“An envoy of the Liches…?”
Lucifer clearly hadn’t expected his guest to have such a prominent background.
If he remembered correctly, the Liches had migrated their entire clan to Leithanien decades ago.
Although the Lich King had declared that the knowledge held by the Liches remained open to all Sarkaz, they hadn’t meddled in the affairs of the Royal Court or Kazdel in a long time.
Lucifer carefully sized up the slightly tense Ermengarde.
She was definitely a Lich, but…
“To think she’s a match for Warfarin.”
Lucifer’s gaze drifted to Ermengarde’s chest, then shifted to Warfarin next to him, before he shook his head in disappointment.
It seemed the Liches’ diet in Leithanien wasn’t that great after all.
Realizing the newcomer wasn’t the terrifying Sanguinarch, Warfarin quickly relaxed.
“Hey, you were just thinking about something really rude, weren’t you?”
“Give me back the Wyvern blood-wine then.”
“I didn’t say a thing.”
The metallic scent of blood lingering in the air hadn’t dissipated, and even Ermengarde began to notice.
A bitter smile formed on her face as cold sweat dripped from her forehead.
Gulp…
Even with her incredibly dull senses, she realized she had stumbled straight into Vampire territory.
Yikes!
She was totally screwed now!
Just as she was trying to use her “genius intellect” to conjure up an excuse to leave, Lucifer spoke.
“Why have you returned to Kazdel, Lich?
Where is your Court King?
Tell him to step forward.”
Lucifer instantly dropped his playful demeanor.
His crimson slit pupils locked onto Ermengarde.
The blood dormant in the shadows began to churn, casting a suffocating pressure over the room.
At this moment, Lucifer finally looked like a Vampire Prince—a being feared by countless creatures on pure instinct.
That was definitely not an aura a normal Vampire could project.
Realizing this, Ermengarde abandoned any thought of trying to deflect or dodge the question, spilling her guts immediately.
“Ah—!
The Lich Court received an invitation and summons from the Demon King.
But my teacher is currently unable to attend, so he sent me to speak on his behalf.
It’s just…
I haven’t been to Kazdel in a long time, and things have changed so much.
I got a little…
lost…”
She lowered her head in embarrassment, looking like a flustered young girl.
And perhaps she was.
She was certainly younger than Lucifer, had probably never been threatened by brute force, and her eyes were filled with innocence.
Seeing that Lucifer remained silent, Ermengarde wanted to reach into the void pocket in her chest to pull out the token of the Lich Court to prove her identity, but Lucifer stopped her before she could.
“No need.
I believe you, Lich.”
The moment he spoke, the blood in the shadows stopped churning, and the terrifying aura vanished.
He hadn’t intended to intimidate the greenhorn Lich; he just wanted to test whether she was a foreign spy.
But Ermengarde’s innocence was simply too genuine, radiating a sort of pure, unadulterated stupidity.
There was no way she was acting.
Besides, the “void pocket” used by Liches to store and retrieve items wasn’t something just anyone could fake.
If there really was someone capable of pulling off such a flawless imitation, it would have to be the Damazesti.
And according to Lucifer’s past conversations with the Damazesti, they could even absorb the memories of the person they copied.
When Lucifer first learned that, he had blurted out: “Holy crap!”
Lucifer was incredibly glad he hadn’t become their target.
Otherwise, the heavy secrets of a transmigrator’s memories would have blown their minds for a century.
“Eh?
Really?”
Ermengarde was still visibly shaken, fearing Lucifer might change his mind.
Seeing this, Lucifer decided to drop the Sanguinarch’s name to reassure her.
“I’m Lucifer, a Vampire Prince.
The Sanguinarch, Duq’arael, is my direct superior.”
“Oh…
Well, he’s not exactly a good guy either…”
Ermengarde had never met the Sanguinarch in person, but she had heard plenty of legends about him from her teacher and other Sarkaz.
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“Ah…”
Lucifer immediately made it clear that he had no objections.
Although the Sanguinarch had shown him some kindness in the past, that didn’t mean Lucifer had to become his most devoted follower and treat him like a father.
Besides, everyone knew what the Sanguinarch was like.
He had earned quite the “unanimous reputation” among the Sarkaz.
“You’ve got a point, but the King of the Scavengers, Necare, is my elder; the Banshee Lord, Ramalene, is my senior; the Damazesti Cluster is my brother; and General Theresis is my comrade-in-arms.
And you?”
Faced with Lucifer listing these names off like they were old friends, a bewildered Ermengarde blinked her little eyes.
Strictly speaking, these big shots didn’t actually have much to do with Lucifer, but that didn’t stop Ermengarde from thinking he was incredibly badass.
“Speak up, hater!”
“Y-yes…!
I am the envoy of the Liches!
Ermengarde!”
“No energy!
I can’t hear you at all!
Speaking that softly and you want to be the Lich envoy?!”
“Yes!
I am the envoy of Fremont, the Lord of the Lich Court!
Ermengarde!”
Ermengarde’s pretty, youthful face flushed red from screaming with all her might, her resounding voice echoing through Lucifer’s old house.
“Good!
Full of spirit!”
Beside them, Warfarin covered her ears, staring at the two of them in utter speechlessness.
She could understand Ermengarde being completely hoodwinked by Lucifer, but as for Lucifer himself…
all she could say was that his mental state perfectly matched that of a modern Sanguine.
“Alright, so you’re saying your goal is to represent the Lich Court and meet the Demon King?”
“Yes…
The Demon King wants to call a meeting of the Royal Courts.
Teacher Fremont had his own reasons, so he sent me in his place.
Hmph!
How can there be such an irresponsible teacher in this world?!”
Lucifer fell into thought upon hearing this.
Compared to the past, Kazdel’s geography had indeed changed quite a bit.
Even if he told Ermengarde the location of the palace, she wouldn’t be able to find it anytime soon.
And looking at how innocent Ermengarde was, Lucifer could bet on Warfarin’s butt that he could trick her into bed at least twice.
He really didn’t know how that Lich named Fremont dared to let her come to Kazdel all by herself.
“I get it.
Come with me.”
“Huh?
Did I break the law?”
“What are you talking about?
I’m taking you to the palace to see the Demon King.”
“Oh…
I thought you were going to arrest me.
Thanks.”
Lucifer took back his earlier thought.
He could trick this Lich girl into bed at least three times.
Not only was her bust size a lost cause, but her IQ was too!
Lucifer shook his head in pity, threw on a trench coat, and prepared to head out with Ermengarde.
“Wait, what about me?”
Warfarin, who had been silent for most of the chapter, raised her hand in a desperate bid to reclaim her dwindling screen time.
Lucifer thought for a moment, realizing his place hadn’t been cleaned in quite a while.
“House-sit for me.
And while you’re at it, give the place a thorough cleaning.”
“I—”
Warfarin was about to refuse, but her eyes drifted to Lucifer’s cabinet of blood-wine, and a sinister Hehehe laugh echoed in her mind.
But Lucifer had anticipated this and immediately activated his trap card.
“If I come back and find a single drop of that blood-wine missing, you can look forward to having a bounty placed on your head by the Sanguinarch.”
“Your command is my mission!
I won’t disappoint you, sir!”