Val contacted the vice president of Sol to conduct an investigation on two werewolves based on his description of their appearances. "Also look into the name 'Ebon' down from their member to the smallest details. Arrange Angela, Ryan, Itsuki and Hui Jiang for the infiltration task. What role they play is up to you, vice president, Riley Vasquez."
"....Ok. Should this be prioritized or the other investigation you asked me to handle?"
"No. This case is more important."
"Noted. I will come back to you as soon as I get my hands on some trustworthy information."
"Thanks, Riley."
"No problem." Riley replied before hanging up the call.
Successfully retrieving the crate from the hidden basement, he had only two more things to take care of. Moving the drug crate elsewhere and the marriage contract. He had to destroy it to completely end the relationship between the two of them.
Wandering around the room, he thought of several places where it was easy to store a document. The only places where a piece of paper could be hidden were either in his desk drawers or his bookshelves. Callisto wouldn't go as far to hide it inside the wall, right?
Scrutinizing around several locations and prodding the objects with black gloves on (in order to not leave any traces), he couldn't find a marriage contract inside any of the books in the bookshelves. Then, was it hidden in the desk drawers?
Most of them were unlocked, leaving some things - keys, papers, pens - out in the open. Callisto probably decided what to show and what to not strategically.
There was no way he would be so careless.
Anyways, his priority right now was to search for a key to free the locked drawer. The marriage contract must surely be in there. Remembering there was nothing in the bookshelves, he tried to search under the table and rotating chair for a clue.
Nothing unusual except for the iron nails each bolted to a corner of the desk. It didn't seem out of place, however, his instincts told him something different. Spontaneously, he reached out for the bolts and tried moving it. The first three bolts didn't budge from their spot as if they were glued under the table. The last nail was his only hope.
Val had to put in much of his energy before the nail eventually turned left. As he spun it out of the hole, a small wooden box appeared from within the table, which held an intricate silver key in it with a tiny ruby placed in the middle.
As he was about to unlock the drawer, his right hand holding the key was stopped by a hand larger and rougher than his. This sensation of calluses brushing onto his knuckles was familiar.
From the sound of his steps earlier, the man behind him possessed a large build, tall height and exuded an intimidating aura similar to ...
No, no. Val denied this possibility. How can it be him? At this stage in the plan where he should be in prison, how could he already be back? It would have taken him at least two or three more hours to get here. Calm down. He reassured himself it couldn't possibly be him.
Not daring to look back, his heart palpitated in fear. Sensing the man's distraction, Val took this chance to struggle out of the man's grip and tear his hand free. In the process, the key was tossed far into the room and he was held down once again, his right wrist clutched more tightly.
Val's eyes were glued to the key, which landed not too far or too close from him. Even though his illusion ability was powerful, it was no use on a target who was already in physical contact with the user. He resigned, placing his other hand on a dagger for a surprise attack.
"Who are you?" He tried to start a conversation to lead his guard down.
Just as he was about to land his attack, the man spoke.
"It's me." A whisper faintly released into his ear.
Upon hearing this deep but calm voice, Val halted. It was Callisto. He cursed at his gut feeling which always jinxed something he thought to become true. At his foolish attempt to escape, Callisto held onto him even tighter. He forced him to face his way, asking inquisitively when he knew the reason why. "My dear, why are you not looking me in the eye?"
Val was avoiding his eyes to buy some time. In his mind, he was desperately trying to come up with strategies to get through this situation smoothly. If caught, not only would he be in trouble but also the kids would no longer be protected by Callisto.
While he was deep in his thoughts, Callisto slyly interlocked his fingers with Val's and embraced him tight, nuzzling his head against his shoulder. Val realized he had no intention of letting him go until he answered his question. "I just brought the crate back and wanted to check if the two intruders took anything else away."
Callisto raised his head, looking at him straight in the eyes, trying to discern whether what he said was the truth or not. "But I don't think it was necessary for you to take the key out. If the two guys who broke into here already took the key out beforehand and you saw it, you would have been quicker in obtaining the key."
Val panicked internally. Not to appear nervous, he smiled confidently.
"That was because I didn't see clearly what they were doing." It was a lie. "To be on the safe side, I was watching from outside. So, I vaguely only saw their actions. I confirmed they took nothing from the room but I am not sure about the documents in the drawers."
