The inside of the estate wasn't quiet.
It couldn't be.
Music drifted through the halls, soft but constant, blending with all the laughter and the low hum of conversations layered over each other.
Glasses clinked somewhere in the distance. The servants were moving in between guests like they'd done this a hundred times—never interrupting, never staying long enough to be noticed.
It looked like a celebration.
Well at least… that's what it was supposed to be.
Supernaturals filled the space, though not all were welcome nor willing. Werebeings and vampires moved freely among the guests. The fae were nowhere to be seen, their pride keeping them far above gatherings like this.
Some talked openly, others stayed off to the side, watching more than anything else. As the party went on, more guests arrived.
And something shifted.
Not quieter.
Just… different.
The previous laughter didn't disappear as it only softened. Conversations cut short the moment certain people passed by. Even the way people stood felt deliberate, like everyone choreographed everything for this very event.
Theodore walked beside Charlotte, Aurora on one side, Emilia just behind. No one stopped them. No one needed to as people already knew they were coming with the invitation on Theodore's hand.
At the far end of the hall, the doors opened on their own.
As Theodore took it in—
The room started to feel… older.
Not in how it looked of course. Everything was clean, polished, untouched for the succession ceremony. But the people inside, that was where it showed.
The vampires present. Not just any vampires but the ones that actually mattered.
They stood in small groups, talking quietly, glasses of wines in hand.
Some looked young. Others looked older. Yet, none of them felt like either. Some didn't blink but not often. It was long enough that it started to feel… intentional.
Others held their drinks without touching them, letting it sit there for minutes before finally taking a slow sip—like they were drinking just to do something, stimulating their nerves.
Some had smiled, not at whoever they were talking to, but at nothing in particular. Serving just as a front for whatever they could say accidentally.
Theodore stepped in and felt it immediately.
Attention.
Not all at once but enough.
"Relax," Charlotte muttered, not even looking at him. "You're walking like you're about to be executed." Charlotte followed with a laugh, clearly enjoying the moment.
"I'm not—"
"You are." Aurora snorted. "You kinda are haha."
"I'm just—"
"Thinking too much?" Charlotte cut in.
Theodore paused.
"…Yeah."
"Then stop."
That didn't help. But somehow, it still did. Every movement they make, eyes follow. It wasn't very obvious but they were there.
Watching. Measuring. Waiting.
Then—
something shifted.
Not everything.
The music didn't stop and the people didn't go silent.
But it dipped.
Just enough to notice the sudden change all of a sudden.
The Movement slowed, conversations trailed off, and people turned, one after another.
Theodore followed their gaze.
At the top of the stairs stood a man.
Regal.
Not just in appearance, but in presence. Every detail of him felt deliberate, placed exactly where it needed to be. He didn't need to demand attention. The room gave it to him with how he looked.
Lucien D'Arcel.
He didn't rush as he walked down. Each step steady, controlled. And strangely, no one talked over him.
Not because they were told not to.
It just… felt wrong to.
Like interrupting him would be interrupting something older than the room itself.
By the time he reached the bottom, everything had already settled around him.
A few of his siblings were already there, gathered near the railing like they'd been waiting.
"Still alive, I see," one of them nearby said with a faint smile.
Lucien glanced at him.
"Disappointing, isn't it?" A few chuckles.
Another leaned against the railing.
"I had money on you collapsing this year."
Lucien didn't even look bothered.
"You've been saying that for decades."
"And one day I'll be right."
"Maybe."
A small pause.
Then, quieter.
"Just not before I choose who takes it."
That got a few more laughs. It didn't sound forced. Didn't sound respectful either.
Just… normal.
Like this was something they always joked about. Theodore recognized them as his father's sibling. He saw them from time to time in the estate. Though, they never cared for him just like the others.
"…They're joking?" Aurora shrugged.
"Sounds like it." Emilia says from behind her.
"They are."
"…About him dying?"
"Especially about that."
That didn't sit right. Lucien didn't react to it at all. If anything, he looked used to it.
Not only that, but dying? Theodore couldn't think of why they'll say such words. As much as Theodore had suffered, Lucien is still his father.
"Speaking of which," another voice added, stepping forward, "how much longer do we have?"
Lucien glanced at him.
"Impatient?"
"Curious."
"That's a lie."
"Obviously."
A short pause.
Then—
"Soon."
That was it.
But somehow, it was enough.
The mood shifted once more throughout the hall.
It wasn't fear nor tension.
Just… something quieter.
Something that understood what that meant.
Theodore felt it, even if he couldn't explain it. He faces Charlotte, clinging her sleeve, like a child asking for guidance from a mother.
"…Dying?" he muttered.
Charlotte didn't answer right away.
"You vampires have longevity," she said after a moment. "However, it comes with… side effects."
Aurora tilted her head.
"Like what?"
Charlotte kept her eyes on Lucien.
"Time doesn't feel the same to them."
"That's it?"
"No."
A small pause.
"They carry it."
"…Carry what?"
"Everything."
