Just read the plot details and HOLY FUCKING SHIT PLOT YOU'RE A FUCKING GENIUS I LOVE YOU
I actually have two questions, plot.
Would the double-life thing be something that was told to descending Belmonts? Or would it have been kept a secret so that it didn't look like the Belmonts suffered the flaw they did and remained to appear strong?
And would that life-stealing be in effect as long as the person had the whip? Would it enact just by the Killer being in their possession, or only when it was wielded against a demonic foe?
Obviously neither of these are terribly vital to ahave answers to in regards to the storyline, I'm just curious.
Good questions:
1. Starting from Irina, no direct Belmont descendants know they are Belmonts. It's not terribly important for them to not know, but Annette was instructed to not tell Irina about her father so the plan could be carried out without her disruption at adult age. Dracula's legend, however, is a thing on Wygol village, and they are aware that the Belmonts existed in the past. Every direct Belmont would display a connection with the Belmont past at an early age, like Anna, that would fade as they got older (thanks to the crack on their soul that would grow with them, creating the amnesia effect, and explaining why Irina doesn't seem very connected like her daughter is).
2. The life-stealing effect happens whenever the person wields the unlocked whip. If he doesn't, it doesn't happen even if the person has unlocked it. John died because he wielded the whip too freaking long, while Jonathan escaped early death because he wielded only against Dracula and nothing more. (Even though the whip DID steal some of his life, something that is a small plot detail on my story).