Raven sat beside the large-breasted vampiress; her name was Armina Bruan from what he remembered, so it was rather strange to be called the "Faust" manor.
'I wonder if it's some scam, but the girl working for the DMPA could never be someone too strange. Their checks are extremely detailed.'
Lilith looked happy while eating her meal; it was a mix of pasta and meatballs; for some reason, her meal seemed to be a kid's meal because everyone else was eating a thick, juicy medium rare steak loin with golden mash drizzled with melted minotaur butter, pears, greens and carrots.
He felt they must have studied his diet because the portions were huge for him but small for the others.
'Maybe it's because they are vampires and eat less.' Raven wondered, watching Lilith's soft lips sucking up a long string of pasta with a wet slurp.
Somehow the woman at the head of the table seemed to be the head, while Armina was her daughter, and the other women were all members of the same vampire clan, the Bruans.
A Germanian clan of vampires that dated back to the initial dungeons spawning.
Raven wondered why they were in the city of Arcadia and his country.
He was happy with the sharp red wine named "Papalal Oro, Primitivo di Manduria." by a company called Valvaglione.
'A brand from southern Italica?' He pondered, swilling the glass, admiring the scent and texture of the dark red wine.
It was a deep, dark, tempting wine filled with seduction.
The Papal Oro, filled with the wonderous aroma of Kirsh, plum and a touch of spiced oak, added to the flavour they added ripe cherries with spice and rich dark chocolate.
A wine at its best, with great character, warmth, and yet no shortage of delicious spiciness, complexity and pure fruit intensity, and ultra-plush, velvety texture.
"Mmmm, such a good wine, the layers of ripe black cherry and blueberries are balanced so well..." Raven was so impressed with the first taste that he couldn't stop drinking the wine.
He didn't know that this wine helped to boost blood flow; thanks to the special spices of their clan, it would increase blood production and enhance the flavour to have hints of dark berries.
Not only that, but it also relaxed one's mind, helping to avoid people changing their minds about being donors.
"I see you are enjoying my family's wine," Armina said, with a happy smile on her face, as she placed her utensils down, licking her alluring bright red lips with her seductive pink tongue.
She then leaned on her palms, watching his face with a smile.
"Do you want to order more? I would love to supply you with it on a long-term basis."
"Yes, it's an amazing wine! I want to order the bottle for later. Is it possible to have it shipped to my house?"
Raven felt refreshed drinking this wine; it didn't dull his senses too far, instead just relaxed him and cleared his mind. He watched Lilith, and even she seemed to enjoy it, despite her hating wine and preferring beer or flavoured cocktails.
'Mmmm, even if this is the only thing coming from it. The wine was honestly worth it."
After that, the meal passed by quite peacefully; the Bruan family didn't seem to be the type to speak much during meals, and they didn't insult or look down on Lilith, who asked for seconds of dessert, which was a lovely rhubarb crumble with a madagascam vanilla custard.
Armina ordered the dessert twice as if to match her, and she ate it as well, savouring the sweetness with a delighted expression.
Raven noticed that the two were competing at first, but by the end of the meal, both seemed to become some strange kind of team, talking about the dessert with bright smiles.
'I hope she can make her first friend this way...'
He loved the women around him but wanted them to have their reason to live, to improve and drive forward. Raven didn't want to become their only reason to exist, nor be tied to him at home.
Even if it was like Miriam, who began to learn editing and media courses to help improve the website and videos taken from the brothel, Emily was fine in the guild, as was Zestria.
Honestly, his only worry was Lilith because he was her everything.
'If she gets a friend, a hobby and life too, everything will improve for her, our growing family and me.'
The moment his thoughts were solidified, the head of the table smiled and clapped her hands.
"Please remove the dishes; we must discuss them with Lord Bellcross and his spouse."
Lilith looked embarrassed hearing the word she was called.
"Hehe~ spouse... so ticklish."
The beautiful woman with a soft platinum blonde bob looked at him.
Although she seemed to be the mother of Armina, her gentle looks and dynamite body made him a little unsure.
'She looks the same age as me before I changed! So young!'
"Greetings, my name is Sasha Bruan, the mother of Armina."
"It is a great pleasure to meet you again, Alistair Bellcross, son of Sylvester Faust."