That didn't really explain anything and Theodore who was listening didn't understand a single thing. But it didn't feel like something she was going to explain either so they didn't push on.
Lucien finally looked out at the room.
Slowly.
Across the guests.
Across the families.
Then—
his gaze stopped.
On Theodore.
Just for a second. No reaction. No expression. Just acknowledgement. A small nod and a smile towards his kid that he hasn't seen for months.
Then he looked away.
"…He saw me," Theodore muttered.
"Of course he did," Charlotte said, smiling towards Theodore. "You're hard to miss now."
That wasn't reassuring. Not even a little.
Nearby, Lucien's siblings followed behind him.
They didn't stand like him.
They were less composed.
More… relaxed.
Amused, even compared to Lucien's regality.
"So," one of them said, "who do we think takes it this time?"
Another shrugged.
"Does it matter?"
"It always matters."
"Not really. Same result either way."
A third laughed.
"I just want something interesting."
"Define interesting."
"Something unexpected."
A glance passed between them.
Subtle.
But it landed. Towards and on Theodore.
Aurora noticed them as she sips from one of the wines provided by the servants serving drinks.
"…Yeah, I don't like that," she muttered. Emilia didn't say anything. She just watched.
Quiet.
Still.
Theodore swallowed, sensing a pressure he once feared when he was in the estate.
His siblings were here.
Somewhere in the hall, he could feel it. Didn't need to look to know they were watching too.
Waiting. Like everyone else.
"This is boring," one of Lucien's siblings muttered, stretching a little.
"All this waiting."
"It's not up to us," another said.
"I know. I know."
They laughed again. Like it was a game. Not… whatever this actually was.
Theodore's hand tightened slightly.
Aurora nudged him.
"Hey."
He glanced at her.
"You're doing that thing again."
"…What thing?"
"That face you make when you're about to spiral."
He exhaled.
"…Can you blame me?"
"Yeah," she said.
"A little."
That got a small breath out of him.
Emilia stepped a bit closer.
"You're fine," she said. Her tone was calm. Too calm. "I've seen worse."
"…That doesn't help."
"I know."
Charlotte finally spoke.
"You're not here to understand everything."
Theodore looked at her.
"Then why am I here?"
"Because you're invited for the succession ceremony."
"That's it?"
"Yep."
Theodore just laughed like the kid he is. Not a full answer but it was enough.
For now.
Then—
something moved.
It was small as it flew out of Theo's brooch.
Lilith.
She clung lightly to his shoulder, still small in size—but changed when she flew up, changing into her other form as she has now accumulated a lot of blood, no longer the simple bat-like form she used to take.
Her shape had shifted into something more humanoid now, condensed and deliberate, like a fully formed woman.
A woman in her forties, if one had to guess from the face alone. She was calm, composed, and quietly unsettling. If people don't know about the Eidolon of Theodore, they'd probably mistake her as Theodore's mother..
Theodore tensed.
"…Not here."
She ignored him. Of course she did.
She adjusted herself slightly then bit into his finger.
A small drop of blood formed.
It didn't fall but it lingered for a second—then pulled toward her, disappearing as she drank. Like it had nowhere else it was allowed to go.
Theodore froze. "…Lilith. Bad timing to be hungry…"
No response.
Aurora glanced over.
"You know… I can't really get used to this Eidolon of Theo's"
"Same," Emilia replies as she tilts her head. She then faces Charlotte.
"Ms. Charlotte, I want one. An Eidolon."
"I'll think about it. Behave and I'll do it," Charlotte muttered.
Across the room, someone noticed. Then another. And another.
It wasn't loud. But it spread.
Eyes lingered longer now. Not just on Theodore. On her. On Lilith.
"…Oh?" someone murmured. "That's new."
"I don't remember that being part of his bloodline."
"It isn't. That's the Lunarium's living construct, Eidolons."
A pause.
"…Now that's interesting."
Theodore felt it again.
The attention.
Heavier this time.
Different.
Charlotte didn't move. Didn't react. But she spoke anyway.
"Let her. She might be hungry."
"…What?"
"She's doing it on purpose," Theodore frowned.
"Why?" Charlotte didn't look at him.
"To make a point."
"…What point?"
A small pause.
"That you're not alone."
That—
landed.
Theodore looked down at Lilith. Still drinking as she looked at him, reassuring him from the atmosphere of the estate.
Like nothing around her mattered.
Then he looked up.
At the hall. At the vampires. At everyone. By the way their attention had shifted. Not just toward him, but toward what stood with him.
Something unfamiliar.
Something they didn't expect.
Aurora crossed her arms.
"…Yeah. That'll do it."
Emilia smiled faintly.
"They're curious."
Charlotte lowered her dessert she had picked up from the table.
"Good."
Theodore let out a slow breath.
Because now—
He got it.
This wasn't just a gathering. Nor just a ceremony.
Theodore looked ahead again.
For the first time since entering, it didn't feel like eyes on him. It felt like something was being decided as the elders all stared at the heirs.
Quietly.
Without him.