Chapter 149: Lance is the Only Person Who Can Save the Empire

The warm light within the bedroom shut out all shadows and the chill of late autumn. The moonlight bathed the patterned carpet and opulent furniture in a soft glow. Across the long table, Alexia, the Third Imperial Princess of the Krati Empire, remained seated.

Her brown hair cascaded naturally over her shoulders, and her usually deep and profound eyes were now devoid of any luster, appearing heavy with drowsiness. Her cheeks looked pale and translucent in the moonlight. It was as if, after a desperate struggle, she had been consumed with utter despair, leaving her hopes shattered beyond repair.

"So, in your view, Your Imperial Highness Alexia, is there truly no sign whatsoever that the Krati Empire is being corrupted?" Lance asked for confirmation once more, his tone casual and at ease.

Alexia's reply was curt and resolute. "None."

To her, Lance's repeated gentle questions were a form of repeated torture. Alexia knew he meant no harm. After all, he was completely in the dark. However, if he was doing this on purpose, then his character was truly detestable.

What a pity. She harbored no fantasies about an omnipotent hero swooping in to save her and her nation. Such things only belonged to fairy tales.

Hyperion remained silent nearby, tense and attentive, keenly observing every scrap of potential information. She could tell that Princess Alexia was being incredibly tight-lipped. Under the influence of the Poet of Boundless Love, the princess's emotional fluctuations were palpable.

Hyperion's mind was racing with her own thoughts and calculations. She didn't want Lance or Princess Alexia to notice anything amiss. She alone knew the truth: the disappearance of her father, Duke Michael Aransar, was absolutely linked to the Krati Empire!

As an imperial princess, Alexia likely held the key to crucial information. However, Hyperion had absolutely no intention of dragging Lance into this mess. She could only listen in silently, hoping that her friend might inadvertently ask something that would yield clues to help locate her father.

Yet, even though Hyperion maintained her usual composure, Lance turned his gaze toward her. He smiled but said nothing.

Hyperion was startled by this. She was quite certain there was nothing wrong with her acting. Why, then, did that sudden look from Lance make her suspect that he had seen right through her?

Lance said in a gentle, reassuring tone, "Hyperion, don't worry. Since we have reasonable grounds to suspect her of being an accomplice to the Church of Resurrection, maintaining vigilance or even restraining her before her identity is confirmed does not violate the international laws of the Southern Continent."

Hyperion immediately relaxed. It turned out she had simply been overthinking things.

Lance turned his head away, smiling silently. On the surface, it looked as though he was amused by Princess Alexia's stubborn refusal to yield. In reality, Hyperion was unaware of just how much he already knew. She still regarded his earlier promise to rescue Duke Michael as nothing more than a joke.

To save her father, they indeed had to act before the Ninth Progenitor, Marquis Bernhard, broke his seal, killed the duke, and claimed the Darkness Primal Tablet. For any vampire, the tablet held by the duke was an irresistible, top-tier enchanted card, given their innate affinity for the Dark attribute.

During the era when the vampires were active and then sealed away, the Primal Tablets had apparently not yet come into existence. Consequently, none of the newly unsealed vampires possessed one. In fact, even in the main storyline set a year and a half later, the vampires had just started their operations specifically to hunt down Primal Tablet holders.

Primal Tablets were unbound and dropped upon the bearer’s death, but for vampires, who possessed immortality, acquiring one was tantamount to claiming permanent ownership.

Given that the Darkness Primal Tablet would eventually fall into the hands of the Ninth Progenitor, Marquis Bernhard, and knowing that the Third, Seventh, and Eighth Progenitors had broken their seals earlier yet failed to secure Duke Michael's Darkness Primal Tablet, it was highly probable that the duke was still alive.

According to Lance's plan, once he returned from the Northern Continent after seeking out the Sealing Primal Tablet and prepared himself by challenging a Shadow Realm dungeon, he would accompany Hyperion to the Krati Empire. There, they would infiltrate the vampire stronghold to conduct a survey on "ecological balance."

Naturally, it would be ideal to secure an ally within the Krati Empire before then. If Princess Alexia was an enemy of the vampires, then they shared a common goal. Thus, Lance decided to sound her out.

"Your Imperial Highness, judging by your previous response, if I may be so bold as to speculate, the Krati Empire's current predicament stems not from the Church of Resurrection, but from the presence of entities far more terrifying than mere cultists. That is what truly instills such fear in you."

Lance set down his teacup. As he spoke, he shifted his gaze away from the princess. His eyes remained calm, yet his tone was resolute.

"...I don't know what you're talking about. The Krati Empire isn't facing any crisis at all, so there's no need for your wild speculations!"

Alexia's shoulders trembled slightly. Although she continued to refute Lance's probes, even Hyperion could tell she was merely putting up a brave front. It was as if Lance's words had pierced straight through her defenses.

Lance chuckled softly, speaking almost as if to himself, "With the Twelve Generals of the Realm protecting the empire, what is there to fear? Or have you reached the point where you can no longer distinguish which of them have been compromised and controlled?"

"Every word you speak now borders on a serious crime. Stop, and I can let bygones be bygones." Alexia's lowered voice was clipped and cold as she struggled to suppress her unraveling emotions.

She could have maintained her act if she was responding to Lance in any other circumstance, but under the influence of the Poet, she found herself unable to keep her composure. She couldn't fathom why this youth kept probing her time and again, as if he could peer right into her innermost thoughts!

Lance gave her no chance to catch her breath. The next question followed immediately. "Is there a figure in the palace lately that frightens you?"

"I'm warning you—stop asking!" Alexia's voice had taken on a distinctly shrill tone. She shivered, looking like a small lioness with her fur standing on end.

"There is, at most, a year and a half left..." Lance tapped lightly on the tabletop, as if delivering a final verdict to Alexia. His voice rang out with the certainty of a fateful bell tolling in the dead of night. "Then, the Blood Moon will completely engulf the entire Krati Empire. Your Highness, your nation is doomed to fall."

His brief declaration crashed against Princess Alexia's ears like a rolling thunderclap. Amid the clatter of the table and teacup, she finally scrambled to her feet, stepping back in a panic.

In the pitch-black night, she looked like a young girl shattered by the sound of thunder. She stared at Lance, trying to discern something in his gaze, yet she could find no answers within those calm emerald-green eyes.

Even though Lance could glean a few clues from her reactions and words, across the Northern and Southern Continents, no sane person would ever believe that a behemoth like the Krati Empire could fall to the vampires in a mere year and a half!

"What... what exactly do you know?" Her eyes held a mix of resentment and bitter frustration. Tears that had seemed long dried up began to flow once more.