“Feeling better?” Sincir asks.

  Having exhausted her remaining strength, Esme fell asleep in Collin’s embrace almost as soon as they were done, and now only the vampire gnces at him, prompted by his question.

  “It… I have had sex before a couple times, but this was unlike anything I had ever experienced,” Collin murmurs.

  Resting his cheek against a fist, Sincir smiles lightly at the still naked vampire. “Is that so? Esme is something, isn’t she?”

  Collin sighs. “You don’t need to remind me… It wasn’t free, right?”

  Sincir chuckles. “Well, do you think it was worth it?”

  Collin gnces at Esme’s sleeping face next to him, before shifting his back to Sincir once more.

  “…I won’t say I’d die for you yet, but I pay me debts.”

  “Good; And for the record, you can pursue Esme if you think you can win her over. I don’t mind it… Consider it a bonus from our deal.”

  Collin frowns. “I just don’t get you... I know you weren’t exactly comfortable watching us. Considering you’re the one who she confessed to, I doubt Miss Esme would’ve minded if you joined us.”

  Sincir shrugs. “We’ve just met, and restraining myself for a single night isn’t that big of a deal… Building trust is hard, especially among men, so I consider the sacrifice a worthy one.”

  Collin sighs. “I was about to ask you if you are really serious about becoming a king… But looking at you now, I can tell it wasn’t just a joke. Have you at least decided for a location? Do you have a draft for the kingdom’s policies? Have you considered how to start?”

  “I admit I’ll need help with many of the finer details… For now, I’m in the process of acquiring allies and funding.”

  “…I suppose it as good a pce to start as any.”

  Sincir smiles at him. “Can I count on you from now on, Collin?”

  Collin sustains his gaze for a moment, then nods hesitantly. “I’m willing to give it an honest try, but I can’t promise anything more.”

  Sincir nods back; Considering they have just met tonight, and that they started out as enemies, this much is good enough for now.

  “Have many of your fellow vampires do you figure you could convert to our cause?”

  Collin sighs. “About half of them. The rest just doesn’t care much for the humans, and they’d happily sughter them, given the chance… As for our master, as I’ve expined earlier, she rarely listens to me, but I’ll pass the idea on to her.”

  “Thank you.”

  Collin bites his lower lip. “No, I… This…”

  Sincir waves his hands dismissively. “I understand. It seems the past has not been particurly kind to you, but however shitty this universe might by, I care for my subjects, and I can’t very well have them starving themselves in front of me… That being said, for now, we should focus on gaining the support of the vampires we can. Report to me once you’re done.”

  “I… Yes, it shouldn’t take very long to talk to them. May I visit…?”

  “Just call me Sincir. And yes, you can show up at the house.”

  Collin nods.

  Well, they have a lot to talk about still, but for now, Collin probably needs some time alone, and the girls are undoubtedly worried about him at home, so he shouldn’t dwell.

  Rising, Sincir gestures toward the door. “I should go. Knowing her, Esme will probably want to keep working here, but I’ll tell her to wait until things are solved between me and your master before she comes back, so I’d be thankful if you could take care of her things meanwhile.”

  “Of course. And I can assume you’ll not be coming back to work, either?”

  Sincir smiles. Was it really just yesterday he was still worried about stupid noble chicks pcing their books onto the wrong shelves?

  Together, him and Collin fix Esme’s clothes and put her shoes back on. Collin offers to accompany them home, but Sincir refuses it… When he run from Stormbay with the girls, he was still an eight-year-old, so he couldn’t have carried Ena on his own, but now he is strong enough to do it with Esme... Though he asks for Collin’s help to pce her on a piggy-back carry position.

  Other than murmuring in her sleep, Esme shows no signs of waking up.

  “She should be fine, if a little weak, by tomorrow…” Collin says, “If you can, make sure she eats something before going to sleep.”

  Sincir has plenty of experience with draining other’s Life Force from his memories as Varzath, but it is true Esme has also lost a decent amount of blood, so he’ll trust Collin on this.

  “I’ll try,” Sincir promises.

  He doesn’t meet any of the other vampires on his way to the exit, so he assumes they’ve been told to stay underground until negotiations were through between him and Collin… Though he doubts any of them imagined what said negotiations would involve.

  As only a couple of hours have gone by since he arrived at Inquiry, Elderspire is still at peak night activity, which means Sincir receives plenty of looks on his home.

  Thankfully, Esme remains asleep the whole way; She might not have been able to handle the attention.

  Sincir wonders how the girls are maneging in his absence. After their trip for supplies, which sted the rest of their morning and a good portion of their afternoon, he more or less sneaked out on them to deal with No and the vampires, knowing Ena would’ve insisted on coming with again if he told her he was leaving.

