svetikya Page 39
Page 39
despair...
Ta-ta-ta-ta...
Someone was pacing back and forth nearby.
But she couldn't see anything through the blurry liquid. She could only hear the strange footsteps coming from all directions.
After an unknown amount of time, the footsteps finally reached her.
"..."
"..."
Pfft!
The owner of the footsteps, the blurry figure, suddenly knelt down in front of the container where the silver-haired girl was.
He slapped his hands on the glass of the container, and the lines on his palms were clearly visible to the girl.
But then he clenched his fists and slowly slid down the glass until he was off the glass wall.
The figure standing just one face away from the girl seemed to be saying something, but the girl couldn't hear most of what he was saying.
But his last few words, though powerful, still lingered in the girl's mind—making her remember them forever.
"...His Majesty..."
"The vampire race must not give up like this..."
"Forgive me, my queen."
...
hum-
The girl woke up.
But she could never understand this memory, and she couldn't even be sure if it was real.
It was like a dream, ethereal and unreal.
But she didn't care, after all, she was a vampire girl who only lived in the present.
“Hur—”
Ludwig yawned, and the ribbons on her shoulders slipped down her shoulders as she yawned.
"Coco is still not awake."
She turned to look at the sleeping Ruo Keke and smiled slightly.
"Well, I'll get dressed myself today. I'm a reasonable hostess, I won't disturb Coco's sweet dreams at this time."
If Coco had a faint smile on her face, it was as if she, who had been plagued by nightmares all along, had finally had a peaceful and happy dream.
"Get a good night's sleep before you get up."
Ludwig patted Ruo Keke's head and got out of bed.
"Hmm... let me find where Coco's dressing case is."
"I hope my makeup skills, which I haven't neglected for fifty years, haven't become rusty."
...
The two vampire girls were still "slacking off," while a certain church knight, who was clearly much slower than them, was already standing in front of his destination.
Yin Shang looked up at the deep and silent Mona Castle.
This place, once known as "Dracula's Castle," appeared somewhat dilapidated, but after years of renovation and management by the Vampire Council, it has now become a "devil's lair" that humans should avoid.
It was a bright, sunny day, but for some reason, as soon as one got close to the castle, even the sun's rays seemed to dim, and the sunlight around it seemed to be gloomy and overcast all day long.
“Uh… Reinhardt, I feel unwell.”
"Master, should I deploy a holy light barrier?"
"No, doing that might provoke the vampires' hostility. After all, we're here to 'chat' with them."
Yin Shang, under the pretext of "investigating the theft of the Spear of Longinus," visited the Vampire Council in the name of a church knight.
Because most church knights did not believe in the church and were very different from other church organizations, they were actually more likely to be received by the council than other church members.
Although the Church Knights had been enemies of the Vampire Council for many years, the Church Knights have recently lost their paychecks due to the collapse of the Church.
As a result, with the bounty offered by the Vampire Council, the Church Knights captured many bloodthirsty monsters and handed them over to the Church for treatment. Consequently, the reputation of the other side has been greatly improved in recent years.
After all, who would turn down money? Especially a big boss like the Vampire Council, which has accumulated wealth for thousands of years and is therefore very generous.
Therefore, it was only natural and logical for Yin Shang to apply for an audience with the Vampire Council in the name of a Church Knight.
...
When...when...
The bell rang, striking twelve times in total.
This means that it has already reached noon.
The castle gates slowly opened, revealing a dark, bottomless passageway behind them.
"Are these vampires so stingy they can't even afford to install a light?"
Yin Shang rubbed his goosebumps.
Despite his complaints, he still stepped into the castle.
After passing through the castle's main hall, climbing several complex staircases, and enduring countless "death stares" from vampires, Yin Shang finally arrived at the upper council chamber.
Pushing open the hall door, only one person was sitting at the large round conference table.
"Are you the only one in the Vampire Council?" Yin Shang asked bluntly.
...
"An impudent knight who suspects the Council of involvement in the theft of the Spear of Longinus... It is already a great honor for our Vampire Council to send even one person to receive you."
Fortunately.
There were thirteen chairs around the round table in the council, each seemingly tailor-made for its owner, and each with a different design.
Nevertheless, it was still possible to tell which chair was the "chief" seat. And sitting in that chief seat was undoubtedly the man standing in front of Yin Shang.
He crossed his arms and rested them on the table, his exposed crimson eyes staring unceremoniously at Yin Shang.
His blond hair had turned gray at the temples, but his face still looked young.
“Welcome, young human knight. I am the chief of the Vampire Council, Yasin Torre. State your name.”
