on his mind. It was unclear if his guard was down or not. Kaito then turned away from the table to check out the room. However, he couldn't make out many details. Any part of the room that was even slightly removed from the candlelight was shrouded in darkness. I can't even tell where the entrance is. That's not good. Kaito choked back his impatience and frustration and calmed his breathing. He had to keep cool. But the feral aroma the smoke from the candles emitted set his nerves on edge. It evoked the image of that black dog, its eyes burning with hellfire. That reminds meâ€”are Elisabeth and Hina all right? "Hmm? Caught your attention, has it?" Kaito looked up with a start. Vlad, no longer eating, wore a surprised expression on his face. Kaito hadn't expected him to sound so young. Unsure of how to respond, Kaito elected to remain silent. "My invitation was rather abrupt, I'll admit. No doubt you're rather confused at the moment. My apologies." Vlad nodded to himself, then snapped his fingers. Darkness and azure flower petals spiraled in front of Kaito, and a bowl of water appeared. The water's surface formed a mirror, then projected a distant scene. Kaito's eyes widened as he looked at it. "Elisabeth... Hina..." Elisabeth and Hina were making their way up the slope to the castle, fighting off a colossal black dog as they ran. Hina swung her halberd, knocking the black dog off its feet. However, her blade couldn't pierce the dog's thick fur. Elisabeth sent countless stakes flying toward its back, but they all simply bounced off. The dog's jaw bore down on her, and she bound it with conjured chains. But although she restrained it, she couldn't deal a decisive blow. "Damn you. To think that you would resist my torture devices this well. Truly, you bear the Kaiser's name well." Elisabeth spat a mouthful of blood on the roadside. Her sharp intent to kill hadn't been dulled. But try as she might to hide it, her crimson eyes were stained with frustration. Placing both hands on the table, Kaito reflexively shouted out: "Elisabeth!" "Don't you think she's being a bit impatient? As I see it, Elisabeth is more volatile than a powder keg. Only a fool would try using brute force to subdue the Kaiser. Although to that point, I suppose trying to fight him in the first place was a mistake in and of itself." Vlad shrugged, his voice filled with the intimacy of one describing their willful child. He gracefully brought the last piece of meat to his mouth. After wiping his bloodstained lips, he gestured with his fork to the bowl Kaito was staring at. "The Kaiser is the highest ranked among all the demons we summoned, the apex of what man can invoke. Even Elisabeth, the famed Torture Princess, won't be able to kill him quite that easily. It would bear poorly upon the Kaiser's name if she could. And he has his pride as a first-rate hound to consider, as well. The leader of the fourteen is in a league all his own." That was the kind of foe Elisabeth and Hina were fighting. Kaito clenched his fists hard. But then he noticed something out of place. "Wait, hold up a minute. The demon's over there, but you're right here. Does that mean you summoned the Kaiser, but you didn't fuse with him?" "Precisely. You likely heard it from Elisabeth already, but I acted as the intermediary to materialize the Kaiser into this world. In a sense, the two of us are as one. Normally, it would have been prudent to merge with him for the sake of my own safety. But I'd rather not abandon the pleasure that comes of having a human body, nor do I much care to have my form reduced to such a hideous stateâ€”they are laughably hideous, are they not?" Vlad chuckled. With a frankness that bordered on cruelty, he laughed at his fellow demons. Kaito was reminded of the time Elisabeth had instructed him to laugh at an underling. Kaito shook his head, then continued asking questions. "So that means you're flesh and blood, right? And if I kill you, the Kaiser will die with you." "Quite so! A rather foolish thing to ask me, though, don't you think? You seem surprisingly foolhardy, so I'll advise a bit of cautionâ€”you can't kill me." Vlad delivered this statement with total apathy. He took his napkin and wiped more blood from his lips. "Elisabeth might stand a chance, but... Much like her, I am no ordinary human." Azure flower petals and darkness gathered around his fingertips. He let go of his napkin, and it unraveled. The thread drew a spiral in the air, then suddenly burst into flames. White ash fluttered gently to the table. Watching him handle the darkness and blue petals, Kaito realized something. This man was close to what Elisabeth would be if she contracted with a demon, just like in Clueless's example. "So why'd you bring me here? Are you going to use me as a hostage?" "...Forgive me. You don't seem to be joking but rather laboring under a misapprehension... Tell me, do you honestly believe that you would have any value as a hostage?" "Oh, hell no. I'm just a benchwarmer. I doubt Elisabeth gives a damn whether I live or die." "I agree. I invited you here because I have a certain proposal for you." Vlad nodded again in a show of near-innocent frankness. But his face then turned serious, and he crossed his hands as he looked at Kaito. "I wish to adopt you as my son and mold you into a second Elisabeth." "Hard pass." Kaito immediately refused, not waiting to learn what Vlad meant by "a second Elisabeth." Despite his confusion, he was sure of his answer. The instant the idea of being the Kaiser's contractor's adopted son came