Chapter 8. Please Don’t Fight with My Kids

“Your Imperial Majesty.”

“…I had no desire to see you. So, what is this about?”

Unlike when I had last seen him in my bedroom, the Emperor was now properly dressed in full regalia, still boasting a face so unfairly perfect it was almost cruel. And now, in his office, he was even wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

They suited him absurdly well, making Axia clench her teeth behind a mask of indifference.

‘Focus. That’s just the backlight pouring in from the window behind him. It’s not some holy aura radiating from that damn demon…’

Completely oblivious to the fact that he had just become a demon radiating divine light, the Emperor, with his breathtaking appearance, began tearing into Ayer.

“I told you to explain the task in my stead. So why did you bring the Viscountess of Thracia here yourself?”

“Lady Axia insisted on a personal audience. I saw no reason to deny her.”

His face alone was already ostentatious enough, but his attire took extravagance to another level. His dress shirt and jacket were adorned with a lace-like pattern of sharp, interwoven platinum scales. A massive, intricately crafted sapphire pin held his cravat in place.

‘That bastard’s shirt alone could probably buy an entire castle. The most emperor-like emperor bastard ever.’

As Axia cursed inwardly, the Emperor, who had been reviewing documents at his desk, leaned back, resting his chin on one hand, and tilted his head lazily.

“Tell me, Ayer. Is the automaton you’re currently using malfunctioning? Or have you, perhaps, developed dementia?”

“I may be getting on in years, but I’m not that old yet, Your Majesty.”

Ayer, who had been standing quietly behind Axia, furrowed his brow and retorted at the Emperor.

“An audience with a criminal and permission to leave the residence fall under your jurisdiction, Your Majesty. I merely escorted her here.”

“The fact that you even allowed her to come all the way here proves your incompetence.”

Two identical faces, differentiated only by their hair and eye color, glared at each other, locked in a battle of wits.

Axia stepped back slightly and watched the two with interest.

Creak—

The Emperor, Awrath, leaned back against his office chair with an irritated expression.

“Talking about age in front of me… even a passing dog would laugh.”

The deep blue suit wrapped around the Emperor’s body shimmered with a mysterious silver sheen whenever he moved, the patterns appearing and disappearing like fleeting illusions. Each time it did, it subtly highlighted his thighs, the long, firm lines of his physique. Axia sank into self-loathing.

‘I hate myself for even noticing this.’

If a mediocre man wore such an extravagant outfit, he would be utterly swallowed by it. Yet, instead, the attire seemed to bend under the sheer presence of the Emperor’s striking appearance.

Cursing her own aesthetic sense for being pleased by the sight, Axia turned her head away—only to realize it was a useless gesture.

“Is it about time for you to retire? Are you staging a protest because you’re no longer pulling your weight?”

“If Your Majesty had granted me more decision-making authority from the start, I wouldn’t have needed to trouble you like this in the first place.”

On the opposite side of her view stood Ayer, dressed in a pristine butler’s uniform, his black hair neatly combed back. His sharp black eyes gleamed with irritation as he protested with a prim, sulky expression.

“So, you’re telling me to step down into the back room now? I see your ambition for power is quite blatant.”

“That power? I barely have time to enjoy it because I’m working myself to the bone. Please, at least grant me the courtesy of using half of my legally allotted leave, and for heaven’s sake, let’s keep overtime to three days a week or less—”

Axia, fed up, cut him off mid-complaint.

“Enough. Ayer, you can leave now. I’ve seen more than enough to confirm you’re not the same person.”

‘I’ve watched enough of their back-and-forth banter.’

“Oh? So that’s what you were suspecting?”

The Emperor smirked, stopping Ayer just as he was about to exit.

“Don’t leave. Stay right there. Since you’re not the same person, I can’t be bothered to relay what I discuss with the Viscountess to my subordinates again.”

The Emperor removed his gold-rimmed glasses and placed them on the desk. After running a hand down his bare face, he turned his gaze to Axia.

“So, last night’s tryst in my bedroom wasn’t enough for you?”

His indigo-violet eyes were fully visible now, and he smiled.

“I thought I had driven it in quite deep. What made you so restless that you came running here?”

‘Ah, I want to smash that disgustingly handsome mouth.’

Axia barely managed to suppress the surge of murderous intent.

Forget uncovering the secrets behind Kang Jinhee’s death—she should have just stabbed him to death back then.

