Chapter 260: The Blood Divine Dragon

"Fuck you if you’re actually thinking about marrying that shitty princess!"

Scarlet practically exploded the moment Victor finished explaining what Anette had proposed. Her tails were completely bristled behind her, and her fox ears remained lowered, betraying an irritation she was not even trying to hide. She had spent the last few minutes pacing back and forth across the room, but now she stopped directly in front of him, as if waiting for Victor to confirm that all of this was nothing more than a terrible joke.

Victor was sitting on the edge of the bed, already dressed to leave, while Carmilla remained a few steps farther away. Normally, she would have been the first to try bringing some rationality into the discussion, but this time she did not look much better than Scarlet. One of her hands was clenched so tightly that her nails had pierced the skin of her palm, leaving thin trails of blood running down her fingers.

Victor looked first at Scarlet, then at Carmilla.

"I didn’t say I’m going to marry her."

"She asked you to marry her!" Scarlet immediately shot back. "That’s already bad enough for me!"

"A fake engagement."

"It still has the word engagement in it!"

Victor ran a hand over his face.

"Could you at least let me explain the important part before you decide to tear my eyes out?"

Scarlet crossed her arms.

"I’m listening."

"Clearly, you’re not."

"Then hurry up and talk."

Victor took a deep breath before continuing.

"Anette isn’t trying to win me over, much less planning an actual marriage. Her goal is to create news big enough to divert some of the attention away from the attack. A royal estate exploded during a ball packed with nobles, someone managed to infiltrate a massive ritual structure into the place, and the King himself couldn’t stop any of it."

Carmilla finally opened her hand. The blood pooled in her palm slowly began flowing back into the wound as she paid attention.

Victor continued:

"To the population and the nobility, it looks like a direct failure of the Crown. Anette wants to announce something big enough that everyone starts talking about something else while she uses that opening to investigate who took part in the attack."

Scarlet stared at him for several seconds.

"No."

Victor blinked.

"That was a quick answer."

"Because it’s still a terrible idea."

She stepped closer and pointed a finger directly at his chest.

"You’re treating this like it’s just political gossip. It isn’t. An engagement between you and Anette Alucard is going to be used as such a massive political lever that your name will reach every corner of this world."

Victor opened his mouth, but Scarlet did not let him speak.

"You’re already Serafall Valentine’s son. Chysis’s grandson. Rakshasa’s disciple and lover. You survived the Ascension Ritual, you’re involved in the werewolf investigation, you’ve appeared in several major incidents, and now half the aristocracy knows you saved everyone in that palace."

She threw her hands open in irritation.

"And Anette’s solution is to put an imaginary crown on your head?"

"Technically, it would only be a—"

"I don’t care if it’s fake!"

Victor closed his mouth.

Scarlet pointed at him again.

"That’s like using Apocalypse-Class magic to kill a mosquito."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"That comparison was a little exaggerated."

"It wasn’t."

"It really was."

Carmilla finally spoke, and the fact that she was completely serious made Victor stop joking.

"She’s right."

Victor turned his head.

Carmilla wiped the remaining blood from her hand and walked over to them.

"Anette is thinking like the Vampire Princess. That’s the problem."

"She should be thinking like that."

"She should." Carmilla nodded. "But she’s only considering the effect inside the Vampire Realm."

Victor remained silent.

Carmilla pulled over a chair and sat in front of him.

"We now know witches are involved. Magic on that scale didn’t appear by itself. And the werewolves, whether we like it or not, are already practically at war with us."

"I know."

"Then think beyond the Capital." Carmilla crossed her legs. "What happens when other countries discover that the Vampire Crown Princess has just chosen as her fiancé a young Valentine who appeared out of nowhere and, in less than a year, became one of the most talked-about figures in the Realm?"

Victor continued looking at her.

"The witches will pay more attention to you. The werewolves will pay more attention to you. Other races will want to know why Anette chose you specifically. Foreign families will start investigating your bloodline, your history, your relationships, and every piece of information they can find about what happened at the palace."

Scarlet immediately nodded.

"Exactly."

Carmilla continued:

"It will also directly tell our enemies that you’re not merely someone close to the Valentines. You would become a potential central piece of the Crown."

Victor let out a long sigh.

"I know."

Scarlet narrowed her eyes.

"Then why are you still considering it?"

"Because I couldn’t think of anything else that would produce the same effect."

That made both of them fall silent.

Victor rested his elbows on his legs.

"I didn’t like the idea. My first answer was no. But the problem Anette brought up is real. Confidence in the Crown dropped after that attack, and they need to do something before it starts creating internal problems."

Scarlet looked away, still clearly displeased.

Victor continued:

"And we can’t simply announce that Carmilla is alive."

Carmilla raised an eyebrow.

"Definitely not."

"Because that would be much worse."

Scarlet looked at her.

Victor gestured toward Carmilla.

"An ancient Vampire Queen whom practically everyone believes has been dead for thousands of years suddenly appearing alive, married to me, and recovering her power?"

Carmilla thought for a few seconds.

"Yes. That would probably cause more problems than it solved."

"Exactly."

Victor leaned back slightly.

"So I understand why Anette thought of it."

Carmilla fell silent.

This time, she genuinely tried to find an alternative. Victor could tell from the way her eyes went still, following some internal line of reasoning. Several seconds passed before Carmilla let out a small sigh.

"I don’t have a better solution right now."

Scarlet immediately turned toward her.

"That doesn’t mean he should accept."

"I know."

Carmilla looked back at Victor.

"I’ll support whatever you decide."

Scarlet made a protesting expression.

"But," Carmilla added before she could complain, "I strongly recommend that you refuse."

Scarlet relaxed slightly.

