Chapter 274: The Sword That Chose Him

Victor left the vault corridor with a satisfied smile and empty hands.

The moment he passed through the entrance, he spotted his dear fiancée watching him.

Anette immediately noticed that he looked far too happy for someone who had just done something as absurd as trying to take Gram, the Dragon-Slaying Sword.

Besides, she had expected him to emerge carrying some artifact, a box of books, or at least a weapon on his back, especially after insisting so much on entering Vlad’s private collection.

Instead, Victor simply crossed the barrier with his hands in his pockets, as though he had spent ten minutes visiting some ordinary library.

"You didn’t take anything?" she asked with a deeply confused expression.

"Of course I did. I just stored it somewhere safe," Victor replied while rubbing his thumb over the ring on his finger.

Anette looked him up and down.

"Then where is it?" she asked, still skeptical.

"Stored somewhere safe," Victor repeated, refusing to budge.

He still didn’t trust Anette enough to give her even scraps of information about himself.

Anette studied his expression carefully, but decided not to insist when she realized he clearly had no intention of explaining anything at that moment.

"At least tell me you found something useful?" she asked curiously, despite having known the contents of the vault for many, many years.

Victor gave her a genuinely happy smile.

"Gram is a great sword. A little too light, but I still like it," he said calmly.

Anette took several seconds to react.

"...What?"

She froze.

"I took Gram," Victor admitted, his smile widening even further when he saw how utterly bewildered Anette looked.

She stared at him as though she had just heard an extremely bad joke while, at the same time, her mind struggled to process what this foolish vampire had just told her.

"Liar," she finally said.

She didn’t believe him.

"Why would I lie?" Victor smiled. "I’m not that kind of man. You know that, right?"

"You didn’t take Gram. That’s impossible." Anette’s expression turned serious, her confusion and disbelief rapidly transforming into something closer to anger. "Don’t joke with me."

"Ah, seriously. You’re really annoying, you know that? If I’m telling you I took the sword, it’s because I took the sword." Victor was already getting tired of the pointless conversation.

Anette took a deep breath, clearly beginning to get irritated by how calm he was.

"Victor, that sword doesn’t allow anyone to use it. My father tried several times. Blood Kings have tried. People far stronger than you have tried. Gram simply rejects everyone."

"Maybe she doesn’t like them."

"She doesn’t like anyone!"

"That explains quite a lot."

"You haven’t even reached the Genesis Stage yet!"

’I should’ve left the sword visible instead of storing it in the ring.’

Victor simply stared at her with a tired expression.

Anette pointed toward his chest.

"My father is a Primordial Vampire. He couldn’t use that sword. Do you seriously expect me to believe that you entered the vault for a few minutes and simply solved it?"

"All right, you annoying vampire."

Before she could respond, he sent energy into the ring.

Gram appeared in his hand the very next instant.

The enormous red-and-black sword manifested accompanied by a heavy draconic pressure that made Anette instinctively take a step back.

The runes spread across the blade glowed for several seconds, but nothing else happened.

Victor held the weapon in one hand without any apparent effort and, most importantly, without the slightest sign of rejection.

Anette’s mouth fell open.

"H-Ho..."

Victor started smiling.

She closed her mouth, took a breath, and tried again.

"How?"

"I talked to her."

"To who?"

"Gram."

Anette looked first at the sword.

Then at Victor.

"You talked to a sword?"

"It’s complicated."

She stepped just close enough to get a better look at the weapon but didn’t try to touch it.

She knew Gram far too well to do something that stupid.

Even so, none of this made sense.

The sword was quiet.

There was none of the aggression that usually emerged whenever someone tried to get too close.

Victor stored Gram back inside the ring.

"You think too much."

Anette was still trying to understand how any of this was possible when she felt two light pats on top of her head.

She froze.

Victor had already started walking.

"Did you just pat my head?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You looked worried."

"I’m the Crown Princess!"

Victor looked over his shoulder.

"And?"

Anette opened her mouth.

No answer came out.

Victor continued walking as though nothing had happened.

"Anyway, I’m good with souls."

She started following him.

"Good with souls?"

"Especially when they’re women."

"Is that supposed to make sense to me?"

"Not really."

Anette decided it was better not to ask.

Victor put his hands back into his pockets.

"Just tell Vlad about Gram before he finds out on his own."

She nearly stopped walking.

"You want me to tell my father that you took a sword he was never able to control?"

"Yes."

"And if he wants it back?"

Victor thought for a moment.

"I’ll say no."

Anette stared at him in disbelief.

