We completely subdued the castle walls and swiftly entered the city.
Although dawn was approaching after a night of continuous battle, there was no reason to allow the humans to escape or catch their breath after our hard-won victory, so we couldn’t afford to slow down.
However, no matter how fast we moved, we couldn’t stop the sun from rising.
In the end, I had to muster all my remaining strength and use an eclipse spell while struggling against the overwhelming fatigue that felt like I could fall over at any moment.
Fortunately, having drunk the guards’ blood earlier turned out to be a tremendous blessing. We boldly crossed the streets and headed straight for the royal castle as victors.
It was quite amusing to see the humans who couldn’t escape look at the sky with hopeful eyes as dawn broke, only to be met again with encroaching darkness.
Honestly, it was quite difficult just to keep my legs from shaking as I walked, but I couldn’t deny that their reaction gave me a bit of a boost.
I wanted to instill despair in them, so they’d feel hopeless and not even think of resisting as we strolled down the streets. Unfortunately, due to the time limit on maintaining the eclipse, we had to hurry and split into two groups.
First, the vampires quickly seized the royal castle.
They locked up the royal family and officials of the Bertica Kingdom to prevent their escape, taking them all as hostages.
Meanwhile, I freed the beastman slaves brought over from another city with Eleonora and Lavina at my side to exert control over the entire royal capital.
One of the advantages and disadvantages of the Royal Capital of Bellia is its geographical setup; there are only two gates to enter and exit the capital.
One of these gates was where we had fought.
Since defenders don’t need to guard all four directions like in other cities, they can concentrate their forces, making it easier to defend.
Thanks to that, we struggled to break through the defenses of the capital, but now that we’ve won, the awkward fact that there are only two entry points works to our advantage. By blocking both, we can capture any humans trying to flee.
In truth, now that we’ve taken Bellia, where could the humans run to? There’s no reason to forgo a straightforward method to trap them and unnecessarily complicate things.
“The liberation of the Ain slaves went smoothly as well.”
After sealing the gates, I once more entrusted persuading some elves, including the former forest keeper Rebenta, to increase the workforce during the day.
It seems the credibility of having kindred who shared the same plight gave us the upper hand, as most of the slaves willingly pledged their loyalty to me this time.
Interestingly, among these slaves was one of the elders who had exiled Lavina, rather than a regular elder elf.
Of course, there was no way he deserved to live if he was an enemy of Lavina. I willingly helped him suffer and die in pain, regretting his own foolish and complacent past.
Beyond that, nothing particularly special happened.
I placed all the newly joined Ains under the command of the existing chain of command, led by Rebenta, to control the streets.
With armed beastmen spread throughout the capital, common folk dared not even think of stepping outside their homes.
With fear-based order somewhat established, I felt assured that if the vampires were to let their guard down, there wouldn’t be any accidents that would get out of hand, and so I headed back to the royal castle.
“What about the king?”
“We have gathered the king and prince in one place. Should we bring them here?”
“No. Not them.”
Whether they didn’t have time to escape or out of a noble determination to share their fate with this country as royalty, all direct members of the Bertica royal family remained in the royal castle.
Well, even if they attempted to escape, they probably wouldn’t have gotten far.
After all, there are only two gates. Excluding the one we attacked, there’s only one left.
Naturally, I’d already stationed personnel at that other point.
The only thing I worried about was whether there might be a secret passage known only to royals or nobles. However, thanks to my hasty seizure of the royal castle using the eclipse spell, I didn’t have to worry about that after all.
“What about the princess?”
“As you instructed, we’ve kept her separate… Are you looking for her?”
“Yes. I’ll go see her myself.”
Ultimately, I seems I have about the required humans within reach.
There was advice from Martini that whenever I had to meet human captives, it would look better to send subordinates to get them rather than going myself, but this time it felt more appropriate to do otherwise.
As I moved to the designated location, the watching vampire guard bowed hurriedly and tried to pay me respect.
I signaled that brevity was acceptable, and he quickly cleared his throat, opened the door, and spoke in a low tone.
“The Progenitor is entering.”
His tone was both intimidating and chilly.
The one who spoke was undoubtedly the princess inside the room, but the formality of his language only highlighted the stark difference between this and when they were paying their respects to us. It made it clear that those words were not merely for information transfer.
“Well done.”
Appropriate threats can establish a healthy superior-subordinate relationship and facilitate smooth communication.
It’s just that there are so many idiots who don’t even grasp that simple concept.
However, if a threat is overdone, it can backfire depending on the circumstances.
This seems like one of those times. I think I’ve done enough whipping, so from now on, I’ll be offering carrots.
I willingly left behind the vampire guard, who played the role of the villain, and entered the princess’s room without even bringing Martini along.
On the bed lay a haggard girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, moving listlessly.
Her eyes reflected fear and vigilance.
It seemed she wanted to get off the bed, but her weak legs struggled to support her emaciated body, making it hard for her to regain her balance.
“It’s okay. Just lie down.”
I smiled gently, trying to reassure the frightened girl.
Her shadowy eyes trembled slightly.
To assert that I had no intention of harming her, I deliberately pulled a chair from the corner and sat a bit away from the bed.
Princess Selina Bertica, the legitimate daughter of Glom Bertica, the king of the Bertica Kingdom.
From now on, I planned to coax her into cooperation.
*
Selina Bertica.
One of the two direct children of the current king, Glom Bertica, and a member of the Bertica royal family.
However, unlike her brother Dweik Bertica, who carries out various duties including diplomacy as the crown prince, Selina’s public recognition was not high.
The reason was that she rarely appeared in social gatherings and had never been assigned any duties or powers by the king.
It was inevitable that a lack of presence would lead to a lack of recognition.
However, that didn’t mean Selina lacked knowledge or refinement to perform royal duties.
Boasting impressive intelligence from a young age, Selina was often found with a book in hand, and those who knew her well generally believed she possessed abilities beyond Prince Dweik.
A capable crown prince and a princess even more brilliant than him—what a perfect setup for a power struggle over succession!
But ultimately, the reality did not mirror such a promising picture.
Including the current king, no one considered Selina Bertica a viable candidate for the crown.
She had no assigned duties, political connections, or support base.
The reason for this outcome lay in Selina’s inherent weakness.
Selina Bertica was born frail.
From a young age, her heart and lungs were weak, leaving her breathless and in pain even with minor movements, rendering her incapable of normal activity.
The slightest changes in temperature or humidity would trigger persistent coughing, and she would often succumb to fever, confined to her bed due to her frail condition.
All sorts of methods, from sacred magic to herbal medicine, were attempted to heal her, but every effort met with failure.
How could someone who couldn’t even get out of bed fulfill the role of royalty?
Once her father, King Glom Bertica, came to understand that there was no way to cure his daughter, and after receiving expert opinions suggesting she likely wouldn’t live past her mid-twenties, he completely abandoned any hopes for her.
The role of heir was entirely focused on his eldest son, Dweik, and Selina gradually faded from the interest of the nobility.
In hindsight, Selina’s reputation for being well-read and possessing vast knowledge wasn’t due to her diligence; it was because she had nothing else she could do but read books all day.
On the bright side of her unfortunate predicament, perhaps the only good news for Selina was that her sickly condition ensured she wouldn’t fall victim to the schemes of the nobility vying for the crown prince’s favor.
She was a girl of noble blood, but her life was truly tragic and full of misfortune.
And upon hearing this story, I immediately thought:
There’s no reason not to use her legitimacy to my advantage.
Of course, I intended to do so with her willing cooperation.
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