— I didn't think you valued the old man's praise so much, — the man was finally convinced that the visit from the high-ranking representative of a rival organization had no hidden motives. The newly acquired vampire abilities allowed him to detect the slightest changes in his interlocutor's face or scent — his guest was telling the truth.
— I care about his good opinion of my humble self.
— And if it's not a secret, why is that?
— I want to be the next head of the Control Service, — Kohan said in one breath after almost half a minute.
— A nerve-wracking post. And every day you'll be delivering bad news to the advisors.
— So why start doing it now? — Opening up to one of the most powerful people in the kingdom, the master felt a bit more encouraged and began to think about how to use his candor to his advantage.
— That's true. Alright, I will report your revelation to the Council and won't even claim the credit for it.
— What's the price? — Now caution was evident in the voice of the Deputy Head of the Control Service.
— Everything your office knows about me, I should know as well.
— That's not difficult to arrange, but when I become head...
— It will be inappropriate, as you will need to control the observers as well, — Rudolf interrupted the man and completed his sentence.
— That's correct.
— Let's consider that our mutually beneficial cooperation will be terminated the moment you take your boss's chair.
— I'm fine with that!
The two men shook hands, and one of them left contentedly. As soon as the door closed behind the visitor, Rudolf's smile faded, and he froze like a statue.
— Vampires are just like cockroaches, coming out of every crack! — he whispered wearily and, shaking his head to clear the numbing feeling, walked to the desk, took a few more sheets of paper, and left the office.
He needed to report everything discovered to Advisor Bor before he had to repeat it at the general Council meeting.
The Magical Council meetings, since the vampire invasion, had started to resemble gatherings of a small magical order. Now, in addition to the advisors and the king, the heads of all the kingdom's services, church hierarchs, military, and court officials also attended. Additional tables and chairs had even been set up in the Small Hall for this purpose.
The first speakers energetically reported the successes of their organizations in combating the vampires. The military marked on the map the latest areas of victory. The picture of triumphant success was marred only by the reports from the Earth Service about numerous refugees and lost crops. When it was Rudolf's turn to start his report, he caught Advisor Bor's eye and, receiving a confirming nod, confidently stepped into the center.
— At present, the situation is close to catastrophic, — hearing this, everyone present gathered. — King Thor is mobilizing an army, skirmishes on the border have become more frequent, and after we removed three regiments from it, all of them have ended unfavorably for us. The intentions of the Torians are not entirely clear. On one hand, the army is officially being assembled for defense against the vampire invasion; on the other hand, they have begun to reload all their siege artifacts and make clearly excessive food reserves. In the spring, under the pretext of defending against vampires, our border areas might be attacked. Additionally, a large detachment of vampires has moved north, slipping past Advisor Georg's army. The military who reported to me did not mention it, although my Service provided them with all the information yesterday. The detachment is moving stealthily through the forests. It was only discovered thanks to some magic schools, for which I have been criticized many times. It consists of no less than a thousand fighters...
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