A few moments before Victor was announced as a new Vampire Count.
The entire group that stayed behind was in a room at Scathach's mansion waiting for Victor.
The group consisted of Natalia, Yuki, Kaguya, Maria, June, Violet, Ruby, and Sasha.
"Darling is really taking a long time... If something happens to him... I-." Violet's eyes glittered dangerously. She was pacing around the room impatiently; Victor was really taking his time! It's been over an hour since he left, and Violet couldn't calm down!
"Stop thinking nonsense, he's fine. A problem would only occur if Victor were to try something crazy, like challenging the King or something..." Ruby, who was reading Manga, calmly said. She wasn't too worried. After all, her mother Scathach Scarlett was with her husband during the meeting with the king, and Ruby was 100% sure her mother wouldn't let anything happen to Victor.
"..." Violet and Sasha looked at Ruby.
Feeling the stares of her childhood friends, Ruby thought about what she said, and soon her eyes widened:
"Oh f.u.c.k." She facepalmed. She realized it was quite possible for that to happen… Her husband seemed to lose brain cells whenever he met a strong opponent.
"…He wouldn't really do that, would he…? I mean, that's crazy!" June said. She didn't believe Victor would be so crazy as to attack the king of the vampires.
Come on, he's the king, you know? The king of all vampires, the Progenitor, the Big Boss! He is strong! And he would not tolerate such disrespect in his own castle!
"…" All the women looked at June with pity.
"...W-What?" She didn't understand the women's eyes.
"She's so young..." Kaguya commented.
"So innocent…" Maria continued.
"And a little dumb too," Luna spoke with a s.a.d.i.s.tic smile on her face.
"Grrr... I'm not dumb!" June didn't like being called dumb.
"Well, dumb people don't know they're dumb…" Siena said.
"...That surprisingly makes sense," Lacus said.
Pepper, who was reading Manga lying next to Ruby, suddenly stood up, and with her supernatural speed, she appeared in front of June.
"Hiii." June was startled by Pepper's red gaze.
"…Think, June. Think!" She made the same exaggerated gestures that Victor did and even copied his crazy expression!
"H-Huh?" 'What happened to this girl!?' June was freaking out internally.
"My Brother in law was the man who dared attack a woman who in the past had the t.i.tle of countess! Do you think he wouldn't have the b.a.l.l.s to attack the king!?"
"…Well…" June thought this was quite possible.
"Right!?"
"Hiii…" Somehow Pepper's crazy look was scaring June more than before. What happened to that innocent girl!?
"Remember, madness is like gravity. You just need a little push, and in the end... You will become just like him!" She displayed a distorted smile that displayed all her sharp teeth.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA~" And suddenly she started laughing like crazy.
"..." An uncomfortable silence fell around them, they were just too shocked, but it wasn't due to June's question but Pepper's performance! Was she always this good!?
In fact... Was this really an act!? Her laugh was horrifying!
"Pepper..."
"Fueeee?" Pepper looked at Ruby with an innocent look.
"Why are you imitating my husband?" Ruby's eyes twitched many times.
"I thought it would be cool." She pouted.
"…" Kaguya, Ruby, Lacus, and Siena facepalmed.
"Pepper, don't do that. Don't imitate my husband." Ruby spoke in a serious tone.
"…" Siena and Lacus nodded fiercely. What will they do if innocent little Pepper becomes just like Victor!? h.e.l.l no! They don't even want to think about it!
"Hmm, The Killing Joke? Were you reading this?" Sasha got up and picked up the comic Pepper was reading.
"AHH! Do not be rude!" Pepper used her speed and tried to take the comic from Sasha's hand.
But who is Sasha? The woman who was born with the power of lightning! She's fast!
"Naive!" Sasha's body was suddenly covered in lightning, and she easily dodged Pepper's hands.
"Ah... Hey!" Pepper looked like a squirrel that had been tricked.
"Let's see~" Sasha opened the comic and began to read.
"I'm interested too," Ruby spoke.
"Me too…" Violet didn't want to be left out.
When the three of them read just a few pages of the magazine, they looked dryly at Pepper.
"Hmm…" Pepper turned her face away and started whistling.
"I forbid you to read this!" Ruby spoke. Normally, Ruby wouldn't care what her sister did, but this... This comic is too heavy! Is Pepper easily influenced? What if she reads these comics a lot and ends up being someone worse than Victor!? h.e.l.l no! Not innocent Pepper!
"Ehhh!?" Pepper didn't believe what she heard.
"Pepper, don't go to the dark side," Ruby spoke.
"But they give you cookies!" Pepper pouted.
"This is a lie! That's the same thing as saying that Santa Claus exists! He does not exist!" Ruby broke the innocent girl's reality.
"N-Noooooo!" Pepper didn't believe her life was a lie.
"…" All the girls just looked at her with a small smile on their faces; it was good to see the mood lightened.
Suddenly, they heard the voice of the King of Vampires.
