Chapter 587: Otsuki Haruna and Victor Alucard.
The meeting room was very quiet.
The reason?
The man and his group who sat in front of them.
Yes, they had been warned. Yes, they braced themselves not to be shocked at how 'handsome' the man was. Yes, they did all that, but...
The attempt has proven futile, and since the moment he entered the room, it was like everyone had forgotten to breathe.
Genji and Yoichi swore they'd never seen anyone so beautiful before in their entire existence, and they were men who saw literal gods.
If you were to describe this man's beauty in simple words, it would be a beauty out of a fantasy. It was as if he was made to have everyone's attention.
Incredibly, the one who was more 'calm' during all that silence was Haruna; despite the obvious shock at seeing Victor so different from the memories she had of him, he was still the man she remembered despite being more handsome.
Trying to calm her inner turmoil and the sinful thoughts that were starting to rise in her heart, she took a deep breath and spoke:
"Before you start, one of my subordinates said that you are working with someone of my race."
"Mm." she heard a simple confirmation sound, followed by the words:
"Okama is working for me." His melodious voice echoed around, enchanting everyone present, whether men or women, although the most drastic effects were on women.
The reason for that thought was her nekomata general, who was holding back very hard not to throw herself onto the man's body. She could smell her excitement from KM's away, even if the woman was outside 'protecting' the men's guests.
"I see... When I finished gathering all of Japan's Youkai, I was surprised not to find Okama. Even though he wasn't as strong as Genji or me, he was still a nine-tailed fox."
"Are nine-tailed foxes so special?" He asked with genuine curiosity.
"Yes, our numbers can be counted on the fingers, most Youkai Kitsune don't reach nine tails so easily, and few are born with nine tails like Genji or me."
"Interesting… So he was that rare." Victor touched his chin.
'Ugh,' Even such a simple gesture made him look so cute!
'God, I need to calm down! Get used to his new appearance, and act like you always do! It wasn't difficult to do that in the past!'
Haruna was going through a hard time right now. Although it was undeniable that she was attracted to the vampire in front of her from the first time that they saw each other, was the reason for this attraction because of his beauty?
That's a factor too, but the main thing was... They're similar; it was an instinctive feeling, not to mention that his worldview was the same as hers.
That feeling of having found someone of your own kind, someone who understands you, was hard to ignore, especially for Youkai Kitsune, who tended to only choose one partner for life.
Knowing the peculiarities of her species, Haruna had a very high standard for choosing a companion because she knew that this companion would stay with her throughout her life.
About the mate's species...? It's not like she particularly cared about it, as long as the individual's character suited her tastes; she didn't care about the individual's race. For her, it was just details.
She's not like those old Youkai who think they're above everyone else.
That was why she didn't completely deny Ruby's proposal. In fact, she took this proposal as a perfect excuse to fight the man.
She was always interested in doing this from the beginning, but due to her position, and the situation the two of them found themselves in, such a hasty decision would create more problems in that particular situation.
'Perhaps by fighting him, I can glimpse a new beginning for myself.' Unfortunately, Haruna had a very serious problem.
She wasn't getting stronger as quickly as before. Why?
She can only think of one reason.
Motivation.
Before, she had the motivation to unite her race to no longer be exploited by the Shinto gods, to end the cycle of hate and revenge, and bring order to this chaos.
But in reaching that goal, she lost her motivation.
Don't stop walking, don't stop fighting, because if you do that, you'll become weak, you'll become lethargic.
That was one of the important lessons she had when she learned her style.
"I have another youkai kitsune who is my subordinate." Victor thought of the man who was Esther's 'toy' [lover].
"Although I don't know how many tails he has, he actually looks quite human to me."
"Youkai Kitsune, like Tanuki Youkai, are masters of disguise. This skill is in our instincts, and we can easily hide our characteristics as Youkai Kitsune, even if showing it is a source of pride." Haruna explained.
She didn't want to admit it, but she was enjoying this 'formal' conversation more than she thought. It was pretty obvious that the man had an interest in the Youkai as a whole.
"I see; this is truly educational," Victor responded nobly and politely, a gesture he learned from having Adonis' memories.
"Even though it's interesting to talk about the Youkai, we should leave that discussion for a later date."
"I agree."
Victor's face took on an emotionless expression:
"I heard about the discussion Lady Haruna had with my allies."
Trying her best to ignore the discomfort she felt from the man in front of her acting so formally with her, Haruna spoke:
"Correct. I accepted the alliance, but I will only accept the marriage proposal after a formal duel."
"... Marriage...?" Victor's emotionless expression broke with an eyebrow being raised.
Victor turned his face towards Ruby.
The ice queen had the decency to at least turn away and ignore her husband's piercing gaze that demanded answers.
"Mind explaining, my WIFE?" Victor smiled in a 'gentle' way, a smile that made everyone present feel chills, except for Scathach, who was amazed at the way her disciple found to intimidate people.
'So 'kindness' can be used as a weapon too... Interesting.' Feeling inspired, she thought it wasn't a bad idea to try to learn this form of intimidation.
"… I-I- I forgot to mention that." Ruby did her best to control her tone, but she failed miserably.
But contrary to what the people around her thought, she wasn't afraid...
She was excited.
Victor's intimidating form was now reminiscent of the nightly 'fights' the two had.
Victor's eyes narrowed even more at that answer, which made Ruby's body shake a little, putting a small smile on Victor's face.
He was feeling a little amused by this masochist he loved with all his heart and a little annoyed that she hadn't mentioned something as important as this sooner.
Victor didn't believe that his wife actually forgot to mention it to him; he knew her well enough to know when she lied to him... [Something that never happened before.]
Ruby never hid anything from Victor; she just omitted information that she didn't think was important.
