Chapter 473: A mother who will never be forgotten.
Chapter 473: A mother who will never be forgotten.
Clan Fulger
"Mother, what are you doing?" Sasha asked as she entered Natashia's personal room and saw the woman looking at the painting on the wall with a contemplative gaze.
"Hmm? Oh, you're finally here, My Daughter~." Natashia flashed a happy smile when she saw her daughter entering the room and walking beside her.
Sasha looked around curiously. This was the first time she had entered her mother's personal room… And she was mildly shocked.
The entire room had pictures of Victor, herself, and her Aunt Victoria scattered all over the place.
She even saw some hand-painted pictures of her aunt and mother together; it was adorable.
She also saw a picture of a woman dressed in armor in a knightly pose, immediately recognizing that woman as her grandmother.
'Wait… Where is Tatsuya?' She looked around and saw that there was not one picture of Tatsuya.
'It seems she doesn't have many feelings for her nephew.'
"Is that… my grandmother and her daughters?" Sasha contemplated the picture for a bit; the image of a stern-looking woman with a body that could easily compete with Scathach was standing proudly before her. She was standing in the middle as she held her hands on the shoulders of two girls who looked much like each other.
"Mmm." She nodded:
"I remember we had to stand still for hours to finish this painting. I got bored easily, but my sister and mother could handle this grueling job for as many days as they wanted."
"They were just that kind of people."
"Solemn women?" Sasha spoke up.
"Yeah." Natashia laughed a little: "In terms of seriousness, Victoria has always looked like my mother."
"It must have been a pain to stand in the same position for several hours," Sasha spoke with a strange face; she just couldn't imagine a time when cell phones didn't exist.
It was simply impossible these days to live without a cell phone.
"Hahaha, indeed, it was very annoying… But…." She looked nostalgic as she looked at the rest of her mother.
"My sister and I didn't mind spending that time with our mom."
"...."
"... I wish I could have met my grandmother..."
"She would have loved to meet you too; you two have more in common than you realize."
"...Really?"
"Yeah." Natasha laughed a little when she saw her daughter's skeptical expression.
'...I just can't see how this woman would have much in common with me...' Looking at the picture more closely, she said,
'It's the breasts and the thighs, right? I'm sure this is it. It can only be this.' Sasha never once believed her mother's words.
"Wait... I don't think it would be a good idea."
Sasha looked at her mother's frowning face curiously, "Why not?"
"She would most likely fall in love with our husband too; he is the kind of man she liked."
"..." Sasha looked at her mother with her mouth open like a little fish. Her brain had registered her mother's words, but she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"And if that happened, Victor would have the trio of grandmother, mother, and daughter… He would have all the ladies of Clan Fulger except for my sister and my grandmother." She laughed lightly as if she found something amusing.
"Fufufu, come to think of it now… That might be a good idea; after all, we would have the most numbers, and thus, we would have the most influence. What is the authority of the first wife before the trinity of grandmother, mother, and daughter?" Natashia's face turned slightly red as she imagined she, her mother, and her daughter in the same bed as her husband.
'Even if this dream can't come true, I can fulfill it with my daughter's future daughter and my own future daughter~' She started to laugh to herself with a distorted smile; it was obvious that she was planning something.
"...." Anything said would be an understatement to describe how shocked Sasha was.
She always knew her mother was a degenerate... But she completely underestimated the level of her degeneracy.
'My husband needs to put her fire down fast! She's very excited, and that's never a good thing!!'
"A-Anyway, why did you call me here?" Sasha attempted to change the subject; she didn't want to talk about this!
An attempt that Natashia readily accepted, Natashia's face started to become more melancholic.
"I've always wanted to somehow repay the woman who took care of my daughter..." She raised her hand towards the painting, golden lightning flashing from her fingertips and hitting its surface.
"!!!" Sasha's body trembled slightly when Natashia brought up that subject. It didn't take a genius to know who she was talking about… Her mother, Julia.
"But due to my job and various things I had to do to rebuild the Fulger Clan, I ran out of time… So, when I married Victor and found my happiness," A portal opened in front of Natashia, and she entered.
Sasha struggled a bit with what to do, but she didn't overthink and walked in. Instead, she was curious about what her mother was doing.
The moment Sasha entered the portal, the painting soon returned to its normal appearance.
Sasha's vision changed, and she found herself in a forest and a place that looked like an open monument.
She looked where her mother was looking and opened her eyes wide.
In front of her was the statue of her grandmother and... Julia.
"I realized I couldn't move forward without paying my due respects."
"This is where my mother is resting."
"The memorial of the former Countess, Carmila Fulger."
"A resting place for members of the main house of Clan Fulger."
"Not even the other members who hold remnants of our bloodline can enter here."
"And in this place... I decided to pay the necessary respects to the woman who took care of my daughter at the time when I was... Weakened." She couldn't find better words.
Sasha swallowed hard; her chest tightened heavily in pain. Several feelings were battling in her mind, and she didn't know how to react. So, finally, she just walked solemnly towards the statue of Julia and stared at the statue for a few seconds.
'Sasha, come, I'll read you a history of the human world.' Memories of Julia began to unearth from the confines of her heart.
Slowly, she lowered her head and looked at the stone slab.
