Eventually, Lucian thought better of broaching that topic at the dinner table but put it in mind to discuss with Caius at a later time. But, preferably, not too late. Lack of proper education could turn him into a grandfather far ahead of schedule.

The dinner went on with bits of conversation here and there, and then Lucian clicked his fingers as if he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, by the way, your cousin will be visiting."

"Why?" Caius asked as he raised a canister of blood to his lips and drank.

Lucian shrugged.

"She was given temporary leave from service and decided she'd spend that time paying us a visit," he said, "I expect you to be cordial. Show her around… Keep her company."

"Father—" Caius said with a sigh.

"What?" Lucian asked with a little laugh, "Should I be the one to keep her company? Son, I'm afraid, my schedule is far too packed for that.

And as you've said yourself, you have much free time on hand."

"I don't remember saying that," Caius said with furrowed brows,

"In fact, I specifically mentioned I had a few projects planned."

"Please," Lucian said with a wave, "I doubt they'll occupy all your time. You can at least spare enough for family."

Caius leaned back, tapping his fingers against the metal of the half-empty canister of blood he had in his hand as he studied his father's expression.

"This was an intentional visit, wasn't it?" He said, knowingly.

"What do you mean?" Lucian asked as he took a sip of wine but Caius could have sworn he was just doing that to hide an obvious tell.

"I mean, for as long as I can remember, they've never visited. Why now?" Caius asked.

"Distance isn't good for family," Lucian said.

"It is when there's a big secret to hide," Caius said.

Even before the tragedy by Athenodora, visits from the Extended Von Helsing family were rare. So rare that Caius indeed had no memories of such. And after he got turned, rare visits that seemed a matter of circumstance, distance, and schedule, practically became an iron-clad rule as Lucian shut the Estate to all visitors.

He received letters of concern and condolences from the family but declined their request to visit as he was harboring a Vampire Spawn. A deed that was very much against the statutes their family was built upon.

"Don't you think it's irresponsible to invite someone with me being what I am?" Caius asked.

"Caius, do you intend to bite your cousin?" Lucian asked.

"What? No!" Caius answered, sounding outraged at the mere suggestion.

"Then I think it'll all be fine. Simply do a better job hiding it than you did with the Professor and your cousin's visit will be pleasant."

Caius opened his mouth but Lucian cut in.

"Caius, if you can't even maintain normalcy with your cousin, how do you plan to do so for the entirety of your duration as a Lochxen student?"

"A home should be a sanctuary. Inviting someone I have to hide from to live with us restricts me in the one place I should be free," Caius said.

"You still have your room, son," Lucian pointed out, "Even now, the Hellsingers don't know what you are and they roam these walls to no complaint from you."

"Fair point," Caius acquiesced with a sigh.

"Good," Lucian said with a nod, "She'll be here in just a few days."

"Can't wait," Caius said without enthusiasm as he downed the rest of the blood in his canister.

"That's the spirit," Lucian said with a chuckle as he downed his wine and dinner talk shifted into something more mundane.

•••

-Later-

The moment he was in his room and the door was closed, Caius pulled out his Loqui-Link and set it down on his desk to accept the call from Arlette that had been sending the device on a Fritz for minutes now.

"Good evening to you," Caius greeted with a smile, "Again."

Arlette dragged her hands down her face in what looked like anguish.

"Why would you do that to me?"

"Do what?" Caius asked.

"Meeting your father. Like that!" Arlette said.

"I think it went well. You were pleasant. He was pleased. Hats off to everyone involved," Caius said with a smile.

"I wasn't pleasant. I was flustered. I was nervous. I was agitated. I WASN'T ready!" Arlette said with a bit of a ramble.

Caius opened his mouth to speak and then he paused as something finally made sense to him.

"That was it, wasn't it?" He asked as he sat in a chair at his desk and eyed Arlette's hologram,

"That's why you said I was clueless. You thought I was rushing it."

"That's because you were. Who meets the father of their— you know, like that?!" Arlette asked with her voice raised an octave or two.

Caius let a minute of silence pass after that before he asked carefully.

"And how do you feel now that you've done it?"

Arlette opened her mouth and then paused before she chuckled a little and shrugged.

"Relieved, I admit," she said, and then didn't seem to know what more to say.

"And now, you have to come," Caius said with a somewhat cheeky grin.

Arlette raised her brows so Caius clarified.

"A Count has offered you an invitation to his home. It'll be disrespectful not to honor it," he said.

"I suppose," Arlette said slowly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," Caius said.

"Yeah. See you."

The two spent a minute staring at one another, looking unsure of what to say, and finally, Arlette turned off her device.

***

-The Next day—

Arlette arrived as agreed the night before.

All through the drive, she was psyching herself up.

"You're Arlette Louvene," she said, "Who cares if he's a Lord? You've stared down people imbued with the ordinance of gods. You can do this!"

She spent the first half hour of the drive bringing up every major encounter she had had with powerful people all her life in chronological order and when she was done, she found herself disappointed that it hadn't worked to make her confident.

Yes, she had stared down powerful beings even when she had no chance against them. But this particular meeting had nothing to do with combat. She was seeking approval and that made her feel more vulnerable than she ever had when meeting anyone else.

Lucian Von Helsing had an illustrious name. As a Von Helsing, he commanded respect already. But he had since gone on to stand out even among that sea of Noble Talent to become the greatest Mage Knight in the Acheron Empire and its weapon against the toughest of monstrous foes.

It was a lot of pressure to be… accepted by someone like that.

To help her nervous state, Arlette reminded herself that her relationship with Caius was definitely still unknown. Alas, that didn't help her state because then it wasn't about the present but the future.

Never had she ever thought herself the 'meet the parents' kind of girl and had long told herself she didn't fit into that mold. And yet, now she desperately wanted to fit.

When she thought of Lucian—the image of his hologram above her Loqui-Link yesterday still sharp in her mind—it wasn't his illustrious name and title that she saw. Rather, she saw the father of the man she had long decided to dedicate her life to. And that heaped more pressure onto her shoulders than anything else that Lucian could boast of.

At the Estate Gates, Arlette introduced herself and she was let in, driving atop the paved stone pathway until she stopped a few feet away from what had to be the main building.

And there, standing in front of the massive double doors was Caius. He was dressed in casual wear—an unfamiliar look compared to the uniformed look he usually sported—and had his arms behind his back. His purple eyes seemed to sparkle as he smiled lightly. Everything about him just beckoned Arlette over.

It was only after she had gotten out of her carriage and was approached by a well-dressed uniformed Estate worker who offered to help her drive the carriage out of the middle of the pathway did Arlette realized Caius wasn't the only one outside.

There were guards stationed all over and servants at the ready for her. But she only noticed them for as long as she looked away from Caius. Once her eyes were back on his face, everyone faded into the background.

Caius walked toward her and gave a polite bow as he greeted her.

"Professor."

The title and the gesture were befitting of a student to his teacher but the expression on his face lacked any of that professionalism. Looking at his smile and that twinkle in his eyes, Arlette felt light on her feet.

All that weight on her shoulder was gone and when Caius held out his hand and she took it, a thrill charged through her so powerfully that she held on to him tight. And when they began to walk up to the main building, she felt so elated that she just might begin to skip.

She didn't, of course.

Despite all that was going on in her head, she was actually keeping the appearance of someone in control of themselves.

If just barely.

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