4 From Junior Duke to King Consort Bundled Arc, Part 2 (1/2)
11: If You Marry Me (Part 1)
Isolated from other quarters, Princess Eleonora's chambers directly faced Nargoz's Chiropteran Tower, with the coiling statue's eyes staring at her glass windows. Like other castle rooms, hers maintained Nargoz's textbook ominous atmosphere, with jet-black furniture and sanguine tapestry depicting chiropterans and bloodkins gorging themselves in blood feasts. But in a rather uncanny display, even for Nargoz, white candles burned on top of the princess' bedside, with flickering scarlet flames from which cracking bones and heartbeats resounded.
Dressed in a white nightgown, Eleonora lay on top of her queen-size bed, her wrists and ankles bound by thick black chains, and her eyes tightly shut. The deafening noises of a brutal confrontation reverberated from the flickering flames, and a silent force snuffed the candle out.
Eleonora's eyes opened, and while her long, spread out hair shimmered in an otherworldly purple, her eyes remained the same blood-red of the Nargozi royals. Hard, distant eyes concealing a world of blood rage.
”Ailith?” Eleonora called, and in a whirlwind of red clouds, a purple-haired maid appeared beside her bed and bowed in greetings.
”Mistress?” The maid curtsied, then stood with her head bowed, awaiting her mistress' orders. Blood hunters and huntmasters were all born alongside their bloodkin, condensed from their Arcane Bloodline. But while at birth, Ailith possessed black hair, after her mistress' transformation, she too took the purple shade.
”The puppet was crushed. The foe is at least as strong as that brother of mine, if not stronger. However, he doesn't belong to Nargoz. Judging from his armor, he's not using traditional empire technology. And while we've seen some moves of a neo Technocracy, there's no certainty, yet. Which means that the most likely invader…is Kars,” Eleonora inferred, and her candles burst, leaving behind red mist that wrapped her form and snuck into her veins.
”Make an inventory of all foreign dignitaries in the last 24 hours. If Kars was in the lot, give me all the names and—” before she could finish her words, an amalgam of detached molecules passed by Eleonora's window and landed at her bedside. Rematerializing into his human form, Kilian wiped the debris on the bedside table with one swipe, and sat beside the chained Eleonora.
”Hi, chained princess...or bdsm lover. Sorry for making you wait so long, horrible traffic.” The words had barely left Kilian's lips that dozens of blood-red vortexes filled all corners of the room. Red flames surged from Ailith's form, with her knotted ponytail swaying alongside them.
From each vortex, the heads of blood hunters 50% larger than the ones the fake vannorin's snakes exsanguinated, emerged. But while a daunting spectacle, the appearance of the 48 growling beasts didn't alarm Kilian. Most bloodkin royals were born with about 15 blood hunters, while Eleonora was legendary for her 100 feral soldiers. The maid, however, disturbed him.
”By becoming a Fehl Daemoness, she should have lost her huntmaster, or at least the connection between them. But obviously that is not the case. Better, they're still scaling to her level,” Kilian reasoned.
Should the true Eleonora have appeared, with her bloodkin abilities enhanced by her Fehl Mutation, Kilian didn't doubt the battle would have taken an entirely different turn. That puppet most likely didn't contain more than 15% of her true abilities. But through his genetically enhanced retina, Kilian could see that in terms of aura and Dra Level alone, Ailith reached the top-level High Emissary standard.
But as Kilian rethought his previous appraisal, the growling beasts opened their maws, each condensing a human-head-sized scarlet ball of baleful dra, each aiming at him. Overwhelmed by the malevolent forces, the room temperature sank to -20 celsius. But protected by his ever-warm blood, Kilian barely felt it.
”Oh calm your ovaries will you? I know I'm irresistible, but pouncing on me on the first meeting is not a solution. Your mistress is watching,” Kilian chortled at the maid whose luscious curves stretched her traditional outfit, and turned to face Eleonora.
