CH 111

Markus shuddered with anger. He could vividly sense the Fear belonging to the vampires of the family. However, he did not dare reveal his fangs in front of a supreme monarch of the clan.

“So what will it be? Do you want me to spare you or not?” Eugene asked.

“If your revered self would be so kind as to consider…” Markus slowly responded.

“That’s not the kind of answer I’m looking for. If I let you live twice, what can you do for me?” Eugene asked.

“A-anything and everything you want…” Markus answered.

“Swear it on your name and the blood of your clan,” Eugene stated.

“I swear it on my name and the blood of Rivoles,” Markus declared. Vows of vampires were not to be taken lightly. However, the opponent was speculated to be at the very pinnacle of the vampires. No matter what the consequences of his oath may be, Markus firmly believed that the elders and the high lords of the clan would consider the gravity of his situation.

Of course, Markus was also furious. He could not let himself be beaten by the Graham family in vain.

“Good. I will spare your lives once again,” Eugene spoke while revealing his fangs. Then, he turned toward the window.

Markus and Alice looked up at Eugene’s back with a nervous look. They were curious to see how the cruel, overwhelming monarch would annihilate the Graham family.

‘Hmm?’

‘What?’

The lord and the knight shared a perplexed glance while kowtowing side by side. Eugene was simply staring out the window without making a move.

‘What is he doing?’

“How would I know?’

However, they didn’t dare to ask. The two vampires could only stare up at Eugene’s back with restless, worried eyes.

“It seems that he has arrived,” Eugene muttered.

“...?’

Alice became puzzled by Eugene’s words, but Lord Markus suddenly shuddered with a shocked expression.

‘What’s wrong, Father?’

Alice turned her gaze towards Markus, but her lord only stared at Eugene with a blank expression. No, rather, Markus’ gaze was now fixated on the window.

Alice soon understood why Markus was reacting as such.

‘W-what is this?!’

Alice felt goosebumps rising on her skin for the first time since she became a vampire.

***

“Lord Graham. All preparations have been made.”

“I understand.” Lord Graham responded before pressing down his helmet. He was adorned in a red armor he had inherited from his father, the one responsible for turning him into a vampire.

“Today, we shall destroy the Markus family,” Lord Graham stated. His crimson eyes were glowing with anger and killing intent.

When he first heard of the mayor’s death, he assumed that he had mistakenly underestimated the status of the one who had crossed the seas. However, as soon as he heard that there were three knights and a butler from the Markus Clan who were missing, as well as the news of Alice entering the Markus' family mansion with a human knight, he immediately came to a realization.

Betrayal.

The vampires of the Markus family must be trying to monopolize all the wealth after eliminating both Mungard’s mayor, as well as the foreign vampire. Moreover, the human knight accompanying Alice into the Markus' family mansion had been adorned in a foreign silver plate armor, which meant that the knight was with the foreign vampire.

It appeared that the human knight had joined in on the betrayal.

‘Both human and vampire alike. You dare to betray our trust because you’re blinded by wealth? I should have expected this to happen!’

If he had known that such a thing would happen, he would have shared an Oath of Blood with the Markus family to prevent such an outcome, even if it was only temporary. However, he had a simple reason for not having done so. It was all because he had also been planning to betray Lord Markus if there was a chance.

Just like this…

He was incredibly envious of the enormous wealth and the precious armor that the vampire had brought over the sea.

“Now that most of the knights and the butler are absent, this is our chance. I will take care of Lord Markus, so take care of the Knight Bohem and the human knight… Hmm?!” Lord Graham started giving orders before suddenly turning his head.

‘What’s wrong, my lord?” His butler and knights reflexively followed his gaze.

Shuuuuack! Thuck!

A sharp whistle was followed by the head of one of the knights splattering into pieces.

Kuwugh?!

The vampires were greatly shocked. Simultaneously, their fangs elongated. In the deep darkness, they could see a group of horses galloping towards them from far away. As the head of his family and the strongest vampire, Lord Graham was able to identify that a short spear was hanging from the spear-thrower of the knight at the forefront of the approaching group.

‘A javelin?!’

From so far away?

More importantly, a single attack had caused one of his knights’ heads to burst like a watermelon. However, Lord Graham’s shock and doubt did not last very long.

Fwooooosh!

Another javelin left the knight’s hand, which was followed by an ominous sound.

“How dare you! Kuwuuugh!” Graham’s butler shouted before raising his iron shield and taking his position in front of his master. Vampires were much stronger than humans, and they mainly used wooden shields bordered with metal. The butler was confident that he would easily deflect the javelin.

And just as he predicted, he did indeed deflect the javelin.

Thuck!

“Kuwuugh?!”

However, that was only after he flew back several meters. His shield was shattered along with the bones of his forearm and shoulder blade.

“...!”

Both Lord Graham and his subordinates were taken aback by the inconceivable outcome.

Kuwuuuuuugh!

The roar of an Origin’s sole vassal resounded, and the bodies and the souls of the vampires were immediately frozen in place.

***

Markus and Alice were oblivious to the saliva dripping down their fangs as they blankly stared at the events occurring outside the window. The Graham family had settled down in Mungard more than thirty years ago, and ever since then, they had always been a thorn in the Markus family’s flesh. However, they had just been literally ‘massacred.’

Most importantly, it was only done by two knights and five soldiers. Moreover, one of the knights was a member of the Dark Clan like themselves, but he had defeated all the knights, as well as Lord Graham himself.