As soon as he said it all, deep in his mind, he was slightly relieved. Even if Callisto installed hidden cameras, Val knew they were using an illusion ability not to show their presence. Consequently, it would leave no records of their nonexistent actions.
"Hmm…" Callisto narrowed his eyes indifferently. "I see."
Val was glad Callisto gave him the benefit of the doubt.
"Then, why were you rummaging through the books after getting the crate? There was certainly no need to make a mess and then put it back into the way it originally was if you knew the location of the key."
Val realized he was wrong to have thought that Callisto was easy to fool. He sighed. How was he so careless not to have used his illusion ability?
He probably forgot because all he had in his mind was to obtain the marriage contract.
His muscles were getting a cramp sitting in a position he wasn't really used to. Val shifted himself next to Callisto, brushing off his hands, which embraced his waist securely.
"Since when were you watching?"
"From when you entered the study after retrieving the crate easily."
Val rushed to explain. "I was searching for it because the marriage contract is important for my client who had hired me. Please let me take it."
"Important for him?" Callisto frowned. "You should know about the special condition held in this contract." He lowered his head.
"Are you seriously planning on finding your former wife? Even if you are, you can't find her in a short time, especially if she's a half human, half werewolf. As a hunter, her abilities are pretty much unpredictable. With her appearance being able to change anytime, the most you can do is narrow down the country she lives in and the locations she would go to." Val asked.
"..." Callisto didn't say anything in response.
"Don't tell me you already did that?!" Val was amazed at his subordinate's tracking skills. They had the potential to be spies.
"Yeah. I just need to see her in person so that this contract comes into effect. After that, I might scrap it or keep it depending on her response."
Val felt like the bad guy here for nearly ruining his final step of the plan. "I thought you would forget about her after interacting with lots of other beauties. Don't you ever get tired of waiting?"
"She's always been on my mind ever since 10 years ago. For her, I can always wait." Callisto reminisced painfully. "It still pains me that I had to let her go, missing 10 years of time we could have shared together."
"Sorry." He scratched his neck awkwardly. "If you really don't want me to, I won't be able to take it away from you so rest assured. I am not foolish enough to make an enemy out of you for a mere contract. You are way stronger than me."
Perhaps he didn't want to talk about it further, Callisto changed the subject by complimenting Val, though the grim look on his visage didn't seem to be saying the same thing. "I did not know you were so strong."
Val played along with him not to make the atmosphere between them awkward. "Well, I am a hunter. I should be at least this strong before I can go freelance and protect myself. But, I could say the same to you. I didn't know you trained this much when you have super strength and agility swifter than the average vampires."
Callisto patted his head. "Despite being born with such powers, vampires aren't the almighty beings humans think we are. One day, we can be killed by the sheer number of enemies armed with strong weapons."
Val listened attentively, glad that the conversation flowed smoothly. "That's a possibility."
Callisto smiled, leaning his head on Val's shoulder. "I am not trying to be omnipotent. I want to be prepared for the worst case scenario. In trying to do so, I found a method to get stronger. It was an easy solution anyone could come up with if they tried to look for it."
"By any chance, is the method to break the limits of your body and train?"
"How did you know?"
"I saw black and blue bruises on your body 2 months ago. At first, I thought it was an external injury, but after paying attention to your wounds, which only healed a day later, I deemed it was internal bleeding since it was longer to heal than normal bruises. Am I wrong?" Val asked.
"No, you are correct. Unlike humans, vampires are capable of regenerating faster and endure more workouts. To train the body, it was the simplest and the most effective way. Breaking the body's limits once every 2 months, exercise mildly while regenerating your muscles and resume with more intense exercises. Since you are a werewolf, you can also try."
"No thanks. I hate such pain. I would rather improve my proficiency in handling weapons." Val shrugged off his half joking suggestion.
"Right." Callisto chuckled. "If you could figure this out right away, then why are you so dense when it comes to things around you?"
"Huh?" Val was taken aback. "What do you mean…?" Before he finished his sentence, Val was pushed down to the floor, Callisto landing on top of him.
Val's slender wrists were held above his head.
"Isn't this familiar?" Callisto's voice was as calm as a wave, however, his eyes were slipping his true emotions of frustration, sadness, dismay and anger towards Val. "Just like 10 years ago, the day I held you in my arms and you were accepting all that I gave you. Now you are back."
