Chapter 328: A Reasonable Explanation

"Are you really sure you want to get involved in this mess?"

After Ron had closed the door again, the shadow at his feet suddenly came to life. Yelena's figure emerged, looking up at Ron. "Remember what I told you about my family? The woman in the attic is mad, but what she said sounds more like the truth to me."

"Making the Richthofens give up their power and influence would be harder than killing them."

"That's exactly why we can't abandon Silvia," Ron said, walking over to the window. He looked out at the entire county, which, shrouded by the night, had come alive. Undead Creatures poured out from the villages and buildings across the land, converging on the Count's manor. Their numbers were no fewer than in the great battle they had witnessed, and with night having fallen, the atmosphere was all the more terrifying.

This was a true parade of ghouls.

"Let's go," Ron said, turning to the Shadow Spirit. "It's a bit early, but as guests, we can't very well keep our host waiting."

"Besides, this ritual is on a strict schedule."

"A schedule for you, or for him?" Yelena had arrived a little before Silvia, so she knew Ron hadn't been in the room at all. He had just returned using Gaseous Form from... somewhere.

"Aren't we attending the same ritual?" Ron smiled. "Let's split up and get Aive and the others. And have everyone dress formally."

"I don't think any of us brought formal attire, did we? All we have is our adventuring gear."

"I actually think that's for the best."

Although the Vampire Count could certainly understand Ron and his companions' predicament, when he actually saw the Half-Elf completely encased in what looked like a tin can, his stiff, pale face couldn't help but twitch.

"Er... Miss Aive, could you at least lift your visor?"

"Too ashamed to show your face?" Silvia said with a laugh, patting Aive's pauldron. Silvia herself wore a court gown in shades of red and black. The long dress, custom-made by the county's zombie tailors, both highlighted her elegant and dignified air and perfectly accentuated the flawless figure of a Vampire Descendant. Ron's gaze fell upon Silvia's incredibly slender waist. He could only imagine how much she must have suffered to squeeze into that dress.

Hearing a few lewd whistles from the choir of Ghosts, Ron sighed softly. It seemed Silvia had completely ignored his advice.

"Hmph!" Aive sullenly turned her head away, unwilling to look at Silvia, and even less willing to look at Ron, whose gaze was fixed on her.

"It seems everyone has arrived. Thank you, my dear subjects. Your support is the very force that has brought me to this day." Count Richthofen was also in full regalia for the occasion. The moment the noble appeared, the sound of bone striking bone and rotting flesh slapping together erupted from all sides. Compared to such applause, the incorporeal members of his domain seemed positively refined.

"But we must also thank those seated before us—our esteemed neighbors," the Count said, pressing his hands down to quiet the Undead. "It is they who have delivered to us a new hope for this land, a new leader!"

"I am certain that under the leadership of my successor, Countess Sylvia, the two domains of this Delusional Land will grow ever more prosperous! Now, under the witness of the brilliant full moon! Miss Silvia, please step forward and stand before the Array. Yes, right in that spot."

The Count walked to the center of the Array himself, while Silvia stood on one of the points of the star sigil as instructed. As they took their places, the six hundred and sixty-six candles surrounding the Array simultaneously lit up with cold, red flames. A sacrificial jade bowl levitated into the air. The Count produced a small Obsidian knife and, with a gentle flick, sliced open a wound on his wrist deep enough to reveal bone. Dark, reddish-black blood slowly dripped into the bowl.

"The Blood Race possesses powerful regenerative abilities, especially at night, and even more so within our own domain," Count Richthofen explained to his guests. "If I didn't cut this deeply, I wouldn't be able to collect enough blood."

"Now, my dear Silvia, it is your turn," the Count said, tossing the Obsidian knife to her. "You don't need to be so forceful. A light scratch is all it takes. Just one."

Silvia obediently took the knife in one hand and held out her other, exposing a pale wrist. But just as every creature present fixed their gaze upon her, a thunderous boom echoed from inside the castle.

To be more precise, it came from the castle's attic!

"What's happening?!" The Count's expression changed. Before he could send someone to investigate, a beast-like roar echoed throughout the manor. Immediately after, a white figure burst through a window in a blur of motion, crashing into the middle of the ritual like a boulder, making no effort to soften its landing!

"What is that monster?!" Ron lunged forward, pushing Silvia away from the Array before she could offer her blood. In that same instant, the "monster" that had appeared so suddenly charged straight for Count Richthofen. Its body and three mirror images lunged as one, unleashing the cold glint of forty sharp claws. Under the moonlight, the creature looked as savage as a demon!

"How did you get out?!" The Count blocked the attack with his Walking Stick. Crimson Magic Power flared around him, effortlessly blasting the assailant more than ten meters back. "Get back to your attic! It's not your time to enter!"

"Is this the one you were talking about?"

Silvia, who had been pushed aside by Ron, was stunned. "How did you even communicate with this thing?"

"Shh," Ron motioned for her to be quiet, then turned and called out, "Lord Count, do you need us to kill it? It has disrupted the ritual!"

"Kill it? No! There's no need to trouble our guests!" Black mist coiled around the Count's Walking Stick, forming a solid cage that trapped the woman from the attic. "I told you, it is not your time!"

"Behave, Mary!"

"Mary?!" At the Count's sharp reprimand, the woman in white instantly froze like one of Pavlov's dogs. She remained on all fours like a beast, a single tear tracing a clean path through the grime on her cheek. She stayed meekly within the cage of black mist, and even after the cage dissipated, she made no further move.

"That's my good girl," the Count said, the corners of his mouth curling up as he nodded in satisfaction. He turned his attention back to Silvia. "Mr. Ron, it was nothing. Please have Miss Silvia return to her position. The ritual can proceed as normal."

Ron released his hold on Silvia's arm, but the Vampire Descendant refused to take a single step forward. Her expression was grim as she stared at the Count. "What did you just call her?"

"Mary. Is there a problem?" the Count asked, standing calmly in the center of the Array. "Please, step forward, Miss Silvia."

"Her full name is Marie von Richthofen, isn't it?" Recalling her conversation with Ron and the others a few days prior, Silvia felt her blood run cold. "Didn't you tell me your wife and daughter were long dead?! Didn't you say they sacrificed themselves for this county?!"

"Then how do you explain this woman? You locked her in the attic? And you trained her like a dog?!"

Silvia clenched her fists. She had been sold into slavery as a child, but not even the lowest slave would be treated this way. "I need a proper explanation!"