‘H-he’s on the level of a high lord. No! Perhaps…’

Markus could only blankly stare as he recalled the high lords of his clan. Although he had only encountered them twice, he was certain that the fear emitted by the overwhelming vampire knight, whom he no longer considered a simple knight, was clearly on par with or above a high lord’s.

‘Then that means…?’

Markus had lived a long time as a family’s lord. He immediately came to a realization. The cruel knight, who had just crushed Lord Graham’s heart with his foot, was clearly a vassal of a monarch.

“Kieeeeek~! Vassal Gal! So strong! Mega strong! So cool, but so arrogant. Hmph, you only got to know Sir Eugene later than me. Kieeeagh!” Mirian started to rant, but Eugene flicked her off with his finger, then turned toward the two vampires before speaking. “Oi. Are you done watching?”

“Yes!” Both Markus and Alice answered as soon as Eugene’s cold voice resonated from behind them.

“Do you know why they came here?” Eugene asked.

“T-this foolish, trivial one knows not the… Heuk!” Markus started to blabber whatever thoughts came to mind due to his nervousness. He paused, then suppressed his doubts while forcing himself to continue. “I-I believe that the king has called them here to punish us for our insolence.”

“You know it well,” Eugene responded with a cold laugh.

Just as Markus guessed, Eugene had called Galfredik and the others to the mansion with the intention of completely wiping out the Markus family, depending on the circumstances.

‘I’m glad I switched my armor with Lanslo.’

It had been done to simply confuse the mansion’s guards, but he never imagined that a spy from the Graham family would be in their midst. It only went to show how cunning and greedy the vampires of Mungard were.

“Consider yourself lucky. My vassal over there is not nearly as merciful or as patient as I am. Ah, well, you’ve seen it for yourself already,” Eugene stated.

“Yes, yes!”

Markus and Alice answered frantically while repeatedly bowing their heads. Vampire nobles were close to immortal, and simply thinking about having their hearts pulled out from their chest while they were alive made their hairs stand on edge.

“Anyway, just like I promised, I spared your lives twice,” Eugene said.

“T-the heavenly mercy of the great king! This humble servant of Rivoles…” Markus started.

“Enough,” Eugene cut off his words before taking a seat on Markus’ favorite chair. He continued after crossing his leg.

“It seems that we’ll have to reconsider.”

“...?”

“Sparing your lives twice is a different matter from allowing you to become the only vampire family in Mungard, right?” Eugene explained.

“Ah…!”

“Ah? Don't tell me that it never crossed your mind?” Eugene asked.

“H-how could that be?” Markus hurriedly denied it. 

Eugene muttered while stroking his chin. “I’m a little disappointed. Hmm~ Perhaps I should leave my vassal in Mungard and have him watch over you…”

“Not at all! You are completely right! The words of the king are the justice and the truth!” Markus shouted while smashing his head against the floor. He could already imagine his heart being held in the hand of that dreadful vassal.

“Good. Let’s take our time and discuss your future. As you know, the night is long,” Eugene stated.

Vampires were known as the Tribe of the Night, the beloved race of the night. However, Markus and Alice wanted nothing more than to see the rays of the sun as soon as possible.

***

“What!? The mayor was murdered last night?”

“T-that’s ridiculous.”

“Who! Who was it?!”

Similar to most cities, the guild leaders representing the various occupations stood at the top of the city’s hierarchy.

“The culprit was…” The gazes of the guild leaders focused on Sir Roca, the sole witness of the previous night’s bloodbath. “It was Sir Graham and his men.”

“What…?” The guild leaders were dumbfounded by the unexpected answer. The head of the vampire family had maintained a harmonious relationship with the City of Mungard for decades, so why would he suddenly kill the mayor?

“Nonsense! Although he was a member of the Dark Clan, Lord Graham was an honorable man!”

“That’s right! He always insisted on drawing the blood of slaves from foreign countries, and he even took the liberty of wiping out the roamers near the city. Why would such a nobleman commit such an atrocious act?!”

“Sir Roca! Tell us the truth!”

The first ones to speak up were the guild leaders who had shared a close relationship with Graham. However, the other knights of the city also appeared rather suspicious of Sir Roca’s words.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a figure walked in.

“What? If it isn’t Lord Markus?”

“Lord Markus, what brought you here at this hour…?”

The nobles weren’t able to hide their surprise. Even noble vampires rarely made their appearance during the day.

“It has been a while since I saw you all,” Markus said politely after taking off his wide-brimmed hat and his mask. He was also adorning a thick, black coat.

“I’m sure many of you have already noticed why this old man took the risk of coming here at this hour.” Markus continued. Although he appeared to be in his mid-to-late 30s, the guild leaders knew very well that Markus had lived in Mungard for well over a hundred years by now. In addition, they were aware that Markus rarely moved about during the day.

“Everything Sir Roca said is true. The Graham family was involved in the murder of the mayor. I can swear on my cold blood,” Markus declared.

“Well, well!”

“Oh my…”

The ones close to Graham fell back on their chairs while sighing. The old vampire lord had lived in the city for more than 100 years, and his words were worth their weight, especially when he swore on his ‘cold blood.’

“This is how it all started. The mayor, alongside Lord Graham, was after Sir Jan Eugene’s wealth and armor…” Markus recounted the incident in which he colluded with Lord Graham and the city’s mayor with a miserable expression.

A pledge on his cold blood?

It didn’t matter. Markus wasn’t lying. Aside from the fact that he didn’t mention one of the participants in the incident, everything he was saying was true.

And the one responsible for ordering him to do so was…

‘Even his malevolence and craftiness reek of a sovereign’s dignity.’

The honorable vampire Lord Markus was simply following Eugene’s orders.