Chapter 185: The Cathedral (3)
A mansion located in the center of the system.
There, Count Colt stepped out, gazing at the setting sun.
Today was the day of the banquet led by the second prince of the empire, Aicliffe Rogasion.
At first, Count Colt had accepted the invitation with the intention of mocking him, but now it had become a necessary task to prove his well-being.
Behind Count Colt, who was heading to the mansion where Aicliffe was, his escort knight, Scollaus, followed him in a refined outfit.
A little further away from Scollaus, the shadow knights who always followed Count Colt were watching over them.
Count Colt spoke to Scollaus, who was following him.
“Scollaus. Don’t intervene today, no matter what happens.”
He was already suspected of having some health problems.
If Scollaus showed an overprotective attitude towards him, such rumors would spread faster.
It was important for Count Colt to not show any suspicious behavior that would undermine his firmness in front of others.
That’s why he warned him not to step in to protect himself unless someone tried to assassinate him.
“I understand.”
“I’ll handle any problems myself. Even if the second prince is rude to me, stay calm.”
Count Colt firmly instructed Scollaus and moved his steps towards the banquet hall.
Thud. Thud.
The eyes of other nobles turned to Count Colt, who was walking ahead.
He was one of the famous grand dukes in the empire.
And since he had been staying in his mansion lately and not coming out, it was natural that people’s attention was drawn to him.
Among them was Count Eifeld, who was known for liking to gossip at banquets.
“Count! I was very worried about you since you haven’t been seen lately, but it seems like it was needless worry.”
“Count Eifeld. Thank you for your concern.”
Count Colt replied to Count Eifeld, who greeted him, and headed to the entrance of the banquet hall.
As Count Colt approached, the soldiers guarding the entrance also tensed up.
When Count Colt, accompanied by his escort knight, winked at the soldiers at the entrance, they immediately opened the door and bowed their heads to him.
The voice of the herald announced Count Colt’s visit to the banquet hall.
“The guardian of the north, Lord Ordo Colt, has entered!”
The reaction inside the banquet hall was not much different from that of the nobles outside.
The whole banquet hall began to stir with the voice of the herald.
The nobles whispered to each other in surprised voices about Count Colt.
Some of them spoke so loudly that Count Colt could hear them clearly.
“Count Colt is here?”
“He avoided parties for a while… Was there something wrong?”
“I don’t like the feeling of him attending only the second prince’s banquet.”
Count Colt frowned at the murmurs of the nobles.
They probably thought he couldn’t hear them, but with his current abilities, he could easily catch their words.
Did they finally realize the situation when they saw his scowling face?
Some of the quick-witted nobles immediately shut their mouths.
But there were still some foolish ones who kept talking loudly.
“Tsk.”
It seemed that many of them had forgotten who he was while he was out of sight for a while.
Just as Count Colt was about to say something out of irritation,
someone approached him with a friendly voice, as if to save him.
“Count Colt! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you!”
“second prince Aicliffe.”
The one who came to him was none other than Aicliffe.
He came up to him with a bright smile and took Count Colt’s hand.
He looked like he had forgotten who Count Colt was supporting, just like the ones who were gossiping before.
When Aicliffe, the host of the banquet, came to him, the attention of the others was once again focused on Count Colt.
Count Colt suppressed his displeasure and greeted the second prince politely.
“It’s been a long time, Your Majesty.”
“I was very worried about the bad rumors about you, but it seems like you’re still fine.”
“Is that so? It looks like exercising every day paid off.”
Squeeze.
Aicliffe’s grip on Count Colt’s hand tightened slightly.
It was a far cry from his usual courteous handshake.
Was it because more people were supporting the second prince lately?
Or was it because most of the nobles in the banquet hall were his followers?
He looked very arrogant and confident, unlike before.
“But are you really okay? You seem to have unusually cold hands today…”
Aicliffe, who was holding Count Colt’s hand with force, blurted out a word.
Count Colt’s nerves tensed up when he heard Aicliffe’s words.
