Chapter 162

Chapter 162: Chapter 162

Mildrede returned to the bed after looking her fill, taking her time lowering herself to the edge of the bed before giving an answer. "It can be undone although that would mean training in the art of summoning magic, which would take years to master."

Dulce received this news with relief, a few years was tolerable, as long as there was a solution.

"A quicker method would be searching for a Vampire mage who focuses on summoning magic," Mildrede tagged on, but she sounded less as certain.

Summonings were simply not done any more, and even if he found a Vampire mage thousands of years old, they might very well be unable to undo the most rudimentary magic done by a Montesserat.

"Do you know of any mage with focus on summoning magic?" Dulce asked without holding back.

"Hmph," Mildrede snorted, "Of course not, Vampire mages are rare, and I frankly don’t care for any of them."

Dulce simply nodded, "Thank you for your time," He said quietly, polite enough to walk out of the room.

"I could help you search for one," Aylin called out to him as he walked past her again.

"There’s no need to." Dulce turned her down without inflection to his voice. "Thank you for all of your help, Your Majesty."

Aylin watched him leave in a silent panic, desperation bleeding into her red eyes.

"Leave it be, Aylin." Mildrede spoke up when it seemed like the young Vampire would chase after Dulce.

Aylin glanced out the open door, even the minimal light from the inn hallways burned her eyes but she still lingered until she couldn’t see Dulce’s tall figure again.

"Unless you find a way to become a Demon, you would be better off finding something else to occupy your time." Mildred scoffed but her tone was unwittingly gentle. "Now leave the light and come keep me company, for your sake, I’m stuck here till nightfall."

Aylin sadly turned away from the door, closing it behind her as she delicately walked across the tiny inn room. "Is there truly a way to become a Demon?" She asked in a small voice.

"Speak no more." Mildred shut her up, her patience completely gone.

Outside the inn, Dulce was getting into his carriage, pausing for a moment at the unlikely figure waiting for him within.

"Asael? What are you doing here?" He asked, smiling easily after getting over his surprise.

"Where did you go?" The Shadow Demon asked coolly. He had easily followed Dulce from the cottage but he didn’t follow him into the inn, holding back at the last minute.

Dulce sat next to him, adjusting his overcoat as he did. "To speak with the Vampire Queen and her mage," He said briefly, easily revealing his hand.

Asael lost his cold edge, he really shouldn’t have been surprised, the only reason Dulce opted to leave his cottage was for their sakes. "Did you find a solution?" He asked instead, the carriage slowly rumbling out of the village.

"In a manner of speaking, I may need to attend a magic institution." Dulce murmured.

He had thought about it, mastering the summoning arts was the most likely way to undo the contract. It was also keep him from being in another Vampire’s debt, it would just take some time and be rather troublesome.

Asael was about to generously inform Dulce that Kath’tan would prefer that he didn’t go through all there trouble. "Are there still magic institutions?"

Dulce thought about it, there had to be, perhaps he would pay a quick visit to Miss Moira. If there were any institutions left, it would certainly be run by human mages, and it would make the ordeal more tolerable.

He then thought about the reactions to his summoned Demons in Fairwyn, frowning. "There should be. Vampire witch Mildrede said it would take years to master the summoning arts, and I don’t think Demons would be allowed in magic institutions."

"To save you the trouble, I would kill the Fiend for free." Asael offered without a change in expression.

"There’s no need to," Dulce hastily turned down the generous offer. "This is just one possibility, there’s still some time, I might yet find a better solution."

The topic of the conversation was waiting for the in the driveway when they returned to the cottage. Kath’tan stood tall just by the fountains, visibly upset.

"Did you two sneak out to go on a carriage ride?" He demanded as soon as they stepped out of the carriage.

"My offer still stands," Asael said meaningfully to Dulce, going ahead into the cottage.

"I sent out some letters seeking information on how to undo your contract a few days ago," Dulce explained lightly, "I received a response today."

Kath’tan was still displeased, "It’s my contract, so why was the Shadow Demon with you?"

Dulce blinked, realizing that he never found out how Asael got into the carriage. "Well I didn’t take him with me, he simply appeared in the carriage."

The answer did soothe him, but only for a moment, now Kath’tan was displeased for other reasons. "Did you find any answers?" He asked instead.

"Merely speculations," Dulce said vaguely, there was no reason to bother Kath’tan until he had a definitive solution. "Were you looking for me?" He asked as he led the way into the cottage.

Kath’tan glanced down at the Vampire’s neck which was covered up with a cravat, the bruises he left behind were still slowly healing, and getting a glimpse of them filled him with guilt. It was almost enough for him to request that Dulce let it heal right away.

"I was," He admitted with a bit of difficulty. His attempts to be gentler had all fallen through, hobbies and past times were incredibly aggravating.

He had even taken up painting in the past few days, and all he had managed to make were puddles of blood on paper. It didn’t matter what color of paint he used, it always ended up being a muddle of metallic blood.