“Sir Rudiger’s letter was true?” Crown Prince Voltaire asked.

“Yes, Your Highness. It has been nearly a month since the King of Maren was put under arrest at the Rivoles Clan’s mansion.”

“Hmm. Is it possible that Sir Rudiger is hiding something, or is he trying to deceive us?”

Crown Prince Voltaire was a man of insurmountable status and power, but unfortunately, the Governor of Petrucca was a man of his father, the emperor. He had to proceed cautiously to avoid running headfirst into an unwanted situation.

“I thought the same, so I contacted one of the nobles of the Government General in secret. I was only able to hold a short conversation due to circumstances, but they confirmed the words of the governor. The King of Maren has been completely overpowered by the clan masters.”

“The… masters?” Crown Prince Voltaire muttered with a puzzled expression. Only the Rivoles Clan had been mentioned in Count Rudiger’s letter.

The noble lowered his voice and answered, “Yes, Your Highness. It’s not only Master Rivoles who is present, but the masters of the Todor, Samir, and Helmond Clans as well. They are currently staying at the mansion and are personally detaining the King of Maren. I personally witnessed a high lord of the Helmond Clan at the Government General as well, so it has to be the truth.”

“Hoooh. Then, what position does the King of Maren occupy in the Dark Clan? Did you look into that?” Crown Prince Voltaire asked. He felt that Eugene was definitely at the level of the clan masters, but anything was fine.

“Yes. I wasn’t able to meet with the clan masters, but after putting together the words of the governor and the nobles… I’m sure he’s at the level of the clan masters,” the noble answered.

‘As expected…!’

Crown Prince Voltaire clenched his fist with a satisfied smile. Not many knew, but Master Helmond was an ally who shared his will. To be exact, Master Helmond followed the will of those residing deep in the imperial castle, but in any case, he was the only clan master of the empire who took orders from the crown prince. If Master Helmond was staying with the other clan masters to detain the King of Maren, it was most certainly true.

The King of Maren—Jan Eugene Batla—was a vampire of the highest rank similar to the clan masters.

‘But… Helmond went to Petrucca without contacting me?’

Crown Prince Voltaire felt a brief moment of doubt, but he quickly shook his head with a smile.

‘It’s probably because the issue regarding Maren’s King was urgent. It’s certainly something that had to be dealt with as soon as possible before he could give a report.’

Crown Prince Voltaire had also gotten the chance to face Eugene in Maren. The King of Maren was a figure capable of briefly causing fear even in himself—a bearer of the glorious golden blood. It was only natural that the clan masters themselves had mobilized to quickly deal with such a figure.

“Good. You may leave,” Crown Prince Voltaire said.

“Yes, Your Highness,” the noble answered before leaving the carriage. Crown Prince Voltaire once again leaned back comfortably against his seat. The slaves resumed massaging his arms and legs, as well as pouring wine into his crystal cup.

“Hoho…” Prince Voltaire chuckled with satisfaction as the luxurious carriage started moving again.

“So, the vampire masters really do live up to their reputation, don’t they?” he muttered. He felt a sense of awe and envy toward the masters. They had subdued a powerful existence whom he had been helpless against. He was of an incomparably higher status compared to them, but the vampire clan masters were stronger and superior to him one on one.

‘The biggest problem is with lifespan…’

Thanks to refined mana stones, humans were able to live longer, healthy lives. It was especially true for the great nobles who often partook in supreme-grade mana stones. Even an ordinary lord of a territory could consume supreme-grade mana stones like water, let alone the crown prince. Sixty years was once known as a long life, but now, it was extended to eighty years. Only a few nobles living a peaceful life in the modern era lived less than sixty years.

However, the lifespan of the members of the Dark Clan was fundamentally different. Even a knight, lord, or banneret could live for more than a hundred years. High lords never died of natural causes, and the clan masters were simply considered immortal. The masters of the Helmond and Rivoles Clans were as old as the empire, but they still remained powerful.

Crown Prince Voltaire was both envious and jealous of them.

What was the point of ascending the throne and wielding unmeasurable power? After all, it would only last a hundred years at the longest. However, if he could become a member of the Dark Clan, he could live twice, thrice longer, or even forever. He could reign as an immortal emperor.

‘Your Majesty. My foolish father. What’s so great about religion? What’s so great about the glorious golden blood that you would make such a choice?’

Crown Prince Voltaire clicked his tongue while recalling the emperor. He had detained his father with his own hands. He had informed the emperor that he would become a member of the Dark Clan, but the emperor had refused, saying that Voltaire would be stripped of his title as the crown prince and be disowned as a member of the imperial family. As such, Crown Prince Voltaire cut off the emperor’s hands and feet and locked him up in a secret place.

‘If the glorious golden blood and the blood of the Dark Clan meet… I can become the strongest monarch to have ever lived—an immortal monarch.’

An immortal monarch and an immortal reign—Crown Prince Voltaire was exhilarated as he thought about the wonderful future

***

After giving advance notice, the prince’s group was able to enter the city quickly and quietly. A large group of nearly one hundred passed the thick fog lining the streets of the port and quickly arrived at the mansion of the Rivoles Clan. The vampires guarding the main gate of the mansion allowed the crown prince and his attendants passage without any checks or searches. But entering the actual mansion was different.

“From here on, only His Highness may enter.”

