Chapter 138
‘An agreement?’
Hmm. Is this a proposal for a contract?
You always have to be careful when signing a contract.
Even Ha-eun, my own servant, was tricked into signing an unfair contract by the Taesan Guild, and I had to sort it out for her.
Even if I look like some lowly household vampire, I have been through all kinds of hardships while growing up without a guardian.
Making a living off games… no, to live as a dark gamer, you have to trade items and gold quite often.
For my age, I’m surprisingly well-versed in this sort of thing. Ahem.
‘First, I need to clearly establish who is in the superior position and who is in the inferior one.’
I must not let myself be pushed around like an amateur.
Like a professional, like a True Ancestor!
I opened my mouth with a relaxed smile.
“Hehe. An agreement, you say? How presumptuous.”
“……”
“Was it not enough that This One spared the Namgung Family from annihilation?”
At my chilling remark, the atmosphere grew heavy once more.
“The doctrine of the True Blood Cult is compassionate… but that does not mean you may mistake it for weakness.”
I stared directly at the Namgung Family Head with a cold gaze.
“Surely you do not think that This One refrained from harming you this time solely because of that doctrine.”
“Hmm….”
The Namgung Family Head let out a low groan.
“There is only one reason This One did not make you bleed.”
With the tip of my folded fan, I pointed at Namgung Yeonhee, who sat quietly across from me.
“It was because that child was commendable.”
At those words, Namgung Yeonhee’s shoulders flinched.
The Namgung Family Head nodded with a bitter smile.
“Of course, I know. As the head of the Namgung Family, I am deeply grateful.”
His answer was quite respectful.
However, the Namgung Family Head did not back down; he continued in a gentle tone.
“However, I hope you will also take into account, with your great magnanimity, Namgung’s difficult position and that of a father sending his daughter away. Surely I cannot feel at ease without some sort of promise.”
‘Wow. This man really is the family head for a reason.’
I was a little impressed.
Even while knowing full well that he was the weaker party, he was still saying what needed to be said somehow.
Well, why not hear his proposal first?
“Good. Tell me the terms of this agreement.”
Once I gave my permission, the Namgung Family Head carefully revealed what he had in mind.
“How about we announce it publicly like this? The mighty Blood Lord forcibly subdued the Namgung Family and….”
He paused to choose his words, then looked at Namgung Yeonhee.
“Yeonhee was taken away as a prisoner by the Blood Lord.”
‘……Huh?’
At the unexpected proposal, I blinked.
He was not saying that they would recognize the Blood Cult or promise it official support.
Rather, he was suggesting that I and the Blood Cult be made out to be the villains.
Just as I was wondering whether this might be a bad idea,
the Namgung Family Head continued.
“Then, should other orthodox factions rashly try to attack the Blood Cult, the Namgung Family can stop them by providing them with a justification—using Yeonhee’s safety as the bargaining chip.”
Only then did I realize his true intention.
‘Oh. This guy can think.’
Come to think of it, even if the Namgung Family officially defended the True Blood Cult and all that, it was obvious that the old-fashioned elders of the Murim Alliance would not believe them.
They were far more likely to have a fit, claiming that even the Namgung Family had been tainted by an evil cult.
So instead, he intended to pretend that Namgung Yeonhee had been captured by me as a hostage, creating an excuse to avoid war for the time being.
“So you mean you want to buy time. How do you intend to use that time?”
“In the meantime, I intend to gradually let stories about the ‘True Blood Cult’ you mentioned circulate behind the scenes.”
“Oh?”
“I do not expect everyone to believe us right away. I merely want to plant the suspicion that the Blood Cult of today may not be the same as it was in the past. Whether that is true or not, time will prove it, will it not?”
In other words, he intended to gradually soften public sentiment demanding the Blood Cult’s unconditional extermination in the long term.
The Namgung Family, the foremost prestigious family of the orthodox faction, secretly helping us with a media campaign from behind the scenes would be a considerable advantage in progressing the quest from here on.
‘This is a pretty good contract.’
It seemed even better than the plan I had originally been considering.
I crowed inwardly, but my expression remained that of a lofty and composed monarch.
“Hmm. Not a bad idea for a mere mortal.”
I opened my fan and waved it lightly, naturally bringing up my own demands.
“However, an agreement always comes with a price. This One also has something she wants from the Namgung Family.”
