Chapter 154: Silas Goal

Feeling the gazes of all three vampires settling upon him—

Silas felt as though invisible mountains had suddenly been dropped onto his shoulders.

The pressure was unbearable, especially because one of those gazes belonged to Valentina Scarlett herself.

Even so, through years of noble upbringing, he forced himself to maintain a strained smile and repeated his introduction.

“Lady Valentina, this humble one is named Silas Sinclair.”

His voice remained extremely respectful as he addressed her.

Lucian raised an eyebrow.

“What happened to being the only son of the Marquess?”

Silas’s eyelid twitched as he cursed him in his mind, but he just shook his head faintly.

“There is no need for the Duchess to know such insignificant details.”

Lucian’s smile widened slightly, and for some reason, Silas didn’t like that smile on his lips even a bit.

“But you didn’t seem to have any shame telling all that useless information to Hothead over here.”

And his unease was confirmed true when Lucian spoke the next words.

“Who are you calling hothead, fucker?”

Vivienne’s voice exploded from beside him as she glared at him.

Lucian briefly glanced at her, then turned back to Silas, completely ignoring her existence.

And seeing this, Vivienne grew even angrier. Her face almost turned red with rage, and sparks began forming across her fingertips.

The air crackled.

“Phooo…” She let out a hot breath, forcing herself to calm down.

Then she ignored the bastard beside her and shifted her attention back toward the nobleman.

“Ignore this bastard. Just answer why you’re here and get lost.”

Silas immediately nodded, not wasting another second.

His gaze briefly shifted toward Valentina, who sat quietly on the couch, watching and listening to their conversation—or, more accurately, their argument.

He swallowed, then spoke.

“I… I have some information that may interest you.”

“Stop talking in riddles and get to the point!”

Vivienne’s voice rang out sharply, making Silas flinch before he instantly nodded again.

“I found some information regarding Lady Seren’s disappearance.”

The moment those words left his mouth, complete silence fell over the hall.

The atmosphere changed instantly, and all three of their expressions shifted.

Even Valentina, who had looked completely uninterested just moments ago, suddenly became expressionless.

A crushing pressure once again fell over Silas, almost making his heart stop for a moment.

But despite the fear, he smiled inwardly.

Because he had finally gained their attention—especially the Duchess’s.

“Speak. What information?” Valentina asked quietly, her voice soft, yet enough to make the air tremble.

Even Lucian’s expression suddenly turned cold.

Valentina had already told him during their training that his stepmother hadn’t died, as she wasn’t just teaching him about weapons but many other things as well.

Though his master was far too lazy to properly teach him about vampire knowledge, forcing him to ask the same questions again and again until she finally answered a few of them.

But putting that aside—

Lucian instantly used Analysis on the man sitting before him.

[Analysing…]

The familiar blue glow appeared before his eyes.

[Analysis Complete.]

A translucent screen materialized before him.

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name – Silas Sinclair

Race – Vampire(Noble)

Rank – A

Titles – Cunning Noble

Bloodline – Sinclair Bloodline

Affinity – Fire

Talent – SS

[Attributes]

Strength: B-

Agility: A+

Endurance: C

Charisma: A

[Favorability: -5% (Hatred, Suppression)]

[Evaluation — A vampire born from a family whose ambitions exceed even their own capabilities. Just like his mother, he seeks to conquer the Scarlett Family and claim what was never meant to belong to him. A member of a branch family dreaming of overthrowing the main branch.]

Lucian raised an eyebrow as he read the man’s status.

Then slowly—

An amused smile curled on his lips.

Silas was confused by the sudden change in Lucian’s expression, but not wanting to keep the Duchess waiting, he immediately continued speaking.

“A few days ago, our merchants who were secretly buying blood from the humans on Earth found a clue regarding Lady Seren.

A group within the Church has taken her under them, keeping her hidden from everyone else—perhaps even from their own church leaders.”

Vivienne narrowed her eyes, listening carefully to his words.

The man then continued explaining everything in far greater detail, going on a little longer than necessary…

Which could simply be summarized as this:

Seren had been taken in by those Church bastards, who were using her blood to create something—essentially experimenting with it.

The moment Vivienne heard the word experimentation—

Her eyes instantly turned blood-red, her face twisted, and the air around her began to tremble violently.

Silas immediately felt cold sweat forming across his back.

He knew the Scarlett Family cared deeply about their own, but witnessing that reaction firsthand—especially being on the receiving end of it—was terrifying.

After finishing his explanation, Silas wisely fell silent, allowing the three vampires before him to digest the information.

According to Silas’s words, their merchant—seemingly a human—had gradually built connections within certain Church circles through a series of dealings, eventually gaining their trust.

