Chapter 897: We Are Dragons.
Chapter 897: We Are Dragons.
As soon as Victor left, Vlad took the Orb and headed toward his personal room. When he reached the room, which even his wife could not access, he passed through a wall that led to a large room with several Artifacts.
This was a room personally protected by Alexios himself, a room that was outside the normal space. It could even be said that this place was a personal dimension for Vlad himself.
It may seem impressive, but it wasn't something as grand as the Inner World that Victor had.
Arriving in the room with the Orb in hand, he looked at three coffins with names written on them, specifically, he looked at the middle coffin, which read Vlad Dracul Tepes.
"To think things would end like this, my old friend." Vlad's eyes became melancholic as he remembered a specific scene.
A formless monster piercing the impaler's heart as his younger brother watched.
"Your desire to save your country ended up giving me a treacherous enemy." Vlad sighed in resignation, but then his eyes became firm. "But in the end, it doesn't matter. The enemy of my people must be eliminated, as it has been in the past, and as it will be in the future."
Vlad looked at the sword that was used by Vlad, The Impaler, grabbing hold of it and tightly gripping it in his hand: "It's time to get stronger too... If I can't get strong like Victor's abnormality, I have other means."
Vlad turned and walked towards the exit.
...
Ancient Egyptian Pantheon, owned by The Snow Clan.
Jessica Horseman sighed as she looked at the crowd of white-haired beings in front of her. In all her years of life, she never thought she would be part of a 'family'. She also never thought that her missing mother had such a deep secret.
'Damn, my father.' She muttered irritably when she thought about the 'last moments' she had with her father. The man had acted completely out of the character she was used to.
She touched the necklace around her neck, the necklace that contained Fafnir's heart, a Relic of The Snow Clan that, by some miracle of fate, was not taken from her when she arrived at this place.
'Well, let's look at the positive side... At least now, I don't need to fear the sun...' She thought sarcastically. She was trying to look at the positive side of this whole situation, but she couldn't. She was here, trapped in the enemy's lair, not knowing what they were going to do with her.
Because of thoughts like these, her imagination started to become active. As a Descendant of The Snow Clan's Main Bloodline, she could be used as breeding stock by several men of The Snow Clan.
'If it comes to that, I will kill myself...' She thought with resolve.
Several other terrible thoughts passed through her mind of how she could be used for the benefit of The Snow Clan, like an arranged marriage or something.
'An arranged marriage wouldn't be bad. I could kill my partner and take his inheritance... But that depends on the family I marry into. What if it's the Fulger Clan? If I'm not mistaken, there is a single man in the Fulger Clan who is part of the Main Bloodline. If it is him, I will not be able to do that without that monster knowing.' Jessica shuddered when she thought of Victor and how 'monstrous in Power and influence' he was.
Thinking about Victor, she couldn't help but feel slightly irritated, not about Victor, but about her ex-boyfriend, Johnny.
'They are both from the same generation, but why is the difference so big? Tsk, now I'm irritated.' It wasn't like her to make comparisons, but due to being in this stressful situation that left her sleepless for fear of being attacked, her thoughts were wandering into dangerous paths.
'Forget Johnny, what about my brothers? Where are those bastards? I haven't heard from them, and I don't even know if Victor's army kidnapped them or if my father ran away with them.' She thought as the irritation continued to grow.
One thing Jessica hadn't realized yet was that due to being a member of The Snow Clan Bloodline, she was suffering from the drastic mood swings caused by the Fire of The Snow Clan Bloodline.
It was known to everyone that the Main Line members of The Snow Clan were VERY temperamental, and their emotions, if not controlled, began to affect things around them.
For example, now, as she was getting irritated, the environment around her was starting to heat up. Usually, this wouldn't be a problem since she was still weak, but Fafnir's Relic was boosting her Fire Power, causing damage to her surroundings.
"Jessica Snow, you are damaging the environment."
Jessica shivered slightly when someone called her and looked towards the voice. Soon, she saw a woman with long snow-white hair and crystal blue eyes wearing a Maid outfit.
"Yuki…" Jessica's mood started to return to normal when she saw someone who could be called her cousin.
'Cousin'... A concept so foreign to her as previously she had only had her father and brothers as family.
Looking around, she noticed that everything was melted due to the heat coming off her body. She grunted in annoyance and used her father's Bloodline to fix the problem, causing a corruptive black liquid to come out of her hands and crawl towards the wall and the floor. Soon, the whole place was back to 'normal'... That is if you ignored the difference in colors which was the black of Jessica's Power and the wood-colored floor.
