Chapter 150: Lance Sees Right Through the Vampires

In the second floor bedroom, the dead of night was so still that one could hear only the faint sound of the breeze slipping through the ancient window frames. Moonlight filtered in from outside and washed over the antique carpets and furniture, casting a cold, silvery glow across the room. The atmosphere was taut, with an air of mystery permeating every corner.

Lance's tone remained calm and steady. "Your Imperial Highness Alexia, please calm down. We can discuss this slowly."

Hyperion, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, now sat frozen in a daze. It was as if her mind had crashed. Her eyes were wide as she turned her head to look at Lance. She had originally hoped her friend might glean some intelligence regarding the Krati Empire, specifically anything linked to Duke Michael, while she simply listened in.

She never expected that, with just a few words, Lance would expose a catastrophe of such magnitude! When he had declared to the imperial princess that the Krati Empire was doomed to fall, Hyperion had nearly stepped in to stop him.

Yet, what Hyperion never anticipated was, judging by Princess Alexia's reaction, he had actually been right! Where on earth did he learn such things? And just how many of the Krati Empire's deepest secrets did he actually know?

Hyperion's emotions were a whirlwind of complexity. She felt delight at Lance's almost surreal reliability, yet was baffled by his omniscience, all while grappling with a dreamlike sense of unreality.

While he remained the only one in the room maintaining his composure, Princess Alexia finally sank back into her chair, still dazed. Though she remained ignorant of the secrets Lance harbored, she could no longer afford to turn a deaf ear to his words.

Seeing that the princess had regained her focus, Lance posed the question, "Who currently holds sway over the Krati Empire? Is it the Third Progenitor, Duke Rashal; the Seventh Progenitor, Marquise Heritier; or the Eighth Progenitor, Marquis Somerset?"

He believed complete candor was the right way to go. There were plenty of details that could be discussed at length over the coming days. For now, it was enough to quickly grasp the information he cared about most. However, Princess Alexia wore a puzzled expression. Clearly, she had never heard the names Lance mentioned.

"Just a moment." Lance realized that he had made a blunder. True names were of immense importance to the vampires, so naturally, they wouldn't reveal them casually within the empire. If these progenitors were to find out that someone was casually reciting their true names as if they were mere menu items, they would likely rush over immediately to fight him to the death.

After exchanging a few words with Hyperion, Lance left the bedroom alone and followed a familiar route to the library that was also located on the castle's second floor. A dimly lit stone corridor stretched out beneath his feet, and he soon arrived at his destination, which was a space well-stocked with paper and writing implements.

He found paper and a pencil in a drawer in the corner of the library, then sat down at the large central writing desk. The lighting was soft and amber-hued, and the air was thick with the scent of old books and the weight of history. He was the only one present in this place that was forgotten by time.

Lance began to sketch portraits of the three vampires on the paper. His fingers moved lightly across the page, and the sound of the pencil scratching against the paper echoed through the spacious library.

According to his memory, these three were the only top-tier vampires who had awakened prior to the main storyline's timeline. The Ninth Progenitor, Marquis Bernhard, would awaken next.

Then, if the plot proceeded "smoothly," meaning that the vampires managed to locate and break the seals of the Second Progenitor, the Vampire Prince, and the First Progenitor, the True Vampire King, then there was a real possibility that the Blood Moon Apocalypse would come to pass.

Lance did not attempt a meticulous rendering. Instead, he let his pencil follow the flow of his memory. Rough lines gradually coalesced into outlines on the paper. Although the sketches were casual, his strokes were clean and spirited, possessing a magical quality that made the figures come alive on the page.

After about ten minutes, he finally finished the three sketches. Lance immediately stood up, gathered the three sheets of paper, and made his way back to Room 201 along the corridor that bore the marks of ages past. He pushed open the door and quickly walked back to the long table.

"These three are Vampire Progenitors, and they are the primary culprits behind the corruption of the Krati Empire." Lance laid out the sketched portraits one by one in front of Princess Alexia. They depicted, respectively, a delicate youth of ambiguous gender, a sharp-eyed young man, and a cold, aloof young woman.

However, the moment she laid eyes on these three portraits, Alexia, who had previously regained her composure, was plunged into a state of sheer terror. It was as if she had been caught in a nightmare.

Hyperion's gaze darted back and forth in astonishment between Princess Alexia's face and the sketches. It was the first time she had ever seen a drawing created by Lance's own hand.[1]

They were merely rough and hastily sketched portraits, but they were incredibly lifelike images, each a veritable miracle of art. Alexia herself was astonished to realize that these images had struck a chord of primal, soul-deep dread within her. She felt as though she were standing face-to-face with these Vampire Progenitors.

Her voice faltered. "Th-they..."

She could not fathom how anyone could possess such profound insight into the crisis facing the Krati Empire! The person she feared most was that young man, the one Lance had identified as the Eighth Progenitor, Marquis Somerset, who now served as the Krati Empire's Minister of National Defense.

She had also once glimpsed the Seventh Progenitor, Marquise Heritier, within the imperial palace.

But Alexia knew that a Rank 8 Marquis alone could not possibly subvert the empire. There had to be another terrifying vampire, a higher-ranking entity, lurking even deeper in the shadows. Unfortunately, she had been unable to locate this figure anywhere.

It was only when everything aligned with what Lance had said and sketched that she finally grasped the truth. The true mastermind was the Third Progenitor, Duke Rashal, a figure who appeared to be nothing more than a gentle, friendly freshman at the Krati Imperial Academy, indistinguishable from an ordinary human.

To think Lance claimed that this person was actually a Vampire Duke...

A suffocating dread washed over Alexia. She clutched her chest, on the verge of a breakdown. Tears welled up in her eyes. She had never imagined that a Grand Duke of the vampires was living among them, playing the part of a mortal and making fools of everyone.

Even she, who had believed herself closest to the truth, had seen nothing but a facade. Was there any hope left for the empire?

Lance raised his hand, and the Poet of Boundless Love, understanding the signal, voluntarily terminated the summoning. If the Poet were to remain any longer, Princess Alexia would likely be unable to think or speak coherently.

"Sorry... I did my best to sketch them quickly." He hadn't anticipated that those three sketches would deal such a massive mental blow to Alexia.

1. I guess she doesn’t think the cards he makes count. ☜