The First Vampire

They had been invited here by Count Angler, but just as the conversation began, the unexpected assassination attempt on Marquis Vincent occurred.

After Count Angler left, the half-elf merchants, who were parched from thirst accrued throughout most of the day, could hardly resist the red wine in front of them.

However, despite such temptation, none of them dared to be the first to touch the drinks.

“Just sip lightly, drink a little, shouldn’t be a problem.” Someone suggested.

Nevertheless, the one who proposed this idea didn’t make the first move either.

A painful silence enveloped them once more.

Finally, unable to contain his impatience, Haveril drained the drink in front of him in one gulp under the surprised gazes of others and then loudly commanded:

“Where is the maid? Have her refill my cup!”

Yet, the awkward thing was, not a single maid walked in.

Haveril hummed dismissively, standing up immediately but just as he prepared to leave, the armored guards stationed by his side moved forward to block his way.

All Haveril could do was to say politely, “I was just looking for a maid to refill my drink.”

However, the guard remained silent, simply standing in Haveril’s way.

Unable to suppress his fury any longer, Haveril finally bellowed, “We’ve been sitting here for most of the day, is it too much to request some wine to quench our thirst? Is this the way the Royal Palace treats its guests?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a cold voice echoed from outside the lounge, “Hospitality? Mr. Haveril, do you consider yourself a guest?”

Hearing this familiar voice, Haveril froze on the spot.

The rest of the half-elf merchants watched as Colin strode into the hall. Their eyes held a mixture of both schadenfreude at Haveril’s predicament and apprehension for their own fate.

Moreover, they were increasingly curious, had the assassination attempt on Marquis Vincent been successful?

If Marquis Vincent really died in Silver Moon City, the East Territory would certainly not let it rest.

Unfortunately, the expression Colin wore upon entering was much the same as when he left: calm and detached, as if nothing had happened, leaving the half-elf merchants unable to glean anything from his countenance.

“Co-, Count… I…”

Colin walked past Haveril without giving him a second glance, sat directly in the main seat, interrupted Haveril’s stuttering and stated:

“Right now, in my eyes, you are all criminals involved in the rebellion, not guests! Does anyone else need clarification regarding their current predicament?”

Colin’s stern eyes swept across the room. Seeing that no one dared to meet his gaze, he turned back to Haveril.

“Mr. Haveril, do you have any objections to our earlier proposal?”

“I… I believe that your proposal, Count, is very reasonable! We, in the half-elf merchant community, indeed need a unified foreign trade organization to avoid unnecessary internal conflict.”

Seizing the opportunity, Haveril hastily showered Colin’s proposal with praises in an attempt to dispel any negative impressions his previous impudence might have left on the Count.

He had also figured it out; regardless of whether the half-elf merchants were willing or not, Colin would no longer allow them to escape his regulation.

Thus, the establishment of the half-elf foreign trade company was inevitable.

Since resistance was futile, the only choice was to take action, perhaps even earn some brownie points and secure a favorable position amidst the imminent reshuffling in the half-elf merchant community.

Indeed, Colin was quite pleased with this sensible half-elf merchant. The countenance of indifference eased slightly on his face. He swept his gaze over the other seated half-elf merchants and queried:

“What about the rest of you? Does anyone have any opinions?”

At this point, none of the other half-elf merchants dared to be the standout dissenter, and they all spoke up to show their approval one after another.

“Great! Then it’s settled!” Colin clapped his hands as he stood up, lifted his wine cup, and declared loudly, “Let us toast together to celebrate the establishment of the Half-Elf Foreign Trade Company!”

Clink, clink, clink.

Amid the crisp clinking of cups, the half-elf merchants smiled as they drank down the red wine, but their hidden emotions were rather complex.

…

After the turmoil, Silver Moon City was once again restored to calm.

However, the wounds left by the rebellion remained unhealed. Patrols by squads of the Blood Knight Army could be seen everywhere on the streets.

