Chapter 260 – Nosferatu

Tessa glanced a few seconds at the Archduke and then with a nonchalant demeanor followed after Noah, showing that this conversation was over and leaving the old man no choice but to follow the two.

“How was it? Did I rattle him enough to break the flow of his thoughts?” Said Noah through their telepathic connection as he walked toward the exit.

“Not only him. I am quite shocked as well.” Said Tessa.

“Good, that means I must have looked mysterious enough in his eyes to be wary. Just what we wanted.” Answered Noah.

“Yeah, but the thing you said about the girl? Is this real?”

“Yeah. Unfortunately for her.”

“How did you know?” Asked Tessa.

“Well, I didn’t really know, but there were two strange things ever since I first saw her. First, my player skill offered me a choice of stealing her all of a sudden without any explanation. Then I saw my domination skill was ready to add another slave to the list. So I had a hunch and asked Yuko to check something for me. And she just confirmed that it is indeed my mindbreak skill that initially resonated with the girl. In other words something has been done to her mind, something degenerate that is in accordance with my system's rules as Ugy would say it.”

“Huh? Yuko? Not Ugy?” Asked Tessa trace of jealousy in her tone.

“Long story. Tell you later.”

“Alright, but there is one problem…” Said Tessa.

“What problem?” Asked Noah

“I promised Lady Fertille and the child she carry the safety of a guest under my roof. That is a promise I must absolutely keep. Which means that now that I know it, I can’t ignore it and now bound to protect her and not let this mind magic harm her anymore. If this has been done by the Archduke’s family… I will have to keep her safe from them or you if you intend to use this situation against her.”

“I don’t. Why would I want her to be my slave? It’s my first time seeing her. But what if the method we use to help her is somehow harmful? I intend to use my skill on her but it may bring some pain.”

“That is an exception. As long as it is done with an intention to help the person. Surgery in a way is also harmful to the body and potions are a kind of poison in a way too, but they are permissible harms if you administer it with an intention to help. I will consider your skill the same.”

“Good, then it's all fine. As for this old man, you said he has a strong sense of justice, so I doubt he would try to silence us to keep this secret. Besides, there is a Royal Investigator here. Even Archduke must think twice before committing crime in his presence. That man answers only to the King and would not stand aside… right?” Said Noah.

“Well, let's hope so. But just in case I need Cassandra beside us. By the way, why is she still not here? She’s a vamp, it should take her seconds to get ready no matter how much out of shape you made her.” Said Tessa.

“Umm… There was an accident. I used a skill, and because of that fuck up with Ugy, that just happened, that skill was being used on her this entire time. It’s truly turned off now, so I think she’ll be here soon…probably.”

“Stop, what do you intend to do, Count McDaniels?” Asked Archduke with a loud voice, quickly catching up to Noah and Tessa as they were leaving the room.

“We both know that making such an accusation without providing any proof is no different from an insult. And insulting someone of your status is not my intention, Your Excellency. I merely wish to let you see the same truth that I see. For that I must show you something that will prove my words.” Said Noah as he continued walking.

“I said stop! What exactly do you plan to do?” Archduke’s voice boomed.

The two knights that stood guard at the end of the hall waiting for their master stepped forward, putting their hands on the sword handles as they glared at Noah.

“No need to be so jumpy my dears.” Said the voice suddenly at their ears as Cassandra suddenly appeared out of nowhere holding her finger at the neck of the knight, her sharp as thorn finger nail pressing against his neck, just slightly bit away from puncturing his carotid artery.

The knight's eyes went wide from surprise as he froze mid movement. He did not even feel her presence until her finger nail bit into his skin. As his eyes skidded to the side, he saw Cassandra smile with her white teeth showing off her long fangs. At the side he saw his partner in the same situation with another woman standing behind the knight, holding her sharp as blades finger nails at the man’s throat in a similar manner.

Archduke stopped in his tracks gazing at the two women that appeared out of nowhere like ghosts, and the surprised expressions on his knight's faces.

There was not a trace of their arrival, both of their clothes and hair were meticulous, without a single wrinkle or stray hair, so they did not move here with a flash like movement. No, they had been there, in the room, the entire time and knights had not been aware of them until the moment they had shown themselves.

That means both women had been obscured by the veil magic. The skill that higher ranked vampires usually excel at. Paired with flash-like speed and extreme agility that the undead bodies of vampires are capable of achieving with ease, veil magic makes them extremely dangerous opponents.

The special obscuring effect of their veil comes from the telepathy ability that vampires awaken when they reach the nosferatu rank. It clouds the mind and lulls the attention. Once you are under its influence you forget the very fact that they were there even in the middle of the fight. To face a nosferatu you have to put a constant effort of will to stay alert and use your perception to keep track of them. Even a fraction of a second of being lax in this effort would make them disappear from your perception and cloud your mind making you forget the danger you faced until your throat gets ripped out.

