"Marcus, I will be finished in 10 minutes. Wait for me in the salon," I say.
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Marcus can be described as a dedicated household assistant, or on a more personal level, my assistant. However, I view him as more than that, considering him something akin to a best friend.
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Black hair, tanned skin and light blue eyes. He is 23 years old, which means he is 2 years older than me. He's apparently 180cm so I suppose I'm a little taller, standing at 182cm.
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"Yes, your highness," Marcus replied, his voice tinged with a hint of contentment.
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He sure seems happy.
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The hair has been successfully dyed black, the contact lenses have been put on, and the use of distortion magic is also impeccable. Furthermore, the clothing is of high quality, and a pair of silver glasses serves as a perfect complement for my new identity as Alber.
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It is time to exit the room. I proceed to open the door and head towards the salon. As I walk through the hallway, I notice an impressive collection of art displayed in the frames that adorn the walls. Undoubtedly, nobility holds art in high regard and provides a dedicated space for its appreciation.
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Is that Isabella I see next to the salon? Hmm, I believe so.
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It seems that Isabella is in close proximity to the salon but has not yet noticed my presence. I will seize this opportunity to surprise her. I chuckle at the thought of her flustered expression.
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She is slightly older than me, but the age gap is not that significant—about five years, I reckon.
Isabella is someone with whom it is enjoyable to engage in conversations, and she has proven to be someone that I value a lot.
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I conceal my presence and instantly appear in front of her. It takes less than a second for her to notice me and then...
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Isabella lets out a small gasp, which quickly escalates into a loud scream. Amidst her frightened sobs, she tries to address me as "you thief." Did I hear that correctly? However, she struggles to pronounce it accurately, resulting in something like "yoouuuu thiiiff" or something along those lines, followed by her screaming "Marcuuuus".
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What did I do to be called a thief?
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I am left contemplating my actions, wondering what I could have possibly done to be labeled as a thief but before I could think of what I did, Marcus appears from the salon and focuses his attention on me, as well as Isabella, multiple times before bursting into laughter.
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"Wha...?" I exclaimed, along with Isabella.
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Isabella, upon hearing my voice, quickly approaches Marcus with an expression of doubt, embarrassment and a little bit of anger. She demands to know why he is laughing.
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I would like to inquire about the matter as well. Explain yourself, Marcus. This is what I think but do not say it out loud though.
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Marcus greeted me with laughter in his voice as he respectfully addressed me, "Your highness." In response, Isabella's gaze focused on me, her expression a mixture of embarrassment and lingering anger but softening the more she looked at me. It was at that precise moment that realization struck me, and I found myself uttering, "Oh, shit".
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I exclaim "surprise" in an attempt to mask my current feeling of embarrassment, as I had inadvertently forgotten that I had concealed my presence.
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This time I use distortion magic to make me look like the real me.
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Isabella gazes at me with a genuinely startled expression. It appears evident that she was completely caught off guard by this fun or maybe not so fun, turn of events.
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"Your highness, I was unaware that it was you. I deeply apologize for mistakenly labeling you as a thief." Isabella apologizes sincerely.
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"Everything is alright. I just wanted to play a prank on you, but it seems like I ended up going too far". I say
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"No way, there's no need to apologize, more importantly why are you here, Your Highness?" Isabella inquires, indicating some degree of joy.
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"I have come here to discuss certain matters with Marcus. I must leave now, but let's catch up to talk later, Isabella," I said.
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"Of course, Your highness ," Isabella replied happily.
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"Shall we, Marcus?" I asked.
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"Yes, Your highness," Marcus answered.
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I bid farewell to Isabella and entered the salon, taking a seat at the table with Marcus facing me.
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"Marcus, you do have an idea of what I am about to do, am I right?" I say nonchalantly.
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"I can't say that I don't know, but I also can't say that I know for sure, I have some vague idea," Marcus says.
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"Putting aside small talk, let's get to the point, Marcus. But first, you have to promise me that what I say here stays here," I say with a serious face.
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"I swear, Raphael, what I hear here will be known only by the two of us," Marcus says.
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I smile.
That's what I expected to hear.
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"Blood rose, does it ring any bells?" I say.
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"Blood rose? Are you perhaps talking about the vampires' strongest empire?" Markus asks somewhat reluctant.
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BloodRose rank's 3rd place in strength between all territories so I guess he's quite shocked to hear me mention it, after all it's not just about me choosing a strong empire but choosing the vampire's strongest empire.
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"Yes, that blood rose, my objective is bloodrose's royal family blood". I say determined.
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Marcus slams his hands on the table with a good amount of force and...
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"Are you being serious? Don't say something like that again, that's a no. I'm not letting you do something that stupid, do you want every person you love dead?
You don't only want the blood from someone of the bloodrose empire, you want from the royal family too?
You're not thinking straight." Marcus says with anger.
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I open my eyes a bit more than normal in surprise of what I heard, but I guess it's understandable after all, they're the first in line descendants of the progenitor Giure Grando and one that is not his descendant does not have the right to share the same blood as him, at least that's what they preach and they showed it with actions too.
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I look at him directly in the eyes and say "not stupid, not crazy, just tired of being still".
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He looks at me with disbelief and disappointment "I thought you were finally making the first steps towards your future but now...". Marcus says with disappointment.
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"But now what? I thought you were with me on this" I said with a smile that's not really a smile.
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"I never said that, I said that no one would know what was discussed here, not that I would go with with your crazy plan". Marcus says with traces of anger in his voice.
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"You didn't even let me tell you my plans, you just heard a part so calm yourself and listen". I say.
