Frederick stared at Luke in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"
"Just now! There was a man in my room, and he told me I needed to make Nicholas drink this or else he'll kill us in two days." Luke showed him the strange substance.
The Vampire didn't look like he quite believed what the human was saying, yet he reached out for the bottle anyways. Luke quickly handed it over and he eyed the clear liquid carefully. After a moment of study, he handed it back with a strange change in attitude. "What are you planning to do?"
Luke's hands began to shake. "I don't want to hurt Nicholas, but...But I don't want...I don't want to get hurt either."
"I told you this was bound to happen." Frederick replied coldly. "Someone was going to use you to get to him. He was too arrogant to consider that, and you were too naive to believe otherwise."
"W-what do I do?"
The Vampire rubbed his chin and sighed. "I know what to do, but you're not going to like it."
"What?" He asked, desperate for an easy solution. "Tell me what to do!"
"...You need to give it to Nicholas."
Luke froze. That was not what he wanted to hear and his Master knew it, but he didn't offer any sympathy. "Luke, this is for your own good. The Archduke is a cruel, manipulative person and the territory would be better off without him."
"But...That's not what the papers say." Luke rebuffed. "The people like him. It's the Emperor who-"
"What about the Emperor?"
He clamped his mouth shut, remembering that he hadn't quite gotten to explain about Maximillia earlier, or that there was a large number of people wanting Nicholas to start a rebellion.
Frederick waited for an answer, then got an idea. "Luke, I don't know what you've been told, but you need to think of this realistically. We could die if you make the wrong choice, so who do you care more about, hmm? The Archduke, who you've only known for a few months, or me?"
Another awkward silence later and Luke had tears streaming down his face, unable to make a decision. Fredrick scowled, irritated by the display. "Everyone makes mistakes, but it's mostly that bastard's fault for getting you involved in the first place."
"But...But he..." Luke tried to speak in Nicholas's defense, but his mind was going blank as he became more and more mentally worn out.
"The Archdukes are all alike. They don't care about their people. They only care about the next shiny object that can keep them entertained. Once he's bored with you, he'll leave you to the wolves. Just remember that I've spent decades looking after you, through thick and thin. No matter the difficulties I had to face, I've done everything for you."
Luke took an uneven breath and began to nod.
"And after everything I've had to sacrifice, you can do this one thing for me, can't you?" His Master stroked his head. "And once this is all behind us, it'll just be the two of us again, just like before."
The human stopped and stared up at the Vampire. As much as he cared for his Master, it was clear that he needed more people in his life than just Frederick.
"What if I tell him?" Luke suggested.
Frederick stopped what he was doing and frowned. "You mean tell him that you were asked to poison him? Are you insane? That would get you arrested for treason!"
"No it wouldn't!" Luke shot back. "He wouldn't do that if I'm honest with him!"
"You don't understand what you're talking about! Any mention of attempted murder will always land you in jail. Then what? Where will that leave you? Alone in a cell with nothing to hide your identity. You'd be found out in an instant and eaten alive!"
"That won't happen!"
"You sure about that?" Frederick tilted his head. "If you're so sure, why haven't you told Nicholas what you are then?"
Luke opened his mouth, then glared as he failed to come up with an answer.
His Master nodded. "Exactly. You and I both know you'd be dead the moment he found out. Now think for a second, is it truly wise to trust someone with your life when you can't even trust them with your secrets?"
At that, the human squinted. "I could say the same thing about you."
Frederick's triumphant gaze turned sour at that, and Luke stormed off back to his room. Once he closed the door, he snatched his blanket and pillow and curled up into a ball.
After a fitful sleep, he awoke to his Master barging in with a letter in hand. He stood in front of the drowsy human.
"We've been invited." He announced. "You should get ready. Maybe this time we'll dress appropriately."
Luke had no idea what the man was talking about until he disappeared for an hour and returned with decent clothes.
During that hour, Luke decided to take a quick shower. Afterwards, he took a closer look at the fancy new outfit his Master had prepared.
He couldn't help but admit that these clothes were far better than what he had scrounged up from the dumpsters. The Vampire had picked out a black tailcoat, tan vest, black ascot, and grey pinstriped pants. There was even a grey top hat to help cover his tattoo.
