Chapter 124: The king's plan. 2
"Ugh..." Victor put his hand on his head as if he had a headache. Hearing an old man laugh in his head was not something pleasant.
"Hmm? What was it, Victor?"
"It's nothing-..." Victor looked at Scathach and suddenly opened his mouth in shock; 'was she always this beautiful?'
Long hair as red as blood itself, blood red eyes, pale skin like all vampires, defined face that held a gentle little smile. She was the perfect image of a blood beauty.
A duality of beauty and danger. Scathach now appeared absolutely stunning to Victor.
"Victor...?"
"!!!" Victor woke up from his stupor and quickly shook his head over and over, 'Fuck, now that I think about the possibility of a possible future relationship, the thought doesn't leave my head.'
Victor looked toward the king, "I accepted, now what?" He decided to finish all this soon.
"...?" Scathach didn't understand Victor's reaction, but she didn't mind so much. She was used to his oddness.
"Hahaha~, no need to hurry." The king could no longer stand it and laughed.
Veins started to pop on Victor's head:
"Fuck you, this is your fault! You don't know the size of the problem you put on my shoulders! One small mistake and a catastrophe the size of a nuclear bomb could happen, you know!?"
Victor understood very well the personalities of his wives, and especially Scathach...
And even though he loves these personalities very much, he knows these personalities are quite… explosive. He doesn't want to make a mistake that can cause unimaginable damage.
He wasn't worried about the damage around him. Instead, he was worried about the damage it could cause to his and his wives' relationship. He knew the current peace in his relationships was due to Violet, Sasha, and Ruby's status as childhood friends. And, only because of that do they understand each other.
Victor completely ignored the day Violet tried to kill Sasha… As expected, his brain works in convenient ways…
Hearing what Victor said, Alexios' eyebrows quivered a lot.
"Kid-"
"HAHAHAHA~"
"Eh...?" Alexios was going to ask Victor to show respect toward the king, but he didn't expect the king to ignore what Victor said.
"You'll be fine, Victor."
Victor narrowed his eyes, "Why do you say that like you're 100% sure?"
"Well… in the past, I was like you. At least you don't have to deal with a woman who wants to destroy the world. So it's okay, it's okay~, you can handle it. I'll even give you my blessings in this long relationship. After all, this little girl is like a daughter to me."
"…" Scathach and Alexios looked at the two men with strange eyes. When did the two men become so close? And why are they talking in codes?
"…Why did the conversation escalate from 0 to 100 so fast? Destroy the world? Huh?"
"You're imagining things, don't worry." Vlad smiled, and inside, he thought;
'With that, he has two crazy women to deal with. Now he won't have time to interact with my beloved daughters, good...'
The king received some very interesting information from his subordinates. Natashia, Victor's mother-in-law, was killing all the insects in her house while saying something about husband this, husband that, my daughter's husband, etc.
It doesn't take a genius to find out who she's talking about.
Upon receiving this information, Vlad thought of a plan. The plan was very simple. Throw all the problems at his new 'friend'.
And he also wanted to help this little girl grow up too.
At the end of the day, he was the king, and the king's job is to make his servants happy!
But that was just an excuse he gave himself, and the real reason was:
The king was a very overprotective man with his daughters...
And seeing Ophis interacting with Victor made him very jealous and scared. 'What if my daughter grows up and wants to be with him? Hell no! I do not approve!'
Despite being king of an entire race… He was still a doting father.
"Sigh..." Victor had never felt tired of dealing with someone before.
"Well, back to business. Look…" Vlad looked at Alexios.
"Yes, master." Understanding his master's intentions, Alexios snapped his finger.
And like magic, a vast map appeared.
Victor looked at the map with a curious look. He saw that the map appeared to illustrate the areas of this world. He could even see that forest where he met the strange gorilla and tree. 'Thinking about it, I promised I would visit them, huh?'
"The Nightingale map."
"Yes. The area that is in red is my territory."
Victor looked at the red area on the map, "This is so small..." He muttered. He thought the king's territory would be bigger.