“Tell me. If it is within what the family can bear, I will accept it.”
“What This One wants is…… blood.”
“……?”
For a moment, the Namgung Family Head’s expression stiffened, and Namgung Yeonhee looked puzzled as well.
They had just spent so much time discussing the horrifying deeds of the Blood Cult in the past, so the mention of blood seemed to have caught them off guard.
I quickly added an explanation to clear up their misunderstanding.
“It is true that blood is also necessary to perform the True Blood Arts. However, unlike the false Blood Cult of the past, I will not fill my power by taking the lives of the innocent.”
“Th-then how do you intend to take blood?”
“Those who brazenly pointed their swords at This One and attacked outside this estate. This One shall take only a little blood from those ignorant fools.”
Honestly, asking for everyone’s blood would have been unreasonable.
The martial artists who attacked me first and were defeated.
In exchange for sparing their lives, I was asking only for a blood donation that would not affect their health at all.
‘Even that alone should be enough to get me to 400.’
That much was appropriate and would not prick my conscience.
“This One shall neither kill them nor destroy their dantians. In exchange for allowing them to keep their lives, is that not a lenient condition?”
The Namgung Family Head nodded as though he found my terms acceptable.
“Understood. If that is all, I will provide it.”
Thus, the top-secret meeting between the Blood Cult and the Namgung Family came to a successful conclusion.
“Ah. As for that child’s final treatment, I shall begin tonight.”
“Thank you. I will have one of the family’s larger halls vacated so that you may stay there comfortably until then.”
With the Family Head’s hospitality, I left the hall accompanied by my two servants.
***
“Blood Lord……!”
Just as we were heading to the hall we had been shown to,
Katarina placed both hands over her chest and spoke in a trembling voice.
“The True Blood Cult…! To think such a secret history existed in the murim’s past. This Red Moon Blood Princess was too ignorant to know of it!”
Her red eyes were slightly moist.
“I shall devote both body and soul to making the Blood Cult’s name great once more!”
Her face was filled with determination.
‘Uh-oh….’
That—that was a story I had hastily made up to get out of the situation earlier.
I tried to tell her that I had actually improvised the whole thing on the spot.
However, Katarina was so deeply moved that I simply could not bring myself to say it aloud.
‘This is like telling a kindergartener that Santa Claus is actually their parents……!’
In fact, Katarina was not even a year old.
It had not yet been a year since I summoned her.
Destroying a child’s innocence was a bad thing.
“U-um. Kata… no. Red Moon Blood Princess, you are commendable.”
In the end, I could not bring myself to reveal the truth and merely nodded vaguely.
“Thank you!”
For some reason, Katarina suddenly bent her knees slightly, lowering herself, and glanced at me with expectant eyes.
“……”
Then, when I tilted my head and looked at her, she hurriedly straightened up.
Siyeon, who was standing beside her, was a little different.
“Whatever the history of the Blood Cult may be, I will always follow only Master’s will.”
She spoke in an exceedingly calm tone, as though my words themselves were unconditionally correct.
“Yes, Siyeon is commendable as well.”
Feeling a little embarrassed by my servants’ blind trust, I gently fanned my face with my fan.
‘By the way, what was the former Blood Lord really like?’
Earlier, the Namgung Family Head had said something.
The Blood Lord of the past had also appeared as a white-haired woman with red eyes.
Moreover, the descriptions of the martial arts they had used resembled the abilities of my vampire servants in certain ways.
Come to think of it, it was not limited to the murim world.
Even on the fifth floor, where the Arden Territory was located, there had been a prophecy about vampires.
And that ‘prophecy’ had also happened to match me exactly.
I had even shattered the monument bearing that prophecy to obtain ancient top-grade blood.
‘…Could it just be a coincidence? Or is there some hidden setting connecting my class and the Tower’s world?’
I briefly fell into serious thought, but.
“Let’s go inside already!”
Since the weather was hot, I put my complicated thoughts aside and hurried along.
After that, I rested while staying in one of the Namgung Family’s halls.
“Snooore….”
I even took a nap while enjoying the breeze from the fan Katarina waved gently for me.
Today had been exhausting, with so many things happening.
And so, time passed.
The promised night for Namgung Yeonhee’s treatment finally arrived.
Rattle—.
The wooden door slid open quietly, and Namgung Yeonhee entered.
“…Blood Lord. I have come to receive my treatment.”