Chapter 545: Master is proud.
Looking at Natalia's visage, Leona laughed in her mind, 'That's why this man attracts so many crazy women, and he also turns normal women into crazy and obsessive women.'
Only Victor could speak those cheesy words and look extremely natural about it, and what caused women the most emotional damage was that every word was true, coming straight from the core of his being. He was stupidly honest like that.
"… Playboy," Edward muttered as he looked at Victor approaching Eleonor, who froze like a deer in headlights.
Seeing this scene made him realize just how deadly his friend had become... to women and some men.
Leona scrunched up her face when she heard that word that reminded her of her childhood friend who cheated on her friend:
"Humpf, unlike that piece of shit Andrew, Victor is better... Just better." She flashed a big smile.
Edward pursed his lips:
"... You're not even trying to hide it anymore."
"Yes, Victor will solve our problem by talking to you about some promise or something."
"...." Edward flinched at the mention of the promise.
"Did he talk about it?"
"No, I tried to get information from him, but he wouldn't tell me." Leona bit her lip, and she looked at Edward seriously,
"I let it slide because I trust him completely, and I know he won't give up on me just because I'm a Werewolf."
"... Are you serious?" Edward couldn't help but question.
Leona looked at her brother, and her look made the man flinch even more:
"Yes. I'm tired of holding back because of my father or family. Scathach's lesson was very enlightening."
'Scathach!? What did that woman-... Oh, Mizuki's lesson?'
Andrew was also unaware that Leona had been growing closer to Ruby. As she learned more about Ruby's past, she continued to feel like she could identify with the girl.
These also involved the lessons that Scathach imparted to Ruby, which Ruby was now imparting to Leona.
"I will have my childhood friend as my Husband, and no one else will stop that. Not even you."
"..." Hearing the discussion from afar, Ruby smiled.
'Now the Wolves have completely entered. Only that Fox is missing. With that, we'll have a whole army of Youkai at our disposal… Although I don't see the need to intervene based on the information the girls say. That Fox Youkai is very similar to my Husband, and from my mother's example, I know it's only a matter of time before she falls into his clutches.'
'Aphrodite is practically conquered, and with that, we now have the support of one of the most influential Goddesses... And the best part is that she is similar to Violet in love-related matters. She even gave her Blessings of Sex and Love to Victor when she discovered that other Deities had Blessed my Husband.'
'And thanks to those two blessings…' Ruby swallowed hard. 'My Husband has become more obsessive, and his heavy love has become even more ridiculous, and with just one look, he can feel the 'love' in a being.'
'And…' She blushed at her next thought. The Blessing of Sexuality, well, let's just say the score between Victor and Scathach the last time they did it was:
10 x 5. With 5 being Scathach.... We also have to take into account that Scathach has improved a lot, and she never stops improving.
Ruby shook her head from side to side and looked at Natalia and Eleonor in the distance.
'They are the last ones, and with that, we will have all the support from Nightingale.'
Scathach looked at Morgana and Jeanne.
"What are you going to do about them?" A voice asked at a low volume that only Ruby heard.
"Hmm?" Ruby looked where her mother was looking, and understanding the question, she replied,
"Nothing. I don't know what Darling did, but they are already our allies."
"An ex-Demon General and an ex-Saint, huh? My disciple is the enemy of all women." Scathach muttered, her smile growing, "Although women would not run in fear from this enemy, but rather do their best to get his attention."
"...." Ignoring her mother's words, Ruby continued:
"... Preferably, I wanted Lilith, the Mother of Demons... Depending on how the war proceeds, in the end, we would have the support of an entire world... Hell… This means infinite war resources, as long as there is still Humanity at the end of that war."
Scathach narrowed her eyes:
"... You are getting greedy, daughter."
"I know, but it's necessary to complete my future plan.."
"..." Thinking about her daughter's future plan, Scathach didn't know whether to be proud of her attitude or give her daughter a Karate chop on the head for thinking too ambitiously. After all, she knew that achieving such a thing was figuratively impossible.
But her daughter seemed so sure this would work that Scathach couldn't help but support her; that was a mother's duty, after all.
"… Hmm, just don't get lost in that greed, and consider Victor's feelings too."
Ruby chuckled softly, "I always do that. My Darling is everything to me… And just as he does anything and everything for me, I will do the same for him."
"And usually, I don't need to do anything. Other than a few small adjustments here and there, I don't actually have to take any major actions to further my plan. Darling is like a beacon that attracts all influential people… His existence itself keeps the plan moving forward on its own. Charisma is a terrifying thing."
"… So much devotion… I wonder where you learned that."
"Ara, Mother. Are you not the same?"
"..." Scathach raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"
"For someone who didn't like to meddle in these 'mundane' matters, you are quite committed to helping me."
"Humpf, I'm just doing this to make that fool stronger, and I'm proud of you as my daughter for having such a big goal."
"Yeah, Yeah, I know." Ruby laughed. It felt refreshing to tease her mother since it had usually never worked in the past. Not to mention...
She wouldn't have dared say it out loud in the past since she had been so afraid of her mother.
'Only when I saw my mother interacting with Victor did that fear start to subside, and when my husband solved her bloodlust problem too….'
But the turning point for Ruby was when: 'I saw my own mother sleeping so defeated on my Husband's chest with white seeds coming out of her... She had such a happy expression on her face even though she had lost. That's when I realized she wasn't so terrifying.'
'And since that incident, she's much easier to get along with… She's brighter and calmer around her family, though to outsiders, she's still the same.'
