Chapter 566: The King's Knows.
Nightingale, royal capital, King Castle.
"Alexios, tell me I'm dreaming."
"Unfortunately, you are not dreaming. You haven't slept in 31 days, master." Alexios responded respectfully.
"...I see..." Vlad just spoke as he looked at the information in front of him that was obtained from his spies on Earth.
"Alucard, that troublesome man..." He felt the headache coming on.
'Why can't he just obey and stay away from this fucking war?'
The contract between Diablo and Vlad was one of non-'intervention'. He specifically put in the clause that he must not harm Diablo himself and the demons up to the stipulated time of 90 days.
But the contract itself did not say that Vlad could not intervene in the war. That is, nothing said that Vlad could not use his forces to recover 'foreign' beings for Nightingale.
A fine line that could be interpreted in many ways, something obvious that was left by Diablo that Vlad also understood.
Because of that, the operation that the Snow Clan was doing right now was still allowed.
But... Alucard attacking hundreds of demons and killing a fucking duke was a clear breach of contract.
"...." Vlad narrowed his eyes as he thought of Lilith's safety now and what would happen if he broke the contract he signed.
'Ugh, that idiot, if he hadn't done anything, everything would have been in my control! I only needed 4 more weeks, and everything would be the way I wanted it.' Vlad felt an unprecedented irritation for this man.'
"Any status on my daughter's location?" Vlad asked in a serious tone as he looked at Alexios, who had his eyes open, eyes that were filled with the appearance of several galaxies.
"No, I still can't find her," Alexios responded while not losing his focus. He was actively looking for the whereabouts of the king's daughter, something he initially thought would be easy to find, but even with his powers, it was taking too long.
'I can't tell if it is hidden or something. Why can't I feel it or see it?'
Vlad's eyes narrowed a little when he heard that not even Alexios had yet succeeded in finding his daughter.
"… What about the Snow Clan? Any unusual moves?" Vlad continued.
"From what our spy devices have collected, they are doing everything right."
"… The likelihood that the Snow Clan is using the device knowing that I am spying?"
"100%."
Alexios took a moment to talk to his master as he closed his eyes and 'looked' at Vlad:
"I will continue to insist on this, Master. But you are making the wrong decision again."
"We already talked about this, Alexios."
"I know." Alexios held back the urge to sigh and continued:
"But I must still insist."
"You're just alienating your allies now."
"You must trust your subordinates, not try to control them, Master."
"Scathach Scarlett, Agnes Snow, and Annasthashia Fulger are not women you can control or make plans without letting them know the plan, every attempt to do so in the past has gone wrong. Master, you know that."
? 'Before, they might have been swayed by Vlad's position as king, but now that someone like Victor is walking around near them.' He added internally: 'The likelihood of that happening is impossible right now. For all three women, that man is someone better qualified to place their trust in.'
It was simple math, would you trust someone who had broken your trust thousands of times or someone who had never broken your trust?
Most people would choose the second option, and the countesses were no exception to this rule.
Alexios didn't even want to comment on Jeanne and Anna[Morgana] since that was a sore point for Vlad right now.
"..." Vlad narrowed his eyes,
"I'm not trying to control them. They're not useful in this situation because of their personality, so I didn't include them. I just want them to do what was discussed in the meeting."
"..." Alexios nodded. He understood that part, although he knew his king had made more hidden moves towards the three countesses that, if found out, the women wouldn't be too fond of it, but he wouldn't bring it up now.
"Your act of signing this demonic contract has further alienated the vampire Count clans from you, master."
"Even if you were absolutely sure that Diablo won't do anything because of the deal you two made regarding the divine artifact, you should explain that to your ex-wife. At least she has a right to know."
"…Impossible, that information cannot be leaked," Vlad said with a cold tone:
"The more people know about this information, the more dangerous it becomes. I need that artifact; just because that tool is capable of sealing a god and being used even by mortals makes it extremely important for my future plans."
"As for the countesses, they were already far from me, and I want it that way. I don't want outsiders meddling in my affairs."
"..." Alexios felt like sighing again.
With regard to keeping the three countesses apart…
Morgana, Vlad's ex-wife.
