Chapter 232: Before the Opening

Serafall stood in front of one of the large mirrors in her room while her secretary finished reporting on the incident.

The dress chosen for that night was dark, elegant, and perfectly fitted to her body, closer to the presence expected of a General than something designed merely to attract attention.

The fabric followed her waist and hips without exaggeration, while discreet deep-red details appeared along the sides and near the neckline.

Her black hair was loose, carefully arranged, and a few small pieces of jewelry completed the outfit.

Serafall listened without interrupting, though her eyes had already lost any interest in her own reflection the moment the word "werewolf" was mentioned.

"Repeat the part about how he got in," she asked while adjusting one of her bracelets.

The secretary, standing a few steps behind her with a folder in her hands, quickly checked her notes.

"We still don’t know completely. He was using some kind of natural energy manipulation capable of deceiving perception, scent, and part of the detection systems. He managed to cross at least three restricted areas before being found in the main hall. Eleonora Thorne detected his presence and carried out the capture."

Serafall stopped adjusting the bracelet.

"Eleonora?"

"Yes, General."

"Then we still have enough of the spy intact for interrogation."

The secretary hesitated.

"Technically."

Serafall turned her head.

"Technically?"

"He still has his torso and head."

Serafall stared at the woman for several seconds before letting out a tired sigh.

"Of course. Eleonora."

The secretary decided not to add that all four limbs had been found scattered across different parts of the hall.

The important thing was that the infiltrator remained alive, the blood had been contained, and the interrogation team was already on its way.

At least that part of the situation was under control.

The greater problem was simply the fact that someone had managed to get that far inside the Royal Palace on the very day when a large portion of vampire society’s elite would be gathered in the same place.

Serafall walked to a small table and picked up a glass of blood.

"Any information about the objective?"

"Not yet. He has refused to speak so far."

"He was just captured."

"Eleonora said that will be corrected soon."

Serafall took a sip.

"That worries me more than it reassures me."

The door to the room opened before the secretary could answer.

Victor entered without ceremony, apparently alone.

He was already dressed for the event, and the formal outfit chosen by Carmilla and Scarlet completely changed the impression he usually gave.

There was no simple training shirt, no improvised clothing, and no sign of the man who spent a good part of his days being cut, crushed, or thrown into walls during training.

That night, he looked exactly like what vampire society expected to see when hearing "Serafall’s son."

He looked at the secretary, then at his mother.

"Did something happen?"

Serafall did not ask how he knew.

The additional movement from the guards was noticeable to anyone with enough experience.

"A spy was captured inside the Palace."

Victor slowed his step.

"Werewolf?"

"Yes."

"Who caught him?"

"Eleonora."

Victor spent several seconds thinking.

It had been months since the last time he had seen Eleonora Thorne.

With everything that had happened since the Ascension Ritual, the training with Rakshasa and Yu Jin, Bramford, the werewolves’ movements, and the family’s internal problems, some people had simply disappeared from his routine.

Eleonora was one of them.

The memory of the vampire’s gravitational control returned immediately, along with the rather obvious conclusion that the poor spy probably wished he had been found by literally anyone else.

"Is he still alive?"

The secretary answered before Serafall.

"In parts."

Victor slowly nodded.

"Then that’s the Eleonora I remember."

Serafall took another sip from the glass.

"He’s alive enough to answer questions. That’s all that matters."

Victor approached.

"Does this change tonight’s plans?"

"No."

The answer came immediately.

Serafall placed the glass on the table and gave him her full attention.

"The event continues exactly as planned. Canceling now would be worse. We’d have hundreds of families asking what happened, rumors would spread before we could even control the information, and above all, we’d be showing the werewolves that a single infiltration was enough to change our movements."

Victor agreed with a small gesture.

"Makes sense."

"Besides, the Princess will be attending."

"I know."

"So I’m increasing security."

Victor sighed.

"That seems kind of pointless."

Serafall narrowed her eyes.

"Explain."

"There are going to be enough people in that hall to turn any intruder into dust before the guards can even arrive."

Victor began counting on his fingers without much enthusiasm.

"You, Chysis, Rakshasa, probably some heads of the major families, captains, generals, the Princess herself, and who knows who else Vlad invited. If anything tries to attack that hall directly, extra security will be more useful for organizing evacuation than protecting anyone."

"Under normal circumstances, I’d agree."

