Chapter 5

Unexpected Reunion

Ten years ago, the Norland Kingdom declared war on all kingdoms. All kingdoms were taken by surprise as the previous day before the declaration was a meeting between all kings in the vampire world. I remember I was in the throne room when we first heard it.

"What did you just say?" My father said as he sat on his throne.

"My king... The Norland Kingdom has declared war on all kingdoms, including ours. An army is marching towards us at an incredible pace," The messenger repeated.

My father was speechless for a few moments. I remember how shocked and scared he was. My mother left my side to hold my father's hands. I remember standing on the side, only having a vague idea of what was happening. I was about to ask my mother but before I got the chance my father began ordering people "Gistel, take my son to his room and if things are looking dim, head towards the gate. Drir, prepare a small army for interception. Drufas, ready our defences."

"Yes, my lord!" All three said at the same time.

Drir and Drufas were two of the four generals serving my father. Gistel was a royal guard who swore to protect the royal family. As Gistel and I were about to leave the throne room, my father stopped us and walked toward us. As he stopped walking in front of me, he got down on his knees to level his face with mine before putting both his hands on my shoulders.

"Zain... Whatever happens, never show your blood to anyone, even your closest friends. Always hide and always run away at the first sight of danger..." My father said.

I nodded to indicate that I understand. But I never would've expected that this moment would be the last time I would ever hear his voice and see both of my parents alive...

"So... how far is your place still?" I asked, a bit impatiently.

"Don't worry, we'll be rid of each other soon. You don't have to be so unhappy about our date you know..." She said.

"I'm just following you to your place. How is that even a date? Clearly, you lack human interaction that you don't even know what that means."

"You're starting to piss me off again... Zain."

"I told you to stop calling me that! Tsk."

If there was one important thing that I learned from her, it would be that she and I do not get along. Rias Goldfrost was her vampire name but she uses a different name in the human world as all vampires do. She prefers me to call her Lea as her full human name is Lea Foster which was quite unimaginative.

As we were heading towards her place, I learned a bit about her household. The first one being is that they don't have a good relationship with two other noble families residing in this city, the Wolven and Grey's noble family. Traditionally, noble families in the city work together to complete the task given to them by their kingdom. But ever since the war ten years ago that has changed drastically. All noble family now work for the vampire king of the Norlands Kingdom who currently control the entirety of the vampire world. Noble families in the city usually act as spies and gather food for their kingdom. They basically handle food production and also act as protectors for the gates.

I also learned that her father wishes to speak with me. Apparently, after she returned home last night, she told everything about me to her father. Which pissed me off as I specifically said to not tell anyone about me. I'm not too sure whether she realizes it or not, but technically speaking, she has the upper hand and could blackmail me. How? Ok... First thing, her family could easily rat me out to the vampire king who would send his royal executors to end me for good. Second, I do not know how to use weapon art. I could use support arts and royal phantasm but that's it. If both my hands were cut down, I'm dead.

The last thing I learned was her Master. She calls him her master because he was the one that taught her how to use all of the blood arts. As for me, most of it was self-taught which would explain the difference between her skill and mine. A professional taught her while I have to learn mine secretly and by myself which I'm proud of. But other than blood arts, someone else taught me how to fight.

"We're here," Lea said.

Eh?

We stood in front of a massive gate which has a pathway leading towards a mansion. We were on what many students call the rich people street. The streets consist of luxurious houses and mansions which would explain why students call them that. I live not too close but also not too far from the street as my apartment building would sometimes be called rich by some students. I thought that Lea and I were simply passing by the riche street(The actual name of the street). I never would've imagined that her household would actually be a mansion.

The gate shortly opened after Lea went up to the buzzer.

"What are you waiting for? Don't tell me that you thought our family was simply on the same level as most humans are, do you?" Lea mockingly said.

"No... I was just surprised that it was a bit smaller than what I was expecting," I responded with a smug look.

We went in and as we walked through the pathway leading towards the front door of the mansion, I noticed Lea glancing at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing... I was just wondering about how annoying your face is..."

Tsk. She sure does know how to hit a nerve.

There was a huge well-kept front yard with a small fountain in the middle. The design of the manor was old which gave it that middle ages vibes to it. Although the inside was most likely to be modern. When we reached the front door, there was a maidservant standing, who kindly opened the door for us. And just like any other mansion that you see in movies, it was luxurious upon entering.

A bunch of maids came by asking Lea if they want them to assist me to the reception room. But Lea declined and simply said that she will take me to her father's office. The maids even put 'Lady' in front of her name which just shows how much power she has in the mansion. It's like she's trying to rub in how much power she has over me in terms of wealth and status.

"So are the maids' vampires? Or are they humans?" I asked as we walked through the long hallways.

"Huh? You can't even tell? Just how far have the Prince of Westalis fallen?"Lea mockingly said.

"Just answer the question."

