The First Vampire

Chapter 675: 673 Secret (Part 1)_1
 

The rising sun sprinkled the dazzling dawn, casting a magnificent golden glow across the prism-like expanses of Winterspring River.

The chill morning breeze brushed over the waves, creating torrents that constantly collided with the castle’s gray limestone foundation, creating clusters of white foam that disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only the ceaseless sound of the waves.

Colin stood on the castle’s balcony, admiring the sunrise over the Winterspring River.

After a night of chaos, Springs Town had once again regained its calm.

Although the city gate was closed and the patrol guards on the streets had increased, the town’s residents weren’t overly panicked.

Perhaps it was because the orc army had not harassed them last night, so the residents didn’t have a deep understanding of their brutality. Now that the orcs had retreated, they went about their days with ease.

As for what had transpired at the Grant Family castle last night, they were oblivious.

Of course, perhaps this was a stroke of good fortune for them.

Colin’s gaze drifted downwards and he saw a thick puff of smoke rising from the western courtyard of the castle.

Gradually, the smell of roasted meat wafted through the morning air.

But Colin knew that this was the Blood Slaves incinerating the bodies of the Royal Guards.

Last night, the Royal Guard had launched a surprise attack on the small team of Blood Knights Army led by Colin, but they did not know that Colin’s team wasn’t ordinary personnel, but members of the Blood Shadow Guard—

Over three hundred professionals who were not afraid of death and had suffered no fatal injuries. Such a lineup could only be defeated if the Royal Family deployed more than ten times their number.

Moreover, the orc squad that invaded Springs Town last night were also Blood Slaves.

They were Colin’s gain from the battle in Luwal Valley.

This time, they were a perfect scapegoat for the deaths of Prince Lexie and Governor Fred.

However, the news of these two people’s death was still confidential, after all, Colin didn’t want to raise alarm prematurely. He planned to launch a surprise attack on Gregory during the Grace Day celebration, in accordance with the plan suggested by Cardinal Mensai.

That’s why he asked Duke St. Rands and Sir Barton to return and deploy troops from the South Border and East Territory to “encircle” this orc squad that fled into the Empire’s territory—

This was to make the Pope believe that Springs Town was still under the control of Prince Lexie and his company.

Otherwise, if he withdrew the North Territory army to defense, Gregory would definitely be on alert.

In such a layout, as long as Cardinal Mensai does not betray Colin, the plan would not have issues.

Colin naturally didn’t expect much loyalty from Mensai but as long as the Cardinal wanted to ascend to the papacy, there’s no reason for him to leak information to Gregory.

Moreover, to be on the safe side, Colin had also thought of a contingency plan…

“Good morning, Count Angler.”

A greeting pulled Colin out of his thoughts.

He turned around to see Scholar Yerug standing behind him with a bright smile.

“Good morning, Scholar Yerug.” Colin responded with a brilliant smile of his own.

This confidant of the Southern Duke had once covertly warned him about the Royal Family’s trap. Although Colin had already made arrangements, he was still very grateful for the gesture.

However, he became curious about Scholar Yerug—

Why did he help him?

“I found a little something earlier, not sure if it’s yours?” Colin directly took out the scroll of parchment and asked Scholar Yerug.

“Yes, it is.” Scholar Yerug nodded candidly, stepped forward, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Colin. “I just didn’t expect that you have already made arrangements. It seems that I was overly cautious.”

Colin watched the scholar, Yerug, intently and asked in a deep voice:

“So, why did you warn me?”

Scholar Yerug gave a faint smile and said:

“Count, perhaps you don’t know, I’m actually from North Territory.”

Colin raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that this confidant of a Duke from the South Border was actually a Northerner.

But it wasn’t really strange.

After all, Scholar Doan who had been trusted by Duke St. Hilde, but is now Colin’s North Territory political advisor, was from the Crimson Flame Territory, not the North territory.

The White Tower Academy has a reputation for being neutral and the credibility of its graduates is generally excellent. They serve with dedication and loyalty after pledging allegiance to someone, so nobles usually do not consider their origin when selecting a Scholar.@@novelbin@@

Moreover, the number of scholars graduating from White Tower Academy is far too small, giving the nobles very limited choices. It is difficult enough to find a scholar who suits their temperament and is willing to serve them. It would be unnecessarily troublesome if they also restricted choices based on origin.

Colin also understood that Scholar Yerug certainly didn’t warn him out of “fellow townsman” kindness. There must be other key reasons.

Indeed, Scholar Yerug continued saying:

“My hometown is called Black Thorn Village, only about ten kilometers away from Winterfell City. I have a younger sister named Yeliv or perhaps, you would be more familiar with her other name—

Midela St. Hilde.”

Colin’s eyes went wide, he stared at Yerug in disbelief and after a long while, questioned, “Are you saying your sister is Queen Midela?”

“Yes,” Scholar Yerug affirmed with a nod.

Simultaneously, he raised his hands to his chest, palms facing each other, fingers interlocked to form a mudra similar to a lotus.

It was the exact same hand symbol that Queen Midela had shown Colin.

According to her, anyone who presented this symbol could be trusted.

“A hand gesture doesn’t prove you are the brother of Queen Midela,” Colin managed to suppress his astonishment and questioned out loud.

“Indeed,” Scholar Yerug blandly chuckled, unflustered, “Many people know this symbol, including you. All of them are forces painstakingly rallied by Yeliv over the years.

In order to maintain this secret alliance, she exchanges mutual gripes.

However, as you may know, Yeliv never shared her biggest gripe.

And that secret is—she is not legitimate lineage of the St. Hilde family!”

By now, Colin had calmed down from the shock. He noticed scholar Yerug seemed sincere and not lying. Still, unless he could produce solid evidence, Colin was not easy fooled by mere words. He asked in a grave tone:

“Do you have any evidence?”

Scholar Yerug shook his head and spread both hands responding:

“Count Angler, in a matter concerning the reputation of two Holy Knight Families of the Empire, if I truly had proof do you think I would still be here?”

Before Colin could reply, he continued:

“However, would you be willing to hear my story before you judge?”

Colin’s eyes flickered, before he finally nodded and said:

“Alright, go ahead.”