The First Vampire

Colin looked up at the giant sculpture in the Central Plaza, asking curiously.

The seventh tier is the Holy Field, and the eighth is legendary, so Knights of the eighth tier are also known as legendary Holy Knights.

“No,” Vera leaned her head on Colin’s shoulder and said softly, “As far as I know, the St. Hilde family once had an extraordinarily talented Holy Knight who came very close to the eighth tier, but he went insane while attempting to break into the legendary domain.”

“Insane?”

“Yes. He completely lost his sanity and began to kill anyone he encountered. He was eventually strangled by the Pope and two other Holy Knights.”

Colin frowned, evidently puzzled by this.

Seeing this, Vera spoke again, “The Pope at the time had a comment on this — a mortal’s mind cannot withstand the impact of the legendary, only the favor of the deity can maintain sanity.”

“Favor of the deity?”

“Yes, many people speculate that what the Pope meant was that only ‘God’s Favored’ would have the potential to ascend to the legendary. And Emperor Gana, was indeed one of God’s Favored.”

“God’s Favored…” Colin stroked his chin, suddenly remembering that he had also claimed to be of ‘God’s Favored’ when he was manipulating the Bloodline.

He too became intrigued now and asked, “So, has there only ever been Emperor Gana acknowledged as ‘God’s Favored’ in the history of the Glorious Empire?”

Vera thought for a moment and said, “Hmm… At least, the only ‘God’s Favored’ who has been recognized by the church is Emperor Gana.”

Ha, Colin chuckled to himself.

It turned out there were quite a few imposters like himself.

“So, how does the Church deal with those who claim to be ‘God’s Favored’?”

“It seems that a few have been judged… I’m not sure about the specifics. To find out more, you would need to consult the church’s documents.”

Colin shook his head. He was not eager to actively seek out such information. Wouldn’t it be like letting the cat out the bag? Plus, his three Bloodline were very reliable so there wasn’t any risk of a leak for now.

As he was contemplating, Colin suddenly noticed the doors of the Senate beginning to slowly open.

“It looks like it’s over.”

“Yes, I hope it’s a good outcome.” Vera squeezed Colin’s hand, still a bit nervous.

Colin gently patted Vera’s hand, signaling her to keep calm, then began walking towards the Senate.

“Good morning, Governor Sebastian!”

“Good morning, Miss Vera, Viscount Angler!”

“May I ask, the voting results of the Senate…”

Sebastian smiled slightly and said, “Congratulations, Miss Vera. I believe you’ll soon be known as the Northern Duke!”

“Really!” Vera almost jumped with joy, “Thank you for sharing this wonderful news!”

Finally, Colin was at ease. His journey to Dragon City may have been fraught with difficulties, but he had ultimately accomplished his goals.

However, he did notice that Governor Sebastian’s facial expression seemed somewhat unnatural when announcing this news.

Colin suspected that the governor may not actually approve of Vera becoming the Northern Duke, and had merely voted in favor due to the circumstances.

In fact, this guy might have even voted against it…

Governor Sebastian didn’t seem eager to speak further with Vera. After briefly offering a few congratulations, he quickly excused himself and left.

Just as Colin and Vera were about to leave as well, they were stopped by a voice next to the carriage, “Miss Vera, Viscount Angler!”

Colin turned around and saw Governor Crete standing not too far away, smiling.

Colin had a good impression of this governor from Westland. When they were pushing the declaration of war proposal before, the forces from the Westland were the first ones within the Senate that Colin and Vera had managed to persuade to their side.

“Governor Crete, hello! Is there anything you need?”

Governor Crete cheerfully asked, “I presume you must already know the voting results from the Senate?”

“Indeed, I do. I’m grateful for the Senate’s trust, and I’ll do my best to protect the North Territory for the Empire!”

Governor Crete nodded then, with a serious face, asked, “So, do you know the exact vote count concerning this proposal?”

Vera shook her head.

Colin was intrigued and smilingly asked, “From the sound of it, was the voting quite tense?”

“Sixty-two in favor, fifty-four against.” Governor Crete directly stated the voting result.

Colin squinted his eyes, sensing something was amiss.

The Emperor had already agreed to let Vera take over the Northern Duke’s role. The elders of the Crimson Flame Territory line would definitely vote in favor, especially since Prince Lexie had been expelled, the elders of the Crimson Flame line would not be foolish enough to provoke Emperor Reinhardt at this time.

As Governor Crete took the initiative to tell Vera about the voting situation, the elders of the Westland line must have also voted in favor.

Among the remaining three elder factions, Colin was unsure about the attitude of the South Border, as they had barely interacted, but since the South Border and the North Territory had no conflicts of interest, both votes in favor and against must be present and they would not unanimously oppose it.

However, the Eastland, resentful of Colin over the annihilation of the Pegasus Army, would also despise Vera, so the elders of this line would likely have voted against her.

But even considering all this, it still doesn’t add up to fifty-four votes, so a large part of the elders of the Northland line voted against!

Recalling the unnatural look on Governor Sebas’s face just now, Colin sneered and asked, “Did most of the Northern Elders vote against?”

Governor Crete nodded, saying, “Yes, and Governor Sebas openly opposed Miss Vera’s inheritance of the Northern Duke during his statement.”

“Heh, Mr. Sebas really is… surprising!” Colin said gritting his teeth, unable to suppress his anger.

He had sensed previously, that Governor Sebas held malice towards Vera. It seemed now that he couldn’t be bothered to hide it anymore.

But why?

Is it because Colin killed Dermok’s brother Derrington, who was Sebas’s butler?

Or because Colin had beaten up Sebas’s grandson, Knight Weber?

No!

Colin believed that with his political savvy, Sebas, a seasoned politician, wouldn’t harbor resentment towards Vera over these trivial matters. There must be deeper reasons.

Unless his core interests were affected, Sebas would not risk opposing the future Northern Duke explicitly in the Senate.

Seeing Colin lost in thought, Governor Crete didn’t say more and took his leave.

“Colin, why would Sebas… behave in such a manner?” Vera asked, looking puzzled.

“I’m not sure,” Colin shook his head, “But I know that this man has chosen to stand against us. With him in the Senate, our North Territory will always be hampered!”

He helped Vera onto the horse-drawn carriage and sat down, asking in a low voice: “Isn’t there any way to remove the governor?”

“No. The governor is a lifelong position. As long as Sebas doesn’t die or violate imperial law, we can’t do anything about him.”

Seeing Colin furrow his brows, Vera proposed, “Your earlier suggestion to influence the elders through the Lords of the North territory, thereby rendering Sebas’s role redundant, was a good one. Maybe we can actually use this method to make his governorship meaningless.”

But Colin shook his head: “That’s just a stopgap solution. We can’t always be on guard before every Senate vote, threatening the elders of the Northland lineage each time.

What I want is a one-time solution that completely removes Sebas’s influence!”

Vera fell silent, unable to provide any good advice at the moment.

Colin’s ruthless determination flickered in his eyes. Truthfully, he quite fancied the idea of sending a blood slave to assassinate Sebas.

However, after serious consideration, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

This brutish method was too risky, and the political situation in the Imperial Capital was currently very tense following the death of a Governor. If the assassination were to fail or someone were to find out and expose Colin’s secret, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Didnt’t it just happen to Prince Lexie, a Holy Knight, who couldn’t bear the blame for killing a Governor?

Glancing out the window at the retreating scenery, Colin had a sudden brainstorm, and immediately instructed the coachman:

“Change course, to the Prime Minister’s Mansion!”