Edward: "???"
Wait a minute.
Why did things turn out so differently from what he had expected?
Weren't the two Liliths supposed to be on good terms?
Why, in the mouth of this vampire duke, did it sound as though his Lilith was actually the mortal enemy of the vampires—one who had even inflicted enormous losses on them!
His expression grew grave.
"Wh…what kind of losses?"
The strange vegetations entangling the coffin seemed to react to some unseen stimulus, going into a frenzy. Then Duke Olmer's indifferent voice came from within:
"Nothing much. Merely that She impersonated our Ancestor Lilith for several centuries, made the entire clan serve Her for hundreds of years, and carried off countless of our treasures."
"…"
Marquis Punk, standing to the side, wore the expression of a man in pain. This is exactly the kind of thing I absolutely did not want to know!
At this moment, he finally understood why, in those rumoured days, the "revelations" said to have been passed down by Ancestor Lilith had been completely incomprehensible.
It wasn't that they couldn't be understood—it was that after the clan obeyed them to the letter, they realised she was a fraud! To save face, the higher-ups had deliberately passed it down as "incomprehensible" instead.
Edward now understood as well. His face darkened, but he forced himself to ask, "Your Grace, may I know in which exact period of the Fourth Epoch this happened?"
"Of course," Olmer replied. "But…you'll have to come with me first."
Suddenly, the plants coiled around the coffin went berserk, stretching at high speed to entangle Edward. Though they looked like nothing more than casually broken vines, they radiated such overwhelming danger that Edward ended the summoning without hesitation, vanishing instantly from the small library.
"Hm?"
Inside the coffin, Duke Olmer's voice held a trace of surprise. "The space here has already been sealed. How did he escape?"
"Punk."
"Here!" Marquis Punk responded at once, then hurriedly added, "I didn't hear anything just now. I don't know anything."
Olmer was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Keep a close eye on your granddaughter."
"Why? Akasha doesn't know anything at all!"
"Don't worry. Didn't she claim to have received Ancestor Lilith's response? If that's true, I only want to know whether the one responding to her was truly our Ancestor…or if that woman has returned again."
He paused briefly, then continued, "As for your guess about why our clan didn't participate in the events of the Fourth Epoch, you were only half right. The truth is…back then, our entire race revolved around that woman. We had neither the time nor the energy to bother with anything else."
Marquis Punk once again put on the mask of anguish: I really, really didn't want to know any of this!
I'm going to be silenced for sure, aren't I?
——
In the Sefirah Castle.
Edward sat in silence upon the bronze throne, still unable to digest the information he had just learned.
Lilith had impersonated the Sanguine Ancestor for centuries? Ordered them around for hundreds of years? And taken away countless treasures?
The hell…
Could Lilith, his silly little daughter, really have pulled something like that off?
It wasn't that Edward doubted her character—it was that he doubted her intelligence.
Just then, he remembered what the little snake Will had told him about the "male die" and "female die." His thoughts grew heavy.
Lilith had lived in the past for so many years. Naturally, she could not have remained forever the innocent and adorable girl she once was. On the contrary, if she wanted to blend in with the likes of Medici, Cheek, and Russian Priest, she had no choice but to become just like them.
Edward suddenly wondered: even if he really did find Lilith, would she still be the Lilith he knew?
All told, she had spent barely three years at his side, yet in the past she had lived two to three millennia. Three years compared to two or three thousand…far too short, far too fleeting.
Time was the sharpest blade of erosion. Hatred, affection—everything was rendered pale and powerless when stretched across such vast spans.
Could it be…that searching for Lilith was nothing more than his own wishful thinking?
As that thought crossed his mind, Edward's heart grew tangled with confusion.
"I'll be waiting for you in the future."
Suddenly, that figure resurfaced in his mind, and that sweet voice whispered again by his ear.
Edward lifted a hand to his forehead with a soft sigh.
Hadn't Lilith said it herself? She would wait for him.
They would meet again, in the end.
———
The next day.
He spent the entire day in leisure.
Of course, that "leisure" was more a state of mind than a literal fact—he wasn't sitting around doing nothing. He had already begun preparations for the second round of the "Misery Contest." Hopefully, this time, he could finish digesting both potions in one go!