The woman had just seen her daughter kidnapped in front of her, she was distraught, and when she went to seek support from the person who was the 'father' of her daughter, the man let her down again.
Honestly, Alexios completely understood how Morgana was feeling right now. He also understood that the way she reacted wasn't just because of what happened to her daughter but because of the disappointment that Vlad gave her.
'Cold logic was not the answer in that situation, Master.' He thought it through.
Seeing Alexios' gaze, Vlad spoke:
"Alexios, you know why I don't do that."
"Yes, I know. And that's the problem.
"Only I know, Master, you can't trust anyone else, and-." He closed his mouth and thought internally:
'That will be your undoing.' Of course, he couldn't tell him that because not even Alexios could know how he would react.
"And?" Vlad asked.
"And that is a problem," Alexios added.
"......"
"The four vampire counts are your greatest strength, the sire created them to be your support in the future war you plan, but if it continues as it is now, all your efforts will be wasted. "
"...." Vlad narrowed his eyes.
'Haaah, only when he talks about revenge does this man react.' Alexios felt disappointed inside.
'Time was cruel to Vlad, his wrong decisions are tormenting him to this day, and he is stuck in that scene, the scene where his wife was killed by the Elder Gods... From a long time ago, he is no longer worthy of being a king .' Alexios continued:
'The problem is that, even if my master is becoming a worse king, only his presence is keeping the balance in Nightingale.'
Vlad may have his problems, but his existence and sitting on that throne prevented gods from invading this dimension, prevented the Elder Gods from becoming more active, and prevented society itself from falling into anarchy.
Alexios felt lost. His king was making several wrong decisions due to his haste.
And recently, it got even worse, and it all started when Diablo contacted Vlad.
From that day on, Vlad, who was improving due to Victor and Ophis' interactions with him, began to once again walk downhill.
'Diablo, that sneaky demon, he really knows how to tap into beings' deepest desire. Just how did he know this information? Everything was quite hidden, and only Vlad's family knew about it...' Alexios narrowed his eyes when he thought of Vlad's children.
'Which of the brothers did this? Luke or Saul?' A suspicion began to grow in Alexios' heart.
And Alexios felt bad about having that suspicion, but given the example Theo set, he couldn't dismiss those feelings.
"Nightingale can't fall, and neither can the countesses, and I'll work to make sure that doesn't happen. That's why I'm spying on the Snow Clan. I need to know that everything is in order."
"..." Alexios didn't want to argue any further. He tried; all the omniscient gods know he tried, even if his task is to keep insisting on it. Alexios didn't feel like doing that right now, since he felt like he was talking with a wall.
"Alucard broke the deal, and Diablo will want answers. What should we do with Alucard...?" Alexios asked.
"Take back his title of vampire count. That should satisfy Diablo, for the time being, have him become a Normal Clan leader."
"Oh, call Alucard back, and stop him from leaving Nightingale."
"...." At that moment, Alexios felt an immense desire to hit his head against the wall.
"…Normal clan…Hahahaha…."
Vlad looked at Alexios in confusion.
"Alexios?"
"Vlad, my king, please answer a question for this humble servant."
"Yes?"
"What kind of Clan leader usually sleeps with the three most troubled countesses in vampire lore and their Clan heiresses?" Alexios tried, but he couldn't contain the sheer sarcasm that spilled out of his voice.
"What kind of Clan leader sleeps with the vampire king's ex-wives and treats the vampire king's daughter like his own daughter?"
"......." Vlad's face trembled when he heard that.
But Alexios didn't care, as he was long past his boiling point:
"Answer me, what kind of clan leader is able to break out of the power of a baby vampire to be able to face an older vampire in the span of just 3 years?"
"The same Clan leader who single-handedly entered a cursed demon war and killed all the demons single-handedly, and saved the life of one of the seven virtues, a cursed Seraphim, one of the strongest forces in the biblical heavens."
"Please, my King. Tell me where I can find this 'normal' Clan leader who also happens to be a progenitor, so I can recruit them all into our force."
"..." Silence fell as Alexios and Vlad just stared at each other.
"... You have a point."
'Thank god he listened.' Alexios thought.
"I will only prevent him from going to the human world."
BAAAM.
Alexios banged his head against the wall.