Serafall crossed her arms.

"But a spy just crossed the Royal Guard."

Victor went silent.

"He didn’t walk through the door carrying a sign saying he was a werewolf," she continued. "He got through the external barriers, patrols, scent systems, and at least three layers of perception. That means we’re dealing with methods far more sophisticated than what they showed a few months ago."

Victor slipped one hand into his pocket.

"Natural energy."

"Probably."

"Rowe—"

He cut the word off before finishing it.

Serafall noticed.

So did her secretary.

Victor simply continued as if nothing had happened.

"Werewolves have several methods related to natural energy. If they’ve started using that specifically for infiltration, there could be more people inside the Realm."

"That’s exactly what we’re assuming."

Serafall stepped closer to him.

"I’m not increasing security because I believe someone is going to defeat Rakshasa in the middle of the hall. I’m increasing it because we don’t know what they intend to do."

That made Victor take the matter a little more seriously.

A bomb, poisoning, theft, espionage, some artifact, or simply gathering information were much more reasonable possibilities than a frontal attack.

Bramford had already shown that the werewolves involved in that conspiracy were not idiots.

They had researchers, funding, secret routes, and enough knowledge to develop hybrids.

An infiltrator inside the Royal Palace probably had not come there to try killing someone with his own hands.

"You’re right."

Serafall raised an eyebrow.

"I know."

Victor smiled.

"Modest."

"Realistic."

He shrugged and stepped even closer.

"Either way, no one here is as strong as you."

Serafall noticed his intention a moment before Victor leaned in.

The kiss was quick at first, but she grabbed the collar of his outfit before he could pull away and dragged him back.

The secretary immediately looked away with the professional ease of someone who had already learned that observing certain things involving the General too closely considerably reduced one’s life expectancy.

The door opened again.

Natasha entered.

She stopped immediately.

The dark-green dress she wore was completely different from her usual uniform.

Elegant, fitted, and understated, it followed her body without abandoning the disciplined appearance that suited her.

Her hair had been carefully arranged, she wore little jewelry, and there was no obvious attempt to compete with the noblewomen who would spend hours choosing every detail of their appearance that night.

Natasha looked at Victor and Serafall, who were still standing far too close together.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Both answered at the same time:

"Yes."

Natasha showed no reaction.

"What a shame."

Victor finally stepped away from his mother.

Serafall looked at Natasha with obvious irritation.

"You could knock."

"I did."

"No one heard."

"That doesn’t make the door private property."

Victor held back a laugh.

Serafall noticed.

"Don’t help."

"I didn’t say anything."

Natasha walked a few steps into the room and looked directly at Victor.

"It’s about to begin."

Victor took a deep breath.

"Already?"

"The first important guests have already entered the hall, and representatives of the major families are taking their positions. In a few minutes, they’ll officially announce the opening."

She paused briefly before looking at his outfit.

"Also, the great star of the Ascension Ritual should probably appear before people start asking where he is."

Victor made a tired expression.

"Don’t start with that."

"You finished in the spotlight, defeated people you shouldn’t have been able to fight, became a topic among families that don’t even know you, and now half the event is interested in watching General Serafall’s son."

"When you put it like that, it makes me want to go back to my room."

Serafall placed one hand against his back and started pushing him toward the door.

"Don’t even think about it."

"I only said it makes me want to."

"Go to the hall."

Victor looked over his shoulder.

"Rakshasa hasn’t even arrived yet."

"She knows how to walk by herself."

"That’s not the problem."

Natasha opened the door for him.

"You can wait for her in the hall."

Victor realized he was surrounded by two women who would accept no argument.

"You really planned this."

Serafall smiled.

"I planned all of you, dear. This part is easy."

Victor went silent for a moment.

"That was a strange sentence."

"Go."

Natasha went through the door first, and Victor finally followed her.

Serafall remained in the room for a few more seconds, but her smile disappeared shortly after the two left.

She turned her eyes toward the secretary.

"Double the patrols near the internal storage areas. I want every employee who entered today reviewed, even the veterans. And no one touches the prisoner without authorization from Eleonora or me."

"Yes, General."

Serafall looked toward the corridor leading to the grand hall.

That night would gather enough power to make most nations think twice before attacking.

Even so, a werewolf had entered the Royal Palace without being detected.

Serafall did not like coincidences...

And she liked them even less when they happened near her son.