Ever since he was fed blood by his assailant, Count Colt’s body temperature had become abnormally low.
It seemed that Aicliffe had noticed that part when he held his hand.
Count Colt tried to act calm and counter Aicliffe’s words.
“Haha, maybe it’s because of the cold weather. I tried my best, but it seems like I can’t fool my age.”
“Aren’t you the pillar of Alterias? You should take more care of your health.”
“Thank you for your wisdom, Your Majesty. When I go back to the north, I’ll have to boil some wolf meat and regain some energy.”
Count Colt wanted to get out of the conversation with the second prince as soon as possible.
But this was a banquet hosted by Aicliffe.
The flow of the banquet was in Aicliffe’s hands.
And Aicliffe didn’t seem to want to end the formal talk easily.
Aicliffe, who was talking to him, turned around and ordered a servant something.
“Hey! Bring that here!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The servant bowed his head and moved somewhere.
It looked like he was going to bring something that Aicliffe had prepared.
Count Colt had no idea what it was.
He asked Aicliffe, who was in front of him.
“What is that? What are you talking about?”
“I have a special gift for you, since I heard that your health is not good.”
“What is that…”
No matter how he thought about it, Aicliffe and Count Colt were not in a relationship to exchange gifts with smiles.
Of course, since it was an official occasion, Aicliffe wouldn’t give him anything strange.
“It’s coming right there. I’ll show it to you myself.”
As Aicliffe said, the servant who brought the gift came back quickly.
He had prepared something nearby, knowing that Count Colt would come.
A servant returned in an instant and handed a box to Aicliffe politely.
“Here it is, Your Majesty.”
“Good, go back to your place. This is the gift I want to give to the count.”
Aicliffe opened the box and showed him what was inside.
It was a bracelet made of silver.
It was worth less than gold of the same weight, but it looked like it was not something to be ignored by its size.
Count Colt looked at the silver bracelet that Aicliffe showed him and asked him with a bitter tone.
“Is this the gift you’re giving me, Your Majesty?”
“Silver is a metal that drives away evil energy and heals people. It’s a gift I prepared for Count Colt.”
“Haha, I appreciate your kindness, but I can’t accept this…”
It was a ridiculous gift from Aicliffe.
Count Colt had no reason to take such a thing.
Then Aicliffe grabbed Count Colt’s hand firmly and said.
“You don’t need to refuse. I’ll put it on you myself.”
Aicliffe took out the silver bracelet and put it on the hand that he was holding with Count Colt.
It was a reckless behavior that he wouldn’t have shown before.
Count Colt was momentarily startled by the second prince’s sudden action.
Soon, he felt a strong pain in his hand that touched the silver bracelet.
“Aaaargh…!”
“Co, count? What’s going on?”
Squeak!
Flames burst out from Count Colt’s hand that touched Aicliffe’s silver bracelet.
Count Colt widened his eyes and looked at his burning hand.
It was his hand that was fine until a moment ago.
But as soon as Aicliffe’s silver bracelet touched it, it caught fire.
It was obvious that Aicliffe had done something to it.
“Ugh… Ai, Aicliffe…! How dare you do this to me–!”
“Count! Be careful!”
Swoosh.
Scollaus, who was waiting behind Count Colt, drew his sword.
Count Colt also staggered back slowly.
He attacked him in the banquet hall of all places.
Aicliffe must have gone mad for sure.
Many eyes in the banquet hall saw this scene, so Aicliffe couldn’t make any excuses anymore.
“Count! Are you okay! I’ll pour water on the fire!”
But Aicliffe didn’t care and picked up a silver cup nearby.
The cup that Aicliffe picked up was full of clear water.
He poured it on Count Colt’s wrist, which was burning.
Whoosh!
The fire on Count Colt’s wrist, which was dying down, flared up even more.
Count Colt bit his lip hard as his arm burned.
“Khh… Ugh… Aaah…!”
“Count! I only poured water from the silver cup on the fire, how can it blaze up like this? What the hell is going on?”
