"You know..." Ruby's cold voice could be heard all around. Currently, she was being held by Victor like a princess, and her hair was messy from the wind.
"Hmm?" Victor looked at Ruby a little as he continued walking.
"When you mentioned a Date, I was expecting something more normal..."
"..."
"Something like going to the movies, or going to the amusement park, maybe going to an aquarium and seeing those fatty fish that are there to be the center of attention."
"Maybe we could go to that aquarium that has arctic animals."
"...But..." Ruby's body seemed to be shaking a little, and she suddenly lets go of Victor and looks at the man with an irritated look.
"Why are we here!?"
"Here where?" Victor flashed a small smile.
A vein pops in Ruby's head, and she says, "In the middle of the North Pole! Why are we in this place!?"
Despite being in one of the coldest regions on the planet, Ruby didn't seem to be bothered by the cold. The same applied to Victor, who was standing there in his usual suit, and even his clothes didn't seem to be affected by the weather.
Her voice seemed to be so loud that it shocked some animals around.
"Oh, you scared the penguin." Victor chuckled a little when he saw a fat penguin drop by surprise and looked at them with a look that said:
"What the fuck was that?"
Victor's attention was caught by that penguin, and he started watching it with a curious look.
Several veins started popping in Ruby's head, and she spoke in a cold voice:
"Forget about that damned penguin!"
"But it's a penguin! An endangered creature, look how handsome he is, look at his PlayBoy pose!" Victor had a smile that looked like a child's.
"..." Ruby was a little surprised to see this side of Victor.
"Look, there's a seal too!"
"What?" Ruby looked where Victor pointed.
"EGG?" The seal looked at Victor and Ruby suspiciously.
"..." What the fuck? Did this seal just say 'egg'?
Ruby and Victor look at each other, they nod, and soon a tactical agreement seemed to form between the two, and as if they were in sync on a level completely unknown to ordinary beings, they made a move!
… They slowly approached the seal.
And they could see that it was a white seal.
"Oh, it's a Lobodon carcinophagus." Ruby flashed a small smile when she saw the seal.
"... A what?" Victor's brain seemed to go into a short circuit for a few seconds since he didn't even know how to pronounce that word correctly.
"Lobodon carcinophagus."
"...Okay, Google. Explain to me what you just said." He spoke in a way like he was talking to the voice assistant.
"..." Ruby's eyes twitched a little when she heard what Victor said, but she took it as a joke and said:
"She is part of a species of seal called crabeater seals."
"Oh, so they eat crabs?" That was a logical thought. After all, look at their name.
"...Of course not, despite having those names, they don't eat crabs."
"In the region that we are in, it is a region that is very scarce for food, so normally, they eat krill."
"Oh... Krill, huh?" Victor touched his chin as he seemed to be thinking about something.
"EGG?" The seal looked at Victor and Ruby again.
"..." The whole place was silent.
"... Pfft..." Victor felt like laughing since he just couldn't resist the seal's expression and the way she said 'EGG'.
Cough.
Victor coughs a little in an attempt to distract his laughter, then he says:
"Is she a seal or something? Why does she have this weird sound?"
"...I- I do not know..." Ruby's voice was a little shaky.
"Hmm?" Victor looked at Ruby, and for a few seconds, he could see Ruby's face like a girl who was trying to hold back her laughter.
"!!!" Ruby quickly turns around and looks away.
"Oh..." Victor's smile grew a little.
She wouldn't show a shameful expression again!
The first time was when she let her guard down, and that could be considered a mistake.
The second time… It was similar to the first time. She let her guard down because she thought Victor was going to be late, and she exhibited that pathetic sight.
But! This time, she won't make the same mistake! To err is normal and, as a philosopher she doesn't remember the name said:
"All beings can make mistakes, but we must learn from that mistake and not make the same mistake again."
He was a wise man, he understood the world, and his words contained wisdom.
Ruby wouldn't make the same mistake again!
"Hey, Hey, Ruby. Look at this."
As if she were a seasoned actress, the woman's face turned cold as ice, and soon she looked at Victor:
"Hmm?"
Victor was holding the seal in his arms while the animal was thrashing around like a madman.
"EGG, EGG, EGGGG!"
"D-Darling... Pfft." She was trying to ask Victor to release the animal. After all, he can't do that! They are rare, you know!?
But as if he were an experienced trainer, Victor slowly touched the seal's head and stroked the seal's head.
The seal's entire body shook as if it had been shocked and suddenly:
"EGGGGGGG~"
"...... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!"
Ruby tried her best to hold back her laughter, but in the end, she couldn't! She failed in the teaching of that philosopher she does not remember.
"..." Victor showed a small smile when he saw Ruby laughing like a little girl while holding her belly.
"Look, Look, Ruby."
"...H-Hmmm?"
Victor takes the seal's two front paws and lifts it up in a way as if he is using the seal as a puppet.
"Lady Ruby, I'm your humble seal, you can call me..."
"EGGG?" The seal was wondering why Victor stopped petting her, but that's not what it looked like to Ruby:
"HAHAHAHAHAHAH~!" She laughed as she pointed at the seal.
"EGGG?"
"HAHAHAHAH! …This is so stupid-... PFFT... A seal that says 'EGG'... HAHAHAHAHAHA!" All of her cold behavior was thrown to the wind, and she looked like just a teenager who was laughing at something stupid.
"..." Victor displayed a gentle smile when he saw Ruby's expression. He thought that this expression was something he would remember forever, considering it was very rare for her to show that side to anyone.
...
