Chapter 402: Strong Women.
"...But aren't we talking?"
"Count Alucard." Morgana's eyes gleamed.
"I'm serious."
"I know... After all, you wouldn't have been following me around like a duckling all this time if you weren't." Victor leaned back on the couch, and rested his head on his hand, while with his vacant hand he held Violet's waist that was in his lap.
"But the question is, is this important to me?"
"If you don't listen, you can't decide if it isn't." Jeanne who spoke this time, stated.
"Indeed." Victor flashed a cold smile, and then he continued:
"I'm listening."
"..." Morgana looked at Jeanne.
The two seemed to exchange signs with their eyes, and then Jeanne nodded her head, they seemed to have decided something.
"We want your help to form a faction to oppose Vlad." Soon the two women began to explain what they wanted from Victor.
They spoke many fancy words which Victor ignored, and focused on the important points which were:
Make a faction to oppose Vlad, and use that Faction to overthrow the man from power, and if possible, kill him and rescue their children from the man's custody.
Basically, they wanted to perform a coup d'etat with Victor at its center.
"Two Progenitors can't live on the same mountain, and one day Vlad will turn his fangs to you." The speaker was Morgana.
Victor stopped listening at that moment, and focused on something more important, stroking Violet's head who was already sleeping like a cat that didn't care about anything.
... At least that was the image they both thought he wanted, despite enjoying her husband's caresses, she was still listening to the woman.
'Idiots. Darling is not interested in such things.'
After more than 5 minutes explaining the pros and cons.
Victor said:
"Tedious."
"…Eh?" Morgana was speechless.
"Your whole plan is boring."
"Your situation is boring."
"The reason you seek my help is boring."
"...Are you saying that helping my daughter is useless?"
Victor ignored Morgana's irritated look, and asked, "Did she ask for your help?"
"...." Morgana was silent.
"Did you talk to your son and ask if that was what they wanted?" Victor this time spoke while looking at Jeanne.
"...." The woman was silent as well.
"Your whole grand plan involves using me to stage a coup to weaken Vlad, and take his children."
"But, you didn't even ask something simple like; My son, do you want to be with your father or with me?"
"They're old enough to make their own decisions."
"...."
"Because of that, I said it's boring."
"Vlad may have been an asshole to you guys, but one thing I guarantee you, he will never harm your children… His own children."
"And that's something you probably know, right? If I didn't know, I wouldn't be as 'relaxed' as I am now."
"...." Internally the two agreed with Victor's words about Vlad.
"But, don't you have an interest in becoming King?"
"Stop making this matter like it's my problem." Victor's eyes glowed blood red as he looked at Morgana, and this time it wasn't a gleam in jest but the way he looked at an enemy.
"You who are asking for my help and not the other way around."
"...."
"And..."
"Those mind games don't work on me, I thought you already knew that."
"We're not playing mind games."
"We just want-." Jeanne was silent when she realized she was going to repeat herself again.
"Stop running from your feelings."
"What do you mean?"
"I said stop giving reasons for your feelings." Victor's eyes shone brighter.
And a pressure fell on the two women, the place seemed to grow darker.
And Victor's voice was heard in a way that shook the women's bodies, it was like a demonic beast speaking from the bottom of a dark abyss.
"You are angry."
"You are hateful."
"You want revenge on Vlad for what he did."
"Do not use your children, or even myself as an excuse for this fact."
"What you want isn't something as pretty as a coup d'etat."
"You want a massacre."
"You want to make Vlad suffer."
"You want the delicious dish called 'revenge'."
"That's what you really want."
gulp.
Victor's words couldn't help but echo through the entire existence of the two women, Victor's words acted as a trigger and they were forced to see the reality, the reality that they were hiding behind words like the ones Victor spoke.
Jeanne hated Vlad. At first, she fell in love with the man because he saved her from being burned at the stake, and that same man promised her that he would love her forever and would never leave her alone.
She hated him because everything he'd promised, he didn't deliver, she was just discarded and forgotten in his treasure hall for who knows how many years.
Likewise with Morgana, Vlad was the one who showed her a world outside of what she knew, a world away from hell, and she fell in love with him, and made her marriage vows because she trusted the man...
