"It's so— ugly," Aku uttered his expression a blend of distaste and disappointment.

"Mhm, isn't it?" Karlheinz concurred as they observed the triplets that silently laid in their cribs. The Vampire King had come to his wives' mansion specifically to meet his newborn sons. Although the Vampire King didn't stay in this mansion much, he took the time to at least see the babies' faces a few days after their birth.

He did the same for Shu and Reiji, his first and second son, respectively, from his Second Wife, Beatrix.

At this moment, both males stood alone in the room with only the sleeping triplets in front of them. Cordelia, as the delivery was through caesarian, was still asleep— the sleeping spell was a strong one, and she probably wouldn't wake up before Karlheinz departed from the mansion. Aku hadn't seen Shu and Reiji after their birth, as a matter of fact, he never met them. But since the triplets were Cordelia's, and technically his "nephew" or "cousin," depending on the point of view, he took the time to come— to see their faces once.

He hadn't expected them to be so ugly. It was questionable whether they were a quarter First Blood or not. He tried to comfort himself by thinking their bad looks resulted either from their Vibora blood, or Vampire genes.

"Mines were much better," he added, his thoughts drifting to the pair of twins that waited in his residence, most probably they were training with Kagamine.

Karlheinz snorted— wait, no, Karlheinz doesn't snort. Karlheinz chuckled, he brought a hand to cover the lower part of his face, already knowing the Founder's thoughts. "Why I don't doubt it," he readily conceded, his golden eyes swept over his three sons as if to assess them.

"Right, I almost forgot, what are their names?" Aku asked, turning away from the triplets to look at Karlheinz. They had been standing and staring at the trio for some minutes now, but he had yet to learn their names.

Karlheinz hummed, his eyes minutely narrowed as if to search his memory for their names before he smoothed his features and answered. "From youngest to oldest and left to right, Laito, Kanato, and Ayato."

Aku nodded. "I suppose their names are okay," he acknowledged. He gave his nephews one last glance and turned on his heels. He could hear Karlheinz following his lead and continued their talk. "Which reminds me, you haven't introduced me to your eldest," he reminded.

Karlheinz merely hummed. "But I don't remember ever meeting yours."

"Fair enough. Next time maybe."

The Vampire King gave the First Blood a sidelong glance, clearly unconvinced by the claims. Nevertheless, he shrugged it off. He didn't really care for Aku's children, he had better things to do, and more important matters to attend. "Forget it," he whispered, his strides grew longer, and he soon led the way.

The two soon reached the porch, they went out, deciding to take a break under the shade and converse for a while. It didn't take long for a plethora of servants to bring out snacks and beverages. Drinks were served and the multitude of attendants took their leaves.

Aku took the cup, not fearing for his life. He knew that Karlheinz wasn't desperate enough to kill him off with poison— yet at least. Anyway, the number of poison potent enough to harm him was scarce.

"My Lord," a mellow voice brought both Aku and Karlheinz's attention to the ginger-haired woman. The familiar woman curtsied at the sight of the two males before lightly pushing the two children by her side forward. "Will you be staying the night?" she inquired.

Karlheinz spared his Second Wife a smile, he flicked his gaze from one child to the other before looking at Aku who sat across from him. "Aku, those are my eldest: Shu, and Reiji," he introduced, pointing at them as he called their names out. Reacting to their father's voice, each boy bowed when their name was called. "I suppose you remember Beatrix?"

Aku gave a slight nod. Gently humming he glanced at the two boys in front of him, an amiable smile on his face before he gazed up to meet Beatrix's blue eyes. "Yeah, I remember," he said as he took a sip of his drink. He set the cup down and stood to greet the Vampire the way any noble should.

Karlheinz merely raised an eyebrow before ignoring the First Blood's antics. Beatrix too didn't show any surprise, she didn't know who Aku was, nor did she recognize his scent as anything she knew— although it was somewhat similar to Cordelia's, but she wasn't stupid enough to treat the male rudely.

If her husband spent time with him, it meant that he had his uses and powers. He wasn't some nameless nobody even if she didn't know him. On the contrary, it was a blunder on her part for her not to know the blond.

"You may call me, Aku, Milady," the Founder introduced. He felt like acting even nobler than usual today. The lack of socialization made him go somewhat overbroad and here he was treating Karlheinz's wife the utmost courtesy he could muster toward a woman other than his mother. "I am, an acquaintance of your husband, and the triplets' Godfather."

Hearing him mention Cordelia's children, Beatrix's eyes minutely narrowed. Her overall aura shifted to something more alienating and she took a step to have her children stand behind her. As if to build a wall and protect herself, Shu, and Reiji from Aku's possible schemes.

Her relationship with Cordelia was far from friendly, she knew the purple-haired woman despised her, she couldn't afford to let her guard down and have Aku— who was supposedly linked to Cordelia, strike her or her children.

If Aku perceived her movement, he ignored it. Merely smiling, he straightened his spine to tower the trio. "So small," he drawled, loving how tense Beatrix got as she heard his voice. "I wonder if Alpha and Omega were once this small," he mused, bringing a hand to cover his maniacal grin as he plunged his gaze into Reiji's gleaming ruby-red eyes.

