Chapter Ninety-One: The Temptation of Blood

The man with the waxed mustache hurried forward and whispered a few words beside Baron Charles. The baron gave a slight nod and immediately became even more cordial.

“Lord Johnst, Lord Hendel, please come in at once. I have prepared a lavish breakfast for you, and we shall enjoy it together. Come, come inside.”

Mullan smiled and nodded, falling into step as he joked lightly, “If your manor were not so vast, I think the scent of breakfast would have drifted out long ago.”

“Hahaha, Lord Johnst, you truly are witty.”

Like so many noblemen who meet with hidden intentions, Mullan and Baron Charles got along splendidly, so much so that they seemed like old friends at first sight, at least on the surface.

Hendel walked along beside them, secretly amazed. The upper circles of nobility really were complicated; how could anyone tell by looking that the professor had been suspecting this baron since last night? Compared with that, Hendel felt he was hardly fit to call himself a nobleman at all.

When Baron Charles entered the dining room first, Mullan deliberately fell a step behind and lowered his voice beside Hendel.

“Near the end of breakfast, find a chance to pretend you accidentally cut your hand. Squeeze out as much blood as you can.”

Hendel gave a slight nod to show he understood, then entered the dining room with Mullan as if nothing were amiss. Though lavishly decorated, it had an air of age about it.

Baron Charles had not been exaggerating when he spoke of a sumptuous breakfast. Fried eggs, bacon, pastries, bread, milk tea, savory meat pies, fruit, vegetables, and more were all laid out in abundance. Just looking at it felt extravagantly decadent.

Mullan guessed that even Queen Nisheril’s breakfast might not be this abundant. After all, he had heard that the queen was often attended through her morning ablutions and then made to wait on her bed for the breakfast trolley to arrive, and a small trolley could hardly carry so much food.

The atmosphere at the breakfast table was equally warm. Mullan and Baron Charles chatted like old acquaintances reunited after many years, speaking on subjects that interested them both.

It was clear that Baron Charles was genuinely curious about many things, and from time to time he let out excited bursts of laughter.

“So that is how it is. The scenery at sea is truly magnificent. If I ever have the chance, I must see it for myself!”

“Indeed, especially the sunrise over the ocean. It is truly beautiful!”

Mullan added that with a smile. Baron Charles’s grin stiffened for an instant, and he quickly changed the subject.

“I have heard that Her Majesty Queen Nisheril is extraordinarily beautiful, a rare vision in this world. As Her Majesty’s guardian knight, Lord Johnst, you must often have the opportunity to see her, must you not?”

Mullan nodded.

“Her Majesty’s beauty is indeed rare in this world, but her majesty and dignity are such that one often forgets her loveliness. She is both gifted and peerless in beauty. Truly, she is favored by the Holy Light.”

A look of yearning appeared on Baron Charles’s face. He subconsciously took a sip of red wine and then wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

Mullan took in the baron’s expression, his smile unchanged though a faint chill had entered his eyes. Hendel, meanwhile, listened carefully to every word they exchanged, while never stopping his own mouth; he kept selecting the tastiest dishes and eating them one after another. His body now demanded a great deal of energy, and the Enlightenment stage was still a time of growth.

When breakfast was more than half finished, Baron Charles felt the time was ripe and asked casually, “By the way, Lord Johnst, I have also seen that train. It does seem that something terrible happened. I have a friend on board who said he would come see me, but I have not seen him arrive. Have you perhaps seen him? His name is Sandro, and he is a gentleman.”

Mullan’s expression changed.

“Could he be among the victims?”

“No, no. I have already learned the identities of those people, and none of them is my friend. My friend’s name is Sandro. He is a gentleman.”

Mullan’s expression turned grave. After a moment of thought, he lowered his voice.

“Charles, I think you should already have been informed in detail. What we encountered this time was a werewolf. What the other passengers do not know is that beyond the werewolf, there was another, even more dreadful presence on the train: a vampire.”

“A vampire!”

Baron Charles looked horrified.

“Yes, a vampire. Those dark creatures of legend are not entirely fictional. At least, not all of them are. And they are even more dreadful, more evil, and more filthy than the tales make them out to be. The werewolf crisis has been resolved, but the vampire has yet to appear. Your friend may have...”