Though trapped in this ungainly position, Eleonora's body emanated grace and elegance that seemed etched in her bones. And though Kilian had often heard tales of the Nargozi beauty, they paled before the figure in the flesh. Unlike the bloodkins' typical scheming eyes, Eleonora's were frank and direct, piercing and uncompromising—yet lost nothing of her captivating appeal. No, they only enhanced it.
And though her small, purple lips didn't have the plumpness some men sought, when they parted, Kilian had to restrain the impulsion of kissing them on the spot.
”For someone that may die at any time, you seem oddly confident,” Eleonora started in a paradoxical voice, as oppressive as it was compelling.
”That's because I know that you can't bear harming me. Alright I'm kidding, you just can't kill me. Across Nargoz, no one can,” Kilian replied, and while at first, she found the words conceited, recalling how Kilian passed her window through demolecularization, Eleonora no longer doubted the words.
”But it's not your power and therefore must exhaust your batteries. I could just play the long game, wait for you to exhaust yourself, then tear your head off,” she countered with the smile of a divine enchantress.
”You could try, princess, but then we would just have to put one another's skills to the test. And I would have to give up what I came for—a regrettable outcome.”
”Which is?”
”Your hand, of course. I want to save and marry you.” Kilian's reply took both Eleonora and Ailith aback. While in the past, men gunning for the princess' hand were in large supplies, after the four lethal wedding nights, the situation drastically changed.
”Who are you?” In today's Arcadia's those that dared court Eleonora's hand were...inexistent. Which brought them all to that inevitable question. Tilting his head to the right, Kilian curled his lips into a lopsided grin, and spoke for both Eleonora and Ailith.
”Kilian von Karsten.”
Immediately, Ailith raised her left hand, closing the vortexes, and making all blood hunters retreat to their dimension. Puzzled, Eleonora squinted at Kilian.
”The heir of Klaus?” She said, more for herself than Kilian.
”Indeed. Sucks to be the son of a famous man. People no longer care about who you are, and just remember the family name and status,” Kilian sighed and stood up, crawling on the chain-laden bed to cover Eleonora with his frame.
”Ailith, bite off his carotid,” Eleonora ordered, and Ailith turned into a three meters tall scarlet wolf to pounce on Kilian's neck. The Fallen Angel Armor automatically covered Kilian's frame, and he clenched his right fist.
”Stasis.”
One word, and the fluctuation of time throughout the room came to a halt. From the most volatile forces to the least offensive of atoms, all stopped moving. Behind his visor, Kilian still stared at his future wife's sanguine eyes, while Eleonora's defiant stare met him without flinching.
In this Statis state, although Kilian could ground everything across fifteen meters to a halt, he was no exception. However, unlike the rest, he maintained his mental faculties, and as soon as the skill wore off, could react.
After five seconds of Stasis, Ailith's lunge resumed, but with a duck, Kilian let her fly by, took his visor down, and lay beside Eleonora—the maid crashed in the adjacent wall.
”No need for violence. Alright, I forgot a tiny detail. I also want the Tear of Kalarac,” Kilian said, and again the atmosphere took a 180 turn.
12: If You Marry Me (Part 2)
From the start, Eleonora didn't believe that her charm alone pulled the Junior Duke of Kars all the way to Nargoz. But never could she expect that her new suitor was greedy enough to covet what even the empire didn't dare snatch.
”I pondered the question for a long time, and it just so happens that you and I are the best match. In today's Arcadia, only I dare marry you. Only I am willing to risk Nargoz's outrage to free you from captivity and give you the vengeance you so dearly seek. At the same time, only you can free me from my predicament and help me claim the Tear. What do you say?” Kilian asked, making Eleonora realize that the rumors about the rakish Junior Duke didn't deserve much credit.
”You're the betrothed of Anke von Karsten-Rulweil, no woman in Arcadia dares marry you—expect me, of course. Why you'd want to ruin a match even imperial princes crave, I don't know. But you're right about that. Now the question is, how could you possibly use the Tear? Even bloodkins can't channel it, to say nothing of a human teen,” Eleonora countered.