To lie? Never. But Omit? Yes, she did. Although Victor didn't know the reasoning, he knew that Ruby would always have his and the family's best interests at the forefront of her mind.
And for him, that was enough.
If she wanted him to know something, he would.
Trust is a two-way street, and despite being possessive, overprotective, and crazy about women, he understood that... Yes... He understood that... Yes, he definitely understood that.
Victor's eyes were utterly devoid of life for a few seconds, making Ruby's body shake even more.
Victor's gaze was practically devouring Ruby's body with desire, love, and purest possessiveness that Ruby felt through her connection.
'I will punish her later.'
And feeling those desires and thoughts just added fuel to the fire that was growing inside Ruby.
'Fuck, I'm Horny!' Ruby twitched her legs a little and used her water power to prevent liquids from flowing out and getting her panties wet and to keep the scent of her arousal from spreading around.
'...Should I omit more information for him to punish me...?' A small perverted smile appeared on Ruby's face.
Scathach, who was standing next to Ruby, just looked at her daughter with an amused expression, although it was interesting to see how her daughter 'let go' with her husband; now was not the time for that.
Scathach lightly touched her daughter's leg, prompting Ruby to look at her mother.
Seeing her mother's serious gaze, it was as if a bucket of cold water was thrown on her fire, and coldness quickly took over her body as the logical part of her brain kicked in.
The cold expression on Ruby's face returned, and she nodded to her mother with a nod of thanks.
'Tsk, I'm becoming like Violet and Natashia! I need to control myself!' Reprimanding herself for this minor incident, she turned to look at her husband, who was looking at Haruna with an emotionless face.
"Lady Haruna, I ask that you ignore my wife's proposal."
Ruby opened her eyes a little in shock. 'Is he going to waste this chance?' She didn't understand his move.
Haruna narrowed her eyes:
"Victor-dono, I do not understand the implications of your words."
"It is exactly what I said, Lady Haruna."
A feeling of irritation grew inside Haruna:
"...Explain yourself."
"My wife's act of asking for an alliance through marriage is not something I approve of." Victor was completely honest.
At this moment, Haruna did not understand anything. 'Are my instincts wrong? Is he not like me?' She was extremely confused now.
Mainly because she could feel the sincerity in the vampire's words.
'...Does he have no interest in me?' Haruna was feeling complicated now.
'What do they have that I don't? Is it the beauty? That's impossible. I have my charm; the way he looks at me is proof of that. I know he's just like me, and my instincts have never been wrong before.'
"I don't understand what you're getting at Victor-dono," Haruna asked with an almost hostile tone.
Victor smirked inwardly; he could see the annoyance in Haruna's body language.
'Women.'
It doesn't matter what race you are; as long as you are a woman, there is one fact that is common to all.
They are difficult to understand.
Fortunately, such an obstacle is nothing in front of Anna Walker's disciple.
The woman who taught the 101 arts of understanding a woman to Victor, her beloved son.
With Adonis' memories, the man was a divine conqueror, and if he wanted, he could have a harem bigger than Solomon.
But he wasn't interested in that, he didn't want decorative flowers, and on top of that, he respects his wives, he won't run after other women… In fact, they're the ones who come after him.
And Victor wanted something else. He wanted that sadistic, sociopathic, psychopathic, psychotic, possessive, adorable personality that he loved so much.
As his beloved Ruby and childhood friend Leona told him, he wanted a Yandere.
'She's fine now, but it's still not good enough. I need to get her out of that shell.'
... It was worth noting that Victor's brain was entirely rotten, and no one knew how many screws were loose in his head now...
"There are no falsehoods in my words, Lady Haruna."
Haruna's body trembled visibly while her eyes fluctuated between an obsidian color and a black hole of pure darkness.
'Almost there... Come on, Haruna, wake up on this new path... I know you have potential.'
"Above politics involving our factions, I primarily wish you well, and entering into an unintentional political marriage will only hurt you, something I want to avoid at all costs." Despite being part of his strategy, these words did not contain lies.
He really wanted the fox as well. After all, she was also his daughter Ophis's aunt.
"… Eh?" A legitimately shocked expression appeared on her face.
"Are you doing this for me…?"
"Of course. Even though we've only known each other for a short time, I felt a connection with Lady Haruna that I've only seen in a few people in my life. Not to mention the fact that Lady Haruna is Ophis's aunt, a little girl I consider my daughter."
An awkward silence fell around.
Yoichi and Genji just looked at Victor with surprised expressions, annoyed because they thought that Victor was stepping on Haruna's dignity [After all, she agreed to marry him even if indirectly], but they didn't expect that he had that thought behind his actions.
Victor's group remained silent during the entire conversation, but that wasn't the same for their thoughts.
'This foolish disciple, he certainly likes to keep things interesting. Seriously, it's never boring when I'm with him.' Scathach was trying hard not to laugh.
Ruby blinked three times while looking at Haruna; right after, she looked at her husband, and when she felt Victor's feelings and expectations coming from their connection…
She could only open her eyes a little in shock. 'Don't tell me... Is he really complicating things just because of this!? Ugh, he can't have a normal woman, for god's sake!?'
Ruby finally understood what her husband wanted.
He wanted to corrupt Haruna like he did with all the women he's encountered so far.
Saying it like that, it sounded like my husband was doing something bad, but all he wanted was for Haruna to be true to herself... Haah, how much does he like to see a beautiful and strong woman 'fly' with her own wings.' Ruby remembered something like this happened in the past.
A replay of the events that led Jeanne and Morgana to become their true selves is about to unfold... And this time, Ruby won't hear this story through the mouths of those involved; she'll see it for herself...
She won't deny that a feeling of excitement and anticipation glimmered in her heart now.
....
