Everything about tonight had made me uneasy. The fight, and concern for hurting Leo in the backroom, and especially finding out that Simon was here and causing trouble for us. Right now, that feeling morphed into a primal sense of fight or flight. Just knowing that the head of the Ainz family was here made my muscles tense. If my heart was still pumping blood, it would racing right now.

We got down to the bottom of the stairs, but it didn’t take long to spot the people waiting for us. The both of them sat at the exact same table Simon had been sitting. Both of them were wearing several layers of clothing, even though it wasn’t particularly cold tonight. Their skin was noticeably healthier than Simon’s or my own, showing off how well fed they were.

With two of them, as well as a crowd of people, I don’t think I stand a chance against them. I can’t believe Simon led both of them here instead of just running until the sun came up. There’s no way for them to be that much faster than him, even if they are stronger. I guess if he’s been starving himself there’s a chance he might stumble or get weak. Either way, I’m sick of dealing with the Ainz family.

As we all made our way to their table, Lily grabbed me by the arm and pulled me aside. She kept glancing at the both of them with a large frown on her face.

“Hey... I’m really glad you and Leo have been helping us out so much lately, but I just want you to know seeing those kind of folks unnerves me. I can’t imagine how you feel when you’re called for in the middle of the night by one.” She shook her head and put a hand on my shoulder. “Just let me know if you need any help, alright?”

I gave her a nod. “Don’t worry about it, just keep your distance. Not the first time I’ve had to deal with these people, but it’s hopefully the last.”

She didn’t seem satisfied with the answer, but let me go. Leo and Simon were already waiting there at the table, standing over it. When I got to Leo’s side, I pushed up to him to make us both feel safer. The grandfather gestured for us to take a seat, but I just glared at him and held onto Leo tighter.

“I’m asking for basic decency. Take a seat, or we’ll have to assume you want to do this in a more direct manner. Despite what you may have heard about me from Simon here, I would not like to take innocent lives.” He told us before clasping his hands together and leaning forward. “Violence in public is unbefitting of someone of noble birth... isn’t that right, Senna?”

The amount of condescension in his voice was so thick I was surprised he didn’t gag on his words. If Leo wasn’t right next to me I might have been inclined to take up his challenge. At the same time, I would feel bad for damaging Lily’s property or getting her hurt. We all took seats, but Simon notably did not pull his chair back to the table. Once we were all sitting, the grandfather nodded his head and cleared his throat.

“Now then, I won’t bother speaking to my grandson. He’s barely said a word to me since the last time all of us were together. In his place, I’d like to ask the both of you if you’d mind sending him back with me and my son.” His eyes were locked on Leo, but as he paused, his gaze snapped over to me. “Due to some complications I am now fully aware you helped create, he is one of my only children. Lineage is important in a family, after all, especially when it comes to one’s children. He’s no doubt come here hoping for some method of protection?”

“...That’s right. We were talking about how to do that right before you got here, though we wanted to move him outside of the tavern.” Leo answered.

I tensed up at his side, and I can’t even imagine how Simon was reacting inside of his head. Even though he basically confirmed we were a threat, Leo didn’t look shaken at all. Those big, beautiful eyes of his were locked on the grandfather.

Has that evil bastard done something to him? I don’t think there’s any kind of magic that affects the mind, and especially none that lack a visual effect. My mind raced as we waited for the grandfather to respond. Wait, maybe Leo knows he isn’t going to try anything yet? This feels risky, I wish I could read his see inside his head right now. I guess it’s a good thing I still have the dagger on me.

“Well... good thing we interrupted you then.” He answered, feigning a brief smile. “Now, why don’t you just let us take him off of your hands and everything will be fine? I’m sure you’d rather focus on your own housing situation, or these humans here. We’ll leave you to it and all three of us can go back to our estate.”

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“You already sent one of your sons to attack us, so why should we care about your wishes over Simon’s? If you were going to fight anyway, I assume you wouldn’t go through all of this false pleasantry.”

“Are you taking my mercy as weakness? That would be a very fatal mistake, I assure you.”

“No, I’m assuming that you aren’t here just to threaten us into doing anything you want. Sure, Simon might die if a fight did break out, but you’re well aware that wouldn’t be the first thing we’d go for.” Leo told him before leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. “So what I’m assuming is that you have something you think would convince me to hand him over to you, or that you have something besides Simon that you want.”

