Female Novel
Chapter 66
Only pure-blood vampire families deserved to have a noble title. Until recently, there used to be five
noble, pure-blood vampire families. Of course, after the annihilation of the Adragnas, the noble families
were down to four. The noble family was allowed to keep the title, as long as there was at least one
pure-blood member living in the family. The Grimoards were currently down to three family members.
Two of them were pure-bloods: King Mael and Princess Elora, and there was also a half-blood, Prince
Kanan, who resembled more of a human than a vampire. After the assassination of the former Duke
and Duchess, the Calvet name was held by only two members: Sariel and his sister, Dominique. The
other noble families that could potentially aim for the throne were the Desai family and the Orseolo
family.
The Desais originally came from India, where they were once worshiped as gods. There were currently
four pure-blood noble vampires in their family, yet all of them seemed relatively uninterested in taking
over the throne. They were running businesses all over the world, and they were rich beyond human
imagination. Their family pledged to King Mael a few centuries ago. They did it to avoid conflict that
could have jeopardized their businesses. In return for their loyalty, the King awarded them with the
Count title. The old Count Desai had never shown any ambition to gain more power, but it was possible
that his two younger sons thought completely unlike their father…
The Orseolos used to oppose King Mael quite often. They had never been fond of the idea of the Duke
of Calvet taking over the throne either. They sided with the Adragnas on one too many occasions. That
was why it seemed natural to suspect them of being behind the recent attacks. The problem was that
the current Duke, Baltasar Orseolo, had quite limited influence and power. Duchess Orseolo had a
habit of living a lavish and carefree life in recent decades. That, along with her stupidity and the
stupidity of her two sons, Orseolo's wealth had significantly decreased. To sum it up, even if the
Orseolo wanted to go against the Duke of Calvet, they didn't have enough means to do it alone.
Certainly, the pure-blood families weren't the only ones suspected of the attacks. There were many
mixed-blood families, the ones without noble titles but with arrogance and ambition enough to climb the
hierarchy. Among them were vampires like Christoph Connor, a judge siding with the Adragnas.
"My family used to be pure-blood as well," Leo claimed. "The Gothas once held the Viscount title, yet
my Grandfather contaminated our blood by having a child with the mixed breed. That was why my
father didn't inherit the title." He said bitterly.
I was surprised when he decided to tell me about his origins. I was glad that he did. I could now
partially understand his attitude towards humans. It was easy to sense his grudge towards his
grandfather because his choice of partner took away the purity of their blood, but I guess he had never
fallen in love before. If he had been in love, he would have understood that sometimes the heart can
become stronger than our logic and beliefs. I could also understand why Leo feared that I had become
closer to the Duke. I could see that he idolized his master and couldn't bear the thought of him
jeopardizing his position as a future king...
"So I guess that Prince Kanan couldn't become the King even if he were the strongest vampire…" I
stated with a sour smile.
"Well… Assuming that he really was the strongest one, he might have fought for the throne, but it's
almost impossible for a mixed breed to be stronger than a pure-blood." Leo explained.
"But you are crazy strong yourself. Couldn't you perhaps somehow fight for your title?" I asked
hesitantly.
Leo's lips twitched, forming a brief, proud smile. Of course, until he decided to cover his uncontrollable
expression with a forced clear of his throat.
"I could do it by challenging a pureblooded noble. If I won, I would receive his title. This is one of the
sacred rules," he said.
"Then why didn't you challenge anyone?" I kept inquiring.
"This rule is made that way for a reason… A mixed-breed has never won against a pure-blood before.
Besides, I have no luxury of trying since I serve my Master, just like my family has served the House of
Calvet for centuries. I cannot do anything that would threaten the political balance, especially now
when the Master is going to take over the throne soon."
The bitterness filled his every word. He seemed torn between what his loyalty and what his pride
whispered, but his devotion was bound to win every time. As the Duke's associate, he would rather
spend his life without trying to claim the title if it were to create more enemies for the House of Calvet.
"Then… What about the vampires and werewolves?" I asked, finally.
A wicked chuckle left Leo's mouth. "I almost thought you were no longer interested in that part."
"I thought it would be nice to know if killing my father would be considered illegal," I smirked.
"You wouldn't stand a chance fighting against your father, blood bag," Leo exclaimed.
"Who said I was going to fight him? I would gladly shoot him with aconite," I stated confidently.
Leo grinned cunningly, "I have to admit that I like this idea."
I smiled at him. That was the first time we actually agreed on something. I felt weird, but I liked that
feeling. Certainly, Leo quickly returned to his professional mode, painting a serious expression on his
face.
"So… about the wolves…" He sighed nonchalantly. "There was a big war between vampires and
werewolves at the end of the nineteenth century. The casualties were on both sides. Both sides
claimed that they had won, but there was no winner. It was the time when the wolves had their king,
one Alpha that was above everyone else, King Alpha Fenrir Erdogan. He formed a truce with our King
Mael. The rules of the truce say that we cannot kill each other. Heavy punishment awaits those who kill
other species, but, of course, there are exceptions. When the vampire crosses the wolves' territory, he
might be killed if the wolves state that he caused a threat. Of course, the same goes for the wolves who
cross our territory."
I finally understood why Sariel needed to kill all the witnesses while rescuing me. Even if the northern
pack wolves suspected who had killed their members, no one could testify. Certainly, the wolves could
find proof by using forensic science, but I doubted that accusing the future vampire king with
circumstantial evidence would have been easy.
"So… Why don't you tell me about that gathering that the Duke mentioned?" I figured it would be wise
to know what kind of new mess I would find myself in tomorrow.novelbin
Leo frowned as if the sole question asked about it was slander. He clicked his tongue, then clenched
his teeth, trying to squeeze out the words.
"The gathering is a form of an emergency meeting of the noble families. All the pureblood nobles will
be present, and the presence of the mix-bloods and half-bloods has to be previously accepted by the
pureblood members," he explained, his voice sounding gloomy.
"And what about humans?" I asked nervously.
"No human has ever participated in the gathering," he stated firmly.
"Then why did the Duke say that I would be joining him?" I laughed, sensing trouble.
"With his position, he could force everyone to accept your presence." Leo angrily gritted his teeth.
"But why the hell would he do that?!" I burst out, not liking this idea more by the second.
Leo chuckled maliciously, "My guess is that he is trying to seriously piss off those who oppose him in
order to find a suspect for the attack."
Well, if Sariel was trying to enrage someone, his plan had succeeded since I was pissed already. I
genuinely enjoyed the short time I felt safe after surviving another threat. Exposing myself to danger
again certainly wasn't something I wanted. For once, I think I was as against Sariel's idea as Leo was.
After creating a brief projection of what that gathering might look like with my presence, only one word
could leave my mouth:
"Shit."