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Lacus Welt had always thought Mikaela Hyakuya was strange.
That wasn’t exactly an unusual opinion. Almost every vampire who had spent enough time around Mikaela eventually came to the same conclusion. There was simply something about him that didn’t fit. He was young, for one thing, but youth alone wasn’t particularly unusual among vampires. What made Mikaela strange was everything else.
He didn’t drink blood.
At least, not like a normal vampire. Lacus had never actually seen Mikaela feed properly, and whenever the subject came up, Mikaela seemed remarkably uninterested in discussing it. Somehow, he could go far longer than any vampire should have been able to without feeding, and yet he never appeared particularly weakened by it.
Then there was his strength.
Mikaela was far too strong for his apparent position. Lacus had seen him fight before, and every time it happened, the same thought occurred to him: Mikaela shouldn’t be able to do that.
Yet he could, and it was irritating.
What made it even more irritating was that Mikaela didn’t seem particularly impressed by his own abilities. He didn’t boast about them, didn’t use them to intimidate weaker vampires, and didn’t seem interested in climbing the hierarchy.
If anything, he seemed to prefer being left alone.
There was, however, one thing about Mikaela that Lacus found much harder to ignore.
The throne room.
Mikaela was constantly being summoned there.
Sometimes it happened once every few days. Sometimes several times within the same week. A servant would appear, quietly inform him that Queen Krul Tepes wanted to see him, and Mikaela would sigh before following them.
Nobody knew why.
Mikaela never explained. Whenever someone asked what the Queen wanted, he usually gave some vague answer about errands or instructions, and eventually everyone had stopped asking.
Lacus hadn’t. He couldn’t help being curious.
Krul didn’t summon ordinary vampires to her throne room that frequently. She certainly didn’t seem to have any reason to keep calling Mikaela specifically.
And Mikaela never acted frightened when it happened.
He didn’t seem honored, either.
Most of the time, he simply looked annoyed.
That afternoon, Mikaela had been summoned yet again.
By evening, the subject had inevitably become the topic of conversation.
Lacus was standing with Rene, Chess, Horn, and several other vampires in one of the side halls when Chess brought it up.
“Again?”
The vampire beside her nodded. “Again.”
“How many times has that been this week?”
“Five.”
“Six,” another vampire corrected.
Chess frowned. “Six?”
“Six.”
Lacus folded his arms. “Maybe the Queen simply has a lot of work for him.”
Rene glanced at him. “Then why does she never summon the rest of us that often?”
Lacus didn’t have an answer.
Another vampire shook his head. “It’s strange.”
“Everything about him is strange,” someone muttered.
Chess looked toward him. “You mean Mikaela?”
“Who else?”
A few vampires laughed.
Lacus didn’t.
He couldn’t deny that Mikaela was strange, but that didn’t explain why Krul kept calling him to the throne room.
Rene looked thoughtful. “I’ve wondered if the Queen is using him for something.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know.”
“Spying?”
“On whom?”
Rene shrugged.
Lacus frowned. “Why would she need Mikaela to spy on anyone?”
“Maybe because nobody suspects him.”
The idea earned a few thoughtful looks.
Another vampire scoffed. “You’re all overthinking it. He’s just weird.”
“That doesn’t explain the summons.”
“Maybe the Queen likes him.”
Chess laughed. “That’s not an explanation.”
“Maybe he’s useful.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe he’s dangerous.”
Lacus glanced toward the doorway before looking back at the others. He couldn’t explain why, but something about the conversation was beginning to make him uncomfortable.
Another vampire crossed his arms.
“Honestly, I don’t even think he’s a proper vampire.”
That caught everyone’s attention.
“What do you mean?” Lacus asked.
“You know what I mean. He doesn’t drink blood. He doesn’t behave like us. He doesn’t care about rank, and he’s stronger than vampires who’ve been around far longer than him. Something about him isn’t right.”
Rene nodded slowly. “That much is true.”
“I think the Queen is wasting her time.”
The words had barely left his mouth when the room went completely silent.
Lacus turned toward the doorway.
Krul Tepes was standing there.
Nobody had heard her arrive.
The vampire who had spoken went pale, and everyone immediately bowed.
“Your Majesty.”
Krul walked into the room without saying anything for several seconds. Her gaze passed over each of them, lingering just long enough to make Lacus uncomfortable.
“I hope you enjoyed your conversation.”
Nobody answered.
Krul’s expression remained calm.
“Since you are all apparently so interested in Mikaela, perhaps I should clarify one thing.”
Lacus kept his head lowered.
“Mikaela is my son.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Lacus slowly lifted his head, certain that he had misunderstood her.
Chess was staring at Krul as though she had suddenly begun speaking another language. Rene looked equally stunned, while the others seemed incapable of deciding whether they were even allowed to react.
Krul gave them no time to recover.
“You will report to the throne room tomorrow morning.”
She turned and walked away.
Nobody dared speak until she was gone.
Chess was the first to break the silence.
