The First Vampire

When Colin arrived at the restaurant with his sister and brother-in-law, a turkey feast was already prepared on the table.

On the narrow oak table, a large roast turkey that had been roasted to be greasy and appetizing rested, surrounded, of course, by various accompaniments such as roast bacon, mashed potatoes, vegetable soup, fruit salad, and a bottle of white wine produced in the Winston Manor.

Of course, there had to be Colin’s exclusive deer blood wine.

Colin secured his napkin and said to the butler Emon who was pouring wine for the three of them, “Emon, you come sit and eat with us.”

Emon hesitated and said, “Master, this is against protocol ”

Colin assertively waved his hand, “In this castle, I AM the protocol! Sit down!”

Emon was still somewhat hesitant, but Kaitlin encouraged him, “Emon, come sit. You’ve served the Angler family for over forty years. You’re part of the family!”

Only then did Emon thank them and take his seat.

Colin then looked at Kathy, who was standing nearby, and said with a smile, “Kathy, you join us as well.”

A look of joy immediately crossed Kathy’s face, and she quickly thanked them, then sat down.

Kaitlin looked at this pretty half-elf maid, her brows slightly furrowed.

She clearly misunderstood the relationship between Colin and Kathy, and planned to privately remind her younger brother.

Half-elves could only be lovers, not wives.

Even if she was said to be a descendant of the once half-elf royal family, it wouldn’t be acceptable.

This could be considered a form of racial discrimination.

However, the nobles of the Radiant Empire had long seen this as a matter of course, a manifestation of the arrogant mentality brought about by the empire’s dominant position in the center of the continent, suppressing all other races.

The nobles of the Radiant Empire have a tradition of “eat, don’t speak” while enjoying their main meal.

And after the main meal, dessert time is specifically for chit-chat.

Tonight’s dessert is fresh fruit sabayon, a kind of delicacy made by mixing egg liquid and cream, then pouring champagne over a variety of fruits. After simple baking, the strong aroma quickly fills the whole restaurant.

After preparing the dessert, Emon and Kathy tactfully excused themselves, leaving the time for Colin and the Walra couple to catch up on old times.

Kaitlin, Colin’s sister, was very excited, chirping about the old stories from their time in Grey Castle. Walra and Colin occasionally added a few words, filling the entire restaurant with a cheerful atmosphere.

But as time passed, Kaitlin, who had just completed a long journey, was clearly running out of energy, yawning repeatedly.

Seeing this, Knight Walra said thoughtfully, “Kaitlin, why don’t you go rest first? Colin and I can talk a little longer.”

“Alright, I’m exhausted today. I’ll go to bed first. You guys continue talking,” Kaitlin replied.

Colin also nodded with a smile, “Alright, sister, a maid outside the hall will take you to your room.”

As the hall door opened and then closed again, the restaurant suddenly quieted down.

A faint awkwardness began to circulate in the air.

The two men almost simultaneously picked up the wine cups in front of them and took a sip.

Colin drained his deer blood wine in one gulp, then just looked at Walra, as if waiting for the other person to speak first.

In Colin’s view, Walra’s visit to Ice Rock City, must be an instruction from Count Uman seeking to win over the Angler family.

Kaitlin had already helped to set the mood, next, it should be Walra’s performance time.

“Colin,” indeed, Walra began, “Actually , ever since the last campaign with the Baron, I’ve been too ashamed to see you.”

“Why?” Colin questioned.

“Because, I didn’t fulfill my duty, causing the unfortunate sacrifice of the Baron on the frontline,” Knight Walra’s eyes showed sorrow and guilt without any flaws.

At least, Colin couldn’t find any.

“What exactly was the situation?” Colin questioned.

“At that time, the Baron led our family’s army on a rescue mission, but, along the way, we were surrounded by a troll army several times larger than ours.”

The battle was incredibly fierce, with soldiers around me falling one by one, screams were everywhere

Then, I saw with my own eyes as Baron was  decapitated by a Troll warrior ”

Walra took a deep breath, seemingly to calm his excited emotions before he continued his narration:

“After that, I was stabbed in the abdomen. Before I lost consciousness, I only remember the mocking face of the Troll warrior who defeated me ”

After hearing Walra’s story, Colin nodded expressionlessly. His eyes showed no signs of emotion as he calmly asked, “So you were captured like this?”

Walra hesitated before answering with uncertainty, “Probably.”

“Probably?”

“Hmm, I really can’t remember what happened after I was injured. I only know that when I woke up, I was already in Fallen Eagle City.”

At this point, Colin finally sat up straight.

Because he realized something was wrong!

The account given by Oliver, the butler of Tulip Chamber of Commerce, was different.

When that fat man handed Colin an expensive enchanted armor as a compensation, he clearly stated

After Walra the Knight was defeated, he was held captive and was being taken back by the Troll Army to the Troll Empire. However, when they encountered ambush of the Dark Cavalry, the Trolls abandoned him along with the other fifty thousand human captives on the Ice Plain. After enduring countless hardships, he finally returned to North Territory.

This version was completely inconsistent with what Walra is saying now!

What’s going on?

Did the two sides not get their stories straight?

That would be such a rookie mistake

So, Colin decided to probe further: “Walra, Oliver from Tulip Chamber of Commerce told me a different story.”

“Oliver?” Walra frowned, “He must have been influenced by my mother to fabricate some stuff in front of you.”

Colin blinked, clearly unaccustomed to Walra’s frankness.

“Your mother? Madam Penny? Why would she help you make up a story?”

“My mother ” Conflicting emotions flashed across Walra’s face, but he finally whispered, “She might want to hide some things ”

“Hide what?” Colin asked further.

Walra lifted his head to look at Colin, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

After a while, he finally spoke again, “I suspect that my mother might have secret contact with the Trolls.”

“What?” Colin was astonished.

His surprise was genuine.

Of course Colin knew that Walra’s mother Penny had secret contact with the Trolls, so did Count Uman.

But what surprised him was that Walra actually admitted it!

However, next, Walra then said something that surprised Colin even more: “Colin, I heard you were once the subject of an assassination attempt in Grey Castle?”

“Yes, it was done by Knight Carter.”

“Do you know who is backing Knight Carter?”

“Who?”

“My mother.”

Colin stared blankly at Knight Walra, completely dumbfounded.

At that moment, he was internally screaming

Bro, did you get the script wrong?