And through that trust, the information had leaked.

And with that same connection, they could lure those Church members to a location of their choosing.

After several moments of silence, Silas spoke again.

“So… Lady Vivienne, Lady Valentina, and the young gentleman… what do you think?”

Vivienne immediately turned toward Valentina, genuinely confused by her lack of reaction.

Her mother…

Normally, she might have already stormed into the human world and bombarded entire cities.

But there hadn’t been even the slightest movement from her.

Slowly, Vivienne followed her mother’s gaze, only to realize that she was quietly staring at Lucian.

And Lucian… that bastard was smiling.

A genuinely amused smile.

“What is it? Why are you grinning like an idiot?” Vivienne asked with a frown.

“Hm?”

Lucian blinked.

Then, as though he hadn’t noticed it himself, he touched his lips. And sure enough, he truly was smiling.

“Nothing, just found this man’s story amusing.”

“Story?” Vivienne’s frown deepened.

Silas, seeing the knowing look on Lucian’s face and the faint smile on his lips, felt a sense of unease creep into his chest.

“What do you mean… um…?”

He didn’t even know Lucian’s name, and as if understanding his confusion, Lucian casually introduced himself.

“Lucian.”

Silas nodded slowly.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

Lucian shrugged, interested in hearing the question.

“How old might you be?”

Lucian tilted his head, then answered honestly.

“Twenty-two.”

The moment those words left his mouth, Silas froze.

His eyes widened faintly.

“…A baby vampire?” He muttered to himself, not even realizing the words slipping from his mouth.

“Is that a problem?” Lucian asked, outwardly showing a bit of confusion on his face.

Though he already knew why he was reacting like that.

Vampires were only considered adults after reaching fifty years of age, and some vampires still considered them children even then.

And unlike humans, who grew stronger primarily through monster cores, vampires relied more on age, growing stronger as the years passed…

Like a refined wine that only became better with time.

Silas immediately shook his head, but before he could say anything further—

“Oi, will you shut up for one minute?” Vivienne’s irritated voice echoed beside him.

Her already low patience was rapidly disappearing, especially seeing how Lucian was dragging the conversation elsewhere.

Lucian slowly turned toward her, and after a long stare, he just shook his head.

“Hothead,” he muttered again, annoying her even further.

Ignoring the murderous glare directed at him, Lucian shifted his attention back to Silas.

“So, Silas…”

The noble vampire immediately looked at him, inwardly wondering whether this man had a death wish, considering how casually he was toying with Vivienne’s anger.

And it seemed even the Duchess didn’t have a problem with that.

“You are telling us Seren is currently being held by the Church, am I right?” Lucian asked.

Vivienne, feeling her head boil with anger, was about to interrupt them again.𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

But her movements suddenly halted, as if stopped by invisible hands.

She glanced stiffly toward her mother—the one holding her in place.

Vivienne frowned, but Valentina silently shifted her gaze to Lucian before turning back to the visitor.

Seeing that the Duchess wasn’t even stopping the newborn vampire from speaking, Silas answered despite feeling a sense of indignity at having to speak as an equal to a baby vampire.

“Yes.”

Lucian nodded briefly, then continued.

“And you have access to these connections with the Church.”

“I particularly don’t.”

Silas shook his head.

“But the merchant involved works directly under our family.”

Lucian nodded again, then asked another question.

“Then… what is your goal in telling us all this?”

This time, both Vivienne and Silas frowned.

Silas didn’t understand the reason behind the question, and even Vivienne couldn’t understand why he was asking such a stupid question.

But still, after a brief pause, the noble vampire answered without hesitation.

“I wish to gain favor from the Duchy itself.”

His answer didn’t surprise any of them, because vampires were selfish by nature. There was no way he could have given away such information out of pure kindness either—and if he had, that would have been truly suspicious.

“Do you now?”

Lucian’s words only made him more confused and increasingly uncomfortable, and finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Lady Valentina, is it truly acceptable for—”

“Hey…”

Lucian interrupted him again.

Silas’s jaw clenched tight.

But…

The moment he met Lucian’s gaze—

His body froze as his eyes locked onto Lucian’s crimson ones, which suddenly began glowing dangerously bright.

Every fiber in his being screamed at him to look away, yet strangely, he couldn’t.

It was as if his body had stopped listening to him.

Then—

“So answer me again.”

Lucian’s voice echoed through the hall, sending an unsettling chill down Vivienne’s spine.

The moment she looked into those eyes, even she felt herself being drawn into them before immediately looking away.

The crimson glow within his eyes intensified.

“What is your goal in all of this?”

Silas’s eyes slowly began to lose their clarity, and without even realizing it, his lips parted as he opened his mouth to answer.