Arin smiled. 'It's time to go back...'
Serak stood up, walked closer to where Arin and Roxanne were standing before dropping his blood on the floor as the tattoos on his head began glowing.
Instantly, the patterns began forming on the floor as it glowed until finally, the X formed, it's glow brighter.
Serak turned to look at Arin. "Don't worry, it'll take you back to the same spot."
Arin nodded his head as Serak went back to sit down.
Thalos stood up with a slight smile on his face before speaking.
"One more thing, Progenitor Arin," he began. "If you break the oath, the consequences won't be little at all."
Arin smiled as he stared at Thalos. "You have nothing to worry about, King Thalos."
Thalos nodded his head before sitting down.
"We hope to see you soon, Progenitor Arin," Darius said.
"Of course," Arin said, his smile still present.
He glanced at Liora who just nodded at him and Roxanne with a small smile on her face.
'What's with that smile?' Arin thought as he stepped on the pattern, followed by Roxanne who gave one last bow.
The glow lit up brighter than before, before the both of them disappeared from the throne room.
In the Academy, inside a room in the male dorm building, a red glow lit up for a second before it disappeared.
Two figures instantly appeared in the room, one male and a female.
'Ah, it feels good to be back,' Arin thought as he looked around. 'Hmm, it's still nighttime. Guess I didn't really spend much time there.'
Roxanne was also looking at her unfamiliar surroundings with squinted eyes.
"Did you miss your room that much?" Seraphine asked.
Arin smirked as he replied, "More than you think."
"Though," he added, "I would have loved to see your sisters, and also the Vampire Kingdom in general. The buildings, the other Vampires, and even the sky."
"Important issues just had to be settled first," Seraphine said, "I guess you'll just have to see them the next time you go there."
Before Arin could speak, he suddenly heard a sweet voice.
"Uh..... Uhm..... Lord Arin," Roxanne called out, making Arin look at her.
She lowered her head and pointed at the bed as she continued. "Can I sit here?"
Arin let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. 'This might get annoying over time.'
"Yes, you can," he replied.
"Thank you," she said, sitting down on the bed. Her fingers ran across the fabric as if feeling its texture for the first time.
Arin furrowed his brows as he asked Seraphine, "Are there no beds in the Vampire Kingdom?"
"Huh? Of course there are!"
Arin also sat down on the bed, lost in his own thoughts. 'Vaelric seems to be annoyed by something.... And it's not just because of me. Something else is getting him annoyed.'
Though he wasn't sure what it was, his instincts told him there was more to Vaelric's annoyance than just his presence.
Arin narrowed his eyes. 'I think I've gained a slightly better understanding of their personalities now.'
'Darius and Liora seem to be the calmest, though Darius appears more levelheaded—or at least that's how it looks. Liora often has an expression that makes it seem like she doesn't care about anything happening around her.'
'As for Serak…' Arin thought, 'He acts playful, but I believe there's more to him than meets the eye.'
"So apart from you, there really was a new Progenitor after all," Seraphine said.
"That boy called Sylas," Arin said with a smirk. "He's yet to fit in, and I can't blame him. He's new to all this."
Seraphine laughed after hearing what Arin said. "You're acting like you aren't also new to all this."
"Well, I can say I'm different," Arin said with a smile.
Suddenly, Roxanne stood up and walked towards the window, looking outside.
Her calm red eyes were fixated on the moon as the strands of hair that fell over her forehead fluttered slightly.
Arin continued looking at her for some seconds, before he spoke.
Instantly, Roxanne turned back, and lowered her head. "Yes, Lord Arin."
"Raise your head," Arin said. "You don't have to do that often."
'I know she's just showing respect, and of course, I love the respect,' Arin thought. 'But just like I thought, it's already getting slightly annoying.'
"Understood," Roxanne said as she raised her head, looking at Arin.
'Such calm eyes,' Arin thought.
That aside, he spoke again.
"I noticed that you have blue hair, just like Liora," Arin said. "Are you her daughter or something?"
He knew that there was a very high chance that she wasn't Liora's daughter, after all, apart from the blue hair, there was no other resemblance between them.
