158. Kingdom Turmoil (1)
The sons of the Rocksfield family returned home carried on the backs of knights, their bodies covered in wounds.
The culprit was the Tyrant's Blade. He was a trusted servant of Agares, the Tyranny Demon King, a powerhouse who had felled countless heroes from the Holy Empire. Known to have reached the Six Ember realm, he was also a master assassin who had eliminated numerous enemies of the demon realm on Agares's orders.
Given such a monster as their opponent, it was only natural that the three Rocksfield brothers had been defeated. In fact, one could argue they were remarkable for surviving the encounter with their lives.
"Sir Gilliard... my apologies. To show you this pathetic sight."
Sermes, lying in bed with bandages wrapped around his body, gripped Yushin's hand weakly. He bore deep sword wounds across his body, yet he had never shown his back to the enemy until the end. It was the stubborn pride of a righteous knight fighting against injustice and evil.
"Loser."
A blue-haired swordswoman poked her head out from behind Yushin and said. Looking at her brother in bed, she wore a smug, satisfied expression. It was a sibling exchange utterly devoid of warmth or affection.
Yushin tried to chide Allen for her rudeness, but Sermes simply nodded, accepting his sister's words.
"She's right... I lost. I was too weak to pass judgment on him."
His younger brothers had been wounded too. He had nearly dragged his subordinate knights into the fray as well. For the heir destined to succeed his father and lead House Rocksfield, it was an utter humiliation.
"Coming back after getting your ass handed to you, then moping around like this."
Allen's voice dripped with boredom as she eyed Sermes blaming himself for his powerlessness. If he had time to wallow in self-pity, he should be plotting revenge instead. She dismissed his guilt-ridden whining—fit for some slapped noble lady—as utterly pathetic.
"Sorry, my sister has no manners."
"...Sir Gilliard, Allen is a Rocksfield."
"Oh, right. She's been trailing after me so much, I thought she was my little sister for a sec."
Yushin shrugged and cracked a joke. Sermes then spoke up.
"...So you've come back?"
It was the same question Troid had asked. Fitting for the eldest son, who resembled the Rocksfield count the most.
Yushin shook his head.
"Nah, I'm not a knight of Valua Kingdom anymore. Planning to head back to the Liberia Elf Kingdom."
"I see."
Sermes harbored no resentment toward Yushin. He didn't brand him a traitor or reproach him for forgetting his oath of loyalty to the Valua royals. His younger brothers were unaware, but Sermes knew Yushin had fallen into a trap set by Second Prince Alpons during the war, leading to his capture as a prisoner by the elves.
"Sir Gilliard, I owe you an apology. I mistakenly thought you'd fallen for the elves' temptations and defected to the Liberia Elf Kingdom. I want to apologize for that."
"Not exactly wrong, so no biggie."
Yushin replied calmly. Sermes looked incredulous, while Allen, listening from behind, shot Yushin a fierce glare.
"But you were still touched when I came to rescue you personally, right?"
"Knew you were brother-in-law material after all."
"Who're you calling brother-in-law?"
Despite sounding like a joke, it didn't quite land as one, leaving Yushin once again convinced that the Rocksfield count and his eldest son lacked the DNA for humor.
"Anyway, got a question..."
As Yushin broached the topic, Sermes nodded with a deep sigh.
"Must be about Another Ones, right?"
"Yeah."
"Seeing this tattoo, you'd naturally have questions. I'd kept it secret from you until now... but it's out in the open now."
Sermes clasped his left hand around his right wrist. The tattoo symbolizing Another Ones was still etched on both wrists. The evidence was plain as day. Denying it would fool no one. So Sermes openly admitted he bore the divine power of an Another One without hesitation. He wasn't one for lies, and besides, Yushin—his potential brother-in-law—could be trusted.
"That's all I can say for now. For family secrets, better ask my father."
With that, Sermes shut down any further questions about House Rocksfield's mysteries, clamping his mouth shut in silence. He closed his eyes and said he needed rest.
Katrin Valua hated it when someone took something from her—especially her toys.
And now it had happened. The elf mother and daughter set to arrive today had been snatched by House Rocksfield.
Upon hearing the news, Katrin felt a rage that twisted her guts.
"How dare they, how dare they, how dare they, how DARE they!! Filthy, lowborn scum!!"
The princess swung her riding crop down hard, panting heavily. The elf woman beneath her groaned. Lying naked on the floor, her pale body trembled at the fresh pain.
I was looking forward to this so much!!
A sticky, cloying family bond between elf mother and daughter. Tie them side by side and slowly, over long sessions, torture them while forcing them to watch each other's suffering. Then, after they'd had their fill, whisper sweetly, "I'll spare only one of you," and watch their overflowing familial love turn to betrayal and slander for survival.