Though a monstrous race whose insatiable hunger ruined civilizations, chiropterans possessed a unique trait: throughout their immortal lives, they could each shed one Blood Tear.
The Blood Tear contained the expression of thrice the strongest magical powers the chiropteran would achieve in his life. Indeed, like a divination stone, the Blood Tear accurately calculated the limit its owner would reach, and tripled it.
Shedding the Tear was no mean feat and required an eruption of the chiropteran's most heartfelt emotions. Interestingly, anyone besides the owner could theoretically use the Tear. But because it siphoned an outrageous quantity of lifeforce, humans and bloodkins couldn't.
In ancient times, chiropterans attempted to force tears out of one another, but met total failure. Once they shed their tear, however, they lost all human emotions, becoming cold herders and barbaric killing machines.
It was during the Eternal Night that, for reasons still unknown, Kalarac, the Eldest of the Chiropteran Dynasty, shed his Tear and entrusted it to his first bloodkin vassals. And Following his mystery-laced retreat, he left it behind.
”My body is special and can endure the Tear's negative effects. But before I can seize it, we must first…”
”Obtain Oliver's assistance, or make me the reigning Queen of Nargoz,” Eleonora finished for Kilian. And seeing the two lying on the bed in such an intimate exchange, Ailith—still encased in the wall—couldn't believe that a few minutes prior, Kilian broke in through the window.
”And that's where I come into play. Although your powers probably surpass mine, only I hold both the will and ability to make you queen—a seat you can't take without crushing your brother's skull.
I will give you the crown and all its authority. The state and its 200 million citizens. Lay down plans to prevent you from suffering Oliver's incomming fate, and give you the freedom to live as you see fit. The only thing I can't promise you, is a man's true love and utter devotion, because I too have bills to collect and a blood ladder to climb.
Knowing this, will you marry me?” The mild words thundered in Eleonora's mind, and pushing against her chains, she pulled her face closer to Kilian, nearly brushing her lips against his.
”You won't ask the details of how I became the way I am?”
”I don't need to know. But if you speak, I will listen.”
”What about the previous marriages and the roots of our family grudge?”
”I know the gist. But if you speak, I will listen.”
”How about trust? Do you think you can trust a snake?”
This time, Kilian paused, and flashed Eleonora the most enrapturing smile she'd faced in her life.
”I know enough to realize that you're just like me. Broken, yes. Callous, yes. But though you may commit heinous acts, you will never bare your fangs at someone that treats you with sincerity. That being the case, I have nothing to fear.” In the instant those words left his lips, Kilian could swear that in Eleonora's eyes, he saw a different person. The feeling didn't last a second, and for the first time in four years, the princess chuckled.
”Very well, as long as you can take the key to my anti-magic chains from my brother and obtain his submission, I will give you my hand,” Eleonora replied, and turned away from Kilian.
”Ailith, from now on, you must obey all of the Junior Duke's orders and help him in whatever way he wishes you to,” Eleonora added before closing her eyes. Regaining her human form, Ailith flew out of the cracked wall, and as if nothing had occurred, curtsied toward Kilian. However, with a wave of his hand, he dismissed her.
”I've had eyes on you for a long time and did my homework. If everything goes according to plan, your huntmaster won't be necessary. But if her strength and knowledge can be of use, I will let you know,” Kilian said, stood up, and split into detached molecules to fly back into his chambers.
As soon as Kilian departed, Ailith spun toward her mistress, showing a gaze full of confusion.
”Mistress, this is unwise. As long as we keep up with the hunt, in a year at worst, you will regain enough powers to crush your chains. As for that Oliver, with I here, how could he harm you? That Kilian plays the strings of human emotions and is as cunning as his father. You can't trust him,” With heaving breasts and trembling fists, Ailith rushed toward Eleonora's side and made her case.
