"Color me surprised! You have gotten high enough level to appraise me." Relia said after Marcus proved that he had learned her race and name.
Yet, instead of feeling nervous about finding out that a potential threat was stronger than her, she simply flashed Marcus what he could only consider to be an evil smile. She was clearly not concerned in the slightest that he might turn around and attack her.
Marcus grimaced when he saw Relia's reaction, but there was not much he could do about it. She had saved his life in the past and there was no getting around the fact that he owed her a monumental debt.
"If you wouldn't mind, could you hide in the shadows for a bit. I need to gather my estate's maids and guards and inform them that the situation is under control. And I am sure that the city watch will come to investigate the commotion here. I'll have to make up something to get them to leave." Marcus said, feeling headache coming on.
"Oh, why would you need me to hide though? With my powers I should be able to smooth everything out far faster than you can." Relia said, letting her eyes glow for a moment to emphasize her power. With her Charm Eyes ability, she would have no problem putting everyone under her spell and making them believe whatever she wanted them to.
For a moment Marcus contemplated this, but he quickly shook his head at the idea. He did not want those under his employee to be controlled any longer.
"No, you have already done enough. I will not have you charming my personnel any longer. Just stay out of the way while I handle the situation. Once things have calmed down, I will listen to what you have to say."
"Okay, you do whatever you want, but I should probably be with you when you meet with your maids. Some of them witnessed your sister attacking me and because they are currently under my spell, they will certainly be hostile to her right now. From their point of view, she attacked me unprovoked." Relia said, shooting Lilia a sidelong glance.
"Irene, I think we should just kill her. She is a dangerous vampire that has used her abilities to take over our home. We can cleanse the others of her foul power once we have dealt with her." Lilia said in a bloodthirsty tone.
A palpable force of mana was emanating off of Lilia's body and she was ready to strike the moment she received Marcus' approval.
Unfortunately, as much as Marcus also wanted to strike back against Relia for what she had done, he kept himself under control. He knew that if they killed her, it would only lead to far worse problems. She was just a servant of a more powerful entity, and if she died, more vampires were likely to come with a far less peaceful approach.
"Fine, you can accompany us, but only to break the charm you have put on my people and make them forgot you ever existed." Marcus said, not willing to compromise any further. He really wanted to cleanse his maids and guards of her spell completely, but he knew doing so would cause innumerable problems. The best outcome he could think of was for them not to remember Relia.
"Fine, I suppose that won't be too difficult." She responded with the shrug of her shoulders.
Lilia looked displeased about Marcus' choice, but she held back her fury. Still, she kept a close eye on Relia and was waiting for her to make one wrong move so that she could put her down.
With things having settled down a bit, Marcus asked Relia if she wanted him to heal her.
Thankfully the negative aftereffects of being under Relia's charm and being forced to forget her did not last for long. Within just a half minute everyone was back to normal.
Nevertheless, they each wore panicked expressions on their faces as they still remembered the explosions that had just occurred on the grounds. Of course, none of them could recall the cause of these events, as even those that witnessed Lilia's attack could not bring up the memory.
"Lady Irene, did you figure out the cause of the explosion?" Clara asked, the first to come back to her senses.
"Yes, I am afraid that it was my fault. I left a more volatile than expected protype weapon in my workshop and when Lilia tested it for me it caused the series of explosions. I am sorry that all of you had to experience this and promise to compensate each of you with a bonus this month."
Marcus waited with baited breaths to see if his fabrication would not have any inconsistencies with what his maids and guards remembered.
Luckily, not a single one seemed suspicious and expected the explanation at face value. The promise of higher pay for the month grabbed their attention more than anything else.
Unfortunately, while Marcus could get away with falsifying the cause of the damage, it did not change the fact that part of the main building had been destroyed. It would undoubtedly need extensive and costly repairs.
"Clara, I understand that everyone is still a bit shaken up but would have two of the maids fine a building company that could come out to assess the damages. We will need to have the manor fixed as soon as possible. And money is of no issue so make sure to hire the best."
Nodding her head, Clara chose Amy and Violet to act as representatives and sent them out with a pair of the estate's guards.
Not long after the two maids and guards left, a squadron of twenty-four patrolmen led by one of the city's knights arrived to investigate the sounds of explosions that had been heard in every direction for several kilometers.
Fortunately, Marcus was able to give them the same explanation as he had to his staff, and no one questioned him. The knight leading the patrol knew of his reputation as a highly skilled Forgemaster and understood that it would be easy enough for him to make a magic weapon capable of such destruction.
Still, the knight informed Marcus that he would likely have to pay a fine for disturbing the peace as several of the other noble families that neighbored him had been frightened by the explosions and had issued complaints.
Of course, money was currently the least of his worries. He had just received several money orders from the adventurers guild that were worth in total a million gold coins, No fine was going to come anywhere close to putting a dent in his funds.
When things had finally calmed down enough that they no longer needed his immediate attention, Marcus headed towards one of the guest annexes in order to have a private chat with Relia.
Though, while he planned to talk to her alone, Lilia was insistent that she join them. She still did not trust the Vampiress and wanted to stick close to Marcus in case she was needed.