Carving Flesh and Picking Up the Cripple (3)
Contrary to grave concerns, the vampires who had infiltrated the Valua Kingdom racked up far greater successes than expected, time and again.
News of the citizen militias tightening their noose around the capital Lutemine crumbling at a rapid pace left Crown Prince Lu An unable to hide his stunned feelings.
"A resounding triumph beyond compare!"
"And that's not all—victory reports are pouring in from the other fronts as well!"
The nobles attending the crown prince looked ready to break into a celebratory dance on the spot.
The tide of battle had completely turned. The citizen militias, marching triumphantly toward the capital with unstoppable momentum, had stumbled into a quagmire.
With the kingdom's forces claiming victories, the number of soldiers deserting the camps visibly dwindled. It was the result of hope reborn—that they could actually win this war.
Thanks to that, the kingdom's army could regroup its strength and bide its time for a counterattack.
'Even wretched scum like them intend to honor their promises? I don't know what they'll demand later... but once these rebels are wiped out, I'll order the Rocksfield family to sweep you lot away.'
Lu An had no intention whatsoever of tolerating the vampires' existence. They were mere tools for exterminating the rebels—there had never been any plan to treat demons as equals.
Rabbits to be discarded after the hounds are used. Boldly, the crown prince regarded the vampire queen's horde as expendable fodder.
His goal was to annihilate the citizen militias completely, then eliminate the vampires too, thereby elevating the kingdom's prestige and earning recognition for his feats from the Holy Empire.
"I hear His Highness has dispatched capable officers to every front line. Who exactly are they? I've served in the military for years, yet these faces are all new to me."
One noble inquired. He held a key position in the military, assisting the crown prince while also serving as a strategic advisor.
"They are officers secretly trained by the royal family in preparation for times when the kingdom's fortunes hang by a thread. Graduates of the Holy Empire's officer academy with top honors—you can trust them."
The nobles nodded at the crown prince's glib lies, spouted without batting an eye.
There were plenty of suspicious aspects. But no one voiced doubts. In their desperate state, decimated by the citizen militias, these newcomers represented their last hope.
With the crown prince personally vouching for their identities, the nobles accepted them without protest.
"We've finally secured a victory?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Congratulations."
The maid beamed in response to Princess Katrin Valua's question.
The kingdom's forces had at last claimed victory—and not just once, but reports flooding in from every front. The royals and nobles rejoiced greatly.
'Those vermin brats are finally quieting down. Time to make them pay for crawling out of their holes without knowing their place. Not just the traitors who joined the rebellion, but their families and every last relative connected to them—all wiped out to uproot the seeds of revolt completely. Pathetic bugs multiply fast if even a few survive.'
Katrin flashed her maids a flowerlike smile, but inside, she harbored pitch-black venom.
A resplendent rose tainted by foul poison—that was Valua Kingdom's first princess, Katrin.
"Princess, I've prepared Darjeeling today."
"Thank you."
As countless lives spilled blood on the battlefields, the noble princess elegantly sipped her tea.
Chatting amiably with her maids, she hoped the vermin who had raised arms against the royals would be swiftly exterminated.
"Princess."
A maid standing behind stepped forward and addressed Katrin, who was gracefully drinking her Darjeeling. She was a stranger—likely a replacement for one of the maids who had fled in terror of the citizen militias.
Strangely, she had crimson eyes. Seeing them, Katrin mused inwardly, 'If an elf had eyes like that, I'd gouge them out and preserve them as ornaments.'
"Have you heard the rumors, by chance?"
"Rumors...? Well, in times like these, baseless gossip always swirls around."
The maid grinned widely at Katrin's reply and continued.
"Word is spreading everywhere that vampires are appearing mainly on the battlefields."
"Vampires?"
Katrin feigned exaggerated surprise with a dramatic gesture. Vampires? What bullshit is this all of a sudden? She wanted to snap that, but with so many maids watching, she played the part of the pitiful princess.
"Nobles of the night, bloodkin... Vampires go by many names, demons who wield black magic fueled by blood. They boast eternal youth and undying beauty through their dark arts, or so I've heard."
The maid was remarkably knowledgeable about vampires. But it was no topic to broach before a princess. Daring to mention such vile minions to a nation's royal daughter could land her on the gallows without question.
"Drag her out at once."
"What are the knights doing?!"
The surrounding maids summoned the guarding knights at the insolent maid's audacity in mentioning vampires before the princess.
But Katrin raised a hand, halting them. The talk of vampires didn't displease her.
"Eternal youth and undying beauty... How intriguing."
To Katrin, obsessed with youth and beauty to a near-mad greed, vampires living in immortal allure were captivating. Interest sparked.
She gestured for the maid to elaborate.
"Eek!"
"Urk...!"
