Chapter 272: Complicated Family Relationships

The room fell into a heavy silence.

Emilia stayed silent as she realized her words, though innocent, had struck a place far deeper than she ever could have imagined.

And in the end the only sound in the chamber was the faint crackle of the lamp, while the weight of Rose’s words slowly settled over the three of them.

Her confession caught Mark completely off guard, because being honest, it was something he hadn’t expected in the slightest.

Of all the things he could have imagined, Rose being the daughter of a reincarnated person hadn’t been anywhere on the list.

But once the initial surprise began to fade, something else started making its way into his mind.

A memory.

Or rather, a memory that wasn’t his own.

While trying to process what Rose had just said, Mark’s mind went back to the memories the Demon Lord had shown him.

He saw Mary again, the group that had betrayed her and abandoned her to her fate inside that dungeon.

And, among all the faces that appeared in those scenes, one emerged with particular clarity in his memory.

The vampire.

Suddenly, everything started to click.

The more he thought about it, the more obvious it seemed that the vampire he’d seen in Mary’s memories was none other than Rose’s father.

A reincarnated vampire, powerful, tied to that world for centuries.

It fit too well to be anyone else.

The idea of telling her crossed his mind, and for an instant he was about to, though in the end he chose not to say it.

’Not the time,’ he thought, looking Rose in the eyes. ’She just opened up about something that clearly costs her a lot... I need to think carefully about how to tell her.’

So instead, Mark went with something else.

"Thank you for telling us all of this, I know it can’t have been easy," he said gently. "But, Rose... no matter how much he hurt you, all of that is already in the past."

He paused before continuing.

"If you keep clinging to that hatred, the only person you’re going to keep hurting is yourself... At some point you’re going to have to let it go, if only for your own sake."

Emilia, who had been listening in silence, nodded and joined in.

"Rose, maybe we can’t change what you went through, but we can be here for you from now on," she said gently. "So when the weight feels too heavy, don’t hesitate to lean on us."

The vampire looked at both of them, and a small, tired smile formed on her face.

"I know, and I really do appreciate that you both care about me," she replied quietly, a smile that soon faded. "But letting go of all that hatred isn’t so simple... There are wounds that don’t disappear just because someone wants to leave them behind."

"I understand, but sooner or later you’re going to have to find a way to move forward," Mark said with a shrug. "After all, it’s not really worth holding onto that much hatred for a dead man... you only end up hurting yourself over someone who isn’t even around anymore."

Rose frowned.

"Dead?" she asked, confused.

"Isn’t he?"

"No," Rose replied slowly, looking at him as if he’d just said something absurd. "My father is still alive, Master... Unfortunately."

Silence fell over the room.

Mark was momentarily thrown off, since at some point in the conversation he had assumed the man was dead.

From the way Rose talked about him, from that deep-rooted hatred that sounded like an old wound, he had taken it for granted that he was a ghost from the past. A grudge held against someone who no longer existed.

But he had been completely wrong, and judging by Emilia’s expression, she had assumed the same thing.

"Wait a moment," Mark said, sitting up straighter. "Your father’s still alive? Where is he? Here, on the continent?"

Rose nodded slowly.

"In the catacombs at the northern edge of the continent," Rose replied. "My father is still down there, along with my sisters and almost every vampire still left in this world."

Mark frowned.

"Confined?" he repeated. "What do you mean confined? Who locked them in there? Was it some kingdom? The Demon Lord? Humans?"

"Nobody locked us in," Rose replied, and her voice took on a bitter edge. "It was my father who decided vampires would live isolated from the rest of the world."

"I don’t follow..." Mark admitted, quite confused.

Rose let out a sigh.

"My father possesses the most powerful blood in our entire bloodline," Rose explained. "He’s the oldest vampire in existence, and because of that, he can impose his will on the rest of us through a mental bond."

She bit her lip hard.

"He forces us to stay in the catacombs by his side. No one can enter, no one can leave, and as long as that bond exists, his wishes are the only thing that matters."

"That’s..." Mark searched for the word. "insane."

"It is," she agreed.

But then Emilia, who had been listening with growing unease, stepped in with a question.

"Wait a moment, that doesn’t make any sense," she said, frowning. "From everything I’ve read about vampires, they need blood to survive, to keep their bodies functioning, right?"

"Yeah?" Rose replied, raising an eyebrow.

"How is it possible for an entire population of vampires to live locked underground, never leaving? Where do they get the blood to feed everyone?"

"Because everything they need is right there," Rose replied. "Beneath the catacombs flows a river whose waters have properties very similar to blood, and that’s exactly why my father chose that place... As long as that river exists, he can keep them locked in there without fear of them starving."

She made a serious face.

"Though thinking about it, calling it ’catacombs’ is a bit misleading," Rose continued. "Centuries of expansion turned it into an immense underground city, with entire districts, buildings, and a network of streets that stretches as far as the eye can see."

Mark took all of that in silently, trying to picture such a place.

An entire city of vampires, hidden beneath the north of the continent, ruled by a single man who exercised absolute control over every one of its inhabitants.

And then, one detail clicked into place.

"Wait... if your father controls every vampire through that mental link... that includes you too, doesn’t it?" he said, looking at Rose with renewed attention. "You’re also a vampire, and his daughter on top of that."

He frowned.

"So how is it you’re here? How is it you’re not still trapped down there with everyone else?"

"Because it was precisely that power I hated so much that allowed me to escape," she replied. "The magic I inherited from him, that talent I never wanted, is also the reason I was able to do something no one else managed."

Her expression showed a strange mix of pride and bitterness.

"As you know, my ability with magic far surpasses that of most beings in this world, and thanks to that, I managed to break the mental bond that kept me tied to my father."

She lowered her gaze for a few seconds.

"When I got my freedom back, I fled the catacombs and never went back," she said, eyes fixed on the floor. "I was the only one who managed to do it on my own... while everyone else is still down there, trapped under his will, many of them not even realizing they were never truly free."

The room fell silent again while Mark tried to organize everything he had just heard.

It was too much information all at once, and every answer seemed to bring new questions, but among all of them there was one that stood out above the rest.

"Rose, forgive me for asking this, but I need to understand what we’re up against," Mark said seriously. "Is there any chance your father would come after you? After all, you escaped him, broke a bond nobody else could break, and you’re someone important to his bloodline... I find it hard to believe he’d just sit back and do nothing."

Rose thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.

"I don’t think he’ll do anything... And while it’s true my father is furious about what I did and might want me back, he would never come looking for me in person," she replied with certainty. "That bastard wouldn’t set foot outside the catacombs for anything in the world."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah... going up to the surface, exposing himself, taking a risk, that’s not something he’d ever do of his own free will."

Mark nodded slowly, feeling a little more relieved.

"Good, I hope that’s true," he said, letting out a sigh. "Because the last thing we need right now is a centuries-old vampire lord knocking on our door."

"Believe me, I hope that never happens too..." Rose murmured.