The First Vampire

She was a strikingly beautiful half-elf, with emerald green hair, amber eyes, and delicate and attractive features, she looked as if an ancient statue in the palace had come to life.

Her demeanor was cool and elegant, but also had an air of natural and unforced charm.

However, at this moment, Colin wasn’t in the mood to appreciate beauty. He scrutinized Trissley without any attempt to hide it. He ignored her previous words of congratulations, and asked bluntly:

“How could you know that Her Majesty the Queen would have difficulty in childbirth?”

Faced with Colin’s question, Trissley smiled gently and said, “Because, the queen’s difficulty in childbirth, in fact, has something to do with me.”

Colin’s eyes narrowed, he didn’t expect the High Priestess to be so candid.

“Oh? How is it related?”

“Count, you must have seen the Phoenix shadow that appeared in the sky above Silver Moon City last night.”

“I saw it. But, what is that?”

“It is the projection of the Phoenix’s remnant spirit in this world.”

Seeing the confused expression on Colin’s face, Trissley continued, “There is a rumor that before the age of the Giant Dragon, Phoenixes were the lords of this world. For some unknown reasons, they have disappeared for tens of thousands of years.

However, their bloodline hasn’t completely died out, because it is believed that the Elves inherited the Phoenix bloodline.

The Elves hold the Phoenix Bloodline in great veneration. The higher the concentration of Phoenix bloodline, the higher their status. To maintain the purity of the Phoenix bloodline, those Elves with high concentration of Phoenix bloodline were no longer willing to marry those with low concentration. Thus gradually evolving into a separate racial branch – High Elf.

And among the High Elves, the Royal Family has the richest Phoenix bloodline, they have distinctive features of red pupils and hair …”

Hearing this, Colin’s expression changed as he remembered his just-born daughter who has red pupils, and even though the hair was sparse, it was also red.

It seemed his daughter truly possessed the high concentration of Phoenix bloodline that only the High Elf Royal Family could have.

But as Isa, a “lowborn” half-elf, couldn’t naturally give birth to such an infant, someone must have interfered.

Colin restrained his emotions and continued to listen to Trissley’s explanation:

“…As time went by, the bloodline of the High Elves inevitably became thinner through generations, to the extent that they couldn’t even find a redhead royal descendant.

To purify the bloodline of their descendants, the High Elf priests created a ceremony called ‘Blessing of Blood’.

This ceremony requires a precious meteorite known as a ‘Phoenix Soul Stone Fragment’. It potentially increases the bloodline density in an unborn child, and even enables an ordinary Elf to give birth to a child with the red hair and eyes of the Phoenix bloodline, which is usually only possessed by the most noble High Elf Royal Family.

However, these meteorites known as ‘Phoenix Soul Stone’ are extremely rare, falling from the sky only once every few hundred years. Even with the magical ceremony to enhance the bloodline, the High Elf Royal Family still inevitably declined. In the end, they couldn’t even find a suitable descendant to be the Phoenix King …”

Colin wasn’t interested in the decline of the High Elves. When he heard this, he couldn’t help interrupting:

“So, the Phoenix shadow that appeared in the sky above Silver Moon City last night was because someone was using the ‘Blessing of Blood’ to try and increase the bloodline of the baby in Her Majesty the Queen’s womb?”

“Yes.”

“Who performed this ceremony?”

“It was me.”, Trissley confessed straightforwardly, without any hesitation or reservation.

Colin snorted softly, scoffing: “Hah, Trissley, you don’t think I will thank you for this, do you?”

“Of course not,” Trissley shook her head lightly and said calmly, “Her Majesty the Queen, as a half-elf, is not enough to give birth to a member of the High Elf Royal Family. This ceremony seems to enhance the bloodline of the baby in her womb, but in reality, it would take the lives of her and her daughter.”

So, I’m really curious how Her Majesty the Queen was able to give birth smoothly?”

Of course, Colin wouldn’t tell Trissley how he saved Queen Isa and her daughter. He stared coldly into her eyes, anger in his voice:

“So, are you admitting you once tried to harm Her Majesty the Queen?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Marquis Vincent from the East came to me, promising that if I helped him carry out this ritual, causing Queen Isa’s childbirth to go wrong, then once it was done, he would let the Temple of Destiny control the faith of the Half-Elf Kingdom.”

Colin wasn’t too surprised by this answer, whether it was the reappearance of his old rival Marquis Vincent or the betrayal of the Temple of Destiny were expected. What really baffled him was the actions of this high priestess.

“If that’s the case, why have you appeared before me? Do you really think that I wouldn’t dare to kill you?”

“Lord Count, I am here to make amends for my mistakes…”

“Haha.” Colin interrupted with a cold laugh, “Are you trying to tell me that you were the one who just completed the ritual, endangered Queen Isa and her daughter, and then suddenly had a change of heart, came to the Royal Palace personally to save them?”

Facing Colin’s doubts, Trissley still calmly answered:

“Yes, Lord Count. Perhaps you will find it hard to believe, but when I found out that my ritual was successful, the first thing I thought of was to come and save Her Majesty the Queen and the child in her womb. Do you know why?”

Colin mocked, “Why?”

“Because I found out that the Blessing of Blood ritual was more successful than I had imagined!” Trissley stared at Colin with piercing eyes, “If I’m not mistaken, the baby girl born to the Queen should have red eyes and red hair, right?”

Seeing Colin nod, the look of devotion on Trissley’s face deepened:

“Yes, Lord Count. I admit I initially wanted to cooperate with the East to assassinate Her Majesty the Queen, but I thought, the baby in her womb would at most have the blood concentration of an ordinary High Elf, but I didn’t expect it to be the most noble, most scarce High Elf Royal bloodline!”

This surely is the blessing of the Goddess of fate!

The High Elf Royal bloodline reappearing in the world, how can this miracle compare to what the East promised me?

So, I unhesitatingly came to the Royal Palace, trying to assist Her Majesty the Queen in having a smooth delivery.”

Upon hearing Trissley’s explanation, Colin did not respond but rubbed his chin as if pondering over the credibility of her words.

Seeing this, Trissley spoke again: “Lord Count, I know that it would be hard for you to believe in what I’ve said. Therefore, I have prepared a gift for you.”

“Oh? What kind of gift?”

“Marquis Vincent from the East is currently in the Temple of Destiny. If you trust me, please dispatch an elite force to follow me back there and you will definitely capture him!”

Only then did Colin display a somewhat satisfied smile and clapped his hands.

A figure clad in armor silently appeared in the lounge.

Trissley glanced curiously at the armored man, then reminded Colin: “Lord Count, Marquis Vincent came to Silver Moon City with his elite guard this time, includes a fifth-order Knight…”

Colin interrupted gently, “You just bring my man to Vincent. Don’t worry about the rest.”

Seeing the confident look on Colin’s face, Trissley let her guard down, bowed, and then turned to leave.

The armored man immediately followed in silence.