Chapter 287: Well, he surrendered.

He would not cause any trouble at all.

Or at least...

That was what Lucian initially thought, but the more he learned, the more he felt like that was not going to be very easy.

Still, he sat down, watching everything play out outside.

Their car was moving past a building that looked like a private club, black glass, no signs. There were two men guarding the entrance, both of them were Vampires and standing in front of them was a Human woman.

She kept talking to one of the guards, he repeatedly shook his head, trying to send her away, she didn’t leave, instead, she grabbed his sleeve, the guard calmly removed her hand, she tried again, then again, then again.

Lucian watched her face and he could see it very clearly.

Desperation.

The woman was very very desperate.

"Is she..."

"An addict, yes."

Garrick nodded.

"Shouldn’t the Arcelis stop it?"

"Why would they?"

"They are still keeping a front, are they not? Letting an addict roam around so openly, won’t it cause problems?"

He asked a more practical question, because he obviously did not expect the Vampires to do it out of ’good will’. He did not expect that from any organisation, let alone the Vampires.

"You have it wrong."

And Garrick shook his head.

"Vampires do not hide because they are scared of humans. They do it because exposure is... bothersome.

They have the measures to keep everything hidden, but that does not mean they are exceptionally strict with those measures. They are not very concerned with a human or two revealing the truth, the woman isn’t a problem either.

Even if she does go around blabbering, they only need to capture the humans she revealed the truth to and have a ’talk’ with them.

Having the entire territory under their complete control also helps."

Lucian did not like what he heard and Garrick knew that.

So he looked at him and with his expression still as calm as before—

"Don’t make the mistake of assuming Vampire society operates according to Human standards."

Lucian stared at him for a moment, then he stared back at the building they were about to pass and he...

He leaned back in his seat.

The supernatural world continued becoming less romantic the more he learned about it.

Not that he expected otherwise.

As the traffic cleared up, their speed increased, their car moved deeper, gradually, the modern buildings became less dense, the roads ahead widened, large private estates started appearing behind tall walls, the entire region felt... wealthy.

Filthily wealthy.

"...this all belongs to Arcelis?"

Lucian asked curiously.

"Yes."

"Being an old Vampire sure has its benefits."

"More than you would think."

Garrick smiled.

"They’ve been accumulating property for thousands of years, I’d be more ashamed if they didn’t have at least this much."

He laughed.

Lucian laughed with him.

He liked the Warden Seat, not only was he strong, he didn’t seem like the usual arrogant hunters with something stuck up their asses. He knew when to keep the situation under control and when to let go.

With that thought in his head, Lucian looked out again.

Then, he narrowed his eyes as he saw a... carriage.

Yes, an actual carriage.

And it didn’t seem like the carriage was being used because they didn’t have the money for a car, there were two expensive cars following directly behind the carriage.

Someone was simply being dramatic.

That made Lucian nod his head in approval.

He looked at the carriage, a Vampire woman was sitting inside, she looked young, in her early twenties, of course, Lucian knew not to trust that when it came to Vampires.

What attracted his attention more, however, was the human man sitting beside the woman, he was wearing expensive clothes, he seemed comfortable, but then...

Lucian’s eyes fell on a thin black band on his neck.

At first he thought it was jewellery, but then he noticed a tiny silver inscription on it.

An artifact.

"What’s the collar?"

He asked and Garrick...

He did not answer for a few seconds.

Lucian’s face changed, he thought of a disgusting possibility that he had read about before, though he still continued staring at Garrick for confirmation.

And a few seconds later, he got said confirmation.

"It’s an ownership mark."

"Ownership as in..."

"He’s a Slave."

Garrick spoke directly.

Lucian froze, he stared back at the carriage again, at the man sitting quietly, with his head lowered. The Vampire wasn’t hurting or threatening him, she was simply reading something on her phone, as if the man beside her was merely... property.

"Lucian."

That was when Garrick called him.

Lucian turned towards the Warden Seat and the usual ease on Garrick’s face was now gone.

"Understand that House Arcelis has existed through treaties older than most governments, their history is long, their traditions are... old."

"And wrong."

"That is not for you to decide."

Garrick quickly shut him up.

"You are entering House Arcelis as an Enclave Guest, you are not here to enforce Human law."

He spoke strictly and Lucian—

"I know."

He nodded.

"I will not cause trouble."

"Good."

Garrick nodded.

Several minutes later, they finally reached the first checkpoint.

Lucian’s eyes fell on the wide black gate connecting two enormous stone walls, there were several people here, almost all of them were Vampires. Lucian’s eyes fell on two wearing modern black suits, others were wearing what looked like ceremonial uniforms, dark red coats, black gloves, silver clasps.

And behind them all stood... a much older man.

And the moment Lucian’s eyes fell on him—

He realised the feeling.

Strong.

The Vampire was very very strong, even stronger than Rhydan.

The convoy stopped in front of them, one of the Vampires approached Garrick’s side, the window lowered.

"Directorate Vale."

The Vampire greeted respectfully.

"Welcome to Arcelis Territory."

"Thank you."

Garrick nodded.

The Vampire looked towards Lucian, his crimson eyes paused for a short moment.

He recognised him.

Still—

"This is Lucian Cross."

Garrick introduced.

"The Enclave representative accompanying me."

"Of course."

The Vampire nodded, his eyes staying on Lucian.

"The one who captured Lord Varek."

And Lucian—

He grinned.

"Well, he surrendered."