Chapter 66: Chapter 64

“I’m sorry you had to see that…”
“Don’t apologise. It wasn’t you who was to blame.”

The guest rooms were each enormous, and just as lavish as the rest of the house. The Dupond family had truly spared no expense, as the corridor for the guest area alone seemed to stretch on forever, both sides lined with extravagant doors to separate private suites.

It wasn’t too surprising that the family were the host of galas and other high society events after seeing the quality of their homestead. Thankfully it appeared to be a quiet period, as there were no other visitors to be seen outside of the occasional attendant diligently and quietly performing their duties.

Guillaume had provided them each with their own giant chamber to stay in while they operated out of Lyon, but as if it were second nature to them now, they had all gravitated towards Yuuji’s room as their hub for conversation. At this point, he didn’t even question it, simply letting the girls come and go as they pleased despite each room being functionally identical.

“Yeah Claire! I’m sorry she was so mean to you!”
“...Even though you are related by blood, she went too far.”

Hibiki and Leona chirped in their thoughts to soothe the brooding girl who sat perched on the bedside. As she had discarded the ruby-red contacts she brought with her, it was still jarring to see her large hazel eyes when she gave pleading glances towards her friends, and though there were glimpses of it here and there, she hadn’t fully recovered her excentric self.

“Mother isn’t wrong though… All my siblings are far more successful than me. I’ve always been the black sheep of the family.”

Claire gave a self-deprecating smile as her head turned down once more. In her usual day-to-day, it was difficult to see her battling with such complicated emotions, but everyone had their secrets, and everyone had their doubts.

“Success is objective. You’re out fighting to save lives from the threat of demons, you can’t undersell that.”
“Un! You help a lot of people, Claire! Even when you aren’t fighting, you help me feel at home with everyone else!”
“...Really?”
“Really!”

Claire kicked the ground cutely as she sniffled again, holding back tears. She was like an entirely different person sitting before them, and some part of Yuuji deep down wondered if he would have had situations like this with his own little sister, should their past have been different.

“I was never any good at studying or playing music. I’m bad at sports because I’m weak, and all I care about is stupid games and make-believe books.”
“...It’s a good thing Ji-Hye isn’t here to hear you say that.”
“So? You’re kind, and cute, and fun! I can’t do any of those things you said either.”
“Devil wo-... Claire. You have heart. Don’t trouble yourself with anything else.”

Though Leona stood with her arms crossed, looking out the window, she was still listening intently to what the others were saying. With her personality as it was, comforting others likely wasn’t her forte, but hearing the sad words tumble from the mouth of her close friend moved her nonetheless.

“*sniffle* …Thank you. All of you.”
“Hehe~, don’t mention it!”
“...Hibiki’s right. We’re a team… No, more than that - we’re friends.”
“...”

Claire wiped her face once more, and puffed out her modest chest. Though her eyes were still bloodshot, they regained some of their signature overconfidence, and her frown turned into a shaky smile that was far smugger than it needed to be.

“H-Humu! *sniffle* My servants, you have treated your queen well!”
“...Hah, what’s with that?”
“Hehe~”
“Queen…”

The friends shared their various reactions to her unnecessary declaration, but even if she was still putting on airs, it was nice to see that she had cheered up. So long as they were still within the Dupond household there would surely be unpleasant memories and thoughts that arose, but if that happened, they would simply need to support her once again until she was back on her feet.

*Knock* *Knock*

“Hmm? You can come in.”
“You are… all here?”

With the steward excusing himself earlier, and the lady of the house likely still ill-tempered at his behaviour, Yuuji hadn’t expected anyone else to show up that night. Instead, as the door swung open, a tall man with an affable appearance stood in the doorway with surprise on his face as he looked between the four of them.

“Théo!”
“Claire! I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner. My hands were tied with the business.”
“Nnn.”

Upon seeing the man, Claire leapt off the bed and buried her face into his chest. He smiled warmly in return, and hugged her gently as he patted her back.

He wore a slick navy-blue business suit, and thick glasses sat on his cleanly-shaven face. His hair was cropped short, but was a familiar strawberry blonde, though perhaps a shade lighter than that of the woman they had seen earlier.

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“I checked the room you were given, but you weren’t there. Why are you all here?”
“Mmmfm.”
“Claire… step back a little.”

She hadn’t released her hug as she spoke, so her voice was muffled and unclear. He smiled wryly as he patted her head before she finally looked up at him to speak again.

“This is our meeting place.”
“Meeting… place?”
“Umu. My servant, Yuuji, hosts our discussions.”
“Servant?”
“Umm… Could you not say anything misleading about me, please?”

