It had been almost a month since Lavi stumbled upon the book detailing the long, twisted histories of the vampire families. The leather-bound tome was not the most ancient-looking, but it felt heavy with secrets, with pages whispering of power and darkness. Lavi had spent most of his nights poring over it, the lines between the past and present often blurring as he lost himself in the stories of bloodlines, betrayal, and ancient wars.

He never mentioned it outright to anyone except Allen. After all, his own history was entwined in the tales; his blood, his title, his past—all things he hadn't fully embraced until recently. He was the missing prince, a fact that both haunted and intrigued him.

Now, sitting in their dorm room, Lavi thumbed absentmindedly through the pages again. The dorm was quiet, save for the occasional creaking of the old wooden floors and the faint hum of electricity from the nearby lamp. Allen sat across from him, his expression unreadable as he busied himself with a deck of playing cards, slowly and methodically shuffling them. Their room was small but cozy, with mismatched furniture, a cluttered bookshelf, and a desk where stacks of papers, books, and an odd assortment of trinkets gathered dust.

Lavi's eyes flicked up to Allen, who was still engrossed in his cards. The silence between them was comfortable, but there was always an underlying tension. Ever since that first day they had shared this room, when Allen had addressed him as "Prince," Lavi had known there was more to Allen than what met the eye.

"Hey," Lavi said, closing the book with a soft thud and leaning back in his chair. "Something's been bugging me."

Allen didn't look up, but Lavi saw the way his hands paused for just a fraction of a second before continuing their careful shuffle. "What's on your mind, Lavi?"

Lavi leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Tyki."

That got Allen's attention. His hands stilled completely, and he set the cards down on the bed beside him. The silver-haired hunter looked up, his mismatched eyes—one gray, one cursed red—meeting Lavi's gaze.

"What about Tyki?"

"You told me a while back that both you and Tyki belonged to the Earl's family. But lately, it feels like you don't know as much about him as you should. Like... I don't know. You always seem vague whenever I ask about him." Lavi's voice was casual, but there was an edge to it. He wasn't accusing Allen, not exactly, but he wanted answers. He needed to know why Allen had danced around the topic of Tyki ever since the vampire's name had been mentioned.

Allen's expression tightened, just slightly, but Lavi caught it. The room seemed to cool with the silence that followed, the weight of Allen's thoughts hanging between them like a heavy curtain.

"I'm not being vague on purpose," Allen said softly, his tone careful. "There are... things about Tyki that I can't fully explain. Or, rather, things I don't fully understand myself."

Lavi narrowed his eyes, skeptical. "What do you mean? You two belong to the same family, right?"

Allen hesitated. It was a rare thing to see him uncertain—Allen was usually confident, or at the very least, appeared that way. But now, he seemed almost vulnerable, his fingers tracing the edge of the playing cards absentmindedly.

"The Earl's family is... complicated. And not just in the usual way families are. There are... layers to it. Tyki and I are connected, yes, but that doesn't mean I know every detail about him. He's always been... distant. He's part of the family, but it's like there's a wall between him and the rest of us."

"A wall?" Lavi raised an eyebrow, not fully convinced. "You make it sound like he's some kind of enigma."

"In some ways, he is," Allen replied, his voice low. "Tyki doesn't let people in easily. He hides behind his smiles and his charm, but there's more to him than that. A lot more."

Lavi was quiet for a moment, studying Allen's face. He knew Allen wasn't telling him everything, but he could sense that pressing the issue wouldn't get him anywhere right now. Allen had his reasons for being cryptic, and Lavi had to respect that, even if it frustrated him.

"Alright, fine," Lavi muttered, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his red hair. "But you're not off the hook just yet. I'll figure out what's going on with Tyki, one way or another."

Allen offered a small, tight smile. "I don't doubt that."

The conversation shifted, the tension easing as Lavi pushed the topic of Tyki to the back of his mind, at least for the time being. But the book sitting on the desk, with its worn cover and faded lettering, still weighed heavily on his thoughts.

He picked it up again, flipping through the pages without really reading the words. His mind wandered back to his own lineage—the Bookman family. The stories he had uncovered in the book had only scratched the surface of his true heritage, but they had been enough to make him question everything he had known about himself.

"Do you ever feel like you don't really know who you are?" Lavi asked, his voice quiet, almost as if he were speaking to himself.

Allen looked at him, his expression softening. "All the time."

Lavi let out a soft chuckle, though there was no humor in it. "Yeah, I figured you'd say that."

Allen tilted his head slightly, studying Lavi with a thoughtful gaze. "You've been spending a lot of time with that book," he noted. "Is it helping?"

"Helping?" Lavi shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe? It's... strange. Reading about my family's past, about all the vampire families... It's like looking into a mirror, but the reflection isn't quite right. There are things in here that make sense, and then there are things that don't add up at all."

"Like what?"

Lavi hesitated, tapping his fingers on the book's cover. "Like... I'm supposed to be this 'missing prince,' right? The heir to the Bookmanthrone. But there's so much more to it than that. The book talks about alliances, betrayals, wars between the families... It's all so tangled. And the more I read, the more I realize that being the 'prince' doesn't mean I have all the answers."

Allen nodded slowly. "I get that. Titles don't always come with clarity."

"Yeah, but it's more than that," Lavi continued, his brow furrowing. "The Bookmanfamily... they weren't just rulers. They were involved in things that go way beyond the usual power struggles. There are mentions of ancient rituals, secret deals with other supernatural factions... Things that could change everything we thought we knew about the vampire world."

Allen's eyes widened slightly. "Rituals? Like what?"

"I don't know the details yet," Lavi admitted. "But there are hints that the Bookmanfamily had some kind of pact with other powerful beings. Witches, werewolves... maybe even something darker. The book doesn't spell it out, but there are enough clues to suggest that my family's power didn't just come from being vampires. There's something more to it."

Allen leaned forward, his interest piqued. "That's... big. If what you're saying is true, then it could change a lot. Not just for you, but for the entire vampire world."

"Yeah," Lavi said quietly. "That's what I'm afraid of."

They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of Lavi's words hanging between them. The air in the room felt heavy, charged with the knowledge that something much larger was at play than either of them fully understood.

Allen was the first to break the silence. "You're not alone in this, you know."

Lavi glanced at him, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I know. But it doesn't make it any less overwhelming."

"I get that," Allen said softly. "But you don't have to carry it all by yourself. You've got people who care about you. Me included."

Lavi looked away, the warmth of Allen's words making his chest tighten in a way he hadn't expected. "Thanks," he muttered, his voice rough. "I appreciate that."

Allen smiled gently, then stood up and stretched, breaking the tension with his usual lightness. "Anyway, we've got enough on our plates without diving too deep into ancient vampire politics tonight. How about we take a break and get some food?"

Lavi laughed, the sound easing some of the heaviness in the room. "Yeah, that sounds good. I could use a distraction."

As they left the room, the book remained on the desk, its secrets still tucked away within its pages, waiting for the right moment to be uncovered. But for now, those secrets could wait. There were other mysteries to unravel, and Lavi knew that, no matter what happened, he wouldn't be facing them alone.