WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 422: Elder, Ain, Yeiling, and Human - Conclusion

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Normally, a murder suspect denies it when their identity is exposed. Naturally. Murder is taboo in every country and civilization, and it was hardly encouraged even before civilization existed. Anyone who proudly boasts about killing people probably has a few loose screws rolling around if you look closely enough.

In contrast, Valdamir's response was cold. He neither confirmed nor denied it, only asking why.

"What's your basis?"

"I couldn't find any. It's just a hunch."

"Even if you are the Progenitor's concubine, you cannot accuse someone based on a hunch."

"But think about it. No matter how talented a yeiling is, how could one kill an Elder? It's impossible. Don't consider what you want to see. Consider only what is possible."

An Elder had committed the murder. No other possibility accounted for every question.

Still, was there an Elder interested enough in others to kill another Elder? They all guarded their own territories and left the others alone, saying it was none of their business.

There was only one. Other than Crimson Duke Valdamir, who ruled the entire Duchy, no one would even know what the other Elders were doing. Vampires were too far removed from one another to kill over a grudge.

"Is there an Elder in this Duchy capable of killing another Elder while escaping your notice? Is there any vampire who knows as much as you do about the other Elders' powers and thralls? Only you, who understand every vampire in the Duchy, could kill Luscinia and give Luscinia's true blood to Lir."

"So you mean there is no evidence that I killed Luscinia."

"The only people who could bring proof of a murder from ten years ago would be the killer or the Holy Maiden. I only laid out the most likely scenario."

And a mind reader like me. Ten years was enough to bury everything. Valdamir was no fool. He would not have left behind evidence or witnesses.

This was purely a matter of conviction. In that realm, evidence was no longer necessary. The Duke of Crimson Blood admitted it readily.

"That's right. I killed Luscinia."

"You admit it willingly."

"Outside, I will deny it. There is no evidence, so you cannot prove it."

"What if Tyr orders you to tell the truth?"

Refusing would be disloyalty, while agreeing would be a confession. It was a test of loyalty. Valdamir answered without much thought.

"I have not received such an order."

Hypotheticals were pointless. I liked that.

There was no point digging any further. I could hear this truth only because there was no proof. Nothing would remain of this conversation. Confirming each other's will was the only thing we could gain from it.

"Aren't you grateful to me? I broke the blood shackle."

When I asked whether that was not what Valdamir had wanted, the Duke of Crimson Blood answered indifferently.

"Not in the manner I anticipated. I do not know what variables may arise, so I will defer judgment. More importantly, are you not uneasy? If the Progenitor has lost control, your position as concubine will be shaken."

"It can't be helped. I'm the King of Humanity. Besides, isn't that what a concubine's position is like? A place that can disappear easily when someone changes their mind."

"Practical."

"Like you."

Valdamir and I smiled at each other like mirrors. Valdamir was a vampire, so his smile was fabricated. Then again, was mine any more natural? It was fabricated too.

"What do you want?" Valdamir asked.

"I want all of you to want something. I don't want those wishes to disappear just because you're thralls."

"That includes me as well."

"Yes. You're human too. In a sense, you're one of my people. Now, act on your will. Every Elder in this country has been freed from the shackle."

Valdamir would do it without my saying so. The Duke of Crimson Blood had far too much to do. He studied me intently before asking,

"Only the Elders have escaped the Progenitor's influence. Ain and yeilings still remain."

"Yes. For now."

When I answered with a smile, Valdamir let out a sound that could have been admiration or a sigh.

For now meant it would happen someday.

"As expected..."

Without the slightest pretense, Valdamir spoke sincerely.

"You are dangerous."

"But this is what you wanted too, wasn't it? You need me."

Silence was affirmation. Valdamir said nothing.

We had confirmed each other's will enough. This conversation would disappear, just as Luscinia's death had faded over ten years.

As I prepared to leave, I added one thing just in case.

"Leave Count Erte alive. I want to see how Count Erte acts after the shackle is broken."

"I will assign Count Erte as your personal attendant. Erte. Follow his orders."

"Yes, Your Highness."

I'd said to leave Count Erte alive, and Valdamir was telling me to see for myself whether she lived or died? I hadn't expected that.

"Are you having Count Erte watch me?"

