Chapter 18 - Revenant

After their tears dried up, Val encouraged them to open their gifts. This feeling of excitement before opening a present would always be an emotion they weren't used to despite the eight years they had constantly received presents.

It was because Val always came up with unexpected gifts for them. Rather than a surprise party, for them, their biggest delight in birthdays was when Val would bestow a gift to them according to their contributions to the household. Depending on the extent of chores they did, they would be given gifts from the range of the most expensive ones to the crappiest ones, such as an empty makeup box, a cup with a simple design and an alarm clock. 

Mostly Rune would get the lowest priced ones because she was either too lazy or forgetful to carry out her share of the chores.

But this year, she was hoping to make a rare comeback against Raul, a long standing champion of this contribution competition. Gulping down her nervousness, she proceeded to unwrap Val's present first. It was a pair of cute pink wireless earphones that she had been eyeing on for a long time. It was too expensive to plead Val for the product, therefore, she just decided to save up enough money to buy it. 

Unexpectedly, when Val bought it for her first, she almost wanted to burst into tears. Callisto reminded her. "Aren't you going to open mine too?"

It was a limited edition figurine of a blue, long haired boy with a katana tied to his waist and a white haired girl in a fantasy robe. Both of them let out the aura of pure strength, which was an attribute of character she absolutely loved. Her eyes lit up, accepting whatever result she had from the competition. But, she still couldn't help but wonder what Raul's gift was like? 

Rune had her hopes up that Raul finally got a …. !

Nah. Rather than a lousy, cheap gift - which Rune expected, he received a video game, along with a white keyboard and mouse set - from Val. He loved them both immensely. Rune yielded this round, she learnt to be humble and be content with what she got. 

Finally, it was time for Charles' present. They had great expectations for it since it was the last one, however, those hopes shattered as they were given a plain red envelope stuffed with money. Was he Chinese? This red envelope tradition is definitely Chinese. But, whenever they had a conversation, he sounded Russian more than Chinese. 

Callisto told them that Charles was half Russian and half Chinese, however, he preferred his nationality of China more due to their beautiful culture and food. "Is he rich?" Rune asked in her hand, counting the money carefully. It added up to a total of ten thousand dollars.

"Yeah." Callisto didn't say further as he was fed up of talking about him. Though his expression was as bland as usual, his eyes clearly showed his boredom. 

Not reading the room, Rune asked. "Enough to afford a mansion?"

Callisto gave a nod, not even bothering to speak a word. Just as Rune was about to suggest something outrageous, Raul shut her mouth once again and laughed awkwardly. 

It was the trigger to their endless bickering. 

Val smiled peacefully. There was never a moment of tranquility between them. Though Val was used to it, Callisto probably wouldn't be familiar with this type of chaos. He pitied the carriage driver outside and Callisto's ears, which had to hear the twin's ear piercing brawl the rest of the way to Larcena Castle.

About half an hour later, the carriage stopped for a while at the toll gate. The custodians checked the wagon behind the carriage thoroughly before taking a look to remember the faces inside the carriage. Recognizing the duke, the carriage was allowed to be passed through after recording their signatures and a couple of other checks. 

The carriage took them over a bridge for a few minutes before arriving in front of the tall castle gates. The steel doors, embedded with harmonious geometric shapes on top, were pretty wide, as well as 2 times higher than Callisto, who was the tallest one among them. The twins had to strain their neck to look at the head of the door.

As Callisto stepped off the carriage, a slender butler wearing a tail suit, with brown hair and blue crystal eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses, rushed out of the castle towards them. Val identified him immediately. The person standing in front of him was Alfonso Diablo, the true figure behind Revenant's immense expansion on the commercial industry. 

Though the duke was a capable strategist in battle, he was only a calm aggressor, who relied on his intuition and logic to get through tough situations. When it came to matters around commerce and the socialites like balls, banquets or masquerades, he wasn't specialized in dealing with that aspect. 

In spite of being such a big figure behind the scenes, the fact that he remained modest was insane loyalty. At this point, he could call it Alfonso's obsession to keep up this job instead of aiming up higher for power or fame.

Rather than individuals who had nothing to lose, Val firmly believed people who desired nothing were the hardest bunch to deal with. 

