Leon and Anna were walking through the mansion's corridors towards the exit of the kingdom.
"Hah..." Leon sighed.
"You're still thinking about it, huh," Anna remarked.
"In my defense, I thought that when I had a granddaughter or grandson, I could spoil them rotten," Leon commented, then added, "I didn't expect a situation like this... Although I also didn't anticipate becoming a noble Vampire."
"Understandable. The future is not set, and we are the architects of our own destiny."
"Do you really think so?" Leon asked, almost sarcastically.
Understanding the sarcasm in Leon's voice, Anna wasn't offended; she just asked curiously, "Do you think differently?"
"Yes," Leon nodded. "I can take a small action tomorrow that will be my decision, and my future, but the major decisions will probably be made by Victor from now on."
"... Well, isn't that normal?" Anna didn't see the issue Leon was pointing out. "Even when we were humans, the major decisions directly impacting our future were in the hands of politicians; it's no different here."
"The only visible difference is that we don't give a false sense of 'freedom.' You know exactly what you should or shouldn't do, and there are punishments and rewards for both actions." Anna looked ahead again.
"Freedom is all well and good. But freedom without order only leads to chaos, aimless chaos, and as Emperor, I cannot allow that."
Leon narrowed his eyes slightly as he heard Anna's words. It was irritating, but he couldn't help but agree with her words. After all, he knows all too well the consequences of supernatural beings lacking order; the prime example before would be the state demons were in before Victor ascended the throne.
"...Empress?" Leon asked. "Now, that's interesting. I thought Violet was the Empress."
"She is," Anna nodded. "I am the Second, Ruby is the third, and Sasha is the fourth, just as Scathach is the fifth, Aphrodite is the sixth, etc."
"All the wives are Empresses, all trained to command everything if no one else is available."
It's unlikely that such a situation will occur, but it's good to be prepared and always have a plan B, C, D. The more tools they have to handle certain situations, the better for the overall context.
Currently, Violet holds the position of Empress, but it's not like the other wives will sit idle and leave everything to Violet.
Victor dislikes incompetent people, everyone knows that, and that's why everyone strives in their respective fields.
Leon nodded, understanding what Anna meant about the Empresses; basically, it was to be expected considering how vast the Empire would become in the future.
"Hah..." Leon sighed again.
"What is it now?"
"...The girls..."
"Just forget about it for now. They're hardly going to pay attention to anyone in their childish state. Let them grow up; maybe you can form a grandparent bond or something like that."
"Although I find it highly unlikely for that to happen," Anna thought inwardly, she wasn't being mean or petty towards Leon or anything like that. This thought stemmed from his traits as true dragons; they respect strength, and in the girls' minds, someone referred to as 'grandfather' by their Big Daddy should at least be as strong as him, or their mothers.
In other words, it was a matter of skill.
Until this issue is resolved, they probably won't even look at him... if that ever happens, of course. Remembering that this hypothetical future is born with the thought that the girls might have an interest in the first place, something Anna found very unlikely to happen.
"...True... By the way, what is their 'childhood' state?"
"It may take millennia for them to enter the adolescent phase, although some irregularities like Gina are born from time to time."
"...Right... Dragons..." Leon murmured.
Anna laughed. "Be glad, typically, it should take millions of years, but since Victor is abnormal, this time has been significantly reduced."
"Ugh, I don't think I'll be alive in a million years or something."
"Who knows? The future is unpredictable, and since Victor is quite concerned about our mental state to the point of ignoring his own mental state, I wouldn't doubt he'll find ways for the girls not to feel 'bored' in their endless lives."
"Consequently, these girls will spread this method to our faction." Anna understood very well how her sisters and her husband worked to understand at least this much.
Arriving at the portal that would take Leon out of Victor's personal realm, Anna stood beside the portal, crossing her arms beneath her voluptuous breasts.
"Here we are, this portal will take you straight to Nightingale."
Leon looked at the woman wearing a long red dress with black details and long black hair that reached her knees; looking at her like this, he felt a sense of loss.
'I should have invested more in my own wife and not sought out another woman,' Leon regretted, but that's how it is, regret only comes when it's too late.
Despite feeling this way, he didn't show anything externally. Because in the end, it didn't matter anymore. They had already gone their separate ways.
Leon began to walk towards the portal, and as he was about to step through it, he heard:
"A little warning. Don't abuse your position too much. Victor may respect you because of the past, but his daughters and wives are a very delicate area, and today you've almost crossed that line several times."
Anna's red eyes glimmered slightly:
"Remember, a dragon is very possessive of its treasures, and that goes for all of them."
Leon nodded as he swallowed internally, and the next moment, he moved forward. In the blink of an eye, he found himself back in his office.
He spread his senses around, seeing that there was no one he could notice; he formed a barrier around him, and immediately grabbed a table and threw it against the wall with pure frustration.
