Volume 4, Chapter 11 – Impostor, Betrayer, Supporter

Two carriages traveled through a jungle where a mountain road had been cleared.

There were no large quantities of goods or guards following behind them. At first glance, they looked like ordinary traveling merchants, but if there were any vampires nearby, they would surely take a second look.

In the vampire territory of Hyurent, being a traveling merchant was a rare profession. Most vampires disliked engaging in commercial or agricultural activities and would even actively attack merchants to seize their property. Therefore, almost all merchants in the vampire lands were the type who relied on nobles and possessed vast family businesses. Only in this way could they survive in Hyurent.

Thus, a peculiar phenomenon existed in Hyurent: the nobles ruled the people, while merchants of other races provided for their daily needs. They offered luxury goods as tribute to local nobles to obtain permission and protection, and then engaged in the trade of food, daily necessities, and even weapons.

Of course, not all vampire territories had their lifelines controlled by merchants. Among the fourteen vampire territories, there were exceptions like the Pescia territory. The nobles there forcibly commanded lower-class vampires to farm, keeping essential supplies like grain firmly in their own hands and prohibiting other merchants from trading grain within their lands. The reason for this was to strengthen the power of the current Count Pescia.

This was also one of the reasons why the Pescia territory was so powerful.

It was now the second day since Edith had escaped from the wyvern knights.

Flapping her Magic Fairy wings to maintain flight, Edith crossed one arm and lowered her head in thought.

“So, you’re saying I’m only standing here because the betrayers retreated?”

“That’s about right, although I don’t know why those assassins retreated.”

Sitting in a position visible as soon as one entered the carriage, Yisi spread her hands. After yesterday’s battle, the count’s eldest daughter had rested for a full day before regaining consciousness and waking from her deep sleep.

Due to the limited space in the carriage, only Yisi’s group of four and Refina were inside.

“I don’t understand… If they mobilized five wyvern knights to create a surefire kill situation, why would they suddenly retreat just as they were about to succeed…” The count’s eldest daughter furrowed her beautiful brows and looked up at Yisi, who was several times her size. “Do you have any clues?”

The count’s eldest daughter’s gaze was full of suspicion. Yisi answered very honestly.

“I do have a clue, but let me make it clear, I didn’t do anything.”

Whether it was due to the setback or the illusion created by her smaller body, although the count’s eldest daughter still spoke in a commanding tone, Yisi felt that her presence was somewhat weaker than before.

“Mm, speak.”

“I saw Samael.”

“Samael? Wasn’t the fallen angel Samael defeated by Miss Yisi? Why would he appear on the battlefield?”

The one who spoke was Refina, who leaned forward to ask. However, the movement was too large and pulled at yesterday’s wounds, causing her facial expression to twitch unnaturally in pain.

“Miss Refina, it’s better if you don’t move…”

“Ah, thank you, Mary.”

Seeing Refina thank Mary, Yisi found it strange but didn’t let it show on her face, instead answering Refina’s question.

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“Shouldn’t you know more than me, Refina?”

“No… I’m not sure. I left immediately after sending Samael to the Count.”

“These things will be known once we are before Father. Judging by the result, Samael is at least not our enemy. With his abilities, he wouldn’t need to go to such lengths to assassinate me. Since he selectively killed the wyvern knights, it means he is acting with some purpose.”

Biting her lip lightly, Edith unconsciously knitted her brows together.

“Either he escaped from Father and is seeking revenge, or he is helping people who share a common enemy with him for some reason unknown to us.”

Camilla, sitting to Yisi’s right with Tiffany, asked a question.

“First, if Samael’s goal is to take revenge on Father, why not attack Father directly? Second, what if Samael is attacking people around him indiscriminately?”

“The latter question is too foolish. I will only answer your first one. As the master of the Pescia Tower, as long as Father is near the tower, anyone with killing intent will be exposed to him.”

The reason she called the second question foolish was probably that if Samael were on an indiscriminate killing spree, he wouldn’t have spared their group nearby. Of course, it was also possible that he fled because he discovered Yisi’s presence—no, with Samael’s abilities, he should have discovered her long ago.

If Samael still showed himself after discovering her, the answer was just as Edith said: Samael might be helping their group for some purpose.

As Yisi pondered, the count’s eldest daughter continued.

