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Chapter 235

In any case, as was determined by the Temple, the ancient castle of Epiacs was ultimately a safe place, even though ghosts appeared now and then. Of course, if the Temple authorities ever learned about the true nature of Epiacs as I did, they would probably never stage any group missions in this place again.

Harriet didn’t discover anything, and Ellen, rather than discovering nothing, had ended up with a misplaced conviction she would’ve been better off without.

Of course, Ellen kept her encounter with Rellia a secret and thus didn’t tell Harriet about it.

I was the only one who had discovered the real truth.

Indeed, the truth about Eleris and the Seven Houses of the Vampire Lords was information that no one else could have known.

As we made our way back, Harriet seemed somewhat disappointed that nothing significant had happened. More accurately, she seemed deflated that she hadn’t been able to uncover anything.

“Well, nothing happened in the end,” Harriet said.

“... Were you hoping for something dangerous to happen?” I replied.

“No! That’s just a figure of speech!”

Of course, I had discovered something, but I couldn’t share it with them.

Nothing notable happened afterward. We bathed in hot springs, had snowball fights, that kind of mundane stuff.

Ellen’s snowballs hurt like hell, and I actually got bruised. Seriously.

Harriet threw the snowballs using Telekinesis, and it wasn’t just painful, it felt like I’d die if I got hit, so I dodged for all I was worth.

***

It was our last night at the mansion near Epiacs, and I was in the hot spring.

“Ow. This really hurts.”

The pain wasn’t just from being hit by snowballs, but also because I had trained late into the night with Ellen.

I felt so wrecked that I wondered if I was coming down with something.

I left the outdoor hot spring in the middle of the night when no one else was around. Ellen seemed to be washing herself in the indoor bath.

The mansion was silent at night.

Whoooosh...

The distant sound of wind blowing through the snow could be heard as a fierce snowstorm rattled against the window.

This mansion felt spooky as well. Though not quite like Epiacs, it was still enough to make me uncomfortable.

I was heading to my room to sleep when I saw something.

Someone was standing near the window against which the snow was blowing.

“... Charlotte?”

Charlotte, seemingly startled by my call, turned her head towards me.

“Oh, uh... Reinhart?”

“What are you doing up?” I asked.

Ellen and I were eccentric enough to be awake at this hour. Most others would be asleep.

“Ah, well... I just wanted to... watch the snow?” Charlotte replied hesitantly.

Snow was everywhere. It could be seen from her room too.

“Really? Aren’t you cold? You’re not even wearing shoes,” I said.

Charlotte was barefoot. The mansion was cold enough that it severely discouraged walking around barefoot, and it wasn’t imperial culture to do so either.

“Oh, um. I just forgot...”

Charlotte hurriedly retreated to her room, saying she was too tired to think straight.

‘What was that about?’

I stared at the door to Charlotte’s room.

‘Maybe she had trouble sleeping.’

With that thought, I returned to my own room.

***

After returning from the group mission, I promptly resolved the additional questions I had about the ancient castle of Epiacs.

“Oh, you’ve been to the Vampire Council.”

“Vampire Council?”

“Yes, it’s the place where the heads of the families convene.”

Upon returning from the group mission, I visited Eleris’s semi-basement room to ask her some questions, and she offered the answers immediately. She didn’t even seem surprised.

‘Oh, you went there? Nice,’ her response seemed to suggest.

It was nice to have a Vampire Lord around who knew such things, especially one who was the head of a House.

“Since the empire discovered it, all the permanent residents vacated it, and so it shouldn’t be a particularly dangerous place for humans.”

“Vacated?”

‘What is she talking about?’

“It was built in a location that was deemed difficult for humans to reach, but since it has existed for so long, it was bound to be discovered someday. What happened was inevitable.”

The ancient castle of Epiacs had been deliberately constructed in a remote polar region to avoid detection by humans. Although the nation of Glamos was to the south, there was still a vast, uninhabited area between it and Epiacs.

But what caught my attention was the term “vacated”.

“What I mean is, if they were going about their lives normally, why did they vacate it once it was discovered by humans?”

“Once rumors of an ancient, unidentified castle began to spread, adventurers would flock there, and if they went missing, the military would be dispatched. Inevitably, a war would break out. We chose to vacate the castle to avoid such troubles. In any case, there weren’t many permanent residents there to begin with.”

To avoid complications, the vampires had simply abandoned the castle.

‘Are all Vampire Lords pacifists, like Eleris?’

Still, it was amazing to think that the Vampire Lords, who were supposed to be powerful, would abandon their home just because humans might start trickling in.

‘Isn’t that like fleeing your own house?’

“Hmm... Still, it’s surprising that they abandoned the castle,” I said.

“Abandoned?” Eleris replied, tilting her head. “It’s most likely still in use.”

“... Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Humans can’t survive very long in that sort of climate where the castle is situated, and so it’s usually empty. We gather there when needed, and our visits do not overlap with those of the humans.”

