My Blood Legacy: Bloodlines-Chapter 47: Welcome, Victor Valentine.

The carriage completed its descent smoothly, the wheels slowing until, finally, the movement ceased completely before the imposing castle gates. The sound of the horses also fell silent, replaced by a heavy silence, not empty, but laden with presence. Victor did not move immediately. He stood there for a second, looking out the window, now much closer to the colossal structure he had previously observed from a distance.

"...Right, this is bigger than it seemed," he murmured, almost resigned.

Up close, the castle was not just large—it was absurd. The walls rose as if they were infinite, the towers seemed to touch the night sky, and the mountain behind it gave the impression that this place had come from a tale too exaggerated to be real.

The carriage door opened slowly with a soft sound.

Outside, the butler was already in position, impeccable posture, controlled expression, as if he had been there for hours waiting for the exact moment. He gave a slight bow, keeping the door open.

"We’ve arrived, sir," he said politely.

Victor glanced at him for a moment, then outside, and let out a small sigh before finally moving. He placed his hand on the side of the door and descended naturally, his feet touching the stone floor with a soft, dry sound.

As soon as he was fully standing, he looked up.

And... stopped.

For a few seconds, he truly stopped.

"...This is too big for one person," he commented, without even trying to disguise the thought.

The butler, still beside the carriage, let out a soft, polite laugh, something discreet, but genuine enough to break the formality slightly. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Yes, sir," he replied calmly. "But you don’t live alone."

Victor turned his face slightly towards him, raising an eyebrow.

"No?"

The butler adjusted his gloves with a small movement.

"There are many residents and employees here. You... appreciate company." He paused briefly. "And you have rather... eccentric tastes."

Victor was silent for a second.

Then, another.

Then, he let out a long sigh, bringing his hand to his face and wiping his eyes like someone beginning to lose patience with the universe.

"...Of course," he murmured.

He began to walk slowly towards the entrance, his gaze still scanning the structures as he spoke more to himself than to the butler.

"Too much eccentricity wasn’t enough, was it...?" he continued, shaking his head slightly. "First my mother... then Carmilla... Scarlett..." he paused briefly. "And there’s my grandmother..."

He paused for a second, looking at the castle as if evaluating a very well-crafted joke.

"...And now this."

The butler remained silent, but there was a slight trace of curiosity in his gaze, as if trying to understand to what extent this was a genuine complaint or just the young man’s manner.

Victor chuckled discreetly through his nose.

"I should receive some kind of award for surviving surrounded by strangers," he commented.

"I imagine that requires a certain... stamina," replied the butler with impeccable politeness.

"You have no idea," retorted Victor immediately, without even looking at him.

They continued advancing through the front area of ​​the castle, the sound of their footsteps echoing softly against the perfectly aligned stone floor. The closer they got to the main entrance, the more intense the feeling of absurd scale became. The doors were gigantic, tall enough to make anyone seem small before them.

Victor tilted his head slightly back, assessing the situation.

"...If this closes in my face, I don’t think I’ll get out of here even if I die," he commented casually.

The butler simply maintained his composure.

"Don’t worry, sir. We won’t close."

"How reassuring," Victor replied in the same tone.

As soon as they were close enough, the doors began to open slowly.

There was no physical contact.

There was no visible command.

They simply... moved in.

The sound was deep, heavy, the kind of noise that made the absurd weight of those structures evident. The opening revealed a spacious interior, illuminated by a soft light that contrasted with the night outside.

Victor didn’t enter immediately.

He took another step... and then stopped.

Because what he saw on the other side made him blink once.

Slowly.

And then, be silent.

More than twenty maids were perfectly aligned in the entrance hall.

Ten on each side.

Real estate.

Impeccable posture.

Heads slightly tilted.

Like a perfectly rehearsed formation.

And the exact moment Victor crossed the threshold—

Everyone bowed at the same time.

Synchronized.

As if they were a single entity.

"Welcome."

The voices merged.

Uniform.

Soft.

And yet... a little frightening.

Victor stood motionless for a second.

Two.

Three.

Then he looked to the side.

Then the other.

And let out a small sigh, bringing his hand to his face again.

"...Okay," he murmured. "This has gone too far."

