Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

Chapter 426

A suspect in a murder case usually denies everything once their identity is exposed. It’s only natural. Murder has been taboo in every nation, in every civilization. Even before civilization, it wasn’t exactly encouraged. A person who openly brags about killing others has a few screws loose.

Vladimir’s reaction, however, was cold. He neither denied nor admitted it. He simply asked for a reason.

“What’s your basis?”
“No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find one. It’s just a gut feeling.”
“Even if she is the progenitor’s consort, you can’t accuse someone of a crime based on instinct.”
“But think about it. No matter how talented she was, how could a mere Yeiling kill an Elder? It’s impossible. Set aside what you want to believe, and only consider what’s feasible.”

It had to be an Elder. No other possibility could explain all the contradictions.

But among the Elders, who would care enough to kill another Elder? They all kept to their own domains, indifferent to whatever happened elsewhere.

Only one. Aside from the Crimson Duke who ruled over the entire duchy, no Elder would even know what the others were up to. Vampires were too distant from one another to hold grudges.

“In this duchy, is there any Elder who could kill another Elder without you noticing? Is there any vampire who knows the powers and vassals of other Elders as well as you do? You, who oversee every vampire in the duchy, are the only one who could have killed Ruskinia and passed his True Blood to Lir.”
“So you have no proof that I did it.”
“The only ones who could provide evidence of a murder from ten years ago would be the killer or the Saintess. I simply wrote the most plausible scenario.”

And, of course, me—the mind reader. Ten years was enough time to bury everything. Vladimir wasn’t foolish enough to leave evidence or witnesses behind.

This was purely a matter of conviction. And here, no evidence was needed.

The Crimson Duke acknowledged it without hesitation.

“You’re right. I killed him.”
“You admit it so readily.”
“If word gets out, I’ll deny it. There’s no proof, so no one can prove it.”
“What if Tyr commands you to speak the truth?”

If he refused, it would be disloyalty. If he complied, it would be a confession. A loyalty test.

Vladimir answered without much thought.

“I haven’t been ordered yet.”

Hypotheticals meant nothing to him. I liked that.

There was no point in prying further. The only reason I got this truth was because there was no evidence. This conversation would leave nothing behind. The only takeaway was confirming each other’s resolve.

“Shouldn’t you be thanking me? I broke the chain of blood for you.”

When I asked him if this wasn’t what he wanted, the Crimson Duke responded dryly.

“Not in the way I expected. I’ll reserve judgment, since I don’t know what variables may arise. Aren’t you anxious? If the progenitor has lost her dominion, your position as her consort might be unstable.”
“She’s the king of humans. It’s inevitable. And isn’t that just the nature of being a consort? A place that disappears the moment someone changes their mind.”
“Pragmatic.”
“Like you.”

We looked at each other and smiled, as if into a mirror. Since Vladimir was a vampire, his smile was surely artificial. But that didn’t mean mine was natural either. We were both faking it.

Vladimir asked, “What do you want?”
“I want you all to want something. I don’t want your desires to disappear just because you’re vassals.”
“That includes me?”
“Yes. You’re human, too. My subject, in a sense. Now, go ahead and act on your will. Every Elder in this land is now free from their chains.”

I didn’t need to tell him. Vladimir had plenty to do. He studied me carefully and asked,

“Only the Elders are free from the progenitor’s influence. Ain and Yeiling still remain.”
“Yes. For now.”

When I answered with a smile, Vladimir let out a quiet “Heh”, an exhale that could have been amusement or resignation.

For now—a phrase that meant, it will happen someday.

“As expected…”

With not a hint of pretense, Vladimir spoke with complete sincerity.

“You are dangerous.”
“But isn’t this what you wanted? Don’t you need me?”

Silence was affirmation. Vladimir didn’t respond.

We had confirmed each other’s intent. This conversation would vanish, just like Ruskinia’s death, swallowed by the passing decade.

As I stood up to leave, I left one last remark, just in case.

“Leave Count Erthe alive. I’m curious to see what he’ll do once the chain is broken.”
“Then he will serve as your personal attendant. Erthe, follow his orders.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Did leave him alive mean watch over him directly? I hadn’t expected that.

“Am I under surveillance?”
“Kill him if he displeases you.”

Despite being a loyal and competent subordinate, Vladimir spoke as if Erthe’s life was insignificant.

He got me there. Still, having a single attendant was better than being hounded every day.

I stood up. Count Erthe followed behind me as per Vladimir’s command. As I was about to step outside, Vladimir called out one last time.

“Welcome to the duchy, King of Humans. Your presence is poison… but even poison is needed to make a dead heart beat.”

The same went for me.

I was dangerous, too.

We were alike. We both understood that we were each other’s greatest threat. But because our paths aligned, we accepted the risk.

I walked through the dark streets outside the alley. Though I was a well-known figure in the duchy, the fog concealed me well. A little speed, and the mist would dampen my clothes.

Tyr’s power is dangerously close to that of a Demon God.

Back in the day, the Holy Crown Church called her a seed of the Demon God upon their first encounter.

That’s why they tried to eradicate her. And why she became a vampire, wandering the world ever since.

Tyr never fully grasped the nature of her power. It remained sealed within her blood.

A truly dead being loses perspective. The boundaries between inside and out blur, and they become a phenomenon themselves. That was how Tyr came to share her True Blood, creating the Elders and all other vampires.

A single being changed history. She was nearly a Demon God herself… just one step short. Her power still remained locked within her own blood.

But if Tyr had been alive in every sense, if she had understood not just her own body but the bodies of others—if she hadn’t been limited to just being a vampire…

“Hughes?”

At the entrance of Full Moon Castle, I ran into Tyrkanzyaka, who had just returned with Kabilla.

She had been about to approach me cheerfully, but then last night’s events seemed to cross her mind, and she hesitated, her face slightly flushed. Kabilla, meanwhile, was glaring daggers at me.

Had they been having girl talk? The progenitor of vampires, gossiping? Combined, their ages exceeded 2,300 years—more than enough to use up every calendar since year one.

“You’re just getting back? What a coincidence.”
“Ah, uhm, yes. Hughes. Have you eaten? You must be… tired?”

She approached, concerned.

Tyr still lacked caution. If she ever met a truly bad man, he’d use her and throw her away.

Oh, wait. Wasn’t that me?

And that was the night the clock truly began to move.

Not just to find a Demon God—

But to resurrect one.