Chapter 425: Elder, Ain, Yeiling, and Human - 8
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 425: Elder, Ain, Yeiling, and Human - 8
My suggestion to hide Finlay was rendered meaningless. Valdamir had me sit across from him, then propped his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
“Finlay.”
“Do you know Finlay?”
“I do.”
“Ah, a foolish question. He must be one of Lord Sanguine's Kindred.”
At that, Countess Erte, who stood in attendance by Valdamir's side, spoke as if to correct me.
“It is not because he is one of his Kindred. His Highness is simply special. He knows the personal details of every existing vampire—Elder, Ain, and Yeiling. He even knows how many Twaite each Yeiling commands.”
Really? To that extent?
Lord Sanguine didn't deny it. Instead, after a long moment of deep thought, he spoke.
“Erte.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Countess Erte bowed her head in response. Valdamir stared at her and murmured coldly.
“Tear out your heart.”
What? Tear it out?
While I was still disbelieving my ears, Countess Erte acted without a moment's hesitation. When I came to my senses, she had raised a hand and plunged it into her own chest. Without a single scream, she pushed through the streaming blood and tore out her own heart.
I asked in bewilderment.
“Wh-what is this? Why her own heart, all of a sudden?”
Despite having ordered a loyal subordinate to kill herself, Valdamir's expression remained flat. To use a human analogy, he felt only the mildest regret, like someone clipping their fingernails and tossing them away.
“As you said, it is best to hide the disrespect Finlay showed the Progenitor. The surest way to silence a vampire is annihilation.”
“What? But Finlay, the Yeiling, was the one who did it, not Countess Erte!”
“It makes little difference. If a suzerain cannot be held accountable for the actions of their Kindred, then one could simply create a Kindred to commit crimes for them in the future.”
“But you're Countess Erte's suzerain too! Are you trying to shift the blame?”
Despite my attempt to find fault, Valdamir answered calmly.
“Did Finlay not say it? That regardless of my will, the Progenitor's command is needed to start a war. That nothing can be decided until the Progenitor returns.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I told Erte as much.”
Valdamir wanted a war, or a movement of equivalent scale. But this nation belonged to the Progenitor. Without her permission, no national operation could be undertaken.
“Finlay, however, misunderstood what he heard from Erte. To wake the sleeping Progenitor and force her hand… since when did a vampire have the right to disturb the Progenitor's slumber?”
And Finlay, who was in communion with his suzerain, heard those words, resolved to awaken the Progenitor, and set off on a long journey, believing it to be an act of loyalty to Erte, and by extension, to Valdamir.
And yet, he was trying to execute an Ain through collective punishment.
“She's one of your own limbs!”
“Since she is my limb, I must be the one to cut her off.”
Countess Erte gasped as her life force steadily drained away. An Ain of her caliber could circulate her blood even without a heart, but… right now, her suzerain, Valdamir, was not permitting her to regenerate. A sliver of Bloodcraft was barely keeping her alive, but without Valdamir's mercy, she would not survive.
Faced with this gruesome scene, I could do nothing but speak.
“The saying that vampires are immortal is becoming a thing of the past. So many have died recently.”
“It has turned out just as you wished.”
“What? Are you blaming me now? Finlay practically committed suicide, and you're the one who killed Countess Erte.”
“There is also Luscynia's Ain, Jazra. He died after visiting you while you were on an outing with the Progenitor.”
“I didn't kill him. Kavila did! In the first place, I don't even have the ability to kill a vampire!”
Now he's trying to frame me. I may have committed my own crimes, but I don't want to take the fall for someone else's. A growing criminal record is a liability!
Valdamir stared at me intently. It was the first time I'd been framed by the ruler… no, the administrator of a nation, and a cold sweat broke out on my back. But who was I? The Progenitor's consort. A being above the law, favored by the god of this nation. Even if Valdamir wanted to get rid of me, he couldn't. I have to be confident.
“You didn't try to kill him? And yet, he died as a result of his own recklessness.”
“How am I supposed to stop them from killing themselves?!”
Valdamir, who had been staring at me, suddenly bowed his head and spoke.
“O, King of Humans. I express my gratitude for reviving the Progenitor's heart. I never imagined a human, not a vampire, would fulfill the Progenitor's dearest wish… but if that human is the King of Humans, then I can understand.”
“Huh? If you're going to thank me so suddenly, all I can say is, 'you're welcome.'”
“However, if you are truly the King of Humans, you must represent 'all humans.'”
His cold, sharp gaze pierced me. This time, it wasn't feigned; a real cold sweat trickled down my back.
I admit it. I hadn't been able to read Valdamir's thoughts very deeply.
A vampire's memories are so vast and complex that they are difficult to read. Imagine trying to read a thousand years' worth of memories after only ever reading memories spanning fifty years at most. Even the most avid reader would struggle if surrounded by a stack of twenty or thirty thick volumes. Even more so if they tried to read them all at once.
That's why I had been trying to find a way to read him properly, piece by piece… but he beat me to it.
He found me first.
“To you, the King of Humans, are the Ain and Yeiling also human?”