"With my authority as king of all vampires, I, Vlad Tepes, hereby declare."
"That's the king…" Siena had met the king several times, and she recognized the man's voice.
"!!!" June's whole body shook with fear, she couldn't even move, she was like that just by listening to the king's voice!
"..." Lacus didn't say anything, but her eyes were bright with curiosity.
"What will he declare?" Natalia was a little curious.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Violet said.
"…" Kaguya, Maria, Ruby, and Sasha couldn't help but agree with Violet since they felt the same way.
"The birth of a new Vampire Count!"
"... Eh?"
An uncomfortable silence fell in the mansion of Scathach, a new Vampire Count!? How long has it been since this happened? Who is the new Vampire Count!? And why did the king make such a sudden decision!?
Several thoughts were going through the women's heads, but they just kept silent and listened in silence.
"As of today, the Fifth Pillar of Vampire Society, responsible for Exploring and Discovering New Lands, is a.s.signed to Clan Alucard."
"... A-Alucard..." Natalia stuttered a lot. She completely lost her composure that she spent years training. She gulped. Who was the fool who created a clan with the king's name just written backwards!? This was a clear demonstration of challenge!
'Don't tell me…' A ridiculous thought crossed Natalia's mind, but soon she shook her head several times in denial; 'I'm thinking too much, this is impossible, he's only been a vampire for six months!'
But the next words completely destroyed Natalia's reality.
"The leader of Clan Alucard is the new disciple of Scathach Scarlett, who recently won an arena game, Victor Walker!"
"..." As if it were a supernatural phenomenon, the brains of all the women in the room completely stopped working, their minds blank, complete emptiness!
They couldn't even form a coherent thought.
And with that uncomfortable silence, the women listened to all the king's words in silence.
"As per tradition, Victor, the new Count, has abandoned the Walker name and a.s.sumed the name Alucard."
"My citizens, hail the new Vampire Count, the new pillar of vampire society, Victor Alucard."
Suddenly the King's voice died down... And even after 20 minutes had pa.s.sed, the silence still persisted in the mansion.
"UGHYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Suddenly Pepper screamed, as she seemed to have freaked out.
"WaWaWa!" She started running around!
"A Count!? A Count!? My brother-in-law has become a Count! UGHYAAAAA!"
Pepper's scream seemed to reset the women's brains.
"M-Master has become a Count..." Kaguya's expression was pure shock, even though she heard it, she still couldn't believe it...
"MMM-Master is a new Count...? Ehh?" Yuki stuttered a lot while her eyes were rolling, and she couldn't seem to form coherent thoughts.
"Hahahahahaha…" Siena looked at the ceiling of the mansion with completely lifeless eyes, "He's completely nonsense… What is this? What is this reality? Are we living in a dream?" As a vampire who knew the rules and social status of the vampire world well, this announcement totally broke Siena's worldview.
That's not how it works, okay!? A vampire cannot become a new Vampire Count that easily! First, they have to master the entire Vampire Count transformation for them to even think about the possibility of being a Count!
In some ways, challenging a Vampire Count Clan and taking the t.i.tle from them is easier than becoming a new Count completely from scratch!
Lacus exhibited a small smile, "...As expected of him, I think?" In some strange way, she thought this was a natural result.
"Alucard... Count Alucard..." Maria, as an ex-hunter, knew what kind of existence Vampire Counts were. They were beings that required several generals, many hunters, and traps to hunt; they were special existences. She never thought she would live long enough to see another Count's birth...
Unconsciously, a smile began to grow on Maria's face; 'My master is a completely incomprehensible existence...'
"Huh?" She suddenly woke up from stupor and shook her head several times in an attempt to get the thought out of her head; 'Why am I thinking of him as my master!? What's going on with my head!?' She seemed to have her own issues too.
Violet, Ruby, and Sasha just stood there in shock. They didn't even know how to react to this news.
"Violet..." Ruby spoke in a dead voice.
"...Yes?" Violet replied in the same dead voice.
"He became a Count..."
"I know..."
"...Violet," Sasha spoke in a voice like the two women.
"Yes, I am Violet..."
"Our husband has become a Count..."
"I know..."
"Violet..." Ruby said.
"Yes, Yes?"
"What do we do now...?" Sasha and Ruby spoke in unison.
"Do I have the face of someone who knows...?"
With Victor becoming a Vampire Count, an existence said to be capable of destroying a country easily, several supernatural beings will appear looking for the new Count. And, what does that mean?
It means more problems!
Rumble, Rumble, Rumble.
Violet, Ruby, and Sasha quickly looked up at the sky.
"He is coming back." The three displayed a loving smile.
........
If you want to support me so that I can pay artists to ill.u.s.trate the characters in my novel, visit my pa treon: Pa treon.com/VictorWeismann
More characters images in:
https://discord.gg/4FETZAf
Like it? Add to library!
Don't forget to vote to support the book if you like it.