Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

Chapter 425

My suggestion to cover up Finlay’s actions turned out to be meaningless.

Vladimir sat me down across from him, resting his chin on his hand as he pondered.

"Finlay."

"You know him?"

"I do."

"Ah, that was a stupid question. He’s your thrall, after all."

Before Vladimir could respond, Erthe Count, standing at his side, spoke up to correct me.

"It is not simply because he is a thrall. His Highness is extraordinary. He knows the personal details of every vampire in existence—Elders, Ains, Yeilings. He even knows how many Twawits each Yeiling commands."

…Seriously? To that extent?

Vladimir didn’t deny it.

Instead, after a long silence, he finally spoke.

"Erthe."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Erthe Count bowed her head in response.

Vladimir stared at her coldly and muttered:

"Remove your heart."

…What?

Did he just say remove?

Even as my ears struggled to believe what they had just heard, Erthe Count didn’t hesitate for a second.

Before I could fully process what was happening, she had already raised her hand and stabbed herself in the chest.

Without a single scream—

Without a moment’s resistance—

She ripped out her own heart, her blood pouring freely.

Completely stunned, I blurted out—

"W-What the hell? Why would she just—?!"

Vladimir showed no emotion.

Even though he had just ordered a loyal subordinate to take her own life, his feelings remained completely flat.

For a human, it would be like clipping one’s nails.

A minor inconvenience, nothing more.

"As you suggested, it would be best to bury Finlay’s transgression."

"Then why is Erthe Count the one being punished?! Finlay was the one who acted out!"

"There is no difference. If a master cannot be held responsible for their thrall’s actions, then any crime could be committed simply by having a thrall do it in their stead."

"You’re her master too! Are you just shifting the blame onto her now?"

Even as I picked apart his logic, Vladimir remained unshaken.

"Did Finlay not say it himself? That regardless of my own will, a war could not be waged without the Progenitor’s orders? That nothing could be decided until she returned?"

"How do you know that?"

"Because I told Erthe that myself."

So that’s how it was.

Vladimir wanted a war—or at least some form of large-scale military action.

But this land belonged to the Progenitor.

Without her approval, no nationwide movement could take place.

"Finlay misinterpreted what he heard from Erthe. But to wake the Progenitor from her slumber and force her to act—when did vampires ever gain the right to disturb the Progenitor’s rest?"

And because Finlay, connected to his master, absorbed those words—

He took it as his duty to awaken the Progenitor.

So he set off on a long journey, believing that to be his loyalty—not just to Erthe, but to Vladimir himself.

And now, Erthe was to be executed for it.

"This is your own subordinate!"

"Which is why I must be the one to remove her."

Erthe Count’s life was rapidly fading.

Someone of her rank, a high-level Ain, could survive without a heart for a time—

But only if their master allowed them to regenerate.

Vladimir was denying her that privilege.

Her own hemocraft barely managed to keep her on the brink of life—

But without his mercy, she wouldn’t last much longer.

I stared at the horrifying sight before me, yet all I could do was speak.

"So much for vampires being immortal. Lately, you lot have been dropping like flies."

"This is what you wanted, isn’t it?"

"…Huh? Are you seriously blaming me right now?"

"Finlay effectively killed himself. And Erthe Count—I am the one taking her life."

"Then what about Ruskinia’s Ain, Jazra? She died when the Progenitor and I went on our little outing."

"I didn’t kill her. Kabilla did! Besides, I don’t even have the ability to kill a vampire in the first place!"

Oh, now he was trying to pin things on me?

I may have been a criminal, but I wasn’t about to take blame for someone else’s crimes.

I had enough baggage as it was!

Vladimir studied me in silence.

A ruler—no, a caretaker of an entire nation.

I could feel cold sweat running down my back, but…

I was Tyrkanzyaka’s consort.

The one human above the law—the beloved of this land’s god.

No matter how much Vladimir wanted me dead, he couldn’t touch me.

So I met his gaze without fear.

"You say you didn't try to kill them? And yet, in the end, they overexerted themselves and died."

"How the hell am I supposed to stop people from killing themselves?!"

Vladimir, who had been watching me in silence, suddenly lowered his head slightly.

"King of Humans. I acknowledge what you have done in restoring the Progenitor’s heart. I never imagined that a mere human—rather than a vampire—would be the one to fulfill the Progenitor’s deepest desire… but if it is you, the King of Humans, then I can understand it."

"Huh? Well, when you put it like that… I guess all I can say is, 'You're welcome.'"

"However, if you truly are the King of Humans, then you must represent 'all humans.' "

A cold, piercing gaze bore into me.

This wasn't an act—true, genuine pressure crept down my spine, sending a shiver along my back.

I’ll admit it—I hadn’t fully read Vladimir’s thoughts.

Reading a vampire’s memories wasn’t easy.

Fifty years of experience was already a lot to process.

Trying to sift through a thousand years of memories?

Even the most avid reader would struggle if they suddenly had to process twenty or thirty books stacked in front of them—especially if they had to read them all at once.

