Chapter 862: It's Not Your Fault.
Natashia woke up again, a little disoriented because she had fallen asleep once more, but this confusion quickly dissipated when she saw her mother.
"M-Mother..." Natashia murmured as she pointed her trembling finger at Carmila.
"Yes, my daughter?" Carmila smiled gently.
"Mother..."
"Yes."
"... Mother...!" Natashia's eyes shimmered in bloody red.
"Yes, mommy is here," Carmila teased.
"MOTHER!!"
Carmila coughed a bit when Natashia jumped and hugged her with all her strength.
'She's really strong...!' Carmila was surprised by the strength coming from her daughter.
The difference between Carmila, Naty, and Natashia was quite evident. Despite having similar Souls due to Victor's nurturing, the same did not apply to their physical bodies. Compared to Natashia, the two women had the body of a newborn baby.
Their bodies were completely new, without strong muscles or enhancements from training, although it was much stronger than a typical Noble Vampire because these bodies were directly created by The Progenitor of The Blood Dragons.
"Daughter... You're crushing me," Carmila spoke with difficulty.
But her words fell on Natashia's deaf ears, and all she did was hug her mother even tighter.
When Carmila was about to say something again, she stopped when she saw Natashia's trembling body.
"I-... I-..."
Feeling something wet on her shoulder, Carmila realized what was happening, and she no longer cared about her own physical pain.
Carmila sighed lightly and spoke in a helpless and gentle tone.
"Even after all these years, you're still such a crybaby, Annasthashia."
"Mm..." Natashia only nodded as tears fell from her eyes.
Natashia didn't care about Carmila's words; she just held her even tighter, and, with tears streaming down her eyes, she repeated like a broken machine:
"I'm sorry, Mother... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Now that she was hugging her mother and hearing the sound of her beating heart, she realized that what she had seen before was not an illusion. Her mother was alive!
She didn't know how this was possible, and she didn't care right now; she just wanted to hold her. Only she knew how much she had missed her mother's presence.
Seeing this sight, Victor sighed lightly. He was relieved that he hadn't made a mistake due to his personality. To be honest, he was ready to erase Carmila from existence when he held her by the neck. He was furious that this woman had harmed his Wife.
And as everyone knows, Victor had an extremely short fuse when it came to anyone harming his Family members.
Fortunately, thanks to Carmila's composure, some of his anger was alleviated, and he managed to regain his mental faculties and act rationally.
He was grateful that he had acted that way. Seeing his Wife, who rarely cried or showed sad emotions, in this state told him everything he needed to know.
If he had erased Carmila from existence, he would have regretted it deeply.
And the last thing he wanted to do right now was repeat the same mistakes he had made in the past. That was why he always tried to keep a cool head when it came to his Family, even though, in most cases, it was very difficult to remain calm, especially after his Evolution.
"Shhh..." With great difficulty, Carmila moved Natashia's face away and made her daughter look into her eyes. "It wasn't your fault, Natashia. You don't need to blame yourself."
"... How was it not my fault?" She sniffled. "I brought that bastard into our home, and because of me, he killed you!"
"It wasn't your fault. You were young and easily influenced. I should have been more careful. I was so busy with Clan matters and the King's request that I completely ignored what was happening in the shadows... Not to mention, a little brat like that couldn't have killed me if I were in my normal state."
Naty, who was listening to the conversation, made a disgusted face. A long time ago, when she was a young Vampire, she met a Noble Vampire from a Clan not as large as her own but from a long line of Nobility. Unlike the other Vampires, this young man was more 'interesting.' He didn't think like the Vampires of the time, and his opinions and thoughts often led him to be labeled as a troublemaker or even a delinquent.
Natashia, as the troublemaker of The Fulger Clan and the Heir to The Fulger Clan, had a certain interest in this young man. Over time, they began to meet more often, and she eventually brought this man to her mother to propose to him.
After all, he came from a Noble Clan, and his Power complemented the Power of The Fulger Clan.