Val wanted to close Callisto's mouth. "Lis," He was visibly fuming. "Right now, what are you doing?" He glared at Callisto, ready to kick the moment his excuse wasn't equal to the punishment he was about to bestow upon him.
Callisto stopped talking in a daze. It was a long time since he had seen Velda's fierce personality pop up. "Velda. I knew it was you the whole time." His expression grew soft as he cupped her cheeks. "You can stop pretending."
Upon hearing this name once again, Val flinched, his eyes widened in shock before maintaining indifference. Val looked straight into his eyes as if denying his accusations. "What do you mean? I can't possibly be Velda. I am a man."
"You are a werewolf." Callisto was implying that he could change the appearance however he wanted. "Your abilities are too powerful for a rogue."
"I admit I am quite strange. Werewolves have limited powers in shifting appearances. My whole body is that of a man's and even my voice sounds like one. No matter how swiftly I can change appearances, I can't change my gender that easily."
"Then you've changed from calling my usual nickname of Carl to Lis because you knew I would project Velda onto you, right?"
"I found out from my source that Velda had called you that many times, so I didn't want to call her nickname for you lest you were reminded of the 'Velda' you missed from my actions."
"Isn't avoiding my first nickname even more suspicious?"
"I guess it may seem that way to your eyes. All I wanted was to avoid some bad memories you had with her. Like the moment of divorce." Val rubbed salt into his wound.
"But really. Compared to your past self, you've grown."
"I've become strong only because I've consistently trained my abilities, particularly the power of illusion. I have to say I have quite a while before I catch up to your level." At Callisto's silent gaze, Val shyly rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "Lis? Why are you not responding?"
The whole time Val explained his side of the story to Callisto, it was unconvincing, particularly the way his voice shook whenever Callisto stared at him vehemently, and how his eyes strayed away occasionally.
It was annoying how swiftly Val denied his identity as Velda, but one thing was for sure. Her feelings for him still lingered. The first time they reunited at the ball, although their eyes only briefly met, the longing for companionship, the unbearable feeling of loneliness, and the slight hatred Val had for him poured onto him.
The unusual mix of emotions piqued his interest, undeniably pulling him to learn more about Val by having calm conversations with him on a daily basis.
These waves of familiarity that washed over him whenever he was talking with Val. He wondered many times if it was just a coincidence that he felt this way.
There was only one person he felt vehemently for. It was Velda. He knew himself.
Falling for another person? Impossible.
The weight of his feelings for Val wasn't as fleeting as an ordinary mortal. At this point, he could call it an obsession.
The Velda who always lingered in his dreams vanished as soon as he started living together with Val and the kids. Was it just another coincidence? He pondered.
Then, was it because of the familial warmth?
No.
With the kids, he felt at ease and comfortable, similar to how he was with Alfonso.
Nevertheless, as a child, there was never once a moment his heart felt fulfilled. When he was young, his parents were busy presiding over the management of their lands while his sister occasionally came to visit him.
He understood it was all because they were trying to protect him and his sister from the imperial family. But as a child, he couldn't stand the loneliness nor stand seeing the disappointment on their visage once he disclosed to them about his insecurities.
He chose the less painful path instead of asking for their affection. And that was closing his heart off to anyone so that no one would be hurt, both him and the person involved.
This sense of boredom never disappeared even after he inherited the duke title. His empty body was only holding on for the sake of his people. It was too boring to the point that he wondered whether he should kill himself on the spot. He held off on that thought since it would be dishonorable for a duke to die that way.
His parents wouldn't have liked seeing his bloody corpse either.
Only after meeting Velda, did he realize the joy in conversing daily with the person he liked, meeting them, seeing new sides of them and the desire to touch them. All of these were the first experiences Velda gave him.
After realizing Val didn't have to be a different person, the missing piece of his jigsaw puzzle aligned his thoughts and feelings together. It wasn't possible for a werewolf to change their physique despite their power to change appearances.
If Val was a half blood, whose powers become unpredictable, there was a possibility one of her powers were to change her physique completely.
One deciding factor on the deduction that Val was Velda were the twins with green eyes. How could he not recognize his own kids who contained his bloodline in front of him? It irritated him that his kids had the eye color of someone else when he was their true dad but it was fine. Without the potion, their natural eye color will gradually return.
