The Vampire King's Toxic Consort (bxb)

Chapter 2 It Couldn't Have Gone Any Worse, Right?

Becoming a vampire...

Lucius used to play with the idea, imagining what it would feel like to fly, to be able to walk on the ceiling, to lift things twice his size easily, to capture one's mind with one seductive smile, and to have eternal youth and all the time in the world.

He could have all that and more a long time ago since the Devil Asmodian gave him a drop of his blood after he voluntarily sacrificed himself to the Elder in the Mahoraga Labyrinth.

However, it meant that he would also give up his place in humanity and join the perpetrators. After witnessing how human slaves were treated in Eternia, he couldn't bring himself to do that.

The more concerning consequence was that...every shitty thing he had done for humanity would have been meaningless. His father would call him a traitor and a coward, and his mother's heartbreaking tears would be more tormenting. His sister would be so disappointed in him.

And Julian...he would be devastated, for he would believe Lucius would burn in hell for eternity.

The real deal breaker was that Anthor and the Churches would see him as a traitor and a possible threat to humanity. His family might be implicated and incriminated. And knowing what the Anthor government and Churches were capable of, anything could happen to his parents and his siblings. Even in better situations, in which none of them got executed because of Lucius's defection, they would still be shunted by the whole nation and lose everything.

So Lucius shook his head, "I can't."

"Even if your country has forsaken you?"

"Even so."Lucius grimaced.

Darius sighed exasperatedly yet wasn't surprised at his answer.

"You are a fool."

"I know."

The duke stood up, preparing to leave, "Dorian and I will leave Emberton for some days. Just...sit on it and give it more thought, ok?"

Lucius nodded. Before Darius exited the room, he followed with one more question, "Did you find out who was helping Silvan when he faked his hibernation?"

Two years ago, Silvan, the charming but scheming ex-prince who plotted to usurp Dorian's crown, discovered Lucius's true mission and blackmailed him into working for him. Lucius feigned his compliance but double-crossed and tricked Silvan into drinking ogre blood, severely damaging Silvan's vocal cord and inner organs. To prevent Silvan from revealing his secret mission to Dorian, Lucius implored his ally, the werewolf chieftain Volke Nightingale to kill Silvan since he was confined in one of the werewolf vampire prisons. Several weeks later, the news of Silvan's hibernating, a dormenting state for vampires almost equivalent to death, reached Emberton. And Lucius thought his problem was gone and let his guard down, not knowing Silvan was faking his hibernation.

Silvan took Lucius by surprise by showing up at the Opening of the Council ceremony and vanquished Lucius in front of the whole court by introducing a witness — a liaison spy of Anthor. Hence Lucius's downfall.

Darius hesitated momentarily before replying, "The person who had plenty of chances would be Volke, but it doesn't benefit him and doesn't fit his personality. I'm looking into if any of his men have connections with the Ducas family, but the evidence I have so far is inconclusive."

"Whoever they are, they must be very close to the crown since they could access the royal sleeping chamber without us knowing it. You have to find out. Otherwise, Dorian will be in danger."

Darius glanced at him curiously, "With Azreal's feather, Dorian is the most powerful vampire in Eternia. Not many in this world can harm him. You should worry about your own safety more. Some people hate your guts and have been waiting for you to fail the moment you married Dorian, and after the King and I leave tomorrow, even though Dorian has arranged more guards for your room, you should sleep with one eye open."