•••

Caius had thought his father's presence at the Academy would be the surprise of the day. But learning that Lucian could open Portal Gates had to take the cake.

It had never come up in the original story. And as much as Caius wracked his brain, he couldn't remember what could have led to Lucian having this access.

Caius bade Delia and Aurelius goodbye.

Aurelius's goodbye was a simple head gesture before he turned away and headed for the dormitory. As he watched Aurelius leave, Caius couldn't help but be aware that he and Aurelius hadn't had a conversation about his vampirism. But then again, so much had happened today that it seemed not all that important by comparison.

That said, once the shock of it all waned, Caius wondered if Aurelius would confront him about it properly. He also wondered if it would be Aether who would direct Aurelius to do so. After all, as far as the goddess was concerned, Vampires are vile parasites conjured up by her sister's devious mind.

And parasites are to be eradicated.

Caius's goodbye to Delia was a bit more intimate. And it would have been a lot more intimate if his father hadn't been standing nearby waiting for them to head home together.

"Tell Kaya and the others I'll see them next week," he said.

It was the most he could do for a final greeting to last the rest of the weekend.

Lucian hadn't come to Lochxen alone and Caius wasn't at all surprised to see the entourage of Carriages and Hellsingers standing ready.

The father and son sat opposite one another as the entourage started on its way back to the Von Helsing Estate. For a good five minutes, neither of the two said a word.

"Are you alright, son?" Lucian eventually broke the silence to ask.

"I'm fine, Father," Caius said and then the silence resumed until Caius could no longer hold back a question that had been in his head since he heard his father's voice through the Headmistress's closed office door.

"Father… why are you here?"

Lucian raised a brow as Caius quickly thrust a placating hand forward.

"Don't get me wrong. I am very touched by your care. But to abandon what had to have been a very important task to tend to a situation that was already over…" Caius said and trailed off.

"Nothing is more important than you, son. And judging by what I walked in on, it was far from over," Lucian said.

"It was just an inquiry…" Caius started, ready to brush that incident aside and not make mention of how much he knew of just how much was underlying that meeting with the Headmistress.

"It was not just an inquiry," Lucian cut in to say with a deep frown as his voice became lower and more ominous,

"Elvira Lennox…" he said and trailed off.

"What about her?" Caius asked.

Lucian let out a sigh,

"I've never liked the look in those eyes of hers."

There was a finality after that to signal that Lucian had said as much as he wished to say on that topic. Caius didn't press him to say more. His curiosity was sated. Clearly, Lucian was not part of those who had been swept up by the Headmistress's supposed kindness.

A minute of silence passed before Lucian continued speaking.

"I watched that recording…" he said.

"I assure you it looked a lot worse than it actually was," Caius said, repeating the lie he had told Arlette earlier while he cringed at the memory of the attack. And felt the ache act up in his chest.

Lucian smiled lightly but the look in his black eyes made it clear that he didn't buy any of that.

Still, he continued,

"I was actually referring to your transformation. I saw it."

"Oh," Caius said and then quickly worked to put his father's mind at ease,

"Well, you'll be the only one. As far as anyone is concerned, that was all thanks to the borrowed power of shadow magic."

Lucian shrugged.

"I assume it is easier to notice when you know what to search for. That shadow magic you wielded— I've watched you practice the use of it so I know it has no red in its effects and any slash of claws is entirely from you and not it. This helps me make observations others might not.

Still, at the time I watched the recording, I worried. Every minute you spend at the Academy—precisely in a meeting with Elvira Lennox—giving details, is more time for you to get exposed.

I couldn't leave the task of your retrieval to a subordinate with such stakes. No, I had to be there in person."

"Fair enough," Caius said with a nod, "I was careless. I'll do better."

"Or maybe you don't do it at all," Lucian said.

"What do you mean?" Caius asked with suspicion.

"I mean, maybe trying to make you live the life of a normal person—much less a student—has been a failure of an experiment," Lucian said.

"Father…"

"What Lochxen had best for an argument was its security and even that has been compromised. Maybe it's time we end the charade of 'proper education'," Lucian said.

"You're overreacting to a singular situation. Lochxen has been safe for me for over a month. Hell, there hasn't been an incident at the Academy in over a century. Today was an outlier," Caius said.

'Where the hell is all this coming from?" He asked in his head.

The truth was though, he knew exactly where it was coming from. The Demon attack had happened in the original canon and it had caused worry among parents but it had actually just reinforced Lucian's stance on Caius's education.

Because Caius—in the original canon—hadn't been involved in the battle against the Demon. And the situation—because there were no excess 'godlings' to be hunted—hadn't spilled to risk the life of the rest of the class.

Besides the Forest getting locked down so no Professor could get in and the students couldn't get out, the Mid-semester Tests had largely been unhindered. And seeing how Caius had refrained from all temptations of vampirism and relied only on his magical talents, had inspired Lucian to believe Lochxen was the best place for his son.

The opposite was happening now.

Faced with a situation where the entirety of the Lochxen Professors and the student body as well as parents in their various homes, watched his son and almost saw him for what he really was, had now sent Lucian into a tailspin.

To be honest, though, it didn't start today. The realization had been on Lucian's mind for weeks. Precisely after Caius confessed that he didn't hate what he had become and that he had accepted it.

Lucian loved his son but the longer he let Caius—who was unabashed about being a Vampire now—stay among humans who could and would tempt his thirst for blood, the more irresponsible he felt.

The rest of the carriage ride back to the Estate was spent discussing this and they ended at an impasse with Caius insisting he saw value in being a student at Lochxen and he didn't deserve to be punished when he had done so well to control himself. After all, Lucian had received no reports of a Vampiric rampage at the Academy.

Lucian argued that Caius being able to control himself at the moment didn't mean he could do so indefinitely. If there was a risk that he could snap then they had to take that risk as an absolute.

Caius actually agreed with that point. Because he could feel his ferocity—still untamed—raging within him. And just like during the battle with Belron, he could lose control and he might not be lucky enough to have a thick shadow shrouding him from view.

He agreed but he kept that agreement in his head. Lest he weaken his argument and actually give in to bid Lochxen farewell.

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