The grandfather leaned back in his seat while his eldest son stared down at the table. In the silence, I tried to read his expressions better. I remember him being the one who kept rejecting my requests for help. The events of the manor distracted me too much from remembering him clearly.

In a way, having been rejected by him was a blessing in disguise. Because of that, I got to meet Leo and have him take me in. Even though I didn’t like it much at first, being with him has made me feel more whole than ever before. I thought to myself, looking up at Leo again. He’s really amazing, being able to handle this situation so well. If he told me to, I’d kill both of these idiots for him.

“Well then, I suppose there’s no point in hiding it. I’d like to offer my expertise to help you out. I’m sure the Edward’s attack has left you concerned about some sort of growths, or scars? With my help, I can remove those flaws from your body.”

“So you can cover Leo in those horrible flames and burn his skin? Like you did to mine?” I hissed out at him, squeezing Leo’s arm tight.

“No, child, I would just be healing him. The scars are just a side effect of magic working on vampires.” He said before looking straight at me. “Of course, if I took the time when I was working with you, it could have been done in a painless manner. You were in quite the rush to save your human though, so I’m sure you don’t mind.”

“Leo is more important than any scars on my skin or pain.” I said, glaring back at him. “If you can fix Leo, then go ahead and do it already.”

I felt a hand on my shoulder as Leo pushed me away for a second. He leaned forward on the table and gestured for me to wait.

“Now wait a minute, I don’t think I want anything to do with that magic of yours unless I really have to. Can you even say for sure whether I’m sick or whatever it is you’re claiming? Sure we’ve been cautious and avoiding having Senna feed on me, but the worst I’ve got are some scars. Your offer sounds like a trap to me.” He warned the grandfather.

“Well if you’re going to force my hand, I’ll enlighten you. You’ve seen a good amount of it now, but what do you think you know about the vapor?”

All three of us on the other side of the table fell silent. The eldest Ainz son seemed incredibly nervous just at the mention of the word. Simon meanwhile pushed his seat further away and started to flex the grip on his hands, as if he were holding invisible weapons in them.

The vapor has to be that stuff that killed Anna, right? I thought to myself. There were bodies in that room, all bloated and rotten. Even thinking about the smell of that room is going to make me vomit. It’s possible those bodies were failed experiments, or even more stable versions of whatever Edward became.

“It’s... some kind of gas that can kill vampires. That’s all I know for sure.”

“That’s probably enough for cursory knowledge. The truth is that it is a specially created effect. It’s a mystery that has eluded even me for some time now. Still, I’m now able to generate it quite efficiently these days. The bodies in the cellar, where you murdered my daughter? Those were the first humans I experimented with. They generate the material, but die almost immediately. A vampire is strong enough to hold their body together for the process, however, but it does ultimately result in... well, you saw what happened to Edward.”

“You turned your own son into a weapon for revenge?” I asked him.

“He was always fond of Anna, and I suppose he wanted revenge on you for killing her, no matter the cost.” The grandfather shook his head. “What a strange and disappointing end for him. Throwing his life away over someone who was dead. As an immortal creature, he should have known better than to cling to an unchangeable past. He couldn’t imagine living without her, and in the end, he didn’t have to.”

“You really don’t care about your own children at all, do you?” Leo cut in.

“Edward chose his fate, I would be an unfair parent if I restricted him from that. If he wanted to die after living for so long, then I cannot argue with it. My grandson Simon here, on the other hand, is just a child compared to him. He needs proper guidance in order to understand the situation ahead of him.”

Simon slammed his fist into the table, drawing attention from a few surrounding tables and a look of mild disdain from his family. I could tell that if he had been properly feeding, that he would have left some serious damage to the wood. His face was easy enough to read, and I could tell how badly he wanted to put his training to use right now.

“Listen, before we do any of this... I want to confirm that there’s something wrong with me to begin with. The damage was mostly to my back, and I don’t want to raise any suspicion here if you end up doing anything to me. You, me, and Senna will go upstairs and you can see if there is a problem.” Leo told him before looking at me. “I need you to make sure they don’t try to pull anything, alright?”

I nodded and all three of us stood up to go back to the room. Simon was glaring at us as we started moving, and I knelt down next to him. Making sure the eldest Ainz was busy looking after his father, I slid Simon the silver dagger from my back.

“Don’t use it unless you have to. Got it?” I whispered to him.

He gave a silent acceptance and hid the blade in his lap. The brother cocked an eyebrow at me, but I ignored him and headed upstairs after Leo.