Chapter 56: Twilight and Dawn
“Phew...”
I was actually very surprised to find Roka collapsed in the bathroom.
Fortunately, the child was sound asleep. The bathroom was completely cracked and split, and there was nothing intact even in the once luxurious bath.
Regardless, I was just glad to be able to hold this child again.
Still, the Lord has safely returned you to my side.
I took out a blanket from a shabby jar, spread it on the floor, and lifted Roka onto it. If I tried to carry the sleeping child to the bed, it seemed like the child would wake up.
Let’s just let her sleep soundly at least for now. I can hear her tale later.
“It’s best not to wake her up now.”
The princess also said after looking at Roka.
“That child seems to have gained some kind of enlightenment. I can feel the mana flowing in at a fast pace. When she wakes up, the amount of mana will probably have increased dramatically.”
“She must have fought someone, right?”
“Probably so.”
There were a lot of cuts on her body, and her clothes were also tattered. After infusing some of my Divine Power in her, her tense expression relaxed.
Still, it seems she won. Judging by the fact that the unidentified being who fought Roka is nowhere to be seen. Or maybe Roka...
Those ashes.
Perhaps the child succeeded in killing her own enemy.
Was the vampire burned by the power of the sun?
People don’t usually bring a pile of ashes, into the bathroom, so those ashes were probably not there originally.
Even if I don’t know if that was this child’s first kill or not, the shock must have been considerable. How should I comfort her when she wakes up later?
“Well, I don’t think we are going to worry about that...”
“Pardon?”
“No...Nothing.”
When I was about to ask what she was trying to say, I heard a set of footsteps.
The princess seemed to have noticed it long ago, but she didn’t even draw her sword. She probably had the confidence to subdue them all with just her index finger, let alone a sword.
“What in the world... happened here?”
The half-broken bathroom door opened and a familiar face appeared. Led by Viscount Layton, vampires who seemed to be servants or maids of this castle were constantly looking around with absurd expressions.
The princess put her hands behind her back and shouted.
“Can’t you tell by looking? Duchess Shmira attacked us. The shockwaves of energy scattered everywhere as the rebel and I clashed, and that’s how the castle ended up like this.”
“What? The queen... no, are you saying that bitch Shmira directly attacked Your Highness? That’s ridiculous...”
“Hm, from your reaction you seem to be ignorant of her plot. However, did you truly not know about the Duchess’ motives?”
“I really didn’t know. Perhaps the other lords knew, but...”
The viscount rummaged through his bosom and took out a cracked glass bottle.
I couldn’t not recognize it because I made it. When I was startled to see the empty bottle of the baptizer’s water, Mr. Layton scratched his head and continued.
“After guiding her Highness and you, Priest, I reported to the Duchess, however, she attacked me. If it weren’t for this bottle and holy water the priest gave me to heal my son, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Duchess Shmira attacked you, Viscount?”
“That bitch can no longer be called a duchess. What kind of queen is a queen who only sees her clan as consumables...”
For a moment, deep sorrow flashed in his eyes and disappeared.
The princess seemed to notice it too, and didn’t pursue it further.
“By the way... I thought I felt the ground shaking a little even while in the basement, so it was because Duchess Shmira died.”
“That filthy bloodsucker is still alive. She was as fast as a rat when it came to running away.”
“...Are you saying that she escaped with her life?”
Mr. Layton, startled, shouted while trembling.
“This is serious. Now that I’ve used the bell the priest gave me, I’m free from the power of domination, but that doesn’t mean that woman’s power disappears.”
“Um, Viscount. I don’t think you have to worry about that.”
At that moment, a vampire at the back of the group approached Mr. Layton and opened his mouth.
“Just now, I met my wife who was running into the castle. She looked very anxious, and when I asked, she said she felt a strange sensation of having nothing above her.”
“Nothing above her? That can’t be. I escaped from her Dominance while using the bell, but there should be other lords beside me, right? Even if Shmira dies, those guys will still be around.”
That’s when it happened.
“Breaking news, breaking news! I came to deliver the information in person because communication using the power of domination is not working. Please open the castle gate quickly! Hurry! The sun is about to rise now!”
A loud voice rang out from outside the castle. The vampires were startled and ran to open the door, and after a while, they brought a tired, panting man to the bathroom.
Using a bit of my Divine Power, I managed to calm him, as he expressed his gratitude.