What the Natashia of that time didn't know was that this young man, along with his entire family, was working on a scheme with several Noble houses of the time to overthrow The Fulger Clan and that this young man would be responsible for Carmila's death.
"Eh?" Natashia blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Humpf, do you think a small scheme like that could have killed me if I were in a normal state? Even if all the Clans had come, I could have eliminated them all with a snap of my fingers," Carmila smiled broadly while snapping her fingers.
"... What are you talking about? I...? I didn't...?" Natashia was very confused, and even her speech pattern became completely confused.
Carmila moved away from her daughter. "Even if that boy hadn't killed me, I wouldn't have had much time left, all because of our inheritance problem."
"Inheritance problem...?" Natashia asked in confusion.
"Yes," Carmila nodded as she wiped her daughter's tears.
"What happened was that I tried to further Evolve my Power, but I 'failed' in the Evolution process, and it severely damaged my body and Soul."
Thinking about it, one could say that the way she died kind of helped her survive because her Soul entered the core of her daughter's Soul, which was 'broken' at that time due to the trauma of the event she had witnessed. But of course, Carmila wouldn't tell her daughter that; she knew very well how her daughter blamed herself for everything.
Natashia was so enraged by the incident that she hunted down each of those involved, extinguishing several Bloodlines in the process. No one was spared from her wrath. Although Scathach had helped Natashia because of her friendship with Carmila and because Scathach couldn't accept that such a competent woman was killed by worthless trash, she happily paved the way for Natashia to take revenge,
An act that had earned her the Title of the 'Bloodthirsty Heir' in the past, a Title that few people remembered and that was lost in the annals of time.
"Why... Why..." Natashia swallowed saliva in an attempt to calm her turbulent heart. "Why didn't you tell us this?"
"... I was ashamed," Carmila sighed.
"Huh? You were ashamed?" Natashia asked incredulously, a look that Victoria also shared.
"Yes, I didn't want my daughters to know that I had failed at something... I was a victim of my own arrogance... The same arrogance that led me to treat my daughter so poorly."
Carmila looked at Victoria, who visibly shivered under Carmila's apologetic gaze.
Victoria bit her lip in obvious frustration; words that Carmila herself had spoken came to her mind.
'Despite being born of my blood, you're useless.'
'Defective and talentless.'
All because she hadn't been born with The Fulger Lightning, she had been stripped of everything that was rightfully hers, even expelled from her own home,
A fact that still hurt at times, despite having been relieved of it to some extent thanks to Victor's 'love' for her and her new Family.
But resentment, especially old resentment, was hard to overcome.
"Because of my shame, my pride, and my arrogance, I remained silent and didn't tell anyone about my condition. I tried to find a solution to the problem, but restoring someone's Soul is not as easy a process as your Husband makes it seem," Carmila said.
She closed her eyes with a heavy heart when she saw Victoria's hostile look. It was obvious that her youngest daughter had a lot of resentment towards her, something that would take years to mend, a task that Carmila would willingly undertake.
By observing Victor, she understood that family must always stick together regardless of the circumstances, and she had failed in this most basic aspect.
"All these factors led to my eventual death. You have nothing to do with it, Natashia. In this particular story, you are the victim."
"Nonsense!"
"It's my fault! It's because I wanted to 'rebel' that all this happened," Natashia snapped.
"I-" But before she could say anything more, she received a slap on the cheek from Carmila.
Slap!
"... Eh?"
"Enough, I've already said it wasn't your fault. Stop dwelling on the past. That incident is just a humiliation for me. Even in my weakened state, I couldn't react when a weak worm tried to kill me. Do you know how irritating that is?"
"... Eh? Ehhh?" Natashia was completely confused by these sudden changes in events.
Why was she being scolded? Why was it her who was hearing these words now?
She didn't do anything!
"Instead of worrying about the past, you should... Wait, hold on a sec. Just to confirm, you killed all the members of that boy's Clan, right?"
"... Yeah? I think so. I don't remember exactly, but I think I did," Natashia answered honestly, at the same time wondering why her mother was acting so bipolar, as she had suddenly changed the subject.
