Chapter 421: Elder, Ancilla, Neonate and Human (4)

“So you just came out after having a delicious meal by yourself?”

“No, it was part of my information-gathering. You know how sharing a meal can get people talking.”

“Maybe wipe your mouth first before you say that?”

“Ah.”

I stepped outside only to get scolded by Hilde for eating alone.

I did feel a bit guilty… but what was I supposed to do when Kavila insisted on feeding me?

“Since vampires can’t eat, I guess you were the only one whose mouth opened. So, what did you spill to a vampire, Father? Confess.”

“Nothing much. I just brought up the possibility that the Elder murder culprit might be… another Elder.”

“…Do you have nine lives or something? How could you say that to an Elder’s face?!”

“Well, she said it was a valid theory.”

“Vampires really are something else… So, what did Kavila say?”

“She said to be wary of Valdamir.”

Even Hilde, usually fearless as she was, glanced around nervously at that name.

The deity of the Duchy of Mist may be the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka, but the king is the Crimson Duke Valdamir.

A supreme being with overwhelming power and peerless technique, he also had enough political intelligence to have ruled this warped nation for centuries.

To be honest, his political capabilities have long surpassed Tyr’s.

Vampires can’t defy the Progenitor by nature—but if he were to cast off the Blood Shackles…

Hilde gaped at me.

“Father. What exactly have you gotten yourself into?”

“Now wait, that’s not fair. This all happened before I even arrived. If I’m at fault for anything, it’s for showing up at the wrong time.”

“Ugh. Why does everything go wrong the moment you get involved?”

“I’m telling you, it’s not my fault.”

Hilde held her head in her hands, clearly stressed.

Tyr was unquestionably the god of the Duchy, and I—favored by that god—was the King of Humans.

Hilde, meanwhile, was a key power holder in the Military State’s intelligence.

With the three of us, she had drawn up plans and begun acting.

And then, just as we arrive in the Duchy, bang! A murder just conveniently happened.

Sighing, Hilde stretched her limbs.

“Well, it shouldn’t be a problem~ Vampires who continued to live even after receiving the Progenitor’s Primordial Essence are all caught in the Homunculus Dilemma. Their resurrection from death was entirely thanks to the Progenitor. Just like a hand can’t betray the body, they can’t defy Tyrkanzyaka.”

“Hm. You think so?”

“Ah, not this again! Father, what are you worried about now?”

Tyr’s power hasn’t vanished.

It’s just that, since her heart was revived, her dominion over the outside has weakened.

So right now, vampires can go against her.

…Though if they did, and her heart stopped again, that’d be a little ridiculous.

Tyr’s the one who broke free of the Blood Shackles—not the Elders.

But Hilde doesn’t know about Tyr’s heart yet.

And no matter how reckless I may seem, I’m not going to blab about someone’s internal condition to a total outsider.

Kavila?

The Elders are basically Tyr’s limbs—so she’s a special case.

“No, I was just thinking… what if there is a way to defy her?”

“You have a lead?”

“Not even close, but given the current case, it’s worth thinking about.”

｢Father wouldn’t have said something like that without reason. He must’ve noticed something he can’t tell me directly… Ugh. I came here for politics, but now I’m stuck gathering intelligence… again!｣

I dodged the topic with feigned ignorance, but Hilde jumped to conclusions—massively.

She pulled out a hat from somewhere and tugged it down low over her eyes.

“You go ahead. This poor, starving girl will wander the streets and find something to eat~”

“Oh, sorry. I’ll treat you to a proper meal next time.”

“It better be an informative one~”

Waving her hand, Hilde—once again the chief of the Military State’s Public Safety—disappeared into the street.

For now, no one in the Duchy would see someone who looked like ‘Hilde’.

She would be lurking in the shadows, gathering intel.

And her intel… would become mine.

Not that I planned it that way.

The sun was beginning to set.

In the Duchy of Mist, you can’t see the sunset clearly, so once things start getting dim, people instinctively head home.

Unlike the Military State, there are no street lamps here.

If you’re not a vampire, you can’t wander freely at night.

The streets were growing quiet.

They were already dim from the mist, and with even the filtered light fading, humans began leaving before the last of their vision vanished.