BAAAM.
He bashed again.
BAAAAM.
And again.
"…Alexios…?"
"Yes…?" Alexios turned to his king and smiled with a bloody face.
"Are you okay...?" Vlad felt quite surprised now. Why was he acting like this?
"I am perfectly fine, completely fine. In fact, I have never felt better."
Vlad looked at his most trusted servant with a strange look:
"Do you have an opinion on the matter at hand?"
"Of course not. You are the king, and you can do whatever you want." Alexios smiled.
"... Hmm, I will call Victor and explain the reason for his expulsion from the title of vampire count. He should be fine with that, and the other countesses too."
"I will explain that he should avoid fighting the demons and focus on just doing his task of rescuing people related to Nightingale, and if he breaks this rule…"
"…I will lock him up in Nightingale so he won't interfere." Vlad couldn't decide on another punishment without causing Nightingale to split in two.
"... that is a good idea," Alexios spoke, and he genuinely thought it was a good idea. At least his tone indicated that it was a good idea, but his inner thoughts were different:
'Unfortunately, I'm afraid even that doesn't matter anymore, my master.'
'The moment you signed that contract, you caused a crack.' Alexios looked out the window and was reminded of a succubus hugging a vampire while crying in front of Vlad's castle.
A location that he was observing now.
'And that crack became a crater the moment when Morgana hugged Victor.'
'The second progenitor has started to move actively, and there was a saying that you told me in the past, my master.'
'When a progenitor moves, it causes waves. Waves capable of changing the entire structure of the world.' Alexios turned to his king.
'This happened in the past with you, my King, and it also happened with the progenitor of werewolves, and I fear it will happen again in the present with Victor.'
Alexios sighed and thought with a light heart:
'My only thanks for this whole situation is that I know my beloved daughter is safe... The world can be destroyed, but I'm sure that man would protect her from all harm.'
A thought that could never be made public, a thought that could be described as betrayal, but... Alexios didn't care. He was a father.
And as a father, Alexios trusted Victor, there was no one more reliable in this matter than him. The man had proven that time and time again to Alexios and to everyone else.
'Sometimes a society doesn't need a perfect king, but a decent king who has a big heart and can understand people. As long as this big heart is protected by their lovers, as long as they don't betray this heart, this decent king will become a better king than a 'perfect' king.'
'Nataliana Alioth, my daughter, my eldest, I am happy that you chose a good lord to serve and a great man to love.' He lightly touched his eyes and thought:
'I must start her training to become the leader of the Clan. My time is running out...'
'500 years, huh. This is not a length of time a normal human should live.' He thought wistfully.
"Alexios, get back to work."
"Yes, My King," Alexios spoke, and his whole countenance returned to seriousness. As he slowly opened his eyes, the galaxy-like eyes were revealed, and he started to 'touch' the air as if he was looking for something.
Vlad stopped what he was doing when he looked at a blinking device. He raised an eyebrow and touched the device, and soon the image of a demonic being appeared in the form of a hologram.
"Diablo."
"Vlad, we need to talk."
"Speak."
Suddenly, Diablo's image changed, and it showed Lilith, who was chained in a dark room, with fear visible on the girl's face.
"..." Vlad's face distorted visibly, and pure killing intent fell across the room as his entire face disappeared, and whatever was in front of them now was no longer a king, but a monster, the strongest monster.
The image changed back to Diablo.
"Control your mad dog, Vlad."
"I don't want to hear the name 'Alucard' from my subordinates anymore."
"....."
"Stay out of this war, and fulfill the contract we signed, and your daughter will be safe. You get what you want so much, and so do I."
The hologram disappeared, and Diablo left the call.
A heavy silence fell upon the room.
"...." Alexios just looked at his king with cold sweat breaking out on his face.
The warning was obvious. Diablo said: Don't take advantage of this obvious loophole in the contract because there is also a loophole that I can use that prevented me from harming your daughter.
'Sneaky demon.'
"Alexios."
"Yes, My King."
"Go get Alucard back now."
"Now…?"
"..." Vlad remained silent, but his silence was answer enough for Alexios.
"... As you wish, My King." A portal appeared in front of Alexios, and he disappeared.
