POV: Haruki
It has been a month and a half since the celebration, and I have become now formally a member of the court. I have been mainly occupied learning the dispositions of the capital's factions, memorizing faces, tracing lines of influence, and, more importantly, entrenching myself near Lord Severin. The dual monarch's advisor. The second most powerful figure in vampire politics, and the architect of the union between the Carmilla and the Tepes houses. A man who reshaped vampire society in a way no one had since Dracula. Convenient for me, that such a man took a liking to Dorian Thornevald. Convenient, too, that he believes it his duty to educate the son of an old friend.
"My lord, these are the general reports for this week," said Selvara. She was holding a folder elegantly while I sat in my study near the window. I could see the city from here.
I gestured for Selvara to sit in front of me. She did, obediently. She did not bow this time. A sign of progress. Before, every time Dorian spoke to her or Vaelith or gave a command, they bowed in submission. He had conditioned them to bow at every command, every word, every half-glance. Nowadays they have become much more relaxed, and sometimes even make jest with me, though still respectful and subservient. Which is how I prefer it. It is honestly annoying when people constantly bow every time they speak to you.
"Anything interesting?" I said casually.
Being Minister of Finance and Trade, while it gives me complete control of the economy, it is rather tedious work. Which is why I delegated most of my work to Selvara and Vaelith. They did each task I gave them with such efficiency and motivation, like puppies getting a treat. They are extremely enthusiastic in helping me.
Meanwhile, I have been surveilling the royal castle. It is huge, with numerous secret passages with various traps. I have been trying to map them, but they sometimes shift periodically, making it harder. In any case, Selvara and Vaelith have been quite useful to me here, and they don't ask questions, so another plus.
I am also pretty close to the royal family, both of them. However, I am not as close to King Tepes as I would like to be. However, he trusts Lord Severin immensely and takes only his counsel. Apparently, Severin has been serving King Tepes for a long time. He even backed King Tepes when his uncle rebelled and tried to usurp him. Since then the king has held Lord Severin in the highest of regards.
Luckily, I am quite close with Lord Severin. He seems to like me a lot and wants me to be within his camp. He considers it his duty to teach me more about the court, as he was a friend of my family. His help has been invaluable.
"I am afraid, it is merely the usual affair," said Selvara calmly, "although a letter was sent to you by Lord Casmir Vladi," she said.
"What is it about?" I asked without a care.
"I did not dare open it without your permission, my lord," she said calmly.
I sighed at that. I had given full permission to read any letters from the other houses, with a few select exceptions. House Vladi was not among them. This is her way of revenge for all the work I delegate to her.
"I know you did not read the letter because you don't want me to be a lazy ass. I just can't prove it," I said, looking at her with mock suspicion.
"You mean that I would intentionally make you do the work you are supposed to do instead of leaving it all to us? Perish the thought," she said with a smile.
"Well, I am your little brother. You are supposed to spoil me," I said dryly. "Besides, what else would you have siblings for if not order them around, huh?" I said with a deadpan.
She giggled at that.
"Now tell me what Lord Casmir wishes from me," I said calmly.
She sighed with certain amusement at my antics and took out the letter and read it out loud. How petty of her.
"I said to tell me what he wanted, not read the letter to me. It is way too long. Summarize it in three or less sentences," I said, unimpressed.
She sighed again, this time more theatrically, and read it to herself before speaking. I don't want to hear how Casmir tries to glaze me. It is creepy.
"It seems Lord Casmir wants to invite you to a gathering he is having among his close friends," she said neutrally.
"Oh? Close friends, is it? Then how come he is telling me about the gathering in such short notice?" I said, amused.
Selvara sighed in exasperation. "Well, that is because it isn't the first invitation, my lord. He has been inviting you to his gathering since last month. Almost every three days. Yet you told me to throw out any of his invitations," she said dryly.
"I did? What was the reason?" I asked, confused.
"You said, and I quote: 'I don't hang out with c-tier villains. I have standards,'" she said with a deadpan.
The fact that she remembered the exact phrasing was impressive.
"So why should I change my stance on that? You obviously brought this up because you have another thought on the matter," I said with disinterest.