But it was one thing for Cassandra to use that vampire veil magic to obscure herself from the knights completely until now, but that second woman… With her skill and power Cassandra no doubt could have put a veil on her comrade as well, but it would not be so strong to let her sneak up on his best knights so effortlessly. He trained them himself and could be sure of their skills. The only way for her to do that is to have her own veil on top of the one Cassandra cast.

But to do that, that second woman had to be a nosferatu as well.

Which raised a question. Since when does the Vespertine vampire clan have new member risen to the nosferatu ranks? The last report he had from the observers a few months back, clearly stated that the Vespertine family still had only one man who managed to reach the rank, but he was a wastrel with no good talent or interest to learn magic to be of any danger. Report stated no one else close enough to reaching the rank any time soon had been seen. Had the report been wrong? Or is she from some other night family? If so, what is her noble rank?

Noah looked at the girl as well and she gave him a small smile when their eyes met. He heard of the girl named Vella from his mates but had not had the chance to meet her yet.

“Duchess,” Said Archduke with a nonchalant voice, “it seems you have finally decided to join us.” He waved his hand showing his men to stand down and not provoke the opponents.

“Your Excellency, forgive me for my late arrival. A lady must take her time to get prepared.” Said Cassandra pulling her hand away from the man’s neck as the knight backed off.

“As if.” Thought Noah. How much time did it take her to prepare herself to this degree of perfection? A minute? Vampires' agility and speed is simply incomparable to humans and Archduke knows that well. No way Archduke would believe she needed this much time to prepare. Wouldn’t this half-assed excuse give him a justification to turn it into an insult and try to wriggle some kind of advantage as it is always done in Noble circles?

“Yeah, it is understandable.” Said Archduke without a single worry in his voice.

“A gentleman would never question a woman when she says she needs to prepare.” Said Tessa through their connection after seeing Noah’s surprised face.

“I see” answered Noah. He kept thinking what excuse Tessa would make for Cassandra’s absence this entire time, but she never intended to explain it, simply pushing it to womanly things.

“But how did Vella get here? Did you let her in?” Asked Noah.

“Oh. She has been here the entire time since before your return. She just seems a bit shy and had no good opportunity to come up and introduce herself in between you being ravished by us and you ravishing her master ever since you stepped foot into the mansion.” Said Theressa with a mischievous voice, making Noah blush from realizing what she must have witnessed and what she would think of him from such a first meeting.

“More importantly, who might this talented lady besides you be?” Asked Archduke, interrupting their secret conversation. He was looking over the young looking vampire girl beside Cassandra from feet to face, and yet there had not been a trace of lust or excitement in his eyes. It was cold meticulous judgement of an opponent.

“Oh, allow me to introduce my niece Vella. Our Vespertine family had been graced by a stroke of good luck recently.” Answered Cassandra without much explanation.

Noah, however, knew quite well what kind of blessing that stroke of luck had been. It seems Cassandra found a good use for the present left over by her previous nosferatu member, Theron, whose achievements and power had been passed to another member of the family in his failed plan to steal Cassandra’s power.

Cassandra had no use for Theron's measly level of power, so instead of absorbing it for herself, she used an opportunity to pass this power on to someone of her own choosing, preferring a woman she could trust over giving this power to the next best candidate in terms of seniority. Which, as Noah heard from Tess, bred some discord among the kin who thought they were more worthy based on seniority. After all, Vella was among the lowest ranked kins in the family, relatively new to the family, turned mere decades ago. Which seemed to be considered not so long in vampiric measures. And of course she was not Cassandra's true niece. None of her kin were any true relative.

It was understandable for the family to protest her decision of choosing someone who might fail to achieve the rank, over choosing someone who had higher chances of achieving it.

Passing the power onto someone so young, making her skip centuries worth of effort was a risk. And had Vella failed to achieve the rank, Cassandra would have no nosferatu kin for a long time, which was obligatory in her agreement with the kingdom to keep her status as Guardian. From the family point of view this was an unnecessary and unjustified risk that also put shame on others who were Vella's seniors. With that decision Cassandra outright showed her distrust to the family.

Cassandra, however, saw that situation quite differently.

If they had not reached the rank of nosferatu with all the time they had, then all she would get by helping them would be another wastrel similar to Theron. Which was a waste even if they did achieve the nosferatu rank. It was better to risk it on someone like Vella, who had far less chances to make a breakthrough, but who would have far more benefit to her and family in case of success.

And Vella did not disappoint. Reaching new rank as a monster she achieved a new status. In a family where rank and obedience to the higher hierarchy was undisputable, her success put an immediate end to all discontent and arguments.

For Cassandra, however, this was not the end of it.

Up till now she did not worry much about her family members' loyalty because of the mind geas, vampires put on their kin. This mind magic had been the ultimate protection against betrayal for centuries, making her an absolute ruler of the family. Even if they were disloyal in hearts, they were completely bound to the magic, more loyal than slaves to their master. This obedience made no difference who among them reached the nosferatu rank. All she cared was growing the high ranked family members count as Kingdom decreed. She did not care in the least about their character. They would still stay beneath her. Loyal and obedient. She chose quantity over quality so to say.