He wore a vampire-style suit, its numerous ornate decorations of unclear meaning highlighting the vampire's arrogant nature; and on his chest, like the princess, he wore the sword and rose emblem symbolizing the vampire council, signifying his high position. The emblem blended seamlessly with the patterns on his suit; the absence of either the ornate decorations or the emblem would have made the suit appear extremely incongruous.
...
Yin Shang said, "I am just a disgraced church knight—the Wandering Knight Yin Shang. Let's skip the formalities. I've been asked to come and investigate something."
He got straight to the point and asked.
“I was there when the Spear of Longinus was stolen. I saw with my own eyes who took it.”
"My informant believes its theft is closely related to the Vampire Council and the Vampire Queen. Although the Church concealed the fact that the Spear of Longinus had harmed the Vampire Queen from the public in exchange for its return, there are still people who know the truth..."
"...The Spear of Longinus is a sacred artifact capable of killing the immortal vampire queen."
"So, if the vampire council, which has always been under the rule of the vampire princess, does not express any opinion on Her Majesty the vampire princess stealing the Spear of Longinus... can I assume that the council is attempting to overthrow the queen's rule?"
...
After listening to Yin Shang's words, Torre remained silent.
After a moment of silence, he finally responded:
"You...are you certain that Her Majesty the Princess was the one who stole the Spear of Longinus?"
“I confirm it,” Yin Shang said firmly.
Seeing Yin Shang's unwavering gaze, Torre snorted coldly.
"You have no reason to frame her."
"But...you also have no reason to frame the Vampire Council."
Torre stood up and suddenly turned into black mist in that instant.
The next instant, he materialized beside Yin Shang, standing with his hands behind his back.
"Human knight, what do you want to know?"
Yin Shang replied, "Tell me, is the Princess involved in this matter?"
...
"Ah."
"Human, you already know that the Princess has disappeared, don't you?"
A chilling killing intent suddenly enveloped the entire conference hall, and Yin Shang involuntarily raised his hand to grip the Wandering Sword behind him.
He was almost certain that if he took any rash action, it would be tantamount to immediately making an enemy of the Vampire Council.
"Mr. Torre, what do you mean?"
...
Torre glanced sideways at Yin Shang.
"You didn't mention seeing the Princess when you asked to enter the castle, but you came here specifically for her."
“Even if you are not confident of escaping unscathed, there is no need for you to bypass her and go to the council. Because the moment you stepped into this castle, you became our ‘prisoner.’ You were already prepared for that.”
At this moment, Torre was less than three feet away from him, staring directly at the man who was about the same height as him.
"Alright, tell me, where did you find out about this?"
“I can’t say,” Yin Shang replied curtly.
...
Yin Shang waited for Torre to rage, but he remained silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly:
"Even a nobody like you knows, it seems we won't be able to keep it a secret anytime sooner or later."
Yin Shang seized the opportunity to say, "Ah, right...right, right, right. She hasn't appeared in the media for almost a year, so I suspect she's no longer in the castle."
...
"Humph."
Torre leaned against the wall and sighed softly.
"She disappeared along with our Queen, human."
"And the fact that she took the Spear of Longinus... if true, is indeed a matter that we cannot underestimate, because, as you said, the Spear of Longinus can threaten Her Majesty's safety."
"Next, anything you want to know about her, as long as our council knows it, I will tell you the truth, human."
"Because the council cannot play the role of investigating the Princess, at least not openly. We need someone who appears to have nothing to do with vampires to help us with this."
Torre turned around and waved, signaling Yin Shang to follow.
"If you're interested, come with me. Let's talk somewhere else."
Chapter 44: Queen and Maiden
Deep within the castle, there remains a dimly lit courtyard. Special filtration systems are installed here, allowing vampires to stroll freely even during the day.
However, since it was daytime when the vampires were asleep, the courtyard was deserted and exceptionally quiet.
Yin Shang and Tore, the leader of the Vampire Council, were secretly plotting in a secluded corner.
...
"Five years ago, after the bloodthirsty plague ended, we broke the rules of seclusion at the Queen's behest, and won the right to stand in this world by exposing the church and curing the bloodthirsty monsters."
Torre Road.
"All of this is inseparable from Her Majesty the Queen, but also from that Princess. She and the Vampire Queen returned to the royal court after the plague ended and were married in the throne room. Afterwards, they returned to their old home in the far east to spend their time together. During this period, Her Majesty Yang Lingxi remotely managed the council and gradually took over the command of the Vampire Council and many affairs."
“Until three years ago, Her Majesty the Queen, through her ruling authority, told us that from now on, most of the affairs of the vampires—including the jurisdiction over the council—would be handled by Her Majesty the Princess. We asked Her Majesty the Queen about this, but her response was simply—'You need not say anything more.'”