He saw that on the map, the territories were marked according to the name of each respective Clan of the Vampire Counts. He also noticed that Clan Adrasteia was very far from the capital.
Seeing how small his friend's territory was, he understood something.
'They're acting as the first line of defense for this country, huh… Now I understand why she invited me to go to her territory. She probably wanted to show me these monsters. She can't talk about them, but she can show it? I guess.' Victor tried to deduce Eleonor's motives.
"Yes..."
The king made a slightly annoyed expression, "A few millennia ago, when I found this world and decided to create a country here, I thought that conquering this world would be smooth, but I ran into unexpected problems."
"Oh?" Problems that even the vampire king couldn't handle? This is interesting…Victor's curiosity was piqued.
The image changed, and soon several monster-looking creatures appeared.
"This world was being inhabited by these kinds of creatures. Creatures of the night who were the original inhabitants of this world."
"..." Scathach was silent throughout the whole conversation. She didn't have much to add. She already knew all this, and she just couldn't tell her disciple this before because of a special magical contract she signed.
"Heh~, even you can't handle these monsters?" Victor looked at the monsters with curiosity. He saw that the monsters had many different shapes.
"Hmm?" The king looked at Victor, "It's easy for me."
"...Huh?" Victor didn't understand.
"The weak are easy to deal with, I can kill thousands easily. The problem lies with the leaders of these monsters."
The image changed, and soon Victor could see the appearance of a gigantic creature. It had a rather disturbing shape, with several heads and tails that look like the monster's arms?
Victor couldn't describe what kind of creature he was seeing.
"Elder Gods, that's what they call themselves…"
"The number of leaders? Unknown."
"The number of subordinates of these leaders? Unknown."
"Do these monsters have intelligence? Unknown."
The king began listing several things he didn't know about the enemy.
"…" Victor's smile only grew and grew every time he heard what the king said. He also understood something: 'This old man is useless. In all these years, he doesn't know anything about the enemy? Impossible. He doesn't seem that incompetent, so he's definitely hiding something.'
Seeing Victor's smile, the king thought: '... As I thought, he's like her. It looks like I made the right decision.' He displayed a small, imperceptible smile.
"I fought one of their leaders once. It was an uphill battle, but I was able to win relatively easily."
The image changed to the king on top of a gigantic monster. He seemed to have won the fight.
"The problem starts to get more complicated now."
"Look."
The king snapped his finger, and then the image changed,
The monster the king defeated began to regenerate and come back to life.
"...An enemy who is truly immortal." Victor's eyes gleamed with interest. He felt it would be nice to have these monsters as a punching bag.
'I knew he was hiding something. Well, at least he was honest and spoke.'
"Yes, but… I do not believe these monsters have true immortality.
"Oh? Explain."
"My theory is that there is some device or someone who is resurrecting these leaders when they die."
"After all, I'm sure that during my fight, I completely destroyed the monster's soul, and as you know, the soul is the anchor of life in the physical body. If your soul is destroyed, immortal or not, you will die.... Well, that was what was supposed to happen."
"Hmm..." Victor was thoughtful.
Vlad looks at Alexios, his subordinate.
Understanding the master's intentions, he said, "Yes, Master." Soon he started walking towards somewhere.
"That explains why the vampire counts have powers split as if you were preparing for war."
"You noticed, huh?"
"Actually, it was pretty obvious... If anyone with even the slightest knowledge of war strategy knew about the Counts, and the way you divided the powers, they would deduce it."
Victor elaborated, "Snow is responsible for internal policy and is responsible for securing possible allies. Fulger takes care of food and household matters, while Adrasteia and Scarlett take care of defense and offense."
"But..." Victor looked at his master since he was sure she didn't have any subordinates.
"Yes...I originally intended this little girl to raise an army… But." The king looked at Scathach.
"Humpf, an army? I, alone, am enough. I don't want anyone to delay me!" Scathach snorted and turned away.
It's not like she didn't try to have subordinates in the past. It's just that Scathach had had bad experiences with subordinates in the past.
"Sigh..." The two sighed at the same time.
