Chapter 310: I expected more.

Vespera’s eyes instantly moved towards it, Lucian noticed that almost violent reaction, a reaction so strong that even the Vampire attendant who brought it shivered a little.

But then—

She looked away.

That made Lucian frown.

"Another form of training?"

He asked as he turned towards Aurelia.

Aurelia smiled and pointed at the leader of the six Vampires who were fighting Vespera. He was counting something on a small artifact, he waited for a few more seconds, then—

He nodded.

And only when he gave permission did Vespera take one of the containers and drink the blood.

Lucian watched her carefully, the moment the blood went into her system, colour returned to her skin, the sharp hunger he was seeing in her eyes softened instantly and her entire being seemed to calm down.

"I guess that’s it?"

"Hmm? Of course not."

Aurelia shook her head.

"Didn’t you say Vampires can fight for days before they reach the state she was in? Now that she drank the blood and recovered, won’t it already be time for the Ascension before she can be brought to the state where she can train?"

Lucian questioned with a frown.

"That amount of blood is far from enough for her to fully recover."

Aurelia chuckled.

"That amount is only enough for her mind to stabilise. She will be given a few minutes to rest, then she starts her training again."

"So she is supposed to repeat that all over again."

"The more times she repeats it, the lower the chances of her losing herself during the Ascension."

Aurelia shrugged.

It was for Vespera’s own good, no one was forcing her.

Or at least, that’s what most people thought.

Vespera, however, was an Arcelis.

A child from an Ancient House.

And while that came with many advantages, it also came with... certain responsibilities.

One such responsibility was to not be an embarrassment, a child from an Ancient House losing control in her Third Ascension?

That would be humiliating.

And an Ancient House did not allow humiliation, especially one as sensitive as Arcelis, which already felt ashamed by Varek’s actions.

So yes, Vespera did have a certain pressure to do well and was expected to train the way she was training.

"...she is going to hate every second of the day, huh?"

Lucian chuckled softly and as he did—

"She already does."

A voice came from below.

Lucian blinked.

He looked down and noticed Vespera looking right at him.

"It seems like we have been noticed."

Aurelia smiled lightly.

"No."

Vespera called out.

"You were noticed the moment you entered.

Lady Aurelia isn’t exactly subtle."

Those words made Aurelia chuckle.

"I apologise for the late greeting, Lady Aurelia."

Vespera bowed her head.

The rest of the Vampires around her followed her lead.

Aurelia nodded, her smile did not fade away. Vespera then raised her head again, then, her eyes moved towards Lucian.

Lucian waved at her.

She made a strange expression, probably confused about how she was supposed to react to that. So she turned back towards Aurelia and—

"Please, come down."

She spoke as she handed the empty blood container back to the attendant.

Aurelia nodded and moved toward the stairs leading into the arena, Lucian followed her. By the time they reached the floor, Vespera had already consumed another container. As they got closer, Lucian silently observed Vespera.

Her exhaustion was much clearer from up close, her skin was still pale from exhaustion, some of her wounds still hadn’t healed. Her dark-red hair was damp with sweat, some of the strands were stuck to her neck, but despite all that, she stood straight, her crimson eyes were filled with confidence.

And as Lucian and Aurelia came down and Vespera greeted Aurelia once again, her eyes fell on Lucian again.

"So."

She smiled.

"Lucian Cross."

Lucian smiled.

"Vespera Arcelis."

"I do not stalk strangers, at the very least, I need to know the name."

"...right."

Again, Vespera clearly had no idea how she was supposed to answer him. Aurelia almost laughed out loud when she saw her expression.

In the end, Vespera extended her hand.

Lucian took it.

Her hand was cold, which, at this point, wasn’t even surprising but it still stuck out like a sore detail he just couldn’t miss.

"I’ve heard quite a lot about you."

"My popularity has risen in these last few days."

Lucian chuckled.

"That happens when you tear apart a wanted rogue Vampire notorious for torturing even his own kind."

Vespera spoke with clear disgust.

Obviously, she wasn’t Varek’s fan.

Lucian noticed that and her reaction made him curious.

"You don’t seem particularly bothered by the fact that the one I tore apart was once a mem—"

"He stopped being Arcelis a long time ago."

Vespera cut him off before he could finish his sentence. That made Lucian pause, he kept staring at her. Clearly, she did not like him calling Varek an Arcelis.

Her hatred for him was... quite strong.

"I don’t even know why they brought him back.

A filthy existence like him should be erased."

She spoke out loud.

Those words made Lucian raise an eyebrow.

He glanced at Aurelia, she didn’t seem very surprised by the reaction either.

Was this the common sentiment?

Lucian wondered inwardly.

And as he did, Vespera continued staring at him, assessing him properly.

"They say you even fought Rhydan Greyfang to a draw."

"Meh, I was lucky."

Lucian shrugged.

"They say he praised you afterwards."

Lucian smiled at that.

Just then—

"Praise seems to be enough these days."

Another voice came from nearby.

Lucian turned and his eyes fell on one of the Vampires who was standing near the edge of the Arena.

The Vampire started walking towards them, just like everyone here, he looked to be in his late twenties, tall, lean, long black hair tied behind his head, sharp crimson eyes. He wore the same training uniform as the other Vampires here, though unlike Vespera, there wasn’t a single wound on him.

Lucian obviously had no idea who he was.

The Vampire looked at Lucian for a few seconds.

Then he glanced at Aurelia.

"Lady Veyr."

He bowed respectfully.

Aurelia gave a small nod.

"Caelan."

So—

Caelan.

Arcelis, most likely.

Lucian noted in his head.

Caelan’s eyes returned towards Lucian—

"I must admit."

He spoke.

"I expected more."

And the instant Lucian heard those words—

A wide, demonic grin appeared on his face.