"Some of them are humans, but most are vampires... The human maids know our existence so you could show them who you are..."

"Isn't hard to keep a common vampire under control considering that they are always bloodthirsty?"

Common vampires are bloodthirsty vampires who only think of drinking blood. They cannot be reasoned with so even nobles and royals end up killing them when they get in our way.

"They were once humans who we turned to noble vampires... Does that answer that? Or you're finally revealing your stupidity?"

To turn a human into a noble vampire, the human needs to drink the blood of a royal vampire. Wait a minute... That doesn't make any sense. Aren't Lea's family noble?... Could it be that I'm walking in a trap right now?

"Could I go to the washroom? I've been holding it for quite some time now so..." I lied. I'll sneak out once I reached the washroom.

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"Really? Now? We're literally close to my father's office... We passed by the washroom just a few seconds ago. It's the one right past the corner. Just hurry up," Lea said, annoyed.

I headed towards the washroom. Luckily, Lea didn't follow me and simply stayed in the hallway with her arms crossed. Clearly stating that she's annoyed. As soon as I reached the washroom, I used a support royal arts to enhance my body to be more agile and sneaky. My goal was to get out of the manor. First, I need to head through the front door and then run in the front yard until I reach the front gate. That was my plan. I did consider opening a window or going through the back but I simply don't have the time to look for it. The sooner I leave the better.

As I headed towards the front door, some of the maids were cleaning in the hallways. I waited for them to turn around before I quickly go past them. I also had to fake some noises to lure in a maid at one spot before making my quick escape. As I hid from corner to corner to make sure there was no one, I finally reached the front door. I looked around the area to make sure no one was around before I reached the doorknob. There was a 50/50 percent chance that there would be a person on the other side of the door. But I guess today I was unlucky.

As I was about to open the front door, the maid that opened the door for us earlier opened it for someone. The maid looked at me slightly surprised as she still had her composed look on her. I too was surprised, but I had to act natural if I want to play it off cool. It was a man looking slightly older than me that the door maid was opening the door for. He wore a black suit and was white-haired. He was slightly taller than me and had ocean-like eyes. He looked like those high-value men that you see on social media.

He stared at me like I was some burglar with my black hoodie and dark pants. After a few moments and with no hesitation, he bit his right hand before saying "Royal arts..."

Crap!

He turned his blood into a fancy-looking blood rapier before thrusting it at horrendous speed as he aimed for my heart. I immediately jumped backward to avoid the finishing blow. Now that there was a distance between us, I thought of my next move. And that move...was me running away.

As I quickly made my tactical escape and ran through the hallway, I bit my right hand and got ready to use my royal phantasm. The moment I stop running, I will make him unable to move and all others in my way. That was my amazing plan.

I turned around to see if he was chasing me and luckily he was. Good. I thought. Although he was really catching up to me and I was running out of hallway to run to so I had to make my move now. I put my right foot in front of me to make myself stop and as soon as he caught up to me, he thrust his rapier right in my head. But before the sharp point of his rapier reached my head, I had already cast my royal phantasm.

Now that he was unable to move, I walked passed him. I even tapped his shoulder to say that this battle was over. Of course, I didn't kill him as the other vampires would smell his blood. As I walked through the straight hallway to head towards the front door, I looked back to make sure he was still unable to move. But the hallway was empty. There was no one standing or even someone in the hallway. I chill ran down my spine. I could feel the exhaustion of my blood which meant that my royal phantasm was working still. I looked around the hallway looking for the man but he was nowhere to be seen.

This is bad. Am I going to die? I don't want to die. Calm down... I have to calm myself.

The only thing left to do was make a break for it to the front door. If my royal phantasm wasn't working on that man, then he's a royal blood that's more powerful than me... I made myself a sorry-looking blood sword clearly indicating that I do not know how to properly use weapon arts. The blood sword should at least be able to handle one strike. I thought.

As I ran through the empty hallway, the man appeared in front of me out of thin air. His stance looked like death and I was heading straight for it. He thrust his rapier faster than the one before, but this time, he wasn't just aiming for my head, he was also aiming for my leg. I blocked his first attack in the head with my sorry-looking sword before it broke and reverted back to normal blood. There was nothing I could do for my leg. He pierced my right leg making a hole front and back. He avoided me as I stumbled past him in the hallway.

I rolled around the maroon carpet in the hallway before I finally stopped. My blood was spurting out the hole he pierced but there was no time to react to pain. I went back up to my feet and did my best to still stand straight and tall. I don't want to die. And if death was inevitable then I would at least want to die fighting.

The two of us stared at each other. Neither saying a word. I created another sorry-looking sword for good luck. I already knew that his skills in swords are infinitely better than mine but at least I tried. After a few moments, he vanished before managing to get behind me. He aimed for my head again but switched to aim at my heart. A faint!. I managed to block his attack with my sword before it broke again. But there was a follow-up attack straight to my head. As I saw death approaching me, a woman yelled "Stoooppp!" before the man stopped his attack just before it reached me.

