Jack lazily sat in the car with his eyes closed. He felt his body rapidly trying to repair his wrecked mana circuits. The pain was intense, but he managed to control his expression. Imryll was still sleeping in the front seat, but linda had woken up. She kept shooting Jack glances for an unknown reason.
’Could she tell how much pain he was in despite his facade? Or maybe his sleeping face was just too handso?’
As the car passed through the streets, many residents stopped to stare at both the magnificent tal carriage and the tired knights that flanked the sides. One kid on the street pointed to the carriage and asked, "Mom, why is there water coming from the wheels?"
A tired woman carrying a bundle of laundry on her back didn’t even bother looking and just replied, "Don’t be silly. Water doesn’t co from carriage wheels."
"But Mom! There is water coming out of the wheels and onto the street!"
The mother let out a tired sigh. "Freddie, please, stop being loud, okay? Mom’s already under enough stress without your constant talking."
The boy just lowered his hand and looked dejected at the floor. The elves guarding the car just shot the boy a weary smile and continued their escort toward the palace in the distance.
* * *
A knocking could be heard.
"Co in," a powerful voice responded.
A butler soon entered the room and bowed. "My king, Princess Emilia is requesting an urgent audience."
King Roland looked up from his paperwork with a surprised face. "My precious daughter needs to see ? Send her in right away!"
The butler just shook his head at his master’s obvious favouritism. Prince August would be denied an audience without a second thought, but Princess Emilia could co whenever she pleased. He stood to the side and allowed a fidgety girl to enter the office.
"Father, there’s a big problem."
The king looked at his adorable daughter and chuckled in his heart. "Which noble is pestering you for marriage now? I will beat them up personally!" he said before laughing at his own joke.
"Um, no, Father, it’s a bit more serious."
The king’s playful mood vanished. What could be more serious than so bastard noble trying to pursue his lovely daughter?
"Do tell," he said, and Emilia obliged.
"I received so news that a person knew Luna Runes."
The king’s face lit up. This was a big opportunity. "Where is this person?"
"That’s the issue I wanted to talk to Father about. I had my knights escorting him here this morning. However, the envoy was attacked on the way to the city."
The king tensed up. "What was the outco?"
"The situation is rather complicated," Emilia said while fidgeting with her dress. She seed very distressed and worried she would be scolded.
Roland put on a friendly face and said in a calm tone, "Emilia, my dear, I could never be mad at you. Tell Dad what happened."
Emilia let out a deep sigh and explained, "Father, Captain Beldroth suspects that the man who knows the Luna Runes is a vampire, likely a noble one as well. Beldroth ntioned that the vampire could fly and destroyed over a hundred ghouls and a necromancer by himself with just waves of his hands."
Roland’s calm face instantly changed to one of confusion. "There’s a vampire within our borders? A vampire hasn’t been spotted in the human world for over three hundred years. Is Beldroth sure the man is a vampire?"
Emilia nodded. "Very sure."
"So, where is this vampire right now?"
Emilia’s nervous expression reappeared. "He’s about to arrive at the palace. Father, he also ntioned that he would collect paynt, as he felt my escort was a neglect of his safety."
Roland just leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.
’Vampires are savage creatures that live in the mountains. They only know murder and lust. The main reason we never tried to be diplomatic with them is that they have nothing to offer. They only have magical knowledge regarding Blood Magic, and they don’t export any goods other than dead bodies. Although I must show him so respect since he’s royalty. While I’m sure we would survive an invasion from the vampires, it would be a brutal war.’
"All right, I will et this vampire when he arrives. You should co as well since this is your ss," Roland said in a calm tone, and Emilia nodded in agreent.
* * *
Roland sat on a comfortable sofa in a eting room. He decided against using the throne room, as that would be inappropriate when eting with other royals. No royal would accept being looked down upon by another ruler. Therefore, this eting room was chosen for the first-ever diplomatic eting between a king and a vampire.
The room was surrounded by high-grade guards that were extrely loyal to the crown. Usually, they guarded the royal family mbers from within the shadows, but this ti they stood as silent sentries along the walls.