Somehow his body shuddered, sure that this was some scam; his father's name wasn't Faust but Bellhume!
"Eh, my father's name was..."
Sasha interrupted him with a seductive voice, smiling at him as she moved her hand across her chest, revealing a digital document of his father from 20 years ago when he was around Raven's age.
'Eh!? All this time!'
"That's just his adventuring pseudonym. Like your Raven."
"Strange, then why is my last name a mixture of my mother's and father's names if they aren't real?"
Sasha and Armina gave a strange smile before they looked at each other.
The maids entered with another tray of wine, two blood-red for Sasha and Armina.
While Raven and Lilith were given the same one from dinner with a small chocolate mint.
"Please use the chocolate mint to cleanse your palate and enjoy another glass of wine. We don't know why your parents gave you this name." Sasha spoke with a charming voice, like a mother educating a son.
"But when you next meet them, I am sure you can find out."
'How!? They are dead...'
Her body adjusted, the sexy black dress with fur neckline shifting as she crossed her legs, throwing him a wink.
"Your parents aren't dead."
"Nobody in the dungeon dies unless you see them killed with your eyes."
"Sometimes, there are slight accidents when a dungeon wave occurs; although thousands go missing, there are no corpses."
"So, how are you sure they are dead?"
Raven felt his brain hurting from the words, suddenly unsure what they meant. Did something happen?
Then something hit him, a strange detail he seemed to ignore for the longest time, nothing to do with his cultivation technique or trial.
But the dungeon wave they helped stop, the strongest monsters were level 10 at most!
Now that he had experienced that level, he knew his mother was way past level 20, even when he was a young boy!
So 6 years later, how could she be only Level 40-50? It didn't add up at all.
"You are right; they are alive..." Sasha looked at him with a sad smile; it was the look of a mother who had lost her children.
"They are currently in a dungeon, where it is very difficult to return from."
Raven's body shivered, feeling cold even in this warm room.
"How difficult?"
Sasha leaned back in her chair, swallowing the bloody wine, a small dribble sliding down her chin.
"Imagine fighting a dungeon with almost endless floors against monsters countless times more powerful than now. Inside the dungeons world, the experience is nothing like our world."
"The dungeons are not so forgiving towards us... Their monsters are stronger, more violent and resilient, with higher levels and growth."
'Why?'
He was curious because it sounded like there were two types of dungeons.
Suddenly this thought seemed to trigger him to remember that strange world that seemed to be alive, the world showing him the scenes of his grandparents...
A dungeon for Us.
A dungeon for Them.
'If we lose in the dungeon or a dungeon wave, we are brought to the dungeon for them... Or is it a world for them!? A mirrored world where the monsters are dominant...?'
His thoughts were like a broken mirror; he couldn't focus, unable to piece together what they were discussing.
"If we enter their world, we die; if the monsters kill us, we die." Sasha smiled at him with her red lips, her teeth showing like a predator, yet it made his heart skip a beat.
"We cannot leave the dungeons without help."
"Then..."
Sasha lowered her wineglass, her cleavage pressed together too erotic for him to avoid it, before she leaned back again, showing a glimpse of her inner thighs when crossing her legs.
"We have to find them, no matter how difficult or arduous the search."
Raven had a strange feeling, like something was pulling him forward, wanting him to take action.
"We must find them. It is the only way they can escape that cycle of hell."
The words were said with such intensity that Raven felt something deep down his soul resonating.
"Sasha..."
"Yes?"
"What happened to you ?"
"We lost them to the dungeons... Armina's sisters, my mother and twin sister. That day when the dungeon wave occurred to the south."
"You were there!?" Raven was shocked.
"Of course we were; our family has served as a steward to your father's family for countless millennia. You are the next head and will become our lord, even if our social status outside may differ."
"In this mansion and land, you are the lord, king and master."
"..."
"I only ask one thing."
He wondered why he needed to do something for her if this was his place. However, Raven was not ungrateful.
The information might have been something he learned on his own in the future, but learning it now as a mere Rank-E adventurer...
"What's that?"
Raven asked, his body leaning back in the chair, a slight creak; the moment he replied, her face brightened up, causing him to feel a sense of regret.
"Marry my daughter Armina; help continue our bloodline."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om