159. Kingdom Turmoil (2)
Valua Kingdom's crown prince, Lu An, had dispatched the Central Knight Order to keep watch over the vampires.
Demons were cruel and cunning. And among them, vampires were the epitome of treachery. Even though they had formed an alliance as allies, it was only natural for Lu An to remain wary of them.
"We've swiftly suppressed the current rebels and are now marching to another city to repel the next group. From what we've investigated, there are no particular signs of anything unusual."
The vampires were simply accelerating their efforts to crush the rebels, showing no signs of any ulterior motives. They were solely focused on quelling the uprising. Lu An reacted with skepticism to the report from Count Kendly Baek, the vice-commander of the Central Knight Order.
These were vampires—synonymous with cunning. There was no way they would provide pure assistance without some scheme behind it. There had to be something more.
Lu An muttered with firm conviction.
'But Count Kendly Baek wouldn't lie to me.'
The Seventh of the Kingdom's Seven Swords, Valdric Kendly Baek—Lu An trusted his longtime friend and loyal servant of Valua Kingdom. He was one of the kingdom's top powerhouses. Even vampires, specialists in brainwashing and mind control, wouldn't dare toy with him. Count Kendly Baek's report couldn't be false.
Thus, the crown prince concluded that the vampires simply hadn't revealed their true colors yet.
"I trust you, Count Kendly Baek. You've faithfully supported me all this time. So continue monitoring and staying vigilant against the vampires."
"Yes, understood."
The red-haired man nodded, placing a hand over his chest. Count Kendly Baek had initially opposed the alliance with the Vampire Queen upon hearing of it from Lu An. But he had eventually been persuaded by Lu An's argument that they needed the vampires' help to save the kingdom and had complied. He was also the only knight in the kingdom who knew of the cooperative relationship with the Vampire Queen.
"Brother, may I come in?"
Knock knock.
A woman's slender voice came from beyond the door along with the knocking.
"Katrin, huh..."
Lu An swept a hand over his face, muttering in annoyance. This was office hours. And he was in the middle of receiving a report from the Central Knight Order's vice-commander, Count Kendly Baek. She must have heard from the aides waiting outside the office...
Irritation surged at Katrin's interruption of his duties.
"Sorry about this, Count Kendly Baek."
"It's fine."
"Then keep up the surveillance and vigilance on the vampires until I give further orders."
"Yes, understood."
Vowing to carry out the command without fail, Count Kendly Baek turned his back to the crown prince and placed a hand on the door. The door opened.
As he stepped out, Count Kendly Baek's eyes met those of Katrin Valua, who had been waiting outside. And in that instant, the eyes of Count Kendly Baek and Princess Katrin Valua—which had borne different colors—flashed the same hue... the crimson of fresh blood.
"Brother."
Passing by Count Kendly Baek, Katrin entered the office and greeted her brother with her usual demure poise. Her blue eyes sparkled. True to her nickname as the kingdom's jewel, they gleamed with clear, breathtaking beauty.
"You must have heard from the aides outside that I was speaking with the vice-commander. What do you think you're doing?"
Lu An demanded of Katrin reproachfully. These were wartime conditions, the worst state of emergency. It was only natural to be dissatisfied with his immature little sister's reckless behavior amid such precarious times.
"Brother. It seems the Rocksfield family—those insolent wretches—stole the elf girls I bought at the slave market. Please interrogate the Rocksfield family and make them return my stolen elves."
"What are you talking about? The Rocksfield family...?"
Her explanation was so baffling that Lu An asked again. He had heard her clearly, but he couldn't comprehend it. Elves. Rocksfield family. Hearing those words made Lu An's mind grow foggy. And at the same time, a fierce blaze roared in his chest.
"Don't tell me the Rocksfield family discovered it!"
Lu An glared at Katrin as if he might swing his fist at her any moment. He had told her to stay low right now. Unable to resist her sadistic urges, she had tortured and abused the elves for pleasure, and now her tail had been caught by the Rocksfield family—his mind reeled at his sister's folly.
'The Rocksfield family are tight-lipped. They won't have spread it outside. I need to summon Count Rocksfield to the capital and seal his lips. And those elves who could become a liability must obviously be eliminated.'
Lu An let out a sigh of relief, thinking it fortunate that it was the Rocksfield family who had found out. But he could not forgive his sister's act of defying his orders and recklessly bringing the elves to the capital, stirring up trouble.