Yuki shook her head as if she were helpless and said. "Just leave it as it is; someone will fix it soon."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Jessica blushed in embarrassment as she pulled back her Power, and the destroyed surroundings reappeared.
"Don't worry, this happens quite often."
"...What do you mean quite often?"
"Exactly what I meant. The Snow Clan are not a Clan known for their stable temperament. Everyone from the Main Lineage has tendencies to have psychotic or obsessed sides, sometimes quite explosive ones. Consequently, property destruction is quite common."
Jessica's face darkened slightly as she realized that these words had an effect on her as well. 'I hope I don't turn into someone psychotic like Agnes or Violet...'
Little did she know that such a fate was inevitable for someone in The Snow Clan; all members of the Main Line of this Clan's women would always have an 'obsession' with something.
No wonder the lover of the Vampire King, Vlad, was someone from The Snow Clan. The women of the Clan were quite... Passionate.
"I see... I hope this 'obsession' isn't something passed down from generation to generation."
At this answer, all Yuki did was smile wryly, but she didn't respond at all. And that silence made Jessica VERY uncomfortable.
'It's not possible, right?' She thought in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, she couldn't think about it too much because Yuki said something that made her more nervous.
"Come on, Jessica. Agnes and Violet Snow have returned from their personal business and want to see you." Yuki turned around and started walking.
In a very robotic way, Jessica began to follow Yuki. She had broken out in a cold sweat. Faced with this uncomfortable situation, she could only think:
'Father, you bastard, I swear that when I find you, I will kill you myself!'
Little did Jessica know that whatever fate awaited her with The Snow Clan would be much better than the fate that was in store for her where her father was now.
...
Entering the personal accommodations reserved for the Snow Clan Leader and the Heiress, the first thing Jessica saw were three white-haired women.
Hilda Snow: Head Maid of the Snow Clan, Agnes Snow: the current Leader of the Snow Clan, and Violet Snow: the Heiress of the Snow Clan.
Jessica looked at Agnes's red dress and Violet's violet dress with an appraising look. As someone who had come into contact with many Relics, she knew very well that those dresses were not normal.
Jessica bowed in a noble gesture of respect and said, "Jessica Snow introduces herself to the Leader of the Snow Clan, Agnes Snow, and the Heiress of the Snow Clan, Violet Snow."
"Tsk, Tsk. Wrong, you forgot the name Alucard, my dear niece." Agnes said.
Jessica twitched an eye internally when she remembered the name 'Alucard' that followed after Violet and Agnes's name, Snow. That lecherous man managed to take mother and daughter for himself.
"Forgive her, Mother... After all, she's not used to this whole situation yet."
Jessica shivered when she heard Violet's voice behind her.
Like a cat that has had its tail stepped on, she jumped forward before swiveling around and looking at Violet warily.
"Hmm, your body is not very developed for someone from the Snow Clan. You are also very short." Violet looked at Jessica from above as if she was evaluating her. Due to her nutritional supplement, the current Violet was more developed than the old Violet.
"Ara, Violet. Remember, you were like this in the past too. You only gained assets when you found Darling." Agnes smiled as she crossed her arms, highlighting her assets.
Unlike her dear daughter, her assets were all natural. Even before she met Victor, she was already this big.
A vein bulged in Violet's head. "I was just like that because I hadn't entered my adult phase yet, unlike someone who was old."
"Fufufufu, don't you know that men prefer older women~?" Agnes' blood-red eyes sparkled with amusement.
Violet grunted and decided to change the subject. She knew she wouldn't win in this argument.
"So, my dear cousin, I hear you have a lost Relic of our Clan."
Jessica unconsciously touched her necklace and became defensive.
"No need to be so defensive; the relics of the Snow Clan choose their owners. The fact that the necklace is in your possession, even with me and my mother here, is proof of that."
"Oya? My dear daughter, have you forgotten the fact that as the Leader of the Clan, I can order the necklace to be returned to me at any time? Something like this?" Agnes snapped her finger, and the necklace that was around Jessica's neck dissolved into flames and appeared in Agnes's hand.
Jessica's whole body tensed and went into fight or flight mode. She looked at the necklace anxiously, unwilling to lose the only memory of her mother like this. Even if she died, she would get it back.
Even though she hadn't made any moves yet, she wasn't foolish enough to think she had the upper hand with all these powerful women present here.
She also knew what game these two women were playing. They were demonstrating that Jessica had no power here, a fact Jessica had known from the beginning.