"...." Carmila looked neutrally at her daughter, paused for a few seconds, and then looked at her other daughter.
"Was it you? Did you do it?"
"Yes, all of them were killed... Haven't I already told you that?" Naty didn't understand why her mother was bringing this up. When Natashia regained control of her body, Naty had plenty of time to talk to her mother. Even though most of the time she was scolded and beaten, she still told her mother many things.
"I asked because I wanted to confirm if that happened. After all, at some point in your lives, your actions kind of became a blur to me...." She murmured at the end loud enough for everyone to hear. With just a brief conversation with Natashia, she realized that Natashia was missing some memories,
Memories that Naty had. This was something that was quite normal since Naty was born to protect the original personality from collapsing, and even though the original personality was dormant and receiving information, it was still somewhat incomplete.
'Ugh... Does this make any sense? Aren't they the same person? Why the memory loss?' Carmila just realized that Natashia's problem was more complex than she initially thought.
"... You, why are you out here?" Natashia growled as she looked at her twin.
"About that... It's my turn to explain." Victor stood up, leaving Roxanne, who was in his arms in the chair, and then walked toward The Fulgers.
"Darling! Why are you still here? Don't you have a meeting to attend?" Natashia asked, remembering that last month [from her perspective], Victor had to attend a meeting of Supernatural Beings. She was curious to see it, but the entire meeting would be recorded, so she didn't care much. After all, gaining strength was a priority.
"Your condition is more important to me, my dear."
Natashia's eyes widened a bit when she heard what Victor said, and she immediately hugged him, burying her face in his chest.
"... Thank you for being here with me..."
"I will always be here," Victor replied as he stroked her head.
"Mm."
Natashia allowed herself to be embraced by this sweet feeling she always had when she was in Victor's presence. Little did she know that by doing so, she had irritated the other Fulgers who were nearby, especially one woman.
"Kyaaa!" Natashia instinctively screamed when she felt her butt being pinched.
"What is this!?" She turned around in anger but froze when she saw her daughter.
"Sasha!? Why are you here? And when did you come?"
"I've been here since the beginning. You just didn't pay attention to me," Sasha replied in a steady monotone.
"... Eh?" Natashia couldn't believe what she heard.
Sasha visibly sighed. For her mother not to notice her presence just showed how confused she was. "Are you okay?"
"Yes...? I mean, it's shocking to know that my mother is alive and that I have an evil twin now, but I'm trying to assimilate everything... as quickly as I can."
"Do you need more time?" Sasha asked gently.
"... I... I don't know," Natashia replied, confused.
"You don't need time. You need to balance yourself first," Victor joined the conversation, stroking Natashia's head again, and the woman felt her heavy and confused head become clearer, and her thoughts became freer.
"First, take a deep breath. Second, understand the situation. Third, act as you see fit," Victor explained.
"You are Annasthashia Fulger, The Leader of The Fulger Clan, and my Wife! Don't let a confusing moment like this make you lose sight of who you are and what you have become."
Natashia's eyes shone slightly in blood red, and the conversation she had with him in the past resonated in her mind, the conversation about becoming a good woman.
In front of the shocked eyes of Sasha, Victoria, Carmila, and the understanding eyes of Naty,
The confused look on Natashia's face disappeared completely, replaced by a serious, determined, and cold expression.
"That's the Wife I know." Victor smiled slightly as he gently kissed her cheek.
Natashia smiled slightly, a playful smile that she always had and that always appeared when she was normal.
'It's amazing how much influence he has on my daughter,' Carmila thought. 'He revitalized my daughter with just a few words; she went from a confused state to a confident one in the snap of a finger.'
"Darling, please, can you explain everything that happened?"
"I can show you directly from my point of view. Can you handle that?" He asked, and all he got was a confident response.
"Yes."
"Very well. This Technique is not perfect yet. I just created it, so don't be consumed by my emotions."
"Wait a sec, you just said something outrageous just now..." Sasha spoke.
"What do you mean you created a new Technique just now?"