Victor and Vlad could understand Scathach's feelings. But in a war, and especially in a large-scale war, that luxury was not possible. Having subordinates is useful in situations like this.
"... A question," Victor spoke.
"Which is?"
"Why are you offering this to me? I don't understand. I just got here, and I'm a vampire who, from your perspective, is still a baby." Victor was quite skeptical about the king's motive.
"...Huh?" The king thought he was suddenly deaf, so he looked at Scathach, who was clearly to blame for all of this.
"You didn't explain anything to him?"
"Well... I didn't want him to grow arrogant. So because of that, I hid it."
"Make sense..." The king thought that was a good reason.
"..." Victor's eyes narrowed, "What are you talking about?"
"Victor, you know about your blood, right?"
"Yes. Rh Null Blood, a rare blood type in the human world, and in the vampire world, they are considered a delicacy, called The Golden Blood."
"Yes, you are correct." Vlad nodded in satisfaction, "But, you don't know everything."
Using his fingernail, Vlad made a small cut on his hand, and a scene that shocked Victor took place.
Vlad's blood began to move as if it were alive.
"In the past, thousands of years ago, the oldest vampires called this blood another name..."
Vlad created a small blood dagger and held it in his hand:
"Sanguis Noctis Regis… Or rather: The Blood of the Night King"
"And just like you, I also have this blood running through my veins."
Chapter 125: Sanguis noctis regis.
"Sanguis Noctis Regis… Or rather: The Blood of the Night King"
"And just like you, I also have this blood running through my veins."
"…" Victor was shocked that the king shared the same blood type as him; 'That explains why Ophis calls me father…'
Realizing that the king seemed to know a lot about his blood, he asked:
"... And what are the benefits of this blood?"
"Enhanced learning speed, superior adaptation capabilities, the ability to grow stronger more efficiently. You are also immune to any mind-related damage, while also being able to control special individuals with your vampiric charm."
'That explains why I could control those hunters and even the vampires… Immune to any mind-related damage, huh? Does the power of Ophis fit into this category?' Victor began to understand several strange things that happened in the past.
"These are just the initial benefits. The true power of this blood lies elsewhere."
"What do you mean?"
Vlad continued, "Our blood is special. Depending on which creature of the night you are born as, the potential contained within the blood will put you at the top of the hierarchy."
"Huh...?" He did not understand.
"One example, if you were turned into a wolf instead of a vampire, you wouldn't become a Beta who was subordinate to someone. You would go straight to Alpha status, and not just any Alpha. You would be a true Alpha with the potential to become the king of the wolves."
Vlad looked at Victor, "Are you going to tell me you never thought it was weird? That irregular transformation that no other vampire had? How quickly you evolved and became stronger? The weird sense of pride you have that won't let you bow your head to anyone?"
"That is..."
"These are all tied to the qualities of your blood. How could someone who is destined to be at the top of the hierarchy, lower their heads to anyone? It doesn't make sense, right?"
"That's why this blood is called The Blood of the Night King. Whoever possesses this blood has the potential to become the king of an entire race."
"And as a main feature… Our blood is very tasty to the creatures of the night. If the creatures of the night were to drink our blood, they would slowly get stronger. Isn't that right, Little girl." Vlad displayed a small smile on his face.
"..." Scathach turned her face away and ignored the king.
"As an added bonus, any vampire who drinks our blood will be satiated more easily. It is because of these traits that you were able to help this little girl with her little problem."
Scathach looked at the king, her eyes glowing blood red:
"...Keep talking, and I swear I'll kill you."
"Hahahaha~" Vlad ignored what Scathach said.
Then he continued to explain, "Of course, the same goes for you. When you drank this little girl's blood, you felt it, right? Controlling your power just got easier, and you got stronger."
"... That's true." He remembered that the same thing happened with Natashia. When he drank his mother-in-law's blood, his lightning control improved a little.
'This also explains my wives' increased power… And Scathachs.'
"…" Understanding how special his blood was, he looked at his master, with a face that said, 'why didn't you tell me?'
