Niki''s imagination shattered the moment he arrived at the Volkov mansion. The old-fashioned ce that Alucard lived in seemed outdated and crudepared to this fortresspound. He found himself surrounded by more wolves than he ever thought possible.


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    This situation led him to wonder why none of them had appeared in the past or what caused his father to live in such poverty. Questions lingered on his tongue as the aesthetically pleasing maids guided them through the main hallway.


    ''It''s huge!''


    Ivan''s eyes gleamed with a silver glow as he observed Niki and his actions. He felt nostalgic when he entered this ce for the first time after turning eighteen.


    He reached out, cing a hand on Niki''s shoulder, and he suddenly jolted and felt the sudden touch. "Son, I know you have many questions, and probably a lot toin about, but please wait until we meet the old man."


    "..." Niki''s eyes flicked back to his father, a mixture of excitement and judgement in his eyes, and Ivan understood what and why he held those feelings.


    "I know you want to know why, but all I can say right now is... there is a reason for everything. Even if it''s annoying and stupid, don''t worry. I felt the same thirty years ago."


    Though he still carried questions for his father, Niki appreciated the response, not to mention he could clearly see the irritation and regret in his father''s expression. "Okay, Dad. I can wait."


    There would be nothing more embarrassing for Niki to go back on his words to the girls only a day or twoter. His goal was to be more open and take his time to reach a state where they could rely on him as he did them.


    He needed to trust his father, the man who protected and nurtured him all his life.


    .


    .


    .


    The mansion wasn''t gaudy or decorated with expensive items like the Alucard mansion. Instead, it featured images of battles, duelling arenas and countless different silver-haired wolves in battle.


    Thus, the mansion felt like a mausoleum or a dedication to the Volkov name rather than a specific person.


    ''Eh... that female wolf looks familiar.'' Niki''s feet stopped while gazing at a young female wolf standing on the bodies of various monsters and other coloured wolves. Her face is covered in blood, and a torn outfit exposes half of her body to the viewer.


    ''Where did I see this woman before?'' It wasn''t just a coincidence—his eyes flicked around the hallway. The main entrance led to a huge path with dozens of doors on either side, leading to ces Niki didn''t know but wanted to.


    "Niki, did that portrait take your fancy? Do you like women like that, haha?" Ivanughed while patting his back with a rough p. "I can introduce you to that woman, who is a feisty and powerful warrior of the n."


    "D-Dad..."


    ''Somehow dad seems so different here, like he''s at peace, orfortable.''


    Ivan''s right eye winked at his son, knowing that he might be ufortable here before understanding the history and reason for this fortress. ''I hope he understands...''


    He watched Niki''s curious gaze with a warmth in his chest, never thinking this day mighte after the ritual had cost their family so many good wolves. Now, seeing them wee Niki without prejudice made Ivan feel like a fool for breaking off with his father back then.


    ''I can''t really me Niki for being stubborn and hiding things... This might be my chance to tell him about everything I''ve hidden. To fix our distorted and broken rtionship.''


    Ivan once told his father that if Elizabeth was his world, then Niki was the sunlight that brought the world to life.


    His eyes watched as they ascended the stairs to the second floor, where most of the warriors trained and prepared to serve their future lord as knights, squires and thralls. His mind became nostalgic.


    ''Soon...''


    .


    .


    .


    The second floor of the mansion removed the hallway, instead creating a staircase to the third floor and several huge rooms, where groups of twenty people trained vigorously, some with des, others with guns and thest two rooms seemed to be educational rooms to learn about the current world and several high-level topics.


    "Young Lord, Lord Ivan, would you like a tour of the educational floor?" The beautiful maid had a hairstyle simr to that of the woman in the painting earlier, but to Niki, this lovely woman didn''t seem to be the same person.


    "Sofia, for now, I want to meet Father before anything else. Afterwards, if you are willing to take Niki around, he would probably love it. He said you were beautiful at youring of age battle and could barely remove his eyes from you."


    Somehow, a universal fact of all fathers was their ability to humble their sons, no matter how strong, smart or special they became.


    "Dad?" Niki tilted his head, looking at the maid who helped park his new car, the soft eyes like gemstones and smooth skin that couldn''t be a day over twenty. "What do you mean?" An honest question as the maid named Sofia covered her lips, hiding a wide grin.


    "Young Lord, did you truly?"


    "Haha, Niki, that painting you asked me about, this is the youngdy who won that battle that took ce—" Suddenly, as Ivan was about to state the year, a powerful kick shot past his face, the wind causing the walls to fill with cracks.


    "Last year."


    "No... Sofia...."


    Woosh—!


