“Are you suggesting that you want to merge the Sahelrn Duchy and the Helraig Duchy?”
“That’s right. Of course, I understand that it might sound unpleasant to those of you who have led the duchies thus far. But haven’t we all felt it? If we hadn’t united, we would have lost this war. Sahelrn Duchy would have crumbled first, and then the Helraig Duchy would have been next. If the war ends and both duchies want to split up again and go their separate ways, I believe we would end up in the same situation once more.”
I carefully chose my words, waiting for Jeil’s rebuttal. However, contrary to my expectations, Jeil merely swung his leg on the table nonchalantly, displaying no particular dissatisfaction.
‘…What wind is blowing?’
Regardless of the reason, my words practically demanded Jeil to give up the country he has built over a thousand years.
For someone like Jeil, who could have stood up angrily at any moment, his current silence suggested he was acknowledging the fact that he had no other option.
While I was speculating on Jeil’s true intentions, fortunately, Martini indirectly showed her agreement with my opinion.
“Indeed, I wouldn’t want to acknowledge the shortcomings of Sahelrn Duchy, but had the reinforcements arrived just a bit later, we would have been helpless.”
I wondered if Martini intended to back me up on everything I said. It seemed quite plausible.
“But, I’m aware that your relationship isn’t great. Even if it’s for the sake of joining forces against humans, if the powerful vampires intend to establish a vertical relationship again, there will inevitably be dissent among the subordinates, won’t there?”
“You’ve considered the political aspect as well. So are you saying that since we can’t divide ranks among grand dukes, you will become king and stand at the top?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t mind if there were other ways to plan for the future. There’s no necessity for me to be the king.”
There was no rebuttal coming my way.
Maybe it was expected from Martini, but the fact that even Jeil, who once argued that researching me could lead to overcoming the sun, didn’t raise any objections suggested that there truly was no better alternative.
However, Jeil pointed out a different issue.
“Indeed, too many rowers will take the ship to the mountains. But just because there’s one rower doesn’t guarantee we’ll go the right way. I vowed never to serve a tyrant again. How will you prove you’re qualified to stand above me?”
“Jeil, such disrespect to the Progenitor—”
“Martini, it’s fine. Jeil, ‘A ruler who cannot see reality is undoubtedly a tyrant, and a vampire who follows a ruler without ideals will find no joy.’ Is that correct?”
Mentioning the advice he had once given me made Jeil’s eyebrows twitch.
His leg, which had been resting on the table, smoothly descended, and the previously relaxed atmosphere became tense.
“You remember that. So, what answer do you bring? Surely, fighting against humans together isn’t the end of it, right?”
His attitude showed he would not tolerate jokes or bluster. Jeil stared at me with a critical gaze.
Prove it.
If you wish to become king and dare claim the two grand dukes will be beneath you, then unlike the first Progenitor, prove that you are a qualified being.
Under his urging gaze, I pondered deeply and finally reached my own conclusion.
“I want to create a paradise.”
“Hah, a paradise? Is that the best answer you could come up with? That’s just an ideal notion a naive child might spout.”
Jeil expressed his disappointment. Just as he seemed ready to get up and leave, I lightly shook my head.
“If it’s a paradise for everyone, then yes.”
“…What are you trying to say? I won’t entertain any wordplay.”
What do I wish to achieve? To find this out, I had to confront my true desires.
My life had been a continuous struggle for survival.
Whether in my previous life as a human or this life living as a vampire, I always wished only to survive.
I desired nothing more. That was everything.
Even if it was an ordinary and modest life, I wished I could live like everyone else.
Yet, I was so unfortunate that I couldn’t fulfill even that simple wish.
That’s why I hoped for miracles and fervently wished to someday reach paradise.
Paradise. An ideal place where no pain or suffering exists and one can live comfortably.
I dreamed of a world where everyone could be happy, and I hoped that if such a world did exist, I too could find happiness.
But paradise doesn’t exist in reality, which is why it’s called paradise. It’s a concept that remains in imagination, termed an ideal because it can never be realized.
I was foolish, and it was only after hitting rock bottom in despair that I realized that a world where everyone is happy cannot possibly exist.
A paradise for everyone is an impossible miracle, a mere illusion.
Yet still, the dream of living a life I longed for was too attractive to me, and it remained nestled deep within my desires.
I wished for an impossible miracle.
The world is shaped by the powerful. To save my own life, which no one would rescue, I had to create my own miracle.
I wanted to pull the concept of the impossible ideal into reality.
