Rose looked utterly bewildered when Viscountess Flotly called her over.
All this time, neither her uncle nor her aunt had ever asked for her opinion on anything.
Not even when she received the enrollment invitation from St. Marian's Academy had they asked whether she actually wanted to attend.
Whenever she thought back on it, she felt incredibly lucky.
At least Viscount Flotly hadn't stopped her from going.
Now, standing in Viscount Flotly's study before the two adults, she didn't dare let her confusion show too plainly.
Then Viscount Flotly suddenly asked, "Rose, how would you describe your relationship with Dark Demon?"
"It's... it's fine," Rose said carefully.
Viscount Flotly studied her reaction closely, then slid the invitation on the desk toward her. "Take a look at this first."
Rose reached out quietly, took the envelope, opened it, and pulled out the invitation inside to glance over it.
At the sight of it, a flicker of joy crossed her eyes.
Viscount Flotly and his wife exchanged a glance.
"Well?" Viscount Flotly asked. "Do you want to attend Dark Demon's birthday party?"
Rose bit her lip and forced out an answer. "I do."
"Mm." Viscount Flotly nodded. By now he had a fairly clear read on his niece's true feelings.
"Come to think of it, Rose is nearly thirteen now, isn't she?" Viscountess Flotly said quietly.
Thirteen — only a year short of the marriageable age of fourteen.
Though there had been talk in recent years of raising the legal marriage age, nothing had come of it yet.
If they moved quickly, they could actually propose a match right now.
As long as the Demon family didn't look down on them for overreaching, and Dark Demon truly liked their Rose, they would naturally do everything they could to make it happen.
And if Rose could become the future Duchess, it would greatly benefit the continuation of the Flotly family.
After all, the main line's succession was already gone, so the point of preserving pure blood had vanished too.
Even if it made them a thorn in the side of the First Prince's faction, they'd just grit their teeth and bear it.
...
Rose, however, had no idea her aunt's thoughts had already run so deep.
A little flustered, she said, "It's still two months away."
Viscountess Flotly asked, "Would you like to hold a party of your own for your birthday?"
"Eh?" Rose said quickly. "No need."
Viscountess Flotly fell silent for a moment.
Then Simon Flotly spoke up. "Do you understand what it means that our whole family has been invited to Dark Demon's birthday party?"
What else could it mean?
Rose was momentarily at a loss.
Simon Flotly went on slowly. "If this birthday party sent out invitations broadly, it wouldn't matter much. But if, like their past ones, it's a private gathering within the family's inner circle, that's a different matter entirely."
Only then did Rose begin to understand. She hesitated. "So outsiders would take us for the Demon family's confidants?"
"Mm..." Simon Flotly nodded. "Being seen as the Demon family's confidants has both advantages and disadvantages for us. If the Demon family has actually chosen to accept us, the advantages would likely outweigh the disadvantages.
But if that's not the case, and you were only invited because of a classmate's friendship, then we might end up bearing the disadvantages without gaining enough benefit to offset them. That's why I'm asking you — what exactly is your relationship with Dark Demon?"
Rose stood there, utterly dazed.
She really was clever at times — but only in areas she had some experience with.
When it came to politics, she'd never had any exposure to it, let alone given it any thought. Now that Viscount Flotly had brought it up, her mind was a complete blank; she had no idea what to think.
Fortunately, Viscount Flotly showed a rare bit of patience in that moment, giving her enough time to collect her thoughts.
After a while, she finally grasped a bit of the situation and answered carefully, "It should... it should be pretty good."
"Good — good to what degree?" Simon Flotly pressed. "If you were in danger, would he risk his life to save you?"
"Risk his life... to save me?" Rose was baffled all over again. This was quite the tough question.
She believed that if she were in danger, Dark would surely step in to help. But adding the phrase 'risk his life' — would he really?
No, in any normal case, she wouldn't want Dark to sacrifice his own life to save her anyway.
In knightly romance novels, characters always talked about 'risking their lives,' but things always turned out fine in the end — nobody ever actually died.
