tighten as if it had grown a spine and was pressing down on everyone gathered in the courtyard.

The recruits stood stiffly in their new formation, shoulders squared too hard, chins lifted too high, eyes darting despite their efforts to appear calm.

"Hurry!" Cornelia ordered.

One by one, they released the blood mana they had gained during their breakthroughs.

It did not explode outward. It did not roar.

Instead, it crept.

A thin haze bled out from their pores, curling slowly around their bodies like breath on a cold night.

The color was deep red at first, but as it thickened, faint silvery threads shimmered through it, reflecting the moonlight overhead.

The mana pulsed with a steady rhythm, rising and falling in time with their heartbeats, and the ground beneath their boots darkened as if drinking in the excess.

Cornelia’s eyes narrowed.

She took a slow step forward, her boots crunching softly against the stone. Her gaze moved from one soldier to the next, unblinking, sharp enough that several recruits swallowed hard and nearly lost control of their output.

"Hold it steady," she said coolly. "Do not flare. Do not suppress."

"Yes, Madam," they answered in uneven voices.

Cedrick felt sweat trickle down his back beneath his armor. His jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. He could feel it now, the unmistakable signature of a breakthrough, the way the mana clung to the body like a second skin that had not yet settled. If Cornelia truly looked, truly compared, she would see it. She had to see it.

Cain stood half a step behind her, hands loosely clasped behind his back, posture relaxed to the point of mockery.

On the surface, at least.

Inside, his mind was screaming.

Damn it damn it damn it, hold still you idiots, how can I alter it if you all don’t stop bouncing your mana like you’re proud of it, do you think this is a festival? Why are you all breathing like that? who taught you to circulate like a drunk bat?

His eyes flicked to the faint glow wrapping around their bodies, and a familiar pressure tugged at his chest. Deep underground, threads of blood responded to his will, wriggling and twisting as they absorbed, smoothed, and rewrote the mana signatures he had already altered moments before.

He had done it quietly. Carefully. One soldier at a time. A thousand tiny adjustments, like sanding down rough edges until everything felt the same beneath the hand.

Cornelia stopped in front of the first recruit. She lifted a finger, not touching him, but close enough that the air between them hummed.

"This," she said slowly, "is your blood mana."

The recruit nodded, throat bobbing.

"It is calm," Cornelia continued. "It does not resist the moon. It does not rush to answer it either."

Her gaze sharpened. "That is strange."

Cedrick’s heart slammed against his ribs.

Zed frowned. "Strange how, Madam?"

Cornelia did not answer him right away. She moved to the next recruit, then the next, her finger tracing invisible paths through the air as if she were feeling the mana without touching it.

With each step, her expression changed from suspicion to confusion, and then to something closer to disbelief.

"It reflects," she murmured. "Like ours."

Hall blinked. "Like... Moonshade blood?"

Cornelia straightened slowly. "Yes."

A murmur rippled through the soldiers.

"That can’t be," someone whispered.

"They’re new," another said. "How could they—"

Cornelia raised her hand, and silence fell instantly.

She looked at the swirling mist again, at the way the silver threads wove through the red, faint but unmistakable, like moonlight caught in liquid.

"This is Moonshade resonance," she said. "The alignment is wrong for outsiders. Even if one were to steal cultivation methods, the blood would resist. It would clash."

She turned her head slightly, eyes flicking to Cain.

He smiled faintly, lips barely moving.

Inside, his thoughts danced.

Hehehe. Of course it matches. I polished it until it squeaked. You think I’d let my own wife catch spies that I need alive? Please. Thank you for stalling, everyone. Truly. I owe you drinks. Or blood. Or whatever you people like.

The recruits looked at one another, confusion giving way to cautious relief.

A trooper near the front spoke up, voice shaking with restrained excitement. "Madam, you see it too, right? There’s no difference. Their mana is just like ours."

Another nodded quickly. "Yes, Madam. It feels the same when standing near them. There’s no foreign pressure."

Cornelia did not answer immediately.

She stared at Cain.

Not a glance. A stare.

Long enough that Cedrick felt his own nerves start to fray again.

Cain met her gaze openly, tilting his head a little, as if asking what the problem was.

Eventually, Cornelia exhaled.

"Very well," she said. "This matter can wait. But do not think I will forget it."

Relief crashed through the courtyard like a wave.

She turned sharply. "We prepare immediately. Whatever rang that bell is not small. Move."

"Yes, Madam," the soldiers answered in unison.

Cain fell into step behind her without hesitation, his expression obedient, almost eager. Inside, he grinned so hard it hurt.

Like a puppy, he thought.

Just follow. Smile. Don’t bark.

They crossed the grounds swiftly, passing through torchlit paths until the second building came into view.

It loomed over the Moonshade estate like a sleeping beast.

Twice the size of the main residence, its walls were carved from dark stone veined with crimson lines that pulsed faintly, as if blood flowed through the structure itself. Tall spires reached upward, sharp and elegant, framing the night sky where the moon hung full and heavy, bathing the building in pale light.

This was the Blood Moon Tower.

The political heart of the Moonshade family.

The massive doors stood open, engraved with ancient sigils that glowed softly, responding to Cornelia’s presence. On either side, blood guards stood at attention, their armor heavy, ornate, their spears tipped with crimson crystal.

Their mana was oppressive.

It rolled off them in controlled waves, dense and refined, pressing against the senses. Cain could tell instantly.

Tenth stage Blood Mana Infusion.

Each of them.

Blood servants moved quickly through the entrance, heads lowered, carrying scrolls, trays, sealed boxes. A servant spotted Cornelia and hurried forward, bowing deeply.

"Madam Cornelia," he said respectfully. "The council awaits. Please, come inside."

Cornelia nodded and stepped past him without slowing.

Cain followed.

Or tried to.

A spear slid into his path with a sharp scrape against stone.

He stopped.

One of the blood guards smirked beneath his helm. "Only main members of the Moonshade family may enter."

Cain blinked. "Ah."

Cedrick snorted behind him. William let out a short laugh.

Hall crossed his arms. "Bold of you to try."

Zed shook his head. "Just because Madam calls you husband doesn’t mean—"

Cain rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Worth a shot."

Inside his head, he was already plotting several violent ways to make the door disappear.

Before any of it could escalate, Cornelia’s footsteps stopped.

She turned.

"Why are you not following?" she asked.

The blood guard straightened immediately. "Madam, by law and by blood, only pure Moonshade lineage may enter the Blood Hall."

"He is my husband," Cornelia said evenly.

"Yes, Madam," the guard replied. "Even so."

Cain felt the words like a slap. Cedrick’s smile widened.

The guard continued, respectful but unyielding. "Marriage does not alter blood origin. The Blood Hall recognizes only Moonshade blood that has awakened under the family’s rites."

Cornelia frowned. "Explain."

"The building itself is bound," the guard said. "Foreign blood causes instability. Even diluted blood may trigger defensive arrays."

She studied the door, then the guard. "Is there a way for him to enter?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The guard hesitated, then shook his head. "Unless his blood is acknowledged by the hall, no."

Cain’s thoughts slipped free without restraint.

Why not just force it? You’re in the ninth stage like them. Your blood’s been soaked in my Overgod Body. If you release even a little, they’ll piss themselves.

Cornelia stiffened.

Her eyes widened just a fraction.

She looked at the guards again, then back at Cain.

"What if," she said slowly, "I insist?"

The courtyard went silent.

The two blood guards tightened their grips on their spears, the crimson tips flaring softly as their mana surged in response, ready for whatever came next.