Chapter 98: The Selfish Nobles!
"Please, your king! My son was almost in grave danger today!"
A male with black hair and light pink eyes, a sign of the Zorathis family, their special blood art called 'Soulbind' allowed them to form a spiritual link with one another. This allowed them to absorb life force, share wounds or reflect damage to their enemies.
The tether could also communicate with and track their target, making them the perfect anti-spy.
'These annoying nobles, do they think the Tepes family has no undercover agents? I know everything that happened and that my daughter showed such a smile and radiant face for the first time in over a decade!'
"Why do you only speak half-truths, Marlon Zorathis, Albert Faust?" The voice came from the back. The group of vampires turned and kneeled to the two that approached the throne. One was Vladimir himself, but the other was his wife.
"My Queen!" The group of elders kneeled.
The Queen's long blonde hair swished as her crimson eyes stared daggers at the other vampires. Anya's mother hated the nobles who would lie just to twist everything to their desire. In reality, these nobles welcomed her with such a bright face because of the lies they believed.
'These idiots think I REALLY hate Selene and my husband's other wife.'
"Please forgive our sons and punish that evil boy!"
"Yeah! He is a mere squire taking liberties!"
They were mistaken, and it showed how little they knew about the Tepes family and its members.
The Queen of Vampires had always been a strong woman. She came from the family that had the most blood affinity for her family, but it was only a noble family; thus, she had limits. Her blood was so pure it rivalled the original progenitors. Yet because she was only of noble blood, Selene's blood and strength would soon surpass her.
However, Vladimir would rather marry the two women who he felt affection for. Rather than choosing the perfect bride, these nobles tried to push forward.
There were no stupid fights or arguments in the Tepes Clans' main palace. Instead, both wives enjoyed most of their time together travelling the various Nexus worlds, and most recently, it was gossiping about their future son-in-law.
"Marlon and Albert, what is your reason for coming to the palace without notice?"
"My Queen, my son was injured because of that filthy Volkov boy's negligence! I want to have the boy punished! We can find our dear princess another squire!"
Albert's plea for his son made her blood boil. Because she and Selene's mother were actually at the opera too, by chance they spotted their cute daughter and even the fact she kissed the son of Ivan. 'Ah~ the year engagement contract will be worthless at this rate. How exciting it is to see Selene growing up!'
"So?" She answered while cleaning her beautiful red nails.
"My Queen, are you well?" Vlad asked in a softer tone. He wasn't a man to speak many words and thus normally listened to the nobles prattle on for longer. However, after learning that Nikolai kissed his daughter and maybe something further, he felt a sense of irritation.
He wanted to be the damn kid and make sure he was worthy of his daughter.
"Nothing, dear—I'm just wondering what happened to these two. Didn't their useless sons try to assassinate your second wife's child?" The Queen's eyes glowed in anger. "And now they are complaining that your children were put in danger by her squire, and yet, we have reported that Maximillian attacked the young couple on a date!"
'My wife... why are you so beautiful?' Vlad's mind left the room the moment she became angry. He was a complete fool for his wives, but any man was for the one he loved. 'Let's focus, and these bastards have been getting far too arrogant recently, especially the Faust clan... Why have the Nosferatu, who was famous for being neutral, begun helping Faust?'
Vlad had his thoughts, but he would have them investigated at another time, not with so many other clans around. "Silence. We will do what is right for our daughter, but we must not abuse the law and her will. So I shall summon her here and ask Selene to speak her side of the story."
"Ah?! My King, how could you?!" Another noble looked at the Faust elder before he shuddered and jumped into the situation like a fool.
The King and Queen's eyes shone as they both seemed to realise something was amiss. 'It seems these bastards are planning something bigger than we thought.' Vlad could only clench his hands behind the desk and try to find out their goal.
"Enter!"
A single female vampire in a maid's outfit knocked on the door before she calmly entered after Vlad's permission. Her body was sweating as she panted and tried to catch her breath.
"Speak, why are you interrupting?" The Queen's voice rang out in an authoritative tone because she recognised the maid and who she served.
"Mistress Selene has taken a male to her room and sealed the doors!" The maid, with light brown hair, was sweating profusely as she spoke the news in the middle of all these powerful elders and the vampire king.
"Hmm?" Vladimir stood up. His body shook the castle, and his power was overwhelming.
"A male, what male?"
"A-Ah... a handsome male with red eyes, a sharp nose, rugged, yet chiselled jawline... and--"
"Enough... why does it sound like a romance novel, that little bastard? Ivan you and me cannot live under the same moon!" The vampire king's voice rang out.
"Wait, husband... what shall we do?"
The Queen wasn't like Vlad, who became filled with anger, his blood aura causing all the elders to tremble on their knees.
Even the annoying ones from the Faust and Zorathis clan could not resist. Yet the queen just looked fluffy and delighted as she placed both hands on her cheeks and swooned.
