02 : Perfect Paradox

The current political impasse created a visceral sense of foreboding across the kingdom of Vrivarya. The staff inside the royal palace had become aware of the heightened tension between the king and I. To make things worse, the animosity between the royal and noble factions had also irreversibly escalated.

Few nights had passed since I visited the queen's chamber. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between us, but that wouldn't be enough to put me on the throne. To realize my grand plans, I needed a strong support from both the royal and noble houses.

"Come in," I said, and my four retainers entered my designated office.

We sat around the meeting table, and they started reporting the results of their observation.

"The house of Kuzlav has been collecting weapons, Your Highness," said Irus. "Although I am still uncertain if it is for Vrivarya's knights or their own."

Every noble house had their own set of armed forces, but they could be accused of treason if they gathered soldiers beyond the allowable number of subordinates. It could be seen as a challenge against other noble clans as well as the royal house.

Half of the military force was under the authority of the Kuzlav clan as Orell was the head of the defense ministry, so it wouldn't be unusual for them to stock up weapons, but given the current situation, they must either be allowed by the king who had the final authority for military affairs, or this was solely the decision of their house.

"Where did they get the weapons?"

"It may be supplied by the Dvorachs since they own the caves that produce iron ore, Your Highness," he replied.

Hah. Those two houses again. Then they must be moving on their own since the Kamilia Dvorach hated the king. She wouldn't offer him any help as long as the queen was on the throne. But it would be a different story if mother would be out of the picture.

"And the other nobles?"

"The Sereka and Estrei clans are staying still, Your Highness," Sigrid reported.

I already had Alexei Revali's support, and it would be up to him to convince his father, but I needed the remaining noble houses' support to ensure my coronation.

From what they had shown for the past few months, those two clans would only stand behind rulers that were worthy in their eyes. From what I had learned, the only time that the five noble clans fully supported the royal house was during King Oswald's reign, the seventh ruler of Vrivarya and father's great grandfather.

Vrivarya lost almost half of its territory due to the retaliation of the magi during King Palev's rule, the sixth monarch, and King Oswald was able to reclaim the land. He even managed to conquer half of Urbedza and Tuzkan's territories and was only stopped when the three holy sanctums joined forces, fearing that Vrivarya would grow too strong if they didn't put an end to their conquest immediately.

If I wanted the Sereka and Estrei houses' support, I needed to make Vrivarya a powerful nation in the eyes of the magi and the other vampiric kingdoms. Perhaps even the bullheaded Dvorachs and Kuzlavs might see my worth as their ruler.

The gears in my head started turning as I devised an effective way to gain their favors, but there were still a lot of factors needed to be considered.

My gaze turned to Moria. "And the magi?"

From her last report, the high sanctums started to move albeit quietly. Elder magi of the sanctums were seen traveling to the southern continent. The vampiric kingdoms speculated that there must be a main headquarters for the leaders to convene, but nobody had ever confirmed its location due to the magi's influence in the south.

It seemed like their main sanctum was indeed located in one of the southern nations if the leaders were there.

"They have started evacuating human villages that are bordering the three kingdoms, Your Highness," answered Moria. "They were spreading rumors about dangerous night creatures carrying infectious diseases advancing to human settlements."

The humans living in the vampiric kingdoms were at least aware of our existence, but the rest of the northern continent only heard rumors about the undead, never knowing if they were true or not. Meanwhile, the mainland and southern continent were blissfully unaware, and only saw the north as a dangerous place because of wild beasts and harsh weather conditions.

I almost laughed at their audacity and hypocrisy. The magi were the first to strike and now they were trying to convince the humans that we were the ones at fault.

"How's the reaction of our people?" I asked.

"The humans in the cities are aware of the rising tension across Vrivarya," Kei replied. "They are worried about their safety, Your Highness."

It was understandable that the humans living in Vrivarya were scared. After all, they'd be the first casualty if the war broke out. We could use them as hostages and the magi could just sacrifice them.

But there was a way for them to save themselves that would be also useful to my plans.