"Why Lea? This vampire could be a spy from another family or worse, a royal executor," The man said.

"*Sigh, you know sometimes you amaze me with your political nonsense but most of the time you lack common sense... Use your brain, Alph. And as for you Nathan, what the hell were thinking!? This is why boys are stupid," Lea said.

I'm just gonna say I got lost. Yeah, that seems like a good idea...

"Just get straight to the point, Lea," Alph said as he undid his blood rapier.

"He used his royal phantasm did he not? Which is why you used yours. Which means that he's pure royal blood. If he was a royal executor then there would be if not hundreds of vampires surrounding this place right now. Therefore he's a survivor like you and Nina. And if you're still thinking that he's a spy from another family then I could vouch on his behalf that he's not. Now tell me how stupid you are, Alph," Lea said.

"I'm just being cautious, especially nowadays."

Lea looked at me like I was next before asking "Now, what about you? How did you get here in the front door when the washroom is literally close to us."

"I got lost..." I lied, hoping she would buy it.

"Bullsh*t. Don't bring me to your level of stupidity that you think I would buy that. Here's your thought process: 'They have noble blood maids so that means that there must be a royal blood in this house. And since royal executors have killed all the other royal families then that means that the one who made the humans into a noble blood vampire is a royal blood from the Nortlands Kingdoms. Then that would mean that this noble family had already ratted me out to the vampire king and I'm walking into a trap right now!' Am I wrong, Nathan?"

Wow! She actually got my entire thought process. Despite looking stupid, Lea is actually smart!

Lea continues saying "But anyways, to clear things up. Our family has taken in two royal survivors and they have been helping our family since then. Hence why we have noble maids who of course know their place in this mansion. We are secretly against the vampire king but we simply have to hide that as we don't have enough manpower to take the king head-on. Our family still upholds the duties given to us by the vampire king to avoid suspicion. I guess I should've told you that when we were walking here."

"It was your fault for not adding more context to it," I said.

"Regardless, you two, make up. And tell each other your vampire names and let's see how stupid you are for trying to kill each other." Lea said.

Neither of us said anything so I began to use support royal arts to heal the hole in my leg. It would take a little while for it to fully heal but it's better than having to go to a hospital and returning every week for checkups.

"What? Too shy to introduce each other?" Lea said.

"Fine, so that it could finally be over with... My vampire name is Zain Griswal, the prince of the fallen kingdom of Westalis. My human name is Nathan Fausil and the name I would prefer you to call me if you need me for anything which I hope you don't," I said, as I held out my hand for a shake.

"Zain!... We thought you were dead. My little sister would be overjoyed when he sees you," Alph said.

Oh! He must be the one that Lea mentioned 'we' last night. And judging from his reaction we probably met before in the vampire world.

"And you are?" I asked.

"Forgive me, I should've introduced myself first. My vampire name is Lucius Axemora, the prince of the now-fallen kingdom of Weinland. My human name now is Alph Fain and as normal, the name I prefer everyone to call me. It's been ages since I last saw you Zain. I believe it was during the last banquet held in Westalis when you were playing with my sister." He said before we shook hands.

Heh? Lucius? The elder brother of the girl I was betrothed with? Then that means Luna also survived ten years ago!

"Luci- I mean Alph, did Luna also survive?" I asked, just to make sure.

"Of course. Although I don't know where she is at the moment... How about the three of us catch up later tonight? I have an important meeting with someone I need to prepare for."

"Yeah, me too. I'll see you tonight then," I said before heading off in different directions. I followed Lea again to her father's office. Whew! I almost died there. Who would've thought I was fighting Lucius... Just what are the chances? If it weren't for Lea then I'm probably dead. I guess relying too much on my royal phantasm doesn't always work.

With just us two in the hallway, Lea suddenly said "Luna is working at the bakery right now so she's not here..."

"Oh, I see...By the way, if you guys are rich, why would you work at the bakery? Don't tell me your family is actually secretly poor," I asked to have something to talk about.

"It's a family business, you idiot..."

A pretty vague answer but ok. Wait a minute... Is the cashier named Nina actually Luna? No way...

"We're here... Please be respectful to my father," Lea said as we stood in front of a double door.

Lea slowly opened the door and the first thing I saw was a man somewhere around his 50s sitting behind and tapping his fingers on the desk. He wore a coat and had a Brett beard. He had brownish hair similar to Lea. There were two couches across one another in the middle of the room. Another man sat on the corner of one of the couches, but this one looked not right in the head based on his clothing. The man looked like a hobo and smelled bad too. The only thing that was distinct about him was his black bucket hat and how his arms were spread across the couch with his legs crossed as if he owned the mansion.

"Aren't you a bit late...Lea." The man behind the desk said as we entered the dim office room...