The recent event, however, made her review her policy.

The wickedness of the Dark Association broke that reassuredness. Now she had to be very careful of who could be trusted. And among the current family, as she was embarrassed to admit, barely any could be truly trusted.

With that in mind she was forced to weed out those she could not put much trust in and as a side effort  she also disposed of quite a big chunk of family members who showed not much progress in the century she had gifted them. Those that stopped any effort to progress as soon as they achieved the thing they joined her family for in the first place - immortality.

Many of whom were the people she took in as kin for the money they invested into her new family, when she initially just joined the human faction. Rich merchants and corrupt officials with lots of money and desire to prolong their hedonistic life.

Now, With Vespertine family rich and capable of standing on its own, they all were more like a stone that weighed her down. By having voice and power over newer and more capable members because of their seniority, yet not just showing no benefit to the family overall but also being the reason for other more talented youngsters to be stalled in progress or outright lost, they were rudimentary or even parasitic part, that she long since should have amputated.

In the past she did not care. There was always a solid flow of people who wished to join her family. Now, however her view has changed.

Cleaning up her house under the disguise of searching for traitors she disposed of detrimental part of family, leaving space and opportunity for talented and willing to advance members like Vella to grow in a more beneficial surrounding.

When the clean up began no one dared to open their mouths and arguing over her actions, afraid Cassandra leat she decided they too were too disloyal to be left alive. As monsters they had no opportunity to be protected by the Kingdom laws even if they had been members of noble families as humans and still wore their human titles, they have redeemed that right by choosing to be a monster. Even their initial families would not wish to ruin their stand with Cassandra over them, as they now all were her vassals for centuries.

As Noah heard, this girl Vella had been at the lowest ranks in the family up till now. Without the help from outside she would have been able to achieve the nosferatu rank in a century at the best. Cassandra made her skip centuries of effort, which means the girl should not have much skill yet. But unlike the wastrel before her, she was very diligent in studying theoretical knowledge for decades that she had been the vampire, even though normally she would not have been able to implement that knowledge for at least another century to come.

Thanks to this diligence it took her almost no time to fit into her new power, absorbing like sponge the knowhows that Cassandra had hammered into her in the last month, showing just how capable she would be from now on, unlike the disappointing piece of shit that Theron had been.

Had Cassandra known such a method earlier she would have disposed of Theron years ago, using him as fertilizer for other kin.

Theron may have had a better talent than Vella initially, but his character made this talent wasted on him. This girl may not have been able to show his talent as a lower vampire but the role of nosferatu where knowledge, effort and practice of magic and mind power becomes the most important, she had outshone him far and above.

Which is why Vella seemed to have such a good disposition toward Noah. After reaching the nosferatu rank, Cassandra shared with her the story of Theron among other family secrets. So in her point of view the opportunity she was given to prove herself was only gifted to her thanks to Noah.

Giving a slight bow to the pale as snow and yet almost red in her cheeks from shyness, girl, watching him with a gentle smile, Noah turned his head to look at Cassandra and the moment their eyes met, Cassandra seemed to stall like a fear-frozen rabbit, losing her composure. A second later she got a hold of herself but this was enough for Archduke to notice the quick awkward exchange.

“What was that?” Though Archduke. “How could her demeanor change so drastically toward him in such a short time. Last time he seen her, she had no qualm in ripping this man apart to protect her friend, yet now she seemed to be wary of him. She a Nosferatu Duchess wary of this youngster. Why? No matter how capable he is. Just what happened between them?” He thought. Unknowingly to Noah, this short exchange of gazes between Noah and Cassandra increased the sense of mysteriousness that Archduke began to feel toward him.

“Returning to our conversation, Count McDaniels… What exactly is it that you plan to do?” Asked Archduke in a calmer and more composed voice.

“I will ask the witness to testify.” Said Noah with a faint smile, as he turned to the Archduke.

“Witness? What witness? How would there be a witness to something like that?” The man asked, surprised.

“There are always two witnesses to any crime against a person. First the one who committed the crime and the other one is the victim” Said Noah mysteriously. “We shall make one of them testify.”

What kind of nonsense is this? Thought Archduke. If the girl has been subjected to mind manipulation she can’t remember it. And why would the one who did it testify against himself?

The old man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, not having an answer to this dilemma. He was curious what kind of trick the possessor of the Sage type system could pull.

“I know how it sounds, your Excellency, but if you show some patience, I will show you what I mean. All I ask is for you and your son to stay aside and not interfere.” Said Noah.

The man gazed at him for a few seconds in silence as if measuring him with his gaze before nodding.

“Very well. Show me this proof, but I will be the judge of the result. Bear in mind though, that you risk more than some monetary compensation as it is in case of simple insults between nobles.”