Chapter 605: A man I hate and respect at the same time.
"That piece of shit..." Vlad muttered in an irritated tone as he smashed the table with his grip.
"He really is brazen."
Of all the people, probably only Vlad quickly understood what the rumors were about, and to say he wasn't happy was an understatement; he was actually pissed off.
... But even though he was irritated, he was feeling rather amused. After all, few could treat him like that without fear of retaliation, and somehow, this treatment was reminiscent of when he and his friends badmouthed each other. Even if he felt that way in the depths of his being, he would never vocalize those words... NEVER!
"..." Alexios, who was nearby, just kept silent as he put on his professional appearance.
"F-Father... You're not going to hurt him, right?" A worried voice was heard.
Vlad looked at his eldest daughter and, seeing the look of fear on the woman's face, a vein snapped in his head.
His gaze drifted to his youngest daughter, who was just staring at him with a blank expression. Despite not saying anything like her older sister, Vlad could completely understand Ophis' expression.
More veins started popping on Vlad's face, 'Great, not just my youngest daughter, but the oldest too. Even if I wanted to do something to him, I couldn't... Petty son of a bitch, he will pay." He began to think about how he was going to bring this back on Victor.
Lilith started to get more worried when she saw her father sit in silence.
Ophis was in the same state, even though her blank expression said nothing.
"Cough." Alexios coughed lightly.
Vlad looked at his subordinate and saw him pointing at his daughters.
Realizing the state of his daughters, he collected his feelings and spoke with an emotionless tone:
"I won't do anything, even though it's annoying, he saved you, and that's something I'm grateful for." He spoke honestly for the first time since all these events took place.
And somehow, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders.
'Even though he thwarted all my plans... I still thank him for bringing my daughter back... Even though he's an annoying son of a bitch... Ugh.' When it came to Victor, Vlad had very mixed feelings.
He appreciated the man but was also irritated that he had thwarted his plans. It seemed that the 'father' side and the 'king' side always fought when this man entered the conversation.
"O-Oh... Good..." She sighed in relief without realizing that her words made her father more angry.
Ophis didn't say anything, she just closed her eyes and opened them again a few seconds later, but relief could be seen in her expressionless eyes.
"Ophis! Elizabeth! Lilith! Come here now!"
The aforementioned girls trembled a little when they heard Morgana's roar. The woman's voice was so loud that it could be mistaken for a Banshee.
Ophis and Lilith looked at each other and just nodded, then the two left Vlad's office running. They knew they shouldn't keep their mother waiting too long.
Seeing that the door was open, Alexios just waved his hand, and the door closed again.
"My King, what should we do?"
Vlad was silent for a few seconds as he rearranged his thoughts. Then a minute later, he gave a big sigh:
"…Haah." He places his hand on his brow:
"I'm too old for this shit." For the first time in a few millennia, the king of vampires didn't know what to do. For a man who was always so decisive, this was very frustrating for him.
Alexios perked up at this, "My King, you finally listened to me! Why don't you prepare for Lucas to be your successor?"
"..." Vlad just looked at his subordinate, who had literal stars shining in his eyes.
"If I didn't know better, I would think you were trying to kick me off my throne."
"Master is imagining things." He spoke with a deadpan expression while inside, he screamed, 'That's exactly what I'm thinking!'
"No King Rules Forever; Lord Vlad knows this very well."
"I know, and I also know that I am an exception to this. Like all God Kings, we have an immortal life."
Alexios just sighed internally, 'This isn't about lifespan, Master. Immortal or not, the mind always needs rest.'
"To answer your question, I really don't know what to do. Now that he's no longer a vampire Count, by law, he's just another Clan noble."
"… A Clan noble who sleeps in the same bed as the heiresses and the leaders of the three most influential vampire Count clans." Alexios would not let Vlad forget something so important.
Vlad was silent for a few minutes. He didn't want to touch that messy subject right now, so he said, "... By law, I could punish him, but even if he doesn't have a very high 'Status'. Now that everyone knows he is the second progenitor, like it or not, he has an opinion in Nightingale society."
'Ugh, I want to spank my past self for suggesting making him a vampire Count... Although he helped me a lot, even with my daughters...Ugh.' Victor became a sticking point for Vlad.
"Master, may I..."
Vlad looked at Alexios, "Continue."
"I suggest skipping it."
"... Huh?"