There were no humans living permanently in the ancient castle of Epiacs due to the extreme environment. Although the vampires had vacated it, they still gathered there whenever necessary.

Human activity in the castle, for example the Temple’s group mission, was not a common occurrence.

“It seems Your Highness thinks we’ve handed the castle over to humans, but there’s no reason not to.

“Humans visit periodically to clean and manage the castle as if caring for an artifact. They believe it to be a palace of significant archaeological value. Since it’s an ancient palace, they’re not wrong. They maintain it diligently, worrying about any potential damage to the statues or decorations.

“Humans regularly maintain the palace without being paid for it, while we can use this well-maintained palace for council meetings whenever we need it.”

As I listened to Eleris, I couldn’t help but find the situation increasingly absurd.

The vampires hadn’t abandoned the enigmatic castle of Epiacs to the humans. Humans, captivated by the strange and beautiful architecture, had named it Epiacs and were diligently taking care of it, without even knowing its true nature.

“Humans tend to treasure what they consider to be their property,” Eleris said with an amused smile. It seemed she found this human trait endearing.

To avoid trouble, the vampires had handed over the castle, but to their surprise, the humans were managing it better than they had, treating it like a cherished treasure. Although no one actually lived there or intended to use it, they appreciated the grand and elegant palace, maintaining it as if it were a valuable artifact they had discovered.

Thus, the vampires watched in satisfaction as the humans maintained Epiacs under the illusion that it was their own.

‘Free labor, really.’

“It’s simple, yet complicated,” I said.

The ancient castle Epiacs was, in essence, co-owned by vampires and humans.

The Vampire Council, and the five remaining vampire houses, excluding the houses of the Moon and Sun...

As the head of the House of Fire, Eleris was likely much stronger than typical Vampire Lords. But the heads of the other four houses, Vampire Lords themselves, would certainly be powerful as well.

‘Could I consider their strength as my own?’

Eleris seemed to read my thoughts.

“Are you seeking the power of the other Houses?” she asked, and I sighed.

Other issues aside, Eleris likely wouldn’t approve of my quest for more power.

“It’s just in case of emergencies. Not that I need anything right now, but you never know when you might need more strength, right?”

“It will be difficult, Your Highness.” Contrary to her personal feelings, Eleris expressed doubt. “No vampire house, no, not even any Vampire Lord, except for me, participated in the Great War.”

Total non-participation...

Eleris’s words left me stunned.

“Wait, you, who despise war, participated, while all the others did not?”

‘What is this bizarre situation?’

Eleris closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It seemed she was about to reveal something important.

“The Vampire Lords were initially an external force that was not under the Demon King’s dominion.

“While I and a few other vampires pledged allegiance to the Demon King, the Vampire Council existed outside of the Dark Land, and the strongholds of the other houses were located in remote regions outside of both human territories and the Dark Land itself. So, strictly speaking, they didn’t betray the Demon King; they were never his allies to begin with.”

They had never sworn loyalty in the first place, so they had no reason to join the fight.

Some demons in remote regions also did not participate in the Great War, and for them, it was considered an act of betrayal. However, the Vampire Council could not be considered as betrayers of the cause, since they had never signed up in the first place.

The Vampire Council was a distinct power, outside of both the demon and human realms. In addition, Eleris despised war and was against all forms of slaughter.

Hence, it was odd that Eleris, the Vampire Lord of the House of Fire, had pledged loyalty to the Demon King and participated in the Great War. Though I didn’t know what role she previously played, her latest assignment as a spy in the human realm seemed to have yielded no significant results.

The actual kidnapping of the princess had been executed by Sarkegar.

‘Why did Eleris pledge loyalty to the Demon King?

‘Wait. To begin with, vampires are Undead, and being undead represents a particular state. Vampires could be considered a “state” rather than a “species”.

‘Obviously, it would be impossible to be born a vampire. A vampire must have existed in a different state before turning into one.’

“Eleris.”

“... Yes, Your Highness?”

“Before becoming a vampire, were you human?”

“...”

Eleris looked at me quietly.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I had gained some information about this new faction called the Vampire Council, and in addition, I learned that Eleris was bad at lying.

But since I had decided to respect Eleris’s secrets, I had no intention of prying further.

“Well, okay. By the way, do you still attend these Vampire Council meetings?”

“I haven’t attended in quite some time, but it’s not because we’re on bad terms.”

“Hmm... Alright, got it.”

The Vampire Council...

I stored this information away in my mind for now.

***

The Vampire Council...

They were, to put it in other words, an extraterritorial power. I wasn’t certain what Eleris’s current relationship with the Vampire Council was, but it seemed they weren’t particularly friendly or hostile towards humans or demons.

Given that they had chosen to vacate their palace rather than fight when humans discovered it, they didn’t seem like an unreasonable group.

Eleris had many secrets.

Why did she pledge loyalty to the Demon King despite hating violence?

What had she been before she became a vampire?

While I could make guesses, nothing was certain. However, I had no desire to force her to reveal these truths.

Eleris was on my side. As long as that was certain, everything else was secondary.