Villain's Harem Returns
Chapter 33: True Morality

Chapter 33: True Morality

Draven sat on his throne with Serena beside him.

Since the morning, she seemed inclined to stick close by. Draven did not mind though.

In front of him was Dracula, who examined the map gifted to him by the Fairy Queen.

As he did, the man tugged at his blue moustache as though in deep thought.

"Well, the map seems accurate." He said. "But that’s not what’s at question here. What we should be asking, is whether the fairies tell the truth. Could a vampire clan really thrive under our radar for so long? And if so, who are they?"

Dracula was asking all the questions that Draven had asked himself.

"We could send scouts," Serena suggested from the sidelines. "I wouldn’t mind going myself. Just give me a handful of Eversleepers and I could check what’s going on there."

Draven considered the option but ultimately decided against it.

He had just started to grow closer to Serena. It would be foolish to risk losing that so quickly.

Of course, there were other women here for him, but he was fond of her.

And over time, he had realised that certain members of a harem were irreplaceable.

"It’s too dangerous." He responded bluntly. "If we decide to go there, it will be with violent intentions. Their clan would need to be subjugated and forced to bend the knee to me, or face being wiped out."

They are lucky that I even grant them that mercy.

"I agree," Dracula said. "The crime they commit is grave."

Draven thought about the situation, wondering how he should go about things.

After a few moments, he came to a decision.

"I will go there myself, with a small group of knights. I highly doubt that the vampires are strong. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to hide."

Dracula looked at Draven, sceptically.

He knew that it was a dangerous risk, but he had faith in his good friend.

"Whilst I’m away, the rest of the knights should recover from battle, and train for what’s to come. I have yet to speak to you all properly, but there is a larger battle on the horizon. One with the humans. With The Mother."

Dracula and Serena both nodded their heads, accepting the words of the vampire lord.

He doubted that they knew the threat that the humans truly opposed, but soon, he would speak to them all about his conversation with Galvacaniva.

He brushed the thought aside for now.

Afterwards, Draven told Dracula that he would be left in charge of things during his absence as usual, so the man left to go about his duties.

Then, it was just Draven and Serena in the throne room.

The second-ranked knight watched Draven with a pleading eye.

"Will you take me with you?" She asked hopefully.

Draven scratched at his chin in thought.

It would be good to have her company.

However, I did hope to use this moment to grow my relationship with some of the other Knights that I am less familiar with.

...

An idea popped into his head.

Ahh, it seems I have been looking at the situation through the wrong lens.

Serena could not stop me from getting to know other women anyway.

"You may come if you wish."

Serena’s eyes lit up as a smile spread across her lips.

"Thank you, Master Draven."

She still used honorifics, despite the fact that they were now acquainted on a personal level with each other.

Draven didn’t mind though.

He loved the respect.

---

The vampire lord used his telepathy to call together a small group of Nocturnal Knights.

In front of him on the red carpet was Serena Noctaris, the Second-Rank.

Maya Heart, the Sixth-Rank.

And Oprah Breaker, the Twelfth-Rank

Of course, Draven was familiar with Serena, and he had known and slept with Maya’s mother over a thousand years ago.

But Oprah was a woman he had yet to speak to personally.

Her hair was black, which was a rarity amongst the vampires, and she dressed in white robes, wearing a black jacket over the top.

But what interested Dracula about her most was her cute and innocent demeanour.

She was more petite than most of the other women, but she had a charm to her that Draven couldn’t help but find himself being drawn to.

Maya Heart on the other hand, with her short skirt and large chest, made him feel pure lust.

Her green hair and small heart-shaped tattoo on her cheek gave her a seductive look.

Ultimately, Draven was pleased with the choice of women.

"Greetings, Ladies." He said as the three vampires stood in front of their lord with respect in their eyes.

Draven quickly filled them in on his visit from one of the fairy queens, and what he had been told about the hidden vampire clan.

Maya and Oprah seemed shocked at the news.

The fact that they had let a clan slip under their radars filled them with fear.

Not fear of the clan, but fear as to whether they would be punished by Lord Draven for making the mistake.

"Do not worry. It is much as a fault of mine as it is all of yours. They clearly forget who I am, if they thought that they could go unnoticed for so long."

Draven noticed the women visibly relax, as they realised they had not been called to be reprimanded.

"However, they will not be hidden for much longer. I have called you three here together to bring you along on my mission."

He stared each of them in the eyes as he spoke.

"We will head over to their base and either force them to bend the knee or wipe out their entire forces. It depends on whether I am feeling merciful."

He spoke the truth. At the current moment, he was unsure of whether or not he would allow the traitors to live.

It would all depend on how he felt after seeing them.

"We will head out tomorrow, so that you may be given another day to rest. Afterwards, you may meet me here--

Draven’s sentence was cut off as footsteps sounded from down a hallway, heading towards the throne room.

Hmm?

A woman rounded the corner.

Draven recognised her as one of the Nocturnal Knights.

She seemed to be in a rush to get there and was out of breath. Hands on knees and taking in deep breaths.

What rank is she again? I struggle to remember.

The girl had long pink hair and wore a revealing black dress that showed more skin than necessary.

On her back was a magical staff, and she had an incredibly cute face.

"I-im sorry for interrupting, Master Draven, your greatness."

She spoke clumsily and between breaths.

Master Draven, your greatness?

Draven almost let out a laugh at her cute attempt to show respect.

At that moment, he remembered what rank she was.

"Is something the matter, Sakura Noctaris, Twentieth-Ranked knight?"

Now that her breath had returned, she made her way back over to the red carpet where the other Knights stood, and bowed deeply.

"No, nothing is wrong my lord. I just wish to beg that you bring me with you on whatever mission you are planning. I need to prove myself as a knight!"

She clasped her hands together and looked at him with puppy eyes.

"Please!"

A smirk etched onto Draven’s face as he examined Sakura’s body.

I like this one. An interesting character indeed.

...

And a good-looking one.

It did not take long for Draven to come to a decision.

"Well, you can never have too many soldiers. I guess I can take you along with us."

Sakura’s eyes lit up as she smiled at her lord.

"Thank you, Master Lord Draven. I will not disappoint you! I promise. With this staff, I will do my best to serve you and fulfill any task that you have for me, regardless of-"

"Thank you, Sakura. Let me explain the mission to you." Draven cut off the woman’s rant.

A very interesting character indeed.

---

After he had finished re-explaining their mission, he gave his final orders to the four knights that stood before him.

"Whilst I was... Asleep, I’m sure that you have had many different sorts of leaders. But as you should now know from our battle with the Werewolves, I work in a peculiar way."

The four vampires watched intensely as Draven delivered his words.

"Morality does not exist in my world. Many of the other races will argue over the evilness of my actions, but at the end of the day, that is all futile. If I choose to make a decision, then that decision is the right one. If somebody goes against my decisions, then they are wrong. That is what it means to be a true lord."

Although it was not his intention, Draven felt the fear in the hearts of the vampires before him.

"I say this because these vampires may be living comfortably, as a family. They may even have kids amongst their ranks, but it does not matter. If I wish to kill them all, then it will be done, and nobody will question my choices."

As Draven spoke, he was reminded of times of the past.

When he massacred entire families to get what he wanted, and no one dared question him.

He wished to return to his old ways.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Though fearful, the four vampires nodded their heads.

"Well then." He said in a more friendly tone. "We shall meet again tomorrow."