"With the current state of affairs, Alucard is a hive you don't want to touch right now. Why don't you decide to focus on the war and take the tools you so desire?"
"… Make sense, but… I cannot ignore these irregular actions by Clan Snow, Fulger, and Scarlett." Vlad narrowed his eyes, he received several reports of the three Clans acting strange, but he couldn't make a clear mental picture. The spy devices didn't give any concrete information, and they were being quite discreet.
"If I may say so... Despite the somewhat... complex relationship you have with Alucard, the man is no fool. Even if he is a madman, he is also a family man. He will not do anything that harms Nightingale as a whole because, as you know, this is the country of your wives and your 'daughter'."
"He is more inclined to protect this country than to destroy it. Therefore, I suggest you focus on the war. As long as you no longer have chains holding you here, you can act freely."
Alexios gave his opinion as an adviser, and as usual, he expected Vlad to deny it and do whatever he wanted... Again!
"… Hmm, I will do that. That way, I can locate the destroyed pantheon's divine artifacts."
"… Eh?" Alexios looked at Vlad in shock. Did the king really just listen to him? ... This is weird! The king is acting strange! Is someone else in his place!?
"Master… Are you okay? I know vampires can't get sick, b-but I'd like you to see a doctor."
"..." Vlad just looked at his adviser with a deadpan expression. Was he acting that out of character? ... Okay, he's not the best when it comes to listening to Alexios, but he's not bad enough for Alexios to act that way, right? ... Right?
"Haaah." Vlad just sighed again, "Just scatter the spies across the enemy forces and actively use your eyes to spy on that place."
"...Yes..." Alexios answered uncertainly as he looked suspiciously at his king.
Vlad just looked at his subordinate, who was working while throwing occasional suspicious glances at him, as he tried really hard not to sigh again.
'I'm really not that bad, am I?' It was amazing how clueless he was about his own actions.
...
"Girls, you came!" Morgana flashed a big happy smile.
"...." The three sisters looked blankly at Morgana and Jeanne. They really wanted to comment that if they hadn't come when the woman called, the woman would drag them all away by force. She was becoming more violent the more time passed.
"Mother, why did you call us?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
"Hmm, I was wondering if you guys wanted to visit your dad."
"… Huh?" The three sisters practically turned to stone as if Medusa herself had enchanted them, albeit for different reasons.
Lilith and Elizabeth were shocked by this sudden news. I mean, they were sure it would end up like this somehow, considering that their mother was very close to Victor.
... They didn't even ask who the 'new' father was. After all, it was pretty obvious the only man Morgana openly showed an interest in was Victor.
Ophis was just happy that she could see her father again.
"Morgana!" Jeanne stomped the ground irritably.
"… Oops, I bit my tongue." Morgana laughed innocently.
"Nobody would believe that shit! And there are other ways to tell them the news! And you haven't even made anything official with Victor yet!"
"Bitch please like he's going to ignore me. Who would ignore this hot succubus?" Morgana snorted as she wrapped her arms around her chest to demonstrate how well 'endowed' she was.
Despite saying it with pride, Morgana knew that if Victor wanted to, he wouldn't even look at her, succubus or not; the man didn't care.
"You and I both know that's not true, don't talk like he's a playboy who only thinks with his bottom half." Jeanne practically snarled in annoyance at her friend.
"... Ugh, I know I don't, but you get my point."
"I know, but don't talk like that. Look at the girls! They turned to stone!"
"Humpf, they already knew that. This is nothing new!"
"Ugh, you are getting pretty hopeless these days."
"I am frustrated! I wanted to fu-"
Jeanne hit Morgana on the head with her hand, "Idiot, don't speak those words in front of Ophis!"
"Ugh."
"Look, I know you're feeling grateful, and I know you've had those feelings since he helped us with our 'little' problem. Believe me, I understand what you want to do, and I want to do the same, but now is not the time nor the moment for that. We are at war!"
"The war is not ours." Morgana snorted.
"Would you say that to Lilith?"
"..." Lilith's former general was silent with a difficult expression.
"Haah, just calm down and let things happen naturally; no need to rush anything. You are acting in a hurry because you want to thank him in some way, but believe me when I say that this will only make everything worse."
Morgana bit her lip, she really hated when her friend was right, it was a hard pill to swallow, but she understood that her friend also meant well for her.
"…Then what should I do…?"