Superficially, he seemed to be okay with the whole situation, but the same couldn't be said internally. What kind of man can accept this sort of thing?
With his pride, he simply didn't want to have Anna like other women. He is a man! And a noble Vampire! What happened was a major blow to his pride.
But at the same time he thought about this, he blamed himself for not trying harder with Anna when he was reborn. But in his defense, he initially thought being with Anna was already a given, after all, they've been together for a long time.
But initially, he didn't reckon the same way Anna might be thinking about others. Only later, when he reined in his desires, did he realize this, but he didn't do anything to change because he had confidence.
In the end, this whole situation doesn't have an exact culprit, just two adults who followed their own path.
A relationship without nurturing is doomed to fail, Victor understands this very well, and that's the difference between him and men like Vlad; he invests 9999% of all his efforts into his relationship and makes sure to nurture it with the purest, obsessive, and sickening love that leaves everyone around him on a level of obsession similar to his own.
But how can he accept this...? Isn't he a man? And what about his pride?
Listening to two knocks on the door, he said:
"Leave me alone—." Before he could finish speaking, three shadows appeared in front of him, completely ignoring his barrier.
The assassins from the Blank Clan looked neutrally at Leon.
Leon started to sweat internally when he saw the eyes of those women; those three pairs of eyes seemed to be assessing his entire existence.
Unconsciously, he felt a rope slowly winding around his neck.
"...What?"
"A mission has been given by Lady Kaguya, prepare." The three spoke simultaneously as the one in the middle tossed a scroll towards Leon.
"The scroll will self-destruct in 30 seconds, make sure to keep the orders in mind."
The three vanished into the shadows.
When the three disappeared, the pressure Leon felt vanished completely, as did the sensation of a rope forming around his neck. He took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what happened, but his instincts weren't wrong; he was about to be eliminated.
No place within Victor's scope of influence is safe for those with sparks of rebellion within them.
The emperor has eyes everywhere, everyone is watching, everyone is searching for concrete flaws in each other to gain favor with the emperor.
"Pride...?" Leon chuckled. "None of that matters without strength."
Leon finally understood this now that he was on the 'weaker' side for a few seconds. Due to leveraging the influence of his son, he had always been on the stronger side, he had always been the victor since entering the supernatural world.
With just this small demonstration, he understood very well what it means to be on the weaker side.
"I better forget about this and just get on with my life," Leon sighed internally as he thought about the noble Vampire with orange hair and green eyes who was his lover.
...
With Kaguya, in a secret base on the outskirts of Nightingale, the perfect Maid was sitting in a luxurious office with a few scrolls in hand.
She was evaluating some missions she had sent her assassins on, and when she finished reading a scroll, she tossed those scrolls into her shadow.
When three shadows appeared in her office, revealing three assassins, Kaguya asked:
"And then?"
"The loyalty of Agent Leon is being assessed. Due to our warning, rebellious thoughts have been extinguished, but we will maintain our vigilance."
By the 'warning,' they referred to their recent visit.
"Hmm..." Kaguya tapped the desk in a repeated cycle as she thought. 'I hope he doesn't let his feelings take control and betray the Empire. Darling will be devastated if something happens to him.'
Victor may not show it externally, but the wives definitely know how much he values his father; he didn't have as much presence in his life as his mother, but his advice was definitely there.
What happened between Victor, Leon, and Anna might have had a better outcome in a foreseeable future where they sat down and talked the way they did recently.
But such a future was highly unlikely to occur; the reason being that a separation will always bring some kind of conflict on both sides.
It could be said that the recent conversation turned out better than could ever be expected, and much of this consequence is due to the fact that Victor was the ultimate authority and is known for a chaotic temperament when it comes to his wives and daughters.
Whether out of fear, respect, or weakness, the conversation turned out better than expected, so the only thing they should do now is keep an eye out to see if rebellious thoughts arise within Leon.
And believe me, they have ways of knowing this even if the individual hides their feelings well.
Nothing escapes the eyes and ears of the emperor; the shadows are here to ensure that such a reputation remains perpetual.
"Pass my order to the girls, I want constant observation—." Kaguya stops speaking when she senses a presence entering the room.
She looks to the side and sees a man sitting on the couch with a little girl in his arms.
Following her Chief's gaze, the three shadows froze when they saw the Emperor himself sitting there.
"Darling," Kaguya displayed a small imperceptible smile.
Yuno, who was clinging to her father, looked at her mother and then huffed, then she hugged him even tighter as if saying, 'he's mine.'
This action made a vein pop in Kaguya's head: 'This spoiled brat.'
Yuno shivered as she felt her mother's intensified gaze; she knows that when she separates from her beloved Daddy, she will suffer the consequences, but she doesn't care at all! Everything is for her Daddy!
Victor simply stroked her like a cat as he remained seated.
"I heard what happened."
.....
