Locked Up By Vampire Lord

What do you do when you are consumed by an absolute, suffocating boredom? You sink into a deep sleep. For a time, you embrace the stillness. But eventually, even the heaviness of sleep grows tiring, and the consciousness demands to return.

I opened my eyes.

I was lying on an expansive bed draped in crimson sheets, heavy curtains pooling around the mattress like dried blood. As I sat up, the sheer scale of the room loomed over me. But it wasn't just the room that had changed—heavy, dark strands cascaded over my shoulders. I reached down, my hands tangling in hair that was impossibly long, trailing far past my own body onto the floor.

The last memory I held was clear: I had been lying on a vibrant green mountain. I had been so utterly bored with existence that I didn't even want to lift a finger, so I had simply closed my eyes. Why was I here? And when had my hair grown into this monstrous length?

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and tried to stand, but my balance shattered instantly. My legs felt entirely numb, like dead weight. Stubbornly, I forced myself forward, dragging my heavy limbs toward a flight of stone stairs that ascended into the dark.

At the top of the stairs stood a colossal stone gate—a monolithic door that a dozen human men couldn't hope to budge a single millimeter. I pushed against it. To my shock, the massive stone yielded like a feather, swinging open without a sound. Beyond the gate stretched a vast, echoing hall, swallowed by deep shadows and lit only by the flickering, amber glow of a few dying candles.

Beyond the shadows of the hall stood another gate. I pushed it open, and the oppressive darkness instantly gave way to a vast, hidden garden. It was filled entirely with roses—my absolute favorite. I had always been drawn to them simply because they were red. Red like fresh, pooling blood.

The moment my eyes swept over the sea of crimson petals, a violent spasm struck my throat. A ravenous, burning thirst clawed at the inside of my chest, paired with a hollow, aching hunger. The sight of the color alone was making my jaw ache.

Through the haze of my sudden hunger, I noticed a stone pathway cutting through the flowers. Standing there was an old man. The moment his eyes locked onto me, his face crumpled. Tears began to stream down his deeply wrinkled cheeks as he stumbled forward, running toward me with trembling hands.

"My Lord..." he sobbed, his voice cracking with pure emotion. "You have finally awakened!"

A cold shock washed over me, momentarily dulling the hunger. I stared at him, utterly bewildered. Who was this person? Before I had lain down on that green mountain to sleep away my boredom, I had never met this man in my life.

"Who are you?" I demanded, my voice sounding deeper and more resonant than I remembered.

The old man froze, utterly stunned. He looked at me as if his heart had just broken all over again. "You... you forget your lowly servant, my Lord? It is me. Dian."

A sudden, irrational anger flared hot in my chest. I glared down at him. "How dare you try to deceive me?!"

"My Lord, I swear I am really Dian!" he cried out, raising his trembling hands in defense.

I looked closely at his wrinkled face, trying to find a trace of familiarity, but the math didn't add up. "Then how did you get so old?"

"Because, my Lord... you have awakened after an entire century."

"What nonsense are you talking?!" My temper flared again. Instinctively, I flexed my fingers, and sharp, lethal claws tore through the tips of my skin. I lashed out, attempting to scratch him just to force the truth out of him, but Dian scrambled back, waving his arms frantically.

"My Lord, please! You were sleeping for one hundred years! I have been taking care of this castle and your resting place all this time!"

I paused, my claws still hovering in the air. If he was taking care of me, one glaring issue came to mind. "Then why didn't you ever cut my hair?!"

Dian looked incredibly guilty, coughing into his hand. "Because... I forgot, my Lord. I was so incredibly busy. The outside situation is not good right now. But wait—" Dian's eyes suddenly widened as he properly looked at me, his frantic grief instantly turning into the lecture of a stressed-out parent. "First, you should come back inside! Why on earth are you walking around in your bathrobe?!"

I blinked, looking down at myself.

"I always lay out fresh clothes in your room so that whenever you finally woke up, you would have proper attire!" Dian scolded, gesturing wildly at the open air. "But here you are, wandering around the grand halls in a loose bathrobe, showing off your entire upper body!"

"First, let us get you inside and looking like a proper lord again," Dian grumbled, ushering me back toward the grand estate. "Then, and only then, will we continue this discussion."

I allowed myself to be led back. Over the next few hours, the centuries of dust were thoroughly washed away. Dian meticulously sheared the impossibly long, overgrown strands of my hair, trimming it back into a sharp, elegant style. After a long, restorative bath, I finally cast aside the loose bathrobe and dressed in the proper attire laid out for me—regal, perfectly tailored garments that fit my renewed body like a second skin.

Once fully restored, I made my way down to the assembly room.

The chamber was massive, dominated at the far end by a towering chair that was less of a seat and more of a grand, imposing throne. I walked up the dais and sat down, crossing one leg over the other, resting my chin on my hand. With a lazy flick of my wrist, I signaled Dian to continue his report.

Dian took a deep breath, his expression turning gravely serious. "My Lord, for the past five years, the vampire population has become entirely unmanageable. They are getting out of hand, running rampant through the empire. They are slaughtering humans indiscriminately—in the streets, inside their own homes, causing absolute chaos."

He paused, the weight of his words hanging heavily in the silent room. "Because of the mess they've made, the human Hunters have retaliated with terrifying force. Half of our kind have already been executed. Not only that, but the humans have also initiated ruthless witch hunts. The entire world is in upheaval, and everyone is demanding your intervention."

I narrowed my eyes. "Everyone?"

"Yes, my Lord. Even the witches are demanding an audience with you. I do not know how the secret leaked, but somehow... the entire world now knows that you were sleeping."

A cold, calculating silence settled over the throne room. They thought the master of this domain was helpless, tucked away in a century-long slumber. They thought wrong.

I leaned forward on my throne, my voice ringing with absolute command.

"Gather everyone," I ordered Dian. "We will hold a grand assembly. Summon the vampire factions—and call the witches. Let us see what they have to say.