"Well, my lord, you have been refusing most such invitations because you didn't want to align yourself with any factions. But you can't remain neutral forever. Sooner or later you must choose a side. There are only so many times you can refuse such invitations from all those courtiers before they begin to perceive it as an insult. The only reason why you could afford to be so is because you have been extremely competent at your job and your seemingly friendship with Lord Manthar," she said. "However, with Lord Manthar's current situation, it is unserviceable to continue to behave this way. You don't have to join them, but accepting their invitation here and there can help your image immensely," she concluded.
It is not that I didn't consider these things. It is just that I simply don't really care. I am here temporarily, to achieve a specific goal under limited time. I don't see much point in pleasing a bunch of arrogant parasites. But perhaps the connection could be useful for my goal.
"Very well. Accept his invitation. I will personally go there. Anything I should know about him?" I said.
"Well, as you know, House Vladi is one of the main suppliers of livestock. Lord Casmir, while not the heir of his house, is in charge of their large human farms…" she started to report a lot of information about the guy. It seems she was already prepared in case I accepted.
"As meticulous as always, Selvara," I complimented.
She blushed at that, still not used to me complimenting her.
I thought about her earlier words about Lord Manthar.
Lord Severin Mathar was on a secret diplomatic mission to negotiate with the dark elves of the Norse, and he was attacked by werewolves. Werewolves are natural enemies of the vampires and their enmity is legendary. Werewolf bites are venomous to vampires. However, they could be healed by phoenix's tears.
When Lord Severin was attacked, he killed all of his attackers and only a couple of his retinue died. It was quite a shock to the capital, as most of them didn't even know that Lord Severin was on a mission, as it was quite a secret. However, it shows the power of such an old vampire, as he barely lost his subordinates.
However, when he arrived at the capital, he suddenly fell ill and became bedridden. The king spared no expenses on buying all methods of healing such as phoenix's tears, but they didn't help. He only seemed to get worse.
It was found that, when he was bit by the werewolves, they managed to place a curse on him through it. A very high-level curse specifically designed for Lord Severin. It attacks his soul, body, mind simultaneously. The healers of the court aren't positive about his chances of survival.
I looked at the clock and saw it was time to visit him now. Although he was mostly bedridden, weakened, and half-insane, there were still certain periods of lucidity. His wife, Lady Liliane, had not left his bedside all this time. A devoted wife, or a desperate one. It hardly mattered now. I left my room and walked toward his chambers.
I reached the heavy doors and knocked.
"Enter," came Liliane's voice, soft but brittle.
When she opened the door, I saw the exhaustion carved into her face. She looked years older than when I last saw her, worry hollowing her features.
"I hope I do not disturb, my lady," I said.
"Not at all. I am glad you came. He has been calling for you. Please, follow me," she answered.
I followed her inside. Severin lay upon the great bed, the sight of him a bitter reminder of mortality even among the so-called immortals. A man who had bent courts and armies now reduced to brittle bones and pallid flesh. His blond hair had turned near-white, his once-vibrant eyes dulled, his form gaunt. And yet, some vestige of regality clung to him. Even broken, he was formidable.
"Come here, my boy," he said, his voice faint but carrying warmth. The smile he gave me was almost grandfatherly.
Despite all of his flaws, he genuinely seemed to care about me, or rather Dorian, and seemed to see me as one of his sons. I sat by the bed, taking his frail hand carefully. His fingers felt as though the smallest pressure might snap them. Lady Liliane pressed her lips to his forehead, then withdrew, leaving us alone.
He chuckled at my expression. "Don't worry, my fingers won't snap if you move your hands. Though they have seen better days," he said.
I smiled at him sadly.
"How are you doing? I mean, within the usual parameters," I asked.
"Oh well, my blood burns me, my lungs stab like knives, and I can't stand up on my own anymore," he replied with bitter cheer.
"Ah, well within the usual parameters, then," I said humorlessly.
He chuckled, then winced. "You shouldn't make me laugh. It is painful," he said.
"Anything I can do for you?" I asked calmly. I pitied him.
"Well, if you haven't become a god-class soul-magic expert and healer, there is hardly anything you can do for me," he said bitterly.
I looked down at that.
"Now, don't go on to blame yourself. It wasn't your fault," he said, the last part with venom.
"But someone was?" I asked carefully.
"Boy, the mission was extremely secretive. There were five people who knew about it, when I would leave, and which way I would take," he said.
