Countess

At a royal masquerade beneath chandeliers and candlelight, a nameless young woman's alluring beauty captured the attention of generals, scholars, and kings alike. She effortlessly danced among the nobility, her intoxicating charm mesmerising all who watched. Each word she spoke was a crimson thread, and soon she was tangled among them: eager and willing.

She chose a particularly ambitious and arrogant duke that night, one who was certain he had been the one seducing her. When he leaned in, the young woman didn't flinch. When he whispered his lustful intentions, she curved a saccharine smile. And when they were alone, she revealed to him what she truly was; not a lover, but a starving predator in a noblewoman's dress. He tried to scream, but all that left his lips was a soft whimper as she drank slowly and fully from his life force.

The next morning the castle gates opened on their own. Servants who attended the scene expecting simply to find a ballroom in need of cleaning instead found countless bloodless bodies and mounds of armour strewn carelessly beside an empty throne. From then on, her name was spoken both out of fear and reverence in hushed whispers among noble circles. The reign of Countess had begun, not with a coronation, but a massacre.