The mont the ancestors’ gaze settled on Cain and Cornelia, sothing ugly broke loose among the kneeling vampires behind them.
Voices rose, trembling at first, then sharper, louder, layered with fear and bla.
"Forgive us, Ancestors!"
"It’s not us, it’s not us!"
"We won’t dare again! We won’t dare!"
Suddenly, one of the vampires spoke in terror, targeting Cain and Cornelia.
"It must be the daughter of Rivik and his husband!"
Others agreed.
"Yeah.Yeah. Yeah."
"They probably did sothing."
"Yes! They probably did sothing to their blood!"
They all said.
One vampire crawled forward on one of the ancestors’s knees, his forehead scraping against the stone as he bowed again and again, voice hoarse with panic.
"They forced their ancestors to awaken! They polluted the blood ritual! Please punish them!"
As if a dam had broken, more voices joined in.
"Yes, it’s their fault!"
"That man’s blood is wrong, it feels unnatural!"
"He’s not one of us!"
"And the woman, she was also probably polluted by her husband!"
"They shad the bloodline of our Moonshade family!"
The accusations piled up, words spilling faster as fear turned into desperate self-preservation.
Vampires pointed trembling fingers toward Cain and Cornelia, as if casting bla could sohow wash away the terror they had just experienced.
Cornelia felt it sharply.
She could hear it not only with her ears, but with her heart. The venom in their words, the eagerness to sacrifice soone else to protect themselves. Her jaw tightened, her grip on Cain’s sleeve firming without her noticing.
Cain stood still, expression calm on the surface, but inside his thoughts were cold and sharp.
Pathetic.
He didn’t even feel anger. Only a dull sense of disdain.
Behind the first wave of accusations ca another, darker tone.
"You two embarrassed the Moonshade na!"
"A husband who shouldn’t even be allowed in the Blood Tower!"
"And a daughter who disrespects the elders!"
"The ancestors never awaken without reason!"
"So the fault must lie with you!"
More vampires echoed the sentint, nodding furiously as if convincing themselves.
"Yes, yes, they brought disaster!"
"They must be punished!"
"They must be expelled!"
"They must be stripped of their military power!"
Cornelia finally turned her head, her eyes sweeping across the kneeling figures. Her gaze was sharp, cold, nothing like the playful or fierce expression she wore earlier in battle.
"You speak loudly," she said, her voice steady. "Yet just monts ago, you were begging for rcy."
Her words cut through the noise for a second, but fear quickly drowned it again.
Then the target shifted.
A vampire noble with streaks of gray in his hair raised his head, eyes flashing.
"And where is Baron Rivik in all this?"
The room stilled slightly.
"He lit the blood signal, yet he did not appear!"
"While chaos erupts in the Blood Tower, the Baron is absent!"
"Is this the responsibility of a ruler?"
"That cannot be! We cannot accept it!"
"He must retire!"
Soone shouted boldly, emboldened by the growing chorus.
"He must step down!"
"Take the Baron insignia off of him!"
"Must step down!"
The words hung in the air like a blade.
Cornelia’s breath caught.
Cain felt it instantly, the subtle change in her posture, the spike of emotion she tried to bury. Her father’s na had been dragged into it now, and not by accident.
More voices joined in, louder this ti.
"Yes, he must step down!"
"The Moonshade family needs a present Baron!"
"One who can control his children!"
"One who can control outsiders!"
Others echoed, their voices overlapping, greed and ambition bleeding through the cracks of their righteous tones.
"Rivik’s rule has grown weak!"
"He allows too much!"
"Look at the ss today!"
But not everyone followed.
So vampires hesitated, glancing nervously at the ancestors.
"That’s too far," one muttered. "Baron Rivik has ruled for decades."
"He stabilized the territories."
"The army still respects him."
Another shook his head, voice low but firm.
"Using this mont to force him out is shaless."
The room fractured into opposing currents, accusations and counterargunts clashing in the air.
Cain watched it all unfold, eyes half-lidded, already seeing through the act.
Ah. So that’s what this is.
They want to take the position of Rivik away from him using these old farts by framing him.
What an old school.
Do they think these old vampires didn’t know what they are doing right now?
I am having a second hand embarrassnt for them.
He leaned slightly toward Cornelia and murmured softly, just loud enough for her to hear.
"They’re not afraid of us," he said. "They’re afraid of losing their chance."
Cornelia nodded almost imperceptibly. She knew it too. These weren’t righteous defenders of tradition. They were opportunists, sensing weakness, sensing blood.
The noise grew unbearable.
"Step down!"
"Punish them!"
"Protect the Moonshade bloodline!"
"Protect it!"
Voices overlapped into chaos.
Then it happened.
A sound tore through the hall, so loud and sharp it felt like the air itself split open.
"ENOUGH."
The single word slamd into everyone like a hamr.
It wasn’t shouted in anger alone. It carried authority so absolute that it crushed sound itself.
The stone floor cracked beneath the force of it.
Vampires scread as blood mana surged uncontrollably inside them, forcing them flat against the ground.
So vomited blood.
Others could only sob.
"rcy!"
"Please forgive us!"
"Calm your heart, ancestors!"
"Calm you hearts!"
The room fell into instant silence, broken only by ragged breathing.
One of the ancestors stepped forward.
His eyes burned like twin embers, ancient and furious. His presence alone bent the air, his blood mana pressing down so heavily that even Cain felt a faint resistance, like pushing against deep water.
Cornelia was forced to bow her head slightly, not from fear, but from the sheer weight of his existence.
The ancestor’s gaze swept across the kneeling masses, disgust plain on his withered face.
"We have not even spoken," he said slowly, each word dripping with cold contempt, "and you are already pointing fingers at your own kind."
His eyes flicked toward Cain and Cornelia, then back to the crowd.
"How outrageous! You even bla the Baron we chose."
His voice rose, echoing off the ancient walls.
"You bla his daughter."
"You bla her husband."
He took another step forward, and the blood mana pressure intensified, forcing heads lower, spines bending.
"Are you all truly mbers of the Moonshade family?"
No one answered.
No one dared.
The ancestor’s gaze hardened further.
"Or are you vultures," he continued, "circling for power the mont you sll weakness?"
Terror rippled through the hall.
So vampires shook so badly they could barely remain conscious.
Cornelia felt a strange mix of emotions swell in her chest. Relief that the bla had been halted.
Anger at their audacity. And a quiet, burning resolve.
Cain, on the other hand, smirked faintly inside his mind.
Good. The old fart finally said sothing useful.
The ancestor raised his hand slightly, silencing even the smallest whimper.
"Listen well," he said. "Before you speak of punishnt, before you speak of stepping down, before you speak of bla."
His eyes narrowed.
"Know your place."
The words settled heavily over the room, ending all argunts in an instant.
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