"Who were they?" I asked, my voice icy.
"The Sovereigns, my wife, Duke Vladi, and Duchess Helena Drachenthal," he listed. "It was supposed to be a secret mission only the most trusted would know about," he said with a sigh.
I didn't even know about the mission, in truth.
"Who is most likely to betray you?" I wondered.
"Take a guess," he said with an indulgent smile.
"If I were to rank them," I began, "I would base it on their motivations, their relationship with you, and what they stand to gain."
He nodded weakly, eyes fixed on me.
"King Tepes is unlikely. Severin, you are his most trusted counselor. His loyalty to you has been demonstrated for centuries, even against his own kin. Removing you would strip him of his most reliable support. He gains nothing. His position weakens without you. Therefore, he can be excluded."
Severin nodded faintly.
"Queen Carmilla. She has a motive. You are of Tepes' faction. Your presence secures his influence in the united court. Remove you, and she may install one of her loyal duchesses. Yet she respected your proposal of unity. She saw its value, and she has not once publicly opposed you. Her ambition is vast, but she does not act recklessly. I would not exclude her, but her likelihood is moderate, not primary."
He closed his eyes, listening.
"Duke Vladi. He has much to gain. With you gone, he becomes the natural candidate for chief advisor. He has centuries of loyalty to King Tepes and sufficient gravitas to command the position. But he has also been your friend for over a millennium. Betrayal here is possible, but unlikely. Unless ambition has eroded his loyalty more than anyone suspects."
Severin's lips twitched.
"Duchess Helena Drachenthal. Unlike Vladi, her hostility is open. She has opposed you publicly, undermined you repeatedly, despised your influence. She gains immensely from your absence, both in prestige and in removal of an enemy. Her enmity is established, as well as her ambitions. Among all suspects, she emerges as the strongest candidate. Motive, means, and will align with her."
His breathing slowed, but his attention sharpened.
"And finally, Lady Liliane, your wife. She is the closest of all. Intimate with your movements. Yet what does she gain? No inheritance, your titles pass to nephews. No political capital, she is no duchess in her own right. To betray you would leave her destitute, stripped of influence, bereft of house. Unless, of course, she harbors hatred or serves another hand entirely. Unlikely, but not impossible. Desperation has twisted many before her. Still, I consider her the least probable of the five."
I leaned closer. "Thus: Helena Drachenthal stands first as prime suspect. Vladi remains plausible, though obscured by friendship. Carmilla is possible, though her methods favor subtle maneuver. Tepes is exonerated. Your wife, improbable, but not beyond suspicion. That is the hierarchy."
I released his hand slowly. "What do you think?"
Severin's lips curled faintly, almost a smile. "I think you see more clearly than most, boy."
I didn't interrupt.
"Yet there is another aspect that would need to be considered," Severin murmured, weariness clinging to his tone.
"Your curse, I assume. Anything new about it?" I asked.
"Indeed, the curse requires a body part of me to prepare. Something like a strand of hair or blood for example," he said.
"I see, then that would narrow the list of suspects a bit. Who among the five have the possibility to get such things? I am afraid it makes your wife suspicious as she has the most chances of acquiring them," I said carefully.
Accusing his wife, formerly Princess Liliane of House Tepes, is not something spoken lightly. That I could say such words so directly shows the bond I had cultivated with him. Friendship, yes. Or at least the image of it. Dorian Thornevald was Severin's confidant; I was simply borrowing that trust.
"Careful now," he said calmly. "When you have lived as long as I have, you don't do so by being stupid. I am aware that any body parts could be used against you in some manner, so I am especially careful. I can remember every instance where I had left anything of me. Most of them are inconsequential," he said.
"Most of them?" I asked.
"Yes, you see, Duke Oskar Valmorra has a hobby of collecting something of his friends to remember them by. I have in three instances given him my blood, hair and a finger," he said gravely.
That is a peculiar hobby. Some men collect trinkets, others trophies, Oskar apparently collects pieces of living people.
"Yet he couldn't have known about your departure," I said to make sure.
"No, he could not have," he said softly.
"Then is it possible that someone bought or stole it from him?" I asked.
"Lord Oskar is a great friend of Lord Vladi and has married his heir to a daughter of Duchess Helena Drachenthal," he said carefully.