"Just like that?"

"Yes."

"Gram belongs to my father."

"Belonged."

She stopped.

Victor also seemed to realize the weight of his own answer, but he didn’t look particularly concerned.

"Now she accepted me."

"That doesn’t change how ownership works."

"Do you really want to argue about ownership over a conscious sword that chooses who’s allowed to touch her?"

Anette fell silent.

Victor smiled.

"Thought so."

She resumed walking beside him, still clearly bothered.

"And relax. I’m not going to use Gram to kill your father."

"I wasn’t thinking that."

"You were."

"I wasn’t."

"Your face was."

Anette pressed her lips together.

Victor gave a small laugh.

"Gram is a legendary weapon. I’ll use her when I actually need her. I’m not going to walk around the Royal Palace threatening people with a Dragon-Slaying Sword."

"The way you say that doesn’t make me feel much better."

"But it’s true."

Anette sighed and let the subject die.

Victor then changed topics with the same casualness.

"Oh, you can announce our engagement today."

She immediately turned toward him.

"Today?"

"Yes."

"You want me to announce it today?"

"That’s why we made the agreement."

Anette had assumed he would ask for some time to prepare the Valentines or organize his own situation before the news spread.

Apparently, she had assumed wrong.

"Are you sure?"

"I am. The sooner you announce it, the sooner you get the distraction you wanted."

She thought for several seconds before finally agreeing.

"All right. But we need to decide how we’re going to present the information. Some important families need to be informed before the public announcement, and we also need to establish a date for the ceremony."

"Later."

Anette frowned.

"Later when?"

"When I get back."

She looked at him.

"Back from where?"

Victor slowed down slightly.

He had already postponed it for far too long.

"I’m going to see Rakshasa."

Anette stopped.

"Now?"

"Now."

"We just officially decided that we’re engaged, and you’re leaving?"

"Only for a while."

"Victor, we have things to organize."

"You organize them."

Anette remained silent for several seconds.

"Are you telling me to work?"

"You wanted the engagement."

"That doesn’t mean I have to do everything alone!"

"You understand royal ceremonies far better than I do."

"You can learn."

"I’d rather not."

Anette stared at him.

Victor remained completely serious.

"When I get back, we can talk about the celebration."

"And when are you coming back?"

"I don’t know yet."

"Victor!"

He started laughing.

"Relax. I’m not going to disappear for a year."

"That doesn’t help."

They reached the end of the corridor.

Victor was already beginning to gather energy to leave when he raised one hand.

"So it’s settled: you tell Vlad that Gram is with me, prepare the announcement, and, if possible, don’t go into detail about how I got the sword."

"Victor, wait."

He kept walking.

"Victor!"

"Hmm?"

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"

Victor raised one hand without looking back.

"Eastern Domain."

Anette’s eyes widened.

"YOU’RE GOING TO THE EASTERN DOMAIN RIGHT NOW?"

"Yes."

"Without preparing anything?"

Victor finally turned his head slightly.

"Anette."

"What?"

"Go prepare our announcement."

She stared at him.

"Are you seriously giving me orders?"

"I’m reminding you what you need to do."

"I know what I need to do!"

"Then it’s settled."

"And the ceremony?"

"When I get back."

"And my father?"

"You tell him."

"And Gram?"

"Mine."

"VICTOR!"

He laughed.

"No need to miss me."

Before Anette could finish responding, his body dissolved into a cloud of black bats that swept through the corridor and quickly disappeared.

She remained standing there with one hand still raised.

"...I wasn’t going to."

Silence answered her.

Anette ran a hand over her face.

In less than an hour, Victor had entered the Vampire King’s private vault, obtained a sword that not even Vlad could use, casually informed her that Gram now belonged to him, authorized their engagement to be announced that very same day, and then dumped all of the organization into her hands before traveling to another domain.

"What kind of man does that?"

She stared at the empty corridor.

Victor knew perfectly well that she was the Crown Princess.

The problem was that it simply didn’t seem to change the way he spoke to her at all.

He had just ordered a princess to organize her own engagement as though he were asking an employee to handle some paperwork.

Anette sighed.

"Bastard."

She turned around and started walking.

First, she needed to speak with Vlad about Gram.

Then prepare the announcement, inform the most important families, speak with the council, and decide how they would present the union between the Valentines and the Royal Family.

All of that without the groom himself being present.

"I should’ve chosen some Blood King."

Anette took a few more steps before remembering Victor holding Gram with a single hand.

She grimaced slightly.

"...No."

She kept walking.

"That would definitely be much more boring."