Chapter 1001: Alternate Timeline: The Nexus Exposition (2)

Another hour passed.

Finally...

The first guest arrived.

And not just any guest.

It was none other than Morvain Wolf himself, the current House Lord of House Wolf.

Unlike the other House leaders who had accepted invitations to accompany Emperor Alexander together later, Morvain Wolf completely ignored such arrangements and arrived independently.

Naturally, everyone understood why the Emperor invited the major noble houses collectively.

Because once the auction began...

Most noble leaders would avoid competing directly against the Imperial Family over the aircraft and howitzers.

After all, openly opposing the Emperor in bidding wars rarely ended peacefully.

As for the Martial Clan leaders...

Very few had been invited.

Partly because the annual summit coincidentally began the same day.

Partly because Martial Clans usually lacked liquid wealth compared to Noble Houses.

And partly because most Martial Clans valued cultivation techniques above worldly weapons.

Back at the training grounds, Morvain Wolf stepped out from his carriage calmly while his cousin accompanied him reluctantly.

Her name was Syllia Wolf.

Third daughter of the former House Lord.

Governor of the Northern Wolf Duchy.

And someone deeply infatuated with the Second Prince Magnus.

If this expo were to be conducted before Kiara’s engagement, she wouldn’t have bothered to attend at all.

But when she learned about the rumors of Kiara and Arceus’ love story that was circulated all over the Empire, with some half-truths and half-lies, Syllia then realized that whatever Kiara did at the campsite with the Second Prince was nothing but an act.

Even if it wasn’t an act, it wouldn’t matter to her anymore, because Kiara is already engaged to Arceus, and Magnus right now didn’t have any commitments. So, her path is cleared. Since the Crown Prince is already married to her second cousin, Syllia wished to use the connections to appear in front of the Emperor and the Imperial family as another potential daughter-in-law.

As a result, she tagged along with Morvain Wolf, her first cousin and the leader of the house, who refused to entertain the Emperor and came to the venue directly.

As the pair entered through the gates, they immediately noticed Serestia Phoenix and Alucard laughing together casually.

Syllia instantly frowned.

She recognized Serestia.

And she had heard rumors regarding the strange employee boy as well.

In her eyes, commoners lacking background or strength should never behave so casually beside imperial royalty.

Meanwhile, Morvain Wolf’s attention drifted elsewhere entirely.

Toward the butler robot standing beside the registration desk.

The moment it detected his arrival, the robot stepped forward smoothly and bowed politely.

"Hello."

"Welcome to Expo 1783 by GWS."

Syllia blinked in surprise at the strange puppet’s realistic speech and manners.

The butler robot then extended one hand politely toward the registration desk.

"Please register your identity before entering."

Morvain Wolf stared at it carefully.

Its movements were fluid.

Its pronunciation is flawless.

Its posture is quite natural, like a servant working at a tavern.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

"An intriguing puppet..."

He murmured softly while studying the machine closely.

Meanwhile, Serestia Phoenix and Alucard immediately stopped chatting upon noticing the arrival of the first guests.

As Morvain Wolf approached the registration table and calmly stated his name, Alucard merely nodded without showing even the slightest reaction because, unlike the nobles who lived breathing politics and bloodlines every single day, the teenage welpire honestly had no idea who this strange young man with the eye patch truly was.

The scratching sound of the pen quietly echoed across the register as Alucard wrote the name carefully before opening a small wooden box nearby and taking out a fist-sized blue token made from polished plastic.

The number 19 was engraved neatly on its surface.

Without changing his expression, he handed it over politely.

Such numbered tokens were commonly used in auction houses throughout the continent, and therefore neither Morvain Wolf nor Syllia Wolf found anything unusual about them.

However...

The moment Syllia stepped forward and gave her own name, a strange look surfaced on her face.

"Syllia Wolf, Daughter of Hildegard Wolf."

Then, after glancing slowly between Serestia Phoenix and Alucard sitting together beside each other so casually, she suddenly spoke in a cold voice filled with thinly veiled contempt.