"I see," I said.
He exhaled a tired sigh. "I want you to investigate this matter personally. I do not have much time, and when I die, my heir Alaric will surely wage war on either House Vladi or Drachenthal. He is ruled by his emotion, and neither of the others will take it lightly."
"Which would break the uneasy peace between the two monarchs," I observed.
"Indeed. You must prevent the worst case scenario. I will speak with Alaric but I want you to find out the truth about this and help prevent another civil war. It is a heavy burden I place on you. But you can do it," he said with conviction.
I was impressed, or at least I feigned to be. Even on his deathbed, his thoughts circled around not around self-preservation but the fate of his kind, securing peace. Noble, if nothing else. But nobility tends to get people killed.
"I will do my best," I answered.
We discussed further, until I excused myself and left him to his rest.
⸻
A day later, I stood among the gathered nobles before the two monarchs. The atmosphere was heavy and all members of the royal court were present.
"Duke Severin Manthar has passed away. Poisoned and cursed by those beasts. However, there is also a traitor who orchestrated this. Bring me their head, and all your dreams will be fulfilled," King Tepes declared, his voice loud and imperious.
The chamber erupted with murmurs, disbelief threading through the assembly. To imagine that the oldest and perhaps strongest vampire had fallen so swiftly was a shock to them all. Many lowered their heads, vowing vengeance, swearing to bring the traitor to justice. Members of House Manthar were notably absent.
It took hours of discussion and debates on what to do now and other useless matters. Vampires love long words when they are afraid to act. I returned to my chambers and made sure to lock my room.
After a bit of waiting, I disappeared into my shadows and appeared in another chamber.The chamber I stepped into was opulent, rich with luxury. I stepped out of the shadow.
"You are finally here," a voice greeted before arms wrapped around me. I returned the embrace.
"It worked, my love. Your plan worked," Liliane Manthar breathed, her eyes wide, trembling with both fear and devotion. Her lips pressed to mine, urgent and consuming. When she broke away, her gaze clung to me. "What do we do now, Dorian?" she spoke nervously. She looked as though she could hardly believe what she had achieved.
I took her trembling hands and said, "Breathe, Liliane," I murmured softly.
She obeyed, inhaling and exhaling until her nerves steadied.
"Forgive me. I just did not think it would succeed. I feared we would be found out. We were so lucky," she said.
I offered her a gentle smile. "Luck is when opportunity meets preparation. And we prepared and planned thoroughly."
"I am sorry. I just cannot believe Severin died so easily. He seemed insurmountable." Her voice lowered, calmer now.
"There is nothing to apologize for. You performed excellently," I said. "Severin was a great man. Yet even the greatest of beings die like all, brought low by the least of things or creatures," I said. There is nothing certain in this world. After all, even God died.
"What are we going to do now?" she asked again.
"You are going to write a letter to Lord Alaric," I said.
Going to the bed and lying there, I waited. She followed me and laid her head on my chest as well.
"To Lord Alaric?" she asked.
"Severin gave a list of suspects responsible for his conditions…" I began and told her everything Severin had said to me about the nature of his mission.
"I see, but what would telling this to Alaric accomplish?" she asked.
"Alaric is an impatient man and quick to take action. After we inform him of this matter, he will certainly come to the conclusion that either Duke Vladi or Duchess Drachenthal are responsible for it. He will make a move against them, and both of them are extremely prideful people and will answer with a disproportionate amount of violence to the insult. Either way, the conflict between the three dukedoms will escalate and a war will likely break out," I said calmly.
"But wouldn't Alaric head to the sovereigns to demand justice?" she asked sceptically.
"Normally in such a situation the monarch is responsible to solve the issues between his vassals. But not here. There are two monarchs, not one, and neither can claim full authority. Both are vying for dominance, both will side with their own vassals, but neither can act openly without risking civil war. The accused are also their strongest vassals. They must be careful in how they deal with them. The monarchs cannot command them outright without courting rebellion. So the matter reaches an equilibrium where neither monarchs can act at all. Their hands are tied." I explained.
Although there are also other factors that make escalation inevitable.
"And with my husband's death, relations between the monarchs will only deteriorate. My father will think Queen Carmilla is responsible. Yet what is it you are trying to achieve, my love?" Her tone carried a spark of excitement now.