While Victor was having fun with Ruby at the North Pole, something was happening in Nightingale, precisely speaking, something was happening in the vampire king's castle.
A woman with long red hair that contained golden streaks at the ends was standing in front of Vlad. She was wearing a sensual black dress that clearly showed the skin of her large breasts and shoulders. The dress went to the floor and had an opening on the right leg that showed off her long black stockings that were showing off her thick legs.
She had a long black witch's hat with a small skull charm on top.
She was holding a white staff that was made from materials that appeared to be bones.
"Selena Moriarty."
"..." The woman looked at the man... Wrong, at the monster in front of her with her black eyes.
The monster in front of her had no shape or anything she could call a body. It just looked like blackness that existed right in front of her.
No matter how many times Selena looked at this monster, she always felt like she was facing a being different from her, a superior being.
'...It's a very different feeling to when I meet my mother.' She can't help but think that every time she runs into Vlad Tepes.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"It's been a while since you came to this world... How long has it been?" Vlad touched his chin.
"1000 years..." She spoke as if she was trying to remember.
"It's been so long, huh?"
"Yes."
"I see."
"..." A silence fell on the place.
"Well, in that case. I will change it to something that makes you more comfortable." Vlad's body of darkness started to change, and soon a man with long golden hair and blue eyes was in front of the woman. He was wearing medieval armor that had the symbol of a lion.
"What do you think?" He asked to know the woman's opinion.
"..." The woman was silent and didn't answer. She didn't know what to answer since she had already made a mistake in the past.
She unintentionally offended Vlad, and because of that, one of her sisters died that day.
Although it happened a long time ago, a time forgotten by humans, she still remembers that day very well.
And that day, she learned two things, never speak mindlessly in front of Vlad.
And that her mother was a whore.
... A normal mother would get revenge on her dead daughter, but her mother just ignored the matter as if it wasn't her problem.
Because of that, she was very careful when talking to Vlad.
Seeing that the man was still silent, she spoke:
"Normal… Your Majesty, why did you invite me to your castle? I thought everything was settled when I contacted the Snow Clan."
Vlad didn't change his expression. He wasn't offended by what the woman said either since it was normal for her to be afraid of him. After all, everyone is, so he said:
"I'm curious about something..."
He rests his face on his hand and looks at the woman with a neutral gaze:
"Does your mother still have an interest in the uncharted lands of the Nightingale?" He asked simply, in an easy to understand way.
Although it seemed like a non-committal question.
Selena knew this was a dangerous question, considering depending on what she answered, the neutrality treaty that witches have with vampires could end, and a possible war could ensue.
She didn't fear war. After all, they are witches, and they always have a way to avoid death as long as the soul is not destroyed. And since witches are a Neutral Faction, they wouldn't be alone if she went to war.
Werewolves and humans, even supernatural beings that aren't in these conflicts, will help the witches...
Most likely...
She thinks this because she knows that witches have a lot of technologies that everyone wants, but they always have the option to use some information and blackmail them...
"Selena?"
Waking up from her stupor, Selena looked at Vlad, "Oh..."
"You keep overthinking things, huh."
"..." She was silent, and then spoke, "My mother has no interest in the Nightingale lands, as it was said the day I communicated with her subordinate, I only came to this place to seek a possible partnership with the new Count of Vampires." As the Count responsible for exploring this world, Victor basically smelled like money for all witches.
"And who gave that order to you?"
"She didn't give any orders. I came of my own free will, I think partnering with the new count and contracting him for life is a good way to earn money."
Vlad's eyes narrowed for a few seconds, but they soon returned to normal without even the woman noticing that something had changed in his expression.
"Are you going to watch the game?"
"I will, it's a rare opportunity to see two vampire counts fighting at their fullest."
"I see, enjoy the game, even for us, this kind of event is quite rare..."
"Indeed." Certainly, the fight between two vampire counts isn't something you see every day, "It's quite a special occasion indeed." She flashed a small professional smile.
"Because of that..." Vlad's smile grew a little, "I prepared something special, I hope you like it."
"... I will." She got a bad feeling about that smile since usually when this man smiled, nothing good ever happened.
"You can go now."
The woman held her dress and made a gesture of respect as if she were a high class lady, and then she turned and walked towards the exit.
...
When the woman left the castle, a portal appeared next to the throne, and soon the subordinate, who is Vlad's right hand, came out of the portal. Strangely, this man's eyes were wide open.
"Notice something?" Vlad asked as he looked into the eyes that had the appearance of a galaxy.
"As we expected, My King." Alexios closed his eyes and replied in a neutral voice:
"Her memories have been erased."
"What a cruel woman, doing this to her own daughters…" Vlad flashed a small smile.
Vlad is an old monster, and he's used to dealing with the witches' little games, so when he heard that the witch queen's daughter wanted to come to his realm, his suspicious instincts triggered like crazy.
"If that woman just wanted business, she wouldn't send her eldest daughter." Vlad spoke in a neutral tone.
And then Alexios continued, "She would send another witch, but didn't that also figure into her calculations? She knew you would be suspicious of her daughter."
"Yes, I don't doubt she thought of that too. After all, it's the most logical thought given the circumstances."
"I wonder what her goal is."
"...We don't know...yet." Vlad looked at the ceiling, and soon several shadows began to descend on the floor and appeared in front of Vlad kneeling.
"Watch that woman, and that man's son."
"The woman must be watched from afar, beware of her curses."
"While the man... I leave the decision to you, deal with him as you see fit."
"..." The shadows nodded and then disappeared.
.......
