**

Not only did my dear older brother, the Third Imperial Prince, take me out of the prison, he was even kind enough to escort me all the way to the armoury, too. His authority as an imperial prince was more than enough to drive away the guards surrounding that place temporarily, as it turned out.

Hiya, this Third Imperial Prince sure has some guts, doesnt he?

I got a hunch that hed do something pretty major in the future for sure.

He didnt simply stop at freeing me but even went further than that, probably hoping that Id take it upon myself to assassinate our own dear eldest brother.

Well, it did make my job that much easier, so Im pretty cool with this.

Even if he was acting on impulse, once the truth about him freeing me gets out, the Holy Emperor would certainly not hold back on him. At this rate, the Third Imperial Prince would definitely find it difficult to escape punishment, but seeing how he still went and did it, he mustve seriously hated both me and the First Imperial Prince Luan.

He probably figured that I wouldnt be able to beat up our oldest brother, or even kill him once I get there. Paladins were just about everywhere within the imperial palace, so rather obviously, Id get apprehended by them even before reaching the First Imperial Princes quarters.

The Third Imperial Prince Ruppel would most likely derive a huge satisfaction out of me escaping from imprisonment, then stealing some weapons and starting a bit of commotion.

Okay, so. What should I do now?

I now had two choices I could make.

One, catch one of the vampires and kill it. Present the irrefutable proof in front of everyone, get people to believe my story, and mobilise the subjugation forces.

However, that last bit should prove to be a big hurdle to overcome when the vampires would simply use their own private forces made up of humans to resist. Also, if they escaped using the ensuing confusion, then catching them again would be a tough ask, too.

Because of my alleged crime of attempting to murder Count Fomor, I no longer enjoyed the requisite authority to dismiss an aristocrats private force.

In that case, I had no choice but to go with the option B.

I should seek out the dude who couldnt move yet also was far more unrestricted than I. Someone who enjoyed far more privileges than me, and was even greatly trusted by the others.

The First Imperial Prince Luan. Dear brother, Im sorry about this, but looks like youll have to take over the mop-up operation from me.

I shifted my gaze over the weapons hanging on the walls.

Various armours, helms, swords, etc. all kinds of equipment the Paladins of the imperial palace used were here, waiting to be claimed. And these were more than enough to disguise someone from head to toe as well.

Its been a while, but it looks like you guys need to step up here.

I looked behind me.

The Dead Spirit Soldiers were all lined up in silence, their numbers hovering around fifty or so.

Bluish glows and breaths leaked out from their eye sockets and jaws.

This was a combat force large enough to rival a small-sized knight order.

At first, I tried not to get involved in the matters of the imperial court or the stinking vampires. But now, itd be impossible not to. Since things had already gotten to this stage, I figured itd be for the best if I flipped the table big time.

I was too tired of this sh*t. I didnt feel like hiding either. My gaze remained locked on my holy undead soldiers with my teeth grinding loudly.

My desire to live a quiet and peaceful daily life was now basically over with this. All because of some stinking vampires!

Rather than getting blamed for everything and get done in by their schemes, I might as well declare an open war on them instead.

Lets flip this whole effing Imperial Family on its head. You can name this a coup detat, a revolt, or whatever you wish! With this sort of a stupid soya powder family, everythings makjang already, anyway! So, we might as well go the full distance!

The Dead Spirit Soldiers, my holy skeletons, put on the helms and armours, then gripped the swords tightly.

Their eyes let out an eerie blue glow from under their helms.

Once they were finished gearing up, we brazenly strode on the corridors of the imperial palace. The manservants and maids in the area fell into anxiety and hurriedly got out of our way.

Your highness?! What do you think youre doing, sir!

I glared at my front.

The Paladins of the Theocratic Empire performing guard duties were now approaching me. They all looked quite tense while raising their shields.

It seemed that they wouldnt dare to draw their swords in front of an imperial prince, and could only let their hands hover over the hilts of the weapons mounted on their hips.

I tersely replied. Its a family feud.

I beg your pardon?

Its as I said. Im gonna start one hell of a family feud, got that? At the same time, Im also going to hunt a few bugs along the way too. So I summoned my shovel. My bad, but you lot will have to step out of my way now.

I jumped up and smacked a Paladin on the head with the flat side of the shovel. The poor man struck in his helm faltered before collapsing.

The other Paladins all carried a dazed expression, but quickly snapped wide awake and cried out loudly.

I-its a revolt!

Clap-!

I clapped my hands.

At the same time, my holy skeletons all raised their heads. As if they were of one body and one mind, they simultaneously raised their weapons.

Dont kill them. Just open up a path for me.

-Ku-ooooooh!

The skeletons rushed past me and pounced on the Paladins.

While they did their jobs, I leisurely strode past.

S-stop them!

More Paladins rushed at me.

-Ku-ooooh!

The Dead Spirit Soldiers raised their own shields to form a sort of moving barricade in front, while some others stepped on the surfaces of the raised shields to leap up and pounce on the Paladins up ahead.

The loud clangour of weapons colliding resounded out.

As far as skills were concerned, the Paladins were overwhelmingly superior. However, the skeletons enjoyed unbreakable unity, and through that, they performed chain attacks without exposing any open gaps.

In a narrow and chaotic corridor like this one, our side had a bigger advantage.

The Dead Spirit Soldiers broke past the ranks of the Paladins and followed after me while securing my safe passage.

Eventually, I reached the end of the corridor that led to the First Imperial Princes quarters.

P-please, do not go any further, your highness!

If you decide to come closer, then we wont have a choice but to harm you, your highness!

The Paladins standing guard outside unsheathed their swords.

They were tasked with protecting the First Imperial Prince. I could easily see their unwavering will to perform their duties, even at the cost of hurting another imperial prince.