“What? You arrogant…” The escorting knights of the crown prince strongly protested while grasping the pommel of their swords. However, those who had come to greet them were high lords of the clans. The knights were no match for the high lords in terms of power, and most of the high lords were nobles of the empire as well. As such, there was no way they would be afraid of the knights.

“The monarch of our clan is residing in the mansion. Sirs, are you doubting the lords?”

“Ha! Even so—”

“It’s fine. I will go alone, so lead the way,” Crown Prince Voltaire said.

“Ah, n-no, Your Highness…”

The high lords ignored the bewildered knights and bowed before responding, “We obey your Highness’ order.”

Crown Prince Voltaire confidently followed behind the high lords into the mansion. His escorting knights were unaware, but one of the clan masters in the mansion, Helmond, was his henchman. There was no way Crown Voltaire would come to harm in the presence of his subordinate. After all, Master Helmond had set up and executed all kinds of plans for him, starting with the monster uprising.

“Petrucca is a city of the empire, and the clan masters are loyal nobles of the empire. What is there for me to worry about as the crown prince?” Crown Prince Voltaire spoke confidently.

At this moment, he was already standing at the very top.

***

“Here you are.”

“…!!!”

But Crown Prince Voltaire was struck down in an instant. He had been proud, as if even the world beyond the empire was in his grasp. However, his body greatly trembled, and he stopped in place as if he were faced with an insurmountable mountain.

“Y-y-you… How are you…” Crown Voltaire muttered. He could not believe the sight in his eyes. The warm light that entered through the windows felt like a blessing from the heavens. However, the scene that unfolded in the brilliant sunlight was the complete opposite of his expectations. Eugene was sitting in an antique, luxurious chair while the vampire clan masters lined his sides as if escorting him.

Crown Prince Voltaire’s gaze quivered relentlessly as he looked at one of the four clan masters. Master Helmond stood silently in place armed with weapons that had brought destruction upon many monsters and knights.

“H-Helmond… Why are you…” Crown Prince Voltaire muttered.

“Show courtesy to the great monarch of the tribe, the Overlord of Blood and Darkness,” Helmond responded curtly.

“…!”

Crown Prince Voltaire felt his heart drop. He felt as if he were falling into the abyss after Master Helmond’s words, whom he believed to be one of his own.

“Show your due courtesy, Crown Prince,” Master Helmond said once more.

“There’s no need. It’s fine,” Eugene said as he waved his hand. The crown prince shook like an autumn leaf, and Eugene smiled as he asked, “Why? Is the situation vastly different from what you expected?”

“Y-You dare…” Crown Prince Voltaire barely managed to speak amidst his great anger and pride as the Crown Prince of the Roman Empire, but that was it.

Fwooooosh!

A deep darkness rose above Eugene’s shoulders. It was in contrast to the brilliant sunlight, and it seemed to drive away even the luminescence of the bright day. Fear climbed above Eugene’s shoulder and soon engulfed the walls, ceiling, and the entire room.

Crown Prince Voltaire felt as if he couldn’t breathe. No, the crown prince was truly robbed of his breathing. The Fear disconcerted him. It was much stronger and denser compared to when he first faced Eugene in Maren.

“I heard everything…” Eugene’s voice resonated.

The enormous pressure was offsetting all the power granted to him by the glorious golden blood, and it weighed heavily on Crown Prince Voltaire’s body and mind.

“You detained your father, and you are planning to ascend the throne, right?” Eugene asked.

“…!”

“Moreover, you want to become a member of my Tribe?” Eugene continued.

It didn’t matter even matter how Eugene found that out anymore. There was no question that Master Helmond had revealed everything. What was more important for Crown Prince Voltaire was what he was supposed to make of this situation. From the looks of it, even the vampire masters had submitted to Eugene.

Most importantly…

‘My… tribe?’

He hadn’t heard it wrongly. It wasn’t ‘vampires’ or ‘our tribe,’ but ‘my tribe.’ Similar to how monarchs like kings and emperors referred to their kingdoms and empires, Eugene was speaking about the Dark Clan as if it naturally belonged to him.

Kwaaaa!

The waves of Fear hovering around Crown Prince Voltaire thrashed as if locking him in darkness. The only thing he could see was a pair of crimson eyes that glowed amidst the dark.

The owner of the eyes said, “There is no place for you in my Tribe, lowly human.”

The king of a small nation dared to belittle the crown prince, but the crown prince could not retort. He simply could not afford to do so. He was filled with both shock and fear as well. The glorious golden blood, which provided him resistance to almost all kinds of magic and curses, wasn’t working at all.

The most powerful and important force he possessed to become the ruler of the empire was being scattered from within. Prince Localope could have put up a little bit of resistance, but there was no way Crown Voltaire would know that.

However, Crown Prince Voltaire also had the golden blood flowing in his veins. He managed to barely part his quivering lips, as he still had one card up his sleeve.

“I… I-I…”

“The brats and wenches holed up in the imperial castle?” Eugene asked.

“…?!”

“Don’t worry. They will soon feel the same sensations as you are…” Eugene’s lips curled up into a smile. When he saw Eugene’s protruding fangs, Crown Prince Voltaire finally understood why.

The clan masters didn’t go crazy. Rather, they had fully submitted to the King of Maren, as he was the only light of crimson in the darkness. In other words, Eugene was the sole ruler of the Tribe of Darkness.