Take Me Instead Of My Daughter

Claude took a couple of steps backward as if he received a fatal arrow shot to the heart. As for Anastasia, she unhesitantly approached Albrecht while stomping her foot.

She was the first person to encounter him, and now her mother was hogging him all to herself. It was only given that she claimed what was rightfully hers in the first place.

Assertively, Anastasia grabbed Albrecht by his arm and then tried to pull him away from her mother while growling under her breath. Honestly, Theresa was more mature than her, and she had the demeanor of a cool lady which put her in an advantageous position as a rival.

"Ara~ you're back." Theresa greeted the two of them while softly twirling the ends of her hair. "Perfect timing, why don't we have an early breakfast together!"

"W-w-well, I just had my training so I could really use a meal right now. Why don't you join us, Albrecht?" Claude offered. For some odd reason, he decided to overlook the fact that his mother was completely flirting with Albrecht a moment ago.

"Of course, he's going to join us. He came all the way here, the least we could do is offer him a meal!" Anastasia clenched her teeth as she tightly hugged Albrecht's arm. It was clear that she had no intention of letting him go whatsoever.

"Then, let me finish up tending to my babies, then we can have breakfast." Theresa's eyes smiled as she clasped her hands together.

Seeing that it was already decided, Albrecht went with the flow and nodded his head in response. He did have plenty of time before the commencement of the Seventh Outerlayer's conquer attempt. He wasn't in a rush at all.

Before Anastasia could keep Albrecht all to herself, Claude grabbed her by the collar and dragged her away. "Ora~ you're helping me out with breakfast prep," Claude said.

"Eh?! But aren't the maids preparing it?!" Anastasia flailed her hands as she tried to grab hold of Albrecht a second time. However, this just prompted Claude to pull at her collar even more.

"We're. supervising. them." Claude emphasized with a grunt. "This is a special occasion, you know."

"Hiyahh~!" Anastasia continued flailing as they disappeared into their domicile.

—

—

Theresa hummed a rhythmic tune that matched the breeze as she continued tending to her garden. Then there was Albrecht who just awkwardly stood there, wondering if he could be of any help.

After all, Anastasia and Claude left them so suddenly that it made him speechless.

"D-d-do you need some help, chieftess?" Albrecht asked, stuttering on the first word before he regained his composure.

"Ooh~! Sorry for the trouble, but could you pass the trowel for me?" Theresa asked. It wasn't such a ridiculous request, but it did alleviate the awkwardness that existed between the two of them.

Now that a convenient distraction was in place, Albrecht and Theresa spent the next few minutes in the garden. For once, Theresa felt like her newfound hobby was heaven-sent. If it weren't for that, they wouldn't have had a valid reason to spend time with each other.

From afar, Anastasia and Claude lingered, contemplating whether or not they should approach Albrecht and their mother. Apparently, they were done with their supervision, and now they had to call the two of them for an early breakfast.

"Should we call them?" Anastasia whispered to her older brother.

"No, let's wait for them to finish. It's not like Albrecht's in a rush, you know." Claude advised, pulling on Anastasia's collar once again as she tried to step forward.

"I, I guess," Anastasia mumbled. Deep inside, she knew that Albrecht and her mother had to talk about something important. That's the sole reason why Claude dragged her out of there.

Then again, she wanted to spend as much time as she could with Albrecht, considering that it had been days since his last visit to their village.

While they could actually take a Zecian Portal into Ground Zero and look for Albrecht, the two of them just didn't have the time since they had to look after their sickly mother while simultaneously keeping the throne of the chieftess away from the wrong hands.

Hence, this was the only time they reunited with Albrecht. Claude wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but he could tell how much his younger sister waited for this moment.

—

While Theresa was tilling the soil of the small patch of land for her basil, she cleared her throat and stole a glance towards Albrecht just so she could garner his attention. In response, Albrecht also briefly looked at Theresa before slightly bowing his head.

"So... what did you come here for? Aside from making sure that I could resume my responsibility as a chieftess." Theresa grinned, totally reading Albrecht's intentions as his mind was laid bare before him.

"Ah, er—" Albrecht was totally caught off-guard by the question, and the only thing he could do was scratch his head as he collected his thoughts. "I was here to actually ask for a favor," Albrecht said.

"Oh, what is it? Pray, tell me, Albrecht." Theresa enthusiastically said as her visage brightly lit up. She finally had the chance to return his savior's favor. "As long as it's within my capabilities, I won't hesitate to assist you. As I mentioned before, even if you directly asked me for my position as the chief, I won't hesitate to give it to you."

And Theresa wasn't joking. Quite frankly, she should've already been relieved of her position as the chieftess and her life forfeit. But thanks to Albrecht, she got to have a second chance at life, an additional span of time she could spend on her children.

"The truth is, we're going into the Seventh Outerlayer later on, and I was planning on taking Anastasia along with me." Albrecht trailed off, indirectly asking Theresa for her permission.

"I'm sorry, Albrecht, I can't allow that. You're aware that we're currently in the Second Outerlayer, right? That means the inhabitants of the Seventh Outerlayer are much stronger than us." Theresa explained. "I can't allow this, fully knowing that I'll needlessly expose my daughter to danger."

"I... understand." To be fair, Albrecht knew that his request was ridiculous. And it was only sensible that Theresa would reject it.

Instead, I have a compromise in mind." Theresa cleared her throat as she completely faced Albrecht. "I'm the strongest vampire in the whitelock tribe, and I'm willing to accompany you instead of my daughter." She offered, putting herself in front before even asking her children's opinions.

"Wait... what?!" Albrecht exclaimed. He couldn't believe that Theresa just volunteered to go with him. It was like an unexpected dream that was way beyond his current wish.