Viktor stood where he was, his gaze fixed on Priscis, who was wearing a black dress that wrapped around her "legs."
Sensing Viktor's gaze, Priscis's eyes were filled with fear.
She stood stiffly in place, her hands gripping her skirt turning pale.
To Priscis, the man in front of her was nothing short of a nightmare.
The flames from last time had nearly destroyed everything she had.
If her father hadn't appeared in time, she probably wouldn't even be able to stand here now.
But even though she was afraid, she still had to come here to find Viktor.
"Speak. Why did you come to me?"
Hearing Viktor's voice, Priscis couldn't help but tremble in fear.
But she still spoke, her voice shaky, "Please… save my mother."
"She… has been trapped by my father…"
She forced out each word with difficulty, as if every word took all her strength.
Viktor narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze sizing up Priscis, "Do you really not know, or are you pretending not to know?"
Under Viktor's piercing gaze, Priscis grew even more nervous.
Her body involuntarily stepped back two steps, her face turning pale as she pressed stiffly against the wall.
Suddenly, that twisted figure, the monster with the same face as Priscis, struggled to stand up and moved in front of her.
It spread its arms toward Viktor.
Although its irregular limbs made it hard to tell, there was no doubt that it was protecting Priscis.
Seeing this, Viktor let out a soft laugh.
"Even after becoming a bloodline breed, constantly affected by that uncontrollable madness, you still instinctively want to protect your daughter?"
He couldn't help but sigh, "How touching."
Hearing these words, Priscis was filled with fear. Her face was pale as she silently endured it.
Viktor looked at her again and continued, "Maybe you know that your mother's soul is occupying your body."
"You think your father did it on purpose, so you want to free your mother's soul."
Upon hearing this, Priscis couldn't help but look up at Viktor, her eyes filled with hope and certainty.
However, in the next second, Viktor's merciless words pierced her heart like arrows, "But what you're doing will only cause your mother to completely dissipate."
Hearing this, Priscis's pupils suddenly widened, her expression turning frantic in an instant.
She looked at Viktor, unable to accept it.
"How… could that be…" she cried out with difficulty.
"You should be clear about what you are."
Viktor's voice was cold, "From beginning to end, you were never human."
Before he even finished speaking, Viktor's gaze shifted back to the monster as he said calmly, "Once, you were a bloodline breed, but that indiscriminate madness caused you to kill your mother without even realizing it."
"Your mother was torn apart by your madness, not even half a complete corpse left behind."
Hearing this, Priscis's entire body stiffened.
In her mind, she had never had such a memory.
"Your father, for her... your mother."
Viktor raised his hand and pointed at the bloodline breed that looked exactly like Priscis, continuing, "In order to prevent her soul from dissipating, he sought out Grand Duke Barlow and had her soul merged into your body."
"And you were separated from it, spared from the madness and suffering of a bloodline breed."
The reason Priscis did not dissipate was not because the Grand Duke preserved her soul.
It was because Priscis had never died at all. Her physical body was still completely intact.
So her soul had only been stripped away.
Because of that, she could neither enter the underworld to be reborn nor enter the domain of the dead.
But Priscis's mother was different.
Because she was already on the brink of death, she needed a complete body to house her broken soul.
That body had to have sufficient compatibility, making it easier to guide her soul into settling within it.
Therefore, Priscis's body, which shared a blood relationship, became the first choice to sustain her mother's soul in the world.
But since Priscis was a bloodline breed, even after her mother's soul merged into this body, she would still continuously suffer from the symptoms of a bloodline breed.
This condition had no cure at all.
If one wanted to cure blood madness, it could only be resolved from the root.
That meant transforming the bloodline breed into a true vampire.
To achieve that condition, there was only one way…
———
"What!? Marry Priscis!?"
After hearing August announce his future queen, everyone present was stunned, standing frozen like statues in the golden hall.
'What did the king just say…?'
'He wants to marry Priscis!?'
Aurelian also stood frozen. She had seen the girl the king was referring to. She knew exactly what Priscis was.
Priscis Niss.
The daughter of that devoted count, Laurien Niss, who had already died.
And yet now, she was a ghost.
And this King of Cant actually wanted to marry a ghost?
Not just in the Cant Kingdom... even in the entire world, this would be shocking.
The nobles present were thrown into chaos. Hearing this news left them just as stunned as Aurelian.
Count Laurien's daughter?
Wasn't she already dead?
How could the king marry someone who had already died?
Countless nobles looked toward Count Laurien behind August, only to find that there was not the slightest trace of anything strange on his face.
The two of them looked as if they had already agreed on this beforehand.
This only made everyone even more confused.