Chapter 566: The King's Knows.
Nightingale, royal capital, King Castle.
"Alexios, tell me I'm dreaming."
"Unfortunately, you are not dreaming. You haven't slept in 31 days, master." Alexios responded respectfully.
"...I see..." Vlad just spoke as he looked at the information in front of him that was obtained from his spies on Earth.
"Alucard, that troublesome man..." He felt the headache coming on.
'Why can't he just obey and stay away from this fucking war?'
The contract between Diablo and Vlad was one of non-'intervention'. He specifically put in the clause that he must not harm Diablo himself and the demons up to the stipulated time of 90 days.
But the contract itself did not say that Vlad could not intervene in the war. That is, nothing said that Vlad could not use his forces to recover 'foreign' beings for Nightingale.
A fine line that could be interpreted in many ways, something obvious that was left by Diablo that Vlad also understood.
Because of that, the operation that the Snow Clan was doing right now was still allowed.
But... Alucard attacking hundreds of demons and killing a fucking duke was a clear breach of contract.
"...." Vlad narrowed his eyes as he thought of Lilith's safety now and what would happen if he broke the contract he signed.
'Ugh, that idiot, if he hadn't done anything, everything would have been in my control! I only needed 4 more weeks, and everything would be the way I wanted it.' Vlad felt an unprecedented irritation for this man.'
"Any status on my daughter's location?" Vlad asked in a serious tone as he looked at Alexios, who had his eyes open, eyes that were filled with the appearance of several galaxies.
"No, I still can't find her," Alexios responded while not losing his focus. He was actively looking for the whereabouts of the king's daughter, something he initially thought would be easy to find, but even with his powers, it was taking too long.
'I can't tell if it is hidden or something. Why can't I feel it or see it?'
Vlad's eyes narrowed a little when he heard that not even Alexios had yet succeeded in finding his daughter.
"… What about the Snow Clan? Any unusual moves?" Vlad continued.
"From what our spy devices have collected, they are doing everything right."
"… The likelihood that the Snow Clan is using the device knowing that I am spying?"
"100%."
Alexios took a moment to talk to his master as he closed his eyes and 'looked' at Vlad:
"I will continue to insist on this, Master. But you are making the wrong decision again."
"We already talked about this, Alexios."
"I know." Alexios held back the urge to sigh and continued:
"But I must still insist."
"You're just alienating your allies now."
"You must trust your subordinates, not try to control them, Master."
"Scathach Scarlett, Agnes Snow, and Annasthashia Fulger are not women you can control or make plans without letting them know the plan, every attempt to do so in the past has gone wrong. Master, you know that."
? 'Before, they might have been swayed by Vlad's position as king, but now that someone like Victor is walking around near them.' He added internally: 'The likelihood of that happening is impossible right now. For all three women, that man is someone better qualified to place their trust in.'
It was simple math, would you trust someone who had broken your trust thousands of times or someone who had never broken your trust?
Most people would choose the second option, and the countesses were no exception to this rule.
Alexios didn't even want to comment on Jeanne and Anna[Morgana] since that was a sore point for Vlad right now.
"..." Vlad narrowed his eyes,
"I'm not trying to control them. They're not useful in this situation because of their personality, so I didn't include them. I just want them to do what was discussed in the meeting."
"..." Alexios nodded. He understood that part, although he knew his king had made more hidden moves towards the three countesses that, if found out, the women wouldn't be too fond of it, but he wouldn't bring it up now.
"Your act of signing this demonic contract has further alienated the vampire Count clans from you, master."
"Even if you were absolutely sure that Diablo won't do anything because of the deal you two made regarding the divine artifact, you should explain that to your ex-wife. At least she has a right to know."
"…Impossible, that information cannot be leaked," Vlad said with a cold tone:
"The more people know about this information, the more dangerous it becomes. I need that artifact; just because that tool is capable of sealing a god and being used even by mortals makes it extremely important for my future plans."
"As for the countesses, they were already far from me, and I want it that way. I don't want outsiders meddling in my affairs."
"..." Alexios felt like sighing again.
With regard to keeping the three countesses apart…
Morgana, Vlad's ex-wife.