The corpses of the rebel army who died in the battle had been cleared away. Yet, the bodies of certain half-elf nobles who were involved in the rebellion were still hanging in the city’s central square.

When the citizens of Silver Moon City passed this place, they could not help but sneak a peek at the nobles who used to be aloof. Their hearts were filled with both fear and an indescribable joy.

For ordinary Half-Elves, this political storm is just a nightmare. They don’t care much about who wins or who loses, they just want to live their simple and peaceful lives.

In a luxurious villa in the commercial district of Silver Moon City, Haver was welcoming several familiar Half-Elf merchants into the lounge.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they all fell into silence.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere gradually developing, as the host, Haver coughed lightly and said, “I have definite news that Marquis Vincent has been assassinated!”

“What? Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Haver nodded with a solemn face, “It was Duke Modewen who killed him.”

“Duke Modewen?”

The other Half-Elf merchants looked at each other, all finding this news somewhat hard to believe.

Haver, seeing this, explained further: “I guess that Duke Modewen felt that it was Marquis Vincent who forcefully implicated him in the rebellion through deceptive means. This is why he harbored resentment and took the opportunity to ambush and kill Marquis Vincent when they were detained together.”

“That is possible…”

“Moreover, I had someone carefully examine Duke Modewen’s corpse in the City Square; his body was clearly more decomposed than the other Half-Elf nobles’.

This suggests that Duke Modewen was already dead before his execution.

I also heard that after killing Marquis Vincent in the Royal Palace, Duke Modewen knew that he could not escape his fate and so committed suicide on the spot. This is why he died earlier than the other Half-Elf nobles.”

The Half-Elf merchants nodded, becoming more convinced of the truth of Haver’s news.

“So, Mr. Haver, what should we do now? The East will definitely not let the death of Marquis Vincent in Silver Moon City go unpunished. Should we continue to form the Half-Elf foreign trade company as requested by Count Angler?”

Haver sneered coldly and disdainfully said, “Do we have a choice now?”

Nobody spoke after that.

Indeed, even if the East would take revenge for Marquis Vincent, the current Silver Moon City is still under the control of Count Angler. Dealing with a bunch of disobedient Half-Elf merchants would be no different from killing a few flies.

Haver took note of everyone’s expressions and spoke again, “However, it’s not like we can’t do anything.”

“Mr. Haver, do you have any ideas?”

“Do all of you trust me?” Instead of immediately responding, Haver asked solemnly.

“Of course we trust you!”

“You have always been our leader in the Half-Elf business world!”

“Yes, Mr. Haver, we have no one else to rely on now!”

…

Hearing the praise from the crowd, Haver placed on a proud face, but then held up his hand with a dignified manner, and said,

“Since all of you trust me, I will get straight to the point.

I believe that if we want to maintain the independence of the Half-Elf business world, we must seek external aid. Otherwise, relying solely on ourselves, we will not be able to compete against Queen Isa and Count Angler.”

“Mr. Haver, who are you referring to when you mention external aid…?”

“Of course, it’s the East!”

“The East?”

“Yes.” Haver spoke with an air of certainty, “The news of Marquis Vincent’s death is currently being suppressed. Obviously, Queen Isa and Count Angler do not want the East to learn of this news so quickly.

But if we secretly release this information…”

One of the Half-Elf merchants shivered at the thought of the chaos it might cause, and voiced his concerns: “If the East really sends troops again, won’t our businesses be damaged?”

“Idiot!” Haver scolded him sharply, “Only when the East and the North start fighting, can we get the best price from both sides. In our current state, we can only be exploited by Count Angler!”

“But, will the East really send troops to Silver Moon City?” someone asked anxiously.

The destruction of the Pegasus Army was still fresh in their minds, and it was uncertain whether the St. Prowse Family would send troops for Marquis Vincent.

Haver smiled calmly and said, “This is where we need to make some efforts to force Duke St. Prowse to send troops.”

Everyone felt a surge of energy and quickly asked,

“What should we do?”