“I want all of you to stay vigilant. Beastmen aren’t that easy to deal with, and alchemical bombs aren’t all-powerful.
But no one can conquer our city. From the moment I took over, this great city will never fall.”
Andabella’s tone was calm and cold. She lifted her chin slightly, unable to hide the pride in her voice.
It was a pride that radiated from her very bones, the pride of being City Lord of Risel City, and also of being a Grand Scholar.
The red cloak behind her flapped loudly in the wind, billowing up against her tight black armor and then stretching out once more.
With the black city wall full of soldiers holding spears behind her, the lady looked like a warrior queen returning in triumph from battle.
This proud and confident sight filled the eyes of the soldiers below with admiration. Their will became even more resolute.
They would lay down their lives to protect Risel City and Miss Andabella. Anyone who wanted to harm her would have to step over their corpses.
---
In Dawn City, the first batch of people who had been taken back from the raid blended into the residents without causing a ripple.
These 3,000 people had been overwhelmed with panic and fear, thinking that coming to the vampire lair marked the beginning of being drained of their blood.
But after the frenzied publicity of Dawn City's residents, along with receiving real, tangible benefits, these panicked commoners were gradually soothed.
Edel was a bankrupt noble.
He felt like the unluckiest person alive.
Truly, he had never thought himself so cursed.
Not only had he gone bankrupt in business, with all his family’s assets taken by creditors, but he had also taken all his secretly hidden savings, his last remaining assets, and come to the frontier, intending to earn a fortune before the beastmen invaded and use it to buy back his estate.
But things did not go as planned. Those damned beastmen, just like last year, launched their invasion early!!
But to his surprise, the vampires did not act as he had imagined, they didn’t drink everyone’s blood.
Instead, they claimed they weren’t evil vampires at all, but saintlight vampires??
That made him laugh on the spot. Damn vampires, couldn’t they come up with a better lie? Saintlight vampires? Not evil vampires??
Even a three-year-old wouldn’t buy that.
However, when these vampires declared that they wouldn’t harm humans and would even ensure their safety, Edel found himself unable to press the blade against his neck.
He knew these vampires couldn’t possibly do what they said, but… just that faint glimmer of hope made him lose the courage to commit suicide.
So he hid the short blade on his body. Even if he really got taken to the vampire lair and they did try to drink his blood, he could still end his life then. Edel quietly comforted himself with that thought.
And just like that, Edel followed the vampires back to Dawn City.
What he saw next left him completely stunned.
Clean and orderly streets. Civilians dressed neatly, full of hope, watching them with curiosity.
It turned out, just as the vampires had claimed, there really were a great many humans living in their city.
Registering his identity, confirming information, Edel went through the entire process like a man in a dream. He clutched the number tag that supposedly would allow him to draw lots for a land allocation, unwilling to let it go.
He felt like his brain couldn’t keep up. How could this be??
Why would ruthless, bloodthirsty vampires be so kind and gentle? And they were actually assigning land and providing housing, it was like something out of myth.
There were no words to describe Edel’s feelings in that moment.
But when he looked at the faces of the surrounding residents, some even smiling at him with a hint of kindness, the thought of suicide mysteriously vanished from his mind.
Edel was assigned a brand-new room. It wasn’t large, but it was completely his own.
According to the security officer who had brought him here, this was a ‘single apartment,’ a term personally coined by the city’s master, City Lord Kachar. Supposedly, anyone unmarried would be placed in one of these single apartments.
Edel found this astonishing, especially after learning from the security officer that this City Lord Kachar was a bona fide vampire, and that the order not to harm humans had come directly from him.
“My lord, is City Lord Kachar really as great as you say? Could this all be a vampire trick?”
The moment Edel said this, the security officer’s face changed dramatically. His eyes locked onto Edel with fury.
“You damned bastard! You’re provoking Dawn City, this is a provocation against the Security Squad!!”
Edel immediately fell silent under the weight of the other man’s anger. Only then did the expression of the security officer, a man in his early forties, soften slightly.
“It’s only because you said that in front of me. If you had dared to speak of City Lord Kachar like that in front of the younger guys from the Security Squad...
Believe me, they would have taught you a hard lesson!!
If I were ten years younger, I’d beat you up myself right now. Remember this, no one is allowed to slander the great City Lord Kachar. No one!!”
Looking at the visibly agitated security officer before him, Edel felt a bit afraid, but also deeply puzzled. Why would fellow humans become so furious at just a mention of vampires?
Moreover, Edel could clearly see that this security officer’s respect for the city’s ruler was genuine, from the heart.
It reminded him of how he had once tried desperately to defend his father’s honor as a child.