'It's all because of Darling's influence, huh…' She never expected to have this kind of relationship with her mother.
They were pretty close now, and while she was still an authority figure for Ruby, she was more like her big sister now.
'I'm glad she got rid of the remnants of the ritual with my late father. I think the events of Agnes marrying my husband made her finally stop being lazy and talk to Vlad.' She thought in amusement and with a solemn expression.
'... Has she stopped feeling guilty?'
Ruby knew a fact. It might not seem like it, but Scathach felt guilty about it… Wrong; it would be more correct to say:
'A feeling she didn't reciprocate?'
What had happened was, the moment Scathach knew she was pregnant, she'd killed Ruby's father.
After all, he had served his purpose, and she didn't care about the ritual.
However, the ritual couldn't be undone while Scathach's existence was so 'chaotic' with the child inside her.
The Magic could somehow harm her unborn child, so she didn't do anything about it, but when Ruby was born…
When she saw that precious gift that he'd given her, she felt bad for not reciprocating the man who gave her that gift.
And because of that, she didn't undo the ritual.
When Ruby grew up and finally asked about her father, the bloodlust that plagued her because of the still active ritual became a form of 'punishment' for her choice and training for herself.
Yes, a twisted reason, coming from a twisted mind, but that was how her mother worked. That was how her mother was.
A proud woman, a born warrior, a teacher, and above all, a petty woman. Vindictive and cruel to herself and others, and last but not least... An overprotective woman.
Looking at her mother, who had a slight smile on her face, Ruby sighed internally:
'Haah, I'm glad my Husband showed up to solve this puzzle I call my mom and made her relax a little more. Living 2000 years has its consequences, huh.'
Scathach's reason for not telling Victor this?
The woman didn't consider it important or noteworthy. Just like everything else in her life, it was something she decided to do, and she exercised her will, simple as that.
Just like the lesson she gave Mizuki, the woman herself followed this philosophy, and she always followed her will, even if that will was self-destructive.
Meanwhile, with Edward:
'... Just what happened to my sister!? Victor threw some crazy charm on her!?'
He knew his friend too well to know he would never do that, but he was really starting to doubt Victor now. His sister's eyes weren't normal!
Little did he know that Leona felt competitive when she saw Victor spreading his love around and when she saw the plans of the self-proclaimed 'Goudere', Ruby.
"Get away!" Eleonor screamed with a red face, and this caught the attention of everyone present, who looked at the scene with amused eyes.
"Why are you acting like I'm Jason or something? You're watching too many trash movies."
Eleonor picked up a vase and threw it at Victor, which passed through him, smashing into the wall on the other side of the room.
"…Really?" Victor questioned with raised eyebrows, and his smile grew.
"Call me Freddy Krueger now, but unlike that monster, I will fulfill your every wish~."
"!!!" Eleonor sensed the danger in Victor's smile.
"Rose, get that man away from me!"
Rose turned her face away, "... Oh, Scarlett Sisters, I haven't seen you for a long time." She walked seductively with her sword at her waist towards the three sisters while ignoring Eleonor.
Eleanor looked in shock and disbelief at Rose, and soon she angrily yelled, "Traitor!"
She felt a shiver run down her back when someone hugged her.
"Fufufu, you are mine, now."
"N-Noooo!"
Completely ignoring Eleonor, Victor hugged the woman, sat with her on the floor, and placed her in his lap. Soon he gave her the 'Natalia' treatment, apologizing, stroking her head, and telling her not to worry and just be herself.
A few minutes later, she became a flushed mess who didn't dare lift her face.
"Let go of me, Jerk! Let me go!" Her voice might have been screaming it, but her body wasn't moving, and it wasn't like Victor was forcing her.
"Not until you forgive me~." He blew into her ear.
"!!!" Her face turned even redder as her body shuddered with the feeling, and then, she buried her face in Victor's chest.
"Fufufu, this man certainly knows how to handle women. I wonder who taught him."
"His mother taught him," Pepper spoke.
"E-Eh?" Rose's face turned slightly red.
"D-Does that mean he treats his mother like this?"
"Yes." Feeling strange, Pepper looked at Rose, blushing, and soon Pepper's face also reddened as she understood what Rose was thinking:
"Get your mind out of the gutter! He didn't do this to his mother! She just taught him how to treat a woman."
"... Ohh... It's a shame."
'A shame!?' Pepper narrowed her eyes, then her eyes widened, 'Don't tell me she's into that? Incest!? This woman!?'
Pepper felt it best not to venture down that rabbit hole. She knew Elder Vampires had exotic fetishes, and it was not like incest was unusual in Nightingale or considered a strange fetish, considering that they needed to maintain the family Bloodline's purity. Moreover, they were a different race so they didn't suffer the same problems as humans.
'Thinking about it, she's pretty normal, huh.' Pepper touched her chin.
"Isn't Eleonor making too much of a fuss about this?" Siena snorted in disdain.
Pepper, who heard her sister, looked at Eleonor and nodded wisely:
"Indeed."
"Do you want to receive the same treatment as her?"
"Yes, that seems to be—." Pepper and Siena became silent, and the two sisters looked at Lacus, the smug loli.
"Yare, yare, why aren't you more honest?"
The two shouted at the same time, "Stop imitating Jojo!"
Even though Siena wasn't very deep into the culture, she still knew who Jojo was. Her sisters had forced her to watch...
It was worth mentioning that she had to wash her eyes on the first day, but on the second day, she kind of started to like it.
The anime was weird and "bizarre", but... Acceptable.
....
