Chapter 273: 144. An Enthronement and a Celebration -2 (Part One)

Translated by A Passing Wanderer

Edited by RED

**

Currently, at a conference venue in an unknown location…

“The majority of blood-creations that have infiltrated the Aihrance royal palace have been eliminated.”

Never mind one lit torch to illuminate the surroundings, not even a single drop of candle wax could be found in this place. Only the impenetrable veil of darkness existed here.

In the middle of the venue was a large round table and creatures boasting truly bizarre outer appearances had gathered around it.

It was a meeting of vampire nobility, consisting only of Progenitors, except that most of the Marquis-class vampires were not present. There was no need to even ask if Duke-classes and Archduke-classes were here, either.

Most of the ones in attendance were either Count-class or lower in peerage. Among them was Marquis Kirum, dressed like a court jester, currently covered in a thick layer of cold sweat.

For a little while now, he had been conveying the current situation to the other Progenitor vampires present with a communique he had received earlier.

He continued on, “All contact with Count Timong up north has been lost as well.”

These beings were supposed to be noble, fearless creatures. These beings, who always treated humans as mere livestock, all fell into a severe bout of panic and fear the moment one person’s name was brought up.

“All these acts were perpetrated by the Seventh Imperial Prince of the Theocratic Empire, Allen Olfolse!”

The vampires present all felt a deathly chill creep up their skin, and shuddered in fear.

A thick strand of cold sweat trickled down Marquis Kirum’s cheek. His normally playful tone of speech was long gone by now. He only resorted to that manner of speech when he was in an excited state, or when he was trying to confuse his enemies.

He certainly couldn’t afford to sow further chaos in the current group of vampire nobles, now could he?

“Also, a new Saintess named Alice Astoria has been discovered in the Theocratic Empire, as well. The Seventh Imperial Prince is protecting her. According to the report, after he finished dealing with Count Timong up north, he and his entourage have returned to the capital, and he is currently in the middle of the preparation to ascend to the position of Holy King.”

The vampires grew agitated upon hearing this news.

‘A new Saintess?’

‘This Alice, she’s one of the ladies-in-waiting. A granddaughter of Cardinal Raphael, no less.’

‘Does that mean she has been hiding her true power all along?’

‘Not only that, the Holy King? What in the world is…?!’

As the commotion and unrest among them grew, more sweat trickled down Marquis Kirum’s hands after he took another look at the report. The idea of needing to read the next part of the report sent a chill down his spine.

Still, he had to continue on regardless. “Also, the Seventh Imperial Prince is planning to personally foster five thousand Priests.”

“Five thousand?!”

“Not some regular soldiers, either?”

The number of Priests currently in the Theocratic Empire was suspected to be near fifteen thousand. They weren’t just Priests in their job title, but people capable of wielding divinity to some extent.

But now five thousand additional Priests were about to be nurtured on top of that as well!

Not just regular Priests, either; from the wording of the report, it seemed that this was done for a military purpose!

This meant that the Theocratic Empire’s existing power would greatly be enhanced quite soon.

“T-that, that’s not possible!” One of the Progenitor vampires with a beast’s head cried out. “No, such a thing cannot be true! Marquis Kirum, my lord! That must be a falsified report for sure! A forgery cooked up by the Theocratic Empire to threaten us!”

Too bad for this vampire, another Progenitor, this time with a hulking physique that had been stitched up like a zombie, denied that very notion by saying, “This isn’t an impossibility.”

Marquis Kirum was fully aware of the reality facing them. That inconceivably vast amount of divinity he felt back in Lome Kingdom…

The Seventh Imperial Prince used that to fight against a Marquis-class. No, to be more precise, that man had achieved an overwhelming victory.

He had slaughtered the dragon slayer, and made the undead army, boasting countless monstrous creatures, fall to their knees.

Not only could he see through a vampire’s disguise, he could even sense spies planted among the humans, too.

Worst of all, if he was given enough time to activate his full suite of powers, then he’d become horrifyingly strong!

He had to be one of the most dangerous Saints ever in the recorded history of this world.

“About eight hundred Awakened humans appeared in Ronia. Apparently, it was the handiwork of the Seventh Imperial Prince.”

A deathly silence quickly filled the conference venue.

The eyes of the vampires, filled with emotions of wanting to reject the unfolding reality, were now focused on Marquis Kirum.

“If that report is true, then we will never win against the Theocratic Empire.”

“…”

“Holy Emperor Kelt Olfolse is still alive, and the Sword King is also sprightly, as well. Both the Crown Imperial Prince and Cardinal Raphael present considerable threats, too.”

Here was a group filled with absolute powerhouses. Despite their advanced ages, they could still easily deal with several Progenitor vampires, and then some!

How many vampires were brave enough to fight a bunch of devils in human disguise who enjoyed torturing vampires and collecting their severed heads as a hobby?

“Not only that, the Seventh Imperial Prince is about to ascend to the position of the Holy King. When he gets his hands on that authority and political power…”

He’d no doubt step up his efforts to foster a powerful combat force.

What if the vampires still insisted on invading such a group of people? The end result would be rather obvious.

Total annihilation!

A known slaughterer of vampires was about to ascend to the throne of Holy King, which was a clear sign of their intention to intensify the crackdown on the vampires.

The Seventh Imperial Prince was capable of sensing hidden vampires. After he ascended to Holy King and got enough time to develop even further, then the kind of slaughter the likes of which the vampires had never experienced before would begin, without a doubt!