He lowered his hand slowly, looking ahead with an expression that mixed weariness and acceptance.

"I’ve definitely entered madness territory," he concluded.

But even so—

He took the next step.

And went in completely.

Victor was still absorbing the scene when he resumed walking, his footsteps echoing through the spacious hall while the maids remained bent over for far too long—long enough to begin to seem less a gesture of hospitality...and more a ritual.

"...You can stand up, seriously," he murmured as he passed, without even slowing his pace. None of them responded.

None of them moved.

Victor didn’t even look back.

"...Right, definitely a ritual," he concluded, advancing as if he had already accepted that this place operated on its own level of strangeness.

The butler took the lead with soft steps, guiding him down a long corridor, elegantly lit by chandeliers fixed to the dark stone walls. The light was warm, but not enough to make the atmosphere welcoming—there was a control there, a thoughtful aesthetic, almost as if every detail had been calculated to create a specific impression.

Victor walked with his hands in his pockets, looking around without hiding his curiosity.

"Does she do this to everyone?" he asked, breaking the silence naturally. "Or did I receive a special welcome package?"

The butler didn’t look away.

"You appreciate making memorable impressions," he replied calmly. "Especially on... important guests."

Victor chuckled discreetly through his nose.

"Important... that’s new," he murmured. "Normally, I only win assassination attempts."

"That could also happen," the butler replied in the same neutral tone.

Victor slowly turned his face towards him.

"...I appreciated the honesty," he commented.

They continued walking, turning into another corridor, then another, the castle expanding like an elegant labyrinth, too comfortable to be comfortable. Victor had completely lost his sense of direction, but he didn’t seem to mind.

After a few minutes, the butler finally stopped before a tall door, with details carved into the dark wood that seemed too old to be merely decorative.

He opened the door.

"This will be your temporary room, sir."

Victor entered without ceremony.

The space was... large.

Very large.

A large bed in the center, heavy curtains on the windows, refined furniture, soft lighting, everything impeccably arranged, as if no one had ever used the place.

He took a few steps inside, looking around.

"...Of course it’s enormous," he commented, more to himself. "Why wouldn’t it be?"

The butler remained near the entrance.

"Soon, we will bring appropriate clothes for you to wear on your date with the lady."

Victor stopped in the middle of the room.

He turned slowly.

He raised an eyebrow.

"...Appropriate clothes?" he repeated.

The butler nodded slightly.

"Yes, sir."

Victor was silent for a second.

Then he crossed his arms.

"What kind of person...," he began slowly, looking at the butler with an expression somewhere between confusion and amusement, "...sends specific clothes for someone to wear before meeting them?"

The butler didn’t hesitate.

"A person with very well-defined standards."

Victor tilted his head slightly.

"...That doesn’t reassure me in the slightest."

"That’s not the intention," replied the butler with impeccable politeness.

Victor sighed, running a hand through his hair as he began to walk slowly around the room, analyzing the surroundings as if trying to understand how far this was going.

"Let me guess," he continued, vaguely pointing to the space. "They’re not just normal clothes."

"It depends on what you consider normal."

Victor stopped.

He stared at the ceiling for a second.

Then he looked at the butler.

"...I feel this is going to be quite an experience," he said.

"It certainly will be."

"And I don’t think I’m going to like half of it."

"Highly likely."

Victor chuckled briefly.

"You’re very good at not helping," he remarked.

"I’m here to help within appropriate limits," the butler replied.

Victor looked at him for a moment.

Then he shook his head, giving up.

"...Alright," he murmured, walking to the window and gently pulling back the curtain to look out. The view overlooked part of the courtyard and, in the background, the imposing mountain that underpinned the place.

He remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he spoke, still looking out:

"I should have stayed home."

The butler remained silent.

"But then I would have died of boredom," Victor added immediately afterward.

A brief pause.

And then he gave a slight, ironic smile.

"...Then I guess it’s alright."

Behind him, the butler gave a slight bow.

"The clothes will arrive soon."

Victor didn’t turn around.

"Of course they will," he replied.

Immediately afterward, the door closed softly, leaving Victor alone in the spacious room... waiting for something he was almost certain wouldn’t be simple.