"You may enter." As our Mistress's voice echoed from beyond the door, Marston opened it and entered, prompting me to do the same; the inside seemed to be an office rather than a room. 'The same damn color palette as well.' Shaking my head in disappointment, I stopped beside Marston, the two of us standing a few feet before the desk where our Mistress was sitting.
"Mistress." Glancing at Marston, who bowed, I shifted my gaze. "Do you want me to also bow, Mistress?" Looking at her with a mock smile, she raised her head from her stack of papers and quietly stared at me, causing me to click my tongue as I copied Marston. "Mistress." "I see Marston went ahead and gave you the feeding collar; tell me, how do you like it?"
"I'd prefer purple; it'd complement my eyes." Snorting, I stood upright and folded my arms, glancing at her while she focused back on her papers. "Purple? That could be arranged." Seeing her so easily agree, I was a bit taken aback, which she somehow realized without even glancing at me. "Food is more appetizing when it looks good."
I didn't even bother to make a smart remark. I just sighed, taking this chance to observe the office, which honestly wasn't anything special: a few bookshelves, some weird-looking decorations, a painting of a sunset and sunrise, skulls, etc.
'Those skulls are probably real.' Glancing at the human-shaped skulls, I shook my head and closed my eyes, silently standing beside Marston as we waited for something. Though during this time, I was speaking with Zartha.
'So, any idea where we could be?' 'Most likely a Sub-estate of the Clan.' I furrowed my brows, a bit surprised. 'Sub-estate? This place is easily bigger than my own; probably bigger than a duke's.' 'The Vampires basically rule the entire continent, Master; don't compare the estate of a mere duke to the Vampires.'
Although Zartha's words practically slapped me in the face, given that I was even beneath a duke, I remained focused on the bigger picture. 'Okay, so a Sub-estate. What does that mean?' 'There are many Sub-estates, but one this big, she is most definitely a pure-blood.' 'Pure-blood? I'm not that knowledgeable about vampires; I only know the basic stuff regarding them from my past life.'
'There are many different types of Vampires, but there are six main types: Fledgling, Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Methuselah, and Antediluvian.' Listening to Zartha, I faintly nodded, trusting her knowledge. 'Okay, so where does a pure-blood rank in there?'
'That's not how it works. What I described was the strength of Vampires; think of an Elder as an A-rank Adventurer.' Opening a single eye, I glanced at Marston, who was silently standing to my left with a content expression. 'So, I'm comparable to an Elder Vampire? What about a Methuselah and Antediluvian? Is that like S-rank and SS-rank adventurers?'
'No. Methuselah is comparable to S-rank and SS-rank. The woman before you is a Methuselah Vampire.' Furrowing my brows, I glanced at my Mistress, staring at her as she signed papers before closing my eyes. 'Over my dead body is she as strong as Master.' That woman was strong, no doubt about that, but she couldn't be stronger than Master, maybe on the level of Simba, Marlin, and Lily, but not Master.
'As for Antediluvian, they're special as only one of them exists at one time; they're Demi-gods, Apostles of the God of Darkness, Caine.' I visibly relaxed when Zartha said only one of them could exist; still, if she claimed them to be Demi-Gods, then their power was beyond my reach.
'Wait, you said God Caine, right? I thought they served Goddess Nihil?' 'Master, do you think hierarchy is something only Mortals follow? Gods have it as well. The God of Darkness, Caine, is a Vampire that ascended to Godhood. He did so a few decades after our Father, the Godsmith, ascended.'
'Huh, so between your Father, Caine, and Nihil, who's the strongest?' 'Father! Father is the best!' Hearing Trina in the background support her Father, I was forced to suppress a chuckle; only after Zartha calmed Trina did she answer.
'Goddess Nihil, a massive gap, then God Caine, followed by our Father.' 'Damn, Goddess Nihil must be scary powerful than; I suppose, as the Goddess of Death & Souls, you'd have to be.' 'She is an Old God; very few Gods can compare to her… Anyway, I believe I've gone off topic, Master.'