“Excluding the possibility that one of us made a pact with Samael, the only remaining possibility is that we share a common enemy. In that case, Father would not be his target. Of course, this encounter could also be a pure coincidence, like Samael not knowing our identities and simply wanting to kill wyvern knights. But even so, we can guess his motive. Why did he only target wyvern knights? Does he hate wyverns? Or is he planning to organize a slaughter against the blood clan? Or perhaps to ruin someone’s plan?”

Prompted by Edith, Refina’s voice rose a notch, as if she suddenly understood something.

“Whether it’s a common enemy or ruining someone’s plan… the target points to that inferior impostor who’s impersonating Master? But wouldn’t it be simpler for Samael to just kill that inferior thing directly?”

“I don’t know. There are too many unknowns. Rather than treating Samael as an ally, it’s better to exclude him from our plans for now and consider him an unstable factor. He might be planning a grand revenge scheme, preparing to pull out Father’s teeth first by eliminating all the wyvern knights.”

Making a not-so-funny joke, Edith proactively changed the subject.

“Compared to these trivial details, there is only one thing I need to do—walk up to Father, carve the impostor piece by piece into a dish, and feed it to the slaves, letting her watch herself being devoured with her own eyes.”

Please don’t look at me when you say things like that.

Feeling a chill, Yisi broke out in goosebumps.

Then, the count’s eldest daughter looked at Camilla.

“You, however, surprised me. I thought you had been trained into someone else’s dog, but yesterday you took the initiative to help me block the javelins.”

“Don’t get me wrong. It was Onee-sama’s order. If you died, I would gladly burn Refina along with you and leave this wretched place with Onee-sama, who would then have a body all to herself.” ¹ woa woaa… camilla..

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Camilla was as sharp-tongued as ever.

Yisi subtly glanced at Refina, whose eyebrows were raised as if ready to get angry, but the count’s eldest daughter acted first.

“Are you defying me?”

Flying in front of Camilla, Edith reached out to lift her chin, but because her Magic Fairy body was too small, she was swatted away by Camilla’s staff—which was caught mid-swing by Refina’s hand.

“Insolent.”

Refina’s golden eyes were filled with warning, but Camilla glared back with an intensity that was no less than hers.

“I am not the same person I was before. This is just a warning. If you cross the line again, next time it will be magic.”

A tense atmosphere filled the carriage. Caught in the middle, Mary looked like she wanted to intervene but didn’t dare to speak, and was eventually pulled aside by Tiffany, away from the conflict.

With an ambiguous sneer, Edith beckoned to Refina.

“Refina, stop. They are allies, for now.” Edith glanced at Camilla. “What a fascinating training process. I wonder what methods this person used to make you the way you are now.”

Next, Edith looked at Yisi.

“The two of us might have a surprising amount in common—when it comes to making pets more obedient.”

Please spare me from that.

Having seen the count’s eldest daughter’s memories, Yisi knew that Edith’s words were neither sarcastic nor a social pleasantry, but a sincere desire to ask for methods to make pets more obedient. When it came to learning sadistic techniques, the count’s eldest daughter would even allow commoners to converse with her.

Although she felt her own sadistic spirit being stirred, it was undoubtedly pathological. Yisi subtly brought the conversation back on track.

“There’s one thing I’ve always been curious about. Given Count Pescia’s doting on Edith, how on earth did that impostor manage to deceive him? No matter how perfect the disguise, discrepancies in personality and memory should have revealed her.”

Just as she herself wouldn’t dare to walk before Count Pescia even if she used Edith’s body and inherited her memories, habits—like the way one walks and eats, the tone of voice, and expressions—would differ from the original. It was incredible that the impostor could deceive Count Pescia.

“Don’t you find it strange that the impostor could deceive Father, but not Refina?”

“Isn’t it because Refina saw me in Celtic City first, and then saw another you when she returned? There can’t be two Loiswell Edith Pescia at the same time, right?”

“No, there is a more crucial piece of evidence than the impossibility of two Loiswell appearing at once.”

As if deliberately keeping her in suspense, Edith paused at the most tantalizing point.

Yisi played along and pressed on.

“What is it?”

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“Hehe… I’m starting to like you more and more. How about becoming mine, just like Refina? I guarantee you the best treatment and will grant you my favor every day.”

“I must refuse.”

“Oh, what a pity.” Not expecting Yisi to agree in the first place, the count’s eldest daughter continued unhurriedly, “The crucial evidence is that the impostor’s goal is not to deceive everyone. The only person she is deceiving is Father.”