“Aicliffe…! Khh… You bastard…!”
He hated Aicliffe’s face, who was standing calmly after setting his body on fire.
He felt like killing the second prince in front of him right now.
Scollaus blocked the second prince’s front with his sword, and Count Colt kept shivering and backing away.
And Aicliffe, who was watching him, opened his mouth again.
“Both the silver bracelet and the silver cup… Could it be that you are… a vampire?”
Vampire.
Count Colt’s stomach turned at the word that came out of Aicliffe’s mouth out of nowhere.
Why was he talking about vampires all of a sudden?
They had been exterminated by the heroes and disappeared from the continent hundreds of years ago.
No one here would take him seriously if he started talking about vampires now.
“I’ve heard that. Vampires’ skin burns when they touch silver.”
“Who told you such nonsense…!”
But someone in the banquet hall agreed with Aicliffe’s words and stepped forward.
Count Colt looked at the owner of the voice with blurred eyes.
The one who sided with Aicliffe and came forward was a young man with black hair and a sharp impression.
Van Krite. The young genius of Cloud.
He was a special investigator from Cloud, who had not been in the empire for long.
“I never thought Count Colt would be a vampire. Damn vampires, they’ve crawled into the heart of the empire.”
Van glared at Count Colt with a fierce look and advanced forward.
He was famous for being one of the best in Cloud.
It was a situation where Scollaus couldn’t guarantee to win even if he stepped in.
But what was more problematic was Aicliffe, who was standing behind Van with an embarrassed face.
“I’m sorry, count. I didn’t know you were a vampire…”
“You don’t need to apologize, Your Majesty. It seems that this evil vampire didn’t know his place and came here.”
“But still, he’s Count Colt. How can I do this to him…”
Van Krite blocked Aicliffe, who was pretending to be sorry.
He stopped the second prince and picked up a knife nearby.
The knife in Van’s hand was also made of silver.
“You should be careful. It seems that the count is a vampire, and there is a high possibility that the whole Colt family is too.”
“How can that be! Are you saying that the Colt family, who were the loyal guardians of the empire, were actually the den of vampires?”
“Yes. It looks like vampires are rampant in Alterias as well. Recently, some of Cloud’s investigators lost contact in the north, and it seems that it was the work of vampires.”
It was a ridiculous story.
Count Colt had never clashed with Cloud’s investigators.
The same was true for the Colt family and the shadow knights.
Van’s claim that he was involved in the disappearance of Cloud’s investigators in the north was a blatant lie.
But it was clear who the people here would believe.
The twisted count shouted at his enemies in front of him.
“Yo, you bastards… How dare you talk nonsense in front of…!”
His anger rose to his head, and he felt like he forgot the pain in his arm.
His blood rushed to his head and his vision turned red.
As if to mock Count Colt’s anger, Aicliffe stepped forward again.
“This can’t be. I have to tell His Majesty. If Alterias has fallen into the hands of vampires, we have to respond at the royal level.”
“We have to form a proper extermination force. There are many undeads in the north, including vampires.”
“Were those undeads also under Count Colt’s command? Count Colt, you were really a terrifying person after all.”
“We have to drive out the vampires who are devouring the empire. No matter who they are.”
The two exchanged ridiculous conversations and pressured Count Colt.
It was a play full of holes.
Their exaggerated words and actions were something that even a third-rate troupe wouldn’t do.
But despite their stupid play, the nobles around them were agitated.
Some soldiers drew their swords with wary faces.
“Ugh… Ugh…!”
Crunch.
Count Colt gritted his teeth and looked at Scollaus.
There was only one decision he could make in this situation.
He knew that he couldn’t turn back if he didn’t explain himself here, but all the eyes around him were forcing him to act against his favor.
He made up his mind and shouted at Scollaus with a metallic voice.
“Scollaus! Move the shadow knights!”
“Count! The shadow knights are…!”
“Move now! Make an escape route for me!”
This whole space was Aicliffe’s trap.
He had to get out of here.
Right now.
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