Yes, a paradise for everyone might just be an illusion, but what if I added a few conditions?
And so, I began to stitch the frayed reality of compromise into my ideal.
“It’s not a paradise for everyone.”
A haven where everyone is happy and no one suffers cannot exist. The total amount of happiness available in this world is limited.
People often say that life has its ups and downs, and that after hardship comes fortune, arguing that there’s no need to envy others’ happiness.
They say the small happiness already in hand is the most precious thing.
But that statement is half right and half wrong.
Happiness is never equal for everyone. One person’s rock bottom can be higher than another’s peak.
While it is true that there are relatively happy days and unhappy days, that perspective is extremely personal.
When observed in the totality of humanity, some lives are happier while others are certainly more miserable.
Just like I had to spend my teenage years in a sickbed while my peers joyfully ran around, and ultimately had to end my life at twenty-three, marred by pain—happiness is inherently unequal.
It cannot be helped. Resources are finite, and the total amount of happiness in the world is predetermined.
Some people say happiness depends on mindset, but those who say such things would never refuse to increase their options for happiness.
In the end, when someone enjoys happiness using finite resources, someone else inevitably suffers.
Thus, while a hell for all may be possible, a paradise for everyone cannot exist.
It is structurally impossible for everyone to share a comfortable life with limited resources.
“A paradise for me, for those who believe in me and follow me, a paradise for only the chosen ones.”
And so, I thought.
Without any pretense or facade, I simply considered one possibility.
If it’s impossible for everyone to be happy, then why not select those who will be happy?
Not every intelligent life form in the world can or needs to be happy.
What I desire is a world where ‘I’ and ‘my people’ can be happy.
What happens to the rest is none of my concern. Especially if they are those I’ve come to despise.
“I will merge the two duchies and bring down the Luminous Church. And then I will place the entire Terra continent beneath my feet.”
What had driven me thus far was a thirst for revenge against the humans who had sought to kill me.
Originally, if I were human, I would have intended to kill everyone who came into view.
However, after killing Selin and after long consideration, understanding dawned on me. It’s not always the best choice to execute unilateral slaughter and destruction driven by emotion.
“Think about it. The vampires’ wish is simply to live in a world where their lives aren’t threatened, isn’t it?”
Martini Sahelrn established the Sahelrn Duchy in this land while protecting countless vampires under the first Progenitor.
Jeil Helraig gathered those determined to fight for survival, believing it impossible to save all vampires, and there he created the Helraig Duchy.
Their aspirations align perfectly with my own.
In the end, survival is what matters.
Throughout history, vampires have been denigrated as blood-sucking monsters, treated as corrupt beings whose very existence threatens their lives, not just from humans but also from other beings like Ain.
Ultimately, like me, they simply wanted to survive.
So I will overturn that world.
I will create a new realm where no one can despise vampires, where they can walk boldly on the earth without worrying about making their living.
To do this, I needed a cog in the wheel.
In a world where the total amount of happiness is predetermined, for ‘my people’ to be happy, some must bear the burden of unhappiness.
“Realistically speaking, humans must exist for vampires to thrive. So, I won’t blame the entirety of humanity for the actions of the rebellious individuals. We might need examples occasionally.”
I will unify the entire continent and extract labor and blood from humans in exchange for survival.
Through this, vampires can secure their existence without having to gut the geese that lay the golden eggs.
“I will try to persuade the Ains that can be swayed, and treat the hardline forces just like humans.”
However, human power remains strong. Even if we merge the two duchies, it might still be challenging for vampires to unify the entire continent.
It’s good to dream, but one must also know how to compromise with reality.
Thus, rather than a whip, it’s a carrot. If I can declare that while it is a vampire nation, I will not treat those who follow and cooperate with me differently, there will certainly be some who waver.
Even in the Mist Labyrinth, beastman resistance forces and vampires coexisted begrudgingly.
Whether something like that could happen again is uncertain until it’s experienced, yet there’s no need to close off possibilities from the start.
“ELENORA and LAVINA will serve as living proof of that. If they actively assist us, they too can become an elite class just like the vampires. Of course, they might actually become vampires.”
Conversely, those Ains who do not cooperate will share the fate of blood bags.
Fear can also be a sufficient motivator for some.
“This is the conclusion I’ve reached.”
Thus, after delineating allies and enemies, and incapacitating the humans, the plan will finally come together.
The best happy ending I, reborn as a vampire, can achieve.
A real paradise where I and those who have devoted themselves to me can be happy, an ideal I chose for just us.
“A paradise for vampires.”
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T-the almighty title drop!