A flaming sword appeared in Agnes' hand, and she brought the blade closer to the necklace. When she felt the resonance between the necklace and the sword, Agnes's gaze changed. "I see… It's legit." A melancholic gleam appeared for a few seconds in Agnes's eyes.
Violet's look also changed from amusement to a more serious one. At first, the two women had doubts about the girl being a Direct Descendant of the Main Lineage, but upon receiving this confirmation, everything changed.
Agnes snapped her finger again, and the necklace disappeared from her hands, returning to Jessica's neck.
"You can go, Jessica," Agnes spoke.
"...Huh?" Jessica was confused at first, but she didn't argue much. Instead, she left the room as quickly as possible.
"Yuki, keep an eye on her, always," Violet ordered.
"Yes, Lady Violet." Yuki nodded and then left the room.
When Yuki left, Hilda looked at Agnes and Violet: "What should we do?"
"...She is Family, so she will stay with us," Agnes replied.
"Even though she is an enemy?"
"Yes, she was an enemy, but in the grand scheme of things, she wasn't that important, and she also didn't actively participate in Vlad's brother's plans," Violet said as she sat on the sofa and crossed her legs.
"Not to mention that she is too valuable to be thrown away so easily." Violet's red eyes changed to violet and glowed faintly. "She is not only someone from the Snow Clan Bloodline but also someone from the Vampire King's Bloodline."
Violet took the red Orb out of her pocket, and a hologram appeared showing the information Victor had entered.
Yes, Victor's meeting with Vlad was already known to his Wives. This was a method of communication created by Aline and Ruby, a personal network that only Victor and his Wives had access to.
"She is also very valuable as a hostage in the possible event that Niklaus may return in the future."
"Do you think a man who abandoned his daughter will care about her?" Hilda asked.
Violet and Agnes didn't know what to say. The thing is, Niklaus was a very complicated man. At first, he seemed to not care about his daughter, but now, he sends his daughter to 'safety' as if suddenly he cared about her.
They couldn't help but think that something was happening that they didn't know about.
"In the end, it doesn't matter." Violet stopped thinking and got up.
Agnes and Hilda look at Violet. "Jessica was sent here, so it's only a matter of time before she's enchanted by Darling… Do you know what people have the hardest time letting go of?"
"...The feeling of security?" Agnes spoke.
"Yes." Violet nodded. "Let's give Jessica a healthy environment. Let her develop, let her interact with others, and let her interact with Darling. Eventually, she will be biased against betraying us…"
"How can you be so sure this will work?" Hilda was skeptical.
"I trust our blood."
"Our blood?" Hilda asked, confused.
"Yes, the blood of the Snow Clan is thick as iron, but at the same time as light as air, and these characteristics that are passed down from generation to generation are difficult to take away even if she has another strong Bloodline within her."
Violet's words may seem complex, but they weren't. What she was trying to say was that she trusted the Snow Clan's core characteristics.
It was a fact that Jessica would become obsessed with something; that was just how the Snow Clan was. All they had to do was make her cling to something within the Snow Clan so that betrayal would be impossible.
"Fufufufu, my daughter is learning. That is good." Agnes smiled in amusement, but then her mood changed as if she had some kind of bipolar disorder, and she said, "Anyway, let's go back. Today is a big day for us."
Her eyes filled with passion. Unconsciously, she touched herself. It had been a long time, and she missed being completely filled by her Darling. Soon enough, she would be able to experience it again.
"Indeed, today is a big day." Violet smiled widely and then looked at Hilda. "Hilda, you and Yuki must enter the Tower of Nightmares."
"... I don't want-."
"Our enemies in the future will be stronger than usual. As Chief Maid, it is your duty to be strong."
Hilda grunted and then sighed as if she was helpless. "I will never retire at this rate."
Violet's smile became more sly: "I have said many times, if you want to retire, you must meet with my Husband and-."
"I won't do that!" Hilda fiercely cut Violet off, quickly turned, and left the room.
"We'll see… Hilda… We'll see… The future is long, and I will never give up." Violet smiled evilly.
"I don't understand. Why are you so obsessed with this?"
"We need allies. Look at the Fulger Clan; all the women in the Main Line are bound to Victor. We should do the same too."
"Ugh, please don't say you agree with Natashia's goal."
Violet didn't answer Agnes and just smiled mysteriously as she said, "Remember, Mother. We are DRAGONS. We make the rules."
Agnes didn't understand Violet's hidden intentions in saying this, but in the future, when she reminisced about this conversation, she would understand what Violet was talking about, and she would realize that Violet had become a very troublesome existence with this Power to eavesdrop on the future.
....