Chapter 284: Mother-in-law's secrets.
Clan Snow.
Victor was on a chair in Adonis' room while looking at the man...
Wrong, looking at what was left of the man lying in bed.
He was sitting in a comfortable position with his hand resting on his lap.
'And to think that in less than a few months, this man would be relegated to this pathetic state.' Victor's eyes glowed blood-red:
Victor saw a strange golden energy coursing through Adonis' body, an energy that was not compatible with vampires.
This energy was slowly killing Adonis from within.
Victor had seen this energy before, and it was in the fight against the werewolf Anderson, and the church hunters. He knew what it was.
'Divine energy.' Victor narrowed his eyes. He couldn't identify if this was the energy of another god or Adonis himself.
But that didn't matter, this man was dying, and that was a bad thing.
'I need to try to do something before he dies...' Just thinking about how sad Violet would be if her father died, Victor's heart ached.
'... Tsk, what was that woman thinking? Why didn't she seek help? Is she thinking about solving everything herself?' His eyes gleamed with an even more dangerous light.
The path to this room was not peaceful, proof of that was the vision behind Victor, several Snow Clan guards, maids, and Blank Clan assassins were lying on the floor unconscious. He had literally entered this place by force.
The Snow Clan guards, despite being strong, weren't strong enough to resist Victor's Charm, so, with just one look from Victor, they fell into his Charm, and the rest of the job was pretty easy. He just needed to make the guards pass out each time since he knew that if he broke the guard's neck, the men would wake up faster, so the easiest method was to reach their subconscious.
When the guards were under his charm, Victor ordered them to go to sleep, so they probably wouldn't wake up until tomorrow.
Victor wasn't entirely sure about that since he didn't do it often. Usually, he just killed everyone.
Maybe they would wake up earlier because of their physiques as vampires.
Clan Blank was easier to deal with, after all, who was Kaguya? She was a member of Clan Blank, and he lived with her for a long time.
He knew all the quirks of these killers.
Unless a master assassin and leader of Clan Blank came along, these men wouldn't have given Victor any trouble.
Of course, the same applied to the Snow Clan.
Now, how did all this happen?
It's simple.
The guards weren't letting Victor through, and this made him annoyed, and as he didn't want to waste time with useless conversation, he literally stormed the place.
Yes, he was on the wrong side of the story, but he didn't care.
He was used to being singled out as the villain.
"...You are wilder than I initially thought, Count Alucard." A woman's voice echoed through Adonis's room.
Speaking of a strong Snow Clan member...
Victor looked to the left and saw a Maid with short white hair that was covering half of her eyes.
"...Hilda Snow." After speaking the woman's name, Victor looked back at Adonis.
'Strong... An older vampire, but unlike those useless ones, she's trained.' Victor could feel he was dealing with someone like Scathach.
A master, someone who had fully mastered a martial art or power.
But... So what? It's not like it changed anything since, in the end, he was going to do whatever he wanted.
"Oh? You know me? But I don't remember meeting you before." Hilda put her hand to her chin.
"Violet talks a lot about you." He spoke in a monotone.
"Oh...I see, then it makes sense for you to know me."
"..." Victor nodded but didn't stop looking at the man lying on the bed.
An awkward silence fell over the place until Hilda sighed a little and touched Victor's shoulder.
"I'm sorry but... This place is forbidden, you need to leave." Then, just as Hilda was about to use force to take Victor from his place, she heard a voice that shook her entire existence.
"... Maid." Victor slowly turned to Hilda:
"Don't touch me."
Fushhhhhhh
A blood-soaked pressure exploded from Victor's body.
Hilda swallowed hard when she saw the face of the man in front of her.
She couldn't see anything on his face except for his eyes!
'I had seen it before, but seeing it in person is completely different... This is not the power of a plebian vampire.'
But don't compare her to those fallen vampires, she's different!
Her eyes glowed blood-red:
"You need to leave. Now!" She squeezed Victor's shoulder harder.
"...Don't tell me what to do, maid." Victor replied.
'... This shameless one!' A vein bulged in Hilda's head; 'He invades my Clan and dares act with that attitude!?'
"..." The two continued to stare at each other for a while, and a battle atmosphere descended on the place, they would clash at any moment until...
