The Duke's Passion

"Uncle."

Samael quirked his brows, shifting his eyes on the door of his workshop where Claude was entering. The latter looked around as he entered.

"Wow... this place is... amazing." Claude stood in front of the painting hanging on the wall. It was a simple abstract that consisted of dark colors. But what caught his eyes was the little pearly hue in it.

He glanced to his side when Samael stood beside him. "Uncle, why did you call for me? Are you perhaps going to scold me today?" he inquired, tilting his head to the side.

Samael cast him a side-eye and smacked his lips. "What do you think about this piece?" he asked instead of answering his query.

"Well... it makes me think that in darkness, there's light. And in light, there's shadow." Claude shrugged as that what the first thing that came to his head upon laying his eyes on it. "Am I in for an art lesson? Will you really not give me Auntie Lilove's portrait? You can always recreate it, though."

Claude turned his head to the person standing beside him. A few days ago, he was pestering Samael to give him the largest portrait he had for Lilou. He wanted it to hang in his castle in Monarey so he could look at it whenever he missed her. But alas, Samael kept saying, 'no.' How stingy!

"Did you really think I am that generous, little crumb?" Samael replied without casting him a look, staring at the portrait ahead. "Even if you die right now, I will never give you that painting."

"Tsk. What a stingy uncle." Claude clicked his tongue, peeling his eyes away from him. "All my uncles are not normal. I guess my aunties stole all that from them."

KNOCK KNOCK

Claude raised his brows and glanced at the door. There, Fabian went in with a tray of tea and snacks. As usual, his usual smile was plastered on his face, glancing at the two of them.

"Mister Fabian, I really commend your diligence in your work." Claude watched Fabian serve the tea on top of the small table around the set of armchairs.

"Thank you for the compliment, my lord." Fabian chuckled, noticing that the two of them were standing in front of the blank portrait. "My lord, if somehow my master told you the reason why that blank portrait is hanging there, please let me know. He won't tell me."

"Huh?" Claude raised a brow and cocked his head to the side. "What blank portrait?"

His reaction made Fabian's brows furrow as well. His eyes then veered to Samael's back as he spoke a moment later.

"This painting wasn't mine, Claude. It was a painting originally in this place," came out a solemn voice, holding his hand behind him. "The reason I hanged it here is that... it's a painting that is not for everyone's eyes."

Claude frowned as he gazed at Samael's side profile, then at the portrait. He wanted to ask his uncle what he meant by that, but he held back. It was rare for Samael to be this serious, so he wanted to listen.

"To Fabian, this portrait is blank. But to me, to you, and to Law... those who had the blood of Grimsbanne, we can see it very clear." Samael took a deep breath and sighed. "Tilly had mentioned it before, but vampires, darkness, and witchcraft are all connected in a way. The Grimsbanne clan was one of the original vampire clans and direct descendants of the devil."

This time, Samael carefully pivoted on his heel and faced Claude squarely. "In other words, we're all cursed by the blood of the devil. Whose devil? Tilly forgot. Hence, I don't know. But what I do know is... there will be time we have to face the fate of this blood, Claude."

He raised his hand, planting it on Claude's shoulder. His eyes never left his nephew's eyes as he was worried about him.

"We had all survived the blood of the La Crox. The curse that damn father of mine put us all in. However, that is not the end of our struggles, little crumb. You had Auron and the ability of time. There was also someone in this clan who had full control of not just time, but life itself. She doesn't just stop time but reverses it to years. Or use it to trap someone in an endless time loop." His hand remained on Claude as he sighed.

"My point here is, the Grimsbanne blood is something of a different caliber than we can all handle. Without preparation, we are all bound to fall."

The side of Claude's lips slowly curled up as he chuckled. "Sounds fun."

"Claude, you are young and adventurous. I can understand that since I was in your shoes at one point. If I don't have my children, I would also react the same. However, I now had a family to protect." Samael patted his shoulder once again before retrieving his hand. "Once you set off tomorrow, you will be beyond my reach. Be careful, nephew."

"Uncle, although this is awkward, I appreciate your sincere intention. It's so unlike you, but it feels nice that you are concerned about me." Claude chuckled. But even though he sounded like he was taking Samael's words lightly, he wasn't. He truly appreciated Samael's concern, as this was rare.

Samael simply rocked his head, walking back to his desk to pick up something. When he returned to Claude, the latter's brows raised because Samael handed him a hand-sized canvass. Claude carefully accepted it, raising it to take a closer look. A second later, his eyes dilated before his brows softened and a subtle smile appeared on his face.

"I can't give you Lilou's portrait, but I can give you something you may keep." Samael smiled, watching Claude's soft reaction. This child had grown, but he was still a child.

"I guess... I will really never beat you in Auntie Lilove's heart," Claude mumbled, raising his eyes at Samael while keeping the small painting.

It was a painting of Claude and Lilou in the kitchen. With him cupping his cheek while grinning and Lilou was patting his head like his mother. This wasn't just a painting from Samael's imagination. It was a painting from his memory when Claude helped everyone in the kitchen but ended up just eating since he kept messing up.

As Claude faced Samael, his heart warmed up at Samael's next words.

"Happy Birthday, Claude."

While the atmosphere between the two lightened, Fabian, who was watching this, smiled. He raised his eyes at the blank portrait.

'So that's how it is, huh? I guess that's the sign I should learn witchcraft, just like what Lady Tilly said since that is the case.'