"Just act natural. Victor doesn't refuse our affection; in fact, he also constantly returns our affections, and you know he's an empath and a master of body language. He's not dense like a black hole, he knows your feelings, but he also understands that it is contradictory to act in a hurry and that it is better to let everything happen naturally." Jeanne gave wise advice.
"Ugh, I really hate it when you're correct."
Jeanne wanted to make a sarcastic comment that with age comes wisdom, but she knew she would just burn herself if she did; she wasn't that old! she was just alive since the beginning of existence.
'Ugh, now I'm getting depressed.'
And Jeanne knew the gods were proof that no matter how old you are, you can still act like a spoiled brat, [I'm looking at you, Greek gods!]
Somehow, she started to get irritated and felt an immense urge to erase those gods from existence, especially the big three.
Morgana looked confused at her friend because she got sad all of a sudden, and now she's pissed off?
Wisely deciding not to touch that web of emotions, she glanced at her daughters, who were silently watching everything as if they were an audience.
"... What?"
"It's nothing; just surprised you moved on so quickly. It's only been a few months since the divorce, you know?" Lilith grumbled.
"... Haah, it may seem like it was quick, but what that fool did to me, or even to Jeanne, is something that not even years of living together can overcome..." Morgana displayed a gentle and slightly motherly smile that completely took the girls by surprise.
"Are you really happy, mother..." Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, I am." Morgana's response was instantaneous.
Elizabeth just nodded; for her, that was more than enough... She would leave the other problems for when she met Victor in person. She needed to talk to him.
'Not just my mother, but my other mother too! What's his problem with women who were once married? That Playboy!'
"Father…?" Ophis asked with an intense look at Morgana.
Morgana squirmed a little in discomfort.
"… You know your gaze scares me sometimes. Do you love him that much?"
"Mm… Best Father." Ophis spoke with a small smile on her face.
...
Cough.
"M-Master, are you okay?" Alexios asked worriedly when he saw Vlad coughing up blood.
"Y-Yes."
'I just felt like someone had pierced my heart just now.' Vlad shook his head inwardly.
...
"Hmm, that's good, I guess… Anyway, we're going to the Snow Clan."
"From today, Lilith will not leave my sight."
"… I am not a child, Mother." Lilith pouted.
Morgana just rolled her eyes. 'Vlad spoiled my daughter a lot.'
"I know, but even though you're an older vampire, you're weak as hell. You're weaker than normal older vampires."
"Ugh." Lilith felt like several arrows pierced her body.
"Because of that, I will train you so that something like what happened doesn't happen again. I won't have a daughter who becomes a damsel in distress every time something happens."
"..." Lilith really wanted to cry now, but she knew her mother was right; she also hated herself for being so useless in that situation.
"Mother, what about my training?"
"Hmm, I will leave you to Scathach."
"..." Elizabeth felt a chill run down her spine. It was as if all the arctic ice had fallen into her body.
"Heh~, good luck, my sister," Lilith spoke with a victorious smile.
"... Oh? Sounds like you're excited, too, my daughter. I'll let Scathach work out your foundations. That is actually a good idea; the woman is the best teacher in the mortal world, and she will put you back in the right place."
Lilith was the one who froze now in sheer horror, she still remembered what she suffered when she was younger at Scathach's hands, and that was the last time in her life that she trained. That is to say, it's been millennia since she trained seriously... No wonder she's so weak.
Against normal forces, Lilith was strong, but when a demon or such beings came into play, she became useless.
"Training…?" Ophis asked.
Jeanne looked at Ophis, "I think it's best to leave your training to your father. He'll kill us if he finds out that anyone trained his daughter."
"Mm..." Ophis smiled gently; she didn't mind training as long as she was with her father.
"He can be quite possessive at times with his daughter… Something that concerns me in the future." Jeanne muttered at the end.
"Isn't that a good thing? At the very least, he will be a loving father." Morgana looked confused at her friend.
"... That's exactly the problem, Morgana..."
"Anyway, go get your brother Adam, and pack your bags. We're going to the Snow Clan!"
"… Hmm, what about my dad?" Elizabeth asked.
"What about Vlad?"
"Aren't you going to warn him?"
"Meh, he'll know that. He's got eyes everywhere." Morgana didn't want to meet with Vlad now because she knew she wouldn't hold back and not speak ill of him, something she wanted to avoid. After all, she didn't need to make this 'separation' difficult for her daughters.
"Now, go!"
"Okay/Yes/Mm."
.....