But while she usually took her longtime servant's advice, this time, Eleonora shook her head.
”Ailith, what is our kind's greatest woe?”
”Our world is barren of sincerity.”
”Right, no matter how hard we try, we are cursed to never find anyone able to treat us with genuineness. You say he's playing with the strings of my emotions, but with Kars' ressources, Nargoz's current predicament and a few schemes, he can force Oliver to hand over the Tear. Instead, he chose to make me feel indispensable. That being the case, I will return the favor and give him a chance,” Eleonora replied, and seeing the rare smile stretching her mistress' lips, Ailith couldn't bear to argue. How many centuries had it been since the last time?
13: Baits
The Fallen Angel Armor's dra core enabled Kilian to use Demolecularization and Stasis five times per day. Each use couldn't last over five seconds, and he could also shapeshift into the appearance of whoever he wanted. Kilian obtained the armor at 15, and as he grew, a multitude of experiments and genetic enhancement enabled him to draw more power from it.
But though the sky-blue dra core embedded in his chest seemed to be the armor's source, as time flew by, Kilian was starting to wonder if Klaus didn't cheat him. Did the core enable him to summon the armor, or did it just facilitate the process? He wondered.
As soon as Kilian returned to his chambers, the dynamic hologram vanished, making the bodyguards sense a tiny disruption in the room's heat flow. In tandem, they rushed into the bedroom, but seeing their Junior Duke sitting cross-legged with a stern, authoritative gaze, they wondered if he'd not been waiting for them.
”Junior Duke, does—” A bodyguard began, but with a hand wave, Kilian cut him.
”You have a new assignment. Tomorrow morning, I want you to pursue three people and stand ready for my orders. This is for the benefit of Kars and His Grace. Do not fail them,” Kilian said, and as soon as the words ”benefit of Kars and His Grace” echoed, the 12 bowed in agreement, then withdrew to their rooms.
With a smirk, Kilian fell asleep.
On the following day, Nargozi maids knocked on Kilian's door to warn him of the impending banquet. As with all other Children of the Night, moonlight kept bloodkins awake and on maximum alert, while the sunlight somewhat dulled their senses. For that reason, they tended to trivial matters such as sleep and mandatory parties during the day, and worked at night. Then again, with Nargoz's overcast sky, the sunlight never had much sway, anyway.
Undisturbed, Kilian let them in. But instead of the expected maids, three bloodkin handmaidens appeared at his doorstep. With black, skin-tight maxi dresses cut at the left leg and exposing their flawless curves, they instantly gripped the male eye. As expected, Oliver researched Kilian's life and deeds in Kars, then provided baits to test his findings.
Suppressing a sneer, Kilian flashed the ladies a gentle smile, and ogled them long enough to show rising interest, but short enough that his stare didn't appear forced or excessive.
”Your Lordship, Her Highness sent us to get you appropriately dressed for the occasion. We can't have the Blood Court feel that Kars looks down on its customs���now can we?” They rhetorically asked, using their status as Kathrin's handmaidens to cover the fact that they did Oliver's bidding.
”Well then, do your thing,” Kilian replied in a sultry tone, and stretched out his arms toward the three. After curtsying to show off their cleavage, they ambled toward him, untied his belt, and took down his ducal robe to help him into Nargoz's traditional black and red robe.
With low magic potential, unless they broke the blood-drinking restrictions, those three could at best rise to Core Emissaries. Nargoz had no shortage of those, therefore Oliver promised them to have Kilian take them back as his official mistresses.
As the Arcadian saying went, better be the emperor's mistress than an imperial dukes' primary wife. And although Kilian couldn't claim imperial status, calling him a future overlord was no exaggeration—the three leaped on the opportunity.
Little did they know that Kilian saw through and inwardly laughed at their petty thoughts. Perhaps if they knew how Anke dealt with the noblewomen unfortunate enough to fall into his bed, they wouldn't be so enthusiastic.