"Kill Count Erte if you do not wish for it."

Even though Count Erte was a loyal and capable subordinate, Valdamir said it as though it were no loss.

He got me there. Well, having one attendant was better than someone insisting on escorting me around every day.

I stood. Following Valdamir's order, Count Erte followed me out. As I headed outside, Valdamir's belated farewell reached me.

"Welcome to the Duchy, King of Humanity. Your existence will be poison... but poison is needed to set a stopped heart in motion."

Likewise. I was dangerous too.

Valdamir resembled me. We both knew, painfully well, that we were dangerous to each other. Yet because we were headed in the same direction, we accepted one another despite that danger.

I walked down the dim street beyond the alley. I was a well-known figure in the Duchy, but the foggy streets hid me well enough. As I walked through the mist, which dampened my clothes if I picked up the pace, I thought.

Tyr's power was extremely close to that of a Demon God. Even the Sanctum of old had called her a seed of the Demon God the moment they encountered her.

So the Sanctum killed Tyr to uproot that seed, and Tyr wandered the world as a vampire. Her power had not yet reached the principle, so it did not disperse into the world and remained in her blood instead. The principle of blood Tyr understood was limited solely to her own body.

The dead lose their perspective. The boundary between outside and inside blurred, and Tyr, who had become the phenomenon itself, shared her true blood with everyone. That was how the Elders and vampires were born.

It was an act that had single-handedly changed history, one almost on the level of a Demon God.

But she was one step short. One step away from becoming a Demon God. Her power still remained in her blood.

If Tyr could understand even the bodies of others while fully alive, rather than remaining limited to being a vampire...

"Hyu?"

At the main gate of the Castle of the Full Moon, I ran straight into Tyr, who was returning with Cabilah just as I was about to enter. Tyr, who had been opening the gate, was about to approach happily before remembering last night and stopping with a slight blush. Cabilah's gaze burned with displeasure.

Did Tyr go have girl talk with Cabilah? It hardly made sense to call Tyr the Progenitor of vampires anymore. Together, they had lived through twenty-three centuries, more than even a calendar dating back to Year One could cover.

"You're coming back from an outing? What a coincidence."

"Ah, yes, um. I see. Hyu, yes. Have you eaten? Are you not... tired?"

"I'm rather tired. Maybe because I didn't sleep well last night and went out two days in a row."

"Is that so? You should hurry and rest."

Maybe Tyr had never felt fatigue before. When I said I was tired, she took it seriously and came closer. Even after getting her heart back, she was still too careless. If she met a man with a rotten personality, he might use her all he wanted and then throw her away.

Wait. Was I talking about myself?

"Yes... Yawn. Shall I rest a little?"

I casually put an arm around Tyr's shoulder. Tyr flinched as I suddenly closed the distance, and sparks seemed to fly from Cabilah's eyes.

"Don't touch my sister so freely! How brazen. Even if you're her concubine, ask permission before touching her!"

"Cabilah. Stop. Hyu already has permission."

"Tch...!"

Cabilah glared fiercely at me. I waved my hand as though I wanted to flaunt it right in front of her. From Cabilah's perspective, I must have looked like a beauty who could topple a nation, a concubine capable of shaking a country.

Tyr stopped Cabilah, then quietly chided me.

"Hyu, you're mischievous too. You have not even set foot inside the castle, yet you touch me so freely. Though I cherish you, that is a matter for once you have crossed the threshold."

"So once I cross the threshold, I can touch you as much as I want?"

"That is not what I meant!"

Tyr denied it quickly, then continued while cautiously watching my reaction.

"...W-well. If necessary, there may be times when you must touch me."

"You're right. We finished with your mouth yesterday, so shall we work on your face next?"

"Let us go inside, inside! Goodness. Being so indecent in front of everyone...!"

Tyr was a special vampire. Naturally, as the Progenitor, she was unlike other vampires. Unlike the others, Tyr had postponed death through her own power alone. The homunculus dilemma applied only to other vampires. If I, who restored Tyr's heart, also revived her senses, Tyr would gain life and her stopped clock would begin moving again.

If the resurrected Tyr took one more step forward based on twelve centuries of experience...

She would become a Demon God.

I would go beyond finding a Demon God.

I would resurrect even a dead Demon God.

Footnotes:

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