I could not lie. As the King of Humans, I have a duty to represent them. I answered obediently.
“They are.”
“Then, to you, the Progenitor and Finlay must be equals. As must the Progenitor and all other vampires.”
The King of Humans is on no one's side.
The last words the Saintess of Steel left before she departed. Valdamir had taken those words to heart more than anyone. No, that wasn't the right way to put it. Even if the Saintess of Steel had said nothing, he would have investigated me.
Valdamir simply wanted to know me. Only then could he judge whether I was dangerous or safe.
I'll answer his questions faithfully. Honestly.
“Not exactly. Tyr is slightly different from other vampires.”
“Even though they are all human?”
“Just because they're the same doesn't mean they're identical, does it? Just as you and I are both human, yet different.”
This vague answer would not satisfy him. Instead, I said.
“Bring Countess Erte back.”
“Is this related to our conversation?”
“Why don't you find out?”
Valdamir nodded. In that instant, the force binding Countess Erte was released. Finally able to control the blood around her body, she hastily recalled it. A faint touch of color returned to her pale skin.
Having returned Countess Erte's life, Valdamir looked at me again, as if to say, I've done as you asked, now answer me.
So I answered.
“You investigated and observed me. And you summoned me like this to attempt a conversation. Because that's how you can learn about me.”
Valdamir waited for me to continue, and when I didn't, he prompted me.
“That is obvious.”
“No. It might not be so obvious. Not if you've already decided what a 'human' is beforehand.”
Mind reading is the only power I have left. The ability to read humans. I don't know how the King of Humans lost his power in the first year, but I know why this is the only one that remains.
It must be because I have to read humans to be able to represent them.
“My existence is only possible because the entity known as 'human' exists first. The Beast King is a conceptual being born from the idea of beasts. Just as you judge me after observing my actions and speaking with me, in order for me to represent humans, I first need humans as they are.”
That is why I have no choice but to be at odds with the Sanctum. It's also why I went straight to the State's headquarters when I sensed the Saintess's shadow.
Because the Sanctum would take away what they call sin forever, by deleting the future itself.
…Well, when I got there, the Military State was a little different from what I'd expected, so it was fine. Their Clairvoyance is used to find sins that have already occurred rather than preventing sin itself. Even that is now entrusted to the signallers, so I only needed to tweak the signallers a bit.
“But vampires who are subservient to a suzerain… they can't make choices independent of their suzerain, can they? Just like how Finlay accepted your feelings and went all the way down to the Abyss to persuade Tyr. Was that truly Finlay's own will?”
Elder, Ain, Yeiling. They are all human. But the characteristics of a vampire blur that boundary. Because their bodies and minds are subservient to their suzerain.
That is why I must confirm it. Whether their desires are born of their own true will.
“Reviving her heart was Tyr's wish. It was also what I wanted. The Blood Shackles had to be broken so I could confirm the 'humanity' of vampires without interference. As individuals, not as someone's hands and feet.”
Tyr regained her heart and came to the Duchy, having lost her dominion. Now, freed from the Blood Shackles, the vampires can act unpredictably. The important thing isn't that they will, but that they can.
…Thanks to that, I'm in a bit more danger myself. But still, this is far more human, isn't it? Better than having an entire nation that is the Progenitor's body, with every vampire moving automatically according to her will.
“The King of Humans. A being who represents all humans… Are you saying you would brave any danger just to hear the voices of humans? Even if those humans bring about their own deaths by doing something they cannot handle?”
Having grasped my meaning, Valdamir's expression showed a flicker of interest as he muttered.
“Just as the Saintess warned, you are an extremely dangerous being. You fundamentally reject the system. The Beast King… is this why you are called a barbarian?”
“Same as you. A human who would cast aside stable peace to start a war is calling someone else a barbarian.”
He talks as if it has nothing to do with him. While you were trying to read me, I was reading you too.
Valdamir's memories were incredibly difficult to read. As expected of a vampire who had lived for over a thousand years, there was a vast amount to read, but more than that, it was because his entire life had been so full.
“Lord Sanguine. The noblest Elder. The only vampire whose location and identity were both known. Because you have always occupied the throne of the Duchy's prince. You have never even entered eternal slumber. You managed the nation while sleeping in short bursts, like a human.”
He had never entered eternal slumber. He reigned as the Progenitor's sharpest sword, and as the prince of the Duchy of Mist. A thousand years. He lived an age that humans could scarcely fathom with the intensity of a man who would die tomorrow. Training, learning, mastering, ruling, and responding. He even fought against the ennui that undying vampires inevitably face.
In other words, Valdamir had lived a human life for a thousand years. He diligently filled his days without feeling a single emotion. That was also why I couldn't read his thoughts properly. It was like a book without a speck of emotion, but with a terrifying amount of information, making it difficult to fish out what I wanted.
But now, reading his thoughts as we spoke face-to-face, I could see it clearly.
What Valdamir had done.
“You wanted change too, didn't you? That's why you killed Luscynia and made Lyre Nightingale an Elder. Because Lyre is a human with the power to sever the Blood Shackles.”
The look in Valdamir's eyes grew a shade colder.