Chapter 320: Would you believe me if I said I came for you?

"Neroth’s Heart."

"What about it?"

Lucian paused.

"It was given to the Arcelis Patriarch to destroy."

And the instant she said those words, Lucian’s face changed.

"Are you saying... the Arcelis Patriarch did not burn the Heart...?"

Lucian asked with a very serious look on his face.

When an Archdemon dies, killing the body is never enough. Demonic Flesh is different from ordinary flesh and the stronger the Demon, the more deeply his Authority is engraved into his body.

Blood, bone, organs, even severed flesh can retain a Demonic Will long after the consciousness controlling the body has disappeared.

Lucian knew that.

This was one of the reasons Demons were so dangerous.

Even their corpses weren’t something that could be handled lightly. And not just Archdemons, even weaker Demons’ corpses are dangerous to some degree.

Lesser Demons’ remnants contain corruptive elements, elements that can make an ordinary or even a supernatural being sick depending on the strength of the Demon.

Stronger Demons’ remains can influence living beings and even stronger Demons like Archdemons...

Their remains can retain their... Will.

They can cause dreams, alter emotions, react to compatible energy, they can even... possess a living being and return.

And seeing the look on Aurelia’s face, Lucian could tell that in this scenario, the last possibility wasn’t just a possibility.

It was much more.

Because the Heart was where a Demon’s Authority was most concentrated.

If it was indeed not destroyed then...

Lucian didn’t even know what he was supposed to say. He only stared at Aurelia, waiting for her to answer his question and Aurelia...

"I... do not know."

She shook her head.

She couldn’t possibly know that.

"I was wounded, Cassian was one of the only few Ancients around with enough power left to burn an Archdemon’s Heart.

He had fought well, multiple Vampires under his command trusted him with their lives, so I ordered him to take the Heart.

He...

He should have followed orders.

And considering how nothing happened even after centuries passed, I thought he did as he was told."

"But you aren’t sure."

Lucian tilted his head and Aurelia...

"Not anymore."

She shook her head with a solemn look on her face.

Her expression, however, made Lucian frown. She was taking this a little too seriously. After all, everything they were thinking could simply be accounted for by the existence of another Archdemon.

The possibility of Varek having contracted an Archdemon who isn’t Neroth, as thin as the possibility may be, was at least worth considering.

He would consider it.

It seemed far more logical than thinking an Ancient Vampire who was also the Patriarch of one of the most influential Vampire Houses in the World might be behind it.

Unless, of course...

"Lady Aurelia."

Lucian called out again.

"You know something, don’t you?"

He asked directly.

Something had been bothering him ever since he got time to think about it.

Aurelia, of course, didn’t say anything, so Lucian changed his question.

"Why are you here, Lady Aurelia?"

"I came here because I thought you might need my help."

Aurelia tried to talk her way out of this but—

"No."

Lucian shook his head.

"That’s not what I am asking.

I am asking why you are here in House Arcelis."

"I represent House Veyr."

She answered.

That made Lucian stare at her with a flat look on his face.

"Are you really going to make me work for it?"

He groaned.

"I remember the party, Lady Aurelia. I remember how the people reacted to your presence. No Vampire was comfortable around you, most of them fear you, in that regard, you are similar to my teacher."

"Shall I take it as praise?"

Aurelia smiled, still trying to shake off the topic.

"Take it however you want, Lady Aurelia."

Lucian did not give in. He continued speaking.

"What I am trying to say is, seeing how the Vampires here look at you, I can confidently say that like my teacher, you do not put yourself in such an environment.

If you did, the people around you would have been more comfortable with your presence. They weren’t, they were afraid, they weren’t expecting you."

Lucian spoke, looking into the Vampire’s eyes.

"You are not the one who usually represents House Veyr, are you, Lady Aurelia?"

"..."

Aurelia didn’t say anything.

Lucian sighed at that.

"These people even dared to talk to the Patriarch of House Arcelis, while only a bare few came to you. It wasn’t the rank they were afraid of, it was you.

Please don’t think I would believe that House Veyr has a representative most of the Vampire World fears, that makes no sense at all, not even for House Veyr."

Lucian pointed out.

And his words made sense.

Sure, a House Representative was a sign of strength, but strength wasn’t the only thing that mattered, what mattered more was Authority and... approachability.

A House Representative needed to be approachable so that other forces, stronger or weaker, could approach them.

Aurelia did not fit into this category.

"Would you believe me if I said I came for you?"

Aurelia tilted her head.

And Lucian...

"No."

He shook his head.

Honestly, he would have believed her. Heck, he thought of the same question before and assumed she came here for him.

It wasn’t arrogance, he obviously did not believe an Ancient Vampire would personally welcome him, no matter how strong or popular he had gotten till now but...

He was definitely interesting.

A Human with pure Demonic Blood in his body, the newest Enclave member who managed to defeat a Vampire on Varek’s level and bring him home.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the bored Vampires came to observe him to pass the time.

Lucian believed Aurelia was one such Vampire, that would also explain the attention he received from her.

Just that now...

Lucian no longer believed it was true.

He still might be the partial reason she was here, but the more he thought about the situation, the more he saw how Aurelia reacted to the situation and instantly cast doubt on Cassian—

He could tell something here did not make sense.

There was something Aurelia wasn’t telling him.