Now dressed in a black robe mixing a dark ecclesiastic flair with bright-red flame patterns, and laden by the epaulettes of a high noble, Kilian stood ready for the banquet.
Taking several steps back, the three handmaiden observed the result of their work, and prompted by a sudden impulse, said in tandem: ”Your Lordship is sure to steal all the ladies' hearts.”
They spoke their mind, for indeed, look-wise, Kilian overshadowed even his father. While in a society full of genetic enhancement, good looks were nothing special, Kilian's sapphire eyes always possessed a fiendish allure, that despite his average height, forced onlookers to look up to him.
He was the complete opposite of Klaus' amiable aura—but those handmaidens loved every bit of it.
”Have I stolen yours, then?” Kilian asked, and not knowing how to reply, the three lowered their heads and blushed in shame. But even as he smiled at them, Kilian had to curb a sigh. Most people believed themselves unique. Just like those three ladies that deep down thought that unlike the others, they could ingrain themselves in his heart, and make him yearn for them only. Yet, most followed established patterns, and whoever learned those patterns could see through the hearts of men and women alike.
Klaus was a master at that game. And though he didn't wish to acknowledge it, Kilian learned a lot from him. Kilian didn't look down on those ladies for wanting to use their assets to seize a better future for themselves. Arcadia was a world for men. The women able to claim a bright future through skills alone, all were exceptionally gifted. The rest could either thrive through petty wiles, or submit to whatever fate had in store for them.
But just like he didn't look down on them, he wouldn't give them a free pass, either. Outliving their poor choices was their job, not his. Just like he never stopped Anke from butchering those ladies that aimed to bewitch him, he wouldn't go out of his way to protect those three, either. For if on one thing he had a clear conscience, it was that he never deceived any woman.
…
Bubbly from their expected achievements, the three handmaidens led Kilian through a dimly lit corridor. As the castle mostly housed bloodkins, who all were equipped with night vision, it didn't rely much on light. But while this setting might have bothered others, with his enhanced retinas, Kilian didn't care.
A dark-gray door with the werebat-shaped skull of a chiropteran marked the corridor's end. The leading handmaiden pushed against it, making the door open with grating, unsettling creaks.
”After you, Your Lordship,” the three said, and alongside them, Kilian walked into the banquet hall where hellcat-shaped scarlet flames flew across the hall, dancing underneath the grand, blood-flower chandeliers that projected ominous light on the dancing nobles below.
”Junior Duke, we've been awaiting your arrival,” Kathrin, Oliver's wife and future queen, met him at the entrance with one of those smiles that provoked waves of sin.
14: Forgive My Wickedness
While Kilian dove into Nargoz's diurnal festivities, within a plain-looking room of Kars' ducal palace, a woman in her early thirties kneeled on the ground, with her trembling arms folded while a younger female of remarkable beauty circled her.
”Obscene old slut. Who could think that while, out of respect, I called you aunt, you were spreading your legs for my fiancé. Tss, tss, tss. I watched out for everyone, everyone except you,” Anke leaned over and whispered in the noblewoman, Florens' mother's ears. Dressed in a high collar, black velvet dress that stressed the sinister look in her eyes, Anke rested her hand on the lady's shoulders and shook her head.
Though the daughter of an Orlothi marquis, as a non-magus, Florens' mother could only quiver under Anke's inquisition. No, even if she were one thousand times more powerful, she would still have to behave. The gap in strength and status was simply too vast. And recalling how she ended up in this state, the lady bit her lower lip.
”What? You got nothing to say? That's not good. If you don't argue, I will have to kill you in a slow, horrid manner. If you argue you will still die brutally, but I might just lop your head off in a fit of anger. And then at least, you won't have to scream,” pinching the lady's cheeks in her snow-white hands, Anke nestled her head against hers, and lay there for a minute.
Cold sweat broke out from the noblewoman's forehead and cheeks, reminding Anke of the effect she tended to have on her victims. Her gleeful face twisted into a frown.