up, refusing was the only reasonable choice. Vlad bore a confused expression, but he continued. "Oh, Elisabeth. My dearest beloved Elisabeth. She was my first daughter, and she was my masterpiece. Her only flaw was that she surpassed perfection. She matured even faster than I expected, but in the end, she severed all ties with me. I want to replace her. For all I have attained, for all I have yet to attain, I need a successor." "But why would you pick me of all people? It really makes no sense." "What I see in you is the potential to surpass even her. I heard a bit from Clueless, but your death was unspeakably cruel despite having committed no sin worthy of such a fate, correct? You understand pain, yet you remain calm in the face of it. On the other hand, you react strongly toward those you hate. Your passion and your composure counterbalance each other." "I don't know if I'd go that far. I feel like there's a pretty big gap between reality and what you think of me." "Is there? I daresay the gap is quite smallâ€”I believe I can expect great things from those who know pain but can still kill others if it meets their needs." Vlad snapped his fingers. The blond maids from before appeared behind him. They blinked their scuffed purple eyes, then bowed gracefully. Kaito, taken aback, glared at the two. Vlad, showing no indication of whether or not he'd picked up on Kaito's hostility, continued, his voice almost musical. "Above all else, you were murdered and had everything taken from you. And those who have been taken from have a right to take from others in turn. They are, if nothing else, prepared to accept that they have that right. A deep hunger is required if one wishes to harness the pain of others. For if one's hungerâ€”one's desireâ€”is shallow, they will eventually be consumed by it. You need a certain capabilityâ€”the capability to wear the tyrant's mantle as if it was the role you were born to play." Vlad's performance was that of a poet, and his analysis of Kaito was that of a scholar. Kaito struggled desperately to avoid being taken in by Vlad's words. The candles flickered, and Vlad's utterances echoed like an incantation. If he kept listening, Kaito felt that his consciousness might drift away. He needed to avoid losing sight of himself. Kaito had no desire to become like Elisabeth. He doubted he'd even be able to. The words coming from the man in front of him were nothing but the ravings of a lunatic. "Ever since she was a child, Elisabeth was exposed to an unreasonable fear of death. Her pain and her fear molded her into the finest work of art. I wish to make you into my second work, into my successor. I admit that wanting a son for having lost a daughter is a rather simple conception, but so be it. What do you say?" "Hard pass. And quit your babbling; you make me sick." "Ah, a spirited answer! But do listen just a while longer. You won't regret it." Vlad was unperturbed. He looked at Kaito the way someone would inspect a mischievous child. Or perhaps it was closer to a breeder, impressed by the strength of a puppy's bark. "I don't intend to look down on you like Clueless did. And I'm not trying to simply take your future for free. That wouldn't be right... Although now that I say it out loud, I suppose it's a bit odd for me to be talking about right and wrong." "What're you offering? Elisabeth's and Hina's safety?" "Heavens no! What makes you think I would give you any say in regard to my daughter? The Kaiser and I will settle things with my beloved daughter, with my beloved, adorable, foolish, loathsome Elisabeth. For that is what love is. Know your place, childâ€”that girl is my, Vlad Le Fanu's, beloved daughter." For a second, a cold light burned in Vlad's crimson eyes. He strode to Kaito's side, then ran one of his black nails through the bowl of water. Elisabeth's figure blurred. "Don't think for a moment that you have a place in our relationship." The glare directed at Kaito lasted only an instant. Then Vlad smiled yet again. "Besides! What I have to offer you is something much more wonderful, something I think you'll find much more important. You see, my skill in magic surpasses Elisabeth's, and connecting to other worlds is hardly a challenge for me." Vlad puffed up his chest with pride. His face was so pleased, he looked like a child inviting a friend to come play with him. Despite speaking of adopting others, Vlad himself possessed a certain childishness to him. But all of a sudden, a cruel smile carved its way across Vlad's face. Seeing that expression, Kaito came to a realization. Fused or not, this man was unmistakably a demon. And demons wedged their way into the cracks in the hearts of men. "It seems your father ran into some trivial problems the other day and was drowned at sea. I can summon him and give him to you as a toy." When he heard those words, Kaito's heart stopped. "...Wait, you're telling me... You're telling me that asshole died?" Before he realized it, Kaito was standing. His chair tumbled over behind him and landed with a crash. The bowl shook, and the image in the water blurred. But Kaito didn't have the composure to pay attention to any of that. He felt as though someone had taken a hammer to his skull. A moment later, a sense of emptiness overtook him. It was like his chest had gone hollow and his heart had shattered. That was how surprised and astonished he was at Vlad's statement. That man had died. That man who seemed like no matter what happened, he'd live forever. Fuck. "Oh, that he did. Congratulationsâ€”your father died! Perhaps