Chapter 428: Is Lust Truly the Cause of a Nation's Fall?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 428: Is Lust Truly the Cause of a Nation's Fall?
A ruler is a busy person. Those who bear the duty of managing their subjects take on a workload proportional to their number. Even if Tyr was a 'god' and a figurehead, she still had plenty to do. Considering her absence of over a hundred years, it was impressive that Valdamir had managed to filter and reduce her tasks to this extent.
“Opening Plenilune Castle? You're opening it up?”
“At first, Plenilune Castle was a fortress built for vampires to gather and live. As our numbers grew and the lands we had to rule expanded, everyone scattered, and it became my domain. But what use is there in keeping such a large castle for myself alone? When vampires have reason to gather like this, I offer them rooms.”
True, even if they gathered every vampire down to the Yeiling, there would only be about fifteen hundred of them. It was more efficient to cram them into the castle than to arrange separate accommodations.
“None but the Elders would dare to come up this high. You need not worry about running into anyone.”
“I’m not particularly worried. It’s nice to meet new people. Besides, look who I’ve got behind me.”
“You have me. Hehe. Yes. As long as I am in this country, you have nothing to worry about.”
“There is one thing. Your heart changing, Tyr. They say a favored consort is treated like a spy once love fades. Wouldn't I be in exactly that position?”
At that, Tyr feigned an angry expression.
“Do you think that I, who have lived for a thousand years, would forsake you over some trivial matter?”
“Who knows? The human heart is a fickle thing.”
“I am a vampire. I have lived for a thousand years nursing a deep, dark hatred. Do you think my affection for you would not last even a hundred?”
“But for the past thousand years, your heart didn't beat and you had no senses. For the next hundred, you'll have both, won't you? I should know better than anyone, since I’m the one who gave them to you.”
“Even so, the grace of the one who gifted me a heart and senses will remain. Just as I engraved vengeance upon my heart, so too shall I repay my debts. Though that does not mean my heart will change.”
I dredged up memories of my time working at the host bar to further solidify Tyr’s feelings. Showing a hint of fear of being abandoned by an older woman tended to make them more attached. I wasn't sure if it would work on someone a thousand years older… but thankfully, it seemed the fact that she was older was all that mattered, not the sheer scale of the age gap.
“You have a point. Though to fully repay your grace, my senses would have to be perfectly restored. How is it, Tyr? Is your shoulder feeling better?”
“Yes. It is a curious sensation, at once refreshing and ticklish. I find myself wanting to curl my shoulders without realizing it. Is this normal?”
“Perfectly. When you’re young, your body is more flexible, so it feels ticklish. But as you get older, your muscles get stiffer, so it feels refreshing to be touched.”
“Ahem. I felt more of the ticklishness, then.”
“It just follows the age of your body. Your shoulders are done now. That’s all the exposed parts finished.”
Since the head was at the top, restoring her senses had to proceed from the top down. Her face, neck, shoulders, and part of her back. Tyr took a moment to process her own sensations. Unlike smell or taste, the body only had the sense of touch, but even that was an unfamiliar feeling for Tyr, who had freely broken and cut her own body without it. The newness of it made her a little anxious.
‘So that’s why Hu kept asking if I was all right. Sensation will make me a completely different being than before. I will chase after more comfortable textures and covet sweeter tastes. As sensation changes me, I, too, become bound by it….’
But Tyr's worries ended there. To change as she pleased—that was what she had truly wanted.
Nothing lasts for all eternity. Even the great axioms that existed from the beginning of time would change as time flowed. And we who live within that flow are swayed by it.
Disgusted with herself for remaining unchanged while the world changed around her, Tyr… had unknowingly craved transformation, a craving that led to her wish for her heart to beat once more.
She didn't know how she would change, but she believed it would be for the better.
‘There is nothing to worry about. The Duchy is as it was, and Hu is by my side. Rather, more than that….’
“…More than that, Hu.”
“Yes?”
Tyr started to say something, then trailed off, her lips wavering. She whipped her head away.
“…No. It is nothing. Forget it.”
“What is it? Don’t stop halfway.”
“Did I not say it was nothing?”
“Tyr, there are two ways to make someone angry. The first is to stop talking mid-sentence.”
Tyr, listening quietly, prompted me.
“Why do you only state the first? What is the second?”
“I'll tell you if you finish what you were saying. What was this 'nothing'?”
“Did you concoct that tale just to hear me out? I told you it was nothing!” Tyr shouted resolutely.
I had chosen that line of reasoning to make her see it from my perspective, but she was too stubborn. It seemed I wouldn't get the story out of her verbally. I had no choice but to rely on my mind-reading.
Sorry, Tyr. Privacy isn't really a thing with me.
‘To implant the spools of lightning Hu emits, I must be touched. The effect is greatly diminished if even a thin layer of cloth is in the way. The lint of the fabric swallows the small bolts.’
Having been on the receiving end many times, Tyr was now beginning to grasp the principles. Divine or not, once you got used to it, it was no longer magic, just common sense.
