Chapter 689

"Please stop teasing him."

"But the reaction is too good, Your Majesty, I can't help myself."

Holding the champagne glass brought by the maid, the Emperor sighed deeply after taking a sip.

The Emperor was still laughing as he watched Kono Lint and his classmates shivering in the cold.

"I appreciate the amusement, but at this rate, he might start claiming that he has something embedded in his ear."

"Something embedded in his ear...? I don't understand..."

"Never mind, it's just one of those things."

The Emperor sometimes spoke in a way only he understood, and no one could figure out what he meant.

After the war, the captain of the newly formed intelligence unit was Rowan.

Rowan was appointed captain because there were many others more specialized in fieldwork than her. People like Sarkegaar and Kono Lint were more suited for field tasks.

That's why they were assigned based on their abilities, not just their merits.

Sarkegaar seemed to have a great interest in Kono Lint's behavior.

He often teased him, but it was evident that he cared for him a lot.

The Emperor quietly observed the banquet hall. Numerous people shared countless stories.

Without mingling, the Emperor calmly looked down upon the conversations and gatherings.

"You seem too young to be enjoying alcohol, young lady."

The Emperor quietly watched as a middle-aged gentleman approached a silver-haired girl.

The middle-aged gentleman tilted his head as he approached the girl, who was wearing a dazzling dress.

"Oh... what is that wine, as red as blood? I've never seen such a brilliant color before."

"It is blood."

"Pardon?"

"I said it's blood."

As the girl casually swirled her wine glass, the eerie red hue of the liquid confirmed her statement.

The girl revealed her chilling fangs as she moistened her lips with the red liquid.

"Uh, uh...!"

"Is this your first time seeing a vampire?"

"You don't mean... that's human blood, do you?"

"Of course. Want a taste?"

"No, no! I'm good, thank you!"

"Really? I could give you a little bite, you know. It might feel surprisingly nice."

"No, I'm fine! Excuse me!"

The Emperor chuckled as he watched the enchanting smile of the girl and the middle-aged man fleeing in terror.

The woman with dark red hair approached the girl as she watched the man run away in astonishment.

"Lucinil! I always tell you not to scare people like that!"

"It's not my fault, he asked me first."

The Emperor quietly watched Eleris and Lucinil bickering.

Although many demons joined the empire, most of the vampires who had been with Edina from the beginning left.

Gallarush and Luvien led their clans and left the empire.

They were tired of the noise and decided to return to the quiet life with their people.

The only ones remaining were Eleris, the head of the Tuesday Clan, Lucinil, the head of the Wednesday Clan.

And the members of the Saturday Clan who were left behind due to the disappearance of their leader, Antirianus.

Eleris took them in and temporarily acted as their leader.

So, Eleris was not only the head of the Tuesday Clan but also responsible for the Saturday Clan members in her care.

Originally, the Vampire Lord clans did not try to expand their numbers, so there were very few vampires.

However, they all played significant roles in the early empire.

They even created an institution called the blood-purchasing organization for the legitimate existence of vampires.

What was absurd, though, was that there were cases where humans, who learned of the existence of Vampire Lords, were fascinated by the idea of a vampire that could withstand the sun.

There were often headaches due to those who outright asked to become vampires.

So it wasn't for the humans, but for the vampires that they created territories where they could live quietly, strictly prohibiting the entry of outsiders.

There were also those who outright knocked on the door, wanting immortality and eternity.

That was always a sweet proposition.

During the ongoing raucous banquet, the Emperor saw Empress Louise approaching.

"Your Majesty."

"Ah... yes."

"I have something important to discuss with you."

"What?"

Without even asking for the Emperor's opinion, Empress Louise grabbed his arm with a serious expression and started dragging him somewhere.

Heinrich von Schwarz, who witnessed this, stood there with his mouth agape, dumbfounded.

The place where the Emperor was led by Empress Louise was an empty guest room somewhere in the Spring Palace.

The Emperor's heart was pounding like mad.

Had the time come?

Was it finally happening like this?

But why today of all days?

Why now?

The Emperor was afraid of many things, but now he feared Louise more than anything else in the world.

A fear mixed with guilt.

That's why he froze whenever he met her.

"Ah, I'm prepared. Teacher, I just need a moment... just five minutes... five minutes please."

"..."

