Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Blood-Sucking Demon Spear
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“Roca is way too late no matter how I think about it.”
How long had I been talking with Her Highness the Princess? When I glanced at the clock, two hours had already flown by. Whether the kid fell asleep in the bath or got lost, who could say.
“Hmm, you're right. Her nose is sharp, so she probably didn't lose her way.”
Her Highness's expression turned serious as well. We wrapped up our conversation, and I stood from my seat.
It might be overprotective, but it was only natural to worry when she vanished for so long without a word.
“I'll go look for her. Hopefully nothing's wrong.”
“She's not a complete child, even if she is young. Is it really necessary to go that far?”
“Still, I'm her guardian.”
The Empire is vast, with diverse customs. In some places, anyone over fifteen is considered an adult.
I knew that, but it didn't change the fact that I was Roca's guardian. Even without kids of my own, I knew parents always saw their grown children as precious no matter the age.
“Just like how Your Highness's parents still see you as a child they must protect.”
I said it casually, but she flinched noticeably.
Why? Then, a belated gasp escaped her frozen face.
“Oh no!”
“What's wrong?”
“I meant to at least tell Father before I left, but things happened so fast that I...”
...What?! You ran away from the palace without a word and came here?
When I pressed her, she nodded limply. Good heavens. Her Highness was far more reckless than I'd imagined.
“W-Well, I did tell the maids, so Father must know... right...?”
It wasn't about scolding a princess of a nation for leaving the palace without a word.
The problems stemming from it were all political. I knew that even small matters became huge when politics got involved, but that didn't make them any less small at heart.
What I really wanted to reproach her for was leaving home without a single word to her parents as their daughter. Sure, it had worked out in the end, but without knowing the outcome, who would think it had? If a child ran away and never returned, you'd assume the worst—that they'd died on the road.
I couldn't imagine the shock it must have dealt to His Majesty and the Empress.
I could only guess. Imagine if Roca caught a fatal illness, left me just a single letter without a word, and vanished somewhere.
Then a month passed, then two, with no return. How would I feel?
“You shouldn't have taken such a leisurely journey, then. We need to hurry somehow. No—first thing tomorrow, when we meet the Duke, ask him to send a message. Your Highness needs to let them know you're alive and your illness is cured as soon as possible.”
And here I'd been, blissfully unaware, taking my sweet time traveling.
Why not send word along the way? We could've gone to the city hall in Larphentia and asked them to relay an official dispatch to the capital. It would've arrived by now.
Leaving Her Highness with her face flushed red, I opened the door—only for a strange smell to assault my nose.
My sense of smell wasn't as keen as Roca's, but it wasn't dull either. And this was a scent I'd smelled all too often.
No mistaking it. The stench of blood drifted down the hallway toward us.
“Blood...?”
Sensing something amiss, Her Highness hurriedly drew her sword and came to my side. But if the blood reek was this strong, there should be splattered blood somewhere in the hall. Yet nothing like that was in sight. At least not in my field of vision—not even a hint of blood.
“Where the hell is this blood smell coming from?”
I'd had a similar experience before, but please, let it not be that.
Blood smell without blood meant someone—or something—had swallowed it. Just like that Blood God Atorije we'd faced in the Yurinel party long ago.
‘A death god (??)...? But why here, all of a sudden?’
A remote hamlet of slash-and-burn farmers in the northwest had fallen under the sway of some strange entity they began to worship, slicing off fingers daily to offer it blood. Absorbing faith and blood, it soon grew dissatisfied with mere fingers, demanding more from its followers.
One day, bandits raided the village—only to become devotees themselves.
The sinister, unholy divinity wasn't content there. It manipulated believers to devour and corrupt neighboring villages. Such disaster gods were the Triune Church's top priority, even above demons.
The Church would've exterminated it in time anyway, but our party crossed paths with it first.
A minor deity was still a god.
It was far trickier than battling a high-ranking demon lord. With the Lord's aid, we'd managed to annihilate it, but if something similar had infiltrated here, things would get ugly.
Death gods that fed on malice couldn't be handled by ordinary means.
Before achieving divinity, at ghost level, there were ways to deal with them. But once they gained it, you had no choice but brute force.
We'd crushed it with the holy sword infused with the Three Gods' power, bolstered by the Lord's might—that was the key. Gods were hard to fell without borrowing another god's power.
