“Mas… Master, what do you mean by Vampire Duke?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
With a dazed expression, Lance fell into deep self-doubt.
‘With our ragtag Restoration Army, we’re supposed to catch a Vampire Duke? Is that even possible?’
In his memory, a Vampire Duke had only appeared during the invasion of the capital of the Kingdom of Midgar, where he had overwhelmingly defeated the Grand Master of the Kingdom Knights.
That was a Saint-Rank Expert!
‘How on earth is the Restoration Army supposed to capture a Vampire Duke?’
Seeing Lance’s expression, Falia became confused as well.
“According to my perception, that really should be the blood of [Davenport]… and it’s extremely pure; it definitely shouldn’t be from a branch lineage…”
If it wasn’t a branch lineage, then it was a direct one?
‘If it’s the direct bloodline of one of the three royal families of the Blood Race, then forget a Vampire Duke, it could even be a Vampire Prince!’
‘But I’ve been with the Restoration Army since its inception. Why don’t I have any recollection of this?’
‘I’m at least a mid-to-high-level member of the Restoration Army. If they really caught a high-level member of the Blood Race of that caliber, I should have heard something.’
‘Davenport’s blood?’
Lance immediately fell into a daze. How could he possibly obtain a vial of blood from a direct descendant of the three royal families?
‘Can it be bought on the black market?’
Thump, thump, thump — A series of rapid footsteps came from the direction of the bedroom door.
Falia glanced toward the entrance, her heart skipping a beat.
“Someone’s coming.”
Falia’s figure flickered and vanished into thin air in an instant.
“Remember to tell Noren not to tell anyone about me…”
Before she could finish, Falia’s voice abruptly cut off, as if the connection had been severed.
‘Is she hiding now?’
He grumbled internally; it seemed Falia was truly worried about being seen again.
Bang! — The door to Cecilia’s bedroom was flung open. Lance looked toward the sound and was genuinely startled.
Because that usually smiling and gentle face was now so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.
Dressed in a pure white robe, Cecilia’s eyes were sharp. As soon as she entered, she fixed her gaze on the bewildered Lance like a hawk locking onto its prey.
“Your Highness… what’s wrong?”
Lance felt unexplainably nervous, with a faint sense of foreboding.
But Cecilia did not respond to Lance’s question. Instead, she scanned her bedroom, focusing her gaze on the corner, but she didn’t see the little maid’s figure.
She then locked her eyes back on Lance and asked unkindly, “Where is Noren?”
“Noren? She’s… she fell asleep…”
Lance stepped aside, revealing the sofa that had clearly been moved, and pointed toward the back.
Cecilia remained silent, walking straight to the sofa to take a look.
Feeling inexplicably flustered, Lance instinctively took a step back to clear a path for the aggressive Saintess.
To Cecilia, the little maid lying on the sofa had a rosy complexion and was breathing evenly. Her expression was extremely relaxed, clearly not feigned.
‘Is it because Lance is back that her tensed spirit finally relaxed?’
Whispering to herself, Cecilia’s expression softened slightly. She clearly had no intention of reprimanding Noren for dozing off during work hours.
Cecilia extended her pale left hand, summoning a large hand of Holy Power to gently lift Noren and carry her toward her four-poster bed.
Once Noren was settled, the Saintess turned around again and stared at Lance, still without saying a word.
Lance’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
‘What’s with this “guess what happened” atmosphere?’
‘Didn’t she just say she was going to handle internal affairs of the Church of Holy Light? Why does it seem like it involves me too?’
‘I just crawled out of the Underground Labyrinth myself…’
‘Could it still be about that business with the assassination of the Knight Order’s branch commander?’
“Your Highness, is it related to that blonde branch commander?”
Cecilia thought for a moment and nodded, but then she immediately shook her head.
This left Lance even more confused.
‘Is it related or not?’
Swallowing hard, Lance could only bite the bullet and forcibly state his loyalty. “Your Highness, if something is wrong, please just say it. I’ll tell you everything I know!”
However, upon hearing this, Cecilia snorted and spoke in a strange, biting tone. “I wouldn’t dare ask Lord Lance to tell me everything.”
“After all, I’m just a helpless little girl. I’m nothing compared to your adventurer companion with a powerful background who has shared life and death with you.”
“Huh?”
Faced with such words, Lance’s brain couldn’t process it for a moment.
‘This… is this something Priestess Princess Cecilia would say?’
‘Why does it sound so sour?’
After waiting for a long while, Cecilia saw that Lance had no response and thought he was confirming her words by silence.
She was instantly infuriated.
‘Do you really intend to switch sides?!’
In an instant, the surging sense of grievance turned into a raging flame, immediately destroying Cecilia’s last shred of reason.
Whoosh! Whoosh! — Two Holy Power Shields took shape in the blink of an eye and snapped together with a clap.
Before he could react, Lance was sandwiched together like hamburger meat.
A sizzling sound came from the surface of his cloak touching the Holy Power Shields. The sensation of being purified instantly snapped Lance back to reality.
“Ah? Your Highness! This isn’t a game! Calm down! Calm down!”
“I’m going to be purified —”
His panicked voice echoed in Cecilia’s bedroom.
Cecilia’s reason returned slightly, and she hastily withdrew the two Holy Power Shields, letting Lance down.
‘I forgot Lance is an Undead now… Holy Power is poison to him…’
‘But I still can’t let him off the hook like this!’
Hardening her heart, Cecilia cast a soundproofing barrier around her large bed. Her purpose was simple — prevent Lance’s subsequent screams from waking Noren!
Pale blue Mana surged as two chains made of Mana bound Lance tightly, throwing him onto the long sofa to the side.
Cecilia’s face remained cold as she strode over and sat astride Lance’s abdomen.
Lance was horrified and quickly began to struggle, opening his mouth to speak. “Your Highness! What are you — Mph —”
A pale hand pressed down directly, forcibly covering Lance’s mouth.
“Don’t move!”
A cold voice issued from Cecilia’s throat, her ill intent unconcealed as she looked ready to give Lance trouble.
Lance’s struggling stopped instantly, but he still made muffled sounds, clearly wanting to say something.
“Did I give you permission to speak? Don’t speak!”
Cecilia’s brow furrowed. She questioned him first before immediately issuing her command.
Now, Lance didn’t even dare to make a muffled sound.
Seeing Lance look so submissive, Cecilia nodded, but then she began to interrogate him again. “When did you get to know the Elf Princess?”
‘The Elf Princess… Astrid?!’
‘Could it be that the Elf lady came to the Church of Holy Light to get me out?’
‘That won’t do!’
‘That blonde branch commander will definitely give her a hard time!’
With a few muffled sounds, Lance began to struggle again.
To his surprise, Cecilia’s hand covering his mouth pressed down even harder.
‘Hah! I only mentioned her once, without even saying her name, and you’re already this excited!’
‘If you actually saw her, would you just run off with her?!’
Indignation flared in Cecilia’s heart. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Her free hand balled into a fist and began to rain down blows upon Lance’s head.
“You aren’t allowed to leave with her! You aren’t allowed to leave with her! You aren’t allowed to leave with her!”
Only, her fists were soft, and her tone wasn’t quite firm enough…