If he were to give an analogy using animals, Duke Callisto was a brutal lion, while Alfonso was a cautious but sly fox to his nemesis. Nevertheless, he had no reason to be careful. His guild was never at odds with the duke's country nor did they carry out any unrighteous actions which Alfonso didn't look very kindly upon. 

In that regard, Sol, the information guild Val managed, was the cleanest guilds with a reputation of only taking on good intentional jobs. With their record, it was no wonder Alfonso welcomed them with open arms. "Welcome back, duke." 

In response, Callisto nodded, telling him. "I am back." 

The duke entered the castle, gesturing for Val and the twins to follow him while the carriages were taken back into the garage. They headed to the first floor, winding a few turns left and right, eventually ending up in front of the guest room. 

Both Alfonso and Callisto were used to the castle's maze design since they were living there for a long time, nevertheless, to Val and the children, who had just arrived, it would be pure torture for their legs if they lost sight of the experts leading the way in front of them.

Sending the butler out of the guest room, Callisto had a small discussion with the three of them. Rather than a detailed negotiation, Val couldn't put a finger to it. Somehow, he felt that he fell into a trap by agreeing to his request. Did he? 

After a period of one-sided consultation, Callisto decided to let them go and requested for Alfonso to take him and the children for a tour out of the room. 

Upon the silence, Val did his best to break the ice. He rambled on about how the bustling city was nothing like they expected.

Unlike the name of darkness bestowed upon it, the country was lively and the people walking on the streets seemed to be having fun, brimming with the aroma of savory foods. It had variety of spacious courts for sports and some entertainment down the road. 

Similar to buildings in medieval Europe, the only difference this country held was that people's lives were adorned with modern technology. 

Larcena Castle was no exception. Inside the castle, a wifi system was set up and the routes for electricity to go through were set up in every room. At the basement were the cleaning, kitchen, and gardening staff's headquarters which were much brighter and commodious than a usual motel room. Directly above the basement were the knight's training grounds and the inner canteen, which was a separate building from the office and the guest rooms. 

The second floor exhibited brilliantly carved statues by diverse artists from the slums to a noble family. Plenty of empty guest rooms and an empty wide hall with smooth marble floors to dance upon were available. The stage with a grand piano to invite performers or play the music personally was a bonus to this package. 

If not for Alfonso's guide, he could have missed the third floor, which was full of Wagner's family history and family portraits, including Callisto. At that young age, even his annoyed face looked adorable. This must be why Lis warned him beforehand to never step in there.

How much did he hate having his face hung up there for everyone to see that he had to warn Val not to go there? 

As he was skimming through the portraits on the walls in between the lounge rooms, he noticed a person standing next to Callisto, which didn't resemble any of the family members.

"Who's that?" Val pointed at the young boy with blonde hair, smiling merrily beside the duke. From his crimson red eyes, he had the qualifications of a royal, but he'd never heard of another royal besides the current three royal purebloods. 

"..." Alfonso couldn't tell him any more restricted information or else Val would be embroiled deeper into this power struggle. Val also didn't press him any further for the details and decided he would find the truth out on his own with the help of his guild. 

The third floor featured a mini shopping mall, where the guests could shop for jewelry, breakfasts, drinks and desserts. Separate from the shopping district, there was a gym adjacent to the clear crystal water swimming pool that came along with a free spa session after their one hour period of training if they bought a membership card from the hotel. 

The fourth floor had a few rooms, containing many old electric gadgets and machines for distinct type of games. With no one for them to serve, the room resembled a desolate arcade waiting for someone to come in. They moved onto the next floor, which needed a switch in staircases as the one they were currently on would lead them to the sixth floor.

Unfortunately, the fifth floor was just an empty hall, supported by towering pillars. As he sauntered through the corridor, he wondered why this sight was so familiar. 

Ah! No wonder he found this room familiar! Val heard of rumors about this fifth floor.

Some, who visited this floor, said all the hype amounted to nothing while others claimed they saw a giant amount of money piled up. Their testimonies were wrapped up with disclaiming their testimonies by claiming they had hallucinations or spreading bigger news. Was it true?