"Knowing you have The Blood of the Night King running through your veins, you would definitely be more proud than you already are, and I don't want an arrogant disciple... Pride is good, but don't let it get to your head." Scathach spoke stiffly as if she were a teacher.
"... You are right." He didn't deny his master's words, but he also didn't fully agree with her words. He knew he was only proud when it came to his enemies...
"Ah..." Now he understood why she hadn't told him everything.
"Although your case is even stranger than mine." Vlad put a hand on his chin and looked at Victor as if he was sizing him up.
"…" Scathach looked at Vlad.
"What do you mean?" Victor didn't understand.
"I was born with this blood, I was born a vampire. But you? You were an ordinary human who was turned into a vampire through a ritual."
"And...?"
"Somehow, the ritual influenced your blood in a strange way, and you acquired the powers of those three heiresses who were at the scene the moment you turned into a vampire. Your case is quite interesting..."
"This I already know... It was a mistake or a coincidence, right?"
"Hahaha, kid. When witches are involved, nothing is ever a mistake or a coincidence."
"How do you know that?" Scathach narrowed her eyes.
"Little girl, you are very naive to think you can hide something from me. You can kill as many shadows as you like, but they aren't all my underlings."
"Tsk." She turned her face away in annoyance.
"..." Vlad gazed with his red eyes at Victor's body. His gaze seemed to be analyzing Victor's entire existence.
"Oh… I see…" He seems to have understood something.
"Boy, two pieces of advice from an old man." The king leaned back against his throne.
"Hmm?"
"Your wives are your treasures, never leave them. Because in the future, you're going to need this unbreakable bond."
"..." Scathach heard what the king said in silence. 'This old man never says something useless... I better remember that.'
Huh? I would never do that, they are everything to me."
"Good." The king displayed a smile.
"Second advice, don't use that transformation too much, at least until you've completely mastered all five of your powers."
"Yes, I know, it damages my soul, right?"
"Yes, but that's not all. You may not realize it, but this transformation is slowly changing your entire being."
"..." Victor was silent. He seemed to be thinking of something. 'By five powers, is he speaking of my power of ice, water, lightning, fire, and blood? Do I have to completely master them all? How many years will this take?'
"... What do you mean?" Scathach didn't like Vlad's tone one bit.
"You didn't notice it from his eyes? From the information I got, his eyes were sapphire blue, right? What color are his eyes now?"
"..." Scathach looked into Victor's eyes.
"Red..."
"Indeed... Although he's not bloodthirsty like you, his eyes are blood red. It's like he's a creature that came out of the deepest corners of hell."
"Doesn't that apply to you too?" She looked into Vlad's eyes.
"…Yes, that's why I told him that. I don't want him to become a monster like me."
Vlad flashed a smile that showed all of his sharp teeth:
"Two monsters cannot coexist in the same habitat..." Soon he was silent as if he didn't want to talk about anything else.
"…" An unsettling silence fell into place.
Scathach who was facing the king of the vampires as if trying to understand his actions.
Victor who was in deep thought, as if trying to understand his own existence.
And Vlad Tepes, the king of the vampires who just had his eyes closed like he was waiting for something.
Soon the three vampires could hear the footsteps of someone approaching.
"You took your time." Vlad opened his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Master… The ladies were asking for you, and as this is an important meeting, I couldn't let them interrupt."
"They can be very irrational at times, and since you spoil them so much, they do whatever they want."
"…" Vlad's eyes twitched a little when he heard what Alexios said.
"Pfft..." Victor almost smiled, but in the end, he couldn't help himself, "HAHAHAHAHA~!"
"What are you laughing about, boy?"
"...Pfft, Cough… I mean." Victor was trying to contain his laughter.
"The king of vampires, the strongest being in existence, can't handle his wives."
"HAHAHAHAHA~" He couldn't take it anymore.
Vlad's eyes flared blood red, he flashed a sneer:
"Don't laugh too much, boy. After all, the same will happen to you soon."
Vlad's words made Victor stop laughing, "...Eh?"
"Unlike your wives, mine are kind as a mother who is at home welcoming her child back after a long journey... They are just a little spoiled..."