Reiji felt himself shiver. Something crawled down his spine, and an emotion he couldn't quite decipher took root into his nonexistent heart. He didn't think it was fear or intimidation, something his father provoked in him, yet he couldn't help his body from first running cold then flushing all over. He difficultly swallowed. The hands that rested above his chest gripped his shirt in a tight grip as if to calm what could have been his drumming heart.

Beatrix noticed her youngest's behavior and protectively pushed him behind her, hiding his small frame behind her carmine red gown. This made Aku focus his gaze on her instead. Beatrix didn't know what type of Demon he was but seeing as he dared to use spells in front of her husband and Karlheinz didn't react, she couldn't utter a word of warning.

The woman slightly frowned. She wanted to use Karlheinz's presence to have her sons get closer to him, yet she didn't want them to be near the golden-eyed Demon. Calming her inner turmoil, she silently exhaled as she composed herself. With some strength, she gently pushed her children away from the gazebo. "Go play in the garden," she told them with a light smile.

Shu and Reiji didn't need to be told twice. Giving one last glance to the male Demons, they made a light curtsy before scurrying away. Beatrix observed them for a second, making sure that they wouldn't turn back before she gave her attention to the duo. It would be impolite for her to excuse herself right now when she was the one who called them out in the first place.

Karlheinz, who had yet to utter a word, finally showed his wife some attention. He cracked his golden eye open, lifted his gaze from his beverage, and set the teacup down. "Come, Beatrix, have a seat," he told her and following his words a familiar emerged from the darkness with a chair for the female Vampire.

Beatrix thanked him, taking a seat she received a freshly brewed cup of bergamot tea— or Earl Grey. She brought it to her nose, elegantly inhaling the characteristic fragrance before she took a gentle sip. No matter how you looked at it, Beatrix had the bearing of a Lady.

Silence settled under the gazebo. Karlheinz had nothing to say, to be more precise, he was more interested in Beatrix's actions. Aku couldn't be bothered either, his goal accomplished, he stayed behind because Karlheinz invited him for some tea.

In the end, it was Beatrix who broke the silence. She set her cup on the table before turning to look at Aku's juvenile face. While both she and Karlheinz looked to be in their mid-twenties to early-thirties, Aku looked like a teenager, young adult at most.

"I apologize, My Lord, but are you perhaps related to Cordelia? I do not remember her mentioning you before," she said, going straight to the point yet maintaining a polite facade. There was no lie in her words, she was genuinely curious, and she never spoke with Cordelia so she wouldn't have heard of Aku from her.

Aku licked his upper lip, he waved his hand, and Kagamine appeared from the shadow to pour him another cup of tea. "Of course she wouldn't mention me, she doesn't know me," he nonchalantly answered with a casual smile dancing on his lips. They were slightly glossy from the saliva, and Beatrix found her breath getting caught in the throat.

Even if the other party was a male, with his slightly androgynous and youthful face, he appeared oddly seductive. She couldn't deny that he was a beautiful specimen— not that she would dare to utter those words.

"She— doesn't?" Beatrix managed to articulate, at last. Confusion tainted her voice, she was even more confused than before.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, while we met once or twice, I do not think she has any recollection of those meetings," Aku stated, seemingly saddened. Yet the amused smile and playful glint in his eyes begged to differ.

Beatrix lowered her gaze to her drink. She pondered over his words for some time. Did it mean that they only met in passing? But with how "close" Aku seemed to Karlheinz, she doubted Cordelia would have left him to go under her radar.

Aku merely smiled as he saw her masked confused look.

"No, no, no!"

"That's a lie, it must be— I—"

Aku observed with some disgust as the woman lost her mind, yet his expression remained as unfeeling as before. The woman, with long white hair that cascaded along her lithe figure, screamed and cried as she flung potteries and ornaments to the ground and onto the floor.

She gripped her hair in despair, her pinkish eyes shone with a crazed light before dimming. There was no light left in her pretty Morganite-colored eyes, only the reflection of the candles through her tears remained. She fell to her knees, unbothered by the stone-cold flooring as she brought her hands to her watery eyes in a pitiful attempt to stop her tears.

Aku sighed, he waved his hand and the image transmitted by the crystal ball disappeared to leave a glass ball behind. His hand reached to grab the file Karlheinz previously left him. He silently flipped through them until he found the woman's portrait and information.

White Rose Christa Shiraishi.

How pitiful.

At first, he hadn't understood why Karlheinz was interested in the woman. He thought it was her looks that pleased him, and left it at that— simple preferences. Vampire genealogy, like other Great Clans', was a complicated matter.

After all, the number of past generations was uncountable, every union wasn't registered and some people's ancestry remained unknown. Either because they weren't of any importance, or because they were bastards— the number of possibilities was vast.

Aku didn't advocate equality, neither did he think of incestuous relationships as taboo. The number of incestuous cases in the Demon World, whether voluntary or not was gigantic. Although most high-ranked Demons despised it, for "ethics," truth was different. But so long as no one knew— or outwardly pointed it out, it was alright.

Aku hadn't expected Christa to be Karlheinz's cousin.

A mocking cackle escaped his lips, he carded his hand through his blond hair. Out of the women he could choose from, Karlheinz selected his cousin. It was neither a marriage of love nor a union of power. Then what?

He snorted.

She was only a pawn in the Vampire King's hands, ready to satisfy his sick desires and curiosity.

His smile minutely faded, he hummed.

He wondered. In Karlheinz's hands, what kind of chesspiece was he?

What did the Vampire King want from him?