Alfonso explained that this whole floor is disguised to hold Wagner family's treasury. Only the heir to the Wagner clan knew of the password. It was more unexpected that Alfonso effortlessly divulged this fact. Perhaps, it was not that much of a secret within the family. Even if people with evil intentions attempted a robbery, they would face an end worse than merciless death. 

As they say, ignorance is bliss. 

The sixth floor was a relaxing rooftop with an open roof, bird's eye view of the whole capital, the streets still filled with lights even though it was night. There was even a food bar with interesting refreshments changed daily for anyone who wanted to relax in this space. 

Alfonso evaluated. "This idea was well received by the servants since they would get to eat many left overs to eat if no one came up. Unfortunately, their little antics failed as the noble guests preferred the rooftop much more than expected. Since they are very shy people and overly cautious, they didn't dare go up even after we warned the nobles to treat servants equally if they wanted to use that space."

"You sound like a warm family."

"Do we? We have just worked together for years taking care of this house, and waiting for our master to return. Since the duke wouldn't hire more staff, we had to supervise the old Wagner mansion all together."

"A family is something similar. You live together, have a close relationship with one another that you don't feel awkward to talk to at first, and hold peaceful feelings towards the other but fight at times."

"What you are saying sounds so ironic." Saying that, Alfonso ended his tour and led Val into the portrait room, which he displayed great interest in. 

Val pondered elatedly. Today was full of eventful surprises. Each floor had its own unique features and different designs and layouts of the furniture despite essentially being part of the same building. Memorizing some routes they went along during the tour, he made his way easily back to the guest room where the twins were waiting for him. 

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As promised, Val arrived at the meeting point - in front of Callisto's guest room - early. The twins came a few minutes later after rigorously going through a spa session. Their skin was refreshed and hydrated while their bodies no longer reeked of sweat. He envied them if only he could be as carefree as they were. 

He tapped his feet and anxiously paced around the room. The only one left was Callisto. Did he perhaps get injured along the way? Just as he was about to lose his mind and go searching for him, Callisto turned up. Stunned, Val stood frozen staring at him. 

"What's wrong?"

It was not the first time seeing Callisto's beauty firsthand. So, why did he feel like he was never going to get used to it? Val complimented him. "You are tidier than usual today." 

"I have a meeting to go to. This is the least I could do."

The least!? What he was wearing in the eyes of a designer like him would cost 10,000 dollars. This was his least!? Really, his sense for money currency was as warped as his children who at this age were still bad with directions. 

Walking through the eerie corridor, where the lighting was dark, Val had his guard up. It wasn't impossible for an assassin to appear out of nowhere. 

Scrutinizing the scene, Val found it unusual to see only Alfonso walking beside the duke, because most vampire nobles, including his sister, Lisa, preferred being accompanied by plenty of servants near them to heed to their sudden whims and commands. He certainly was eccentric. 

Alfonso pushed the door open, permitting Val and the children either to watch from the back of the hall or stay near him at the front row. 

"Welcome the lord!"

This was what Rune wanted to say as soon as she saw the people inside the room. Why was the room packed with either gruff looking knights, slender and intelligent nerds or ugly and normal men? According to her logic, the left and right side must not be classified from appearances but rather the countries and the alliance each of them formed. 

"..." Callisto gave a subtle response to their greetings and stepped into the silent room. 

Despite their enthusiasm and unfaltering loyalty resounding throughout the hall, Val could sense the dismaying tension in the air. From the dignified posture the duke was holding and the cold expression, exerting pressure on the people around him, Val was stunned by this big difference from the easy going person he was when they were living together. 

All of the lords and vassals bowed slightly to show their respect for their monarch. As Val strode along the red carpet, his heavy steps echoed throughout the room. Blessed by the presence of their lazy lord, the vassals were honored to have finally seen the savior that they had been awaiting. His silver hair illuminated in the chandelier's dimmed light, along with his glistening red eyes, instilled the vassals in his room with fear at the same time admiration. 

Callisto slid his fingers over the white marble throne, whose outline was embellished with delicately carved gold, with mini figurines of angels being stabbed and humans facing punishment next to the throne. Sitting down gracefully, he crossed his legs and rested his hands on the armrests, propping his chin on top of his left hand. 