The red-eyed maid bowed at the princess's summons, then shot a fierce glare at the maids who had tried to oust her. Her eyes gleamed demonically.
The maids recoiled with stifled screams, overwhelmed by instinctive dread. An oppressive aura no mere maid could emit.
Even the guard knights staggered back, startled by those crimson eyes.
"More tea?"
"Yes, please."
The maid lifted the teapot. Katrin extended her cup.
Pouring steadily, steam rose gently. But what filled the pot was no longer Darjeeling—it was a bizarre liquid evoking freshly spilled blood.
Reunited with an old grudge from the past.
Yushin restrained Allen, who wanted to kill Alpons on the spot, and chose to travel with him for a while.
Alpons had his uses. He was a vital clue to unearthing the filthy, ugly secrets hidden in the Valua royal family.
And he might serve as a precious witness to testify to the crown prince and princess's depravities, so Yushin spared his life.
"Cooperate fully, and you might just survive. Hell, you could even start a second life in the elves' land."
It meant selling out his family. But Alpons accepted Yushin's offer without hesitation.
"G-Good! That's what I was heading to the Libria Peninsula for anyway...!!"
Utterly hopeless. Allen grimaced at Alpons's willingness to betray the royals for his own survival.
She regretted not killing him outright back then. Slowly torturing him had been her plan, but now she second-guessed sparing him.
"Where the hell are we going...? You can at least tell me that much!"
Alpons spat roughly, questioning his former subordinates who dared force-march him.
Though he'd healed his wounds with the elf potion Yushin gave him, he was still badly injured, struggling to walk. He clearly resented the grueling pace.
"Shut your trap and walk, asshole. Ask again, and I'll kill you!"
Allen raised her hand threateningly, as if to strike. Startled, Alpons swallowed his complaints and clamped his mouth shut.
Having been beaten nearly to death by her, he turned meek whenever she bared her fangs.
'Ah, who knew Allen Rocksfield was such a barbaric bitch... For the Rocksfield family, sworn eternally loyal to the crown, to produce a mad dog like this!'
Alpons burned with genuine fury at Allen's indescribable rudeness in abusing him.
How could such a monster emerge from the Rocksfields, who had produced countless loyalists? Demoted to commoner or not, he had been a prince of Valua until recently.
"Fucking prick."
Allen kicked his leg, deliberately tripping the precariously walking Alpons into the mud.
Crazy bitch. Alpons flailed in the muck, grinding his teeth and muttering.
"Allen."
Yushin, leading the way, turned and called her name. Allen pouted sulkily, as if expecting a scolding.
"It was just a trip."
"No, watch the foul language. I'm not scolding you for tripping him."
"Got it!"
The moment Yushin finished, Allen stomped on Alpons's hand as he tried to rise from the mud.
"Gaaah!"
The former second prince screamed.
A bit pitiful, perhaps. But what could be done? It was all karmic retribution.
The price for a prince who sacrificed thousands to sate his greed.
"Lutemine... Rocksfield..."
Yushin paused, pondering their destination.
His original goal was the Rocksfield Earldom. But reuniting unexpectedly with Alpons had changed everything.
He now knew the crown prince Lu An and Princess Katrin Valua's schemes. Learning of the Valua royals' corruption and atrocities shook his prior plans.
After much deliberation, Yushin decided to stick to the original objective and head for Rocksfield Earldom.
He hadn't heard of it being attacked by citizen militias on the way, so it was likely safe—but he wanted to confirm with his own eyes.
'The problem is that asshole, though...'
Yushin muttered, glancing at Alpons huffing and puffing behind.
Lord Rocksfield, loyal to the Valua royals, would surely protect Alpons at all costs. Demoted to commoner or not, he was still the king's son—an unchangeable fact.
The stubborn lord would do just that.
"We're heading to Rocksfield Earldom now."
Yushin turned and informed Alpons. Wiping sweat from his brow with his arm, Alpons replied.
"R-Rocksfield Earldom...? Why go there, when the citizen militias are glaring daggers at it? I know the Rocksfields won't go down easy, but..."
Walking into the jaws of death. Alpons paled at Yushin's revelation.
It clashed with his goal of political asylum in the Liberia Elf Kingdom.
Why traverse the war-torn Valua Kingdom instead of returning to Liberia? Alpons couldn't fathom Yushin's actions.
"We'll check on Rocksfield Earldom's situation, then head straight back to Liberia Elf Kingdom."
"I see...! G-Got it!"
Alpons nodded eagerly. As long as they reached Liberia, he could escape his miserable life in the kingdom for one of plenty.
A foolish hope. Yushin sneered inwardly at Alpons grasping at straws but kept it hidden.
No need to rile him up and complicate things. Let him cling to false hope and lead them to Liberia himself.
There, he would face judgment alongside the crown prince and princess.