Chapter 459: Escaping the Duchy No.1

Tyr’s villa was built atop a tall cliff overlooking the coastline.

True to her nature as a vampire, the structure lacked any practical facilities like a fireplace or a dining room.

Instead, it was clearly designed with nothing but scenic views and light-blocking in mind.

As soon as I stepped past the outer wall, the fading twilight spread endlessly toward the horizon.

Vampires wouldn’t be watching the sunrise, of course, but even without sunlight, it was a majestic view.

Feeling a renewed sense of nature’s wonder, I clenched and unclenched my fist.

This doesn’t belong to humanity.

Nor to the great laws of nature.

It belongs only to me.

And yet, that made it all the more puzzling.

Even if I’ve lost my power, I’m still the King of Humans, and thus I should only be able to use the power of humans.

I shouldn’t be able to wield personal forces like Unique Magic or Qi Arts.

Strange.

Maybe this is also a side effect of having lost my power.

What on earth is happening to me?

That’s why I’m looking for a Divine.

Ah, forget it.

I’ll think about it later, first, I need to escape.

I looked around and began scouting a route…

“…Huh?”

Something felt off.

I chewed on the discomfort until it clicked… the view was unusually clear.

There was no mist.

Some sea fog still rolled in, but that’s normal for the ocean.

But to be able to see all the way to the horizon like this— this wasn’t like the Duchy of Mist at all.

Is it because Tyr retracted her darkness and focused it all inward?

That’s probably part of it.

But not the whole story.

There was strangely little cloud or sea fog.

As if the Leviathan in that ocean was quietly holding its breath.

I recalled the thought and muttered,

“Now that I think of it, the Crimson Duke summoned the humans into the castle in preparation for something.”

I hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but looking back, it’s odd.

He only moved after hearing about the Great Tide from the Regressor.

To preemptively warn of the tidal wave that the Leviathan might cause… is the Regressor planning to reveal her identity?

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter since she can just regress again.

But that’s not the issue here!

I mean— up until now, not once did she mention the Great Tide to me or Tyr!

If she’d simply avoided talking about it, I might’ve thought she was hiding it.

But if she never even thought about it, how was I supposed to know?

Something as big as the Great Tide… you should at least try to remember it!

Anyway, it gave me one more reason to leave the Duchy.

I started walking down the path on the opposite side of the cliff.

Maybe because Valdamir had summoned all the humans, but the beach, which should’ve been busy at this hour, was completely empty.

That’ll make escape easier.

Maybe I should meet up with Hilde first, or so I thought as I walked.

“Have you finished your business?”

Of course, the world didn’t let me go that easily.

Countess Erte, the Crimson Duke’s right hand, approached as if she’d been waiting for me.

She approached from a point I couldn’t avoid, politely greeting me.

“I was told the Progenitor took you with her. May I ask where she is now?”

“Ah, she’s at the villa. Tyr’s a sleepyhead who hates sunlight, so I’m just out for some air.”

“I see.”

Damn it.

I hate that I’m telling such obvious lies, but I hate even more how calmly this vampire accepts them with a nod.

Trying to maintain a composed demeanor, I asked.

“More importantly, what brings you here?”

“I was ordered by the Crimson Duke to attend to the consort.”

“I thought that farce was over?”

“No. There was simply another higher-priority command, so it was postponed briefly. The order still stands.”

Vampires are staunch absolutists.

They live by the single principle of following their maker’s orders— executing commands without showing emotion, whether they want to or not.

But being a retainer doesn’t mean being an idiot.

“Where are you headed? If you tell me your destination, I’ll guide you.”

｢Until the Progenitor abandons her love for him, he remains her consort. But if he tries to betray her and flee the Duchy, he can’t expect to be treated the same… Of course, it’s not fleeing until he actually does it.｣

She understands exactly what the Crimson Duke meant.

Of course, Countess Erte isn’t the Crimson Duke herself.

She’s obviously weaker and has less authority.

There’s no reason to fear her personally.

But fearing the Crimson Duke’s hands—that’s another matter.

The Crimson Duke is testing me right now!

Tch.

Still, since she has no intention of stopping me, maybe I’ll accept her help for now.

“Ah, well—first, I’d like to meet up with my companion.”

“She’s right here.”

Countess Erte casually gestured behind her.

There was nothing but scattered rocks there— until Hilde sheepishly appeared, clearly having been tailing us.

“Tch, you noticed? Man, vampires make everything hard. Can’t even disguise myself, and tailing people’s a pain. Total buzzkill~.”

“Your presence was faint. If it weren’t for the blood on your clothes, I wouldn’t have noticed. Of course, I planned to let you two meet eventually, so the result is the same.”

Countess Erte answered indifferently, then asked if I had anything else.

“So, anything else?”

She’s clearly planning to help me escape.

Whether to recapture me later, or simply stand by, I don’t know.

But there’s no choice.

If that’s the case, I’ll play it bold.

“I suddenly feel like taking a grand tour of the Duchy. I want to walk all the way to its edge. Could you escort me as far toward the border as possible?”

“What? Father, that’s way too obvious—”

It was a full-frontal charge that even Hilde was flustered by.

But Countess Erte, wearing a pleasant social smile, nodded.

“Of course. I’ll guide you.”

It’s not an escape until you’ve escaped.

Which means there’s no reason for anyone to chase me until I do.

So I’ll walk as far as I can— and then I’ll run.

I steeled myself and followed Countess Erte.

