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Listening to her, Aldritch could see Sigmund in her, but at the same time he could also see a bit of Khal… maybe Ingrid would be a better comparison, as Ashire showed a desire to improve herself constantly at all cost, while also being an ecstatic researcher and "experimenter". Well, more would need to be known of her before that could be confirmed first.

Looking at Ashire, she looked even younger than Lada. Aldritch, knowing how Lada, in the past used the essence and life force of others, especially men, to maintain her youthful looks, was not buying it at all.

After probing a bit, he confirmed that she was really as young as she looked. Ashire, unlike Lada, happened to be rather talented, and had joined the Lunar Cult at a very tender age.

Being only 36 years old, she was more than what a person would call talented and gifted, she was someone who caused a stir in the entire Lunar Cult, and up until that moment, she was still a torn in their flesh, one they chose to keep by themselves.

Learning of this, Aldritch felt he had to acquire such a talent, after all, it would bolster his forces tremendously. Even though he had quite the number of vampires under him, only a handful were worth mentioning, the rest didn\'t really amount to much.

This world aside, once he reached the higher world, these weaker vampires under him would only become a burden in the fighting space. They would have to learn to handle other things around the house and such if they\'d want to maintain their duties within the family, and their lives. After all, Aldritch could always just turn as many normal maids as he wished if he needed vampire maids and workers.

In the end, even though Aldritch didn\'t wish for her to leave like that, he had to let Ashire go, but not before enacting a soul contract with her, since he couldn\'t turn her into a vampire and add her to his family. He hadn\'t given up on the idea though, he was still going to do it, just not at that moment.

"You seek power, don\'t you? I can offer you that opportunity to grow stronger and improve further, it all depends on you." Aldritch said in a calm tone, but those words pierced Ashire\'s very heart.

She paused momentarily in her steps, before continuing without a word. Aldritch had already asked her to see herself out before he said this.

Once she exited the building, one of the ladies waiting outside rushed to her side, visibly concerned, "Lady Ashire…" Before she could even say more, she was brushed off and asked to enter the wagon so they could leave.

"If you have any brain cells, you\'d come with me without speaking, unless you want to lose your life this time. Also, stop adding \'lady\' to my name, I won\'t tell you again." Ashire said in an angry and disgusted tone before jumping on the wagon herself.

Her face was almost indifferent, but the lingering expression was one of anger, though, her heart was different, as she harbored countless questions patterning to everything that had transpired inside the mansion.

"Where exactly are we headed now, la- A-A… May I know where we\'re headed now?" The lady sitting across Ashire asked. Even though she tried her best to maintain a neutral tone and expressions, she was just like every other lady inside that wagon.

After all, Ashire was not known to be a reasonable fellow, and they really could lose their life if she was in a bad mood, regardless if it was their fault or not… at least, that is how many know her.

In truth, Ashire didn\'t really care much for human life and wouldn\'t hesitate to kill anyone in her way, especially those weaker than her. If they happen to be stronger, there are always ways to handle different situations.

The lady asking the questions was the current Great Dame of Green, the same one Aldritch and the others paid a visit to not long ago. She happened to be the unfortunate Great Dame who was tasked with accompanying Ashire for the auction event. Even though Ashire was an enemy of the cult, she was still incredibly reliable in many ways.

"Let\'s just head to the location, arriving a little early isn\'t a bad idea." She responded, not really paying the girls around her much attention as she was absorbed in her thoughts.

…

Back at the mansion, everything was gradually returning to normal. Most people didn\'t even understand why they had been held hostages so suddenly, but regardless, they needed at the very least, an explanation.

While everyone was recovering slowly, Ingrid was on a certain decline in mood as she couldn\'t help but feel all her effort and progress through on the ground and stumped upon, sadistically. She felt mocked, almost.

Ashire wasn\'t that much older than she was, even though a couple years separated them, yet, she had so much power, while Ingrid was completely powerless before her. There was also Ralwa, but she at least, was from a higher world, it was understandable.

Even while the rest had their conversation, her head remained down as she reflected on herself. It didn\'t take long for Aldritch to notice her sunken mood as she sat beside Lina who was passed out on the table, with Ralwa in the same condition opposite at the other side of the table.

"Lord?" Olgud traced Aldritch\'s gaze as he noticed that Aldritch was no longer paying much attention to them.

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"I\'ll deal with Lodestar later." He said, before standing up from his seat. Even though there was no way he could ever do anything substantial to Lodestar, at least for the time being, he could still disturb his eardrums… unless Lodestar used some kind of sound canceling magic.

The woes of being weaker than your subordinates. Well, Lodestar wasn\'t technically a subordinate.

Aldritch took gentle strides, walking up to Ingrid. He gradually came close to her, though she hadn\'t even realized that someone was approaching her as her mind was elsewhere.

"Ingrid…" Aldritch said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "come with me." His actions drew her out of her thoughts and back into reality. At first, her eyes expressed complicated emotions, guilt, worry, sadness, fear, and tears slowly gathered.

She quickly regained her composure however, blinking a few times to resist the tears from falling as she pushed back her hesitation and stood up to follow Aldritch… "yes, lord."

Both of them walked in silence through the house, observing how everyone lingered around, recovering from the events that had just past, trying to regain themselves. No one had died, but their lives felt more than threatened in that short span of time, enough for them to heave a great sigh of relieve knowing it was over.

Most of the people around didn\'t even notice Aldritch walking amongst them, but those that saw him greeted respectfully with a bow, while the ladies curtsied.

They both walked in silence until they were now outdoors and walking through the yard. The intensity of the moment only grew in Ingrid\'s mind as the silence continued.

"L-Lord…" she broke the silence in, trying to talk clearly, but her voice broke, sending them back to the silence.

"You failed to protect the house, Ingrid, you failed to protect the family." Aldritch said in a calm tone, walking with both hands positioned behind his back.

Hearing Aldritch\'s words, Ingrid\'s body shuddered slightly before her head dropped again. Finally, she felt that her mind was stable enough and she could speak properly without artefacts in her voice or stammering.

"I, I\'ve disappointed you lord, I\'m sorry, I…" She paused;

"You\'ve always asked us to provide our best, but I…" She stopped again, apparently not as ready as she thought. Even that pained her as she bit her lower lip, almost drawing blood.

Noticing this, Aldritch said to her, "don\'t blame yourself. Your opponent was far stronger than you were, not to mention the kind of magic she practices, you\'re no match for her.

Being able to recognize your weakness and not attack is also strength, one of the mind…" at that very moment, Aldritch thought of Lina, who he could imagine did not access the situation completely before attacking, and probably made Ralwa who was a rather calm headed person to also charge in to save her…

"You\'ve done nothing wrong, and shouldn\'t beat yourself up about it. Instead, looking to the future and improving yourself is way better. You should learn from this experience, not let it weigh you down." Aldritch continued. Even though he was saying all this, he knew Ingrid was the kind of person to be in the position of giving this speech… he just needed to make sure she eased her mind.

Listening to all Aldritch had to say, Ingrid was shocked, as she was visibly surprised, confused even; "but lord…"

"What is it?"

"You always said that those who aren\'t useful will be disposed of… are you really giving me a second chance?"

\'Huh?\'