But this question was a way of asking her about her relationship with Liora.
Because of this question, she'll be forced to talk about her family, and her relationship with Liora.
Though, for some reason, ever since he asked that question, Seraphine has been chuckling.
Arin almost rolled his eyes. "What is it again, Seraphine?"
"No..... Hehehe, it's just that, if she's Lord Liora's daughter, doesn't that mean that you kissed someone's mother? No, that's wrong, someone's mother kissed you, hehehe."
"Uhm, no," Roxanne replied. "I'm not Lord Liora's daughter, but she's the only family I have."
"I see..." Arin murmured.
Roxanne looked outside again as she continued talking in a softer voice.
"My family was killed when I was six years old," she said. "I don't really remember who killed them, but Lord Liora saw me and took me in."
Roxanne turned, looking at Arin. "She's not just like an elder sister to me... She's also my savior."
Roxanne walked towards the bed, before sitting beside Arin.
There was a distant look in her eyes as she continued. "She said that when she saw me wandering the streets, she was reminded of herself, and that was why she took me in."
'Reminded of herself?' Arin thought as he squinted his eyes. 'I don't think she was reminded of herself just because of the blue hair.'
And indeed, the thought he just had was on point, because...
"Her parents were also killed...."
Arin's shock wasn't due to the fact that Liora's parents were dead, instead, he was shocked because when he asked Roxanne if she was Liora's daughter, he knew that she would explain their relationship, but he never expected her to go into such personal details.
"Roxanne..." Arin whispered.
"Yes, Lord Arin," Roxanne answered.
Arin looked at her straight in the eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"
Roxanne smiled softly, her calm eyes staring into Arin's eyes. "Because Lord Liora told me that if you ever asked about our relationship, I should go into detail."
"She specifically mentioned that I should tell you that her parents were killed..... just like mine,' she added.
Arin's eyes widened slightly after hearing what Roxanne said. 'What does this mean? Is Liora trying to tell me something?'
Arin closed his eyes as he let out a sigh. "I see....."
Seconds passed by in silence before Arin spoke again.
"What Rank are you?" He asked.
"I'm at the Vampire General Rank," Roxanne replied. "I'll soon reach the Noble Vampire Rank."
Arin nodded his head. "Hmm, okay."
After talking with Roxanne some more, he found out some other things.
She was seventeen years old, which meant that she had been Liora's student for about eleven years now.
Arin also found out from Seraphine that being at the Vampire General Rank at age seventeen was insane.
So, in a nutshell, Roxanne was a genius. And to top it all, she was even about to enter the Noble Vampire Rank.
"She really is a genius!" Seraphine said. "Even some of the Vampires that are considered talented reached the Vampire General Rank when they were about 200 years old."
Arin couldn't deny the fact that he was surprised by this.
'Now I'm even more curious about her real family,' Arin thought.
"Now that I think about it, how old are you, Seraphine?" Arin asked.
Seraphine gasped as soon as she heard Arin's question.
"Master..." Seraphine whispered. "Asking a woman about her age means you want to marry her."
"Huh? Is that a Vampire law or something?" Arin asked, bewildered.
"Master..." Seraphine gasped again. "I never knew you were in love with me."
Inside the meeting room of the Progenitors, Serak and Liora sat down, facing each other.
Liora folded her arms. "So, why did you want to see me, Serak?"
Serak smiled. "I guess you already know, but I'll still say it anyway."
"I know you're planning something, Liora," Serak said as he leaned forward. "And I won't stop you."
Liora had an indifferent expression as she stared at Serak without saying anything.
Serak continued. "You sent Roxanne with him even though you know how she is."
"She's clumsy and easily flustered," Serak added, "yet you still sent her."
"I don't think that implies anything," Liora said.
Serak smirked as he stood up. "I won't stop or bother you, Liora."
"But I'll tell you one thing," Serak added. "No matter what you're doing, be careful of Vaelric."
Liora squinted her eyes as she watched Serak leaving the room while speaking.
"He's always one step ahead..."