“I’m thinking of sending a communique to His Majesty the Vampire King.” Marquis Kirum scanned the other Progenitor vampires present and continued on, “I’m thinking of suggesting that we delay the invasion for another one hundred and fifty years. By then, all threatening existences should have died out.”

The Progenitors all slumped at that suggestion.

This was how it usually went for them. They could not overcome some measly little livestock, and had to flee for their lives.

Now they were fated to hide once more and wait to be subjugated by the damn humans again. They would be confined to the darkness somewhere, and continue to live their days shivering away in fear within their chosen Negative Fields.

“The kingdom of blood that we’ve been yearning for all these years…!”

Some began shedding tears of blood. Some began howling in sorrow, while some others fell into despair.

One of the Progenitors who managed to keep their rationale asked in a tense voice, “What about the dukes and archdukes? Have the other marquises agree to your proposal, Marquis Kirum?”

“Of course they won’t agree with me. That’s why I’m thinking of directly speaking to His Majesty by myself.”

“But if you do that, Marquis Kirum, you might…”

Kirum quietly closed his eyes before replying, “I’d be held responsible and get devoured by the dukes and archdukes, most likely. However, someone has to do it, otherwise it will be all over for us.”

“…”

“We need to grab hold of opportunity in this dire situation. I must suppress His Majesty’s urges by sacrificing myself and ensure that our kind will survive.” Kirum opened his eyes again. “Even if the fate waiting for me is a wretched one, I must…”

“Only rats hide away in a hole, so how can you call yourselves the noble vampires while thinking of doing that?”

Marquis Kirum turned his head after hearing those words. Other Progenitor vampires also shifted their gazes in the direction of that voice.

A Progenitor vampire was glaring at the other nobles from the darkness. Its skin had melted away, leaving behind a truly wretched appearance. Its whole body was wrapped in bandages, while its back was bent forward like a hunchback.

Its hand was gripping a large crimson jewel, too.

**

(TL: In 1st person POV.)

I didn’t think of this.

No, hang on. I did expect that something like this might happen. However, deciding on something this important without consulting the person in question was just uncool, man. Way uncool!

It’s the position of the Holy King!

They created a role that didn’t even exist before, then they schemed to install me in that role. But, what could be their reason for it?

Actually, I could more or less understand why.

I had been making lots of waves for the Theocratic Empire without consciously doing so. I ended up stacking up quite a few achievements along the way.

Holy cow. All I wanted to do was to protect the house I was living in, and protect my innocent subjects while I was at it, you know? Yet my actions resulted in my current situation.

“…I gotta get out of here, pronto.”

When I went to say hello to Holy Emperor Kelt, he was smiling so benevolently at me.

The letter from the capital said that he’d often fall asleep, and that his condition seemed precarious, but what I felt during our meeting was the majesty of the absolute power occupying the throne.

This old man would easily stay strong for at least the next three years, I’d wager.

Back in my room, I was hurriedly packing my bag. I already finished swiping and procuring all the grimoires and magic textbooks found in the Imperial Palace’s library.

I stuffed what I thought was important inside the item window, then lifted up the rest of the luggage myself. If they start pursuing me, then I had to leave behind fake traces for them to follow.

“What do you mean by you’ll run away, Your Highness?!”

Charlotte was in a full-on panic mode.

Even I could tell that she was really pleased with me ascending to the position of the Holy King. But it was completely opposite for me.

“Charlotte, let’s prepare for a journey.”

“I beg your pardon?!”

“Let’s head to Aslan. It’s been a while, so why don’t we go there on a sightseeing tour?”

Charlotte smiled wryly at that. “But Your Highness, this matter won’t be brushed aside so easily.”

Sure, it’d be a huge problem if I ran away now.

Holy Emperor Kelt was personally overseeing the event. No, hang on. This wasn’t just an event, but an ascension ceremony and a dry run for the future Holy Emperor coronation, as well!

Countless subjects would be cheering it on, while numerous nobles from our neighbouring nations would’ve been invited to attend.

Well, it’s gonna be too bad for them all, but I was in no mood to be considerate towards their feelings right now.

I definitely had no desire to become this Holy King, never mind the bloody Holy Emperor!

“I’m a mangnani, so even if I do something like this, they’ll probably think it’s nothing strange.”

Honestly, I wanted nothing more than to get banished again as my sentence, and watch from the sidelines as the position of the Holy King was handed over to one of my other siblings.

If I ascended to Holy King, then well, you didn’t have to be a genius to figure out that I’d be basically confined to the Imperial Palace, never to roam around freely ever again.

I mean, you only had to look at Holy Emperor Kelt for an example of that, no? The only time he came outside the Palace was to participate in the war against Aslan. That was it!

“What do you mean, mangnani, Your Highness? When was the last time people called you that?” Charlotte replied, looking quite dismayed.

“In any case, get ready, okay? Even if I’m destined to become this Holy King, it won’t be anytime soon. We’re leaving right away.”

While saying that, I flung the door to my room wide open.

What greeted me next was the scene of Paladins outfitted in golden armour standing in two rows on either side of the passageway.

These folk, filled to the brim with military discipline, were standing there like some kind of statues while holding their shields and resting their hands on the hilts of the swords.

The Order of the Golden Cross?

(TL: Only one chapter today…)

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