Chapter 462: The Hidden Boss.
"So this is the gate of Tartarus..."
"Hmm...? Have you not seen this place before?" Morgana asked with an amused look.
"I have not had the opportunity to visit Clan Adrastea territory." Elizabeth replied.
"Oh... Come to think of it, you're still a baby, huh."
"…I am an adult in the human world." Elizabeth grumbled.
"Still a baby for us." She chuckled in amusement.
"Humpf, can you say that to that man's face?" Elizabeth didn't need to specify who she was talking about. Everyone in this carriage knew who she was talking about.
"It is clear. He's a baby... an incredibly mature baby." She laughed seductively as her succubus tail danced around.
"I don't know how to feel knowing that my mother is lusting after my father's enemy..."
"Humpf, Victor is a man Vlad will never be in his entire life."
"...And enemy? How so?"
"...." Elizabeth glared at her mother, specifically at a part of the woman's body that swayed with any sudden movement.
'I'm 100% sure I'm adopted…' She thought with a dead look.
'Why didn't I inherit any of my mother's traits!? She's a succubus, shouldn't I have a body like hers!?' Looking casually at her sister, she felt sour.
The reason? Lilith was very similar to her mother, at least in body. However, her face she'd inherited from her father.
Now, she didn't know which one. After all, her father was famous for having several 'faces', she didn't even know which part of Lilith's face was her father's, but she was sure her sister didn't look like her mother...
... At least that's what she thought.
"Father clearly doesn't like Victor, so doesn't that mean he is his enemy? Not to mention Victor killed my father's grandchildren." She had no attachment to those creatures, she didn't even consider them her family, and the way those men looked at her was disgusting.
She just didn't kill them because they were her older brothers' children.
"... You know relationships don't work like that, the world isn't black or white."
"I know, but…" Lilith sighed at the end.
"To be honest, I don't know anything anymore."
"Oh?"
"Lucas and Saul are… depressed." That was the best word she could find to describe her brothers' feelings.
"Well, they lost their older brother and their mothers... It's understandable." For all Morgana's lack of delicacy, she wouldn't dare make fun of a subject like that, especially since the subject in question affected her daughters as well.
"How are they dealing with this?" she asked gently.
"Lucas disappeared somewhere, he said he was going to train. I think that's his way of dealing with things. In less than a couple years, he lost his son, his mother, and his brother... that isn't the best thing for anyone's mental state."
"Saul is more complicated... He is completely depressed."
"Adam was bad too, but he got a lot better thanks to Jeanne's appearance."
"What about you?" Morgana spoke up.
"...To be honest, I wasn't really close to my brothers, so their death didn't affect me that much... And I have you here now..."
If Lilith were to describe her feelings, it would be shock and disbelief.
She never thought her father would kill his own children and wives, but it just proved one thing:
'Even if he is lenient with his family, he is still a King at the end of the day... He needs to do whatever it takes to protect his Kingdom... Even if it means killing his family.'
Lilith understood that what Theo, Lucas, and Saul's mothers did was unforgivable, but this action originated due to her father's neglect.
The problem originated with him.
She thought he would be lenient and just arrest the traitors, but... Her father just killed them all.
Sigh.
She sighed again.
She knew what he did wasn't wrong, but knowing the context of it all, she couldn't help but feel bitter.
All because of a big 'what if'.
What if Vlad paid attention to his wives.
What if Vlad prepared Theo better to be his successor or let him rule elsewhere.
For God's sake, the man was 3000 years old, but Vlad treated him like a child.
It's ok for the old monster to do that, considering that he is a monster with more than 5000 years of life, but even so, he should think more!
A father was supposed to be the glue that holds your entire complicated family together, but he failed to be that glue.
Sighing again, Lilith decided to stop thinking about it. These thoughts were getting her nowhere.
"...." Morgana displayed a sad smile when she saw the state of her eldest daughter. She could clearly understand her thoughts since it was quite obvious after all.
'It's because of that I brought you away from the castle. You need to see new horizons, my daughter.' In the real sense of the word, Lilith is a young adult.
Despite being a 1500 year old Vampire, which can be considered an Elder Vampire, she didn't have the experience necessary to be called that.
She'd lived her whole life being protected by the old man. Of course, that was not a bad thing.
But she never had a chance to spread her wings and develop.
For God's sake, even Ophis was better than her in this regard. The 5 year old had already had a near-death experience, and, while this was not something that a small child should experience, it was quite important for the development of the personality of a Supernatural Being.
After all, the supernatural world is cruel, much more cruel than the human world.
Chomp, chomp.
"...." Looking to the side, they all looked at Ophis eating a bucket of blood red cookies with a neutral look on her face.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"Why did you come-... Actually, why didn't you teleport to this place?" Elizabeth rephrased her question because she realized it was stupid. Ophis clearly came because she wanted to see her father and because she wanted to pass! She was a free child!
"...Father forbid..." She muttered and then went back to eating her things.
"Which one?"
"The good one."
"Victor?"
"Mm." She nodded her head in agreement.
"…why are you listening to him?" Lilith felt disbelief, was this stubborn little girl really her sister?
"He is my father...?"
"Why don't you listen to Vlad then?"
"...." Ophis made a difficult face, as she seemed to be thinking deeply, something like a difficult math question.
Everyone was silent as they waited for Ophis to respond.
"If I listen to my Good Father, he will reward me."
"Whether or not I listen to my other Father, he will reward me anyway."
She nodded, satisfied. It seemed her reasoning was correct, then she went back to eating.
"...." A silence fell around them.
"…Vlad spoils you that much?"
"Yes..." Elizabeth and Lilith spoke at the same time.
"And for Ophis, it's even worse. I wouldn't doubt that if Ophis said she wanted Planet Earth, Vlad would go to war just for her." Lilith spoke.
"Not just him, I think Victor would too." Elizabeth spoke.
"......." Morgana looked at Ophis with horror in her eyes.
'With a casual request from this little girl, she can order around two Progenitors. Isn't she the real secret boss here?'
....
