My Most Precious Human novel Chapter 66

Only pure-blood vampire families deserved to have a noble title. Until recently, there used to be five noble, pure-blood vampire families. Of course, after the annihilation of the Adragnas, the noble families were down to four. The noble family was allowed to keep the title, as long as there was at least one pure-blood member living in the family. The Grimoards were currently down to three family members. Two of them were pure-bloods: King Mael and Princess Elora, and there was also a half-blood, Prince Kanan, who resembled more of a human than a vampire. After the assassination of the former Duke and Duchess, the Calvet name was held by only two members: Sariel and his sister, Dominique. The other noble families that could potentially aim for the throne were the Desai family and the Orseolo family.

The Desais originally came from India, where they were once worshiped as gods. There were currently four pure-blood noble vampires in their family, yet all of them seemed relatively uninterested in taking over the throne. They were running businesses all over the world, and they were rich beyond human imagination. Their family pledged to King Mael a few centuries ago. They did it to avoid conflict that could have jeopardized their businesses. In return for their loyalty, the King awarded them with the Count title. The old Count Desai had never shown any ambition to gain more power, but it was possible that his two younger sons thought completely unlike their father…

The Orseolos used to oppose King Mael quite often. They had never been fond of the idea of the Duke of Calvet taking over the throne either. They sided with the Adragnas on one too many occasions. That was why it seemed natural to suspect them of being behind the recent attacks. The problem was that the current Duke, Baltasar Orseolo, had quite limited influence and power. Duchess Orseolo had a habit of living a lavish and carefree life in recent decades. That, along with her stupidity and the stupidity of her two sons, Orseolo's wealth had significantly decreased. To sum it up, even if the Orseolo wanted to go against the Duke of Calvet, they didn't have enough means to do it alone.

Certainly, the pure-blood families weren't the only ones suspected of the attacks. There were many mixed-blood families, the ones without noble titles but with arrogance and ambition enough to climb the hierarchy. Among them were vampires like Christoph Connor, a judge siding with the Adragnas.

"My family used to be pure-blood as well," Leo claimed. "The Gothas once held the Viscount title, yet my Grandfather contaminated our blood by having a child with the mixed breed. That was why my father didn't inherit the title." He said bitterly.

I was surprised when he decided to tell me about his origins. I was glad that he did. I could now partially understand his attitude towards humans. It was easy to sense his grudge towards his grandfather because his choice of partner took away the purity of their blood, but I guess he had never fallen in love before. If he had been in love, he would have understood that sometimes the heart can become stronger than our logic and beliefs. I could also understand why Leo feared that I had become closer to the Duke. I could see that he idolized his master and couldn't bear the thought of him jeopardizing his position as a future king...

"So I guess that Prince Kanan couldn't become the King even if he were the strongest vampire…" I stated with a sour smile.

"Well… Assuming that he really was the strongest one, he might have fought for the throne, but it's almost impossible for a mixed breed to be stronger than a pure-blood." Leo explained.

"But you are crazy strong yourself. Couldn't you perhaps somehow fight for your title?" I asked hesitantly.

Leo's lips twitched, forming a brief, proud smile. Of course, until he decided to cover his uncontrollable expression with a forced clear of his throat.

"I could do it by challenging a pureblooded noble. If I won, I would receive his title. This is one of the sacred rules," he said.

"Then why didn't you challenge anyone?" I kept inquiring.

"This rule is made that way for a reason… A mixed-breed has never won against a pure-blood before. Besides, I have no luxury of trying since I serve my Master, just like my family has served the House of Calvet for centuries. I cannot do anything that would threaten the political balance, especially now when the Master is going to take over the throne soon."

The bitterness filled his every word. He seemed torn between what his loyalty and what his pride whispered, but his devotion was bound to win every time. As the Duke's associate, he would rather spend his life without trying to claim the title if it were to create more enemies for the House of Calvet.

"Then… What about the vampires and werewolves?" I asked, finally.

A wicked chuckle left Leo's mouth. "I almost thought you were no longer interested in that part."

"I thought it would be nice to know if killing my father would be considered illegal," I smirked.

"You wouldn't stand a chance fighting against your father, blood bag," Leo exclaimed.

"Who said I was going to fight him? I would gladly shoot him with aconite," I stated confidently.

Leo grinned cunningly, "I have to admit that I like this idea."

I smiled at him. That was the first time we actually agreed on something. I felt weird, but I liked that feeling. Certainly, Leo quickly returned to his professional mode, painting a serious expression on his face.

"So… about the wolves…" He sighed nonchalantly. "There was a big war between vampires and werewolves at the end of the nineteenth century. The casualties were on both sides. Both sides claimed that they had won, but there was no winner. It was the time when the wolves had their king, one Alpha that was above everyone else, King Alpha Fenrir Erdogan. He formed a truce with our King Mael. The rules of the truce say that we cannot kill each other. Heavy punishment awaits those who kill other species, but, of course, there are exceptions. When the vampire crosses the wolves' territory, he might be killed if the wolves state that he caused a threat. Of course, the same goes for the wolves who cross our territory."

I finally understood why Sariel needed to kill all the witnesses while rescuing me. Even if the northern pack wolves suspected who had killed their members, no one could testify. Certainly, the wolves could find proof by using forensic science, but I doubted that accusing the future vampire king with circumstantial evidence would have been easy.

"So… Why don't you tell me about that gathering that the Duke mentioned?" I figured it would be wise to know what kind of new mess I would find myself in tomorrow.

Leo frowned as if the sole question asked about it was slander. He clicked his tongue, then clenched his teeth, trying to squeeze out the words.

"The gathering is a form of an emergency meeting of the noble families. All the pureblood nobles will be present, and the presence of the mix-bloods and half-bloods has to be previously accepted by the pureblood members," he explained, his voice sounding gloomy.

"And what about humans?" I asked nervously.

"No human has ever participated in the gathering," he stated firmly.

"Then why did the Duke say that I would be joining him?" I laughed, sensing trouble.

"With his position, he could force everyone to accept your presence." Leo angrily gritted his teeth.

"But why the hell would he do that?!" I burst out, not liking this idea more by the second.

Leo chuckled maliciously, "My guess is that he is trying to seriously piss off those who oppose him in order to find a suspect for the attack."

Well, if Sariel was trying to enrage someone, his plan had succeeded since I was pissed already. I genuinely enjoyed the short time I felt safe after surviving another threat. Exposing myself to danger again certainly wasn't something I wanted. For once, I think I was as against Sariel's idea as Leo was.

After creating a brief projection of what that gathering might look like with my presence, only one word could leave my mouth:

"Shit."