Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride - Chapter 277

Chapter 277: My Curious Aunts – A Mother’s Smile.

Nikolai ended the meeting with both his grandfathers. He asked for time to decide, as the girls were shopping. He knew what he wanted, but wanted to hear the opinion of his future wives.

‘It might help deal with other vampires.’

He stopped the discussion instead of dragging the argument and making his grandfathers disagree. Nikolai left to enjoy tea with his two aunts. It seemed they wanted him to take the title.

“Nikolai, your aunt has this delicious tea from the east, it’s sweet and made with the blood of a virgin foxkin.”

As they walked toward his room, Aunt Karoline kept offering him a small snacks—a tentative gesture that, despite its initial awkwardness, spoke of her genuine curiosity about his unusual tastes.

Meanwhile, Adela held his hand and, every so often, let her delicate fingers drift through his hair. The gentle brush along his cool scalp brought a simple comfort, as if her touch attempted to convey her emotions.

“Your hair is so soft, I bet Elizabeth stroked you like this in the past… ahh~ so addictive.”

“Haha… well, I cannot remember, but Aunt Adela’s hand is soft and feels good.”

“What about me?”

Aunt Karoline was next to him and looked to be in a playful mood.

His Aunt Karoline pouted, and she reached out to stroke his head gently with her fingers. He could see Aunt Adela eyeing the movement between them closely, watching as though assessing the dynamic between himself and Karoline.

Her expression shifted into a smile when she realised Nikolai didn’t seem to mind.

“To be honest, Nikolai. We didn’t even know my sister gave birth until recently.” Adela’s voice echoed along with their footsteps in the annexed mansion.

Nikolai nodded while considering the situation he faced regarding Elizabeth—his mother—and that after her death over fifteen years ago, because of what happened at the ritual, many people only discovered she had given birth and his existence was revealed.

Aunt Adela smiled at him kindly, “I understand your hesitation; after all, you have only been a part of this world for a short time. It’s difficult adjusting to a new world,” she said sympathetically as they continued their stroll toward his room.

“My father and your grandfathers are relatively conservative vampires, we are the last old-blood of our family around. So they may appear quite stern and old-fashioned when meeting others, especially you,” Karoline interjected, clearly referring to his grandfathers fighting and being so stubborn.

“That explains why I’ve never seen my pretty aunts and grandmother,” Nikolai replied, taking an offered biscuit from Aunt Karoline.

“Yeah, they are more direct. Unlike humans, we vampires tend not to beat around the bushes… unless we have some hidden agenda or long plan. However, it is good your aunts can stay longer before travelling away again.”

Karoline became quiet after Nikolai mentioned his grandmother, causing Adela to elbow her, reminding Karoline silently with just a glance and a raised eyebrow.

“I—I think my sister was always smarter than me.” Karoline suddenly stopped and took a deep breath before she faced Nikolai directly as they neared his quarters, where tea would be waiting for them.

“I want you to remember one thing, Nikolai…”

Nikolai saw Aunt Karoline’s usually bright red eyes clouded with a tinge of regret as he felt an immediate and strong connection between himself and his aunt—it was like nothing else mattered besides the words passing through the air connecting the two.

He couldn’t help but pay attention, focusing all his senses solely upon his aunt Karoline who continued to look straight at him without flinching even once. Something significant must be weighing heavily on her mind right now, judging by how serious she appeared despite seeming lighthearted only moments ago during their conversation earlier.

“Whatever choices or paths you choose from now on, I won’t abandon you…” She paused briefly as if trying to find the correct words while staring intensely into his eyes, still filled with a deep affection yet also brimming with uncertainty.

“No matter what happens next, we are family…” Adela spoke then, interrupting Karoline gently.

“We’re family…” Karoline repeated softly before taking another deep breath before nodding to herself, her lips curling into a smile.

Adela looked surprised at her sister for what she was saying, something Nikolai didn’t understand, as Karoline usually disliked physical contact and being close to other vampires.

When Nikolai finally reached his room with Adela and Caroline, he opened the door to see the table ready.

A servant came into the room and served three cups of blood tea and prepared small plates containing cookies and various pastries for them to enjoy.

What amazed Nikolai was when Karoline started speaking, “You see these cookies were made with butter from a female Minotaur, fufu, taste how sweet and delicious it makes them.” She gave a delighted giggle as if imagining something pleasurable.

