The First Vampire

Duke St. Prowse’s gaze stayed on his son’s face across the table, appearing as though he wanted to discern every subtle change in his expression.

Whereas Marquis Vincent was staring at the chessboard on the table, seemingly afraid to face the scrutinizing gaze of his father.

Faint cries of battle filtered through the window but failed to capture the attention of the two men.

It was as if instead of the terrifying Blood Knight Army storming the city, it was just a group of playful children, unworthy of any extra attention.

Although seemingly calm on the outside, inside, Marquis Vincent was in utter turmoil.

Duke St. Prowse’s words just earlier had confirmed one thing to him—there was a traitor amongst the officers of the Howell Family!

Of course, perhaps in the traitor’s eyes, it was Marquis Vincent and Count Howell who were the real traitors to the Eastern territory.

Marquis Vincent knew, that what he was going to say next was crucial, and moreover, to truly convince his father, he needed to change his initial strategy…

Seeing his son plunged into a long silence, Duke St. Prowse didn’t press him, but just regarded him with a chilling gaze, waiting for a reasonable explanation, or another disappointing lie.

After a long time, Marquis Vincent finally spoke:

“Father, if I intended to harm you, I wouldn’t have warned you that the real target of the main force of the Blood Knight Army was White Dew City, thus giving you time to make preparations.”

On hearing this, the intensity in Duke St. Prowse’s eyes eased slightly, but he didn’t let up on Marquis Vincent, questioning:

“How then did you find out in advance about the true whereabouts of the main force of the Blood Knight Army?”

Before Marquis Vincent could respond, Duke St. Prowse preemptively closed off his escape route: “Don’t use some nonsense like ‘I guessed’ to deceive me!”

Marquis Vincent’s expression kept shifting, as if he was going through an intense internal struggle. After a while, he finally calmed down, as if he had come to a realization.

“Father, do you remember the phrase you said most frequently when teaching me to play chess in my childhood?”

Duke St. Prowse was taken aback before asking in puzzlement: “What phrase?”

Finally raising his head, Marquis Vincent returned Duke St. Prowse’s stare, and then mimicked his father’s tone:

“Kill the opponent’s ‘king’, or, let your ‘king’ be killed by the opponent!”

Duke St. Prowse seemed to understand his son’s meaning, and asked, “So who are you playing against? Evan?”

“Who else but him!” Marquis Vincent growled angrily, “Do you know, I actually was targeted for assassination in Silver Moon City, and moreover, knights from the Fein family were involved!”

“Fein family…” Duke St. Prowse paused slightly, knowing that the Fein family happened to be staunch supporters of his second son.

“Exactly! Father, Evan has already taken his seat at the chessboard, facing me. Apart from doing battle, do I have any other way out?”

“So you collude with Colin Angler and betrayed the Pegasus Navy?”

Marquis Vincent paused for a second, then reluctantly admitted, “You have already begun to purge my foothold in the East territory, what other option did I have?”

On hearing this, a great sorrow swelled within Duke St. Prowse, but what dominated even more was anger.

The uncontrollable anger made the air in the room seem as if it solidified in that instant.

Feeling his father’s overwhelming rage and the oppressive atmosphere, Marquis Vincent quickly added:

“But father, I only feigned allegiance to Colin Angler, to gain freedom, and to turn the tables. But please believe me, the current situation is still within my control, and Count Howell hasn’t really betrayed the Eastern territory…”

“He hasn’t betrayed the Eastern territory?” Duke St. Prowse scoffed, “He destroyed half of the Pegasus Navy Fleet, and helped the Blood Knight army cross the Angry River, and that’s not betrayal?”

Marquis Vincent was prepared to go all out, answering defiantly:

“If Evan hadn’t pushed too hard, how would Count Howell make such a decision? But father, please trust me, Count Howell’s heart is with the Eastern territory. As long as you forgive his mistake, the Angry River will still be a barrier to the Eastern territory!

As for the Blood Knight Army that has already crossed the river, well, aren’t they in your trap now?”

Duke St. Prowse’s intimidating air receded slightly, but he still sneered and said, “So, I should thank you?”

Marquis Vincent released a sigh of relief, realizing that his father had already softened his stance. He immediately shook his head, his tone heavy:

“No, father. I am aware that my actions brought great loss to the Eastern territory. The Pegasus Navy warriors who died at the hands of their own people, and the people of the Eastern territory who died tragically under the Blood Knight Army, it’s all my fault…

But, is this responsibility really mine alone?

Who was it that pushed Evan onto the chessboard?

Facing this game, do I have any other choice but to try my best to win?”

Suddenly, Duke St. Prowse dropped his gaze, apparently unwilling to face the resentful eyes of his son any longer.

He suddenly felt somewhat confused—was he really wrong?

Quite a while ago, someone had warned Duke St. Prowse that his second son, Evan, was too cunning. They advised him to snuff out any hopes Evan had of inheriting the title of Duke of the Eastern territory early, in order to avoid chaos.

In truth, Duke St. Prowse had taken this advice to heart. That’s why he had sent Evan to Yevir to become a mage, and had always tried to help his eldest son, Vincent, to build up his influence, to secure his position as the primary heir.

Only when Vincent led the demise of the Pegasus Army in Silver Moon City, and with his wife coaxing him, did Duke St. Prowse begin to waver.

Now, Duke St. Prowse suddenly wondered, if he had stood strong back then, would all this have happened?

But he quickly dismissed such pointless thoughts.

Regret is the most useless emotion.

Duke St. Prowse was even less willing to admit that the present situation was due to his erroneous decision in the past.

He lifted his head again, looking at his son with a complicated gaze, and asked: “Do you have a way to bring the Howell family back to the Eastern territory?”

“Of course!” Marquis Vincent answered without hesitation, “The Howell family has never left!”

At that moment, Marquis Vincent was overwhelmed with relief.

He knew, he had finally regained his father’s trust—of course, it could also be a reluctant compromise under helplessness.

But anyhow, Marquis Vincent saw life in the chessboard set before him!

“Father, the most important thing now is not to let the Blood Knight Army take away the members of the Howell family in White Dew City!”

“None of them will leave White Dew City!” Duke St. Prowse chuckled coldly, his eyes brimming with confidence.

He then gave a command to Marquis Vincent:

“I want you to bring the members of the Howell family back to see me in person!”

“As you command, Father!”