"Chaos," I answered. "This conflict will severely weaken the involved parties, leaving a huge power vacuum. I will add more fuel to the fire to make sure of that. By the end I plan to orchestrate the death of each male member of House Manthar," I said, telling her what she wants to hear.
"Which would make me the most likely candidate to be the Lady of House Manthar both due to my marriage and my royal bloodline. I will effectively become Duchess, though there is a problem with that," she said greedily.
"Yes, a woman can't be the duchess in the Tepes faction," I said, and she nodded.
"Well then, it is fortunate that the sovereigns don't want another civil war, so they will agree to make certain compromises and changes in their policies to better unite the vampires. Like a woman from the Tepes faction being allowed to become a duchess and a male from the Carmilla faction being allowed to become a duke. It is only natural," I said with certain amusement.
"Thereby achieving our goal. Have I told you how much I love you?" she said, getting on top of me, her eyes burning with lust.
I chuckled at that.
"However it will need to be handled delicately to come to fruition. The conflict must escalate, and the houses must bleed each other. Then I will present myself as the voice of reason, offering resolution with the monarchs' blessing. I will command the royal armies, bring the three houses to heel, solidifying the sovereigns' rule. I will gain the trust of the King and the Queen, for preventing the civil war and present myself as someone who wants to honour Severin's legacy of united vampires," I said calmly.
By becoming such a trusted person to them, I can get more information about my true goal.
"You will have the trust of the king and queen, the command of their armies. You will be the de facto ruler, as my husband once was. And I will be duchess. We will rule together, to end the stagnation and shape a greater society to our vision," she said, eyes alight with dreams.
Idealist, to her core. A weakness I had never hesitated to exploit.
"All the while we killed Severin and solved the conflict we orchestrated, with no one being the wiser. The curse you designed for my husband is genius. But will they not discover that someone acquired a piece of my husband's body?" she asked curiously.
"The curse requires only some from the target's body. Most will think it was either blood or hair, which you could never have taken without suspicion. But his seed was another matter,"I said calmly.
Her smile was sharp, almost reverent. "You know how terrifying you are? And yet, all this for me, for my dream. I am so lucky to have you."
This girl is hopelessly in love with me or rather the idea of me. In my time in the capital, that had been my main goal: getting closer to Liliane. She is an idealist, unhappy with her society and her station in it, yearning to free her kind from the rot she saw in their society. She desires power to improve the lives of all the women in the Tepes faction, to be allowed to rule. She wishes to change the vampire society, which she sees as decadent and doomed to fall. She wishes to save the vampire race, to be free and not just a property of another male.
All I needed was to mirror her desires, to tell her what no one else would: that she was right, that she could change everything. I flattered her, listened, stood beside her until she clung to me with absolute trust and devotion. For it is rare that someone wants to genuinely help her, believes in her and her vision of the future. I had her easily eating from the palm of my hands.
From that I became her confidant; she told me everything about her life, her goals. Until she informed me of her husband's mission. That is where I proposed my plan to her: to kill her husband. I explained everything. She was to get as much information about it as possible; where he goes, which way, who will go with him and so on. Everything relevant.
Then I secretly contacted a couple of werewolf packs and informed them of this. They had initially refused to listen, but when I sent them the curse I prepared for Severin, they eagerly jumped at the opportunity. They had no desire to see vampires united. I had of course a contingency in case that failed, but it worked out in the end splendidly.
The difficult part was creating the curse, but since my studies of magic under MacGregor, I have improved in leaps and bounds. Liliane easily acquired Severin's semen, as she is his wife, thus raising no suspicions. After he was attacked, it was merely acting the concerned friend and Liliane the part of grieving wife.
It worked out perfectly.
AN: Things are starting to pick up pace, Haruki has finally made his first move. I have to admit, he seems to be sinking deeper and deeper into the moral pit. Manipulating and killing people for his own gain… I wonder how he'll justify it to himself. At this point, he's grown quite detached, treating his actions as Dorian the same way one might treat choices in a video game. Of course, it helps that he doesn't like the vampires, which makes his morally questionable actions toward them easier for him to accept.
Anyway, what do you guys think of the OCs so far? I hope they aren't coming across as too boring.
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