Though the others had remained silent during the reunion, Yuuji felt he had to speak up to prevent any misunderstandings. The man, Théo, turned his gaze to them once again, as his eyes widened.

“Ah, I’m terribly sorry, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Théo Dupond, Acting President of the Dupond company, and Claire’s eldest brother. It is a pleasure to meet you all.”
“...Likewise. My name is Ishitake Yuuji.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Claire’s brother! I’m Hibiki!”
“Leona Bianchi. We have met once before.”
“Ahh yes, on Heliopolis, I recall.”

Théo seemed a little uncomfortable as he tried to step into the room while Claire hung off of him with an iron grip. He had made some subtle attempts to disengage her grapple, but seemingly realising there wasn’t a way to remove the girl without significant effort, he gave up and waddled in regardless.

As someone who himself had been subjected to a younger sister's death hug, Yuuji felt some sympathy for the man, but as he retained his composure exceptionally well, it appeared that he didn’t need it.

“I believe you have all met our mother. Please don’t hold the way she acts against her, these are quite stressful times.”

While holding Claire’s head gently so that he wouldn’t push her, he gave an apologetic bow to the group. As he stood back up, Yuuji caught a glimpse of the deep bags under his eyes that were hidden by his glasses, and he stifled a frown.

“I had hoped to be here to greet you myself, but with father gone I barely had enough time to arrange your arrival between meetings, never mind make it here to greet you.”
“Father is not here?”
“No. He is staying with one of his mistresses somewhere to the west. We don’t know when or if he’ll return.”
“I see…”

Claire wore a complicated expression as she finally released her embrace and stepped back into the centre of the room once more. Her brother gave her a harmless smile and shrugged his shoulders; a gesture which they both seemed to understand. Though the siblings were clearly having a moment together, Yuuji felt he had to speak up.

“Is this… information we should have heard?”
“Ah, don’t worry. It isn’t like it’s confidential or anything - it’s well known our parents will do anything for the sake of the company. Our mother is quite like that too, hence why we have such a number of half-siblings on both sides.”
“Wow, that sounds like a big family!”
“Haha, it is indeed.”

Théo maintained his collected smile throughout, and though Hibiki seemed to enjoy the idea of such a widespread family, Yuuji sensed that there was quite some trouble bubbling beneath the surface. Perhaps it wasn’t his place to know, and as Claire didn’t appear to have any interest in taking part in the business, it likely wouldn’t affect them. Still, even just the slight detail of both Théo and their mother separately taking credit for arranging to take care of the students suggested there may be some struggle for control taking place.

It was these kinds of underhanded conflicts that he detested the most: battles fought by shmoozing and telling half-truths to win over allies and grow strength in numbers behind closed doors. His grandfather had undoubtedly faced them in his time rising to power as the Director of the academy, but despite all their differences, one trait the two Ishitakes had in common was their loathing for silver-tongued frauds who held their position over their morals.

“As mother appears to be feeling unwell, I have taken the role of providing the reports on the most recent vampire sighting.”
“You seem quite busy. Wouldn’t it be easier for the steward to deliver this information?”
“Haha, I would never miss out on the chance to see my irreplaceable youngest sister. Besides, there’s no rest for the weary, as they say.”

From beside the doorway, he produced a leather briefcase, from which he pulled out 4 identical folders, and handed them out to the group. Inside each was a blurry photo from a CCTV camera, a labelled map, and a written document with eyewitness reports.

“Now, as much as I would love to remain here to chat and catch up, I really must be off. Claire, my lovely sister, I’m so glad to see you well. Please don’t let mother’s words get to you - we here all mean only the best for your future.”
“...Yes, brother. I understand.”
“You may rest easy for tonight and recover from your travels. I have asked Guillaume to provide an evening meal, as well as transport for tomorrow. Everyone - it’s been a pleasure.”

The man bowed gracefully once again, and Claire waved at him as the door closed. Leona had since returned to watching out the window without saying much, but Hibiki still wore a wide smile as she turned back towards the group.

“Wow, Claire! Your brother is really nice and thoughtful!”
“Kuku. He was my earliest confidant. It was he who first encouraged mine transformation.”
“...It was good of him to visit. I’m glad you were able to see each other.”
“Indeed!”

Though Yuuji had his thoughts, they were not ones to share. This was not his family, nor was it his business to interject. As long as Claire was happy, that would be all that mattered - though as far as he was concerned he wanted to get the hell out of this place before anything bad happened.

With that in mind, he opened up the folder once more, and the group of soon-to-be vampire hunters began discussing their next moves in earnest; a concoction of anxiety and determination bubbling inside them.

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