"Me too."

Victor looked at both of them.

"Because of the target."

"Mainly." Carmilla nodded. "You’re already attracting too many people without needing to make it official."

Scarlet stepped closer and grabbed his face with both hands.

"The target on your back is already way too big, idiot."

Victor stared at her.

"That was affectionate."

"It was a threat."

"Works either way."

Scarlet released his face and huffed.

Victor stood.

"So I already have two votes against."

Carmilla raised an eyebrow.

"Are you taking a vote?"

"More or less."

"That’s not how this works."

"It is now."

Victor adjusted the collar of his clothes.

"I’m going to talk to Serafall and Chysis. I want to know what they think before I give any answer."

Scarlet still looked dissatisfied, but she did not argue.

Victor ran a hand over her head, petting between her ears. Her irritation did not disappear, but one of her tails moved involuntarily.

Then he did the same to Carmilla.

She looked at him.

"Are you treating us like pets?"

"No."

Victor continued petting her.

"It certainly feels like it."

"You like it."

Neither of them answered.

Victor smiled.

"I’ll be back."

...

The Main Palace of the Vampire Army was very different from the noble residences scattered throughout the Capital.

There was no excessive concern with luxury or beauty. The structure was enormous, built mainly from reinforced black stone, with broad towers, military courtyards, and dozens of corridors connecting different administrative wings. Soldiers constantly moved in and out, messengers crossed the gates, and officers discussed troop movements practically everywhere.

Victor walked calmly toward the main entrance.

He had been there a few times before, but he had never particularly liked the atmosphere.

It was too organized for someone like him.

The moment he tried to cross the first inner gate, a soldier extended an arm in front of him.

"Stop."

Victor stopped.

He looked at the arm.

Then at the vampire.

The man looked young, although that meant very little among vampires, and wore the standard armor of the troops responsible for internal security.

"Yes?"

"You don’t have authorization to enter."

Victor stared at him.

For a second, he wondered if he had heard incorrectly.

"You’re not even going to ask who I am?"

The soldier made a slight expression of contempt.

"I don’t need to."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"You don’t?"

"You clearly don’t have authorization."

Victor looked at his own clothes.

Then at the soldier.

"And you figured that out by looking at my face?"

"This sector is restricted."

"I know."

"Then step away."

Victor took a deep breath.

A very deep breath.

It was one of those long sighs someone gave when they needed to decide whether creating a problem was really worth it just because they had encountered a particularly stupid person.

"All right."

The soldier seemed to interpret that as a victory.

Victor almost felt sorry for him.

That was when an older officer began approaching through the side corridor. He had probably noticed the argument and was coming over to find out why someone was standing at the entrance.

Victor looked directly at him.

The officer looked back.

Stopped.

All the color drained from his face.

"Ah."

Victor smiled.

The man started walking faster.

Then he practically ran.

"S-SIR!"

The soldier blocking Victor turned his head, confused.

The officer reached them and bowed so quickly that he nearly slammed his forehead into his own knee.

"SIR, FORGIVE ME!"

Victor crossed his arms.

"Good morning."

The soldier looked from his superior to Victor.

Then back to his superior.

"Sir?"

The officer did not raise his head.

Victor nearly started laughing.

That was when the soldier decided to make an already terrible situation even worse.

"Why are you bowing to some random vampire who wants to—"

Victor closed his eyes.

"Ah... seriously."

The man stopped.

Victor opened his eyes.

The atmosphere changed immediately.

Energy escaped his body without any attempt at restraint.

The sky above the palace began to darken.

Black clouds rapidly formed over the towers, blocking out the light as dark electrical discharges began racing through them. Black lightning crackled between the clouds, descending in irregular lines around the complex without striking anything, but the pressure accompanying it was enough to make dozens of soldiers freeze where they stood.

The entire courtyard fell silent.

Victor looked at the soldier.

"Go on."

The vampire went pale.

Victor tilted his head slightly.

"Come on."

The first bolt of Black Lightning tore through the clouds.

"Say it."

The soldier opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

"Victor, stop playing with the subordinates."

Serafall’s voice crossed the entire palace.

She did not shout.

She did not need to.

The sentence simply echoed throughout the complex with enough authority to make half the soldiers straighten their posture on instinct.

Victor looked upward.

The clouds disappeared almost immediately.

The lightning stopped.

The sky returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

"Killjoy," Victor muttered.

The officer in front of him was still bowing.

Victor placed a hand on his shoulder.

The man trembled.

"Relax."

The officer breathed a little easier.

Victor smiled.

"Deal with this idiot."

The man nodded quickly.

Victor gave him two friendly pats on the shoulder.

"Because if this happens again, I’ll kill both you and him."

The officer lost all color again.

Victor calmly walked past them.

"Good work."

He entered the palace as if nothing had happened.

For several seconds, absolutely no one near the entrance said a word.

The officer slowly raised his head.

He watched Victor disappear down the corridor.

Then turned toward the soldier.

The soldier was still standing there.

"Sir, I—"

The officer’s fist slammed into his face.

The vampire was thrown to the ground.

"HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY BE THIS STUPID?!"

The soldier clutched his bleeding nose.

"I didn’t know who—"

"THAT’S EXACTLY WHY YOU ASK!"

Another nearby soldier discreetly began backing away.

The officer furiously pointed in the direction Victor had disappeared.

"HE’S THE FUCKING BLOOD DIVINE DRAGON!"

The man on the ground froze.

"...What?"

"GENERAL SERAFALL’S SON!"

His face turned white.

The officer grabbed the soldier by the collar.

"MARSHAL CHYSIS’S GRANDSON!"

"I—"

"SHUT UP!"