It was then, the door to Luans quarters opened and the lady-in-waiting, Alice, walked out.

W-whats going on?!

Its a r-revolt, miss! His highness the Seventh Imperial Prince has come while leading some soldiers. Lady Alice, please hide inside the room!

Excuse me?!

Alices eyes were directed at me next.

I waved my hand at her and spoke loudly. Sorry about this, but you need to behave yourselves and step back.

My skeletons and their glowing eyes pounced on the Paladins. The weapons collided loudly again.

I deliberately didnt use divinity through the undead soldiers, since they were simply here to subdue the opposition.

Perhaps the Paladins also sensed this, because they too didnt use their divinity, either.

One by one, the Paladins guarding the door were brought down.

Alice too resisted quite fiercely.

As befitting her outstanding physique, she continuously beat the skeletons down. Too bad though our side had an overwhelming numbers advantage.

My holy skeletons grabbed her head and wrists before pinning her down on the floor.

I used both of my hands and opened the door before me.

The first thing I saw were the healers kitted out in those bird beak masks and medical gowns.

I stepped inside and the skeletons following behind me glared at the healers with their eerie blue eyes.

The healers began talking in voices quivering from anxiety.

Y-your highness?!

I replied. If you dont want to get hurt, get out.

You mustnt do this, your highness! Please think about what youre doing!

His highness the First Imperial Princes condition has stabilised only just now, so if you do something like this!

I said, get the hell out.

No, we wont!

The healers yelled out.

Huh, the Theocratic Empires healers were this concerned for their patients, eh? The worlds might be different, but even then, the doctors remained a truly commendable bunch of people, thats for sure.

I hope you all forgive me for this rudeness, then.

I lightly flicked my hand.

The skeletons yanked their swords out and pointed it at the healers, forcing the latter group to raise their hands up and finally step aside. Soon, they were completely driven out of the room altogether. The door was shut close behind them.

And so, only I, the skeletons kitted out in the Paladin gear, and Luan remained inside the room.

He was breathing heavily while glaring at me.

I could see his horribly necrosed flesh on his face in between the loose bandages. He tried forcing his body to move but could only ultimately moan in pain.

Allen, what are you planning to do to me?

I licked my lips before dragging an overturned chair nearby, placing it right next to the sick bed.

After settling down, I locked my fingers while leaning against the seat. I too didnt want to do this. Dear brother, why couldnt you just leave me alone when I merely wished to live a quiet and peaceful life for myself? Because of you, everythings gone down the crapper now.

What the hell, my speech really did sound like a villain planning a coup detat or something. And with the atmosphere being what it was, I ended up sounding far more graver than usual, too.

What do you mean by everything? Cough!

Luan coughed out blood.

I stared at him and smiled bitterly before spitting out these two words: Vampire hunting.

What I said caused his pupils to noticeably shake.

Was it because he believed me? Or maybe he was still suspicious of me? Honestly, it was probably the latter.

I mean, who would believe a mangnani? Especially so when it was this guy who hated my guts.

Are you perhaps saying Count Fomor is a vampire?

Were you aware of it?

Luan shook his head. I always thought that there was something about him. But a vampire? That cannot be. Clergymen have already confirmed him to be a living person. Hes no monster.

And can you be confident that those clergymen examined him thoroughly, without cutting any corners whatsoever?

Luan shut his mouth up with this.

Isnt it possible to bribe those clergymen tasked with the vetting process?

Unless you pour divinity into his skull, you cant really say its been confirmed in full, am I wrong?

Not only that, you also needed several dozen Priests or an archbishop injecting divinity, otherwise a vampire would be able to withstand the treatment.

Besides all that, carrying out such a test on every single aristocrat out there would be next to impossible as well.

Luan finally broke the lengthy silence. Why didnt you say anything? That hes a vampire.

No one wouldve believed me even if I did.

I too didnt trust this Imperial Family either.

The previous owner of this body got banished and assassinated. He was left to fend for himself without any escorts in that place.

How could I ever trust such an Imperial Family and speak about matters related to vampires?

Also, I couldnt really find the right timing to raise the issue, too.

It was already too late by the time I finished confirming that Count Fomor was a vampire and learned more about some important information on how vampires operated. They were already on the move.

The First Imperial Prince Luan was fooled into tying up my hands. Even if Harman indeed managed to scrounge up some forces, his authority alone would not have been enough to do anything about the vampires.

If only youve shown your true self, your real powers, then wed have believed you, said Luan.

Show you my powers? Hahaha. If I did, the Imperial Family wouldve tried to exploit me instead. I mean, they probably already knew that vampires had infiltrated the Theocratic Empire, and were searching for a way to filter out the bloodsuckers anyways.

Honestly? I didnt want to get involved anymore. My stupid soya powder family, the Imperial Court, and those stinking vampires, I was sick and tired of them all. I had enough of all this insane hardship back in the Land of the Dead Spirits, you see? But it seems that I cant weasel my way out of this thing anymore.

The vampires were trying their darndest to drive me to a corner.

If I get banished again or get locked up, then they would surely find a good timing to kill me.

However, there was this one thing they failed to consider.

Im talking about how much thick-headed the loons of the Imperial Familys siblings could be, obviously.

Bang! Bang!

I could hear the sounds of the door being pounded on. This meant that my skeletons could no longer stop the other side.

Lets end this preamble here. I got up from the chair and looked down at Luan on the bed. You said youd have believed me if I showed you my real powers, right?

Luans eyes trembled again, but this time, from fear.

The expression in his eyes said that he didnt know what Id do next.

In that case, let me show you my real powers. No, hang on. Let me show you a miracle. But I expect you to finish what I couldnt, my dear older brother.