Although still very interested, now wasn't the time to debate about Gods. 'Okay, let's get back to the topic… What was the topic again?' 'Sub-estate.' 'Oh yeah. Now that I'm somewhat knowledgeable, could you elaborate?'
'She's most likely a Princess of the clan; possibly a Duchess, but unlikely, she seems too young.' 'What is up with me and royalty? Specifically, Princess's?' Shaking my head, confused at my luck, I furrowed my brows in thought.
'If she's a Princess, that means she'll become the Matriarch in the future… No, wait, if there are others like her, wouldn't they fight for that position? Don't tell me I got in the middle of a family feud.' Realizing the situation I'd possibly been forced into, I wanted to groan in annoyance, though I wasn't really in a position to; I mean, it was either this or death.
'Possible, though don't take my words seriously, Master; my knowledge is from thousands of years ago.'
Faintly nodding, I opened my eyes, just in time to see the Mistress finish what seemed like the final papers before setting her pen down and leaning back, shifting her gaze to me while brushing aside her hair. "Marston, get me a drink and snacks." "Yes, Mistress."
As Marston left, leaving me alone, the Mistress just silently stared at me, which was more weird than uncomfortable as I held her gaze. Eventually, after some minutes, Marston returned, carrying a tray with grapes and a glass of dark red liquid, which could only be blood.
He set the tray down atop the Mistress's desk, prompting her to eat a few grapes before sipping from the glass, only to sport an ugly expression as she suddenly spat the blood out, and I just so happened to be in the line of fire.
'Great, who knows what disease I have now?' Having been sprayed with blood, I furiously wiped my face down. "Marston, what drink is this?" "It is your favorite, Mistress." "Favorite, huh." When I finished wiping my face, the Mistress was pushing away the drink she'd spat in my face before glancing at me. 'No, my neck.' Seeing her gaze drop slightly from my face, she curled her finger at me, and I didn't need to be told what she wanted.
Internally sighing at how I'd genuinely been turned into a walking blood bag for her, I walked around the desk and kneeled before her, prompting her bite into my neck, drinking for a few seconds before releasing me. "Ahh, so delicious."
As I returned to my spot, she pointed at me. "Currently, I'm fighting to become the heir of the clan; however, I'm not the only one, several others are vying for the position of clan head." "Are they as strong as you, Mistress?" Folding my arms, I gazed at her with a raised eyebrow, curious, though not because of her, and I had a feeling she noticed.
With a faint smirk, she faintly nodded. "Some may be a little weaker and others a little stronger." "It seems I can't help you kill them, Mistress." I grunted internally. I was grateful for the information, but annoyed that there were several more vampires just as strong as her; however, I noticed both Marston and the Mistress giving me weird looks.
"What?" Glancing at Marston, he closed his eyes and gently shook his head, not elaborating. "Killing pure-bloods is forbidden; though I suppose humans wouldn't understand such a thing." Shifting my gaze to the Mistress, who explained while throwing a subtle jab, I rolled my eyes. "For the record, I refrain from killing when possible. I haven't taken a single life since setting foot on Daemon, Mistress."
Seeing her eyes widen slightly in surprise, I felt my face twitch; I couldn't deny humans killed a lot… Like a LOT, but we weren't that bad. 'Humans are, Master.' 'Tsk, well, I'm not.' Anyway, after reigning in her surprise, she cleared her throat.
"Even if killing was on the table, I'm not dumb; you're far more valuable in my hands. Before you arrived, I was having some trouble dealing with them, but with you, the new variable, and your… Taste. Becoming the heir is only a matter of time." "I'm glad I could help, Mistress."
Bowing slightly to the Mistress with a fake smile, she smiled in amusement and opened her mouth, only to freeze in place before lightly chuckling. "What a surprise, it seems one of my competitors has come here themselves; what a perfect opportunity to show how you'll be used."
Leaning forward, she rested her chin atop her hands, licking her fangs while smirking.