"But, I ask you, my dear 'friend'..."
"How would you describe your wives?"
Remembering the personalities of Violet, Ruby, Sasha, and possible future problems:
"... Well... Hmm... I don't see any problems." Victor had never had any problems with his wives so far.
"Have you already forgotten the two monsters in your hands now?" Vlad's smile grew.
"...Hmm." He looked out of the corner of his eye at Scathach, who was looking at the item that was in Alexios's hand and remembered Natashia's words.
"Fuck…"
"HAHAHAHAHA~" The king laughed as if he had earned his revenge.
Veins started popping on Victor's head, but soon he got an idea:
"Oh, but at least my wives are loyal, they're just a little… explosive. But that's also their charm."
"…" The king's laughter died, and an overwhelming feeling began to leave his body.
"What are you implying?"
"A beautiful milf, all alone in an ancient castle, and she is so lonely~. Her husband is never home~, and she is a loving housewife..."
"The castle is always patrolled by the royal guards…" Victor sniffs the air and puts his hand to his nose as if he smells a horrible stench.
"I smell the stink of an unfaithful woman."
"..." The king's eyes began to shine brighter.
"...Don't look at me like that, it's advice from a 'friend' and a future vampire count."
Victor's eyes were frighteningly serious now:
"Vlad, are you absolutely sure you weren't presented with a green hat?"
Looking into Victor's eyes, Vlad realized the boy was speaking for his own good:
"... I'm sure-..."
'Now that he said that, my first wife is always unavailable when I look for her... And she's always with my son.'
The vampire king's first wife was the mother of the first prince, Theo.
'It can't be… No, it's not possible. She's the woman who has spent the most time with me, and she knows my personality. She wouldn't do that…'
"Looks like you have your doubts, huh?" Victor gave a sympathetic look, but inside he was laughing a lot:
'HAHAHAHAHAHA~, nobody talks bad about my wives! Absolutely nobody!'
Victor couldn't defeat Vlad with force, but words are a weapon too.
And it's not like these stories weren't common. He heard a lot of similar stories from his friend Andrew who was a playboy.
Seeing that Vlad didn't seem to trust his wives, Victor thought, 'Even though we're alike because of our blood, I don't want to ever be like him.'
Chapter 126: The birth of a new pillar.
"Master?" Alexios spoke.
"…Hmm? It's nothing, I was just thinking about something."
"Master, don't let this man's words affect you. He doesn't know what he's saying."
"I know Alexios, I know..." But, despite having said that, he was still thinking about Victor's words.
Without Victor knowing or intending to do so, he ended up planting a seed of doubt in the king's heart.
"Victor, why did you say that?" Scathach asked curiously.
"I just wanted to tease him a little, it's no big deal now... Whether he has any doubts or not, that's not my problem." Victor completely ignored the subject. After all, it wasn't his problem.
"Anyway, back to business." Vlad looked at Alexios.
"Yes, Master." Alexios opened the box he brought and took out a black parchment.
"That's..." Scathach immediately recognized what it was.
"Yes, this is a magical witch contract, the same thing you signed in the past, Scathach."
"Hmm... If I'm not mistaken, this black contract can only be broken by the queen of witches, right?" Victor spoke.
"Yes."
"Are you her ally?" Victor asked curiously
"Of course not, this is just business."
"I see..."
"The contract is simple. I will give you the title of vampire count, and all the power, and influence that comes with such a title."
He exhibited a small smile:
"Of course, I haven't forgotten the special 'privilege' you will receive."
"…" The king's words made a small smile appear on Scathach's face.
"In return, you must never speak what you've learned here to anyone without my direct permission."
"Pretty simple..." He looked at Scathach as if asking her opinion.
"Eh…?" Scathach quickly returned to her neutral expression and replied, "Don't worry, it happened the same way to me."
"I see… In that case, let's move on, where do I have to sign?" He looked at Alexios, who was holding a kind of knife.
"Wait," Vlad spoke.
"What happened?" Victor looked at Vlad.