"What's going on here!?" Agnes' voice woke the two beings.
"Countess Agnes."
"Agnes." Victor ignored Hilda.
He got up from the chair he was in, and walked towards Agnes.
"Boy-."
"Don't call me boy." Victor's pressure grew stronger and more suffocating:
"Have you forgotten who's in front of you?"
"...." Agnes narrowed her eyes, and for the first time in a long time, she fully observed Victor:
"Yes, you are now of the same status as me..."
"Count Alucard, to what do I owe this unexpected..." She looked at the guards and assassins lying on the ground, "Visit?"
"How long does he have?" Victor didn't waste time on useless stuff, and got straight to the point.
"...." Agnes' eyes darkened completely.
"Where did you hear that?" Agnes knew that if anyone looked at her husband, they would know he was sick, but he was a vampire, and a vampire couldn't die from a disease, so they would assume he would get better soon.
Yes, that was common sense, but Victor, who saw her husband in bed, didn't ask if he was going to get better.
He asked how much time he had left.
That is, he knew that he would die at some point in the future.
"Don't waste time with useless questions, just answer what I asked." Victor spoke in the same monotone voice.
Agnes narrowed her eyes when she heard Victor's authoritative tone, "... Alucard, that's not how it works. You can't come to my house and demand something from me."
"Indeed... Under normal circumstances, I couldn't." Victor agreed with Agnes' thinking, he had no interest in another Clan, but that completely changed when something involving his wife was at stake.
"But... I can now, I always could."
"Huh?" Agnes' face distorted.
Victor lifted his palm up, and soon an intense flame started to shoot out of his hand.
"..." Hilda narrowed her eyes as she looked at Victor's flame; 'Is this flame quality almost on the same level as Agnes? How did he get that kind of power if he's never trained in the Clan?' The Maid opened her eyes a little when she noticed something.
'Did he train alone? Did he reach that level all by himself!? Huh?' The thought of Violet teaching Victor never crossed Hilda's mind, considering that Violet, despite being an heiress, still didn't have the same quality and density as Agnes' flames.
"That's my right to know... It's Violet's right to know."
"..." Agnes' face became neutral when she heard her daughter's name and looked at Victor's flames, no trace of hostility could be seen on her face.
Victor looked into Agnes' golden eyes, "If my father were dying, at the very least, I'd like someone to tell me how long he had to live."
"And that goes for Violet too, she deserves to know."
"..." The two stared at each other for a while until Agnes relented.
Sigh.
She visibly sighed:
"Fool, it's because of her that I hid this..." Agnes looked at Adonis:
"What will Violet think when she sees her father in this state…? She is a girl who loves her father very much, you know?"
"That little girl couldn't bear the sight..."
"Lying is never the answer." Victor spoke in a neutral tone.
"...And don't underestimate Violet." He narrowed his eyes coldly and pointed at Agnes:
"She's got your blood running through her veins. Do you think she's weak enough to be depressed if she finds out about her father?"
"...." Agnes opened her eyes a little.
"I'm 100% sure that if Violet found out what I'm seeing right now, she would look for methods to cure it, just like you are doing. She wouldn't lock herself in her room and cry like a little girl!" Victor's voice echoed throughout the room.
"I-..." Agnes was speechless, she had never really thought of Violet like that.
"... Tsk." Seeing Agnes's shocked look, Victor got even angrier:
"I never imagined that you thought so little of your daughter."
"Master, I'm back... And you really made a mess..." She sighed a little as she looked at her Clan members and saw that they were all just unconscious.
"You came at a good time, Kaguya. Let that worm out."
"Yes." Kaguya pulled an armless and legless man out of her shadows.
"Alucard, this is..." Agnes narrowed her eyes in irritation.
"Calm down, stupid woman."
"Stupid woman...?" She looked at Victor in shock.
Before she got angry, Victor continued:
"Yes, I broke into this place, I took down all your guards and assassins, but did you see any deaths among them?"
"..." Agnes was silent, but she knew what Victor was getting at. If he had invaded this place with bad intentions, he would have killed all the weaker members, but instead, he knocked them unconscious.
"Tsk, it annoys me to know the fact that not only Violet, you also think so little of me. Do you truly believe that I, who is your son-in-law, would lift my claws and bare my fangs towards my wife's family for no reason?"