  In the end, they ended up buying her a good steel sword and full set of leather armor (basically, the same gear Eleanor has used this past year). Ena bitched about it the whole time, of course, but their current finances simply wouldn’t allow for anything fancier…

  And no, for the st time, she’s not going to fight using daggers, a mace, or anything weirder than a long sword; Not as long as he is the one training her. One, she’s not strong enough for the heavy weapons, and two, the lighter ones tend to do too little damage or simply break when used against anything nonhuman.

  If she wants to carry around a war hammer after having graduated from his tutorship, that’s her problem, but until then, it won’t happen.

  …Fuck, he’s hungry, horny, and tired. They better have behaved, in his absence.

  Sincir releases a sigh of relief once he finally sees the house. By this point, his arms and back are hurting… Carrying Esme here was a lot harder than he anticipated.

  He doesn’t bother trying to open the door on his own, banging his knee lightly against it a couple of times instead... Soon, Ena’s worried face appears as it swings open, though the expression of relief she was about to show is interrupted by one of curiosity once she spots Esme over his shoulders.

  “Is she… Is she alright?”

  “Yeah, but she needs some rest and a pce to stay for a while. Can you clean one of the empty rooms upstairs? I’ll put her on our couch, for now.”

  Ena nods, opening the door wider and stepping aside in order to allow for his passage.

  “…And what about you?” she murmurs.

  “I’m tired, but I’ll live. Don’t worry, things were solved peacefully… The vampires shouldn’t bother us from now on. If anything, all going accord to pn, they might become our first allies.”

  Ena gives him a weird look. “Oh. That’s cool, I guess, but, ah, I should probably tell you…”

  Sincir stops as he reaches their living room. Sitting against the couch, with her arms leaning over its backrest and a teasing smile on her face, Victoria meets his gaze.

  Her dark blue eyes, long, straight bck hair, pale skin, and bck painted nails are just as he remembers them, though her clothes are more casual tonight than the ones she wore for her show.

  “…Ena,” Sincir groans.

  Even though she is behind him, he can tell she cringes. “Sorry, should probably have told you sooner. She showed up almost as soon as the sun set, and you told us not to fight if one of them did so, as long as they didn’t throw the first punch…”

  Sincir sighs. “Hi, Victoria.”

  She smiles at him. “I’ve been a good girl; You don’t need to look so worried. How is Collin? I smell him all over your friend… Did he finally gave up on his bestiality fetish?”

  “Where is Eleanor?”

  “…Here,” Eleanor says as she comes from the kitchen and leans against the door’s frame leading to it, “I thought you might arrive hungry, and too tired to go out, so I was cooking. Ena and I haven’t had anything as well.”

  “I told them Collin wasn’t likely to kill you. He’s a very goody-too-shoes vampire,” Victoria adds, clicking her tongue as she does so, “You shouldn’t worry them like this.”

  “…Up, dumbass, I know you heard me when I said I needed the couch.”

  Victoria grimaces. “Is that a way to ask a favor from a dy?”

  Sincir narrows his eyes, and suddenly, Victoria curses, jumping from the couch fast enough to become a blur.

  As she hisses at him from the other side of the room, Sincir rolls his eyes at her.

  “Next time I tell you to move your ass, you move it, or I won’t be so gentle. Now tell me why you’re here, before I lose my patience and throw you out.”

  Having more or less reached the limit of his strength, Sincir gently drops Esme against the couch, helping her to a comfortable position, before turning toward Victoria again.

  “…We need to talk,” she says, seemingly struggling to maintain her expression neutral, rather than hostile.

  Sincir sighs. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow? I know your day has just started, but I’ve had a long one.”

  Victoria clenches her teeth. “Won’t tomorrow be the same? We’ll always meet at a minimum after sundown.”

  She has a point, but he doesn’t have to like that, does he?

  “…Fine. But whatever it is, it better be brief.”

  Leaving Esme in Ena’s care as Eleanor goes back to preparing their dinner, Sincir takes Victoria to one of the empty rooms upstairs, for a private talk.

  As he lights a ntern, Victoria throws the admittedly dirty room a look of scorn, then sits on the bed, and crosses her legs.

  Once he’s done with the ntern, Varzath leans against the wall, crossing his arms as he faces her.

  “…What is it?”

  Victoria grimaces. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a boy as much as I do you, and that’s saying something.”

  Sincir snorts. “I’m sure you’re used to men throwing themselves at your feet, begging for a mere second of your attention... Now get to the point, please.”

  Victoria sighs. “Fine. First, I should make it clear I haven’t come here for a fight. I don’t know much about you yet, but I can tell you’re strong, and that you care for those girls... I have, you could say, a delicate matter I could use some help with.”