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"No, I'm not going to help you with this". Marcus says with anger stamped in his voice.
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"Marcus" I say .
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"No, this conversation is over, I'm leaving". Marcus says.
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"Marcus?— Hey Marcus? Are you there? At least answer me. For Cleveland's sake will you answer me?". I say.
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"Cle... Cleveland? You kno..." Marcus says
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"Yes, I know, of course I know, there's no way I wouldn't know don't you think? After all these years together, did you really think I wouldn't know your past trauma?" I say.
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"If you knew then... why? Why did you never bring that up?" Marcus says with a mix of anger and sadness in his voice.
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"Do you really need me to explain it out loud? Traumas are better when they are left to be forgotten, don't you think? Why would I bring your traumatic past up? To satisfy my curiosity? I could, I for sure could, but you should know very well the type of person I am." I start saying all this with a serious face but it seems that it turned into a smile gradually.
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"So? Have you decided to listen to me now? I ask.
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"Apologies, I lost my composure. However, please explain to me why you intend to go to such extremes, even if you haven't experienced their brutality and methods when it comes to their 'pure blood'. I assume you are aware of how ugly things can get when that topic is touched upon." Marcus says uncomfortably.
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"Yes, I know, but allow me to ask you how strong do you think I am?" I say it, curious of what Marcus is going to say.
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"Overall or all of your rankings??" Marcus asks.
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"Both" I answer.
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"In Bragança and Alexandria, you are undoubtedly strong, but in the stronger territories, you are only slightly above average," Marcus says.
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"You have reached the 6th rank in the magical ranking and 6th too in the super-human rankings.
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"You would be absolutely correct if you had said that one year before." I say grinning a little.
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"You mean..." Marcus says but pauses and looks at me from head to toe.
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"Bingo, I may have secluded myself from a lot of things, including putting my responsibilities to the side, but still I did not give up everything, not my potential at least", I say while grinning.
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"So you're still getting stronger Raphael, I would expect nothing less from my best friend." Marcus says with a smile that goes from ear to ear.
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"For someone that says all that it seemed as though you did not think I had been putting the effort before I said I got better." I look at Marcus straight in the eyes.
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"Well, I guess I had a tiny bit of a doubt but I still trusted you, you know I'm always here. Changing the subject why did you not tell me before?" Marcus looks at me questioningly.
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"... Surprise" I say after a moment hesitation.
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"Ahah, you and your surprises, I guess that's expected coming from you." Marcus says with a smile.
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"Now, let's get to the main event" I say with a malefic grin.
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"Can't really take you serious when you make those faces ahah." Marcus says laughing.
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Ahah, it feels good not being constrained by rules all the time." I say matter of fact.
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"I said I wanted bloodrose's royal blood and you became too mad to even listen to me, but did you know there are ways to acquire it that would not cause nothing as close to a war?" I say matter of fact.
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Marcus gazes at me with a quizzical expression, as if seeking clarity on my words.
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"What I am attempting to convey is that the general population of bloodrose is ranked 6th in the magical system and 7th in the superhuman system, they also use the bloodrose system to fight but even I don't know much about it. Having said that, they are equal to me in the superhuman system, and are only 1 rank below me in the magical system these rankings solely pertain to ordinary individuals." I stated as matter of fact.
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"Do you understand the point I am trying to make?". I ask.
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"I don't your highness " Marcus replies.
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"Of course you don't, I did not answer my previous question ahah." I say while chuckling a bit.
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-_-
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"Sorry, just messing with you a bit my friend ahah" I say it while grinning.
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"Bloodrose is strong, too strong and I want their blood. Why you ask? Because I need power to reach my objectives and I will not be able to do it if not by such an extreme take.
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"You said there's a way to get the blood without making it all come to war. What's that way you were talking?
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"Good. So are you finally going to listen?". I question him.
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"Yes, Your highness. Sorry again for my outburst and the words I said" Marcus says with a nervous type of voice.
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"It does not matter. I understand why you made the statement, but I kindly request that you refrain from interrupting with questions until the end of the discussion. Otherwise, I may not have sufficient time to fully explain everything today."
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"Yes, your highness" Marcus says resolutely.
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"For starters I'll get my hands on blood rose's blood, depending on the ways I can be injected with the blood making me a "half blood" or injecting it myself making me a human with vampire blood that is if I survive the second option". I say.
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But I don't plan to go with the second option, as the first is what I was aiming from the start". I say
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But, would any vampire willingly gi...". Marcus says or at least tries.
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I'll answer all your questions in the end so for now just listen" I say.
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"Yes, your highness" Marcus says somewhat embarrassed.
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"Do you remember my first love?" I ask.
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"Your first love? I think her name is Lenore but I don't know who she is you never really talked about her, even when your best friend asked you and asked time and time again you never told him, how sad being bestfriend of someone like this— sob, sob." Marcus says while feigning tears.
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"Huhh, well I was somewhat shy and well this and that happened and then that and well, you do understand me right?" I say somewhat embarrassed.
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"No."
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"No need to be so cold I'm at least telling you now." I say sending him a smile while some sweat drops are falling from my forehead.
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Stupid sweat
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"Ahah tell me then I'm all hears Rapha" Marcus says smiling
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"You really need to choose what to call me, first it's "Your highness" then "Raphael" and now "Rapha".
You sure are indecisive ahah, not like I mind that much but try using my name Marcus. Rapha or Raphael is good enough." I say and give him a wink.
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"Hum, okay if you prefer. What's the wink for by the way? Marcus says while giving me a wink too.
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"Ahah, the same as you I guess."
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"Now, hear this with all your attention cause what I'll say now you're not expecting in the least."
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