"Julia Fulger, a perfect example of a Maid. Her legacy will last generations and defines the caliber and excellency in their duty that exemplary Maids should achieve... And above all else, she will forever set the precedent of how to be a proper mother. May her kindness serve as a lesson for all current and future women of Clan Fulger. Always respect and teach your children…" Sasha read the quote in a broken tone and almost burst into tears.
"... The last sentence is a warning... A warning to myself and my future heirs, a warning not to forget how to treat your daughter, a warning to someone not to repeat my mistake, sick or not."
'A lesson I will always teach my future daughters, a lesson I learned from Victor... Family always comes first.'
A moment of silence fell around. Sasha lightly caressed the stone slab as if she was touching something very important.
Her eyes were dripping silent tears.
Natashia respected her moment; she didn't say anything. Instead, she just watched everything with solemn eyes.
"...I-Isn't t-that against the rules...? As you said, this place is only for the main bloodline of Clan Fulger."
"Fuck the rules; I'm the current leader; therefore, I am the rules."
"And I will do whatever I want."
"...." Sasha couldn't help but flash a small smile when she heard those familiar words, words her husband always said.
"...And." Natashia approached Sasha and stood beside her; she looked at the statue of Julia with a grateful look:
"She took care of my little treasure, my daughter... And that is enough to give her the highest honor that our Clan and I can bestow."
Natashia opened her hand as if opening a book, lightning started forming in her hand, and soon a book appeared.
"... What is that...?"
"The family tree of Clan Fulger here is written in here. The beginning of our family is recorded in this text, a book of power made by my grandmother that can also be considered an artifact of the same level as the daggers I use."
"…How did I not know about this…?"
"You're not the Clan leader yet." Natashia flashed a small smile.
"In Vulgar Latin, Fulger means lightning, and this is not a coincidence. My grandmother, she was a lightning spirit of the highest order."
"She is 'Fulger' herself; with her, we carry her heritage." Then, the book that had nothing written on it began to glow, and soon, names started to appear.
Soon Sasha saw at the top of the book the name Fulger which seemed to be her ancestor's name, and soon after came her grandmother's name, Carmila Fulger.
Below Carmilla Fulger was her mother's name and her aunt, Victoria Fulger.
Underneath her mother's name was her own name Sasha Fulger. Below Victoria's name was Tatsuya's name.
"Julia Fulger shall be remembered as a member of the Main Family and will be within the Clan's registry as of today." Natashia's eyes flashed gold, and the lightning around her started to grow furious.
Rumble, Rumble, Rumble.
Soon her entire body became pure lightning, and two bat wings appeared from her back, an interesting thing that differed from the first stage of the Vampire Count's transformation.
Natashia's transformation only added bat wings, sharpened her ears, accentuated her already piercing red eyes, sharpened teeth, and added slightly to her height.
And her power, in this state, had shifted her entire being into a 'living element'. So in that form, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was a Spirit with Vampire characteristics; she had complete control of her power.
Proving that this transformation's control level had increased even further since the last time she used it in her fight with Niklaus Horseman,
She had wholly mastered the Vampire Count transformation, and because of that, the 'monster-like' features had diminished, and her 'beauty' had increased.
The current Natashia was like a living Goddess; she was stunning! And more importantly... She was mortal... A dazzlingly mortal.
'So much power!' Sasha couldn't believe what she was looking at.
Her mother was powerful!
"Obey me." She growled lightly.
Soon, a small lightning bolt fell from the sky and hit the book, and in the next second, a name was written next to Natashia and Victoria's names.
Julia Fulger was recorded in Clan Fulger's Primary Family Bloodline records, an honor of the highest order for a Vampire who was a mere 'maid.'
"Good." Natashia nodded in satisfaction, and soon her transformation came undone.
"It's done... My Daughter." Natashia handed the book to her daughter.
"...." Sasha took hold of the book and couldn't help but feel emotional about what her mother had just done.
That day, the Maid who had taken care of Sasha and who was like a mother to Sasha throughout her childhood,
Received the highest honor a Maid could have.
She was placed in the books of Clan Fulger's Main Bloodline.
Sasha was in shock; her feelings were a mess, but… Most of all, she was so grateful for her mother's gesture.
If there were a day that Sasha could say that her mother had earned her maximum respect, this day would always come back in her memory.
This was the most respectful gesture Natashia could give to the Maid who took care of her daughter, she wanted to provide the woman with more, but she didn't know how to do that.
But she made a point of making it clear to everyone in the Clan that her daughter had two mothers.
Julia Fulger also had her life biography written by Sasha herself.
A biography that Kaguya helped Sasha create, after all, Kaguya was one of Julia's disciples, and it was because of Julia that Kaguya had an obsession with becoming a Perfect Maid.
In the future, Julia's teachings would be taught when a Maid of Clan Fulger receives her training.
These main points were Clan loyalty, hard work, insight, intelligence in understanding how to help your master, and above all, a kind heart.
Natashia couldn't do much for Julia when she was alive, but in her death, she would make sure everyone would remember Julia as long as the Fulger Clan and the Maids continued to exist.
Philosophers used to say that people were only truly dead when they were forgotten, and they were right.
Because of that, Natashia made sure to immortalize the woman in the history of Vampire Nobles.
No one would ever forget the woman who took care of her little treasure, her beloved daughter, no one.
She would make sure of it.
...