When it came down to it, what situation would actually make Dark 'risk his life'?
Why was her uncle making things so difficult for Dark?
Viscount Flotly: ??
...
While the Flotly estate was hosting the very first family council to ever include Rose, the same scene was playing out within the Greatbear family.
For the declining Flotly family, this invitation was already a hot potato.
For the ascendant Greatbear family, it was an even weightier decision to consider.
By now the rivalry between the First Prince and the Eldest Princess had long since come out into the open.
The aging King had, in fact, been watching them all along.
The old King wasn't one to be bound by convention. If the Eldest Princess ascending the throne would better serve the kingdom, he was fully capable of letting a woman inherit it.
That was the only reason the Eldest Princess had any room to compete at all.
In this turbulent court, choosing which side to stand on had become an urgent concern for the children of the nobility.
Both of the current heirs had their flaws, but they had, after all, been raised by that King — so choosing the wrong side wouldn't spell utter ruin, though being pushed out of the inner circle was unavoidable.
For example, if the Greatbear family sided with the Eldest Princess's faction, but the First Prince's faction ultimately won out, the Doron family would gradually erode the Greatbear family's influence within the military.
Of course, the Doron family, like the Greatbear family, hadn't picked a side yet either.
With the situation still unclear, powerhouses of the military like them saw no need to declare themselves so soon.
Whenever the two families visited each other and the topic came up, directly or indirectly, they'd both offer the same line: "Let's talk again in a couple of years."
In practice, that 'couple of years' would likely stretch to four or five, even six or seven.
...
Diana had just finished stretching her limbs and was about to get excited when the Silver Wolf Knight hauled her back inside by the scruff of her neck.
The family of three sat around the tea table, with Diana sprawled unceremoniously across it like a puddle.
The birthday party invitation was pinned tightly beneath her paw.
She could hardly contain her delight.
"Who'd have thought we'd get to meet again just a day after parting, hehe. Since they invited our family, they must have invited Rose's family too!"
Diana was thrilled, without a trace of the Flotly family's worries.
With her family's vast resources backing her, she had no reason to worry.
And with so many cousins ahead of her in line, she felt basically no pressure at all.
But Viscount Greatbear and Viscountess Camilla looked quite serious.
"Is this forcing us to pick a side?" Viscount Greatbear said gruffly.
Camilla twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "Wait a moment — I've already sent someone to find out who else was invited."
Since the Demon family hadn't bothered to hide anything, they found out quickly.
"It's a family gathering after all. That makes things tricky," Camilla said.
This time, aside from members of the Demon family and their staunchest friends, only four extra invitations had gone out for Dark Demon's birthday party!
Those four invitations had gone to the Eldest Princess's residence, the two young princesses' residence, the Greatbear family, and the Flotly family.
No one else had received one.
"Just my luck — the very thing I feared," Camilla said with a wry laugh.
What she'd feared most was exactly this kind of family gathering — one with a legitimate pretext that couldn't be turned down.
If they attended tonight's party, the Greatbear family — or at least the Viscount's branch of it — would be tied to the Duke's household.
Even if they clarified their stance afterward, others would already have formed a preconceived impression.
Within the Greatbear family itself, there was no unified stance.
Some favored the Eldest Princess — or rather, the Valkyrie standing behind her.
Others simply disliked the idea of a woman inheriting the throne.
So the matter was rather difficult to handle.
After all, Viscount Greatbear wasn't yet head of the family — he still had a very hale and hearty father above him.
Otherwise, given his temperament, he might have just charged ahead without a second thought.
"Whatever you two decide, I'm definitely going," Diana said, blinking, and settled the matter on the spot.
She thumped the tabletop with a bang.
"Diana, do you like him a lot?" Camilla asked gently.
Diana never expected her mother to be so direct all of a sudden — her face flushed bright red instantly, like a cute little apple.
The Viscount and Viscountess exchanged a glance, each with thoughts of their own.
...