“Th-thank you. Is that a recovery spell? Your skills are truly remarkable. To use magic like this without a staff.”
When I just smiled and reciprocated, he finally felt the gazes looking at him.
Is he choosing what to say first? He hesitated and barely spoke.
“Viscount, all the lords except you have passed away. Among them is... Lady Lila, your wife.”
The first words were shocking. Everyone gasped.
The man asked as if he was puzzled by that reaction.
“Did none of you feel it? The power of domination that was suppressing us has completely disappeared! I can no longer feel the presence of the lord and True Ancestor classes... B-but why are you here, Viscount... I-I thought you had passed away without a doubt...”
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“My wife is dead? What do you mean! What the hell happened?!”
“V-Viscount. First, please let go of my collar. That is...”
“Quickly, tell me quickly. Who did this!”
Sweating profusely and avoiding Mr. Layton’s gaze, he revealed it after a while.
“I don’t know. Actually, I don’t know.”
“What?!”
“But the cause of death for all of them... seems to be commonly that their heads burst open. But what’s peculiar is that the damage seems to have occurred not from an external impact shattering the head, but from something erupting from the inside... I have no idea what kind of event could cause that to happen.”
Thud.
Mr. Layton sank down, unable to come to his senses. Several vampires rushed to support him. The man who delivered the information muttered, trying to avoid his gaze.
“What’s strange is that they were all found dead in your mansion, Viscount. And another peculiarity is... unlike the others, Lady Lila was found hanged...”
“What about the baby?”
“Pardon?”
“Was there also a dead baby with impaired legs and blind eyes at that place?”
After a moment of silence, the man shook his head.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“What?”
“We didn’t find any corpse of a baby. There was nothing like that anywhere.”
“My son, then where did my son go? What the hell is going on? Why is this happening... Why the hell is this happening...”
The princess’s expression turned serious, and so did mine.
“Saint...Do you know what’s going on? From what he’s saying, not only are all the lords dead, but it seems Duchess Shmira, a True Ancestor, and her daughter are also dead, so who the hell did this?”
“May I hear your thoughts first, Princess?”
“My thought is that Duchess Shmira is controlling them and putting on an act.”
When I nodded, the princess expressed her thoughts.
“She may be pretending to be dead while putting up this farce, thinking we’ll believe it. That way, we’ll leave this territory.”
“My thoughts are a little different. I’ll have to check the corpses myself, but...”
When the impossible is eliminated, what remains, no matter how unbelievable, is the truth.
The Bell Of Enlightenment was used. The moment Mr. Layton used that bell, I felt it too.
There’s no way the Duchess is deceiving us.
Usually, behind bizarre incidents, bizarre beings lurk, and I can only hope that’s not the case.
“...I just hope it’s my groundless fear, but this is a really serious problem. I need to see the corpses of the deceased myself. Can you guide me to that place?”
“Ah, that’s not possible. The sun is about to rise now. If you must go, please give us some time to prepare to cover our bodies first.”
“That’s no longer a concern. Please wait a moment.”
I turned around and stepped out of the bathroom. I’m leaving alone now, but I won’t be when I come back. I saw the dawn slowly rising as I opened several doors and went out to the courtyard.
Although it may be the advent of fear for vampires, to me, it’s just the sun rising. But now, it will be the same for them too.
Pong!
A reviving spring water gushed out in a corner of the large courtyard. It doesn’t need to be as big as a lake. Just the size of a spring is enough.
Firefly Crystal Fruit.
I try to create my still unstable authority, the Firefly Crystal Fruit, once again. It will last longer than before, but it’s still unstable all the same. It’s a fruit that will return to light in less than 3 minutes.
So I plan to make this authority bloom even bigger, simply with the miracle given by the Lord.
Now, drink the spring water and grow.
Splash! The spring rippled. The fruit floated on the water and trembled.
Then, countless strands of light escaped from the droplets of light and sucked up the spring water in all directions like roots. Soon, the fruit cracked open, stems grew and sprouted, and bloomed boasting a golden color. It shot up and up, and the branches differentiated and spread out.
Rustle!
On each newly formed branch, droplets of light glistened radiantly. The golden tree that bloomed in the center of the spring was laden with Firefly Crystal Fruits boasting subtle colors.
I picked as many of them as the number of vampires inside, and put four or so extra in a shabby jar. This should definitely be able to strip vampires of their original sin.
The great punishment called the sun, now I can put an end to it.