A/N- Sorry for the wait!
This was why Kaname had chosen to bring in some legal advice; he hadn't even thought about getting them to make a Will.
"I doubt a piece of paper is going to matter when the Council stick their noses in."
He could tell his answer frustrated her and felt a wave of anticipation – it was a character flaw, but Kaname enjoyed watching low-bloods attempts to tell him something they knew he wouldn't like to hear. They made the funniest faces.
He hadn't shot the messenger in ages but they didn't know that.
"The Council's authority is mostly assumed," Lila explained tactfully. "True, it's backed by some dangerous minds, a lot of money and numbers, but as long as there is a single pureblood remaining there will always be a higher power. If they start disobeying their own laws, and if that knowledge is made public, it would damage their reputation, perhaps beyond repair. I firmly believe that if Lord and Lady Kuran had a Will and enough vampires knew about it, the stipulations would have to be obeyed. Guardianship of your honoured self included."
Why bring advisors on board if you were not going to listen to them?
Kaname considered her words carefully. This might as well be a new world and he had to treat it as such. Had he not despaired once, of how he'd failed to adapt to modern bureaucracy? This was the time to correct that.
"If they have a Will, I do not know about it. I assume they do not, as it would have been made by the Legal Department so you would be aware if they had. Also, they're immortal."
Which, you know, was kind of important.
Lila let out a long slow breath. She'd questioned him, and Kaname had not harmed her for it. Progress, and a good sign for her continued well-being.
"In the usual course of things, that would indeed make one negligible, but as you have suggested otherwise it would be prudent to write one. Can they be encouraged to do so? Many other vampires fake their own deaths every eighty years or so in the eyes of the human government. It is not an uncommon tactic."
Kaname didn't have to think about that.
"Yes. What does it need to say?"
She shifted uncomfortably, probably at the ease of his answer. 'Persuading' two purebloods on how to dispose of all worldly assets should probably have been a tad more difficult than his answer implied.
Oh well, she'd learn.
"The wording to appoint a guardian is textbook. They," she took a breath and corrected herself with admirable poise, "you, only need choose a person. I must warn you," she swallowed, "that trust will be vital. As you are already aware, guardianship over you means guardianship over your other assets. Many would find that too great a temptation."
Kaname thought about it for an entire three seconds.
"There's no one."
"Given the politics involved, another pureblood would be most suited."
"My nearest relative not them is Rido, who is outcast. After him is Shizuka Hio, who is similarly outcast. I have no other family, and no one but family could be trusted with this."
"An aristocrat –
"Would be subject to temptation, and if another pureblood thought I was easy prey, defenceless."
"Then you must resign yourself to Council guardianship. Unless you want to hide until you are eighteen." She gave him an uneasy sideways look. "On paper, that is."
"Hiding would be both difficult and unwise," Kaname replied, although he did consider it for a moment. He shook his head. "Too many know of me. Our world would go insane trying to find me. I'm too valuable and too vulnerable to be forgotten."
It was a nice thought though. He'd get so many books read in those blissfully empty years.
Sigh.
"The Council it will be then," he grimaced. "Ichio will be such a pain."
"Will you be…safe?"
Kaname waved her concern aside. "I'm more prepared than he is. That old snake won't know what to do with me."
The same couldn't be said for Kaname of course, and there was something to be said for preserving the timeline, keeping Takuma company, and a little pro-active revenge.
"Which leaves us only with the concerns about assets," Lila mused. "Do you have an accountant you will trust?"
"No."
"I cannot recommend bringing one on board enough. I can advise you only so much. The little I know of the Kuran finances is that they are extraordinarily complicated. You will need specialist knowledge."
"I am running out of time. Finding an accountant I could trust and control would take at least six months. I need to have made significant progress before then. You will simply have to work with what you have."
With that, he 'pulled' one of his journals over to him, one that had been oh so carefully protected, and gave it to her.
"Everything I know and suspect about our current financial position. I need as much as vampirically possible hidden, or put out of my guardian's reach somehow. I am open to all suggestions."
Ichio could have him, but Kaname would slaughter the entire Council and plunge his world into war before he let that parasite touch Yuki, and supporting her in the way she needed was going to cost money. Not to mention all his other plans, none of which he wanted to lead Ichio to via an obvious money trail.
At least his spying on Haruka had proven fruitful. Kaname had amassed quite the store of knowledge about where their money was coming from and what Haruka had done with it. It wasn't everything, and Kaname would keep spying until the last night, but it was enough to be getting on with.
It was already more than he'd 'inherited' last time around. Fucking Ichio.
"Off the top of my head, the easiest thing to do would be to transfer it all to someone trustworthy, so it's yours in practice but not in law."
"There's no one," Kaname re-iterated impatiently.
"You could ah, make someone. A bound 'D would be ideal for this sort of task. Any random human would do. They need only be an adult with a bank account and not someone who would draw attention from the authorities."
That was…genius.
There was just one problem.
"No fangs," Kaname grumbled, "means no venom, and no pets. I probably won't regrow them until I hit puberty again. It won't work in time. An excellent thought for the future however, and surprisingly pragmatic. Well done."
Whether she was happy or not to be praised for the idea others would find repellent, Lila didn't say. She studied the information intently.
"Your main issue is that you don't know what your parents have, and without that we can't really plan."
She thought for a few moments, and then groaned.
"This is so unprofessional, but if you don't know the extent of their assets," she gestured to the book, "then get them to spend the money. I presume you can track that?" She added with a pleasing touch of sarcasm.
Once again, Kaname found himself wishing desperately for an older body. He had a feeling that inviting Lila to his bed would be highly entertaining.
Kaname nodded, keeping his lustful thoughts from his face easily, instead giving her an angelically innocent smile just to watch her shiver.
"Well then, there you go. Problem solved. Get them to cash in the assets you don't know about for ones you do. I suggest property because it's highly regulated and diamonds because they're easy to misplace. Happy?"
Before she had time to regret the snark, Kaname smirked at her. He chose to believe that he looked dangerous and dashing rather than cute.
"Very," he replied sweetly. He let his gaze sweep her form, enjoying her unease. "I think I'll be keeping you for a very long time."
###
That night, at dinner, Haruka turned to Juuri and said, "Darling, I've been thinking that the Castle is looking a little worn. How to do you feel about redecorating?"
"Redecorating?"
"Yes. I was wandering the Castle and noticed that some of the stonework was starting to crumble. Some of the gargoyles were made from limestone and they've completely worn away. I've also been speaking to security lately and some of the measures they'd like to install would require being built into the rooms. If you are agreeable, I'd like to speak to an architect."
"I suppose if we're refurbishing, then it makes sense to do it all together," Juuri replied over her duck l'orange. "There's one or two jobs I'd like to see done too. And I've thought for a while we need to move the office staff further away from our personal quarters. I don't like sensing them moving around when I'm trying to sleep."
"Sounds like you're planning a complete overhaul," Haruka laughed indulgently. "But whatever you wish, wife."
"Leave it to me, darling," Juuri smiled. "I know you're busy with work, so leave the running of the house to me. I'll get everything back in order soon enough."
"Naturally."
###
The next night, as Lila Hart sat at her desk dazed and wondering what had happened to her life, a package arrived.
She opened it warily, from a distance, her mind abuzz with conspiracy theories only to find a pair of gorgeous diamond earrings.
The accompanying note, in beautiful calligraphy simply read:
For misplacing.
###