Underneath the satin silk red robes, the duke wore a long sleeve black silk shirt. Around the collar, a double layered gold necklace was put on to match the dextrous embroidery of the golden wool threads, which were also sewed onto the hems of the black wool shirt. Paired with the wide leg crimson trousers, it made his suit look like a dress. Nevertheless, it was undeniable his appearance today was blindingly resplendent. 

Rather than a suit or tuxedo, because of his terrifying yet handsome face, he would certainly suit a combination of Western and Eastern costumes a bit more than just Western clothes, including a top and a pair of trousers. Val wondered if the other costume he made in his spare time would suit Val more than the custom tuxedo he put efforts on for 3 months. 

Or should he just make drastic changes to the tuxedo? He had in mind a few alterations he could make to have Callisto make a drastic appearance.

Glancing upon the duke's eyes, brimming with confidence, brought up a disturbing thought in Val's mind that this image was what a real royal pureblood should look like. Conceited and headstrong, despite that, he would still be generous and a brave governor to his people. In spite of his qualifications to be a monarch, it was quite a shame that he wasn't born to the family of royal pure bloods this life.

As soon as they heard the duke settle down, they raised their heads, without a single trace of complaint for the long time they were kept waiting for him in the hall. 

Without warning, Callisto announced. "During the time I am attending the ball, get ready now to encircle the duke's mansion 2 days later." 

Sensing that no one was willing to speak up, a dumb-looking knight spoke up. "Pardon me, but don't you think it might be too rash? Duke Lecter has just started his social activities, gaining attention from both the nobles and the royals with his diamond mine!"

"What are you talking about? I am not eliminating Duke Lecter as a competitor. I won't waste my energy on such a ridiculous thing." 

All of them silently agreed, but knowing that it would result in the chop of their heads if they insulted the duke, they minded their words. The same person spoke."We are well aware of it, but to command this of us all of a sudden..? We need a reason to proceed with this." 

"Weren't my orders all on the spur of a moment? Why did you follow my orders on the battlefield but not now?" 

"That was then. Now is now." An intelligent looking nerd spoke up. "Did you hear something that we could use against Duke Lecter?" He raised his glasses, his eyes pleading for an explanation. 

Callisto hinted. "I gained some info that an assassination will be carried out in the ball. "

"Is it reliable?"

"I heard it from a total of four of you, gathered in this room." 

"I see." 

Everyone acknowledged that all of them gathered in this room were more or less trustworthy. They were brothers who had been through countless battles against the werewolves and fought against anyone who dared make use of their country as a stepping stone.

Countless people had failed in their endeavors to leech off their country's wealth or bribe the lords to destroy the very land they grew up on and protected for years. The nobles regarded their attempts at breaking through their defenses internally as plain foolishness. 

Except it wasn't foolish. Though most of them were fairly loyal, it didn't mean those vassals would put everything at stake - their family, lover or livelihood - for the lord who they believed was too lazy to care about them. 

"Besides, I already investigated the supply of food in the castle. The fact that small amounts of herbs were delivered to the castle wasn't suspicious. However, when adjusting the amount of those substances, it could potentially create a poison." It was a lie. The crates containing the so called poison was just supplies being delivered to the castle.

"They must have made this plan not to be easily found out. We could say it was fortunate we discovered this before the ball."

"My plan goes like this. Your part is to send a few members strong enough to raid the mansion while I am taking care of this matter internally. Never make a move until I give a signal to the commander."

"I got it. From Lecter's cowardice, he would probably go back to the mansion to grab whatever he needed for a comfort life before he runs out of the country." The nerd, clutching the bible he received from someone in the Luz realm, was hesitant on carrying out his order. "But, do you have any evidence to condone him?" 

"Plenty. I even got back ups." 

"Did you show it to His and Her Highnesses?" The same scholar questioned. 

Rather than a conversation between a monarch and his subordinate, it sounded like a mom one-sidedly questioning the child because of her intuition that warned her not to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"I did. You guys just need to be ready to raid the mansion until I give your commander a signal."

"Sure we can do that. What about…?"

Knowing what his advisor was about to say, Callisto cut his suggestion off. "You guys have so many commanders and unit leaders in your rank. The leaders should be able to arrange the group accordingly."

Not lecturing any further, he confirmed with Callisto. "Are you sure this plan is solid?"