"It's exactly as I said, Honey. Since I saw that it took too long to explain things, I created a Technique that simply 'shows' everything I've experienced in a few seconds."
"......" What they heard was so absurd that they were speechless for a few seconds, but soon, everyone in the room just sighed and shrugged; after all, this was Victor.
"Honestly, it wasn't difficult. It's like the feeling I get when using my connection with Zaladrac or Roxanne, but it still needs improvement. I just want to give you the information and not make you feel everything I felt..."
"I see... As expected of you, Darling. You're incredible." Sasha smiled gently.
"Mmm."
"Now, without further ado, let's resolve this because I still have to Evolve you two when this is all over. This way, it will be easier for you to Evolve into Dragons in the future."
"...Wait, what do you mean about evolving into Dragons? Wasn't that too far away yet? You didn't say anything about it!" Victoria spoke.
"Eh? I didn't say?... Or did I? Did I say it, or didn't I say it?" Now, he was confused.
'Anyway, I'll just let everyone know what I was thinking with this development, so they'll understand.' Victor thought.
"Come here, you three." With a wave of his hands, Sasha and Victoria, who were far away, flew towards him.
Soon, mother [Natashia], aunt [Victoria], and daughter [Sasha] stood in front of Victor. Coincidentally, all these women were his Wives...
He actually took all the women of The Fulger Clan for himself. Victor just had a self-reflection of how ridiculous this was, but he didn't think much about it. After all, the women of The Fulger Clan that he would take as his Wife would only increase in the future.
"Close your eyes and relax your mind. I will explain my thoughts and the changes I made when transforming Natashia into a Vampire with Spirit characteristics."
"Wait a sec, did you upgrade Natashia more than us? Isn't that favoritism!?" Carmila pointed out.
"Isn't that obvious? She's my Wife, after all." Victor told her.
Carmila was incredulous at what she heard.
Natashia smiled condescendingly at her mother and her self-proclaimed twin sister, and then she hugged Victor, practically trying to merge with him.
This action just made veins bulge on Naty and Carmila's heads; this woman was very irritating!
This action was even more impactful for Naty. After all, she was used to being in Natashia's position... A moment of realization fell upon Naty. She just realized that by separating from Natashia, she had returned her relationship with Victor to square one! She was basically an evil stranger who harmed his Wife and The Fulger Clan! [Something she actually did.]
'Fuck, I need to apologize! I need to fix this! I don't want to live without his hugs!' Although her main motivation was that she genuinely wanted to apologize for what happened. She wanted to redeem herself, just like Natashia did.
Seeing the three women going into a trance, Naty thought of something. She touched her private parts and was surprised by what she felt: 'As expected, as this is a completely new body, I'm pure again... That's good.' She smiled slightly. She realized that she had been given the chance to do things 'properly' this time.
She would have her dream, the dream of having a Family with a kind Husband, the dream of having a complete Family... Something that she had already achieved through Natashia. Although it was not her in control, everything that Natashia felt, she felt it too. The life that Victor gave Natashia was everything she ever wanted. Her dream had been fulfilled, and now... She had to chase that dream again.
'It's okay... The Fulgers never give up. I will have everyone's forgiveness, especially my daughter, whom I harmed the most...' She felt a pain in her chest when she thought about what she did to her little angel.
She tried her best to ignore this pain, but in doing so, the pain just spread throughout her heart as if someone had physically stabbed her and twisted it around to cause as much torture as possible.
'But until I achieve that…' She displayed a sly smile like a fox as she looked at her mother.
'I will play my mother to Victor.' A task that was honestly very easy. After all, the woman was already interested. The difficulty would be to make Victor interested in her.
Natashia's dream was also Naty's dream, and their goals were also the same. After all, they were the same person in essence despite being different in several aspects.
What was Natashia's goal? Well... Give all the women who were her relatives to Victor to take care of.
'When things are in the family, it's always easier to resolve things, fufufufu~.'
Without Natashia having absolutely any idea of it, she just gained an ally in her plan.