King Roland was rather nervous; he had read the records of Aldric Wilson, who was a monstrous being. It took three kingdoms and a team of A-grade mages to kill him. Roland didn’t know the backstory of this vampire, but he was interested in eting one. Call it bias, but he predicted a human with fangs and claws would walk through the door, snarling at him and looking at his daughter with a gaze of lust. Then, the vampire would either attack them or demand blood slaves as paynt. Roland had rather low expectations of this eting, as a diplomatic eting had never been held between a kingdom and the vampires from the Aldric Mountains.
Emilia nervously tugged at her dress beside Roland as they waited. Suddenly, a knock echoed through the room. The two exchanged a look. Roland coughed into his hand before sitting straight and nodding to the two guards standing on either side of the doors. They bowed toward him before slowly opening the door.
A vampire who barely fit through the doorfra walked into the room with asured steps. Adorning a perfectly tailored wine-red suit, he carried an imposing presence. His short, ssy white hair fell over blood-red eyes, and his face, deathly pale, was striking against his chiselled jawline. What surprised Roland most was the vampire’s deanour. He continued into the room with a calm, orderly grace. His face was relaxed and almost indifferent, contrary to the hostility or lust Roland had anticipated.
Following closely behind him was a young woman with straight black hair, ocean-blue eyes, and a white dress. Her bearing was noble, her movents practised and calculated, clearly the result of extensive training. In contrast, the vampire moved with natural ease, as if he were born to glide rather than walk.
The vampire, with a grace that seed almost effortless, seated himself across from Roland, his penetrating gaze causing Roland to tense.
’What a formidable aura.’ Roland thought as he swallowed. ’Only the Emperor of Veranthos, a dual A-grade mage, has ever made feel this powerless. How strong must this vampire be to exert such pressure?’
"King Roland Greentail and First Princess Emilia Silvermoon," the man began in a voice smooth as a calm breeze, "it’s a pleasure to et you. As the outsider, I will handle introductions first. I am Jack Wilson, the third in line to the vampire throne."
Both Roland and Emilia were taken aback. Jack, with his dignified deanour, was unlike any noble they had encountered, yet he was the sa race as those mountain creatures. His detached tone suggested an aloofness to the mundane affairs of mortals, which only deepened their surprise at his true nature.
Roland quickly composed himself and greeted Jack with a courteous nod. "Welco to Velmira, Third Prince of the Wilson bloodline. Please excuse us, but encounters with vampires are rare here, so any cultural differences should be overlooked," he said, offering a warm smile. "I understand you’re here regarding a concern about my daughter’s oversight of your safety?"
Jack glanced at Emilia, whose cheeks reddened under his scrutiny. In his ever-calm voice, he stated, "Indeed. As compensation for being attacked en route, the failure of the guards provided to defend , and the fact that I had to save the knight captain, I would be pleased to take Princess Emilia’s hand in marriage."
The room froze as everyone processed what had just been demanded.
Roland’s initial impulse was to explode with rage, but he restrained himself. He could never consent to such a proposal, especially not to a vampire, regardless of Jack’s seemingly better temperant than most.
"That would be highly inconvenient, Sir Wilson," Roland replied, maintaining a diplomatic smile. "I could consider any request but that."
At this, Jack’s composed deanour shifted slightly, his smile fading into a frown. "King Roland, while I am a reasonable man, I must insist on receiving sothing of equal value, or I expect my marriage proposal to be honoured."
Despite feeling overwheld by Jack’s intense gaze, Roland held his ground. "Although I respect your status both as a mage and a royal, I cannot agree to your proposal for my daughter’s hand. You would have to answer many questions first. As the third prince, what is your political influence in the Aldric Mountains? And what brings you to the human realm?"
Jack tapped his chin thoughtfully before responding, "My rank in the mountains is irrelevant, as the vampires have no intention of trading with humans, even if I ascended to the throne. I find them to be crude and simple-minded, so I left in search of a more enlightened existence. As for my purpose here? It’s to teach magic."
Roland frowned hearing that the vampires were still the sa even after hundreds of years.
’Hold on, he’s here to teach? But the vampires only know Blood Magic. What could he possibly teach? Wait, didn’t Emilia ntion Luna Runes?’