  Sincir groans, hitting his head softly against the wall at his back. “I’ll not doing your bidding, Victoria… I’m too busy as it is.”

  In between training the girls, managing the house, starting as an adventurer, and handling the vampire colony, Sincir doubts he’ll have much free time in the near future…

  Victoria narrows her eyes. “I have connections in the city. I could make your life much easier… Or much harder.”

  Sincir sighs. “And I take it these convenient connections are incapable of helping you…? Victoria, I could kill you, or reveal your identity, so spare me the empty threats.”

  Victoria abruptly rises, clenching her fists at her sides as she does. However, rather than storming out, as Sincir expected her to, she then takes a deep breath, closes her eyes briefly, and sits again, this time with an expression of contemption on her face.

  “You’re right, threatening you was a mistake,” she says, “You’re a real piece of work, but I suppose so I am…. Point is, I still think we could help each other. Why don’t we start over? I’ll forgive you from ruining my night yesterday; You forgive me from showing up announced, and for threatening you.”

  Sincir presses his lips together. In truth, he doesn’t have a real reason for disliking Victoria yet, other than her brother’s obvious hatred for her. But she is a girl used to getting her way; Selfish, self-centered, and prideful… Undoubtedly, she’d make for a great fuck, but also for a terrible friend, and an even worse enemy.

  Having her around can bring nothing but trouble.

  “…Tell me what you need, and I’ll think about it. I can’t promise anything more.”

  Victoria’s eye twitches, but she sighs, rather than fighting him on it. “You’ve met with Noah, haven’t you?”

  Sincir snorts. “He sends his regards.”

  “He was disappointed to know I’m still alive, you mean… How… How is he?” Victoria asks, murmuring the st part with uncharacteristic hesitation.

  Sincir raises an eyebrow. He assumed their hatred was mutual, but is seems he was wrong.

  “He’s healthy, as far as I can tell, but we’ve only talked briefly, so I can’t really say much more than this.”

  Victoria nods, though rather than relieved, she seems worried to find out Noah is doing well physically. Well, Sincir won’t pry; He is sure there’s a story there, but it isn’t his problem.

  “…If you have met Noah, then you probably know I’m not a part of the family anymore,” Victoria continues, having quickly regained her composure as she shifts gaze to rest against his once more, “Usually, when one of us is found out, we make the witnesses disappear... But I gave up on the group’s protection after I left, and in this case, it might not have helped much, even if I was still with them.”

  Sincir raises an eyebrow at her. “Let me guess; Somebody other than me has put two and two together, but they’re too much for you to handle alone, or even for Inquiry.”

  Victoria sighs, waving her hand in annoyance. “Something like that… He was somebody I thought would make for a good human servant, but I misjudged him, and now he is determined to ruin my life.”

  “Has he been bckmailing you?”

  She nods. “If he just wanted sex, it’d have probably put up with a shitty night by now, and moved on from this; But he won’t be satisfied with a single night, he wants me as his fuck-toy, until he’s grown tired of me.”

  Sincir narrows his yes at her. “…What did you do?”

  Victoria grimaces. “Why must I have done something?”

  “Victoria, I wasn’t born yesterday; Creepy, possessive men exist, but I know you’d spot them from a mile away. So what’s the deal with this guy? Why did you let him get so close?”

  Victoria takes a deep breath, then sighs. “I suppose I should be honest if I expect you to help me. Fine, I knew he was a creep when I approached him, so I have a part of the bme for this. I thought… I thought I could wrap him around my finger, but things have gone out of control tely. I’d leave town, but he knows about Inquiry, and if the library gets destroyed because of my carelessness, Collin will hunt me down for the rest of eternity.”

  Sincir groans. “I’d tell you how stupid you are, but I think we can skip it. So, which noble family does he belong to?”

  Victoria hesitates. “His name is Leon… Leon Dristine.”

  Sincir curses, then points at the door. “Get out. I hope he locks you in a basement until he grows tired of you.”

  Victoria groans. “Look, I know I’m stupid for approaching the duke’s son, but he came to one of my shows, and it seemed so easy…! I thought I might one day be able to change the ws of Krador regarding vampires if I kept climbing the dder… Except I didn’t expect the little shit to be an actual psychopath!”

  “I’d commend you for the attempt, did I not know for a fact your motivations were utterly selfish at every step of the shitty road you paved for yourself… I might be able to handle Leon, but why should I risk it?”

  Victoria bites her lower lip. “I know you find me attractive; Help me get rid of Leon, and I’ll give you a night you won’t forget.”