But he let her down, she was abandoned, forgotten, his little 'empire' was far more important than his own wife.
And it made her angry, made her furious.
And after living with the man for a while, she realized, actually... All his wives noticed, Vlad is a man of moments.
He forgets or ignores what he has done in the past, and focuses only on the present, all his promises are just lip service, they realized it the moment Hana set foot in Nightingale's palace.
Just like he had in the past, Vlad looked at her with that glint of love in his eyes, a glint that no longer shone at the rest of his wives.
Vampires feel feelings more intensely than any normal being, and for Morgana who was a demon, those negative feelings were heightened even more.
And the act of skipping her meal didn't help improve her feelings, a Progenitor's blood was just too addictive, and not drinking it for a long time could lead to madness.
It's like a drug from which you can never escape it's addiction.
"...." Victor looked at the two, and all he felt when he looked at them was,
Abandonment, helplessness, despair, hate, revenge, they were like a little bit of negativity.
Their eyes were dark and lifeless, but it wasn't a darkness of obsession like himself or his wives had.
It was an eye very similar to Eve's...
Of course, Eve's situation, and the two were quite different.
One was a powerless woman who was trapped by her fate and abusive parents.
While these two were a former Saint, and a former Demon General, they are strong women...
Correction, they were strong women, now all that's left is this...
'Disappointing.' He thought in disdain.
Victor loved strong women.
Women who walk with their own legs and convictions.
Just like his master.
Just like that black-haired fox.
A woman shone even more intensely when she acted by her own convictions, and strength, and demonstrates her beauty when she is not leaning on someone, but on her own legs.
When they make plans and act on those plans like Ruby.
When they burn their enemies intensely like Violet, and even if she goes through a difficult situation like losing her father, she will rise up as a strong woman.
When even faced with a difficult situation, they will raise their weapon, and make a decision.
As Sasha had made her decision to put her emotions aside and raise her sword to kill Maria.
Something Victor didn't leave for his kind wife's own good.
Each of the women close to them had a characteristic that made her 'strong'.
The strength Victor was talking about wasn't just power and physical strength, it's all about attitude, character, and way of acting.
If it was Scathach in this situation, what would she do?
'She would take her spear, train, and even under the effects of bloodlust, she would get stronger to come back and have her revenge.' That's her strength, she has an unshakable determination.
Ruby?
She would make plans, hide, make allies, train and one day, even if it took years, she would have her revenge.
And even if she were to ask someone for help, she wouldn't make half-assed plans like the two of them did. She would make concrete plans with real benefits, something that would draw the attention of potential allies.
Victor could spend hours here talking about every decision every single one of the women close to him would make.
'Just what drove two great women to become something like…this?'
Victor couldn't help but feel disappointed by this situation.
Yes, that was the correct word.
He was not sad for them, nor sorry for them.
He was just disappointed.
Two great warriors, two great women were reduced to this just by contacting Vlad.
It was because of this that Victor didn't 'take care' of everything. He wanted his wives to shine, have their own responsibilities, and motivations, he'll be there whenever they need help.
Each of his wives had responsibilities, and even with those responsibilities, they never stopped evolving.
Even though Ruby was stuck in her lab most of the time, she had never stopped improving, the same goes for Sasha, and Violet.
With a single glance, Victor could feel that his wives had the power of a 500-year-old vampire.
Drinking his blood daily, and training, made them push their powers to even higher levels, and with their Vampire Count form.
Even Violet could face the current Morgana and win.
And that's not empty speculation from Victor, the Snow Clan wasn't feared for their firepower for nothing.
'They've evolved, even if they don't tell me anything, I'm always watching all of them... Always.' Victor stroked Violet's head possessively.
"What is that look, Count?" Jeanne commented with a cold look.
"I'm disappointed."
"Hmm?" Morgana's face distorted, she wasn't too happy to receive pity from this man.
"You-."
"I'm disappointed to see two strong women become…. this..." He pointed at the two women as if they were insignificant, at least their current selves.
"...." The women were silent, and a little surprised by what Victor said.
"Jeanne D'Arc."
"A Saint."