After a while, a noble in the banquet hall finally broke the stalemate. He stood up and shouted at August, "Your Majesty, you should give all of us an explanation!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding nobles all nodded in agreement.
Every gaze fell on the young king.
Putting aside what he intended to do or whether this was just a stunt for attention...
Even as a joke, for a king to marry a dead person was a grave taboo.
After all, a king marrying a dead person... who wouldn't be confused by that?
However, August simply smiled, as if he had long anticipated everyone's reaction, and said calmly, "I am serious."
The noise in the hall stopped abruptly. Some nobles were so shocked that they collapsed weakly into their chairs.
"I will marry Priscis. This is for the future of the entire kingdom."
For the sake of the kingdom?
That sounded as absurd as a fairy tale.
A certain count could no longer hold back. He slammed his fist onto the table, stood up abruptly, and cursed at August, "August, have you gone mad!"
After the demi-human invasion incident in the royal city, many people were already dissatisfied with August.
And now he dared to pull something like this.
The furious count even addressed him directly by name.
"She's already dead! You should know that!"
At this moment, August slowly narrowed his eyes, turned around, and fixed a cold gaze on the count.
A chilling light flashed in his eyes as he responded in an icy voice, "Is that so?"
The candlelight in the vast banquet hall began to flicker unsteadily, and everyone's shadows swayed across the golden hall.
Half of August's face was hidden in shadow, yet his deep, unfathomable gaze made everyone feel a chill run down their spine.
He slightly curled his lips into a smile, but to everyone present, it looked extremely eerie, "But what if Count Laurien's daughter could be revived?"
Hearing this, all the nobles were stunned. They looked at each other, each forming a guess.
'Could it be… that Grand Duke Barlow was going to revive Priscis?'
But Grand Duke Barlow would never agree to such a thing.
Everyone knew about Count Laurien's tragic past.
It was said that his daughter died because her mad mother brutally killed her.
And Count Laurien had been devastated.
In his despair, he sought to revive his daughter.
He brought his vast territory and immense wealth to request an audience with Grand Duke Barlow, willing to offer everything to him.
He was even willing to become the Grand Duke's subordinate and loyal retainer.
After all, everyone present knew the saying that a necromancer could revive the dead.
But none of them had ever seen it with their own eyes.
Had Count Laurien finally succeeded in persuading Grand Duke Barlow to revive his daughter?
Or was the king planning to make the request on his behalf?
But even if that were the case, what exactly was August aiming for?
Even if Count Laurien's daughter were revived and he married Priscis, it wouldn't bring any benefit to the kingdom.
Because Laurien himself was already a count of the Cant Kingdom.
Even if his power was considerable, it still wasn't enough to warrant the king forming a marriage alliance.
And yet August insisted that this was for the future of the entire kingdom.
If it was truly for the kingdom's good, wouldn't it be better to form a marriage alliance with the princess of the neighboring empire?
And she was standing right there beside him.
Seeing the nobles' confusion, August grinned and said, "Speaking of which, do you all know about 'blood sacrifice'?"
Everyone froze, not yet understanding, when August continued, "A ritual that requires the lives of at least thousands of people."
"It can strip a bloodline breed of its form and turn it into a true vampire."
Everyone present was stunned.
'Wait a second?'
'Bloodline breed? Vampire?'
'What does that mean? How did this even come up?'
The nobles looked at each other, whispering in low voices throughout the hall.
August seemed to immerse himself in their murmurs, then suddenly raised his voice and asked, "Now, how much time is left until midnight?"
A noble was taken aback, subconsciously glanced at his pocket watch, and answered, "About… three hours?"
The corners of August's mouth lifted into a satisfied smile as he nodded lightly.
"That's enough time."
Suddenly, the sound of countless hooves and carriage wheels echoed from outside the banquet hall.
The sound rumbled like thunder, as if an army had gathered.
The carriages drew closer and closer, the noise growing louder and louder.
The ground itself seemed to tremble.
The nobles looked outside in shock at the approaching convoy. Behind each carriage was a large compartment, as if they were transporting something.
What was going on?
Excitement and fanaticism flashed in August's eyes.
"Everyone, if you're interested, follow me outside and take a look."
Looking at the countless carriages stopping in the courtyard, August's eyes burned with anticipation, "If you're curious, why not come outside with me and see?"
Before he even finished speaking, a group of nobles had already stepped outside.
The moment they approached the carriages, their expressions suddenly froze. Their flushed faces instantly turned pale, then purple.
They scattered in all directions, vomiting uncontrollably. The mixture of alcohol and food spilled across the courtyard, giving off a sour stench.
Several nobles, filled with disbelief, raised trembling fingers and pointed ahead, "August, you…"