Luke wished he had a mirror so he could see himself. He could only imagine the look on Nicholas's face when he showed up dressed like this. Then, almost on queue, a carriage pulled up out front to take them away.
This one was plain compared to the one that Nicholas used, and it was pulled by a single Winsor Grey Horse. Luke noticed that Archibald wasn't driving them today, and this made him feel slightly uneasy around this new, unknown servant.
"Let's go." Frederick stepped out grumpily, wearing his own outfit with a red and black color scheme.
The driver bowed, then held the door open for them. Once they were seated, the man got back on and pulled away from their neighborhood.
"Look at me." His Master ordered.
Luke did as he was asked and Frederick grabbed his face, checking his contacts and his teeth. Then he leaned in and sniffed the air before sitting back. "You could have used more Peppermint oil."
"I have the med kit in my pocket. If it's a problem, I can put the ointment on."
"No, that's alright." The Vampire declined. "That ointment is very hard to come by. What you have on now is enough as long as you don't get too close to anyone."
"Okay."
"And have you thought about...The bottle?"
"Yeah. I...I know what I'm going to do."
Despite his Master's opinion, he had decided to tell Nicholas about the hooded stranger. Luke was certain that once he explained things, the Archduke would do everything in his power to protect them. Then his Master would see what kind of man Nicholas really was.
The Vampire eyed him uncertainly, but opted to change the topic. "How's your cut?"
"Good." He wiggled his bare thumb as proof.
Luckily the injury from his earlier escape wasn't deep, so it had sealed quickly. While the cut hadn't completely vanished, it at least no longer required a band-aid and Luke made sure to apply medicine every day to help cover the potential smell of blood.
Frederick grunted in approval and left him alone for the rest of the ride. There was a tense atmosphere between them, causing Luke to bounce his leg as his nerves set in.
The carriage finally pulled up to the mansion, passing the rearing shrub stallions and numerous other vehicles. Unlike his previous visits, the mansion seemed alive with guests.
Luke and Frederick exchanged a look before getting out and being escorted to the ballroom where they found a large group of party goers gathered.
"...I thought he wanted to talk to us privately." His Master muttered under his breath as he examined the other nobles with scorn.
Luke was working hard not to have a panic attack. With so many people around, it was going to be difficult to talk to Nicholas alone. It wasn't like he could say what he had to in front of everyone without drawing attention.
"Stick close to me." Frederick whispered, then shielded Luke from view as a woman in a frilly blue dress tottered by.
Luke's heart was beating a mile a minute, and he wondered if he could talk his Master into leaving for now and trying again later. Then there was a hand on his arm and the next thing he knew, Luke was tugged out from behind Frederick.
With a low yelp, Luke stumbled into Nicholas's chest.
The Vampire was wearing a tailcoat with black and silver tapestry cloth. His eyes glittered with interest as he took in all of Luke's outfit as well, giving the human a good once-over with a low whistle. "I must say, you look absolutely dashing today."
The guests stood back once they realized the man of honor had arrived, and they whispered among themselves when the Archduke kissed Luke's hand.
"Ahem!" Frederick cleared his throat, but Nicholas pointedly ignored the man.
"I'm so glad you could make it." The Archduke glanced back and squinted at Frederick. "I just couldn't bear the thought of you being locked up in that dreary house, so I figured I'd invite you to a party. If I recall, you've never been to one before, correct?"
Luke shook his head.
"Then this will be your first time." The Vampire held out his arm.
Luke accepted it, noticing how his Master was practically glaring holes into the Archduke's back. Then the two walked through the crowd to the center of the ball room. There, a couple of distinguished looking nobles greeted them, one of them being none other than Archduke Greer.
Greer was waring his usual navy blue and gold military attire. There was also a woman there with a sharp face and curly red hair who had on a strange bronze dress. The fashion reminded Luke of the Steamwork territory.
"Really?" Greer stared back at the human. "You're saying it's the lowborn from last week!?"
"That's correct." Nicholas held Luke close to his side, completely ignoring Frederick as he stood back and watched.
Luke wondered what they were talking about and why the two were practically gawking at him.
"Um...What's going on?" He finally asked.
"Oh right, I didn't tell you did I? This is your debut." Nicholas smiled. "As my partner."
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