Thud.
Footsteps approached down the hall.
No attempt to hide their approach. I gripped my candle and prayed. The flame atop it burned steadily, reliably.
This tiny candle flame had incinerated Blood God Atorije's divinity to nothingness. I prayed it could do the same now.
“Saint, fall back for now. I'll...”
“Wait, that's not a deity...”
But it wasn't a deity. The source of the blood stench was merely a tool.
In the wrong hands, it devoured its wielder—a curse that pierced Her Highness's abdomen in an instant, jutting out grotesquely. I swallowed a sigh as she bit her lip, stifling her pain.
‘She shouldn't have taken that hit.’
I might not dodge it even knowing, but at her level, it shouldn't have landed so easily.
Her reaction had been just a fraction too slow. The Lineage Sapling restored her body to its former state, but not the razor-sharp senses.
While tormented by leprosy, groaning in agony, she'd had no chance to swing a sword.
Naturally, no combat or bloodshed either. And so her dulled battle instincts were pierced by that spear.
Too late, she tried to yank it out and snap it—only for the spear to writhe on its own, resist, and fly off into the distance.
Whoosh.
A pale, slender hand caught it.
A woman I'd never seen, yet I knew exactly who she was. An extraordinarily powerful vampire.
Strong enough to solo most demon lords.
“Duke Shumira...?”
Her Highness gaped at her in disbelief. As expected, the foe was this land's lord. And queen of the vampires.
It was indeed Duke Blood Shumira. But why? Why attack Her Highness?
“Long time no see?”
The woman smiled radiantly and waved.
As if greeting a friend. As if delighted.
“It really is you. I thought you were done for, but here you are. Too bad, though. We vampires have no intention of remaining part of the Empire any longer.”
“What...?”
“The Empire's doomed anyway. Why stick around a sinking ship?”
Her finger pointed at Her Highness.
“Now, be a good girl and surrender. You might get to live as Emperor Harma El's pet. When the Mage Empire rises, so will our vampire kingdom. You'll be the gift that makes it happen.”
Her finger then turned to me.
“You, priest—don't bother resisting. If you're truly a priest of the Ancient Gods with the power to cure incurables, it's a waste to stay there. Humans are on a sinking ship. Emperor Harma El has unified the demon realms, and the continent will follow soon. We've been promised a throne by her.”
A throne? Did that mean the vampires would get their own kingdom?
The Immortal Demon Empress Harma El dangled that prize to sway them? But what would change with just a name?
Even if the duchy became a kingdom, it wouldn't halt the vampires' decline, nor weaken the sun's curse.
Declaring independence wouldn't expand their lands either. Even if it did, their population couldn't sustain more territory.
So why? I couldn't fathom it.
Was the greed for a crown worth betraying the Empire?
Was kingship truly that valuable?
“Well? What do you say? I could treat you far better than that disgraced princess. I could even make you a royal historian in my kingdom. Immense honor.”
“If I accept Duke Shumira's offer, what would you have me do?”
I had to ask—I had no idea what she wanted.
If it aligned with the Lord's will, I could serve under anyone. But if not, no reward would sway me.
If she needed me to save vampirekind from decline, I could temporarily aid her.
Their independence from the Empire was separate; abandoning the suffering went against everything I stood for.
“Stay by my side always, and use your holy power if I or my daughter Camira get hurt. You're easy on the eyes too—if you'd warm my bed, even better.”
But the divinity the Lord bestowed wasn't for her or her daughter.
This power, open to all, mustn't be monopolized by any. That was the Lord's will—and mine.
“You should accept. Offering a mere human—our livestock—these honors? You wouldn't refuse, would you?”
“If you'd respected and upheld our customs and culture, I might have considered it.”
I knew it now, though we met today: Duke Shumira was beyond reaching.
A thread of holy power left me and seeped into Her Highness. Her gaping abdomen knit closed, organs realigning. Color returned to her pallid face, and she sighed in relief. She touched her stomach in wonder, then grinned.
“Looks like things aren't going your way, traitor?”
“Such an easy recovery from a Blood-Sucking Demon Spear wound?”
A glint flashed in her blood-red eyes as she stared at me.
“Whatever. Don't regret this choice. Now I really want you.”
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