"Before signing the contract, you must decide what the name of your Clan is."
"What do you mean the name of my Clan? Can't it be the same name I have now?"
"You can't, Walker is your last name as a human. Of course, you can use it if you don't have commitments that relate to a Vampire Count, but when you're going to introduce yourself as a Count to another supernatural being, you have to have another last name."
"This is the tradition I created myself."
"Oh... So all the Counts had different last names before?" Victor looked at Scathach.
"Yes. I also had a name, and a different last name before…" Scathach had a rather nostalgic look on her face.
Victor had been a little curious about Scathach's first and last name in the past, but this wasn't the time to ask about it.
"So? What clan name are you going to choose?" Vlad asked again
"Hmm..." Victor touched his chin and started to think. Suddenly he had an idea.
"Vlad, what is your full name?"
"...Why do you want to know?" Vlad narrowed his eyes a little.
"Just answer."
Vlad was a little curious about what Victor was planning:
"…My full name is Vlad Dracula Tepes. Although the last name 'Dracula' is not used very much by my children and me."
"..." Victor exhibited a small smile.
Vlad's eyes widened a little, "Don't tell me..."
"You said that my blood is like yours, and that it was called The Blood of the Night King, right?"
"Yes." Vlad displayed a small smile on his face. He had already deduced which direction Victor was heading.
"Although I am someone of the same blood type as you, I want to be your opposite."
Of course, Victor was talking about the king's distrust of his own wives. He didn't want to be someone who would distrust his wives...
After all, if you can't trust your wife, why did you get into a relationship in the first place? If you're afraid of being betrayed, you shouldn't bond!
If Victor were in the kind of situation the king found himself in, he would directly ask his wife, and as a couple who had lived thousands of years together, they would know if the person was lying or not.
In that kind of situation, it would be better to be honest and straight… What if he found out he was being cheated on? Well, there's always the friendly torture room…
Although Victor doubted very much that this will happen with the kind of personality his wives have!
As expected, crazy women are the best!
But that's not how Scathach, Alexios, and Vlad interpreted Victor's statement...
"I choose Alucard as my last name."
"…" An uncomfortable silence fell over the place.
Alexios and Scathach just stared at Victor in shock.
Does this boy understand what he just said? Choosing the same surname of the king, just written backwards, meant it was a statement.
A statement that said: 'I am not inferior to you, I am equal to you!'
It was basically a way to challenge the king's authority! They completely freaked out!
Vlad's and Victor's smile grew as if they were in sync, and suddenly:
"HAHAHAHAHAH~!" The two started laughing in sync.
Their laughter echoed throughout the king's castle and sent shivers to everyone who heard the two men's laughter.
"Very Well, Very Well!" Vlad clapped his hands.
"As expected of someone with The Blood of the Night King! You didn't disappoint me!" The king suddenly rose from His throne.
He took a deep breath, and suddenly he spoke in a voice that echoed throughout Nightingale.
"With my authority as king of all vampires, I, Vlad Tepes, hereby declare."
"That voice…" The first prince, Theo.
"Father?" The first princess, Lilith.
"He seems to be making an announcement," Elizabeth said. "How long has it been since he's last done this?"
"Thousands of years," Lilith replied.
"The birth of a new Vampire Count!"
"...Huh?" That was the reaction of all princes and princesses.
As of today, the fifth pillar of vampire society responsible for exploring and discovering new lands is assigned to Clan Alucard."
"Clan Alucard? Who was the idiot who wrote our names backwards and created a Clan?" The second prince, Lucas, complained.
"But importantly, a new Count has just been born, that hasn't happened for thousands of years…" Lilith said.
"The leader of Clan Alucard is the new disciple of Scathach Scarlett, who recently won an arena game, Victor Walker!"
"... THAT MAN AGAIN!" Lucas, Saul, and Adam yelled angrily, and they felt that man was born to provoke them.
Elizabeth just dropped to her knees on the ground and looked up at the sky as if life had no meaning, "Isn't that too ridiculous? A 21-year-old vampire becoming a Count?"
