Chapter 48

“No matter how much I think about it, Roka is way too late.”

I wondered how long I had been talking with the Princess. When I glanced at the clock, over two hours had already passed. Who knows if she fell asleep while bathing or got lost on the way.

“Hmm, you’re right. Her nose is sharp, so she probably didn’t get lost.”

The Princess’s expression also turned serious. After finishing the conversation, I stood up.

It might be overprotective, but it’s natural to worry when someone disappears without a word for so long.

“I’ll go look for her. There shouldn’t be any trouble.”

“She’s not exactly a child anymore, is it really necessary to go that far?”

“Still, I am her guardian, after all.”

The Empire is vast, and its customs are diverse. In some places, you’re considered an adult once you’re past fifteen.

I’m not unaware of that, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m Roka’s guardian. I’ve never had children, but no matter how big they get, they’re always their parents’ precious child.

“Just like how the Princess’s parents still see her as someone they need to protect.”

It was just a casual remark, but she visibly flinched.

Why is that? A moment later, a single gasp escaped her stiffened face.

“Oops!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I was supposed to inform His Majesty before leaving, but I was so flustered that I forgot…”

…What?! You mean you left the Imperial Palace without a word and came here?

When I pressed her, she nodded weakly. Good heavens. The Princess was far more reckless than I thought.

“B-but I left a message with the maids, so His Majesty must know, right…?”

It’s not about scolding the Princess of a nation for leaving the Imperial Palace without a word.

The problems that arise from this are all political. Even small matters become big when politics are involved, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re small matters.

What I really want to scold her for is leaving home without a word to her parents as their child. In the end, things turned out fine, but if the outcome had been different, who would think this was a good idea? If she had left home and still hadn’t returned, it wouldn’t be strange to think she had died on the road.

I can’t imagine how much shock His Majesty and the Empress would feel.

I can only guess. Imagine if Roka had fallen ill, and without telling me, she left a note and disappeared somewhere.

And if a month passed, then two, and she still hadn’t returned, how would I feel?

“Then we shouldn’t be leisurely walking around like this. We need to hurry. No, first, let’s ask the Duke tomorrow to send a message. We need to quickly inform them that the Princess is alive and well.”

And here I was, unaware of all this, casually traveling.

Then you should have at least contacted them. If you had gone to the city hall in Larpentia and asked them to send a message to the Capital, we would have heard back by now.

As I opened the door, leaving the red-faced Princess behind, a strange smell hit my nose.

My sense of smell isn’t as sharp as Roka’s, but it’s not dull either. It’s a smell I’ve encountered many times before.

It would be strange to mistake this. The stench of blood wafted down the hallway toward us.

“Blood…?”

Sensing something amiss, the Princess quickly drew her sword and stood beside me. But if the smell of blood was this strong, there should be bloodstains somewhere in the hallway, yet I saw nothing. At least, nothing resembling blood was in my sight.

“Where is this blood smell coming from?”

I’ve had a similar experience before, but I really hope it’s not that.

If there’s a smell of blood but no blood, it means someone has swallowed the blood. Like that time at Yurinel’s party when we encountered the Blood God Atorize.

‘A Death God…? But why here all of a sudden?’

A small farming village in the northwest became enthralled by something strange and began worshiping it, with the villagers cutting off their fingers daily to offer blood. Absorbing faith and blood, it soon grew unsatisfied with fingers and demanded more from its followers.

One day, a band of marauders attacked the village, but they too became its followers.

The twisted and malevolent deity was never satisfied. It controlled its followers to devour and corrupt neighboring villages. Such calamitous evil gods are the primary enemies of the Three God Faith, even more so than the Demon Race.

Eventually, the Three God Faith would have exterminated it, but by chance, our party encountered it first.

Even a minor deity is still a deity.

It was a more perplexing foe than even a high-ranking Demon King. With the Lord’s help, we managed to annihilate it, but if a similar entity has infiltrated here, things could get very serious.

A Death God that feeds on malice is something beyond the power of ordinary people to handle.

Before becoming a god, at the level of a ghost, there are many ways to deal with it, but once it attains divinity, the only way is to overpower it with strength.

We managed to exterminate it by adding the power of the Sacred Sword, imbued with the strength of the Three Divine Gods, and the Lord’s power, but the point is this: a god can only be defeated by borrowing the power of another god.

*Thud.*

Footsteps walking down the hallway, coming this way.

The sound made no attempt to hide its approach. Gripping the candle, I prayed. The candlelight from the sanctuary burned brightly, reassuringly.