"Have my plans ever gone wrong?" Despite answering his question with another one, it was a valid point since his plans had never gone awry. 

'Never' was what they wanted to say. However, if this statement were to be heard by the duke, he would frequently put his body at risk to achieve the goal. 

The vassals willingly accepted the result of the meeting in spite of the fact that they will be the ones to lose their important ones if something went wrong. The commanders as well. They might have to take bigger responsibility if one of their men went into the mansion without permission or informing the leader. 

Getting off the throne, he adjourned the meeting, letting people do whatever they wanted. Whether they stayed in the hall or they left the hall for other business, it had nothing to do with him. Right now, his top priority was to finish the rest of the documents and approve some projects to redevelop his building.

Earlier, both Raul and Rune were escorted by two female attendants into Callisto's bedroom after getting Val's permission to do so. Meanwhile, Val waited for Alfonso to come over, who offered to guide him outside of the hall into Callisto's office. 

"How many years have you been working at this castle?"

"8 years." This look… Alfonso was reminiscing. "Master…, he had never brought anyone personally to this castle after the divorce 10 years ago. Right now after the three months he spent at this castle, he seemed to be more expressive after spending time with you guys. Even today, he felt obligated to respond to me after I greeted him. I saw so many things that were unlike his usual self. That's why although I am suspicious of you, I am grateful to you at the same time for healing some scars in his heart."

"I don't think I am the cause of that." Val calmly analyzed. "Rather than saying his scars were healed by me, I think he was cured by time. I mean 10 years had already passed." Val shrugged. "No matter how insane he is, he wouldn't hold such an attachment to a 'fake' wife he only spent time with for ," not hearing Alfonso respond, Val was worried, "would he?"

"Of course.... not." Alfonso clenched his fists as if he was the one in agony. "His health was in decline at the same time the nobles were pressuring him to remarry a 'suitable' person." He scoffed. "What irony. As if their daughters were any better. Despite being privileged to be born into a high ranking family, they still remained arrogant and bullied people below them. If things went wrong, they would go to their backers to complain."

Val empathized greatly for his terrible experience. One time at a banquet, he was just a passerby, being roped into a fight between two nobles. Once he lectured them harshly, the two ladies were screaming at him for insulting them when he told all of them the truth. 

Thanks to his gibberish mouth, he had to pay a hefty price. Even though others comforted him by emphasizing he was let off easily, the person in question didn't think so.

Paying from his pockets didn't make him feel any better. From this incident, he learnt that to talk freely, first he had to have a big backer or else he would have to treat certain people with modest respect even when he didn't. 

"Did you see that happening right in front of your eyes?" His curiosity piqued, Val asked. 

"When they arrived at our house," he shuddered to even remember their outbursts, "let's just say they weren't very compatible with the duke." 

"Ehh…, that sounds very mild." His goofiness vanished as his face turned serious. "Can I have a maid outfit?"

"Why?" Alfonso looked at him suspiciously, and backed away slowly. "Do you like to do those stuff?"

"No," Val calmly explained, "I was just entrusted with a little task by Lis."

"Lis…Is that what you call the duke?"

"Yes."

"Does he allow you to call him that?" He didn't seem to be asking out of curiosity rather because Alfonso wanted to confirm something.

"Obviously." Val frowned. "I wouldn't do something mean like applying nicknames without the owner's permission."

"I see." It was the first time he saw Alfonso smile genuinely. 

"You are weird."

Without explaining what he realized just now, the butler beckoned Val to follow him, notifying him that he will personally send a maid's outfit to Callisto's bedroom.

Having a hunch that something was bound to occur if he left the room, no matter how much trouble came up, he decided to stay there to receive the outfit after which he could work immediately on his plan. If he had chosen a different path, all that awaited was for a ton of misunderstandings and rumors to pile up until he could no long clarify it. 

Pondering about the plan Callisto came up with in the guest room, Val wanted to know when exactly he devised this scheme.

Was it further back or was it intuition based on real information? 

It was estimated by the strategist that this plan ought to be comp leted before the ball started. At worst if he didn't finish, the duke would be captured by the enemies with no evidence to resist against the law. The only advantage was that whatever the results were, he and the children would not be affected. Hopefully, the plan he cautiously devised proceeded well.