Chapter 471: A Patient Devil
The "suggestive" interactions between Lucien and Daisy don"t seem at all strange to his wives. It"s natural for girls to see him flirting, but it"s also interesting to see how the mature vampire teases him in such a subtle way.
But for Heike, that is like h.e.l.l, literally the worst day of his life. [What the h.e.l.l are they doing?!?!? Why doesn"t she see that this is the same as humiliating me in front of everyone?!?]
[And why does this guy hate me so much??!?] Heike can"t help but think that Lucien has some kind of grudge against him. [Does he really think he can steal my daughter and wife in front of me??!?]
Elliot, on the other hand, doesn"t think Lucien is doing that on purpose but rather thinks it"s Daisy who is instinctively looking for a more "fit" partner than his best friend.
[I knew this day would come... I told this thick-headed to appreciate his wife, but he was blinded by arrogance.] Elliot clearly sees how Heike always thought no man would want to marry what he calls in secret as his "hot bloodsucking parasite."
Elliot still loves Heike as his brother but doesn"t blame Daisy for flirting with a man who isn"t disgusted by her vampire side. He could be that man himself if his honor didn"t prevent him from doing such a shameless act with his best friend.
And Neal... Well, the young prince has only one thought in his mind since he sat down next to Rose. [She is so beautiful and perfect...]
Lucien isn"t indifferent about how he influences the people around him. He can see that despite not being purposeful, Daisy is instinctively asking for his help.
And he wants to help her. Such a charming, intelligent, strong woman who is also a caring mother? His possessive and l.u.s.tful feelings are activated to the fullest, begging him to love that perfect woman.
[Everything would be so easy if Heike just disappeared...] A dangerous thought flashes through Lucien"s mind, and he quickly shakes his head.
[Who do I want to deceive? That would be easy only for me and not Rose.] He can feel that even though Rose finds it funny that her father is experiencing a shock due to how bad he is as a husband, she still loves him, and her heart is bleeding to see him suffer.
For a second, Lucien tries to put himself in Heike"s shoes and realizes how awful it must be to see his wife acting that way with another man.
Then he sighs and pushes the gla.s.s back to Daisy. "It"s not bad, but I prefer to stick with the wine."
"I see..." Daisy also realizes she has gone too far and looks at Heike with a sorry expression.
"Hahaha... At least you"re having a much better reaction than mine." Elliot tries to lighten the mood. "Many years ago, I tasted blood, and I got sick for a couple of months."
Daisy laughs too. "You vomited the dinner all over the table, hahaha..."
Everyone starts laughing, imagining that scene. But Heike just looks more upset. "No one should have to drink blood; that"s as disgusting as stupid!"
Lucien definitely doesn"t like that comment. He doesn"t understand how Heike can insult his own wife like that. "Maybe some people can"t change how they are… what they are."
"Bulls.h.i.+t!" Heike quickly responds. "We are what we want to be! And anyone who can"t change such defects in themselves is weak and stupid."
"Really?!" Lucien asks as he starts pulling the Ghost Lady out of his scabbard under the table. But Daisy quickly uses her other hand to hold his as she looks at him with a pleading expression, causing him to calm down.
"Heike, my brother." Elliot quickly tries to calm his best friend. "We should not let a dinner party that"s supposed to be a celebration end up in a situation we don"t want to remember."
He sighs and tries to calm down. "You"re right… I"m just a little stressed." Heike knows that acting that way won"t help, but he can"t be calm when he seems to be losing the two women he loves the most.
"That"s normal." Elliot smiles. "You were more than a year away from your beloved little princess and several days without your beloved wife. A man is nothing without those he loves most."
Heike drinks all the wine from his gla.s.s at once before his eyes go from Rose to Daisy, then to Lucien. "Exactly, my friend. And that"s why a man would rather die than let another steal those he loves most."
Rose and Daisy roll their eyes at the same time as Lucien starts to eat the food l.u.s.t has put on his plate and tries to ignore Heike"s words.
"Let"s not talk about sad things, Dad." Rose begs as she eats some food. She"d rather be drinking blood, Lucien"s blood, but she knows her father couldn"t bear to see that.
Heike makes a great effort to smile at his daughter. He can"t look so worried as that would only make him lose more face. "Indeed, my daughter. A family dinner should be the time for pleasant conversations."
"A family dinner? Tsk!" Daisy shakes her head as she whispers. "So why did you bring your friends to support you like in a fight?"
Lucien has a hard time containing his laughter, but Heike doesn"t understand her words. "What did you say, my love?"
Daisy also has to make an effort to make a fake happy face. "I said it"s so good that we"re all together again."
"Yeah, I"m really happy about that." Heike smiles and then puts his hand over Neal"s. "We are family here, even you and your father."
Neal is happy and sad at the same time. He was always very grateful that Heike liked him and always loved him as a second father. Knowing that Heike had always wanted him to be his son-in-law was the best gift he could ask for, but now that feels like a dream, a collective delusion.
"I am very grateful, Lord Heike." He smiles as he speaks politely. If he acted rudely in Great Lady Daisy"s house, his father would disinherit him in the least.
But Heike quickly shakes his head in disapproval as he caresses the prince"s hand. "No need to be polite here, Neal. We"ve always been so close, and I see you as… my own son."