This small flame had once incinerated the divinity of the Blood God Atorize. I could only pray it would do the same now.

“Saint, step back for now. I’ll…”

“Wait, that’s not a divine entity…”

But it wasn’t a divine entity. The source of the blood smell was just a tool.

A cursed weapon that devours its user when wielded by the wrong hands suddenly pierced the Princess’s abdomen and jutted out. Watching her bite her lip and swallow her pain, I swallowed a sigh.

‘That wasn’t an attack she should have been hit by.’

Even if I couldn’t dodge it, given the Princess’s level, she shouldn’t have been so easily struck.

Her reaction was just a moment too slow. The Phylogenetic Seedling restored her body to its former state, but not the sharp senses she once had.

While suffering from illness, she naturally wouldn’t have had much occasion to wield a sword.

So, she wouldn’t have seen much combat or bloodshed. Her combat senses dulled, and that spear took advantage of that.

The Princess tried to pull out the spear and break it, but it wriggled on its own, resisting, and then flung itself far away.

*Whoosh.*

A pale, slender hand caught the spear.

A woman I’ve never seen before, but it’s strange not to know who she is. She’s an incredibly powerful vampire.

Yes, powerful enough to single-handedly defeat a Demon King.

“Duke Shimira…?”

The Princess stared at her in disbelief. As expected, the opponent was the ruler of this land. And the queen of the vampires.

It was indeed Duke Vlad Shimira. But why? Why did the Duke attack the Princess?

“Long time no see?”

The woman smiled brightly and waved her hand.

As if greeting. As if she was happy to see us.

“It really is you. I thought you were on the verge of death, but you’ve recovered and come all this way. But it’s a pity. We vampires no longer wish to remain part of the Empire.”

“What…?”

“The Empire is doomed. Why would we stay on a sinking ship?”

Her finger then pointed at the Princess.

“Now, be a good girl and let yourself be captured. Then maybe you can live as Emperor Harmail’s pet. When the Demon Emperor’s Empire is born, our vampire kingdom will also be born. You’re a gift for that.”

Her finger then turned to me.

“And you, priest, don’t strain yourself. If you’re truly a priest of the Ancient God with the ability to cure incurable diseases, you’re too valuable to be in such a place. Humanity is a sinking ship. Emperor Harmail has already unified the Demon World, and soon the continent will follow. We vampires have been promised a king’s throne by him.”

A king’s throne? Does that mean the vampires will establish their own kingdom?

The Immortal Demon King, Harmail, offered them that much to win them over? But simply changing the name to a kingdom won’t change anything.

The duchy becoming a kingdom won’t stop the vampires’ decline, nor will it weaken the Curse of the Sun.

Declaring themselves kings won’t expand their territory. Even if it did, the vampire population couldn’t manage more land than they already have.

So why? At least, I don’t understand.

Is that ambition worth betraying the Empire?

Is declaring themselves kings worth that much?

“Well, how about it? I can treat you much better than that broken Princess. I can even offer you the position of royal advisor in my kingdom. It’s a great honor.”

“If I accept your offer, what would I need to do?”

I couldn’t help but ask, as I had no idea what she wanted.

If it aligns with the Lord’s will, I can serve under anyone. But if it doesn’t, no reward could make me do so.

If Duke Shimira needs me to save the vampires from decline, I might consider temporarily serving under her to help.

Regardless of their independence from the Empire, leaving those suffering in pain is something I must avoid above all else.

“Just stay by my side and use your Divine Power whenever I or my daughter, Kamira, get hurt. You’re quite handsome, so it’d be even better if you became my nighttime companion.”

But the Divine Power granted by the Lord isn’t meant for her or her daughter.

This power must be open to all and cannot be monopolized by anyone. That is the Lord’s will and, therefore, mine.

“It’s best to accept the offer. I’m offering such an honor to a human, who was originally nothing more than our livestock. Surely you’re not going to refuse?”

“If you had respected and upheld our customs and culture, I might have considered it.”

Though I’ve only just met her today, one thing is clear: Duke Shimira is not someone I can join hands with.

A stream of Divine Power left me and seeped into the Princess. Her gaping abdomen healed, and her organs realigned. Color returned to her pale face, and she let out a deep sigh of relief. She curiously touched her stomach and then smiled.

“It seems things won’t go as you planned, traitor.”

“You healed a wound from the Blood-Sucking Spear so easily?”

The crimson eyes looking at me flashed with a momentary madness.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Don’t regret this choice. Now I really want to have you.”