"Fine. Suppose you aren't Velda," Even if she regretted meeting him, he would never let her go, "let's make a bet."
"What kind?" Val immediately accepted. Although it wasn't the best way to resolve the situation, it would give him some time to redo his plans and keep a low profile from the elders.
"I bet that you are Velda."
"And I bet that I am not Velda."
"The loser will have to do whatever the winner wants." Callisto proposed.
"Are you sure? If I win, I don't know what kind of ridiculous reward I would ask from you. It might be too costly for you to bear."
"That's fine. The duchy isn't broke enough to not be able to fulfill what you want. Besides, I am fairly confident I can prove you are Velda. Give me half a year to prove it. During those 6 months, you aren't allowed to run away."
"Huh…? Why would…?" Ah, he remembered the time where Callisto was injected with the anastasia 10 years ago. He could say nothing since it was partially true.
Callisto cut in before Val could object to his declaration. "Stay in my sight or at least notify me where you are at all times."
Val had a feeling that if he didn't agree, Callisto was going to do something to get him annoyed and impulsively concur with it. Might as well surrender early on.
"Fine. But," Val frowned, "... until when are we going to keep talking in this position? My back and arms are hurting."
Realizing how bloody red the marks around his wrists were, Callisto let go of him at once, helping him lean against the wall for some rest. "Sorry, sorry. I was somewhat agitated so…"
It was fun to see the cold-blooded duke flustered over some minor injuries. It was a side that no one could see except himself. "The trap you set. Is it the bet?"
"Yes." Callisto admitted honestly. "Just so you know, I did warn you beforehand."
"How was I supposed to know that 'Velda' was me?"
"You are, though." Callisto stared at Val, as if he wasn't wrong.
"Sly words." Val wondered all of a sudden what the image of Velda he had after 10 years had passed. Was it still the same? "What is Velda like in your eyes?"
"Why are we talking about you in front of you?" Callisto paused, staring at him disgustingly. "Are you perhaps narcissistic?"
"Huh? I am not?!" Val scowled, punching his head lightly. "For the nth time, I have told you I am not Velda! And, we made a bet, didn't we? Until the bet ends, I am Val, not Velda. Even if you go look at my ID, my face is the exact same thing and nothing will change the fact that I am male."
"With your resources, you could have made a fake one." Callisto refuted.
"Just answer my question. I am already bored with the silence as it is. I need something interesting to talk about to pass the time."
"What I like most about her is her defensive personality, which was a tough nut to crack. I enjoy seeing a wall she put up against me fall down gradually letting me into her personal space comfortably. Her messy habits irritated me at times but there were also times when she was so adorable. The way her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel whenever she pouted, the way she tried to be independent despite having me to depend on, and other small moments we had together were also memorable."
"Stop." Val put a hand up in front of Callisto's face to stop him from talking and took this chance to rub his temples, which were aching in pain. He was deeply regretting the fact that he started the subject. "I didn't think you were such a chatterbox when it came to Velda." How did he not receive any news of this in Callisto's profile? Were his informants slacking on their job? "What happened to your cold visage?"
"That's my public persona. Besides, you have noticed how much I hate socializing. If I do this, it benefits us both. The nobles won't pester me and I won't have to say anything to them."
"Wow." Val felt sorry for his past self all of a sudden for trying to handle things he couldn't. "It doesn't benefit you, idiot…."
"Idiot? Excuse me but I heard from a lot of people that I am quite smart. I have developed…." He blew the trumpet about his own achievements, whereas, Val suggested some practical solutions and advised some things he could have been better.
Talking like this so comfortably, Val was reminded of the times where they were once good friends, living together with only the two of them. The only difference was that now the number of residents living alongside them increased to two. The space was less lonely and his peaceful life became rowdier but it was as pleasant to stay in as it was in the past.
Listening to Lis rambling on unlike his usual self was comforting and relaxing. Half asleep, he tried to stay awake to refute his statements but finally drifted off to sleep.
He headed into his bedroom, carrying the defenseless Val in his arms. Even at night when she's sleeping to not show signs of her appearance changing, her ability must be permanent and powerful. Right now, he needed to obtain actual evidence to prove he was Velda.
Testing the kid's DNA might be the first step to his plan. He should think about it later.
"Goodnight."
Leaning forward, Callisto muttered as he kissed Val's forehead and wished him sweet dreams.