Elliot and Daisy don"t like the way of that conversation, but before they can do anything, Heike makes it worse. "Actually..."
He looks at Rose with a disappointed expression. "I always believed my daughter thought so too. We could have become even closer as a family, but..."
*Sc.r.a.pe*
The sound of Lucien pus.h.i.+ng his chair back gets the attention of everyone at the table. He gets up, making the mood instantly tense.
His wives are in doubt about his next actions, but whatever he wants to do, they will support him. They can clearly see how Heike is neither a good husband nor a good father.
Elliot"s legs shake again as he remembers how Daisy told him Lucien could kill a G.o.d. [Is it now?? Is it now that I will see the power that could kill a G.o.d? d.a.m.n, I don"t even know how powerful a G.o.d should be...]
[Just try something!] Heike really wants Lucien to try something against him, so Daisy and Rose can defend him and see what that devil really is. Well, how Heike thinks he is.
Neal can"t really think about anything other than Rose and how much he loves her.
And Daisy can"t contain her excitement. Exactly, her heart is beating too fast as she feels Lucien"s energy inside her Blood Nascent. A part of him is inside her and will always be a part of her, which makes her feel connected to him more than to Sophia, even though her energy is also there.
Flirting in front of her husband was already very crazy and made her feel pleasant adrenaline. But now, not knowing what Lucien is going to do next is even more exciting.
[Is this how it ends? Am I going to become a widow now??] Daisy can"t help but imagine Heike"s head rolling.
And while she feels a little bad for her loyal husband, she feels even worse for her daughter. [Rose will be very sad... but it will be better this way. Heike could never accept us as we really are... as Lucien accepts us...]
She prepares to take Rose out of the dining room quickly not to let her see that violent scene. But contrary to what everyone thinks, Rose knows that Lucien would not kill her father. She knew in her heart that he would never hurt her.
"Oh, sorry." Lucien smiles before looks at Little Ko. "I"ll help you, darling."
Then everyone watches as he walks over to Ko and helps her cut a piece of steak with a knife and fork. The little tigress is trying to learn how to eat like people so that Lucien can be proud of her, but she is having a hard time with cutlery.
Elliot breathes a sigh of relief while Heike is frustrated. Daisy, on the other hand, feels confused. The worst part for her is not knowing if she really wanted her husband dead.
[No, he doesn"t deserve that.] She concludes. [He is not the best husband, but he was good to Rose and me. A peaceful separation would be best for everyone.]
While Lucien has an amazing father-daughter moment with little Ko, making Oya and his other wives smile beautifully, Heike only gets more upset.
"What was I talking about..." He looks at Neal and Rose again. "Oh yeah. We were always very close, weren"t we? I remember the promise Elliot and I made when we were just two kids living in a cave..."
Daisy starts to get really upset by Heike"s actions, but she focuses on controlling her emotions; otherwise, she fears killing her husband with her own hands.
Rose is also very upset by that conversation, but she doesn"t think of anything violent against her father and just begs him to stop. "Dad..."
But he ignores her request and forces Elliot to partic.i.p.ate in that act that only humiliates him. "My brother, do you remember that?"
"It"s been a long time... let"s not talk about it, please, brother." Elliot also begs Heike to stop.
But Heike ignores him too and goes on. "At that time, the promises were for life, an inviolable vow. And we promised that if our children were born of different genders, they would marry, uniting our family also by blood."
"Dad..." Rose pleads again for Heike to stop.
But he sees nothing but his own stubbornness. "I remember the first time I saw Rose and Neal together. He was just a baby, and she took care of him with so much love and kindness... I thought it would be great to see him taking care of her one day as I take good care of my Daisy."
"Dad..." Rose starts to get angry.
But Heike doesn"t stop even when Daisy and Elliot also start begging.
"Dad..."
"Please..."
"Dad..."
Rose"s pleas echo in Lucien"s mind as the urge to kill Heike grows stronger, quickly approaching his limit.
*BAM!!*
But it reaches Rose"s limit first. She becomes enraged, materializes a stone knife, and stabs it into Neal"s hand, making blood splashes over the table.
"AHHHHHHH!!!!" The prince screams in pain as he feels his hand being torn apart by Rose"s violent energy.
She quickly materializes a knife in her other hand and puts Its tip on Neal"s neck while looking at Heike. "I"ll kill him if you don"t stop!!"
"ROSE!!!" Heike quickly gets up while getting very confused.
Elliot also stands up while acting on impulse, drawing his sword and pointing at Rose. He loves Heike and respects Daisy a lot, just as he fears Lucien. But upon seeing his only son"s life threatened, his paternal instinct speaks louder.
As Daisy gets up too, worried about how that will end, Lucien sees it all in slow motion. He didn"t want it to be that way, but now that Rose has chosen to act, he will support her.
"Put down your sword!" He speaks in a calm but dominant tone as he materializes the golden naginata and points at Elliot.
The golden naginata"s overwhelming aura spreads across the room, affecting only Heike, Elliot, and Neal. They feel an instinctive fear run through their bodies as even breathing becomes difficult.
The word "King" quickly takes on new meaning for them as kneeling in front of Lucien and begging for his forgiveness is all they want to do.