What does she mean, the only one she’s deceiving is Count Pescia?

As if seeing Yisi’s confusion, the count’s eldest daughter half-covered her mouth and answered with an inscrutable, confident smile.

“In other words, she has only deceived Father, while everyone else knows that person is a fake. Perhaps she is controlling Father with mind magic, or she might be a tool intentionally created by someone.”

“To put it bluntly?”

The count’s eldest daughter didn’t answer, but handed the floor to Refina.

“In short, that impostor’s appearance bears no resemblance to Master’s at all. Only her twisted personality is a facade of Master’s. And for some unknown reason, the Count, even when the nobles pointed this out to his face, still believes that inferior thing is the real Master. Then, with the Count’s support, the impostor used the pretext of rebellion to eradicate the nobles who originally supported Master and dared to speak out. Over time, there are now few people in the Pescia territory who dare to voice opposition. The fake has become the original.”

“Should I call that clever…”

At least she had never thought of a strategy where as long as Count Pescia was convinced, the opinions of others could be disregarded.

“You’re right. Putting personal feelings aside and looking at it from a third-person perspective, it is indeed a flawless plan. The application of mind magic is brilliant, and her courage and adaptability are far beyond ordinary people. However, her opponent is me.”

Assassination?

Assassinating Count Pescia was impossible, but assassinating the impostor shouldn’t be difficult. Once the caster dies, the mind magic would naturally be dispelled.

“Are you talking about assassination? That’s what one would normally think. So did the nobles who supported me, but they all failed. Whether it was sneaking in for an assassination or blowing up the entire mansion, it all came to nothing. It’s as if someone was looking down from the position of a god; as soon as any plan began to take shape, the nobles would all be found dismembered in their own homes—”

At this point, Edith’s eyes suddenly blinked as if she had thought of something.

“Hoh~ I was wondering who could carry out assassinations so secretly. Since you said you saw Samael, it must have been his doing. Interesting.”

She couldn’t understand what was interesting at all. A normal person would be furious over the deaths of their comrades right now, but Yisi couldn’t see any such emotion in the count’s eldest daughter’s eyes. Even the emotions transmitted through her empathy sense were only contemplation.

Incomprehensible.

This was the first time Yisi had met someone who could be described as psychologically twisted.

After a few seconds of silent thought, the inscrutable smile returned to Edith’s face.

“That’s how it is. Although explaining it to you now is meaningless, you will become my possession sooner or later. Consider this saving trouble for the future.”

She wouldn’t drug me and turn me into someone like Refina, would she? But even with drugs, this body is still the count’s eldest daughter’s body.

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Yisi was amused by the bad joke that popped into her head, and she coughed lightly twice.

“The attack earlier was also the impostor’s doing, wasn’t it? We just entered the Pescia territory. How did she know our whereabouts?”

“You should have noticed that the five accompanying pets have become four. The one we lost was a dog named Clara. She betrayed the master who raised her and provided the impostor with my network of contacts. The impostor then used this information to place spies on several possible routes to monitor my movements at all times, which is how she tracked us down.”

“…You don’t seem angry at all.”

“Pointlessly venting anger is just a waste of time. It’s more interesting to let the emotions build up and settle the score one by one when she falls into my hands. Twisting, struggling, crying, begging, and then, in despair and hatred, pleading for a quick and dignified death. Finally, I will grant her plea, but in reality, I will slowly torture her using the method she fears most—”

Edith’s voice grew louder and more excited, and by the end, the madness radiating from her body made everyone in the carriage, except for Refina and Camilla, subconsciously shrink back.

Noticing the change, the count’s eldest daughter suddenly lowered the hand covering her face and switched to a bright, smiling expression.

“That is why I am not angry.”

She’s a complete psycho…

Swallowing hard, Yisi felt a sense of awe. She quickly pulled the trembling Mary to her side and patted her head comfortingly.

“Me too.”

Pointing to her own head, Tiffany also approached Yisi.

Yisi couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

“Yes, yes, Tiffany gets some too.”

“Onee-sama, I also—”

Halfway through Camilla’s words, the carriage suddenly stopped.

Refina stuck her head out the window to check the situation.

“Master, we’ve arrived at Termi City.”

“Oh my, it’s my turn to control the body,” the count’s eldest daughter looked at Yisi. “The promised 7 hours, is that right?”

“It’s 6 hours.”

“You’ll regret this later.”

With a joking tone, Edith reached her hand out to Yisi.