The King of Humans has been established.

The Progenitor’s gift has been delivered.

Now he might finally live as an ordinary man.

To learn Qi Arts, to study magic, he has earned the right to inscribe power into that body.

He now possesses the strength to remain different.

So far, so good.

But don’t relax.

Fate will begin shifting now.

Not until humanity abandons its king—

No.

Not until the King of Humans abandons the very thing he represents.

Thus began a strange journey with a vampire.

Countess Erte truly acted as our guide with great sincerity.

She provided meals at appropriate times and even prepared resting spots along the way.

Though we didn’t use them often, since we were technically on the run, Hilde and I traveled without discomfort.

Of course, that was only physical comfort.

Mentally, things were far from easy.

Watching Countess Erte stand like a statue without eating or sleeping, Hilde whispered.

“Father. Are we… going too slowly?”

“We’d collapse if we rushed. It’s better to conserve our strength until the real escape begins.”

Even though I spoke in a low voice, Countess Erte clearly heard and asked.

“Did you say escape?”

“It’s just a figure of speech.”

“I see. I nearly misunderstood. Then please, take your rest.”

We could see right through each other.

It might seem fair, but in truth, I’m the one at a disadvantage.

I’m a Mind Reader—of course, I can peek at others’ hands—but vampires shouldn’t be able to do the same.

You already have long lifespans and regenerative immortality, why are you even playing this showdown?

Is the pot really that big?

Anyway, Hilde—now suddenly a fugitive—let out a deep sigh.

“I always thought Tyrkanzyaka would be a little more… cold. Guess that was my mistake. Who knew she’d be this relentless?”

“People change.”

“Hearing that from the one who changed her makes me want to punch you~.”

“If we manage to escape the Duchy, I’ll let you.”

“Wait—was that ‘escape’ just now…?”

“Kidding, I’m kidding.”

“Even jokes can be taken seriously if you overdo it, so be careful.”

Valdamir won’t pursue us until he decides we’ve ‘escaped.’

So we need to conserve our strength until we cross that threshold, and the moment pursuit begins, we’ll pour everything into getting away.

Hilde understood the plan.

She just didn’t trust me to pull it off.

“You’re not exactly tough, Father. If tireless vampires start chasing us, can you really run away?”

“I may be weak, but I’m a specialist in escape. Don’t worry. And what about you, Hilde? You got crushed like a toy by Tyr.”

“What do you take ‘me’ for? Pretending to be in pain is a basic skill~. Though I’ll admit… it did hurt a little.”

Pretending?

From what I saw, her limbs were sticking out between the shadow’s fingers like broken doll parts.

That’s not acting.

Well, maybe it’s possible if you’re a master of Qi Arts…

Hilde folded her hands atop the table and gave a subtle smile.

“Father, you know, right?”

“Know what?”

“If ‘I’ wanted to, ‘I’ could escape alone. Tyrkanzyaka’s real target is you.”

She’s right.

The shadow let me go, but with Tyr herself, who knows what she’ll decide.

I used her power and betrayed her in the most dramatic way possible.

She could come to lock me up without a hint of guilt.

And if that happens, it’s game over.

No matter how much she loves me, she won’t fall for the same trick twice.

“But whether ‘I’ live or die isn’t her concern. Honestly, it might be better for ‘me’ if you get captured.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Even a dung heap’s better than the afterlife.”

Of course, that’s easy for me to say.

Hilde’s life is really on the line.

Logically, her best move is to grab me and turn me in to Tyr.

Fortunately, Hilde didn’t make that rational choice.

“So~, Father, you absolutely must repay ‘me’, okay?”

“Of course.”

“Even if I’m not around! I’ll just put the recipient down as the Military State!”

“Yes, yes.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

｢That was a pretty half-hearted answer~. But still, this should count as a ‘promise,’ right?｣

Hilde narrowed her eyes, hiding her true thoughts.

｢Now that everyone knows he’s the King of Humans, the only place left for him is the Military State. Only a nation without a king can house the King of Humans. Yuel may have dreamed of a nation that needed no king… but that ended in failure, didn’t it? So this is fair enough!｣

King, huh…

Well, yeah.

No country with a king or emperor is going to welcome me.

The Military State really is the best place for me to stay.

Hilde seems to think that if I go, I’ll naturally become king.

She’s probably the only one who believes that.

Still, since she’s helped me, I should at least try to meet some of her expectations.

I was about to brush it off lightly, but suddenly, I felt a strange emotion and tilted my head.

…Pity?

Me, feeling pity?

For Hilde?

What the hell?

She’s a member of the Crusader, a Star General, a master of both Qi and Holy Arts.

Why would I feel sorry for someone like that?

Spoiled thoughts.

Better to use that time to keep running.

Just then, Countess Erte stood up, having sensed a faint trace of Blood Aura.

She stared off in the direction of the presence, then turned to us and politely excused herself.

“Excuse me. Someone appears to be calling for me. I’ll go see what it’s about.”

“Ah, sure. Take your time. Really—take your time. No rush at all.”

“I’ll try, dear Consort of the Progenitor. Just as a precaution, I should warn you— should you attempt to flee, other vampires and I may be sent in pursuit.”

“Hahaha. I’ll keep that in mind.”

As we watched Countess Erte off, Hilde and I exchanged a nod.

And before either of us had to say it, we grabbed our bags and bolted out of the inn.

And so begins the escape from predators who feast on humans.