"I know many things," Jack said with a mysterious smirk as if he read his mind. "In fact, I would argue I know everything there is to know about magic."
Roland scoffed. "A rather bold claim."
"One I can prove."
Jack stood up and began walking toward Emilia. Roland gave him a confused glance, but his eyes widened in horror.
"Guards, stop him!"
Ten of the sentinels rushed toward Jack with daggers. They all had B grades in various dagger and assassination arts. The area around Jack shuddered and warped for a second as a dense field of psychic mana appeared. The guards all t an invisible barrier that was impossible to get through. They tried to move, but their bodies just stayed in place. They all felt psychic mana take control of their clothes and start to invade their mana circuits; their own mana quickly defended against the attack, but Jack was seemingly unfazed by the resistance, his mana easily pressing forward.
"This will only take a mont," Jack said calmly.
Roland watched in horror as Jack placed his hand on Emilia’s head and closed his eyes. His daughter let out a slight yelp and clutched her head in pain. After a few seconds, Jack opened his eyes, removed his hand, and went back to his seat, completely ignoring the guards’ miserable attempts to hurt him.
"What did you—" Roland scread at him but was quickly cut off by Emilia suddenly exclaiming.
"Oh my god, he gave Luna enlightennt!" Her excitent was extre, and she was jumping up and down with joy. "Father, I know how to get to the B grade in Luna Magic now!"
Roland was baffled. What had just occurred? Emilia suddenly ran up to Jack and bowed to him.
"Please beco my master!"
Roland quickly interjected, "Wait, what happened? Why?"
Emilia turned around to face her father. "Dad, he used telepathy to show the endless expanse of space, the cycles of the moon, and how the sun used the moon as its ssenger during the night. He even showed the runes of B-grade spells and how to learn them! All in just a few seconds!"
Roland just sat there in a daze.
’Since when was enlightennt so easy to pass on? How does he even have enlightennt for Luna Magic?’
"Guards, stop! Jack is an honoured guest," Roland shalessly proclaid.
’I need to tie this man down to the kingdom sohow. Soone with this level of magical knowledge cannot be let go of so easily!’ He took a sideways glance at Emilia, and although she seed excited, he still refused to accept a marriage agreent. There had to be another way.
Suddenly, the girl that sat next to Jack, who had been silent the entire ti, spoke up. "Master, weren’t we planning to head to Veranthos soon? How can we stay here with this princess?"
Jack grinned at linda and nodded. "If a marriage is impossible, I have little reason to stay here. Veranthos offered a much better deal."
’This is bad! I need to keep him here!’
"Oh, what was the deal?" Roland asked cautiously.
"They offered the position of duke," Jack said without a trace of deceit on his face.
Roland carefully considered the offer. Giving an outsider the position of Duke was no small matter. It gave him villages, land, and, most importantly, the right to have a private military force. He had so wasteland to the north with only a small farming village that was currently without a duke; there was also a castle on an island in the middle of a lake in that territory. It had been abandoned for a long ti but was likely still usable with so repairs.
With a slow nod, he said, "I can also offer you the position of duke here in Velmira, on the condition you see Veranthos as your enemy."
The land was practically worthless as it bordered the Aldric Mountains and was frequently plundered by vampires for blood slaves. The land was unusable for farming, and there were no discovered mines in the area.
Emilia then said, "Jack, if you beco a duke, can you beco my teacher too?"
linda interjected again, "Master, if we live so far away, how can we travel here to teach her? Also, considering we nearly died on the way here, without guards, we would be helpless! I never knew Velmira was so dangerous compared to Veranthos."
Jack nodded in agreent with linda’s words. "I’m still shaken by the whole thing."
Emilia was still on a high from the enlightennt and could think of nothing else than making Jack her teacher. She had been stuck in her magical studies for too long, and she finally saw so light at the end of the tunnel. If he was indeed to die while travelling to teach her, it would be too tragic. She hesitantly said, "I could give you the car... and so guards."
Jack stood up and clapped his hands. "It’s a deal!"
"Uh?! Oh..." Emilia turned to her father. "Is this fine, Father?"
King Roland sighed. He could already tell this vampire was going to be a headache to deal with moving forward.
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