"The maiden of Orleans, everyone knows her deeds, a woman who may be considered the noblest of all."
"And… this is you now." Victor snapped his fingers and a mirror of ice appeared reflecting Jeanne's appearance.
"..." Jeanne opened her eyes in shock when she saw herself in the mirror, this was the first time she had actually seen herself in the mirror, and the reality shock couldn't help but make her shiver a little.
'I look... tired... and weak.' She bit her lip with her final thoughts.
"Anna... Now, Morgana, a former general of Lilith's demons, an existence everyone fears, dubbed by the Demons' own mother as The Reaper..."
"A title that should strike fear into all Demons or beings against Lilith, but… Look at you now." Victor snapped his finger again and Morgana's image was reflected in the mirror.
She looked in the mirror, and her appearance was there, just changed clothes, she was still hot, and her succubus wings, horns, and tail were still beautiful.
But... Her face... Her face was dead, she looked tired, and lifeless. It was like staring at a walking corpse, very different from the youthful look she always had even while slaying Demons.
"You are deplorable. Your current selves cannot even be considered worthy of asking me for anything."
"...." Victor's words hurt... It hurt more than it should have in the hearts of both women.
But like it or not, these are the words they needed, they needed the truth.
Victor snapped his finger and the mirror disappeared.
"And I will fix that."
"Eh...?" The two reacted confused to Victor's final words.
"What do you mean?"
Victor got up with Violet in his arms like a princess, he kissed her mouth:
"Take care of the place, and let me know if my mother's condition changes, and if Aphrodite shows up."
"…Do you think she will come back?"
"She's definitely going to... I want to see my mom's answer, and when she's ready, my mom is definitely going to call her friend."
"Keep an eye on her for me."
"I will..." Violet kissed Victor's mouth again, and said in a dark tone, "I'll cut your balls off if you touch them."
"You know that will never happen." Victor chuckled as he pecked Violet on the lips.
"Yeah, yeah, it's not you who touches them, it's the bitches who come at you." She spoke in a venomous tone:
"My husband is the most handsome man after all."
"And that really might be true now." Victor laughed.
Victor broke away after a kiss from Violet.
And then he looked back at the two with a cold look:
"Natalia." His voice came out loud, it was as if he had spoken all over the house.
And in less than a few seconds a portal appeared.
And Natália together with Luna left the portal.
"Ugh, I swear to god..." The words that she was going to continue were cut short by what Victor said.
"Thanks for always being around Natalia." Victor flashed a small, grateful smile.
"Damit." She cursed herself for falling into that beautiful smile every time.
"Luna, how is Scathach?"
"Bored."
"Sounds like her." He laughed.
"Take care of Ruby."
"Always."
"Good." Victor spoke with a smile, and in that same instant his body was covered by lightning, and he disappeared.
Rumble, Rumble.
And in the blink of an eye, he appeared in the same spot with Jeanne and Morgana being held like a sack of potatoes on both of his shoulders.
"…What the fuck!?" Morgana screamed.
"I didn't see anything..." Jeanne's face darkened.
"Open a portal to Eleanor's territory."
"Yes, Master."
"Let me go!"
"Stop struggling, pig." Victor smacked Morgana on the ass.
"Ugh… Why does it hurt so much!?" Because of the pain, she didn't even register what he called her.
"Of course it hurts, I attacked with your weakness."
"You set my ass on fire!?"
"It is clear."
"...." She was speechless at this shameless brazen admission.
A portal appeared, and Victor looked to the side, specifically at his Odachi.
"Junketsu."
The odachi seemed to shake a little and soon flew towards Victor and got close to him.
Looking at the menacing handle of the Odachi, Morgana stopped resisting, that Odachi just gave her a very bad feeling.
"You should have done this from the start, look at Jeanne, she's a good girl."
"..." Jeanne decided not to comment on the way he spoke, and how it made her heart flutter with a strange feeling.
Victor laughed, and jumped towards the portal.
When the portal closed, Natalia asked:
"What is he going to do?"
"Knowing my husband..." Violet flashed a small evil smile: "Probably throw them to the monsters... And I hope they get eaten by the monsters and turn into shit, HAHAHAHAHA~"
"..."
.....
