The Vampire King's Toxic Consort (bxb)

Chapter 27 Enough Was Enough

Lucius was allowed to leave Division Nine Headquarters the next day, and as he was escorted into a vast underground parking lot, a familiar black Regalia was waiting for him. Lucius recognized it was his father's car.

A driver opened the back seat door, and Lord Rosenfield was already in there, eyeing him with unreadable offishness.

"Get in." Said the lord.

Lucius hesitated briefly but complied. Though he held no delusion that his father would show him anything remotely close to the fatherly tenderness he put on when he tried to persuade Lucius in the cell, he still wanted to hear what his father had to say after everything he had put him through.

On one side, he knew his father would probably say something that wounded him further, but on the other hand, a more hopeful and impractical part of his brain wondered if, by any unlikely chances, his father would be nice to him for once in his life.

After all, to Lord Rosenfield, Lucius just did another big favor for Division Nine and the Churches. He didn't know Lucius had other ideas. And therefore, the least he could do was to say thank you.

Lucius vaguely wondered if hope was the inevitable weakness of every unlovable child. No matter how many times they are rejected by their father and mother, their hope of finally being loved just refuses to die, and the doomed wheel of hurting and hoping just keeps rolling and never stops. The more hurt they are, the stronger and hungrier their hope becomes.

After all, if the people who give you life cannot love you, who else can?

As the car left the covert government facility, Lord Rosenfield finally opened his lips.

"It was foolish of you to try to warn our enemy. It was High Treason! You could have gotten our whole family implicated! It was a miracle that Archpriest Benedict forgave you and didn't pursue the matter."

Lucius rolled his eyes and didn't reply. At this point, he was indifferent to his father's usual harsh reprimand.

"Those two years in Eternia had some profoundly bad influence on your mind. You've changed." Lord Rosenfield paused, sighed, and continued with a stern voice, "However, Archpriest Benedict believes there is still hope to save your soul. I'm sending you to Sanctum Divinitatis Academy. It's not a seminary but a well-established college the Archpriest founded recently. He will mentor you, guiding you to regain your faith in God, and you will be his personal attendant. It's a great honor, I hope you don't botch this rare opportunity."

Lucius gaped at his father for a few seconds, then began to laugh, loudly, acerbically, and bitterly. His laughter unnerved Lord Rosenfield, as he didn't expect such a reaction from his son.

"What's so funny?" Lord Rosenfield blurted peevishly.

Lucius barely held back his laughter and said with a sharp yet painful tone, "So you are whoring your own son out again, to exchange for what this time? I thought you were already the Knight of the Holy Realm. What more do you want?"

Lord Rosenfield glowered at him, "Are you out of your mind? What are you talking about!"

"Oh, cut the crap, will you dad? You know what he does with those handsome male attendants of his at night. The whole Anthor Court knows." Lucius's laugh gradually turned into an agonizing grimace, "And now he has eyes on me? How interesting. One couldn't help but wonder if he has some impure thoughts about my brother, but since he can't touch the High Priest, I guess I'm the closest thing he can lay hands on?"

Slap!

The bodyguards in the front seats couldn't help but steal a glance at them.

Lucius's head turned to one side, and his left cheek reddened from the slap spontaneously.