Chapter 277: Chasing a Ghost

Victor finished the last sequence of strikes shortly after dawn.

The courtyard behind the residence was damaged enough to make it clear that this had been training and not a simple exercise session. Some stones were cracked, part of the ground had sunk under the pressure of his steps, and slash marks crossed two of the reinforced targets he had placed there the night before. Victor took a deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and allowed the energy accumulated in his body to gradually disperse.

“That’s enough for today.” Victor murmured as he dismissed Lilith and wiped his face with a towel, satisfied with his own performance despite still feeling that his body needed further refinement.

Nearby, Rowena was sitting on a wide stone, watching lazily while Fafnir remained beside her with one leg crossed over the other. Gram rested between the two of them, partially embedded in the ground, and the draconic projection seemed more interested in examining the property than following the training.

“You hit things quite a lot for someone who says he prefers talking first.” Fafnir commented while looking at one of the broken stones near Victor’s feet.

“I like talking when the other person is willing.” Victor replied as he picked up a bottle of water and drank a few sips, showing no shame over the contradiction.

Rowena let out a small laugh.

“Translation: he talks until he loses his patience.” Rowena explained while resting her chin on one hand.

Victor was about to answer when he felt a familiar presence arriving at the property.

A few seconds later, Serafall appeared in the courtyard.

She walked without much hurry, wearing the dark uniform she normally used when working at Central. Her hair was tied back simply, and she held a few folded documents in one hand. The first thing she did was look at Victor.

“Did you manage to get Gram?” Serafall asked as she approached, clearly interested in the answer despite her tired expression.

Victor immediately pointed toward the two women sitting a few meters behind him.

“Fafnir, this is Serafall, my mother-wife.” Victor said with the most natural expression in the world, before shifting his finger in another direction. “Mom, this is Fafnir, and that over there is Gram.”

Serafall followed the gesture.

Her eyes passed over the enormous sword.

Then over the golden-haired draconic woman.

Then returned to Victor.

She remained silent for a few seconds.

“Of course.” Serafall let out a sigh as she brought her free hand to her face, as if she had just confirmed a suspicion she would have preferred to be wrong about. “In the end, you really did find another sealed woman.”

Victor raised an eyebrow.

“You say that as if I was looking for one.” Victor replied as he set the bottle aside.

“This is the fourth.” Serafall continued, completely ignoring his defense as she pointed first at Rowena and then at Fafnir. “Four, Victor.”

Rowena nodded slowly.

“I understand how you feel now.” Rowena commented while looking at Victor with an almost accusatory expression. “It really is complicated living with a collector of sealed women.”

Victor looked at her.

“You too?” Victor asked while crossing his arms.

“Especially me.” Rowena replied without any hesitation, looking quite satisfied to finally have someone supporting that accusation.

Fafnir looked from one to the other.

“Does he really do this often?” Fafnir asked while discreetly pointing at Victor.

“Unfortunately.” Serafall replied before her son could open his mouth, finally letting a small smile escape.

Victor decided that arguing would get him nowhere.

“Are you done?” Victor asked as he picked up the shirt he had left on a stone.

“For now.” Serafall replied while her eyes returned to Gram. “Now tell me how this happened.”

Victor put on the shirt as he began to explain.

He told her everything from the moment Anette opened the entrance to Vlad’s Vault, through the discovery of Rowena’s dimensional ring, the techniques he found and, most importantly, his first contact with Gram. Serafall listened in silence when Victor explained that the sword began destroying his hand before even accepting him and paid even more attention when he reached the part where his consciousness was pulled into Fafnir’s world.

“So you entered the sword’s inner space, fought a Dragon, created a marriage ritual, altered the ritual in the middle of the fight, and then made a contract with her?” Serafall summarized when Victor finished that part, looking at him as if trying to confirm that she had really understood everything.

“Basically.” Victor replied as he sat on another stone.

Fafnir raised one hand.

“He also offered me his own entrails to eat.” Fafnir added with a completely serious expression.

Serafall stared at Victor.

Victor looked at Fafnir.

“That part didn’t need to be included in the summary.” Victor commented while scratching the side of his face.

“You did what?” Serafall asked, now with a much more interested expression.

“She threatened to eat my entrails.” Victor replied as if that explained the situation perfectly. “I just made it easier.”

Serafall closed her eyes for a few seconds.

“I give up.” Serafall murmured before looking back at Fafnir. “At least you seem fine.”

“I’m better than I was yesterday.” Fafnir replied while crossing her legs again, and Victor noticed that the Dragon already seemed a little less guarded around new people.

Serafall nodded and then looked at her son again.

“And why are you still here?” Serafall asked while putting the documents she carried into a small side bag.

Victor frowned.

“The house is mine.” Victor replied, not understanding the question.

“Rakshasa.” Serafall clarified while tilting her head slightly. “You said you would go see her as soon as you resolved things with Anette.”