“You know, this reminds me of when I used to eat them with Eliza~ ah…” Karoline covered her mouth, an apologetic look appearing on her face, as though feeling guilty for bringing up painful memories.

“N-no… Actually, hearing about my mother has been nice. I don’t actually remember anything, so having stories helps create a picture for me.”

Adela wasn’t like Karoline once they left her father’s presence. She became more serious and much quieter. In fact, there was no similarity to Elizabeth, almost like night and day.

“Ah, yes. It helps us to talk about Eliza, even if it brings sadness with the memories.” Adela’s lips curled into a weak smile before lifting her cup towards her mouth to sip from it gracefully without spilling, despite shaking ever-so-slightly because of her emotions took down her guard down momentarily.

The sweet aroma of tea mixed with virgin blood of a foxkin, sweet and warming, a caramel taste.

“Did Aunt Adela and Karoline love my mother?”

Adela froze, surprised by Nikolai’s question, which caused both sisters to look at each other, unsure what exactly they should say, before nodding. “Yes, I adored Elizabeth… she was my role model and the best sister.”

“Is my mother older?” Nikolai wondered because he didn’t know the specifics.

“No… it’s a little complicated because we share different mothers.” Karoline added with a nervous smile. “I’m the youngest sister, then it was Adel and Elizabeth. Our mother’s conceived, but Adel and I were twins, and Eliza was born to our first mother and.”

The conversation continued, telling Nikolai more about his mother.

He watched her sitting on the windowsill in his room, kicking her legs and smiling at the two sisters. A strange sight to see when thinking about his usual mother, but Nikolai could tell she was relaxed and happy around Adela and Karoline.

[These girls used to be so cute.]

Elizabeth spoke suddenly, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

‘What would you say now?’

[Hmmm… Karoline is super cute, while Adela looks cold, but she’s so adorable.]

Hearing that made Nikolai smirk when he eyed Adela. His Aunt noticed his gaze and blushed softly when she turned her attention away from his glance. The red blush crept over her features, showing she felt slightly uncomfortable under such intense observation from her nephew.

[Haha, well, Adela always had a weak spot for handsome and pretty boys.]

‘Mother…’

Though he wanted to complain, to hear his mother laughing so happily and joking about her sisters, and couldn’t help but lower his guard.

He enjoyed the sweet caramel tea that tasted similar to Kumiko but lacked her sweet and tarty tang. If the foxkin heard him compare her to blood to a random virgin, she would probably kick him.

His mother laughed like a young girl.

“Fuha, Fuha…” His aunt gasped, trying to breathe between fits of laughter after she told another funny story about Nikolai’s mother.

The light shining through the window hit the vampire women, and Nikolai couldn’t help but notice their skin glisten subtly under its glow.

Nikolai leaned forward with anticipation as one story blended seamlessly into another.

Eventually, the conversation came back around to Nikolai, and Adela smirked like a villain planning something evil toward him.

“By the way, have you picked anyone to be your bride?”

Her words sent Karoline into a panic, as her hands waved furiously, as though wanting desperately not to hear anything bad related to marriage or brides. This caused the tableware to rattle loudly on top of the glass surface where they sat drinking their tea together.

“Who cares? Nikolai is too young, don’t bring that up, sister!”

Adela ignored her twin, shrugging off Karoline’s panicked reaction as nothing out of ordinary, while giving him an expectant stare full of curiosity about whether the next heir already chose his future bride.

“You know about the vampire race’s method of choosing their wife, right?” Adela tilted her head before looking at Karoline and sighed.

“Humans tend to do monogamy, one male and female… however…” Adela tried to explain, but Karoline was becoming frantic now with concern for Nikolai. “Vampire’s live for a long time, I believe most devote themselves to one bride, but our father and the Tepes patriarch also chose polygamy.”

“Is choosing a bride important, I’ve heard about Luna’s is a Vampire Bride similar?”

“Yes. Brides are chosen by vampires who will eventually marry or become devoted life partners, it involves sharing blood… in that way, the strongest Báthory abilities will be granted to the vampire bride and in return, the brides’ strength will also be transferred to the groom.”

Adela cleared things up quickly before Karoline cut across in frustration after hearing that answer.

“B-but you have to genuinely love each other, or both will perish.”

“Perish?”

[You don’t need to worry.]

[Those girls all love you more than you realise, especially that cute fox.]