Chapter 176 The Aftermath (3)

"Cleaned up quite well, huh?" Alexei said.

"I could say the same for yourself. The two of you really."

Anastasia dis Vardoken looked at her older brother, Alexei accompanied by Theodore. The two of them currently dressed in wardrobes that fitted for the upcoming ball.

It was something quickly put together, but the two of them looked perfect for the event.

Especially her brother.

Alexei didn't care much for clothing… and really, for nearly more than ten years that they've been living together as siblings, had mostly opted out of buying anything for himself.

He wore and used the clothes left over by their long-gone family, oversized when he was a child and yet promised that he'd grow up to fit them.

The style wasn't really always appealing, but Alexei didn't bat an eye on it.

Saying that caring about looks was such a childish thing, but Stacy knew that sometimes Alexei wished he could get things for himself.

Back when Stacy was unable to work yet, Alexei had mostly taken up the role of the caretaker. Things had changed since Stacy reached the age where she could get a job, but the sentiment was still pretty much the same for her.

Alexei sacrificed much for Stacy and now she was about to tell him that she wasn't comfortable with the Carmilla House?

Wasn't that quite selfish of her.

"What exactly are you doing here? Is something the matter?" Theodore frowned and eyed her. There was an expression on his face that seemed to say that he was suspicious of Stacy coming to visit them.

"Can't I at least visit my brother before the ball?" Stacy crossed her arms and eyed Theodore.

"That's actually quite unrealistic of an excuse." Alexei chuckled, but then looked at her seriously. "What's up?"

"…Nothing. Just jitters." Stacy said and rubbed her arm. "Just this whole Vardoken House thing. And with Theodore not saying anything about the sins of our ancestor…"

"Right. Do you think this will blow up in our faces?" Alexei said. "I don't exactly feel comfortable around that old lady. She looks like the type to eat folks alive."

"Should have thought through before going for this then." Theodore muttered.

"Hey, you're kinda the reason why we're here in the first place." Alexei reminded him. "We should have just kept driving and all that when those sisters came around."

Stacy looked at her brother and saw the stress on his face.

She wished that she hadn't ended up saying these things, but then looked at Theodore. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Getting the two of you captured by the Nyx Overlords is something I don't want to happen." Theodore crossed his arms. "Besides, despite the nature of the Carmilla House Overlord, it's safe to say that even though the records of the Vardoken House is terrible… she's one of those people who'd use her power for those who she favors. And that being your great-grandfather. I doubt it would change, even when problems come into play."

"You really think so?" Alexei raised a brow.

"I know so. The Carmilla House's roots has spread far and wide…" Theodore frowned, but nodded. "So, is that enough for the two of you to get on with this situation? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get an ally."

Stacy didn't feel right in her stomach, but as she glanced at Alexei and thought of what could change for them if she and him stayed… she slowly nodded her head.

"Yes, I'm good with staying here. I should get going then." Stacy weakly smiled and waved at them. "Thanks for the talk guys."

***

Theodore Farkas Tenebris was not someone who did things out of the box.

He was 'incredible' on the account of being a strong assassin and Vampire, but that still boiled down to the fact that he did it because that was expected of him.

This was still him following the path that was made for him.

And Theodore had every intention of following that path. There was no room for errors in judgments or trying out new things that could risk things for his family's future.

That was what Theodore had in mind, so why was he driving towards the Carmilla House's glass windows right now?

"I… I must have been affected in the mind." Theodore told himself, hands on the steering wheel as the sound of shattering echoed around him. "These Vardokens are manipulative and…"

Theodore told himself that, even as he went out of the van's front doors and eyed the wreck that he had caused.

It momentarily stunned the entire group of Vampires.

These Vampires should have been able to act now and see that there was a situation, but for a couple of seconds—that was almost enough time to steal the show.

Lukas and Chaerin ran towards him. Theodore hadn't even expected them to be there.

But that really just made things easier for him, because the aftermath of this thing was going to be wilder than even the one that occurred in the Veiled Forest.

Theodore sincerely wondered if there was something wrong in his head right now.

Why had he listened to Alexei back then? He was supposed to despise them but as the two siblings rushed down the staircase and towards the group's reunion, Theodore could only recall the exact words that made him fall in according to the guy's plan.

Make them happy.

A simple statement, not entirely selfless because the reason why you wanted someone else to be happy sometimes stemmed from the fact that their unhappiness bugged you too—but it was something that Theodore had always found himself trying.

"W-What is this nonsense?!" Heloise Carmilla's voice thundered across the entire hallway and it sent an invisible wave everywhere.

The Vampires who were shock and stunned in place, simply found themselves already not moving so were more or less unaffected… however, not the same could be said for Lukas and his people.

Chaerin Atticus, hand in hand with Lukas, suddenly faltered and missed a step.

It dragged the surprised Lukas down with her, if for a moment.