Chapter 256: The Vampire Queen

Chapter 256: The Vampire Queen

Above the gray fog, inside the palace like a giant’s residence.

“The Moon,” Emlyn, seriously considered which portion of Sanguine history he should describe to Mr. Fool.

He and the Ancestor are old friends, so He must know the matters before the Cataclysm very well. There is no need for me to repeat them… In the Fourth and Fifth Epochs, the glory of the Sanguine was hardly rare. There is too much history worth recounting, but the most important, most crucial part is only one point… Emlyn quickly formed an idea.

In his current understanding, the Fool was very likely some ancient god from before the Cataclysm. For certain reasons, He had not fallen, had slept until now, and was gradually recovering.

This explained quite well why, in the millennia-long history before this, the Sanguine records had never mentioned a similar hidden existence, until the other party’s honorific name suddenly began spreading.

After brief consideration, Emlyn straightened his back and said, “After the Cataclysm, the Sanguine left the center of the Southern and Northern Continents’ historical stage. As individuals rather than as a race, we became nobles of different empires and different dynasties—some governing a piece of territory, others guarding castles in important regions.

“Only when our Queen, the Blood Moon Queen, Ornia, who led us out of the Dark Ages, became the wife of the Night Emperor of the Trunsoest Empire, did the entire Sanguine race unite and become an important supporter of that dynasty. At that time, the Augustuses of Loen and the Einhorns of Feysac all had to respectfully address our Queen as Her Majesty the Empress.

“In that era, Queen Ornia was the symbol of beauty. If there existed a magic mirror that could answer questions, then the answer to ‘Who is the fairest woman in the world?’ could only be her…”

The more Emlyn spoke, the prouder and more honored he became. From cautious restraint, he gradually shifted into speaking without pause.

A magic mirror that can answer questions—Isn’t that Arrodes? I wonder whether any member of the Machinery Hivemind is bored enough to ask, “Mirror, mirror, tell me, who is the fairest woman in the world”… And how would Arrodes answer? Klein maintained his posture, the corners of his mouth holding a smile as his thoughts wandered.

After rattling off a great many things, Emlyn’s expression turned serious.

“All of this was shattered in the War of the Four Emperors. The Night Emperor fell. The Queen fell. The Sanguine suffered a fairly heavy blow. And after they seized the final fruits of victory, the seven gods supported the four great noble families—Augustus, Einhorn, Sauron, and Castiya—in dividing the empire, destroying the royal family that lacked high-level powerhouses. We Sanguine could only retreat into uninhabited mountains and hide in dark corners, preserving the continuation of our race.”

This is more or less what I expected… The seven gods. During the War of the Four Emperors, there were already seven gods… Klein thought of the six-god statues inside the Tudor family’s underground ruins.

“Fortunately, the seven gods split at the time, and the four countries attacked one another. After paying a certain price, we finally escaped calamity.” At this point, Emlyn was unusually spirited.

His eyes bright, he looked toward Klein and said, “Honorable Mr. Fool, do you still have time to hear me recount the life story of the Blood Moon Queen and the glory the Sanguine once possessed? It is a heavy tome composed of page after radiant page, and I can repeat every part.”

Looks like you could keep talking for a day and a night… I once thought you were the disgrace of vampires for liking dolls and would not know too much history. Who knew you were actually so professional and scholarly… No wonder you have always believed the Sanguine are noble and feel proud of it… When a homebody like this truly develops interest in a field, they really do conduct deep research. And the lifespan of a vampire is long enough too… After brief thought, Klein prepared to tactfully decline Emlyn’s kindness.

Although he was not lacking in interest toward that history, time did not allow him to listen to the other party’s long speech here.

“That is enough.” Klein smiled faintly. “I prefer equivalent exchange and will not let you describe such things without gain. When there is an opportunity in the future, you may use the corresponding history to exchange for something you desire from me.”

“…All right.” Emlyn felt momentarily disappointed.

This was his first opportunity to describe the Sanguine’s glory to someone else—or some other existence.

Normally, in order to hide his identity, he had no way to brag to humans about these matters. And among the Sanguine, those who should know already knew, while educating newborns was not his responsibility.

Klein spoke no further and returned to a lofty attitude.

“Very well. You may return.”

Crimson light suddenly rose before Emlyn White’s eyes, swiftly devouring him.

After a brief spell of dizziness, he discovered that he was still seated inside the moving rental carriage.

Immediately afterward, he saw an illusory sheet of parchment and received the knowledge of how to use a secret-deed ritual to pray to the Fool for help.

Once I have spare time at noon and return home, I’ll immediately perform the ritual and ask Mr. Fool to remove the psychological cue… Emlyn suddenly became somewhat excited.

Only when the carriage arrived at Harvest Church did he calm down and pay the fare.

Entering the church and seeing Bishop Utravsky preaching to the only few believers there, he no longer felt as troubled as usual. His heart was instead rather light.