Victor let out a sigh.

“I was going to.” Victor replied while stretching one arm. “But after entering Gram, getting beaten by a Dragon, creating a contract from scratch, discovering a dimensional storage space, and dealing with Anette, I was tired.”

Serafall raised an eyebrow.

“So you slept?” Serafall asked while looking at his face.

“Like a rock.” Victor replied with satisfaction. “I woke up early, trained, and now I’m going.”

Serafall nodded.

“That’s good.” Serafall replied simply, and this time she made no joke about him postponing the visit.

Victor was about to continue when he took a better look at her appearance.

The dark circles were still there.

Not as bad as they had been in the office a few days earlier, but enough to show that Serafall was not sleeping properly. There was also an unusual stiffness in her shoulders and that distant expression of someone who was still thinking about work even while talking about something else.

Victor stopped joking.

“Mom.” Victor called while looking at her more carefully.

Serafall turned her face.

“Hm?” Serafall replied, apparently not noticing the change in his tone.

“Are you okay?” Victor asked while resting his forearms on his knees.

Serafall took a few seconds to answer.

“I am.” Serafall said reflexively, but the sigh that came immediately afterward completely contradicted the word.

Victor said nothing.

He simply kept looking.

Serafall noticed.

“What?” Serafall asked while looking away, clearly knowing that her previous answer had convinced no one.

“You look exhausted.” Victor replied without softening it.

Serafall made a small grimace.

“Thanks.” Serafall commented as she walked to a nearby stone and sat down.

Victor kept waiting.

For a few seconds, Serafall simply stared at the courtyard floor.

When she finally spoke, her voice sounded more tired.

“I’m tired of chasing a ghost.” Serafall admitted while resting her elbows on her legs. “The werewolves attacked a royal property, someone infiltrated witches into the Realm, there’s a possibility we have a traitor inside the Crown’s own structure, and so far every clue ends in another question.”

Victor remained quiet.

Rowena and Fafnir also stopped talking.

“We have soldiers preparing, families demanding answers, and people discussing war every day.” Serafall continued while running a hand through her hair. “But we haven’t made enough progress to justify a direct offensive without turning this into a completely blind war.”

Victor nodded slowly.

He already knew the situation was bad, but hearing Serafall put everything that way made it clearer how heavily it was weighing on her.

“And Vlad still hasn’t found the witch responsible for the ritual.” Serafall added while tightening her fingers. “We have magical residue, incomplete records, useless testimonies, and nothing I can use to put someone in front of me and demand answers.”

Victor immediately remembered all the nights he had seen Serafall surrounded by reports.

“Then stop.” Victor replied.

Serafall looked up.

“What?” Serafall asked, as if that solution had never even crossed her mind.

“Stop for a day or two.” Victor explained as he stood up. “Go sleep, eat properly, do anything that doesn’t involve werewolves, war, archives, or Vlad.”

Serafall let out a small tired laugh.

“Victor, I have responsibilities.” Serafall replied while shaking her head.

“And you’re not their slave.” Victor shot back as he walked toward her. “One or two days won’t destroy the Realm.”

Serafall remained silent.

Victor stopped in front of her.

“When was the last time you took a vacation?” Victor asked while crossing his arms.

Serafall opened her mouth.

No answer came out.

Victor waited.

She remained silent.

“That’s what I thought.” Victor commented while uncrossing his arms.

Serafall looked away.

“It’s not that simple.” Serafall replied after a few seconds, although she no longer sounded as convinced as before.

“It’s simpler than you’re making it seem.” Victor said as he extended one hand.

A small amount of blood rose from his palm and transformed into a red ribbon that gently wrapped around Serafall’s waist.

She blinked.

“Victor?” Serafall asked as the magic pulled her forward.

He did not answer.

The band of blood brought Serafall to him, and Victor simply wrapped his arms around her.

Serafall stiffened for a moment.

Then relaxed.

Victor rested his chin on top of her head.

“You need to take care of yourself.” Victor spoke in a lower tone while maintaining the embrace. “Because if you keep destroying yourself like this because of work, I’m going to get angry.”

Serafall let out a small laugh against his chest.

“Is that a threat?” Serafall asked while finally wrapping her arms around his waist.

“It is.” Victor replied without hesitation. “And you know I’m very annoying when I’m worried.”

Serafall closed her eyes.

“I know.” Serafall murmured while remaining there, apparently accepting for the first time in several days that maybe she really was tired.

Victor tightened the embrace slightly.

“So take at least one day off.” Victor insisted while looking over her head. “The world isn’t going to end because General Serafall decided to sleep for eight hours.”

“You don’t know that.” Serafall replied, but the teasing had already returned to her voice.

“If it does, I’ll deal with it when I wake up.” Victor said calmly.

Serafall laughed.

This time, for real.