CHAPTER 119: DOUBLE?

In [To Kill A Demon Lord...], Ophiuchus is largely portrayed as a mysterious organization. When it was eventually revealed to be, at its core, just a coven of Vampires and had been started so a certain someone could have eternity to surpass his limit and reach the peak of Magical Excellence, things were brought a bit closer to home.

It became a personal arc for Caius Von Helsing. The first for him in the story and the first time Aurelius took a bit of a backseat in the narrative so Caius could face what could become of him if he allowed himself to embrace his Vampiric nature as he had been trying not to do thus far.

Arlette being a member of ’Ophiuchus’ had ended up being very minor in the original story. Mostly because her snooping around to prove what Caius was, got her killed by Caius’ caretakers—The Hellsingers—and someone else was sent in by the Organization to continue where she left off.

Since he had arrived in this world and had his encounter with Arlette, Caius had wondered what he’d do about Ophiuchus. Now that he was not pushing Arlette’s path towards an eventual early death, she was likely to keep at her assignment until the plot came to a head. The plot being an eventual Invasion of Lochxen.

Had Caius not gotten to know Arlette as he had, he would have found a way to reveal what he knew and gotten her or her eventual replacement away from the Academy before things got out of hand. But he couldn’t do that. He liked her here.

Besides, that Invasion plot was still a ways off.

Anyway, Caius had been stumped. That was until the events two days ago.

What had started off taking him completely by surprise and blindsiding him had ended with him becoming a Vampire Lord in need of subjects and where better to find a bunch of them than a coven hidden away right in the Acheron Empire’s very capital.

Another reason he just couldn’t bring himself to hate Athenodora. Annoying bitch that she was for using him as bait, she had helped him more than he had ever expected.

The alternative to the path that was now open to him would be to start creating Vampires of his own but Caius wasn’t interested. He may have joked about it once with Kaya but he didn’t think he’d ever turn her or any woman he was interested in, into a Vampire. If he did, he’d lose the ability to evolve through their blood and that was largely the reason he went after them in the first place. Besides their incredible beauty, of course.

No, Vampire creation was not currently on the cards for him and fortunately, it wasn’t needed.

But the task ahead was still difficult. There were preparations he needed to make and so, as he was being driven home in a Carriage, with an entourage meant for his protection, he was again buried in his Self-composed Grimoire.

He smiled to himself as he remembered the dumbfounded look on Arlette’s face when he told her their plans for the weekend. He could see it in her grey eyes that she really wanted to ask how serious he was and she likely would have managed to if he hadn’t pulled her into a kiss then.

Whatever worries or confirmations she wanted addressed were quickly lost when their hands ran all over each other, stripping clothes and getting right to it on the sofa. All before Caius indulged in her blood as always.

"I wonder..." he mumbled to himself at some point, looking out the carriage window as he raised a hand and stroked his lips with two fingers like he could still remember the taste of Arlette’s blood. Delicious and exquisite as always.

Just a week ago to the day, the power within that blood had completed a filling meter and made him a True Vampire. Caius now wondered if it was an anniversary he should have observed.

That thought was off his mind by the time the Carriage was pulling into the Von Helsing Estate and he promptly made his way to his room to sit by his large desk and continue his frustratingly hard work.

He was there until nightfall, making Arcane Symbol combinations when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in," he said in a slightly weary voice.

The door opened and Orland stepped in and gave a bow,

"Lord Lucian asks you to dinner, Master Caius."

’Here we go,’ Caius thought with a light smile, ’At least it’s not more muscle training. I swear I’d break down if I tried one push-up right now.’

He followed Orland to the dining hall.

"Evening, Father," he greeted and pulled the seat at the very end of the table to sit in.

"No," Lucian said gently and gestured at the chair to his right,

"Here."

Caius paused but then nodded and walked down the length of the table to sit where he had been offered.

"This is your place at this table," Lucian said gently, "You should make that a habit. Just like showing up for dinner."

Caius smiled.

Besides that one time last week, they hadn’t actually had dinner together. Food is just one of those things that slips your mind when you’re a Vampire.

"I’ll try my best," he said as the servants served their food.

"Good," Lucian nodded, "You may not need the food but I think you—actually, we—need the construct of dinner itself. Gives us a chance to talk. Away from the more strenuous environment of the Arena."

"I don’t disagree," Caius said and after a ’Thank you’ to the servants as they filed out of the dining room, he started to eat. As usual, he made comparisons with blood. The food failed, but the taste was not bad either. It also didn’t hurt that his Father offered him a canister of that good quality Beast Blood he always seemed to be able to provide so he could wash down every morsel with blood as one would do with wine.

"And speaking of a chance to talk, we should discuss this," Lucian said and held up a letter. The Envelope that was made of expensive material had a seal of the Lochxen Academy that had been broken to access the letter within.

Lucian eyed his son as he waved the letter a little as he asked,

"I hear there’s such a thing as ’Extra Lessons’ over the weekend?"

"My Professor suggested it. I thought it was a fine idea," Caius said calmly.

"You like Combat magic?" Lucian asked, "You want to be better at it?"

Caius shrugged, careful not to sound too enthusiastic,

"I don’t know if I ’like’ it enough to do extra work," he said slowly, "But I don’t think it can hurt to be better at it, yes."

Lucian studied Caius a bit more and then glanced at the letter he was holding,

"It says here that you have a talent for it."

Caius laughed then.

"Professor Kragsten does like to flatter," he said, brushing off the compliment.

"Kragsten?" Lucian said with one raised brow and Caius realized her name must not have been included in the letter which must have been written by the Headmistress after she gave her permission for the extra lessons.

"Yes," Caius answered, wondering how that might derail all this.

"Related to that girl that defeated you in a Mage-Knight Spar?" Lucian asked.

"Yes," Caius answered. It hadn’t even really been a question because only one family bore that name in the Acheron Empire.

"Huh," Lucian said with an unreadable look in his eyes.

Father and son ate in silence for a minute as Caius waited to hear ’No’ so he could burst out the pretty convincing arguments he had prepared beforehand.

"Very well," Lucian said eventually, "You can go."

"Thank you," Caius said.

Lucian’s characterization in [To Kill A Demon Lord...] had never really been that of a man who would stop his son from learning. Whether or not it was in a path he particularly agreed with. After all, Caius in the original story hadn’t taken Mage-Knight Training but excelled in Combat Magic and Lucian had been fine with that...

"So how do we make up for the lost day of muscle training? Double the workload the next day?" Lucian asked suddenly.

"Double?" Caius said like he couldn’t even fathom how that was possible.

Lucian laughed a little,

"Just a joke, son," he said, "Doubling the workload of an already intense regimen can be counterproductive."

The words made sense but the look in Lucian’s eyes made Caius worried that he truly just might suffer for his wish to have one day to spend with Cynthia Kragsten. Or at least—as in the case of this weekend—one day to do as he pleased away from the watch of the Hellsingers and away from the Protective walls of Lochxen Academy.