" Pass me the scalpel."
Luna placed the small scalpel in my hands. Since I had a week before the official start of school, I decided to wrap things up at the count's home before going to school.
Luna had managed to convert the laboratory into a functional space, allowing me to operate on Donovan and the count's son.
I liked Donovan's character and making him my subordinate was something I decided to do on a whim.
Since the count was deceased, it was better to replace him with his son to prevent any inheritance disputes for the position and waste the mother's precious time.
I placed the scalpel on the metal tray and picked the brain tissues imbued with my magic. I was operating on Donovan since I had already completed the count's son operation, and he was still unconscious.
A day had almost passed since the assassin attempt, operating on two people consecutively wasn't a hard thing to do but the excuse Luna had come up with would not hold up for long.
Implanted everything delicately making sure I didn't touch any nerves.
"Suction."
Luna placed the small tube on the dripping blood and cleaned it up, I didn't want it touching the brain. The first time I had been careless had led to the death of the slave after both of us had been too occupied in engraving my magic into the brain tissues before transferring it back.
A few accidents had happened after, but since we were both learning how the brain functioned and which part was best to be destroyed, it took a while before we got into a rhythm.
"Done."
I said as the last tissue merged perfectly with the rest of the brain. Except for the little magic circles moving around in the replaced area, everything looked exactly the same.
"Close it up."
I said to Luna and stepped back. I had started to do this when she was sixteen, since I didn't want her to be too passive during our operation.
"Yes, master."
Her eyes lit up at my permission. I watched her carefully as she put the tissues and broken skull together until everything returned to normal.
"You've gotten faster."
I complimented. She smiled at my compliment a blush spreading on her cheeks.
"It's all thanks to your teachings master."
I nodded and left her to clean up the blood and dispose of the destroyed brain tissues. I was starting to get hungry.
.....
"Have you finished?"
I asked Luna. She had just come from the laboratory after finishing her cleanup and packing everything we needed.
"Yes master, the count's son has been transferred to the main room for recovery."
I nodded. With the count dead, his son would be taking over his work. The boy used to have a good reputation hence I wasn't too worried about contestants.
Someone knocked on the door before I could continue. Luna opened the door and allowed the visitor in.
It was the knight's captain, and from his smile, he clearly favored the new count.
"Thank you, young master, for finding the late count's son."
He bowed the moment he got near me.
"It was nothing, I saw someone who looked like him but it seems my guess was correct. A Lucky find indeed."
The man shook his head.
" Do not reduce your contribution, young master. If you hadn't sent your maid to check, we would never have found him. He might have been dead."
I had curated the narrative of accidentally stumbling upon the lost son. Everyone came to the conclusion that I had saved the count's son from the slums where he was being kept captive by the count's enemies.
The assassins that were sent were enemies seeking revenge and a way to shut him up. It was also advantageous since the assassin had aimed for the count's son first.
They had clearly planned to kill the weakest before moving to us.
"It's okay, it's my duty as the duchess's son. I apologize for the Counts' family deaths. I wasn't able to protect all of them."
The captain went to his knees in front of me, his eyes filled with genuine sadness.
"It's okay, young master, we, the knights, are to blame for this. Do not take this to heart."
Of course, they were to blame; they were clearly either lazy or too complacent for their master to be killed right under their noses without them noticing.
If I had knights like this, I wouldn't mind them joining my lab. They were probably a waste of gold and food.
"Do not blame yourselves, the assassins were too experienced."
The captain nodded and stood up. He bowed one last time before leaving.
"Luna come here."
She closed the door behind her and slowly walked towards me, and kneeled before me, then extended her arm. Luna had been the only person I had done most of my feeding from since I didn't trust anyone else with their blood.
We didn't do it often since I could quench my hunger with just normal blood. But once in a while my fangs would ache for a bite.
"We should go see the count after this."
I bit into her wrist after saying that. She didn't flinch even as my fangs pierced through her skin and into her vein. Warm, sweet blood filled my mouth, increasing my cravings.
I looked at Luna who was looking up at me as I drank her blood. I could see my reflection in her eyes and they were glowing as more blood entered my system. This happens when vampires are excited both during feeding and sexually.
"Thank you."
I said after releasing her arm. I licked the wound healing it with my saliva. The place went back to looking as good as new with no fang marks.
"This is my duty young master."
I stood up and smoothed my clothes before leaving for the new count's bedroom. He should be almost awake since he was the first to be operated on.
"I should send Mother a letter about what happened here after getting to the capital."
I said to Luna who didn't respond. I didn't care, she wasn't supposed to respond anyway.
I pushed open the door to the count's room and entered. The man was awake, barely, but still awake. His half-lidded eyes followed us until I came to a stop in front of him.
"I'll be leaving the management to you, Sisley, I hope you will not disappoint me."
His eyes widened before he nodded with difficulty.
" Th.... Tha..... Thank you... Young master."
He managed to stutter. Since the healing had been done after the operation and Luna had found no problem, he would be able to get out of bed by the end of the week, as he was still too weak.
"If the duchess asks for a report just write everything except for the operation. Only the duchess."
It seemed there were a few rats, as mother had said, sneaking into our Duchy.
The new count knew exactly what had been done to him and the consequences of disobedience but he didn't seem to mind. He was grateful for saving his life.
His dear sister had been the one to lock him up after she got jealous of his success and attention. He was set to become a great magician, but continuous torture and experiments on him had really reduced his magic mana pool, but at least his brain was still intact.
I did have high hopes for him in regards to management and income generation. This really made me realize again that jealousy can be a really poisonous thing.
"We'll be leaving then. I expected reports every once in a while, especially if you find strange things or books."
The man nodded. I took one last glance at him before leaving him to his own devices.
"Donovan should be awake by now?"
I said and walked towards the study. I was in a hurry to leave since I was already almost two days late. Seraph should be throwing a tantrum by now.
I also wanted to explore the capital before I went to the academy. The academy only allowed students to leave school every five days, and the leave only lasted for two days.
The condition was awfully restrictive for me, but I didn't really have much of a choice despite being the duchess's son. It would cause friction with the royal family, adding to the already mounting grudge.
"It seems you are awake."
I said to the confused Donovan. He was looking around frantically and touching his head, clearly sensing something was wrong.
" Why did you knock me out young master?"
He eventually asked after a while of fumbling.
"I just needed to add a small reassurance. "
I said to him. His eyes widened but I could still see the confusion in his eyes. I signed.
"I added a mechanism in your brain it will..."
I explained how the spell works and what would happen if he ever went against me. With each of my revelations, his face became more horrified. It was an understated reaction.
"So I'm tied to you for life?"
He asked softly his voice barely a whisper. I smiled and nodded.
"As long as you don't die earlier."
Donovan smiled as he accepted his fate.
"Sure, I'll do my best to stay alive young master."
I chuckled. He was really a wise man in my opinion. I did appreciate someone who could bend and stretch according to the situation they were in.
"Shall we leave?"