‘…Th-then. To reawaken the senses of my entire body. Hu’s hands would have to sweep across my whole form. Without a single thread on.’
She hadn't been the least bit embarrassed to show me her heart, but perhaps due to a conventional sense of resistance, the 12th-century girl was reluctant to expose her bare skin.
To be honest, I was the same. When the Doctor Sage cut open my stomach, what I felt wasn't shame, but terror. Vampire or human, it seems we're not so different.
‘I cannot bring myself to speak of that matter; it is too embarrassing. But it would be strange for Hu to bring it up, so what am I to do….’
Ah, that matter. Ugh. Right. This is tricky.
As a mind-reader, how important something is to the other person is quite important to me. You could say the value is relative to them. If they're reluctant, I won't force it.
And if they're not? Well, that's great for me.
‘If he were to ask if I am unwilling, the answer would be no. But is this not too fast? I wish to proceed a little more slowly, more calmly, sharing enough words and feelings. I do not wish to handle something so precious as a first time so carelessly, just for the sake of work.’
But Tyr’s heart was more complicated than that. Her reluctance was great, but I could strongly feel a desire for someone to break down that wall for her.
Tsk. At this point, it looks like I don't need to do anything more.
“Tyr. I think this is enough.”
“Hm?”
“You’re human enough now. You’re my equal, or even more.”
I briskly removed my hands.
“Honestly, there’s no real need to restore the senses below your neck. This is plenty. As long as you have taste, smell, and some touch, you have everything.”
“I-Is that so?”
“There are people who aren't vampires who lack sensation in their bodies. You can move your body freely, so you're better off than them. Plus, you can taste and smell, and you even got a sample of shoulder stiffness, so you've got it all.”
“Is… that how it is?”
“Yes. What if we needlessly restored all the senses in your body, only for you to feel pain? You’ll still have to fight from time to time, so it’s better to minimize the suffering.”
“I… see.”
My words were like a splash of cold water on Tyr’s heart, which had been fluttering with a mix of emotions just moments before. Her mood strangely soured, Tyr stood up and said.
“Then why did you have me sit on your lap? If I had known it would end so quickly, there would have been no reason to do so, especially in front of Kavila.”
“I wanted to help you regain your senses as quickly as possible.”
“Hmph. Done in a flash, were we. I barely had time to register whether my shoulder was regaining sensation or not.”
“And also because you're the perfect size to have on my lap. It felt nice.”
“Hardly…”
Tyr, who had been scoffing, paused for a moment. She was contemplating whether being told she was small, soft, and nice to hold was a compliment or not. In any case, the job was done.
“That’s all from me. If there’s anything else you’d like to test out, call for me again. I only used this to restore your senses, but it seems to have endless applications.”
I massaged my own stiff hands as I walked out.
Alright. That’s satisfying. It was a bit tough, but it was easier than when I revived her heart.
That time, it may have looked easy, but it was dangerous. I had to focus my mind-reading entirely on Tyr, making myself, the King of Humans, a proxy who spoke for 'Tyr' and 'Tyr' alone. I then took that version of myself, placed it into her Spiritual World, and engraved it onto her heart. You could say I overwrote her childhood memories.
It was only possible because we were in the nearly empty Abyss, and my subject was Tyr, frozen in her former body. Even then, the side effects were so severe that I nearly lost myself. The memory was so intense that I almost lost my own ego and became that young girl myself.
…No, perhaps it was only possible because I had lost the power of the King of Humans. To represent only a single person before me… that's not something the Beast King can do.
In any case, it was easier now that I possessed a Divine. With the cards remaining, I didn't need to empathize with Tyr like I did back then.
So, what now? Since I've finished one job, should I move on to the next? As they say, every grave has a story. I found Luscynia's killer, but I'm still curious about the backstory.
Lyre Nightingale, who inherited the original blood, was a Yeiling. Naturally, there was a kindred who turned her into a vampire, and that was one of Luscynia's Ain. Her identity was Lyre’s mother, Lily.
But Lily was executed. For the crime of desertion.
Something's strange, isn't it? An Ain running away when their Elder is perfectly fine?
Luscynia's Ain, Jazra, said that Lyre had broken her Shackles. His plea for me to kill Lyre was mixed with something more than just rage over his lord’s death. It’s a shame he died so quickly; I couldn't read all of his thoughts.
The dead don't just lack a voice. They can't think, either. If there's something about human affairs that I, a mind-reader, don't know, the clue must lie with someone who is dead.
Descending one floor from Tyr’s level, I turned to face the presence that was following me.
“Countess Erte.”
“You called for me.”
“By any chance, among the late Mr. Luscynia's Ain, is there anyone I might be able to meet?”
The Lord Sanguine's watchdog looked slightly troubled by the unexpected proposal. However, to Countess Erte, an Ain, the Lord Sanguine's command was absolute, and he had ordered her to obey me. Countess Erte was not to question my requests, no matter what they were.
Even if it was a rather dangerous course of action.