The woman had just seen her daughter kidnapped in front of her, she was distraught, and when she went to seek support from the person who was the 'father' of her daughter, the man let her down again.
Honestly, Alexios completely understood how Morgana was feeling right now. He also understood that the way she reacted wasn't just because of what happened to her daughter but because of the disappointment that Vlad gave her.
'Cold logic was not the answer in that situation, Master.' He thought it through.
Seeing Alexios' gaze, Vlad spoke:
"Alexios, you know why I don't do that."
"Yes, I know. And that's the problem.
"Only I know, Master, you can't trust anyone else, and-." He closed his mouth and thought internally:
'That will be your undoing.' Of course, he couldn't tell him that because not even Alexios could know how he would react.
"And?" Vlad asked.
"And that is a problem," Alexios added.
"......"
"The four vampire counts are your greatest strength, the sire created them to be your support in the future war you plan, but if it continues as it is now, all your efforts will be wasted. "
"...." Vlad narrowed his eyes.
'Haaah, only when he talks about revenge does this man react.' Alexios felt disappointed inside.
'Time was cruel to Vlad, his wrong decisions are tormenting him to this day, and he is stuck in that scene, the scene where his wife was killed by the Elder Gods... From a long time ago, he is no longer worthy of being a king .' Alexios continued:
'The problem is that, even if my master is becoming a worse king, only his presence is keeping the balance in Nightingale.'
Vlad may have his problems, but his existence and sitting on that throne prevented gods from invading this dimension, prevented the Elder Gods from becoming more active, and prevented society itself from falling into anarchy.
Alexios felt lost. His king was making several wrong decisions due to his haste.
And recently, it got even worse, and it all started when Diablo contacted Vlad.
From that day on, Vlad, who was improving due to Victor and Ophis' interactions with him, began to once again walk downhill.
'Diablo, that sneaky demon, he really knows how to tap into beings' deepest desire. Just how did he know this information? Everything was quite hidden, and only Vlad's family knew about it...' Alexios narrowed his eyes when he thought of Vlad's children.
'Which of the brothers did this? Luke or Saul?' A suspicion began to grow in Alexios' heart.
And Alexios felt bad about having that suspicion, but given the example Theo set, he couldn't dismiss those feelings.
"Nightingale can't fall, and neither can the countesses, and I'll work to make sure that doesn't happen. That's why I'm spying on the Snow Clan. I need to know that everything is in order."
"..." Alexios didn't want to argue any further. He tried; all the omniscient gods know he tried, even if his task is to keep insisting on it. Alexios didn't feel like doing that right now, since he felt like he was talking with a wall.
"Alucard broke the deal, and Diablo will want answers. What should we do with Alucard...?" Alexios asked.
"Take back his title of vampire count. That should satisfy Diablo, for the time being, have him become a Normal Clan leader."
"Oh, call Alucard back, and stop him from leaving Nightingale."
"...." At that moment, Alexios felt an immense desire to hit his head against the wall.
"…Normal clan…Hahahaha…."
Vlad looked at Alexios in confusion.
"Alexios?"
"Vlad, my king, please answer a question for this humble servant."
"Yes?"
"What kind of Clan leader usually sleeps with the three most troubled countesses in vampire lore and their Clan heiresses?" Alexios tried, but he couldn't contain the sheer sarcasm that spilled out of his voice.
"What kind of Clan leader sleeps with the vampire king's ex-wives and treats the vampire king's daughter like his own daughter?"
"......." Vlad's face trembled when he heard that.
But Alexios didn't care, as he was long past his boiling point:
"Answer me, what kind of clan leader is able to break out of the power of a baby vampire to be able to face an older vampire in the span of just 3 years?"
"The same Clan leader who single-handedly entered a cursed demon war and killed all the demons single-handedly, and saved the life of one of the seven virtues, a cursed Seraphim, one of the strongest forces in the biblical heavens."
"Please, my King. Tell me where I can find this 'normal' Clan leader who also happens to be a progenitor, so I can recruit them all into our force."
"..." Silence fell as Alexios and Vlad just stared at each other.
"... You have a point."
'Thank god he listened.' Alexios thought.
"I will only prevent him from going to the human world."
BAAAM.
Alexios banged his head against the wall.