“No, impossible. Impossible. How could my friend possibly be a vampire? Impossible. He...”

Mullan looked puzzled.

“Charles, I mean that your friend was probably taken by a vampire, or else ran into some danger related to one. Why would you think along those lines?”

“Ah? Oh, yes, he may have encountered danger...”

Baron Charles’s back felt slightly hot.

“Professor, regarding the possibility that werewolves may still be hiding in Old Charles Mine, I think we should warn the baron to prevent any danger to Charles Town and the manor.”

“Mm. Charles, you heard him. There may still be werewolves in the old mine. In fact, I did not wipe them all out last night. A few escaped.”

Charles first stared blankly, then asked, “Lord Johnst, did you truly, as they said, fight the werewolves hand to hand and win?”

Mullan smiled.

“You thought that was a joke? Then would my title as the queen’s guardian knight not be meaningless?”

“No, no, I do not doubt your strength. But werewolves are terrifying monsters, and you are only a human, without armor. How could you face them without fear, let alone defeat them?”

“Pfft...”

Hendel could not help laughing aloud, then reminded the baron, “My lord, when the professor faced the werewolves, it was less a battle than an execution. The ones who were slaughtered were the werewolves.”

Baron Charles’s expression grew even more astonished. Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he asked, “Why do you keep calling Lord Johnst ‘Professor’? Is Lord Johnst still teaching at a university?”

Hendel glanced at Mullan. Mullan thought for a moment, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said calmly, “Not at a university. I teach students at the Black Castle.”

“The Black Castle?”

Baron Charles was clearly rather ignorant, though that was hardly surprising. Even in the imperial capital, very few people truly knew the real name of that haunted place.

“Yes, it has existed for a very long time. Or perhaps if I use another name, it will be easier for you to understand: the Imperial Ministry of Magic.”

“The Ministry of Magic?”

Baron Charles’s eyes widened, and he fixed Mullan with an unblinking stare.

“Yes, the Imperial Ministry of Magic. The kind of wizards you imagine, and others besides.”

“For example, you?”

Mullan nodded readily and admitted it.

“For example, me. Compared with magic, I am better at solving problems with a gun and a sword.”

Hendel immediately added, “But the professor is extraordinarily learned. All the students in the Black Castle know that his attainments in magic must also be exceptional.”

Mullan bared his teeth faintly. Once one’s path had been set, cross-disciplinary power was not impossible to use, but it was far from easy, and the stage would be rather low. Hendel was simply fooling Baron Charles, who knew nothing at all.

“Hiss, ah...”

Perhaps because he had been distracted while speaking, the back of the index finger on Hendel’s left hand was accidentally nicked by the table knife. Blood welled up at once, surging from the cut and dripping onto the plate.

Baron Charles’s gaze was irresistibly drawn to Hendel’s finger, and his expression became fixed as though bewitched, staring hard at that bright red blood. In his ear, it seemed as though a voice kept urging him on.

Hurry, hurry. That is blood, mellow and sweet. It is the ultimate delicacy in this world, the unrivaled source of power. Blood, blood...

Baron Charles’s hands gripped the napkin on the table so tightly that his knuckles whitened. His will seemed to struggle desperately, yet his gaze could not tear itself away from the blood.

“Charles. Charles.”

Mullan called out twice, but Baron Charles did not respond. So he raised his voice.

“Charles!”

“Ah?”

Baron Charles woke as from a dream, even breathing a little hard.

“You are covered in sweat. Are you feeling unwell? I think you should go and rest for a while.”

“Me? Yes, yes, I should rest for a while. Lord Johnst, if you are not in a hurry to leave, please do stay at my manor. I have already made arrangements. But for now, forgive me for leaving you. Make yourselves comfortable...”

There were still a few things he ought to have done, but now Charles was eager to flee the dining room. After uttering a few hurried words, he left in a rush. Forcing himself to remain composed until he reached the corridor, Baron Charles’s steps had already become somewhat unsteady, and he quickened his pace before hurrying away.

Hendel pressed a hand over the wound and wrapped a handkerchief around it twice.

“Professor, this Baron Charles has a very serious problem.”

“It is obvious.”

Hendel pressed a hand over the wound and wrapped it twice with his handkerchief.

“Professor, this Baron Charles has a very serious problem.”

“It is obvious.”