In that state, he inexplicably thought of certain things:

Father Utravsky seems to have never stopped me from searching for a way to remove the psychological cue… What exactly is he thinking…

…

East Borough, inside a café with greasy tabletops.

Klein, who had arrived at the appointed time, listened to Old Kohler recount the information he had gathered over the past week while enjoying oat bread dipped in the gravy of tender peas stewed with lamb.

Unfortunately, there was no especially valuable intelligence among it.

After the other party finished speaking, Klein thought for a moment, then took out banknotes worth two pounds in total and pushed them over.

“You already paid me just now!” Old Kohler was startled and waved his hands in astonishment.

Klein laughed softly.

“I will be going south for a vacation within this week. After working hard for a year, it is time to rest for a while.

“It may be two or three weeks before I return, so I am paying you the corresponding compensation in advance. Heh. Do not forget to help me gather information.”

“All—All right!” Old Kohler accepted the notes with both joy and gratitude.

At that instant, he had already thought through how he would spend the New Year.

He planned to buy the cured ham he had previously been reluctant to purchase and eat it together with his bread.

How unbearable the wait will be… Thank you, Detective Moriarty! He unconsciously swallowed.

Klein picked up his hat, considered briefly, and said, “You should be able to sense that the East Borough has been somewhat chaotic recently.

“Do not put yourself at risk to gather information. If you discover that something is wrong, immediately hide and do not get involved.”

The matter surrounding Prince Edessak made him quite worried, which was why he had thought to remind Old Kohler.

“I understand.” Old Kohler patted his own chest. “I am very timid. I will not take risks.”

“Very good,” Klein praised.

He then thought of the washerwoman Liv and her two daughters, Freja and Daisy, who loved studying and hoped to change their fates. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Keep an eye on Liv’s family. Do not let them be bullied. If there is a riot or something similar in the East Borough, take them to hide somewhere safe.”

“A riot… You mean workers’ resistance?” Old Kohler asked in some confusion.

“Something like that,” Klein answered vaguely.

This was the limit of what he could reveal. Otherwise, he could easily draw suspicion from a person or a Sealed Artifact.

…

Inside the room with dolls large and small, Emlyn White, who had returned home during noon, sat on a chair and enjoyed the dimness created by drawn curtains.

He looked around, clenched his fist, and said, “Cheer for me!”

After speaking, he searched out spiritually charged materials and began writing the Fool’s honorific name, along with the corresponding symbol and magical marks.

After a burst of work, he attempted the secret-deed ritual. His spirituality gradually drifted outward, as if it had arrived at infinite heights.

Vaguely, he saw countless indescribably shaped shadows, saw seven rays of light that seemed to contain vast amounts of knowledge, and saw grayish-white fog reigning above them.

Above the boundless gray fog stood an ancient palace he could not clearly see. Inside the palace sat a figure shrouded in mist.

Then, Emlyn saw a dignified, sacred golden figure and the black wings behind that figure, so vast they blotted out the sky.

Before he had time to count how many pairs those mysterious wings possessed, he felt himself swiftly floating upward and making contact with that golden figure.

“Ah!”

He screamed, clutching his head and rolling across the floor. Thin streams of green smoke unexpectedly rose from his body.

Only after quite some time did Emlyn recover. He heard the Fool’s low voice echo beside his ear:

“Your psychological cue has been removed.”

So this is what removing a psychological cue feels like? It really hurts… Emlyn sat on the floor, gasping for breath. His neatly combed hair had already fallen messily downward.

Above the gray fog, Klein nodded thoughtfully and muttered to himself, “As expected, the Sun Brooch’s purification and dispelling effects will simultaneously harm a vampire.”

He had already calculated in advance that the “sunlight” needed to remove the weakened psychological cue would not be enough to seriously injure Emlyn, so he had not bothered changing to a more complicated method. Looking at it now, the result matched his expectations.

After handling this matter, Klein removed the citrine pendant from inside his left cuff and divined his next plan.

“It is suitable to go to Red Rose Manor this afternoon.”

After silently reciting the statement seven times, he opened his eyes and saw the pendulum remain still, without rotating.

This involves a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact or a corresponding powerhouse. The divination difficulty is too high, making it impossible to obtain an effective revelation… Klein roughly understood the reason and sighed.

Immediately afterward, he divined whether tomorrow afternoon would be suitable for going to Red Rose Manor and once again received a failed result.

I have always said that divination is not almighty. Now that sentence has been proven true… I must make the decision myself… This step must be taken. Otherwise, there is no way to leave the stage and move behind the scenes without drawing notice… The sooner the better. I cannot delay, or the matter may well become impossible to contain… As his thoughts rose and fell, Klein made his decision.

He immediately returned to the real world, put on his double-breasted formal coat, wore his half-top silk hat, and stepped out of 15 Minsk Street.

His destination was Prince Edessak’s Red Rose Manor.