"How dare you defy my command...! I told you to lay low for the time being!"
"That's not what's important right now. The Rocksfield family stole my things. Please get them back from those scoundrels, Brother."
"What does it matter about some elves! Suppressing the rebels is the top priority right now!"
Clashing with the Rocksfield family over a couple of mere slave elves would be an unparalleled folly. Elves didn't matter. Right now, he needed to focus solely on staying vigilant against the vampires and wiping out the rebels.
"Katrin, go to your room and confine yourself immediately! This is an order not as your brother, but as crown prince!"
"Then what about my toys that the Rocksfield family took...?"
"You can buy more slaves later!"
Lu An's voice rose at Katrin's obsessive fixation on mere playthings. Faced with her brother's strong opposition, Katrin inwardly resolved to reclaim the elves stolen by the Rocksfield family with her own power.
I'm not the same as before. I've gained superior strength, far beyond that of my mere human brother. And with countless allies lurking in the shadows, I feel confident I can do anything.
—My daughter, I affirm all your desires.
Someone whispered. A being bold enough to call the princess "daughter." The mother of fresh blood stirred deep within her chest, stimulating her writhing desires.
* * *
Her three sons had all returned gravely wounded by the Demon King Army's assailants. Diana devoted herself day and night to nursing them. She constantly received reports on their conditions from the head physician and fretted over any possibility of complications.
"I'm sorry for keeping it a secret until now. But I never doubted you, Sir Gilliard..."
The countess, who looked utterly exhausted in just a day, apologized to Yushin. As Diana bowed her head in sincere apology, Yushin waved it off, saying it was fine.
He felt a bit miffed that she had kept it secret from him after all these years of acquaintance, but... there was no real need to reveal she was an Another One, was there? Many Another Ones lived in hiding about their origins from another world, so it was natural for Diana to have kept it concealed all this time.
"I'm fine with it."
"Phew... Thank you for understanding."
Diana sighed in relief at Yushin's words and nodded. For the sake of the beautiful yet haggard lady, Yushin put on the reliable, upstanding young man's demeanor she could lean on, his eyes gleaming.
"That villain might even attack the Rocksfield Earldom. I'll protect you."
"Thank you, Sir Gilliard."
Yushin decided to scrap his previous plans and stay in the Rocksfield Earldom. Druin Ri, the Tyrant's Blade—not someone to take lightly. An Another One boasting divine stigmata powers and flashy swordsmanship. As a subordinate of the Demon King, he might even have inherited some of Agares's abilities.
The emergence of a Demon King's kin in the ravaged Valua Kingdom nagged at him.
"...Aren't you curious about me anymore? You must have a lot of questions."
Diana asked. Where she was born in that other world, how she ended up marrying into the Rocksfield family after transferring here—surely there were many things he wanted to know. Despite that, seeing Yushin keep his lips sealed puzzled her, so she offered to answer anything.
But Yushin politely declined Diana's kindness.
"There's a saying: 'Secrets make a woman beautiful.' Of course, you're already more beautiful than anyone in the world, milady... but keeping a secret or two should make you seem even more enchanting, don't you think?"
Diana burst into quiet chuckles at Yushin's jest, nodding repeatedly. To give such an offbeat response in this situation. She felt a bit of vitality return to her heart, worn down by the shocking news.
"Thank you. You've given me strength. If I were unmarried, I might have fallen for you, Sir Gilliard. Though my type is the shy, straitlaced man who can't crack a joke."
Chuckling again, Diana made one request of Yushin. She knew it was brazen, but it had to be now.
"Take good care of Allen. I want to call you son-in-law right now... but that might burden you, so I'll save it for later."
"It's fine. You can call me son-in-law."
At Yushin's reply, Diana grinned and leaned toward him, observing with her obsidian eyes. Black hair cascaded over her forehead, her sensuality teetering on a razor's edge.
"For you to say that after dodging commitment all this time... Things have progressed with Allen, haven't they? Don't tell me it's already a done deal..."
"No, nothing like that."
I had a frenzied night with your daughter in a secluded hotel. He couldn't say that. Even if the Rocksfield family was more open-minded about lifestyle than other nobles.
"You're curious about Allen, right? Whether she has a stigmata power like her three brothers..."
"......"
"Yes, of course Allen was born with one too."
With those words, Diana lowered her eyelids sadly and let out a deep sigh.
"The problem is... the power she was born with wasn't just one, like her brothers'."