"…Eh? He's only 21 years old!? Why is he so strong!?" Saul and Adam shouted in unison.
"Has my dad finally gone crazy? Is he smoking something illegal?" She couldn't accept the reality in front of her.
"The youngest vampire ever to receive the title of vampire count…" Lilith muttered, and slowly her smile began to grow.
"As per tradition said, Victor, the new Count, has abandoned the Walker name, and assumed the name Alucard."
"Wait... He's become a Vampire Count, that means he can be challenged, and if he loses that title..." Theo's eyes were gleaming with a shrewd look as a plan began to form in his head.
"My citizens, hail the new Count Vampire, the new pillar of vampire society, Victor Alucard."
"Ugh, that last name doesn't match, what's on this man's mind?" Saul spoke, irritated.
"If you think about it, our names don't match either…" Elizabeth muttered.
Suddenly the king's voice died down…
"Father…" Ophis had her eyes glowing blood red.
Realizing that the announcement had ended, the first prince, Theo, was about to turn and leave.
"My children, I call you." Suddenly all the children heard the king's voice in their heads.
"Yes, Father." They all spoke, except for the first prince, Theo.
"...Yes, Father." Then he spoke when he realized he couldn't leave now. 'With the appearance of a new Clan with the title of Count, the political power game will change. I need to move fast.'
...
After Victor signed the black parchment, he looked at Vlad.
"You're bad at speeches."
"Shut up, I haven't done this for millennia."
"It doesn't change the fact that you're bad at it."
"Ugh..."
"But... Responsible for exploring and discovering new lands, huh?"
"That is a job that suits you perfectly, does it not?"
"You're not wrong." Victor displayed a big smile.
"Congratulations on becoming a Count, Victor." Scathach spoke with a small smile.
Victor looked at Scathach and flashed a small smile, "Am I in the same social status as you now, master?"
"Yes, so you don't need to call me master anymore." She didn't look sad to be speaking those words.
"Oh?" Victor took Scathach's hand. He held her hand like a couple would hold each other's hand.
"..." Scathach looked at her hand, and for some reason, felt quite warm inside.
"What should I call you now?"
"Scathach... Just Scathach..." Her voice was surprisingly very low.
"Okay, Scathach."
"!!!" Scathach felt that the way Victor called her name now was quite different from how he called her in the past.
She couldn't help but smile happily and squeeze Victor's hand a little tighter.
"…" The king looked at this scene and thought, 'Isn't that boy very proficient at this? Wasn't he the boy who was confused a few moments ago? He looks like a natural playboy now... Who taught him?'
"We finished? I need to go home... That place must be in chaos now..." Victor said, and he wasn't wrong, and his wives were freaking out now.
"Yes, we are done. Even though you've risen and become a Count, you still have no territory. And since there is no available territory..."
"I'm supposed to explore and make my own territory, huh?" Victor laughed.
"Well, that is your job as a Vampire Count."
Victor remembered that the king's territory was very far from the mainland and that his friend's Clan was the most distant territory from the royal capital; 'I must visit Eleonor's territory in the future. Luckily, I already have an invite from her... But first, I'm going home, and this time. Nobody will stop me!'
Victor felt strange, since, every time he decided to return home, something always occurred...
"Return home, and enjoy your free time. Soon, I will have my subordinate deliver all the necessary things that make you a Vampire Count."
"Yes, I will. I'll see you soon, Vlad."
"Come on, Scathach."
"Yes..." For some reason, Scathach's voice was lower than normal.
Soon the two disappear.
"Vlad, huh? It has been a long time since someone called me as if I were a friend." He looked quite melancholy for a few seconds.
"Master?"
"Is nothing." Soon Vlad's expression turned grim.
Suddenly, he heard his children's footsteps.
Seeing all his children except his youngest daughter, his face trembled a little.
"Alexios, go get Ophis."
"Yes, Master." Alexios snaps his finger, and soon a small portal appeared in front of him, and he entered.
Looking at his children, especially his sons, he said:
"Disappointing."
"…" Their father's voice sent a shiver down their spine.