The First Vampire

“That’s fine, I know that Count Angler is not in the North Territory. Miss Sallya and I didn’t come here specifically to visit Count Angler. You may have heard some news, we have been searching for the whereabouts of Prince Lexie.”

Butler Emon, with a polite smile on his face, said: “I’m sorry, Count Evan, Miss Sallya, as far as I know, Prince Lexie hasn’t appeared in Ice Rock City.”

Count Evan seemed a bit disappointed, he said regretfully: “Alright, thank you very much for the information. I was wondering if we could stay in the Red Castle for a short period of time to rest.”

“Of course. Both you and Miss Sallya are esteemed guests of the Angler family, and you should receive the warmest hospitality. Besides, if there is any news about Prince Lexie, I will certainly inform you two.”

“Thank you very much!”

Count Evan and Sallya got up and expressed their gratitude, and then they went to their rooms, led by the maid.

After a simple tidying up, Count Evan left his room. When he knocked on Sallya’s room, he was informed by the maid that she was bathing.

Hence, Count Evan began to wander around in the castle on his own.

This Red Castle was inherited from the Sudor Family. In the beginning, due to the tight finances of the Angler Family. Colin had only painted the outer walls of the castle red, without moving anything inside.

But later, as Colin’s power and status skyrocketed, this castle originally built for a viscount became somewhat cramped and unfit for Colin’s status.

So recently, with Colin’s consent, Butler Emon began a full-scale upgrade and renovation of the castle.

As Count Evan walked around, he could see a large number of troll slaves working on the project.

What surprised him was that these troll slaves were working enthusiastically, even without the whip-wielding supervisors hurrying them along, there was no sign of laziness.

This was a far cry from the image of slaves he had in his mind.

Out of curiosity, Count Evan struck up a conversation with the supervisors.

The supervisors didn’t know about Count Evan’s identity, but they recognized the count’s ceremonial dress he was wearing. They knew that this was the standard dress of a count, as their own lord – Count Angler wore the same dress.

Therefore, they dared not hide anything when count Evan asked about it.

“Work points?” Count Evan scrutinized this new system created by Colin, nodding in his heart.

He found that this is indeed a great way to motivate the slaves.

“So, if a troll slave earns enough work points and his status as a commoner is restored, can he immediately leave Ice Rock City and return to the Troll Empire?”

“Yes, Count, not only that, our kind Lord has promised that if the Troll slaves do not wish to travel thousands of miles back to the Troll Empire after regaining their commoner status, they may also choose to reside in Ice Rock City.”

Count Evan frowned instantly, he suddenly realized that since entering Ice Rock City, he had indeed noticed a somewhat large number of trolls.

At that time, he didn’t think much of it, assuming that most of these trolls were traveling merchants to the North Territory. However, he didn’t expect that many of them were likely troll slaves who had regained their commoner’s status.

“Living in Ice Rock City, aren’t these trolls afraid of being bullied by humans?”

“Certainly not, the lord issued a special decree for this, proclaiming that trolls and humans in Angler’s territory have the same rights and obligations, and must not be discriminated against or bullied by anyone.”

“You don’t have any objections to this?”

“Of course not,” the supervisor replied without hesitation, “This is a command from the Lord! Besides, these troll slaves have already redeemed themselves through hard work, I see no reason to continue punishing them.”

“Of course, if they are not well-behaved here, the City Defense Force will not spare them,”

Count Evan, observing the sweating troll slaves, asked: “How many troll slaves have settled in Ice Rock City through this method by now?”

“About a hundred or so,”

“So many?” Count Evan asked surprised, “Those trolls that regained their freedom, chose to stay?”

“Initially, not many trolls chose to stay, but as they found out that the people of Ice Rock City did not insult the trolls who had stayed, more and more trolls began to settle.”

“In their words, in comparison to the harsh conditions of the Sky Ice Plain, the climate here is comfortable, living conditions are abundant, and any troll would know how to choose, unless foolhardy.”

“Also, I have heard that many trolls from the Ice Plain, hearing this, have come to the Ice Rock City collectively, trying to become subjects of Count Angler.”

“But for these surreptitious trolls, the Count has captured them, assigned them to the slave squads, and promised if they can obtain enough labor points through hard work, he would agree to their settlement in Ice Rock City.”

“Hehe, not only do such measures not intimidate those surreptitious trolls, but it also attracts even more trolls to Ice Rock City, making the city’s troll slave squad grow even larger.”

“Perhaps in the near future, we will see more and more troll subjects settling in the city.”

Listening to the supervisor’s narration. Count Evan became increasingly astonished.

He suddenly realized that Colin was pushing for the integration of trolls into Ice Rock City.

The benefits of this move are clear; Ice Rock City can gain a large number of free labourers in a short period, greatly promoting the development of the Angler Territory.

But the downside…racial barriers and conflicts cannot be eliminated simply by issuing a lord’s order. There are not many troll commoners in the city currently, and the conflict has not yet emerged.”

However, as more and more troll slaves regain their freedom and settle in the city, can they really live in peace with humans?”

“What if there is a war between the North Territory and the Troll Empire in the future, how will those Troll commoners in Ice Rock City be dealt with?”

Honestly, Count Evan thought Colin’s action was a little rash. If a large number of Troll subjects appear in Ice Rock City, even the Royal family and the Church may disagree.

However, Count Evan dared not make a definitive judgment, as Colin had made many decisions that seemed unreasonable but was actually successful in the past.”

About the Troll subjects issue, Count Evan was curious to know the full plan of Colin.”

Lost in thought, Count Evan suddenly noticed a sudden silence around him.”

He looked up in confusion, finding all the supervisors looking uniformly at something behind him.”

Turning around, he saw his fiancée standing there.”

Sallya was wearing a golden-bordered ceremonial dress, standing tall on a pair of finely crafted shiny gold high heels. Her waist was lightly swaying as she was walking lightly. The waist skirt outlines the beauty of a young girl. Her pure, green eyes were deep and spirited.”

It was no surprise that the appearance of such a beautiful and elegant noble girl made the supervisors dumbfounded.”

Seeing Count Evan turned around, Sallya sweetly smiled, “Evan, what are you doing here?”

“Nothing, just strolling around.”

“Then let’s go to the restaurant quickly. The butler, Emon, just sent a message that the banquet is ready.”

“Alright.”