“You already heard why I’m here, didn’t you? Stop talking nonsense and just give me an answer.”

The Emperor stroked his chin as if contemplating, then spoke.

“A meeting with a criminal… That would be Count Mikhail Thracia, your co-conspirator in the assassination attempt. Denied. Your adoptive father is alive and well, so don’t concern yourself with him. And leaving your residence? Are you already eager to wander around?”

‘Wow, he shut that down in an instant.’

Suppressing her irritation, Axia opened her mouth.

“I need to take over the administrative duties of Thracia. A meeting with my predecessor is the least you can permit, don’t you think? As you mentioned yesterday, I’m now responsible for over 150,000 people in my domain.”

She added with a sarcastic edge.

“The same goes for the issue of leaving my residence. A ruler should visit their territory at least once to stabilize things, shouldn’t they? And as for the Twelve Labors, it seems I have to personally track down the targets myself. If I can’t even go outside, are you telling me not to complete the tasks at all?”

“No, except for one or two, we’ve already located them all. You can go find them whenever you want.”

“Don’t butt in, Ayer. If you were going to explain, you should have done it properly from the start.”

After reprimanding Ayer, the Emperor rose from his seat.

“Your movements aren’t restricted just because you’re a criminal. You’re both my criminal and my possession.”

“Possession…?”

Axia was speechless at the sheer insult, but the Emperor confirmed it without hesitation.

“That’s right. A criminal is not considered human. And vampires are monsters.”

“……!”

“You should at least be aware of the ‘Great Pact,’ shouldn’t you? Among all vampires, only the one hundred who have earned the Hundline are recognized as bloodline and granted territories on par with humans. Every other vampire is just a monster to be hunted.”

‘That’s a well-known fact.’

The Great Pact of the Hundred Bloodline.

Only a hundred officially recognized vampires were allowed to exist, while all the rest were classified as monsters.

This was the Emperor’s method of suppressing vampire proliferation within the Empire.

“Since you’re a vampire without the Hundred Bloodline, you’re nothing more than a target for extermination outside the Imperial Palace. If you step out, by imperial law, you can be hunted down, and no one will protect you.”

The Emperor looked her over with thinly veiled contempt.

“That leaves only your status as my criminal. The only monsters tolerated within the Imperial Palace are those that hold the position of pets or possessions of mine.”

So that was the reason.

Momentarily speechless, Axia then made a suggestion.

“Why not just increase the number of recognized bloodline to 101?”

The Emperor looked at her as if she had said something absurd.

“What, do you think this is like bringing in a stray dog? Just tossing in an extra one? No. This was established by law through the Great Pact and the State Council.”

The Emperor drove the final nail in, looking at Axia’s displeased expression.

“Even with just a hundred, there are already too many bloodline in the Empire. If you want an official status, you’ll have to kill one yourself, take their place, and push them out. Being challenged and defending one’s rank is the bare minimum requirement for the Hundred Bloodline.”

‘So that’s why Ganymede was trying to train me.’

But still…

“If I can’t kill one of them, does that mean I don’t have to complete the labors? Should I just relax until then?”

Axia put on a bold front.

‘You’re the one who’ll be frustrated if I don’t complete the tasks, Emperor.’

“Tsk, that won’t do. But you should know, I’m already being quite generous with you. Normally, a noble who willingly turns into a vampire is executed within a month.”

“If you don’t need an agent, then go ahead and kill me.”

“So prickly. How about this instead?”

The Emperor stroked his chin before shifting his gaze to Ayer, who was standing quietly.

“For the next few days, you’ll take over my duties as steward. I’ll take the Viscountess with me to the Thracia domain.”

Ayer, who had been staring at the stack of documents on the Emperor’s desk, let out a horrified shriek.

“But I have scheduled leave starting the day after tomorrow!”

“I’ll double your unused leave when I return. Get everything ready.”

“But Your Majesty, you can’t personally escort the Viscountess every time she leaves!”

‘That’s what I’m saying!’

Axia also screamed internally.

She needed to clean up the lab in Thracia and gather some important things from there.

And now, she had to take the Emperor to the very site of her treason?

But the Emperor remained indifferent.

“Don’t worry about the next time. Before the next trip, this woman will either be killed by another Bloodline member or kill one herself and take their place. The moment news spread that Pyro Clan had taken in a bride, everyone has been on edge.”