"Kei, spread some rumors for me," I ordered. "Tell the humans that the magi are trying to save them by declaring a war against us. And if they feel unsafe, they can just leave Vrivarya without any repercussions."

The four shifted in their seats and looked at each other upon hearing my order but did not say anything in opposition.

"I shall, Your Highness," Kei answered.

They had been living comfortably in Vrivarya, but the looming war would make them question their security in Vrivarya. Some would definitely try to get out of the borders and live within human communities, but they would notice the difference between their quality of life.

If these humans started hating on the magi, then that would destroy the latter's reputation in the north.

"I will be visiting the Revali's fief tomorrow. Make preparations for that," I added before adjourning our meeting.

Silence filled my chamber as my retainers stepped out. I wanted to take a bath as I had been too busy to take care of myself these past few days, but I halted upon seeing my reflection in the mirror.

The thick red linings around my eyes had turned permanent after my second awakening. But what surprised me more was the appearance of two runes just below my eyes.

Runes had appeared all over my face and arms during my second awakening, but they had long faded away. If these two started to resurface again, then it might have something to do with my power.

Curious about their meaning and purpose, I visited Rurik in his tower.

"Your Highness!" he greeted as he hastily ran down the stairs.

Despite my unannounced visit, Rurik still managed to look presentable. His white tunic did not have any crease, and his silver hair was tied in a loose ponytail. He escorted me to his drawing chamber and offered some of his finest blood tea.

"To what do I owe this visit, Your Highness?"

My gaze found his, and I could tell that he was fixated on the runes on the upper part of my cheeks.

"I want to know the meaning behind these runes," I said.

Ancient runes were used by human ancestors to communicate with each other, and the first sentient undead used them as a reference to create his own writing system. Now, only a few could understand them since both magi and undead preferred the modern way of communication, but I thought an arcane mage and scholar like Rurik could be familiar with it.

"Did they appear after your second awakening, Your Highness?"

I nodded in return. "I just became aware of them today."

He studied my face for a few seconds before letting out a gasp.

"What is it?" I asked, but he ran to his library instead, and came back with a thick, dilapidated book on his hands.

I watched him frantically flipping the pages, trying to find the symbols and words he was searching for, and froze upon stumbling on a page. He plopped on his seat and looked at me with both curiosity and terror.

"H-how could this happen?" he murmured.

"What is it, Rurik?"

"Did Princess Zaria possess a bloodline power?"

I froze for a moment. The only people who were aware of Zaria's charm besides me were my retainers, Olga, Alexei, and the queen. If he was inquiring about it, then it might be related to the appearance of the runes.

"Does it matter?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "Then, it must really be hers. But why did the princess hide her ability?" he whispered to himself.

"Are the runes related to Zaria?"

He gazed at me with a solemn expression. "They are the manifestation of unconditional sacrifice, Your Highness."

"Expound," I ordered.

"The rune on your left cheek means complete dominance. It has never appeared on any Stryzygan monarch besides the first king, Eiryk the Blood King."

The first monarch? I have read about him during my history lessons, and he was the one who built Vrivarya after naming himself Eiryk Stryzyga. He was the also the strongest blood manipulator among the undead. Does that mean I awakened the strongest power among the Stryzyga bloodline, similar to the first king?

"And on your right is the rune for absolute protection," he added. "But it was only seen on enlightened humans like the magi."

I looked at him, confused. "What? Then why do I have it?"

"They said humans often sacrifice themselves for their loved ones," he explained. "And only humans are capable of emotions such as love." He nervously glanced at me before continuing. "Those who were saved by such sacrifice would get enlightened, just like how vampires get awakened, and sometimes, they'd inherit this rune."

I was not able to say anything after his revelation because I realized why he asked that question about Zaria. The queen implied the same thing when Zaria's blood protected me from the former's intimidation last time.

"Unconditional sacrifice..." I murmured.

"Whether she was aware of it or not, it seemed like Princess Zaria harbored the same emotion during her last moments despite being an undead," Rurik remarked. "And in response to her sacrifice, you, Your Highness, manifested the incarnation of one of the most powerful undead to ever walk on these lands despite being raised as a human."

***