Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire

Chapter 420 420: Urgent matters

***

The night had passed quietly. After telling Arlette all that had happened tonight as well as what he had surmised by all of it, they hadn't done much besides contemplating the gravity of the situation.

"I have to speak to them," Caius had said.

"I'll go with you," Arlette had responded.

The 'them' referred of course to the Leopold Coven, whom Caius hadn't seen or spoken to for so long since he actually acquired authority over them. He could have scheduled a virtual conference of sorts but decided an actual physical meeting was best.

The rest of the night, Caius tried to remember all he could about the Vampire Nobles from his knowledge of the original canon. The problem was that not all the Vampire Nobles were represented in the story, beyond being mentioned in passing. He had no idea who Brogan Kraxia was and considering Brogan was a Baron and so low on the pecking order of Vampire Nobles, that was understandable.

The Vampire Nobles who had been spoken about were the likes of Anton Orlock, the Vampire Count with a penchant for experimentation that made him so 'loved' by the other Nobles, and Athenodora whose actions had set off Caius's arc in the original canon.

Athenodora…

At the thought of his Vampire Creator, Caius was very aware that she was the best person to reach out to for this predicament, and not just because she was very powerful but really because she would, at least fill in the many gaps of Vampire Nobles' names in his memory.

He reached for the connection between them. It was ever strong and ever available but had been very silent since the last time they made contact which had been firing the fight against Belron when his imbuing of Nyx's power had triggered Athenodora enough to speak.

Caius called to Athenodora now and he was sure she had heard him. There was a feeling like she glanced over her shoulder to look at him, give him a smirk, and then turn her face back the way she had been facing to continue whatever she was busy with.

Annoyed, Caius just pulled away from the connection.

The next morning, he and Arlette were dressed and ready but on their way out, they met Alexia at the door with her hand raised as though she had just been about to knock.

Alexia paused as she eyed their dressed-up manner and their hurried expressions.

"Morning," She said.

"Morning," Arlette replied with a smile.

"Alexia, are we heading out?" Caius asked with some trepidation. However, he had expected this and had been planning to ask for a leave of absence of some sort to head for the Leopold Estate. It was vital that he made the trip and liked to hope Alexia wouldn't be heading out.

"Actually, I came for Arlette," Alexia said with a little smile.

"Oh," Arlette said in surprise, "Anything the matter?"

"What? No. But I wanted to pick your brain about something," Alexia said, "If it's not too much trouble, of course."

Arlette looked over at Caius who looked back at her and then looked back at Alexia to say,

"I'm fine with it."

"You are?" Arlette asked.

"Yeah, go on," Caius said with a reassuring nod, "I'll be alright."

The way he saw it, it was all the better. With Arlette occupying Alexia's attention, he could do as he pleased at least for the next couple of hours.

Arlette understood his meaning and looked at Alexia to give her quite a genuine smile,

"Well, lead the way."

"See you later, cousin," Alexia said while pulling Arlette by the arm away from the room and down the corridor.

Caius raised a hand and waved them off with a smile before his expression became serious and he made his way out of the Estate's main building.

There were a lot of Carriages at his disposal. Large and luxurious ones to show off status and also for the most passengers and small, sporty-looking ones capable of seating two at a time.

He hadn't ever driven one before but it really wasn't so complicated from how he figured. It's like driving a car if the car is enchanted so it requires the least pedal or button pushing. So intuitive that he might as well have been controlling it with his thoughts.

He had barely gotten into one of the Carriages and started his drive out of the Estate when a couple of Hellsingers showed up to be his entourage only to see it was already too late.

Caius didn't want to be accompanied. Being taken to the Leopold Estate wasn't something Caius had to do in secret but with matters being as sensitive as they were, he felt it was more prudent to be alone.

The one companion he would have been fine to have was Arlette and she was currently occupied. The moment he was on the road, Caius shifted and let his enhanced Vampiric senses out to keep an 'eye' out for any slight concern.

The drive was long but Caius was never at risk of losing his way. There were very detailed maps to follow and the Von Helsing and the Leopold Estates were two well-known landmarks that to go from one to the other was not at all a concern.

It was only when he was nearing the Gates of the Leopold Estate that Caius returned to his human form just because he didn't want to risk exposure to a Guard not in the know.

"Caius Von Helsing," he introduced himself.

"Of course, My Lord," the Guard almost tripped over himself to say.

Caius found that somewhat amusing. He had only been here one other time and while he had left behind a very clear implication of his existence, he didn't expect it to be enough to induce such respect from a random Guard.

He drove into the Estate grounds and could practically smell the agitation that seemed to be quite widespread all over the Estate. Servants trooped out and formed an instant welcoming party and by the time Caius was stepping out of his carriage, two figures dressed in wears that showcased their status walked out one male and one female.

"Lord Caius," said the male with a welcoming smile. He had the platinum blond hair and amber eyes of a Leopold.

Caius recognized him from his last visit to the Leopold Estate; He was Kieran Leopold, the current Head of the Leopold family.

He didn't quite recognize the female though. She looked to be in her mid twenties. She was dressed in riding pants tucked into black and gold boots. Her shirt had pointed arms but was quite snug to her upper body to show off the size of her bust which was practically spilling out of her top.

While he didn't recognize her, the Platinum blond hair and amber eyes identified her as a Leopold.

"Lord Kieran," Caius said as he held his hand out for a handshake.

Kieran looked stunned.

"Lord?" He repeated the honorific Caius had given him in awe, "My Lord, you greatly honor me."

Kieran took Caius's hand and shook it with the trembling of one being gripped by immense reverence. He also bowed his head and tried his best to hold Caius's hand above his head because he believed it would be disrespectful to have his Lord's hand be below his lowly head.

Caius had to hold back a laugh. This was far too extreme. And he could only imagine what Kerwin Leopold had told Kieran after Caius's last cost to warrant this much groveling.

While Kieran was the current head and the face of the Leopold Family and handling the massive mercantile empire, the true head of the family was Kerwin Leopold, the ancient Leopold Family Ancestor who started their vampiric line.

The Vampiric line was the future of every Leopold which they all would eventually embrace once they hit the bottleneck in their magical advancement and could go no further and thus need the advantage of vampiric immortality to continue.

Every Leopold knows of the family's vampiric line. It's their best-kept secret and how they plotted their future takeover of the Empire.

"Thank you, My Lord, for sending word ahead of your arrival," Kieran said.

"I sent word to Kerwin," Caius said.

He had simply told Kerwin they needed to talk and it had to be in person.

Kieran nodded.

"Yes, he passed the message on to me," he said, "And I have prepared much for your arrival, My Lord."

Caius shook his head.

"You shouldn't have gone to the trouble. I must descend to the for urgent matters," he said.

"Yes, and we will wait until you are finished, My Lord," Kieran said and then made a motion like he had forgotten something even though Caius could tell he had been itching to slip the topic in,

"But before you go on, My Lord, might I introduce my daughter Lyanna. My pride and joy."

As he made the introduction, Kieran gestured at the Leopold lady with the heaving bosom. The expression on her face wasn't quite as reverent as her father's… It was more curious.

Even when she smiled and did the gesture of a curtsy, it was in a measured manner. It took very little for Caius to realize the girl was assessing him.

"Lord Caius," she greeted,

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."