”You're scared. Why are you scared? You shouldn't be. When you started sleeping with him, you should have known that this day would happen. Even if you didn't then, after learning of my temper, a sane person would have stopped. But—” Anke trailed one index on the lady's neck, cutting a thin line of blood with the seemingly inoffensive move.
”You're too shameless. He's what? Half your age? How could you? HOW DARE YOU!” Seizing the lady by the neck, Anke hoisted her with one hand, and while keeping her locked in her grip, smashed her into the opposite wall.
Her bones crackled, and she spurted blood, staining Anke's insanity-laced face with another layer of madness.
”You...why don't you blame Kilian...why is it always us? You...always act the gentle and loving lady before him, t-then go out murdering innocents,” the lady choked out. But the words only heightened Anke's wrath, and her grip tightened around her victim's neck.
”Wrong, I blame you two. But I forgive him. I always forgive him. Because if I don't, he will let go of me, forget about me, ignore me, and that, I CAN'T ALLOW!” Pulling the lady off the wall, Anke slammed her into the ground—her spine shattered on the spot.
”But you, you I can't forgive! Kilian is mine. MINE! He belongs to me and me only! Why, why do you sluts keep crowding him like bees to honey? Why can't you just say no!”
Again, Anke lifted her victim and slammed her back into the ground.
”I'm the Junior Duchess of Rulweil. Those that want my hand line from the Imperial City all the way to Kars! But for him, I ignore them all. So why can't he do the same? Why must he trample my pride?” Again and again, Anke battered the helpless woman like a rampaging bull would a helpless matador. But with masterful control of her dra, she protected her victim's vital organs so that the abuse could go on without interruption.
”I-it's not our fault. H-he can never l-love you. Haha, since you are Klaus' most beloved junior...how could he fancy you? P-pitiful, pitiful lunatic,” the lady choked out, eager to end her own sufferings. And as expected, her words tore at Anke's sorest spot, her eyes went bloodshot, and as her warm tears trickled down, she bent her hand in a claw shape and thrust at the lady's heart.
But at that time, an irresistible hand gripped Anke's wrist, stopping her mid-move.
”You forgot to ask who gave her the order. That would be me. But even that is inconsequential. Little girl, who let you think that you could kill whom you pleased within my house?” A gentle voice that Anke knew all too well, echoed in her ears.
But while in usual days Anke would submit to Klaus' authority, on this occasion, madness prevailed over reason, and she thrashed against his grip—only to realize that she could barely move a muscle.
”You...it's you. It's always you! You knew...you always knew that this would happen! But since you did, why did you propose the betrothal? Why did you bring me back to Kars? Why couldn't you let me be?” Anke bit her lips to blood and snarled in grief.
Seeing the child he raised for half a decade in such anguish, Klaus heaved a sigh.
”You used to be the perfect choice to test Kilian's thought process. I wondered how he'd deal with you. Would he forget his hatred for me when it came to you, would he try to use you against me, lash out or just flat out ignore you? And ultimately, I wondered if and how he'd get rid of you. Alas, you went mad before we could reach a conclusion, and the answer no longer matters,” Klaus coolly said, and sharper than blades, the words hashed what remained of Anke's heart.
”Hahahahaha!” Anke threw her head back and burst into a peal of frenzied laughter. The laugh then turned into the howl of a fehl banshee, tore cracks in the orstalph walls, and made the comatose lady's eardrums' burst instantaneously. Aggrieved by this sight, Klaus placed his left hand on Anke's head.
”It's fine, I will make the pain go away, let you rest and forget. When you wake up, you will be born anew—free from all mortal woes,” he said, and starting with her toes, Anke's body crystallized, and she turned into an inert amethyst statue. The statue shrank into a purple orb, and dove into Klaus' ring.
With the fehl howl stopped, silence returned to the room. Klaus stepped toward his wife—for indeed, the battered noblewoman half-an-inch into death was...his wife—and snapped his fingers.