"What else? We'll go to her room! I must let her know how much of a wolf that boy truly is! You are coming too, wife. It will be like the time you and her mother first met!" Vlad's words caused the Queen to blush as the image of a naked and bloody man came to her mind from years past.
'Ah... that cannot happen~ My Father beat Vlad with a bat until he fled into the night.'
Meanwhile, as the two prepared to open the room and see what their daughter was up to, the poor elders were left alone in the throne room while trembling because their fear and aura of Vladimir still hadn't faded. Instead, it grew stronger with each second that passed.
"These bastard royals! No wonder my father said that the purer one's blood, the more insane they think!" One elder muttered before he felt a chill and turned around. Standing in the doorway was none other than the second wife of Vlad, and Selene's mother, her hands wrapped in steel gauntlets with spiked knuckles.
She was wearing her uniform with a blood-red cloak and a rather beautiful military uniform, showing her previous role as the king's knight.
"M-My Lady... why are you wearing that...?" Marlon Zorathis trembled while watching her approach.
"I'm going to go and beat the shit out of some stupid elders. My daughter is not someone your filthy family members can judge while enjoying her life!" With a wave of her hand, the doors of the throne room closed, and a blood barrier covered the entire chamber.
The elders of various clans watched the woman and her cold smile as she approached. Her spiked gauntlets covered her small hands, and a ribbon held together her long silver hair. The woman looked like she was in her mid-twenties. Yet, she had already lived for hundreds of years.
"Now then, gentleman. Please tell me everything that happened in detail!"
"Nooo!"
"Ahhh!"
"Damnation!!"
***
In Selene's private room, Nikolai lay on her soft bed covered in black and red satin sheets. His clothes were scattered on the ground, and the female vampire in question was currently treating his wounds.
There were dark bruises under his ribs and swollen areas where the bones were broken and needed fixing. However, these would not stop Selene, as her delicate hands touched the broken bones, causing the man below to grunt in pain and squirm.
"Don't act like a baby. It's just a broken bone." Selene snorted while adjusting his collarbone, using her blood art to form a temporary mould, keeping it in place. Nikolai lay naked, his muscular chest and arms exposed as the vampire princess sat atop his lower torso.
Although she found it exciting, and the feeling of something rubbing against her thighs was quite arousing, instead, she was trying to adjust his hips. His broken bones were so severe it seemed fighting a true vampire shattered his pelvis in several places.
"Why are you so stupid, couldn't you have just let me fight?"
'Ah... his chest is so hard and firm I want to bury my face in it and enjoy the scent of his blood from those open wounds...'
"My dad told me not to back down against cowards, especially if..."
She felt amused by his attempt to bite his teeth and endure the pain, her delicate fingertips sliding along his bruised and wounded abdomen.
Yet despite knowing she could defeat them alone when he stood to fight for her... Selene couldn't deny her chest fluttered and made her feel a strange feeling.
"Especially if...?" Selene's voice was sultry and captivating, her golden hair brushing Nikolai's cheek as she leaned down and gazed into his eyes.
'If the person we are with is someone we have feelings for.' Nikolai would never say these words to Selene—she wasn't like Nikita, who would swoon for the truth. Instead, he turned his face away, narrowing his eyes and brows in resistance.
"As if I would tell you... Ahh... don't just slap my wound, you damn witch!"
"Fufu~ ah, look at you finally unable to fight back or call me names. What is this feeling of delight?"
"Perversion?"
"Shut up, idiot! Hmph..."
She didn't stop adjusting his wounds or cleaning them of any dirt or debris from the earlier battle, especially as she saw how many were more intensive than she thought. It shocked her as a vampire how he could have such a severe wound and barely make a sound or complain.
'I don't want to see him hurt like this again... but what can I say? Each time I try, the wrong words come from my lips!'
Suddenly, she could feel something pressing against her buttocks and looked at Nikolai with a stern glare, only for his face to show a proud and rebellious look at her before both of his hands grasped her hips.
"Ahh~ what are you doing?!" Her body squirmed, but it only made her hips rub against his crotch, making the man grunt.
"You are the one doing it, stop moving your ass, you lewd vampire!. Or are you using this opportunity to enjoy my body before marriage!?"
"W-what...? I-I just want to... t-touch you."
"What? I can't hear you, Princess~"
He was teasing her again, and his hands that held her hips wouldn't let her escape.
The moment she was about to retaliate, the door slammed open, and her father and the queen stormed inside.
Her father looked like a grim reaper while her mother...
'Why does she have a camera?'
*Flash*
"Oh my~ our little Selene is finally interested in men!"
Nikolai, on the other hand, lost consciousness the moment Vladimir's immense aura flooded the room and also suffocated him, thus avoiding the chaos that would follow.