The First Vampire

“Sir, are you interested in purchasing a half-elven female slave?

Our Merchant Association has recently trained a few, of exceptional quality. Would you like to inspect them?”

No sooner had Colin approached the entrance of the Windbell Commerce Association, than he was accosted by a peddler.

“I am here to meet someone.”

“May I ask whom you seek?”

“A merchant named Cis. Do you know him?”

“Er… may I know the purpose of your visit to our Chairman?”

Colin raised an eyebrow. Surprisingly, the first Merchant Association he stumbled upon the slave market held the person he sought.

Moreover, the person whom Prince Okamoto introduced turned out to be the chairman of a rather large Merchant Association.

Seeing the suspicious look on the peddler’s face, Colin took out the token bestowed to him by Okamoto.

The peddler accepted the badge, but the skepticism on his face did not recede, clearly he didn’t recognize the token: “Please wait for a while, I will go and inquire for you.”

Not long after, the peddler returned, followed by a tall, slender middle-aged half-elf.

“May I ask if you are Viscount Angler?”

“I am. And you are?”

“I am Cis. Prince Okamoto had already informed me of your arrival. Please, come in!”

Colin nodded and followed Cis inside the Windbell Commerce Association.

They walked past the bustling front hall to a serene courtyard.

The courtyard was full of rose bushes. As the breeze blew, the subtle fragrance of roses filled the air.

In the center of the flower garden, there was a pavilion.

Cis led Colin to the pavilion and took a seat, then asked respectfully: “Viscount, what would you like to drink?”

“Coffee.’

An attendee promptly brought forward two mugs, the coffee inside emanating a gentle stream of warmth.

Cis waved his hand, and the attendant promptly left, leaving Colin and Cis alone.

“Welcome to Silver Moon City, honored Viscount Angler. If there’s anything you need, feel free to order.”

Colin took a sip of his coffee. Without being courteous to Cis, he straightforwardly asked: “Tell me about the major powers in Silver Moon City.”

Cis chuckled: “I’m not sure what you mean by powers? I have been in business for several decades and I’m familiar with the powerful factions in the elven commercial… ”

“I meant political powers.” Colin rolled his eyes, interrupting the deliberately obtuse half-elf merchant.

“Viscount, as for political powers… how much could I, a humble businessman, possibly know…”

Colin looked at Cis playfully, then pointed to the roses in the courtyard, saying faintly: “These are Blood Roses, aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are. If Viscount is interested, I can gift you some.”

“I am not particularly fond of flowers.” Colin shook his head, smiling and elaborated, “However, I have heard that Queen Isa’s favorite flower is the Blood

Rose.”

“Yes. This is common knowledge in the whole of Silver Moon City.”

“Then tell me about Queen Isa.”

“Sure.” This time Cis did not evade the question, “Queen Isa belongs to the Miller family, the youngest daughter of Duke Miller…”

“Half-elf Prime Minister Duke Miller?” Colin suddenly thought of the half-elf who welcomed him at the city gate.

“Yes.” Cis nodded in confirmation, then continued, “Queen Isa joined the royal family three years ago…”

Hearing the phrase ‘three years ago,’ Colin suddenly became alert.

He recalled that the plan to eradicate threats within and outside the North Territory, devised by Duke St. Hilde and Marquis Garcia, was it not three years ago?

Was it a coincidence? Or…

Meanwhile, Cis’s narration continued: “…As the King is rather old and not able to provide Queen Isa with a child, a year ago, a young man from the Miller family was chosen to be the adopted son, now known as Prince Topaz…”

“Wait!” Colin interrupted immediately, “You’re saying that Prince Topaz was selected from the descendants of the Miller family, not from the royal half-elf

Modewen family?”

“That’s correct.” Cis nodded in confirmation.

Colin let out a cold laugh.

What is the Miller family up to?

The queen belongs to their family, even the adopted son of the king is from their family.

Even if Topaz has changed his surname to Modewen now, would the old king really accept this foreign bloodline?

Is Duke Miller trying to play the trick of stealing someone else’s nest?

“What about Crown Prince William?” Colin asked again. “Prince William is the biological son of the king and the previous queen.”

“Which family did the previous queen come from?”

“The Lute Clan.”

A solemn face flashed through Colin’s mind. At last night’s reception banquet, wasn’t there a Duke Lute sitting at the main table?

“Is the current Duke Lute related to the previous queen?” Colin asked again.

“Brother.”

“Does Duke Lute currently hold any court positions?”

“Duke Lute is the commander of the Silver Moon Guards.’

Colin nodded, getting a general understanding of the political situation in the Half-Elf Kingdom.

In his view, the high-level forces of this country mainly split into two factions.

One faction included the Queen, Prince Topaz, and Duke Miller, and the other faction included the King, Prince William, and Duke Lute.

However, it seemed that the latter faction had a clear advantage.

After all, the succession order of Prince William was originally ahead of Prince Topaz, and with the support of the king, coupled with the kingdom’s most elite army being in the hands of his uncle, Duke Lute.

No wonder Prince Topaz had to go to the North Territory to court Vera; without the help of external forces, he simply couldn’t compete with his brother.)

So, how was Duke St. Hilde planning to push the disadvantaged Prince Topaz to the throne in order to control the Half-Elf Kingdom and obtain the key to enter the East Territory?

And what about the East Territory?

They definitely wouldn’t just sit back and watch the Half-Elf Kingdom fall into the control of the North Territory, so how do they plan to respond?

And then there’s this guy, Cis.

Colin certainly didn’t believe that this guy was just a simple merchant.

Just wondering what role the troll forces represented by Prince Okamoto plan to play in the contest over Silver Moon City?

And Colin himself…

He probably was just a chess piece on this intricate board at the moment. But to prevent Vera from marrying that Half-Elf prince, Colin felt that he must become the player!

During the previous journey, he had roughly outlined a plan.

However, he needed a breakthrough.

“Are you a knight?” Colin licked his sharp canines and suddenly asked.

Cis was visibly taken aback, apparently not expecting Colin to ask such a question: “You must be joking, I, a mere merchant, how could I have the honor to be baptized and become a noble knight.’

Colin was a bit disappointed and asked again: “There should be plenty of knights among the members of the Half-Elf royal family, right?”

“Of course, serving the Lord of Glory is the longstanding wish of every Half-Elf noble!”

This was indeed a fact. Although there was also a church of the Goddess of Fate in Silver Moon City, under the shadow of the current powerful influence of the Lord of Glory, the church of Lord of Glory was more popular.

The first career choice of Half-Elf nobility was naturally to be a knight, not a ranger.

“His Majesty the King was once a tier-four knight, her Highness the Queen, the two princes, and also Duke Lute…”

Hearing the illustrious names coming out from Cis’s mouth one by one, Colin showed an excited smile.

“Alright, that’s enough for today’s chat, I have other business so I will take my leave first.

“Okay, welcome to visit anytime! I will see you out now.”

As the two walked outside, when they got to the door of the company, they came face-to-face with a team of fully armed guards.

Looking at the familiar face leading the group, Colin was taken aback, and said:

“Prince William?”