"Master ntor, my master, Marquis Ofemia, will be hosting a banquet tomorrow evening. You absolutely must attend."
From this vampire's words, Loren could hear a tone brimming with pride. Although she addressed him as 'Master Loren' verbally, there wasn't much genuine respect in her tone.
And she truly had the capital to be proud. Her master was a Marquis. There were only two or three Vampire Princes in total, possessing power comparable to Angels, existing on a completely different level from mortals. Therefore, the highest publicly acknowledged rank among vampires was Duke.
And the Marquis ranked just below the Duke; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say 'one person above, ten thousand below'. It was normal for her to feel proud.
This didn't stop Loren from feeling sowhat displeased. He wasn't so lofty person who demanded excessive respect from others, but at the very least, a better attitude would be nice. Right now, this vampire even had a hint of giving orders.
Loren could also roughly guess why he was being invited. He estimated it was to ask for his help in dealing with that group hunting vampires. Essentially, they had a request for Loren, which was why he was dissatisfied with this attitude.
"Oh, I'm busy tomorrow. Tell her to postpone the banquet to the day after. Rember to co invite personally."
Loren responded dismissively, then ignored the vampire and opened the door to his room.
"Do you have any idea what a Marquis signifies?"
The vampire clenched her fists, anger causing several veins to bulge on her forehead. Her eyes were trembling, yet she still maintained a semblance of courtesy.
"Do you have any idea what the title 'Master ntor' signifies?"
This vampire was only about 160 centiters tall. Loren took a step forward, looking down at her, and continued:
"Do you believe that if your master, that so-called Marquis, ca here right now, and I casually killed her, tomorrow's newspapers would write that she got drunk and died from sun exposure, even though there's no sun here?"
Hearing this, the vampire let out an angry laugh. She retorted defiantly:
"Do you have any idea that the newspapers are controlled by our Bloodline? Our Bloodline are the true rulers of this nation."
"I know. But there are many things you don't know."
Loren's response caused the vampire's expression to change. She understood what Loren ant; he was indicating that even the entire Bloodline couldn't afford to provoke him.
In her eyes, the Bloodline were the rulers of this country; there was no one they couldn't afford to offend.
Before she could speak further, Loren added:
"Rember this. Above you is your master. Above your master are the Vampire Dukes. Above the Dukes are the Princes. Even the Princes have to be wary of the Church. And above ? There's no one. Understand?
"Here, you can stand and call 'Master ntor' and I won't pick a fight. But inside the Church, you'd have to kneel before ."
By now, she could no longer maintain her composure, nearly flying into a rage. She was just about to tear the door down when the attendant behind her tapped her on the shoulder.
When the vampire turned around, she didn't see a human face, only a dim, azure-blue lamp.
...
"You had business with the vampires, didn't you? Why did you refuse?"
After returning to the room, Anna finally asked her question.
"They invited because they need my help. I hold the dominant position. But if I also ask for sothing, it becos a mutual exchange.
"Anyway, what I want isn't sothing very important. Might as well casually ask for it after everything is over."
"I see. I thought your version of social etiquette only involved killing soone's entire family."
Anna wore an expression of sudden understanding, though she wasn't really interested in these matters. She preferred killing entire families.
Loren rarely used his status to pressure others, but occasionally doing it felt quite satisfying, especially since he only used this tactic against those who acted all high and mighty.
In the past, Loren had always disliked this kind of play where a higher privileged class was used to deal with a privileged class. The Loren of before, even without any status, feared no privileged class.
Your magic resistance is high, but your physical resistance isn't.
I can't win a lawsuit against you, but I can kill your entire family.
Loren was here to play a ga, not to suffer grievances. It was the sa even in his previous life. He knew that in that obsessive era, formal channels were utterly useless; one had to solve things themselves.
However, the vast majority of people in this world don't have that mindset because they still have people they care about. The Loren of his previous life also only did those things after he had lost everything.
The two most terrifying types of people in the world are those who 'lack nothing' and those who 'have nothing left'.
A boss isn't afraid of you pestering him daily to repay a debt; what he fears is you giving up on claiming that money.
"Tomorrow, we'll search the residential areas within this circle, make so inquiries. After we find Lilith, we'll start our proper vacation."
Everyone nodded. They knew what was more important.
As for the vampire matter, Loren never took it seriously. They could die for all he cared; as long as Lilith was alive.
This wasn't just because he had business with Lilith, but also because he had seen Lilith's kindness—a kindness rarely seen among vampires.
Anna ate very contentedly today. After returning to the inn, she lay down on the bed and didn't move a muscle.
A human doing that would definitely cause so problems, but Anna was a Witch, so Loren let her be.
Loren didn't sleep too soundly at night either. Since the vampires could find him, it ant his location wasn't exactly a secret. He had to be wary of other factions.
Currently, the factions within the Uridia Kingdom were divided into three sides. The most powerful side was the Church of Night and Thunder, which was also currently the closest to Loren. Only the Church was most concerned about Loren's safety.
Then there were the vampires. They sowhat knew Loren's status, would respect him, but wouldn't act as his dogs either. Simultaneously, they needed Loren's help, hoping he could assist them in resolving the recent vampire hunting incidents.
The final side was the organization led by that obsessive vampire. Loren tentatively called them the Bloodline Rebels. With that high-ranking vampire as the core, mbers included vampires under his control and Monster Hunters. This faction was the only one that might potentially move against Loren.
However, Loren also wanted their technology. Loren himself had no fixed allegiance; he could cooperate with any side.
The Bloodline Rebels would eventually co to find Loren. If they had long-term plans, they should co to seek cooperation with Loren. Actually moving against Loren would invite retaliation from the Church, sothing that couldn't be done unless it was a fight to the death.
...
Waking up the next day, looking at the moon outside the window, Loren was a bit confused, but checking the ti, it was already noon the next day.
"No wonder people here get depressed..."
Loren felt a sense of emptiness, but at that mont, Anna was lying on his chest like a little animal. Feeling Anna's body warmth, Loren felt a wave of warmth, and that sense of loss was swept away.
With the children by his side, Loren felt that the Eternal Night didn't seem so hard to accept after all.
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