The Emperor glanced toward the office door and muttered.

“See? Even in broad daylight, one of them is already here.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a languid female voice called from outside.

―Since you already know I’m here, shouldn’t you at least welcome me, Your Majesty?

“Is today some sort of unannounced guest day?”

The Emperor clicked his tongue and returned to his desk.

“Let her in, Corinth. I’d like to hear what she has to say.”

The door opened, and a woman, like Axia, entered the office with a black veil draped over her head.

“May the Emperor’s grace be upon you, Your Majesty. It is a pleasure to see you in good health.”

“Pleasure, is it?”

The Emperor let out a short laugh.

“I doubt the guest I was meeting with feels the same way about this interruption.”

“This must be… the Viscountess of Thracia from the investiture ceremony?”

The woman turned to Axia as if surprised, then elegantly lifted her veil.

“We crossed paths briefly, but this is our first formal introduction.”

The unveiled woman, a long-haired blonde vampire, smiled shyly.

“My name is Lilia. I am ranked second among the Bloodline and serve as the head of the Shad Clan.”

‘So, she’s Grand Duchess Lilia of the Shad Clan.’

Axia quietly observed her.

On the day of the investiture, Lilia was one of the two most powerful Bloodline members standing closest to the throne—aside from Grand Duke Arcas.

She was the woman Axia might have bitten instead of Arcas.

“An honor to meet you, Lady Lilia.”

Ayer subtly stepped in front of Axia, blocking her path.

“Lady Axia is still under restricted contact within the Pyro Clan. Perhaps you could postpone your conversation for another time?”

“Oh dear, I just happened to visit His Majesty on business and ran into her.”

Lilia’s refined crimson eyes curved playfully.

“A simple greeting hardly counts as a conversation, does it?”

“Step aside, Ayer. Let them be.”

The Emperor interjected.

“Even before news of the Viscountess leaving her quarters reached my ears, the entire Imperial Palace was in an uproar over it. You went through all this trouble to meet her in person—so what exactly do you want to say to her?”

“It’s nothing too grand.”

Lilia, seeing that her intentions had been laid bare, let out an awkward laugh.

“If Viscountess Thracia wishes to obtain a proper status and be active, she will soon need to challenge the Bloodline. When that time comes, I would appreciate it if you could avoid selecting a member of the Shad Clan as your opponent.”

Axia, who had been about to speak, hesitated in surprise before asking,

“…You went through all this trouble just to say something that obvious?”

“It may be obvious, but it is an extremely important request. As the head of the Shad Clan, I have a duty to protect my members.”

Lilia shook her head.

“You’ve received Grand Duke Arcas’s direct blood, so your abilities will soon awaken significantly. The lower-ranked Bloodline members won’t be able to compete with you. Since you have the choice of whom to challenge, isn’t it only fair that I make this request in advance?”

Lilia’s tone became even more amiable as she smiled.

“Choose a Lugh Clan bloodline member as your opponent instead of us. In return, I will give you a mid-sized 100-passenger-class airship.”

Axia doubted her ears.

‘She’s offering me an airship just so I don’t fight her people?’

Her sense of financial value was starting to warp.

‘An airship known as the “Flying Gold Ingot”?’

‘And a mid-sized one, at that?’

‘So the rumors about the Shad Clan being loaded were true…’

“This conversation will end here.”

Ayer once again stepped in, as if shielding Axia from the stunned silence that followed.

“I’ve been entrusted with managing Lady Axia’s affairs for the Pyro Clan, so I cannot allow this conversation to continue any further.”

Then, turning toward the Emperor—who was watching the situation unfold with evident amusement—Ayer gave a polite nod.

“I will now take Lady Axia and depart to prepare for our journey to the Thracia domain. I will also notify the Pyro Clan.”

* * *

As soon as Ayer practically dragged Axia out in a rush, Lilia slowly turned her head toward the Emperor.

“…What kind of clown show was that in front of me, Your Majesty?”

“Was it not entertaining?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“A shame. I had hoped at least one other person would find it as amusing as I did.”

“My, my. You really shouldn’t say such things when you’ve already silenced me with a ‘restriction.’”

Lilia’s eyes, partially visible beneath her veil, narrowed.

“I can’t even tell that young lady that Ayer is actually you, Your Majesty. So tell me, how exactly am I supposed to find any amusement in this?”