The First Vampire

But now, undeniable facts lie before you, yet you still refuse to believe me.”

Duke St. Prowse remained silent, setting a crystal chess piece on the board in front of him. He watched his son quietly, as if to say—

It’s your move.

Marquis Vincent tossed his chess piece onto the board, disrupting the game.

Just as Duke St. Prowse was about to reprimand him, his son said:

“Father, don’t you see? From the very beginning, Evan had his sights set on the position of the Duke of the East. For that reason, he disregarded our fraternal bond, insisting on spreading the rumor of my murder in Silver Moon City.

What happened next? You pressured Count Howell into turning traitor in an attempt to elevate Evan’s position!

And when he rallied the Lords’ armies against Colin Angler in Huorong City, didn’t he know that the Blood Knight Army in Riverside City numbered a mere 3,000 men?

It wouldn’t take much to determine where the Blood Knight Army’s main force is!

Yet Evan, knowing full well that Colin Angler was baiting him, left the real threat unattended and instead concentrated his efforts on waging war against Riverside City.

Such actions are clearly harboring malicious intent!

He probably even hopes in secret for White Dew City to fall into the hands of the Blood Knight Army, taking both you and me down with them. Wouldn’t that make him the first in line to inherit the position of the Duke of the East!

And should he manage to capture Colin Angler, what else would Evan be but the popular hero of the East?!”

After quietly listening to his son’s heartfelt accusation, Duke St. Prowse replied with an expressionless face:

“Evan’s actions of rallying the Lords’ coalition army to take down Colin Angler was done with my permission.”

“With your permission?” Marquis Vincent began to fear.

“Yes,” Duke St. Prowse continued, “I had guessed Colin Angler’s plan, so I sent a letter to Huorong City right away, asking Evan and Count Brugen not to worry about the safety of White Dew City and focus primarily on capturing Colin Angler.”

Marquis Vincent was momentarily speechless.

However, Duke St. Prowse continued, “Yet, based on the departure time of the Lords’ armies, it seems Evan had decided to rally the Lords against Colin Angler independently, even before receiving my orders.”

At this, Marquis Vincent immediately responded: “Father, didn’t I tell you! From the very start, Evan never considered the safety of White Dew City. In his eyes, you’re even less important than Colin Angler…”

“If he had managed to capture Colin Angler, I wouldn’t have blamed him for acting independently.”

“What?” Marquis Vincent was stunned for a moment before understanding what Duke St. Prowse was implying, “Does that mean… he’s let Colin Angler slip away?”

Duke St. Prowse scoffed, finally showing suppressed anger: “Slip away? Ha, I just received news that when the Blood Knight Army broke through to the south, they encountered the Huorong Army. After a major battle… the Huorong Army was completely wiped out!”

“Completely… wiped out?” Marquis Vincent was shocked, his mouth agape, “But isn’t the Blood Knight Army to the north of Mount Althus just 3,000 strong?”

“Indeed.” Duke St. Prowse’s eyes glistened with a dangerous sparkle. “Do you know how the Huorong Army was defeated?”

“It wasn’t that Evan, ignorant as he is on warfare, took command and led them to defeat, was it?” Marquis Vincent hypothesized.

“No. It was his guardian knight Fletcher who decapitated Count Brugen on the battlefield!”

“What? Is he mad?” Marquis Vincent couldn’t conceal his delight and let out a laugh despite himself.

He had initially thought that he had lost his father’s trust forever, but he hadn’t expected his brother to pull a stunt like that…

But then, Marquis Vincent realized that this must be a part of Colin’s plan.

Thinking of that, Marquis Vincent lowered his head, hiding the faint glimmer in his eyes.

“To be honest, I can only believe that either Evan or his knights have simply gone mad.” Duke St. Prowse sighed in frustration and exhaustion.

Marquis Vincent immediately responded, “Father, don’t you understand yet? Evan is probably already colluding with the North Territory!”

“Colluding with the North Territory?” Duke St. Prowse’s lips curled upwards in a sneer. “He is a St. Prowse! How could he collude with the North Territory? What could Colin Angler offer him?”

“Like, for example, the title of New East Duke?”

“Hmph, you may currently hold the title of Marquis of New East, but know this, I was determined to make Evan the first in line to succeed me, thereby making the entire new east lands his. Why would he want more?”

Marquis Vincent’s eyes flared with anger, but he merely shook his head and said, “Father, you promised that before the disastrous defeat at Alfalfa City. Evan, realizing the severity of his mistakes, must have feared you would go back on your word and therefore…”

“He would never be so foolish as to risk losing the Huorong Army!” Duke St. Prowse interrupted angrily. “He’s already engaged to Count Brugen’s daughter. The Huorong Army was his steadfast support. Without it, he doesn’t even have the right to ask for my forgiveness!”

Marquis Vincent spread out his hands, saying, “Father, if you are still unwilling to believe that Evan has betrayed us after all I’ve said, then I’m out of ideas.”

Duke St. Prowse stared at his eldest son for a long while before finally speaking again:

“No, now I, indeed, no longer trust Evan…”

A look of delight crossed Marquis Vincent’s face, but this quickly faded when he heard Duke St. Prowse add coldly, “But I also can’t trust you. If it hadn’t been for Anna vanishing, I would have rewritten my will to make her the principal heir.”

“Father!” Marquis Vincent slammed his hand on the desk in vexation. “Why won’t you ever trust me?”

Duke St. Prowse stared into the eyes of his eldest son and asked sternly, “Then explain to me why Colin Angler let you return?”

“Haven’t I already explained? You redeemed me using half of the Pegasus Navy warships…”

Duke St. Prowse coldly interjected before Marquis Vincent could finish, “If you continue to use such lies in an attempt to pull the wool over my eyes, then rest assured, you will never gain my trust.”

Marquis Vincent’s face froze for a second, but then he quickly recovered and continued to argue, “But Father, it’s the truth!”

Duke St. Prowse scoffed, “After so long, don’t tell me you think I have no way of finding out what happened at Alfalfa City on that day.”

“Father, what have you found?”

“What I found…” Duke St. Prowse tightly clasped his hand around the crystal chess piece, almost crushing it to dust, “was that you helped Colin Angler to persuade Count Howell, leading to his sudden attack on the St. Prowse family’s fleet!”

Upon hearing this, the study fell silent.