"Lord Horn, I heard you're a scholar from the Nolan Empire? Don't worry. Believe me, as long as you don't break the law, no one in Dawn City will harm you.
Lord Kachar values literate talents like you very much."
Hearing the young man's words, Horn suddenly relaxed quite a bit, though he also found it a little funny.
Talents like me just because I'm literate?? I'm a Grand Scholar, do I only qualify as literate??
Had this been said to him in the outside world, he would have felt deeply insulted. But here, he didn't feel that way at all. In fact, he quite enjoyed chatting with these two honest young men.
Half a sun-hour later, after enduring the two patrolmen's nonstop praise of Li De and Dawn City, Horn finally arrived at City Hall with a nervous and uneasy heart.
He had gone from being calm when he left the house to feeling deeply unsettled now, because he had heard a shocking piece of information: the Dawn Order.
This mysterious 'Majestic' might very well be… a god. Goddess of Life above, this was the most insane thing he'd ever heard in his life.
Guided by a guard, Horn knocked on the office door on the third floor.
"Enter."
Creaaak~
The intricately carved door opened. Horn took a deep breath and stepped into the room with extreme anxiety and unease. He could clearly feel his heart pounding, thump thump, thump thump~ as he walked inside.
This was a vampire's room. Though he had seen vampires since arriving in the city, this was his first time facing one alone in such a private setting.
And not just any vampire, this one was the master of the entire city, possibly even a god walking among mortals. That only added to the immense psychological pressure.
But unexpectedly, the room wasn't drenched in blood or cruelty, nor was it saturated with religious overtones. Instead, it exuded a sense of noble elegance and luxury.
Behind a large oak-colored desk sat a handsome figure in a mage's robe, writing with a quill pen.
The air around him carried the calm grace of ancient royalty, unshaken, refined, noble.
Horn's tension refused to ease. He knew that this seemingly composed figure was the ruler of the city. Whether vampire or god, the man before him could kill him and his entire family with ease.
"Have a seat somewhere first. I still have a few documents to finish."
Li De glanced up at Horn and then paid him no further attention, continuing to write. Horn quickly nodded in response but didn't dare to actually sit down. He could only stand there, enduring the torment of waiting.
After a full ten minutes, Li De finally put down his pen with satisfaction as he looked at the blueprint in his hands.
He stood up and glanced at the trembling Horn with a strange look on his face.
Weren't scholars supposed to be proud and confident, able to keep their composure no matter who they faced?
Why was this Grand Scholar from Risel City so inferior compared to that girl in her twenties?
"Good day, Majestic Kachar,"
Horn finally let out a long sigh of relief as Li De stood up, waiting had been the most agonizing part.
"Good day, Lord Horn. Sit down."
Li De didn't say much more and sat down directly on a soft gray sofa.
Horn, though extremely nervous inside, had no choice but to brace himself and sit across from Li De.
Though Li De currently looked like a handsome young man, just thinking about his true form as a vampire, or even a god, made uncontrollable fear well up in Horn's chest.
Seeing the anxious look on Horn's face, Li De felt a little speechless.
That proud girl who faced death with calm eyes, how did she come from the same family as this guy? It was a bit disappointing.
"No need to be nervous, Lord Horn. I'm a friend of Andabella, I won't harm you."
Hearing that, Horn's eyes widened in shock, and a look of unrestrained joy appeared on his face.
"You… you're a friend of Clan Leader Andabella?!"
Li De nodded. "That's right. Before leaving the South, Andabella entrusted the Risel family to me."
"Do you know where Clan Leader Andabella went?" Horn couldn't help asking. Though the girl was still young, she had long since become the spiritual pillar of the Risel family.
Li De shook his head. "She went looking for her teacher."
Seeing that Horn wanted to continue speaking, Li De raised a hand to stop him. He wasn't here to chit-chat today.
"We'll talk about that another time. I've brought you here today for something else."
Li De's blunt words made Horn calm down slightly, especially after learning that Andabella and Li De were actually friends. His fear eased a bit.
In Li De's view, it was shameful that this old man, a Grand Scholar, was so timid and afraid of death.
But from Horn's perspective, he was facing a vampire of legend, more than that, the master of the entire city, possibly even a deity who could wipe out him and his clan with a single wave of the hand. How could he not be nervous?
"Lord Kachar, please speak. I'll answer truthfully to the best of my knowledge."
At this point, Horn had more or less recovered the bearing of a Grand Scholar.
Seeing through the man's true nature, Li De didn't bother wasting time.
"You know about the Blood Cloak of the Risel family, right?
I've heard there's a way to remove the imprint restriction using the royal bloodline of the Risel Empire.
Do you know how to do that?"
As Li De spoke, his eyes locked sharply onto Horn, his mental force extending to the limit.
Horn was momentarily stunned, then instinctively shook his head.
"Lord Kachar, the Blood Cloak is a Legendary grade item forged by the Risel royal family with countless effort, and divine power was even invoked during its creation.
The restriction that only the Risel royal bloodline can use it is irreversible. If it's removed, the cloak will drop from Legendary to Perfect quality."
Li De nodded without changing expression. That girl hadn't lied to him.
He didn't press the matter further and shifted to another topic.