"...." Seeing the woman in silence, Victor said:
"Your daughter is just like you, but at least her brain hasn't gone rotten." He rolled his eyes.
"Wha-... My brain isn't rotten!" She stomped to the floor in annoyance.
"Of course it is, all you think about is the man lying down, and because of that, you miss important little details."
"Huh? Isn't it natural to be worried about my husband?"
"Of course it is, but you've become so blinded with worry that you've let traitorous rats infest your house! My wife's house!" Victor's roar made Agnes step back a little.
"......" Agnes opened her eyes wide as she realized what she had just done.
'...I was afraid? ME!?' She hated the fact that someone, not even half her age, made her scared for a few seconds.
Victor grabbed the man by the head and slapped him across the face.
"Wake up."
"What-." Victor didn't let the man talk much, as he looked into the man's eyes and said:
"Tell me everything you were planning to do with the Snow Clan."
"Yes, master..." Victor turned the man to Agnes, and soon he started talking:
"My group and I came together with the aim of replacing the leaders of the Snow and Fulger Clans. We act as spies within both houses, and we plan to eliminate the leader of both Clans and take 2/4 of Nightingale's political power..."
The man began to tell Agnes his entire organization's plan.
All the while, Agnes and Hilda listened in silence, but their eyes could not remain neutral as they heard the traitors' names.
"So many people... They all wanted to replace me...?"
"Go on, what was your group planning to do with the heiresses?" Victor's voice was cold and distorted, and it caused a little discomfort for the two women present.
"As the last of a bloodline with the power of a Vampire Count, we will use her to make new vampires."
"Wha-..." Agnes couldn't believe what she was hearing. It didn't take a genius to understand what these men were planning to do to her daughter.
"What do you plan to do with Agnes?"
"Kill her, replace her, or if possible, subdue her. After all, she still remains an important resource since a Count vampire cannot be easily created."
"How would you go about doing that?"
"Our sponsor has connections with the hunters, they would provide the materials needed for this quest, and through him, we would be able to keep Clan Blank busy while we did our quest."
"We were waiting for Adonis to die to take advantage of the countess's moment of weakness."
"Who is your sponsor?"
"...I..." The man was silent. He couldn't answer since he just didn't know.
'Tsk.' Victor had expected this outcome, but he didn't care much. He still had a bald man that he would interrogate after he assured that there were no rats in his wives' house.
"That's enough." Agnes spoke in a cold voice.
"Now, do you understand why I'm so angry?"
"Yes." Agnes replied in a hollow tone of voice that rivaled Victor's current mood.
Victor lifted the Snow Clan member up and looked him in the eye again.
"Answer all the questions Countess Agnes and Hilda ask you."
"...Yes."
Finished with what he wanted to do, he looked at Agnes again:
"Do your job properly, protect my wife's home. I know you're not incompetent like Scathach and Natashia seem to think."
A vein bulged in Agnes' head when she heard Victor's authoritative tone of voice, and she got even more annoyed when she heard that her friends thought she was incompetent.
Victor threw the man towards Agnes.
"Do you know what to do, or do I need to spell it out for you?"
Agnes grabbed the man by the neck and ignored what Victor said.
Looking at her clan member,
She bit her lip in anger. She wanted to burn the man right here and now, but she knew she couldn't do that.
"Hilda…"
"I know, I will do it." Hilda approached Agnes and grabbed the man by the neck.
"Oda, help Hilda."
Agnes' shadow distorted a bit, and the appearance of a man was seen, "Yes, Master."
"Kaguya." Victor didn't need to order anything since he already knew that Kaguya wanted to help, and all he did was give his permission.
"Thank you, Master." Kaguya bowed a little while flashing a gentle smile.
Looking at Maid's back, he said, "...Don't hold back."
"..." Kaguya visibly shivered.
Gulp.
Agnes swallowed hard when she saw Kaguya's current face. Was this the same maid she knew?
"Yes, Master." She replied without turning to Victor.
When the two maids left the room, taking the bodies of the people on the floor away, Victor, who was now alone with Agnes, looked at the woman and asked in a tone that did not allow for refusal:
"How long does he have?"
Agnes looked at the man for a few seconds until she spoke: