Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire

Chapter 430: It needs to be today

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-Leopold Coven-

The council hall was filled with murmurs. The enemy coven causing problems all over the Capital had been a concern for a good while now, but there was an even greater sense of urgency now that the matter had reached their Lord’s attention, especially when they had decided not to inform him of it much earlier.

But it wasn’t just worry for Caius’s reaction that filled the room but also anxiety.

"How much longer will he be?" Asked one Leopold Council member.

"Doesn’t really matter. We know he’s in the Estate. We should use the time until his arrival to get our stories straight," said another.

"’Get our stories straight?’" Asked a female Leopold with an incredulous expression,

"You say that like we’ll be able to hide anything from him. One look and we’ll spill all we’ve hidden."

The others agreed with murmurs and disgruntled nods. With the vow that tied them to Caius and made him their Lord, falsehood or secrecy was virtually impossible. Their minds might as well be open books to him to be perused whenever he wished.

But the female Leopold hadn’t even been talking about the vow really. She meant that she literally couldn’t be able to hide anything when Caius’s eyes fell on her. To have that glorious face trained on her with all its power of persuasion, she had no hope of keeping her lips shut. And she believed it was the same for the others in the council.

"How angry do you think he’ll be?" Another asked in a low voice none of them had any trouble hearing.

No one had an answer. They knew very little of Caius and his personality. He had never spent all that much time with them. If anything, they knew Arlette much more than they knew him as she had been placed in charge of managing the Coven.

At times, it felt like Caius had taken control of the Coven simply to keep them in check and with very little to no intention to actually make use of them for anything.

The Leopolds were wealthy— Arguably the wealthiest noble family in the Empire with their legal and illegal (through ’Ophiuchus’) dealings but there is really only so much wealth one needs and as sole heir to his father’s wealth, Caius Von Helsing wasn’t exactly lacking in that department to need them.

Really, their manpower was likely the most useful to him and he seemed almost uninterested.

Kerwin Leopold raised his head then. Maybe it was because he was the most powerful vampire here and the head of the Coven or maybe he was just being more attentive and less distracted than the others but he sensed the approach of their lord before anyone else.

"He’s here," He said in a low voice.

It was almost a minute after that announcement that Caius arrived with graceful and confident strides, as if he were hardly in a hurry. By his side was Roxanne who had a glow about her even though her expression was solemn.

Roxanne would have loved to grin as widely as she could and cause her seductive beauty to dazzle all around her—Hell, she would have loved to do a little dance while announcing to all what she had just enjoyed so recently—but somehow she managed to keep it all in.

Perhaps it was because despite how passionately she had wanted the activity she and Caius just engaged in, Roxanne was still very aware of the gravity of the current situation. She knew how much vampire attacks happening so close to home was risking their reveal and putting them all in danger, putting everyone she cared about and the very way of life she had enjoyed for centuries—and would love to enjoy for even more centuries—in jeopardy.

Yes, she had let her lust direct her actions but now it was time to put that all aside and let the moment play out with the seriousness it deserved.

Many raised their brows at Roxanne arriving with Caius. They had wondered where Caius had arrived since he hadn’t used the more public entrance into the Coven and now many could already guess.

One of these ’many’ with raised brows was Lorton Leopold whose eyes then narrowed at his partner while occasionally letting his glances move over to Caius and back over and over.

Caius didn’t seem to notice. He made his way to the center seat at the council table and sat down while everyone went silent and seemed to be awaiting his words with bated breath. That included Roxanne.

She and Caius hadn’t discussed anything about this meeting and she knew about as little as everyone else about what Caius had in mind.

"Our enemy is Brogan Kraxia," Caius said in a slow and deliberate tone of voice, "He’s a Vampire Noble."

There was an intake of breath all over the council. Caius was the only Vampire Noble they had ever had contact with and they could still remember how completely useless they had been against him. His strength being lower than theirs didn’t matter when his Blood had an authority that forced them to bow.

"So he’s like you, My Lord?" Asked a female Leopold.

Caius looked at her and she flinched and then bowed while biting her lower lip as she feared she might have spoken out of turn.

"What’s your name?" Caius asked.

"Huh?" The Female Leopold blinked and then quickly collected herself as she said,

"Meline Leopold, My Lord."

Meline Leopold was an attractive woman. She had the look of one in her late forties but with an unnatural, unending grace and beauty as her transformation into a Vampire maintained a delightful eternal youth. She had the Leopold platinum blond hair and the bright red eyes of her vampiric nature.

Good looks run in the Leopold Family. They had been selective about who they chose to reproduce with even before they needed to take into consideration their vampiric secret.

"Yes, Meline," Caius answered, "Brogan is a Noble just like me."

Meline nodded and seemed to shrink a bit.

"Try to introduce yourselves when you speak. It’s about time I knew who was who," Caius said to the council hall in general. His tone was light, putting them all, especially Meline, at ease.

He hadn’t looked at her to intimidate but to try for a more personal connection. No matter how he looked at it, Caius could not help but think it was a major failing that he could only name a few of this bunch. They were his primary force. A vampiric army that, by the vow that bound them to him, would die for him. To know their names seemed bare minimum.

"While Brogan is a Noble just like me, our ranks differ," Caius went on to explain,

"I am a Count. He’s a Baron."

"Does that make him less of a threat?" A Leopold male asked.

Caius looked at him and he cleared his throat and added,

"I’m Kyre Leopold, My Lord."

Caius nodded.

"Well, Kyre, not quite. As long as he’s a noble, he’ll make short work of you lot regardless of his rank.

As for me, well, while I may have greater authority than he does, he has centuries of experience and is at a much, much higher Magic Circle. Also, as we are both Nobles, I can’t readily and totally exert my authority on him to force a ’fair fight’ as I’d do with a non-noble."

Caius let that simmer and then smirked lightly.

"Still, difficult as it may be, we can’t let Brogan and his Coven fester. He needs to die.

And it needs to be today."