“Wow! Did Lady Kavila catch this herself?”

“She did. She stopped the tsunami and had her dragon puppets gather the catch.”

As I walked, I heard a child’s bright, chirpy voice.

Struggling to lift a giant fish, the child beamed with joy.

“When I grow up, I want to be Lady Kavila’s Ancilla! I want to stay by her side and help her too!”

In the Duchy, vampires are both nobility and governors.

In a land ruled by Elders, Ancillae, and Neonates, the only dream a child can have… is to become a vampire.

It was a conclusion reached by a child’s worldview—but sadly, her dream was impossible.

Her mother, smiling calmly, replied.

“…No, you can’t. How could you possibly become Lady Kavila’s Ancilla? Even the Ancilla and Neonate positions have been filled for over 200 years without a single vacancy.”

“But I can be a Twaite!”

“What are you saying? Twaites aren’t vampires. That’s a punishment made to scold very bad humans. If you become a Twaite, you’ll turn stupid and become a puppet that obeys every command. A Twaite wouldn’t even be allowed near Lady Kavila—don’t say things like that.”

The girl’s mother dutifully played her role as the parent who crushes her child’s foolish dreams.

Having been told “no” twice in a row, the girl pouted.

“Then what should I be?”

And, like every parent, her mother gave the most classic response imaginable.

“…You don’t need to be anything at all. Just grow up healthy.”

Not because she hoped for it—but because that was all she could offer.

When I arrived at the Plenilune Castle, I was greeted by a vampire handmaid.

She was an Ancilla of Elder Countess Erzsebet and possessed a formidable Bloodcraft.

The moment I set foot in the castle, she sensed me and came to receive me.

As expected of the Progenitor’s castle—using an Ancilla as a handmaid, no less.

It made it clear that Tyr’s authority still held some sway after all.

Anyway, thanks to the escort, I didn’t need to walk and was brought straight to the top floor.

Before I could even finish a short knock, the doors swung open and Tyr welcomed me.

“Welcome back. Did you enjoy your walk?”

It had only been a few hours since we last saw each other, but Tyr had changed noticeably.

She wore a flowing nightgown with frills trailing down to her ankles, and a subtle floral scent lingered on her bare skin.

Even for a vampire devoid of scent, perfume on the skin could mimic the warmth of a living body.

As she let me inside, Tyr spoke.

“I wished to guide you here myself, but unfortunately, it has been quite some time since I last visited this place. There were many things I needed to reacquaint myself with.”

“You actually worked? I thought you just drifted around aimlessly.”

“Goodness. If I know so little, how can I proudly call this my country?”

Three hundred years is practically a full history in itself.

Tyr had been trying to catch up on the time she’d been asleep by studying the documents carefully sorted by Erzsebet’s Ancillae.

It would still take a few more days, but she was making the effort.

“So, have you learned anything new?”

“I went to the coast, about an hour east.”

“Kavila’s domain, then. Your impressions?”

“I thought it’d be dangerous because of the Leviathans… I’m not sure about anything else, but it actually looked surprisingly livable for humans. The seafood was scattered all over the ground, just waiting to be picked up, and if there’s any danger, the vampires protect them.”

“Kavila pays a great deal of attention to humans. Not just her—many do. Humans are a precious resource for this nation. We do not waste them needlessly.”

Getting the response I expected, Tyr went on as if venting.

“Those vile zealots of the Sanctum have slandered my nation with all manner of lies: ‘A monstrous land where human blood is drained and drunk.’ ‘A kingdom of corpses,’ ‘entered alive and exited dead.’ ‘A barbaric land where the stench of blood never fades…’ Bah. Nonsense. Why would we, who rely on humans most, ever treat them poorly? If anything, it is the Sanctum that demands one-sided sacrifices. I assure you, most of their so-called lands could not hold a candle to even the poorest part of the Duchy.”

A blend of pride in what she had built, and simmering resentment toward the Sanctum—it came together in her need to emphasize how livable her country truly was.

A vampire, advocating so fiercely for human quality of life— how ironic.

But there was something I’d been wondering about.

Carefully, not wanting to trigger something too sensitive, I asked Tyr.

“I saw something in the documents earlier. What exactly is… the compression chamber?”