Meanwhile, the Valkyrie — who had absolutely no intention of using this to meddle in politics — was busy indulging in a dress-up game.
And her dress-up doll — Dark Demon — stood stiffly in front of the mirror, forced into the role.
Dark had to admit he'd completely forgotten his birthday was even a thing.
In his plans, the first few days back home were supposed to be entirely for rest and relaxation.
After a good few days of unwinding, he'd throw himself back into his studies.
But the Valkyrie clearly had her own plans on this front.
Dark was gradually realizing something was off.
Tonight's birthday party was likely just an appetizer before the main event — like a pork cutlet dinner before an execution!
But Alvit showed no sign of it, thoroughly enjoying the pleasure of dressing up her precious boy.
If her darling weren't already at an age where image mattered, she probably would have tied a bow in his hair too.
And Dark wasn't the only one suffering.
Right beside him, all his Magic Guide Spirits had been set up in front of vanity mirrors, with maids from the "Virgo Palace Maid Corps" carefully coordinating their outfits and makeup!
It might not have been unprecedented, but it was certainly a rare sight.
Among Dark's Magic Guide Spirits, some, like Sylveon, were thrilled and eager, while others, like Meowth, wore a look of pure agony.
The maids were likely encountering such intelligent Magic Guide Spirits for the first time, and their fascination came mixed with admiration for the boy who'd made them.
But their attention was probably all fixed on one particular Magic Guide Spirit.
The Vampire Young Lady!
...
If the other Magic Guide Spirits merely seemed intelligent, this Vampire Young Lady felt, to them, like an actual human being!
It was as though another young lady had simply joined the Duke's household.
"So this is the Magic Guide Spirit you forged from Ophelia and Vampire Vlad together?"
Alvit asked curiously as she personally trimmed and thinned Dark's overgrown bangs.
"It has nothing to do with the Blood Princess anymore," Dark said offhandedly.
Alvit hummed a cheerful tune. "If you want her to become a student at St. Marian's Academy, I can help you submit the enrollment application, but you'll need to solve two problems yourself."
Dark: "What problems?"
Alvit said, "One is the entrance exam. The other is the question of her continued existence. Also, while first year doesn't demand much, if she moves up to second year you'll need to solve the problem of her mana source too. A Magic Guide Spirit's own mana can't sustain the drain of consecutive duels."
Dark nodded. "So basically two problems — the test and the mana. For the first, there are three months for her to study. I'm planning to hire a few tutors to teach all my Magic Guide Spirits, including her. For the second, maybe I could develop some kind of blood pack with a high concentration of mana in it."
"A blood pack? That's certainly on brand for a vampire," Alvit said with a laugh.
Dark said, "That's one of the conveniences of being a vampire."
Since they were already on the subject, Dark paused, then added, "If you'd like, Mother, I could awaken true sentience in all of your Magic Guide Spirits."
The stunning words, dropped so casually into ordinary conversation, made Alvit's hand jerk in surprise, snipping off a bit too much hair — she immediately felt a pang of regret.
After a long moment, she finally asked, "Really?"
Even though she'd long known that all of Dark's own Magic Guide Spirits possessed true sentience, Alvit had never thought to connect that with her own — it simply seemed too unbelievable.
Any Magic Guide Master knew that granting a simulated life true sentience touched upon the innermost realm behind the Gate of Truth.
Its mysteries lay even beyond the No. 1 Transmutation Circle, the very foundation upon which the entire Magic Guide Spirit system was built!
It was a supreme realm that even Merlin, the first and greatest of all Magic Guide Masters, had never managed to reach!
If it were merely a matter of a single Magic Guide Spirit gaining intelligence above 3.0 through forging or bond influence — but not true sentience — that might still fall within an acceptable range.
But if it were possible to effortlessly grant true sentience to a whole host of Magic Guide Spirits — then what had all those Magic Guide Masters throughout history been fighting and dying for, tearing their own souls to shreds in the pursuit?
If this secret ever got out, the fallen Magic Guide Masters lurking in the shadows would surely go mad for it!
____
Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 30 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