That's why Katrin had ordered her subordinates to buy that elf pair at any cost.
"Princess, please calm down."
A maid approached and spoke. Having earned Katrin's favor in mere hours through vampire-related tales, the maid now had access even to the princess's torture chamber.
A gruesome space splattered with blood and flesh. Amid the narrow room scented with the sweet aroma of elf blood, the maid entered unafraid—instead wearing an ecstatic expression as she watched the princess mercilessly whip the elf.
"Freshly brewed tea, Your Highness."
The maid offered a teacup filled with dark crimson liquid. No sane human would touch it. But Katrin gulped it down like nectar from the gods of myth.
Had the other maids seen, they would have been aghast.
"Kuheup!!"
Draining the cup, Katrin suddenly bowed her head, retching violently. She clamped her hand over her mouth, body shuddering as she staggered, barely keeping her balance on trembling legs. She avoided collapsing into the bloodied floor.
As the nausea subsided, Katrin lifted her head, panting roughly.
"Hah, ahahaha! Heh heh heh, ahahahaha!!"
Regaining her breath, she suddenly burst into mad cackles like a possessed demon, acting as if intoxicated or enthralled.
The princess seemed oblivious. Her eyes—once called the kingdom's jewels for their radiant beauty—now glowed red like the maid's, evoking fresh blood. Her sharply slitted pupils exuded feral menace.
"Princess."
The maid reached out, caressing Katrin's elegant neck and collarbone—delicately, like handling a gem or fine silk.
Katrin didn't resist. She offered no protest to a lowly maid touching her sacred body. If anything, she submitted meekly to the touch.
"Thirsty, perhaps?"
The maid whispered. Katrin jerked her head up like a puppet with cut strings.
"The tea... give me more of that tea... please...!"
"Sorry, that was the last."
"No...! I'm thirsty...!!"
"Hehe. Something even better's right there."
The maid giggled at Katrin's desperate thirst, pointing to the elf cowering at her feet. Perfect meal material. A bit past prime freshness, but well-aged from prolonged exposure to terror and fear.
"Surrender to instinct. Don't overthink—just follow your desires. Slowly... very slowly... move your body as instinct demands."
She whispered in her ear. The maid... no, the vampire murmured softly.
Under the relentless whispers, Katrin nodded like a brainwashed thrall and began obeying. She leaned forward slowly, mouth gaping wide. In the princess's maw, with its blood-red, slitted eyes, gleamed fangs eerily like a vampire's.
"Can't have you ruining the princess's first bite."
As the elf sensed death and thrashed to rise, the vampire blocked her. She stomped the elf's hands, snapping bones with a sickening crack. The elf's chilling scream echoed through the chamber as she collapsed again.
Then the princess pounced. Her razor fangs pierced the elf woman's slender neck, commencing the true bloodsucking ritual.
"Heh, heh heh heh..."
The watching vampire smiled in satisfaction. Her judgment was spot-on. Valua's princess possessed perfect qualities to join the blood clan. Leaving such a promising raw gem unpolished would be folly. Posing as a maid, the vampire had approached Katrin to refine her into a beautiful jewel—turning her into one of the blood kin.
"Lady Marishka."
Dark mist gathered in the corridor outside the torture chamber, coalescing into a vampire. Seeing the blood ritual within, the messenger vampire frowned.
"Turning the kingdom's princess into one of us? This wasn't planned. Her Majesty the Queen won't approve."
"No. She's far more useful to us than that dimwit crown prince."
Marishka replied, then inquired about the great queen—her benevolent mother's—planned ritual. The subordinate vampire answered.
"As you commanded, the Blood Boundary Stones have been installed at all designated coordinates without exception. We have ample blood and flesh for the offering, and the vengeful spirits steeped in death and curses are sufficiently amassed."
Ready for activation at any moment. Marishka smiled contentedly at the report.
"The issue is..."
"Issue?"
"The Diablo Slayer bothers me. If the Blood Boundary Stone ritual activates, won't he catch on? He might already sense something and be moving."
"Hm, possible."
But. Marishka addressed the cautious vampire's concern by explaining the vampire queen's next phase.
"You know Mother allied with the ruler of the southern continent, right?"
"Yes."
"That demon, eyes gleaming with vengeance, will aid us."
Vampire Queen Lucy Vampir had forged an alliance with the southern continent's overlord immediately upon becoming the Tyranny Demon King. The queen sought mighty forces to back her plan; the ruler craved a proxy to sate his boundless greed. Their desires aligned perfectly, sealing the pact swiftly.