Rudy landed in front of Rias' house and rushed inside.
"Rias! Are you okay?!"
However, Rudy was left speechless after seeing Rias with someone none other than Nyxia.
"....!"
Rudy had recognized Nyxia even without looking at her face. Her blonde hair and her scent gave it all.
Nyxia turned around and looked at Rudy.
"A human?" She raised her brow and asked, "What is a human doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" Rudy asked back.
Nyxia furrowed her brows and uttered, "Know your place, human. Or you will regret talking back to me."
It was Rudy's first time seeing Nyxia after a long time. The last time he saw her was when he was in the vampire world, and Virgil took him to the Lord's chamber.
Needless to say, he had missed Nyxia more than any other girl, as he hadn't seen or touched her since. And seeing her in 1989 made him more emotional than he was when he found out about Rias.
However, Nyxia had never mentioned meeting Rudy in 1989. Perhaps, she was simply keeping it a secret and waiting for the right time to tell him. But what Rudy was the most curious about at that moment was:
"Why are you here?" he asked again.
Nyxia frowned her face this time and glared at Rudy.
"Did you not hear what I…" Nyxia stopped midway as her glare softened.
Rudy looked at Rias, who was standing beside Nyxia, and asked, "Are you okay?"
Rias nodded and hugged Rudy tightly in front of Nyxia.
"I am here to take Glorias back to the vampire world," Nyxia asserted.
"But I don't want to go!" Rias bit her lips and said, "I want to stay with Rudy in the human world!"
"Don't be absurd, Glorias. Virgil is furious, and if he learns that you have been fooling around with a human like this, you will be severely punished!"
"No, I won't! Rudy will save me! He is stronger than grandpa Virgil and even you!"
Nyxia let out a weary sigh and looked at Rias in disappointment.
"Tell me the reason you broke the rule and came into the human world."
"Well… I wanted to… meet my parents…"
"And what are you doing now? Is this human your father or your relative?" Nyxia asked with a judging look on her face.
"I know what you are trying to do. You want me to fall for your 'convincing talk' and take me back to the vampire world."
"Come on, Glorias. Virgil sent his best warrior to bring you back, but they all failed. He was going to come next, but I stopped him and came in his stead. If I don't take you back, he will come, and you know what he will do," Nyxia stated calmly.
"I don't care! Rudy is here with me! He will save me from him!"
SIGH!
"Jane is worried about you. And she is missing you."
"I doubt she is." Rias clenched her fist and said, "I have been here for three months, but she never came to meet me once. She had six chances, and she never came to get me back."
She scoffed and continued, "Do you really want me to believe that she is lonely without me?"
"She is busy."
"Yeah, right! Of course, you will take her side and defend her every time! She is your favorite, after all!" Rias yelled.
"That's not true. Why would you even think that? I support you both whenever either of you needs me."
"And what if both of us need you, and you have to choose either of us? Who would you choose? Me or Jane, huh?"
"...."
"I knew it! You don't really care about me, grandma. You just care about your status and image among the royals! You are no different than the ones who have berated me for my entire life!"
"Enough!" Nyxia finally broke her silence and showed her fangs to Rias. "You are taking this too far, Glorias! Do you know what Jane is busy with?! Your duties! You are the direct heir to the throne, and you have much more responsibilities than you think!
And in your absence, Jane has been doing all that without ever cursing or blaming you! You think everyone hates you. That might be true, but Glorias… you are the one who hates yourself the most.
Do you even think how your one action can affect others' lives?! You are hurting the ones close to you! The other royals and nobles have already started to vote on exiling you out of the family, but Jane has been defending your honor!
Do you want to get kicked out of the royal family? Well, of course, you do. You would rather want to stay in the human world, don't you? Guess what? The royals and nobles who have been berating you ever since your birth will finally win!
Do you want them to win?! Do you want Jane to go through all that for you? For once, Glorias, start loving yourself. And fight back! Try to stand up on your own! Stop relying on Jane, Virgil, and me to stand up for you!"
"...." Rias couldn't speak a word after hearing all that.
Rudy also wasn't sure what he should do or say to Rias on that matter. Whatever Nyxia said was, without a doubt, true. Nyxia said all that for Rias' sake and her future, which was needed.
"I…" Rias gulped down and said, "I just want to be happy…"
"..."
"Why can't I do what I want to do? I didn't ask to be born a vampire or a human. All my life, I have done what I was tasked to do. It's a princess' duty, they said. And I did that diligently. But no one ever praised me for doing that.
I thought if I found my parents, I would ask them for answers. If my mother had never left me in the vampire world, Jane and I would have lived like normal humans, like in the human world.
And now that I have finally found someone who doesn't ask anything from me in return and loves me for who I am. And I don't want to lose him."