"No, it's not that I don't want to! Absolutely not! It's okay! Fine! Fine! But just for a moment..."

"Really!"

-Smack!

"Ouch...!"

In the end, Louise, who couldn't stand listening to his nonsense, dealt a tremendous blow to the Emperor's head.

Louise looked down at the Emperor, whose eyes were spinning with an icy gaze.

"Sit down."

"Yes."

At Louise's concise command, the Emperor immediately sat on the bed.

Her gaze became even colder.

"Not there, here."

What Louise pointed to wasn't the bed, but a chair.

Only then did the Emperor realize that the situation he had prepared for wasn't happening, and he clumsily got up and sat in the chair.

It was only natural that the Emperor's face turned beet red.

Only then, having regained some composure, did the Emperor notice that the Empress was not empty-handed, but holding something.

-Startled

Empress Louise took out the items one by one and set them down.

"What is this...? A book?"

What was in the case was books.

Or rather, it was more like notebooks.

A bundle of tattered and dirty notebooks.

It was placed in front of the Emperor.

"I think you need to see this."

Perplexed, the Emperor carefully opened the notebook as the Empress suggested.

The worn notebooks had frayed edges and were even torn in many places.

It wasn't torn on purpose, but rather, it showed traces of being torn accidentally.

"This is material sent from the Kernstadt Adventurer's Guild headquarters."

"...Is that so."

At first, the Emperor hesitantly opened the notebook, and then he looked puzzled.

Most of it contained drawings.

"Is this a drawing of a monster?"

"Yes, it seems so."

"Why would someone draw a monster?"

Perhaps there was someone who wanted to record the aesthetic form of monsters, as it did exist.

In a world with countless variations, it couldn't be said that such a person didn't exist.

Louise didn't answer, as if urging him to take a closer look.

The drawing wasn't particularly detailed, but it did have intricately drawn characteristic features.

It wasn't a very well-drawn picture, but it wasn't excessively crude either.

It was a picture drawn quickly and accurately, as if done in one stroke.

Each page not only had a drawing of a monster, but also faint writing at the bottom.

"[Kernstadt, northeastern border area near Aireden, hilly terrain]"

The Emperor glanced at the memo and frowned.

"The location of discovery... is it?"

What could be deduced from this:

This wasn't a product of imagination or something else; the monsters had been seen and drawn in person.

It was an era when money was given by the adventurer's guild for killing monsters.

"Isn't there a policy of paying for drawings instead of monster corpses?"

"It's not unheard of, but that's generally the case."

Although there were no exceptions, they didn't usually pay for drawings. Therefore, these couldn't be evidence drawn to receive payment.

And above all, there was too much content.

The Emperor decided to examine the notebook more carefully, rather than expressing doubt.

He didn't know whose it was, but he cautiously handled the old, worn, and dirty notebook, fearing possible damage.

There was a conviction that, regardless of their condition, these notebooks were extremely valuable.

As the Emperor turned the pages and checked other notebooks, his expression grew more serious.

Louise quietly observed the Emperor, who even reopened notebooks he had already seen.

"What is this?"

The depicted monsters weren't entirely identical.

However, strikingly similar monsters were found multiple times within the notebooks.

The locations were all different.

And they were discovered in places more than a thousand kilometers apart.

As the Emperor looked through the notebooks, he began to understand why the original owner had drawn these monsters.

As the final volume approached, the Emperor's expression grew increasingly grim.

Eventually, there were consecutive drawings of monsters that were identical in appearance.

The discovery locations were similar as well.

When the Emperor saw the last page of the notebooks, his eyes widened.

Small monsters were drawn.

And there were brief notes written.

The once neat handwriting was now quite distorted.

As if reflecting the trembling heart of the notebook's author.

"[Definite immature specimen.]"

"[Was under the protection of its mother.]"

"[Monsters are breeding.]"

"[Through this case, the possibility that the subspecies of monsters discovered so far are actually the same species, rather than just similar-looking specimens, has increased.]"

"[A significant number of monsters are likely to have already developed reproductive capabilities.]"

"[Among the monsters discovered so far, the number of species estimated to have reproductive capabilities is 24.]"

"[There are likely more.]"

For a while, the Emperor said nothing.

Louise, too, watched the Emperor's silence.

"We need to call everyone."

"…Yes."

At the Emperor's words, Louise nodded.