  Lords, she must be truly desperate is she’s willing to put her pride aside for this. But he has the girls to think about now, and he’s not powerful enough yet to challenge a duke… Maybe if he was on his own, but not when he has so much to lose.

  Seeing his obvious hesitation, Victoria meets his eyes as she continues, “He… He threatened to kill my people,” she murmurs, “One by one, if I don’t do as he says. He likes fucking me in front of them… To humiliate me as they watch. I know I’m not a saint, so I don’t mind pying rough sometimes, but this… This has gone too far. It needs to stop, and if you won’t help me, then I have no choice but to light the wick.”

  “...You’d put Leon against Inquiry, regardless of the consequences,” Sincir concludes.

  Victoria nods. “It’d be a bloodbath, and I’d probably not survive it… But I’d see half the city burned to cinders, sooner than I’d spend another night with him.”

  Looking into Victoria’s dark blue eyes, Sincir knows she isn’t kidding; And, having been in the hands of a sociopathic bitch himself...

  Still, messing with the duke of Elderspire is a completely different matter than invading No’s house; For once, the duke is guaranteed to have mages in his employment, magical defenses, and artifacts… Not to mention that, even were him to succeed, Leon’s death would be thoroughly investigated...

  Again, if he was on his own, he could kill the little shit in some alley, skip towns, and never look back… But there’s a fat chance in Hell he’s giving up everything him and the girls have built for themselves over these past two years so easily.

  “…Fine,” Victoria murmurs, rising as she does so. “I can see you have your own problems to worry about, so I won’t bother you anymore.”

  Sincir sighs. “Drop you damn ego for a second and sit… I’m thinking.”

  …Damn it all to Hell, he’s going to help her, isn’t he?

  “Fuck,” Sincir murmurs, then meets Victoria’s gaze as he continues, “For the record, I’m not so much of a loser that I need to bckmail you for sex; I can get pussy on my own. So, if I’m doing this, it’d be for your loyalty.”

  Victoria raises an eyebrow. “I get this is a big ask, but I’m not marrying you for it... I don’t think either of us would survive it.”

  Sincir grimaces; It takes a good amount self-control, but he manages to stop himself from shocking Victoria with another electric spell.

  “I’m not talking about marriage and you know it; You’ve said so yourself, you have connections, and you’re confident, not to mention intelligent. Having you working for me would be a good deal.”

  Victoria snorts. “Of course it would. But to what end? I still don’t know who you are, or what you’re trying to accomplish.”

  Ugh. He already expined his kingdom idea tonight, and he doesn’t want a redo so soon.

  “Look, I’m Sincir, and that’s all you need to know about me. As for my objective, next time you meet Collin, just ask him, and he’ll be able to tell you in details. Meanwhile, I need to know if you’re willing to trust me or not… Promise me loyalty, and I’ll handle Leon for you, one way or another.”

  Having said his piece, Sincir sustains Victoria’s gaze for a long moment, until she sighs.

  “Unfortunately, we both know I don’t have much of choice; Before this fiasco, I might’ve tried to manipute you into doing what I want, but I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t promise I’ll work for you forever, but I’ll help you with your mysterious objective, in return for having Leon out of my life.”

  Sincir nods. “You said you never want to spend another night with him. How long do we have?”

  “In a week, Leon is pnning a party for his friend’s birthday, and he wants me to perform in it… Naked, with a colr around my neck.”

  Sincir blinks, then pretends a coughing fit in order to hide his ughter.

  “Hirious,” Victoria murmurs dryly, “I bet you’d love to see that, wouldn’t you?”

  Sincir clears his throat. “…Be honest, if he was paying, instead of forcing you, and the colr wasn’t a part of it, would you do it?”

  Victoria grimaces. “If Leon wasn’t a piece of shit, and I didn’t have to sing my songs… Maybe,” she admits in a murmur.

  Sincir chuckles. “Fine, I’ll see what I can do about Leon. I won’t promise I’ll kill him, at least not without hearing his side of the story first, but I’ll get him off your back, one way or another.”

  “You’ll regret talking to him, but be my guest. If you want details about what I know of him, I’ve told the girls my address, and you can find me there either at sundown or dawn, but probably not in between. If it’s an emergency, you can try waking me up during the day, but I warn you, it’ll not be pretty.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll probably talk to you soon.”

  Victoria nods, then starts heading for the door.

  “Victoria?” Sincir calls, causing her to stop as she gnces at him over her shoulder.

  “Yes?”

  “How did you find the house?”

  “Inquiry keeps tabs on all of their employees, for obvious reasons.”

  Sincir sighs. “Fine… Just one more thing, then. I don’t mind it if you talk to the girls, but if you teach them weird shit, I’ll not be happy. Understood?”

  She snorts. “I’ll try not to.”