BAAAM.
He bashed again.
BAAAAM.
And again.
"…Alexios…?"
"Yes…?" Alexios turned to his king and smiled with a bloody face.
"Are you okay...?" Vlad felt quite surprised now. Why was he acting like this?
"I am perfectly fine, completely fine. In fact, I have never felt better."
Vlad looked at his most trusted servant with a strange look:
"Do you have an opinion on the matter at hand?"
"Of course not. You are the king, and you can do whatever you want." Alexios smiled.
"... Hmm, I will call Victor and explain the reason for his expulsion from the title of vampire count. He should be fine with that, and the other countesses too."
"I will explain that he should avoid fighting the demons and focus on just doing his task of rescuing people related to Nightingale, and if he breaks this rule…"
"…I will lock him up in Nightingale so he won't interfere." Vlad couldn't decide on another punishment without causing Nightingale to split in two.
"... that is a good idea," Alexios spoke, and he genuinely thought it was a good idea. At least his tone indicated that it was a good idea, but his inner thoughts were different:
'Unfortunately, I'm afraid even that doesn't matter anymore, my master.'
'The moment you signed that contract, you caused a crack.' Alexios looked out the window and was reminded of a succubus hugging a vampire while crying in front of Vlad's castle.
A location that he was observing now.
'And that crack became a crater the moment when Morgana hugged Victor.'
'The second progenitor has started to move actively, and there was a saying that you told me in the past, my master.'
'When a progenitor moves, it causes waves. Waves capable of changing the entire structure of the world.' Alexios turned to his king.
'This happened in the past with you, my King, and it also happened with the progenitor of werewolves, and I fear it will happen again in the present with Victor.'
Alexios sighed and thought with a light heart:
'My only thanks for this whole situation is that I know my beloved daughter is safe... The world can be destroyed, but I'm sure that man would protect her from all harm.'
A thought that could never be made public, a thought that could be described as betrayal, but... Alexios didn't care. He was a father.
And as a father, Alexios trusted Victor, there was no one more reliable in this matter than him. The man had proven that time and time again to Alexios and to everyone else.
'Sometimes a society doesn't need a perfect king, but a decent king who has a big heart and can understand people. As long as this big heart is protected by their lovers, as long as they don't betray this heart, this decent king will become a better king than a 'perfect' king.'
'Nataliana Alioth, my daughter, my eldest, I am happy that you chose a good lord to serve and a great man to love.' He lightly touched his eyes and thought:
'I must start her training to become the leader of the Clan. My time is running out...'
'500 years, huh. This is not a length of time a normal human should live.' He thought wistfully.
"Alexios, get back to work."
"Yes, My King," Alexios spoke, and his whole countenance returned to seriousness. As he slowly opened his eyes, the galaxy-like eyes were revealed, and he started to 'touch' the air as if he was looking for something.
Vlad stopped what he was doing when he looked at a blinking device. He raised an eyebrow and touched the device, and soon the image of a demonic being appeared in the form of a hologram.
"Diablo."
"Vlad, we need to talk."
"Speak."
Suddenly, Diablo's image changed, and it showed Lilith, who was chained in a dark room, with fear visible on the girl's face.
"..." Vlad's face distorted visibly, and pure killing intent fell across the room as his entire face disappeared, and whatever was in front of them now was no longer a king, but a monster, the strongest monster.
The image changed back to Diablo.
"Control your mad dog, Vlad."
"I don't want to hear the name 'Alucard' from my subordinates anymore."
"....."
"Stay out of this war, and fulfill the contract we signed, and your daughter will be safe. You get what you want so much, and so do I."
The hologram disappeared, and Diablo left the call.
A heavy silence fell upon the room.
"...." Alexios just looked at his king with cold sweat breaking out on his face.
The warning was obvious. Diablo said: Don't take advantage of this obvious loophole in the contract because there is also a loophole that I can use that prevented me from harming your daughter.
'Sneaky demon.'
"Alexios."
"Yes, My King."
"Go get Alucard back now."
"Now…?"
"..." Vlad remained silent, but his silence was answer enough for Alexios.
"... As you wish, My King." A portal appeared in front of Alexios, and he disappeared.