    "Last year." A cold voice, calm eyes that flickered with a threatening light, as Ivan swallowed, the hair from just above his ear now floating to the ground.


    "Ahem, Niki, this is the woman from that painting and the grand battle st year'' how is it?"


    Once again, Niki realised that no matter how long-lived or how youthful a female became, their age and looks were still a trigger. A trigger of death.


    His lips trembled, noticing the power from those kicks surpassed Alexei several times... "Ahem, it''s a pleasure to meet such a young and powerfuldy!"


    The maid obviously understood his doubts, but because Niki didn''t verbalise them or act stupid like Ivan did, she chuckled, covering her lips while sharpening her gaze. "Young Lord, I am your guardian." The maid gave an elegant curtsey before ring at Ivan.


    Niki exchanged nces with his father, who shrugged and gave a sly grin. The old man knew something but kept quiet. ''No, he will tell me. He wants me to wait. Let''s wait until we meet the old man.''


    "Do not worry." Sofia smiled gently this time and showed a warm gaze that was different from before. "It is my pleasure to have the Young Lord''s attention and admiration. We have also been watching the Young Lord, and to finally meet you is more than we could have asked for."


    "We?"


    "Huhu... we should reach the next floor. The Great Lord is probably getting impatient." Sofia avoided the topic, but her right eye snapped shut, winking at Niki.


    Since Niki could not feel any negative emotions, his father, despite being threatened, smiled and joked around with the maid. Niki didn''t see any reason to cause issues, but the door to the third floor felt bizarre.


    [Please Scan Your Iris]


    A robotic voice echoed from a digital keypad... it felt so different from the rest of the mansion.


    Sofia calmly walked forward, cing her face near the keypad scanner. In an instant, an iris scan appeared on the keypad: beep, beep, click.


    "It''s very high-tech..."


    The sound of airpressing and metal hinges unlocking sounded out from behind the doors. Slowly, as the group entered the room, it led to another door, although smaller.


    A door that made even Ivan sigh with relief. "We''re almost there." However,pared to his son, whose face didn''t betray any feelings, his eyes showed concern, as if his son might escape through the window at any time.


    If he ran away, Ivan wouldn''t be able to stop him, but maybe he''d at least follow his son.


    ''Well, my old man can be annoying... he loves speaking about his damn nts.'' Ivan rubbed his neck as he saw Niki inspecting the new door, this time with another scanner, but Sofia stepped back.


    [Please Scan Your Iris]


    This time, Ivan sighed as he put his face on the scanner. In mere seconds, the lock clicked, and a sharp buzzing sound let them in as the door unlocked.


    [Direct Bloodline Confirmed!]


    "Sorry, Niki. My dad loves spy movies and other sci-fi rubbish." As he looked at his son, his confusion and suspicion hadn''t diminished. "Seriously? Why go through all this trouble just to enter a home?"


    It was when father and son connected. Their eyes interlocked, and their lips curled into a wide grin. Then Niki''s face lit up, and he asked, "Is this the reason you hated watching sci-fi movies with me as a kid?!" Ivan raised his hand, and instead of a p or punch, which shocked Niki, he received a pat on the shoulder.


    "You''ll see... our old man is so troublesome."


    It was at that moment that Ivan''s body suddenly vanished from Niki''s sight, mming into a distant wall with a loud thud. Followed by an elderly man''s low voice.


    "Who is troublesome?! You damn unfilial boy!"


    It was at that moment that Ivan''s body suddenly vanished from Niki''s sight, mming into a distant wall with a loud thud. Followed by an elderly man''s low voice. "Who is troublesome?! You damn unfilial boy!"


    Niki''s gaze turned to the voice... long, silver hair down to his hips, a rather youthful yet weathered face with dull grey eyes and a stern-looking re pointed at Ivan. "You dare insult me when bringing back your pup to this ce!" As Niki stared, the older gentleman turned his gaze onto Niki.


    "Oh~ hello there Niki, my grandson! It''s great to finally meet you in the flesh." At first, a harsh gaze inspected every inch of the silver-haired wolf in front of him until his face changed into one of adoration.


    ''A COMPLETE 180!''


    "Hah! Dad isn''t my Niki great!"


    "Quiet, I am speaking with my grandson right now!"


    The two men stood opposite each other, but the scene in Niki''s eyes looked different—the first meeting with his grandfather and the image of his dad acting like a teenage kid rebelling caused Niki to chuckle.


    "Old man, don''t pull my hair are you as girl?!"


    "Heh... as long as long we win, anything is ok!"


    "Dirty old man!"


    "Hohohohoh! You''re still a thousand years early to defeat me, little pup!"


    ''Somehow... it''s like an older more childish version of my dad fighting against himself...''