"I am sure both of you have heard the proverb... The toad wishes to eat the swan’s meat."

For a brief moment, silence spread near the entrance.

Alucard blinked once.

Serestia frowned lightly.

Neither of them understood why she suddenly brought up such a proverb out of nowhere.

And yet...

The disgust visible on Syllia’s face made the meaning behind her words painfully obvious.

Alucard immediately lowered his gaze instinctively.

Years of surviving abuse had trained his body to recognize danger long before words fully arrived.

Meanwhile, Serestia slowly narrowed her eyes.

Unlike Alucard, she had neither patience nor the habit of tolerating insults quietly.

"What exactly do you mean by that, Sister Syllia?"

Her tone remained calm.

But beneath that calmness...

A cold sharpness had already begun forming quietly.

Syllia clearly intended to continue.

In fact, she almost looked eager to explain herself further, perhaps because humiliating someone beneath her status brought her satisfaction.

However...

Before she could even open her mouth properly, something entirely unexpected occurred.

Without warning, Morvain Wolf suddenly reached forward and grabbed Alucard’s wrist.

Everything happened so quickly that even Serestia failed to react immediately.

Sharp nails suddenly extended from Morvain Wolf’s fingers like crimson blades emerging from flesh.

Then...

They pierced directly into Alucard’s hand.

"Argh—!"

A painful gasp escaped the teenage boy as blood immediately flowed from the punctured flesh and dripped across the registration table.

The metallic scent spread faintly through the air.

Serestia instantly shot to her feet.

The chair behind her scraped violently against the ground.

"You dare—!"

Boom.

An icy ether aura exploded outward from her body.

The surrounding air temperature dropped sharply. Frost began spreading beneath her feet while her right arm transformed rapidly into something resembling a translucent blade made entirely from condensed ice.

Her eyes burned with fury.

Because to her...

This was no longer a simple provocation.

This was someone openly harming a person standing under her protection.

Yet Morvain Wolf remained completely calm.

Too calm.

Almost unnaturally calm.

He slowly withdrew his bloodied claws from Alucard’s hand before lifting one finger toward his mouth.

Then...

In front of everyone...

He licked the blood from the sharp nail.

The moment the blood touched his tongue, his visible eye widened slightly with interest.

"Your blood is too rich for a human. No wonder Kiara recruited you."

His voice sounded almost thoughtful.

Almost curious.

Then he tilted his head slightly toward the injured teenager.

"What is your name, boy?"

Alucard gritted his teeth lightly while enduring the pain.

Compared to the brutal treatment he suffered before joining Nexus, this injury honestly felt minor.

Thus, he suppressed his reaction forcefully and answered through clenched teeth.

"Alucard..."

Meanwhile, Serestia’s killing intent only intensified further.

Cold mist spread outward from her body while cracks of ice slowly crept across the ground beneath her feet.

But before she could strike...

Morvain Wolf vanished.

No warning.

No movement.

One moment, he stood before them.

The next...

Serestia’s icy blade passed through empty air.

Her pupils contracted instantly.

Then a calm voice emerged directly behind her.

"Calm yourself, Princess."

A hand landed lightly upon her shoulder.

Serestia’s entire body stiffened.

She had not sensed him moving.

Not even slightly.

"It is unwise to challenge a higher-ranked expert than you. And especially not in this place."

His tone remained gentle.

Almost playful.

Yet every word carried invisible pressure.

"Kiara would not appreciate chaos ruining her grand event. How about you save your anger for another day?"

At the same time, Morvain Wolf’s other hand rested casually upon Alucard’s wounded shoulder.

A stream of ether quietly entered the boy’s body. Then warmth spread instantly through the injury.

The bleeding stopped.

The torn flesh slowly repaired itself before everyone’s eyes.

"There. All fixed."

Serestia immediately leaped away from him in reflex before turning sharply with vigilance written all over her face.

Her transformed ice-arm remained raised defensively.

"Who exactly are you?"