During the day, Dubois "thoughtfully" conducted a psychological survey of all the villa's staff. In truth, he was simply playing the part of a Telepathist. Faced with ordinary people, his ability to read minds was pinpoint accurate. Overnight, the butler's image in everyone's eyes became steeped in mystery.
In the afternoon, Dubois went out again—half to keep acting, half to continue probing for news about the King. By dusk, he returned with a constipated expression plastered across his face.
"Oh? What's with that look?"
Dubois hesitated, then said, "I…met with a few good friends today."
He had put particular emphasis on the word good. Edward immediately understood what he meant.
"They clearly told me before that they liked me, not just my face. Even when I watched them during the performance, I thought they were telling the truth. But today, when I read their auras and etheric bodies…I realised they'd been lying all along…"
Edward frowned slightly. "And then?"
"Roselle once told me that the only reason I could attract women was thanks to the face my parents gave me. When it came to true charm, I was far beneath him." Dubois sighed. "At the time, I thought he was just jealous. I didn't expect…that it really has always been just this face."
"…"
Edward stared at him silently for a few seconds.
"…Are you bragging about how handsome you are?"
"I'm simply lamenting how shallow those women are. They only ever saw my surface, never once caring for my mind or my soul—"
Before he could finish, Edward kicked him. "Keep running your mouth and I'll turn you into an ugly bastard!"
Just as he said this, Edward suddenly felt his spirituality stir. The silver cross of the Twilight Hermit Order within the Sefirah Castle was reacting. He frowned in puzzlement. Didn't this month's gathering just end? Why another one already? Could something major have happened, prompting an emergency meeting?
Noticing the change in Edward's expression, Dubois wisely said, "Boss, I'll head out for dinner. I recently found a restaurant with excellent food."
"Mm."
Edward nodded, turned, and went upstairs into the study.
He retraced the four steps in reverse and entered the Sefirah Castle, taking out the silver cross. As expected, it was glowing faintly once again.
Resting his chin on one hand, he stared at it for half a minute before infusing it with spirituality.
The cross floated up, projecting a blurry vision—the Corpse Cathedral, with only a single figure standing within. From the position, Edward could tell it was "Intis".
"What's going on? The others aren't here yet?"
In that case, I'm not in a hurry either.
He sat quietly for several minutes, but no new figures appeared in the church. A thought sprang to his mind: Could this be a one-on-one meeting arranged just for me by Intis?
But why would he want to see me alone? Could it be about that brass rod?
Thinking this, Edward extended his spirituality once more. After a brief blur, he arrived at the church again.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, he deliberately glanced around with feigned confusion.
"Huh? Isn't the gathering once a month? Where is everyone? Did I come too early?"
"No."
Intis spoke flatly. "I requested from the leader to meet you alone, Number Eight."
"Eh? Our gathering has that function? How does it work? Can I do that too?"
"You can ask the leader yourself next time."
"Why wait for next time? Can't I just ask now?"
Edward glanced at the massive cross, putting on an act of looking for Adam.
"The leader's not here?"
"He is never here."
"…Fair enough."
Edward shrugged. "So, tell me, Mr. Intis—what's the reason you wanted to meet me alone?"
Intis looked straight at him and asked calmly, "The item beneath the basement of No. 7 Rose Street—the one in the villa. Did you take it?"
Edward's brows rose in mild surprise.
"You mean that brass rod? No."
"I did think about taking it, but after fiddling with it for a long time, I couldn't find any use for it. So I decided it wasn't worth offending an unknown powerhouse over something worthless."
He sneered, then added, "But I regret it. You know why? I almost lost my life in those ruins. Did you already know what was down there? Were you deliberately trying to get me killed?"
Intis merely regarded him with composure.
Intis looked at him evenly. "I only gave you a location, and I warned you beforehand that it was dangerous. The decision to risk entering was yours. If you had died in there, the one who killed you wouldn't have been me, but your own greed."
Clap, clap, clap.
Edward gave a slow, mocking round of applause. "Well, well. Very nice. Turning this into a lesson on human nature, are we?"
His eyes suddenly flashed with killing intent. "Then if I find a chance to kill you, would it be fair to say it wasn't me who killed you, but your stupidity?"
Intis fell silent for a moment, then said, "I wish to issue you another commission."
"You—!"
"The reward is the Beyonder characteristic of a Wanderer."
The murderous light in Edward's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a warm, genial smile.
"What do you need me to do?"
———
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