I’d been taking my time, searching through his thoughts one by one—

But now, I’d been caught off guard.

He had found me first.

"Tell me, King of Humans—do you consider Ains and Yeilings to be human?"

I couldn’t lie.

As the King of Humans, I had a duty to represent all humans.

So I answered him honestly.

"Yes."

"Then, to you… the Progenitor and Finlay must be equal. As must the Progenitor and all other vampires."

The King of Humans stands on no one’s side.

That was the last message left by the Saint of Steel before she departed.

Vladimir had taken those words to heart—more than anyone else.

No, perhaps that’s not the right way to put it.

Even if the Saint of Steel hadn’t said those words, Vladimir would have investigated me regardless.

Because he needed to know whether I was a threat or not.

I had no reason to refuse his questions.

So I gave him the truth.

"Not exactly. Tyrkanzyaka is different from the others."

"And yet, she is still a human."

"Just because two things are the same, doesn’t mean they are identical. You and I are both humans, but we are not the same."

This kind of vague answer wasn’t going to satisfy him.

So I spoke more directly.

"Restore Erthe Count."

"And what does that have to do with this conversation?"

"Try it and find out."

Vladimir nodded.

At that moment, the force that had been binding Erthe Count was released.

Finally regaining control over her own blood, she hastily began pulling it back into her body.

The deathly pale shade of her skin regained at least a faint hint of life.

Having returned Erthe Count’s life to her, Vladimir turned back to me—

As if to say, I did as you asked. Now, explain yourself.

So I did.

"You investigated me, observed me, and then called me here for a conversation. Because that was the only way to understand me."

Vladimir, waiting for me to continue, prodded—

"That is obvious."

"No. It might not be so obvious… if you had already predefined what it meant to be 'human.' "

Mind-reading was my only remaining power.

The ability to understand humans.

I didn’t know why the original King of Humans lost their other abilities—

But I understood why this one power remained.

Because I had to understand humans in order to represent them.

"I exist only after the concept of 'human' is defined. The King of Beasts is simply the embodiment of the idea of beasts. The same way you observe my actions before forming your judgment of me, I too must first observe what humans are, exactly as they are."

That was why I was fated to clash with the Holy Crown Church.

It was also why I had headed straight to the Warlord's Headquarters upon sensing the Saint’s shadow.

The Holy Crown Church sought to erase what they deemed sinful—

To remove the future itself.

…Though, to be fair, the Warlord's forces weren’t quite as bad as I’d expected.

The Clairvoyants didn’t prevent sin—they simply tracked it after it had already happened.

And since their communications were now handled by messengers, all I had to do was manipulate those messengers a little.

"But vampires… thralls bound to their masters… they cannot make choices outside their master's will, can they? Just as Finlay, influenced by your emotions, traveled all the way to the Abyss to persuade Tyrkanzyaka—was that truly his will?"

Elders, Ains, Yeilings.

They were all humans.

But due to the nature of vampires, the boundary of what made them "human" had blurred.

Their bodies and minds were both bound to their masters.

And so, I had to confirm whether their wishes were truly their own.

"Restoring the heart was Tyrkanzyaka’s wish. And it was my wish as well. Because unless we break the chains of blood, we will never be able to fully grasp the 'humanity' of vampires. To see them not as mere extensions of their masters, but as individuals."

Now that Tyrkanzyaka had returned to the duchy, no longer bound by blood—

Vampires could finally begin to act of their own free will.

It didn’t mean they would—but now, at least, they could.

…Of course, this also put me in a bit more danger.

But this was far more human than before.

A nation where vampires simply followed their Progenitor’s will—where the entire country functioned as her body—that wasn’t humanity.

"King of Humans. A being who represents all humans… Are you saying you are willing to risk yourself to hear the voices of those humans? Even if those humans bring about their own destruction?"

As if finally understanding my point, Vladimir muttered to himself, a subtle hint of intrigue in his tone.

"Just as the Saint warned… You are an extremely dangerous existence. One who fundamentally rejects order. The King of Beasts… No wonder you are called barbaric."

"A bit rich coming from you, isn’t it? The one trying to start a war—throwing aside stability and peace—and you call me a savage?"

He spoke as if he were merely an observer.

But while he had been reading me—

I had been reading him as well.

Vladimir’s mind was incredibly difficult to read.

Not just because he had lived for over a thousand years, but because he had lived each of those days with purpose.

"Vladimir the Crimson Duke. The most noble Elder. The only vampire whose whereabouts and identity have always been known. Because he has never entered dormancy. Because he has always ruled the Mist Duchy as its Prince."

A vampire who had never entered slumber.

Who had lived like a human—ruling, training, learning, and governing for over a thousand years.

Who had fought even against the boredom that came with immortality.

"You wanted change too, didn’t you? That’s why you killed Ruskinia and made Lir Nightingale an Elder. Because Lir is the one human who possesses the power to break the chains of blood."

Vladimir’s gaze turned colder than ever.