“Did she just say—”
“Yes,” Rene interrupted quietly.
Lacus remained staring at the doorway.
He didn’t know what to think.
Mikaela?
Krul’s son?
The idea was so completely unexpected that his mind struggled to make sense of it.
And yet, now that he’d heard it, the memories began coming back.
The constant summons. The way Mikaela could enter the throne room without any punishment after, or the way Krul seemed to know exactly where he was.
The way Mikaela never seemed particularly surprised nor interested when the Queen called for him.
Lacus had always thought those things were strange. Now they were something else entirely. Mikaela was still very strange, but now that they know that he is basically the prince, somehow he got even more confusing.
The next morning, the vampires assembled before Krul’s throne.
Mikaela wasn’t there. which wasn’t a big surprise, but Lacus still noticed immediately. Neither were there any servants or guards present which was way weirder.
Only Krul and the vampires she’d summoned were present.
The doors closed behind them, and Krul looked down from her throne.
“I assume you have questions.”
Nobody answered as Krul’s gaze moved across the room.
“Yesterday, you were discussing Mikaela.”
Lacus lowered his head.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I heard what you said.”
There was no anger in her voice and that somehow made it worse.
Krul leaned back slightly.
“I am not interested in hearing your opinions about Mikaela again.”
Everyone remained silent.
Then she said, “You now know that he is my son.”
Lacus looked up.
Krul’s expression was completely serious, but you could also tell that she was also kind of bored.
“That is all you need to know.”
There was no further explanation.
No justification, Nor elaboration.
Nothing about how it was possible, how it had happened, or what it meant.
Krul simply looked at them as though the statement required no explanation whatsoever.
Chess hesitated before asking, “Your Majesty…”
Krul’s eyes moved toward her.
“Yes?”
“Does Mikaela know that you told us?”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
“He does not and will not know.”
Krul’s expression hardened.
Lacus understood the implication.
Krul continued, “This meeting never happened.”
Everyone bowed their heads.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You will not tell Mikaela what I said.”
Another nod.
“You will not tell any other vampire.”
Another.
“You will not discuss this with the lower ranks, the nobles, servants, or anyone else.”
Krul’s gaze sharpened as the room remained silent.
“I will decide what Mikaela knows and when he knows it.”
Her voice was calm, but there was no room for argument.
“Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Krul nodded.
“Good.”
She looked over them one last time.
“You are dismissed.”
That was it.
There was nothing else. No
explanation for why and how Mikaela was her son. No story about where he had come from. No information about what his position meant.
Krul hadn’t even told them whether Mikaela knew about their relationship at all beyond what she’d just confirmed.
She had simply given them one piece of information and made it very clear that they were not entitled to any more.
The vampires left the throne room in silence.
Once the doors closed behind them, Chess looked at Lacus.
“He’s really her son.”
Lacus nodded slowly.
“I heard her say it.”
Rene looked unsettled. “I still don’t understand.”
“Neither do I.”
Chess lowered her voice. “And we’re not allowed to ask.”
“No.”
“Not even Mikaela?”
Lacus glanced toward the corridor.
“Especially not Mikaela.”
They fell silent again, It was strange.
Only yesterday, Mikaela had been nothing more than the weird vampire who didn’t drink blood, didn’t seem to care about vampire customs, and somehow kept getting summoned to the throne room.
Now Lacus knew that there was something between him and the Queen that nobody else had known.
But that knowledge hadn’t answered any questions..It had only created more.
The worst part was that Lacus suspected Mikaela himself would have no idea why everyone was suddenly acting strange around him.
He was right.
They found Mikaela later that afternoon.
He was walking down one of the corridors with several books tucked under one arm when he spotted them.
“Lacus.”
Lacus looked over as he saw Mikaela approaching, looking mildly annoyed.
“Have any of you seen Krul?”
Chess nearly stumbled, Rene immediately looked away and Lacus forced himself to remain calm.
“No. Why?”
“She sent someone to find me again.”
Chess stared at him.
“Again?”
Mikaela sighed.
“Yes, again.”
He adjusted the books in his arms.
“Why would she call for me and not be there when I come anyways.”
Lacus had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from reacting.
Mikaela frowned.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You look weird.”
“I always look like this.”
“No, you don’t.”
Lacus smiled.
“Maybe you’re imagining things.”
Mikaela narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“You vampires are terrible liars.”
He continued down the corridor as Lacus watched him go, Mikaela didn’t know.
He didn’t know that the vampires around him had just learned something that changed the way they understood every interaction he’d ever had with Krul.
He didn’t know why she had decided to reveal the secret to them.
And he certainly didn’t know that the people who had been whispering about him the night before were now carrying a secret they couldn’t tell him.
Lacus looked toward the others, as nobody said anything. They didn’t really need to.
The Queen had given them an order. They got to act like the meeting had never happened.
And as far as Mikaela Hyakuya (could be Tepes for all they know) was concerned, nothing had changed at all.