Chapter 358 Problems

The Coldharbour castle had many vampires, not only vampires but other races too! Everyone who lived under Hephas's control went there -- well, not everyone but those who had the time and nothing better to do.

It was a ceremony to introduce Arthur to the Coldharbour family, with food, drinks, music, and many other types of enjoyment.

"I don't like these types of things," Arthur said to Hephas, who was beside him, sitting at the main table.

"You do? Well, I can announce you now, and then you can escape the party if you want."

Hephas got up and called everyone to get their attention, saying the Coldharbour had a new member, Arthur. He then said a few words to convince everyone Arthur was decent, strong, and an excellent new addition to the family.

It worked as no one asked a thing. The people yelled and kept drinking their wine and dancing. Maybe Hephas's tactic was to get everyone drunk before announcing it.

"Clever," thought Arthur.

The ceremony continued for hours, and Arthur only stayed a portion. He wanted to leave after Hephas announced him, but it would make people think wrong of him, so he endured and stayed a little longer.

"Hephas, I think I am leaving. Is that okay?" Arthur asked.

Hephas was chilling with a glass of wine in his hands, "no problem, but remember tomorrow there's a reunion with the other council members, and before I give you the journals, you must help Shyvana."

"I see. Where will the reunion happen?"

"Someone will send you a letter through your room's door during night-time."

Arthur had no idea why the secrecy but did not ask more questions and left the castle's main room. He and his wives got rooms in the castle, which were exquisites. Hephas gave him and his wives separate rooms, all close to each other, but in the end, they all used the same room for sleeping and other purposes.

When Arthur got to his room, Wisa and Jane were already sleeping, but Sybille was awake in the next-door room, training. She wanted to activate her blood essence, and Shyvana was helping her out.

"Yo. How is it going with you two?"

Shyvana and Sybille were surprised by the sudden appearance, and they stopped training to greet Arthur.

"We were just training to get my blood essence working. I had some improvements, but nothing too extraordinary."

"Don't worry about it. I am sure you will make it."

Arthur did not feel like interrupting their training and only went there to check if everything was fine. After making sure it was, he returned to his room and went to bed.

~~~~

The following day started with the lizardmen doing their new job of mining ores! Arthur went there to check with Hattami if the houses they got were decent, the tools, and everything else.

"Arthur! Long time no see. What brings you here today?" asked Hattami, who had a pickaxe in his hands.

"Just checking to see if everything is okay."

"Okay? It is more than okay! We got a fine house, like rich people's, and excellent pay too! Arthur, I cannot thank you enough for this!"

The lizardmen were happy with their new job, which gave them hope for a brighter future. With money, Hattami could build a better village for his people, and they would live more comfortably, which was all he could ever ask for.

"That's good to hear. Talk with me if something happens, will you?"

"Of course!"

If the lizardmen themselves were happy with their new job, who was Arthur to get in their way?

"Husband, what are you doing so early? We woke up, and you weren't there," Jane and Wisa said.

"I am sorry for that. I was just worried about the lizards, that's all," Arthur said, hugging them as an apology.

The castle was quiet in the early hours, as vampires often woke up later than usual. Sybille, too, was still in bed, especially after her training with Shyvana last night.

Arthur took the chance to explore the castle without having many eyes on him. He trusted Shyvana, her father, but it was still an excellent decision to ensure nothing was happening behind his back.

He passed by the kitchen door and heard two voices. "Do you think we will succeed?"

"Only time will tell, but we must act in the shadows to not draw attention, especially with a new face around the castle. He might hear us and start asking questions," a hooded man said, looking around to see if someone was watching, and Arthur barely avoided him by moving his face away from the door.

"Now that you say this, what about that new family member? What he has that Hephas finds important?"

"Don't worry about that. When we get the castle, we will get whatever that person has!"

The two figures in hoods moved away from the kitchen, returning to the main hall, so Arthur had to do the same and hide. When he was sure he was safe, Arthur asked himself what he had just seen.

It was easy to spot that it was a conspiracy happening, one that Hephas might or might not know about. Arthur was also caught in the middle because those mysterious people wanted to know his secret, and if that leaked, he would have a problem.

Arthur thought about following those two, but there was no way it would lead to something during the daylight. It would be best if he followed them at night to see what secrets they had.

"If they were in the kitchen, they either work there, or there is something inside that place."

He was thinking about many possibilities when someone knocked on his door, and it was Hephas.

"Why are you up so early? I thought vampires slept during these early hours," asked Arthur as he opened up the door for Hephas to go in.

"We do, but not when a problem arrives at our door. I know you were supposed to first help Shyvana and then go after the second part of the inheritance, but it seems the information leaked, and another vampire family is going after it before us..."

"What?"

Arthur knew instantly that the responsible for leaking the information was the same person responsible for this conspiracy. So, he told Hephas precisely what he saw and heard in the kitchen.

"Are you serious? These bastards are using the early hours we are all sleeping to act behind my back!"

Hephas was enraged. One thing was to have a traitor inside your territory, but a traitor inside his own castle? That was too much, even for him, who was known to have a good temper.

"Thank you for letting me know. I will do everything I can to find the culprits."

"You said I will leave to look for the inheritance before the other vampire family, right? My wives will stay here and can help you with anything."

"Thank you for the help, Arthur. I hope my daughter Shyvana one day becomes your wife too."

"Hey, old man, calm down. So, do you know what family knows about the inheritance?"

"Unfortunately, no. But you will find out soon enough. Here, these are all the diaries I have."

Hephas gave Arthur some diaries, which were from the Blood Monarch.

"Hephas, if this family got some leaked information, it has to know where to look, which means they know about these diaries. So tell me, who has access to them?"

"This..."

Hephas was hesitant to say it, but he did, "all of the council members have access, which amounts to 20 vampires."

Arthur knew it! Someone from the council leaked information, and that person probably has more spies inside the castle, trying to conspire against Hephas. Their objective? Unknown, but Arthur could tell they not only wanted the inheritance but also wanted to ruin Hephas life.

"That is bad. Do you think I should leave to look for the inheritance now or try to find the traitor here?"

"No! Look for the inheritance. Let me deal with this traitor!"

Hephas was glad Arthur offered help to deal with such a thing, but he did not want it! Those traitors were from his territory and were acting behind his back inside his home. He had to deal with that on his own, or his pride would never be the same again.

After that conversation, they parted ways. The first thing Arthur did was to call his wives to his room and talk about what was happening.

The sad part was that he would have to separate from them for some time, as he did not feel safe dealing with enemies with the chance of getting insane and hurting them.

"Don't worry, we understand. We will remain here and act in the shadows to learn more about this conspiracy."

Arthur hugged and kissed each of his wives, happy to have them in his life. They all exchanged glances as if they were speaking with their eyes!

Who knows how long they would stay away, so a good time in bed was a must! So without speaking, they all took off their clothes, preparing to have a wonderful time!

~~~~

Inside the kitchen, the two hooded people who spoke before were again there.

"This is such the perfect spot! They rarely use the kitchen in place of vampires."

"Right? That is precisely why I chose this place. Come, follow me."

The two went into the storage area, pushing some crates away to reveal a trapdoor, and then both went inside.