"Darling, if I'm ever in danger, I wouldn't want you to lower yourself to save me. I would be heartbroken if you had to face such an embarrassment just for my sake. I don't think I could live with it."

She would worry about my own reputation more than her own life. That was just like her.

"In that case, I want you to do the same for me. If I'm ever in danger, then I don't want you to lower yourself to save my life. I would much rather you let me die."

Her eyes widened.

"I couldn't! You're asking the impossible!"

Seeing the smile on my face, her eyes flashed with a tinge of anger.

"Are you taking my feelings for a joke?"

"Do you see how your request is unreasonable? The same reason you can't go through with it is the same reason I can't."

"But…"

She tried to speak, but I rested my hand on the top of her head.

"You're more important than my reputation. Remember your promise. You said you would be there to help me build my pack. I think that's way more important than something like my reputation."

Selthia's expression softened, her cheeks flushed, and a small smile bloomed on her face. She was the type to underestimate her own importance and try to prove herself. Showing her how important she was every once in a while was a part of the job.

Her earlier cheerful demeanor returned as she interlocked her arms with mine.

Soon, we arrived at a rather luxurious estate. Immediately as we did, a vampire appeared seemingly out of thin air and opened the gate for us. They didn't pay us much mind since we were with Duncan.

The first thing that hit me when I entered the estate was the scent of blood. It smelled as if a bloodbath took place here, but I didn't spot a single drop of blood, only the scent that lingered behind.

It made sense that there would be internal strife after the Sun clan was stripped of their title. I assume there must have been some vampires like Duncan who wanted to be loyal to their clan while others wanted to find a new powerful clan to serve.

"Darling, look."

Selthia suddenly tugged on my sleeves when she saw that I was distracted. She was pointing to a section of the mansion that was completely melted.

"I thought you said your leader was weak and fragile. If that is so, then how could he have created such damage?" Selthia asked, looking at Duncan suspiciously.

"That damage wasn't caused by our leader," Duncan explained. "It was caused by the young miss."

Ah, that's right. Ember told me about the daughter of the Sun clan. She said that she was shut in who constantly tries to kill herself.

"The battle that ensued after we lost our noble title triggered one of our young miss's episodes. A lot of vampires lost their lives that day. Some were fighting on the side of the clan, others were fighting against us. Luckily, her rampage only lasted for 15 minutes before she passed out due to a lack of blood."

She sounded powerful indeed. To kill that many vampires while being deprived of blood was nothing to scoff at.

"But don't worry, she's in her room now. As long as we don't cause any commotion, we should be fine."

Saying that, Duncan led us into the mansion. There were quite a few vampires inside, and they seemed to have questions about what we were doing here. Duncan explained that he had brought us here to heal their leader, and immediately the hateful glares they were giving us softened.

Selthia and I followed behind Duncan as he led us upstairs towards the room belonging to the leader of the Sun clan. The door cracked open, and immediately we were hit with the pungent scent of death.

On the bed was a withered man that looked like a sack of bones. His overgrown blonde hair covered the bed like weeds.

The strange thing was that I couldn't sense him until I entered the room. With my sense of smell, I should've been able to sense him the moment I stepped into the estate.

Just then, my eyes were drawn to something in the ceiling. It was a green crystal glowing ominously.

Seeing where my gaze was at, Duncan quickly explained.

"That item is used to conceal our leader's presence. If it wasn't for that, he would've been taken by wraiths already."

That made sense. Someone as powerful as him would surely attract those vultures.

With Duncan ushering us, we stepped into the room, and immediately as we did, the vampire's eyes snapped open as if jolted by our presence.

Duncan rushed to his side and bowed before.

"Count Amon, I have brought some visitors to see you."

The leader of the Sun clan furrowed his brow. His body was weak, but his eyes still remained sharp. That was the only part of his body that still held strength.

"Who are these people?" he muttered weakly.

"They are here to help heal you. The Golden Fleece, the one we've tried to acquire for centuries, finally showed up. It was at that auction."

Count Amon's eyes widened.

"Did you get it?"

"No. Unfortunately not, but these people here are the ones who have bought it. This man here is Master Liam. He has agreed to allow you to use the Golden Fleece to heal yourself."

The count's eyes landed on me, and I met his gaze with a nod.

"Thank you. I will make sure you're repaid heftily for this," he said, and a kind smile appeared on his face.

I got the impression that he wasn't a bad man. Even though he was said to have melted half the city.

But maybe it was because of this goodness that made vampires like Duncan want to stay by his side. He inspired them.

I smiled at him as I brought the golden fleece over to his side. Duncan also had a smile on his face.

I handed the fleece to Duncan, and immediately he used it to wrap his master.

"You're a good man, Master Liam, Madam Selthia."

This was their only hope, so I understood their gratitude.

As he finished wrapping up the count, he took a step back to observe what would happen, and suddenly the golden fleece began to emit a brilliant glowing light.

Amon's pale, fragile skin began to regain its color. Duncan's face brightened as Amon's body began pulsing with blood.

Amon's hand shot up in the air as he flexed his grip. After all these years, his hex was finally being lifted.

His bloodlust, which was being suppressed all this time, exploded out of him.

He let out a maniacal laugh as he rose from his bed like an undead warrior rising from his grave.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

His voice echoed through the walls, creating an ominous atmosphere, but once again his world was smashed to pieces in an instant.

He was too focused on his curse that he failed to notice the wolf standing in front of him.

My claws sliced through the air faster than anyone in the room could react, tearing a gaping hole in the Sun Clan leader's chest.

His eyes widened in shock as I grabbed at his heart.

Duncan panicked. He tried to react, but in an instant, his head was cleaved from his body by Selthia's water magic. She didn't skip a beat.

Count Amon gritted his blood-soaked teeth and let out a loud roar that caused the walls to crack and my own ears to ring.

For a moment, he thought he would live. That his clan would live to fight another day, but all of that was being plucked from his grasp by a man he didn't even know.

"It was stupid of you to let me into your home. You brought this on yourself."

With those final words, I plucked his beating heart from his chest and watched his body collapse lifelessly onto the bed.

"Darling."

Selthia looked at me wildly. She was practically drooling at the heart in my hand, so I offered it to her, but she quickly shook her head.

"You should have it. You need it much more than me," she said.

She didn't seem surprised by my actions. She knew me so well. No matter what atrocities I committed, she wouldn't bat an eye.

She would only offer her helping hand and be glad that she was by my side.

I was truly lucky to have her.

"I'll have it later," I said. "For now, I need you to handle the vampires. Don't kill them."

"Huh? Why?"

"I can't rule a noble house full of corpses. This is a takeover, not a massacre."

My goal in coming here was simply to take over what was left of the Sun clan.

The vampires here will be a nice addition to my pack.

"What about Amon's daughter?" Selthia asked. "You saw the destruction she made outside."

"Don't worry, I'll handle her," I assured her.

Selthia nodded with a smile on her face, and together the two of us went to conquer what remained of this pitiful clan.

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