Carmilla's eyes widened at Zeke's words.
"Are you talking about Laura?"
"Yes. I also want to know about your relationship with my mother." Carmilla nodded.
"Understood. As for me and the young lady..."
"Wait a moment. This might take a while, so let's get comfortable."
Zeke pulled a table and chairs from his inventory. He intended to listen to Carmilla's story in comfort, safe within the barrier Richmond and Bane had set up.
He even brewed some tea and handed her a cup, finishing his preparations to hear her out at leisure.
"Thank you, my king."
"That 'king' thing is really hard to get used to. Just call me lord instead." "Understood, my king."
"..."
Carmilla sat down and, undeterred by Zeke's sullen expression, slowly began her tale.
"Laura is my lifesaver."
"So, my mother saved you?"
"Yes. About fifty years ago, the Empire launched a massive vampire hunt."
Carmilla explained that at the time, she led a vampire group that was the precursor to Red Eye, but it wasn't as powerful as it was now.
"Back then, we mainly operated dance halls centered around female vampires to run the organization."
Though such dance halls, where one could watch beautiful vampire dancers perform, were rare nowadays, fifty years ago they could be found without much difficulty in various cities, according to Carmilla.
As a result, when the vampire hunts began, the dance halls were among the first targets.
Thus, Carmilla, who managed the dance halls, found herself pursued by the Empire's knights.
No matter how much power as a progenitor she possessed, facing hundreds of knights wielding aura was impossible.
In the end, Carmilla was captured while fleeing from the Empire.
"Laura was already involved in Dawn Society activities at the time. The Dawn Society conducted relief efforts not only for the Rubern bloodline but also for the freedom of nonhuman races, and by a stroke of luck, I was rescued through their efforts."
She said that after being saved by Laura, she recovered her strength with the help of the Dawn Society.
And afterward, to repay the favor, she had volunteered to serve as Laura's bodyguard.
"Laura said it wasn't necessary, but it was my own decision."
Through this, Zeke understood why she had been with Laura Agamemnon at the museum.
"So, you had ties to the Dawn Society."
A question about the Dawn Society suddenly arose in his mind.
He had initially thought of it as simply a group aimed at saving the Rubern bloodline, but from Carmilla's words, it didn't seem to be entirely the case.
When he asked more about the Dawn Society, Carmilla said she knew nothing more on that front.
'I thought Sir Pab had founded it, but perhaps it had been active even before that.'
From Carmilla's story, Zeke suspected that the Dawn Society's lineage stretched back quite far.
Putting aside his thoughts on the Dawn Society, Zeke asked what he was most curious about regarding his mother.
"Why on earth did my mother marry Arthur Draker, whom she despised so much?" Carmilla's expression grew complicated at the question.
But since she couldn't avoid Zeke's inquiry, she slowly opened her mouth.
"...There was a revelation from Chronos."
Zeke felt as if his breath had stopped upon hearing Carmilla's words.
"You're saying my mother was forced into marriage with Arthur Draker because of that revelation?"
Laura Agamemnon clearly despised Arthur Draker. Having met her directly, Zeke knew that emotion all too well.
Yet, it was hard to believe that Laura Agamemnon, who had such firm convictions, would marry a man she hated simply because of a revelation from Chronos.
Carmilla slowly spoke.
"The reason Laura accepted it was because she believed that marrying Arthur Draker would lift the curse on the Agamemnon family."
"The curse on the Agamemnon family?"
The curse on the Agamemnon family, which had persisted for over fifty years, had ultimately been purified and lifted by Zeke's own hand.
He recalled how the Agamemnon family members rejoiced that the prophecy of the savior with black eyes ending the curse had come true, and that the one who made that prophecy was none other than Laura.
It was possible that Chronos, the dragon of time, had informed Laura that Zeke would lift the curse in the future.
'To decide on a marriage with a man she hated just to break her family's curse...' Zeke unconsciously clenched his fist.
Like Bacchus, he had never felt any paternal affection from Arthur Draker.
In contrast, though he had only seen Laura Agamemnon for a fleeting moment upon returning to the past, Zeke felt more drawn to her.
Thus, confirming that she had endured an unwanted marriage made his heart ache.
Zeke composed himself with effort and looked at Carmilla as he spoke.
"Leaving my mother aside, what was your reason for marrying Arthur Draker as well?" Carmilla bit her lip slightly before slowly opening her mouth.
"I initially entered the Draker family alongside Laura as her handmaiden. Then, Arthur
Draker, upon learning that I possessed the power of revelation, became obsessed with it." "So, because of that ability, he bound you and made you bear Bacchus?"
Carmilla nodded.
"Arthur Draker is cunning and terrifying. He's adept at ensnaring people's souls and swaying their hearts with offers and conditions that are impossible to refuse." She paused, her body trembling slightly.
"...It's embarrassing now, but in truth, I fell under Arthur Draker's whispers and felt love for him."
Zeke was startled by Carmilla's words.
"So, at first, you aligned with Arthur Draker out of love for him?"
"Yes. Vampires are seen as symbols of sensuality and temptation, but... I ended up falling for a being of demonic allure like Arthur Draker."
Arthur Draker was not only a powerful knight but also an exceptional strategist and politician.
He was eloquent and attractive in appearance as well.
It was common knowledge that he kept countless women as mistresses beyond his wives.
That even Carmilla, the vampire queen, had succumbed to Arthur Draker's charms was surprising.
"After that, you know the rest. Bound to him, I couldn't escape the Draker family until
Bacchus's help allowed me to revive and finally break free."
Through Carmilla's words, Zeke felt as if he had glimpsed one facet of Arthur Draker's darker side.
'Arthur Draker is already at the pinnacle of the continent as the head of the Draker family.
Yet he continues to crave something more.'
Zeke found it hard to grasp what Arthur Draker truly desired.
At that moment, Carmilla pulled something from her bosom and handed it to Zeke.
"And this, I think it's better for you to have it, so I've kept it separate." What Carmilla handed over was a worn leather notebook.
'This is...?'
Zeke took the leather notebook and flipped through the pages.
A familiar handwriting filled it with a name.
'Laura Agamemnon... It's my mother's notebook.'
Zeke had been searching for this notebook, heading to the hidden lair of Laura Agamemnon in the north. Yet it turned out Carmilla had possessed it all along.
"After Laura disappeared, she entrusted all important items to Sir Pab just in case. When we moved our headquarters to the neutral city this time, I retrieved and kept the ones stored in the lair on the northern continent, so if you need anything, just let me know."
Seeing his mother's handwriting preserved intact in the notebook stirred emotions in Zeke.
It was a rare occurrence for Zeke, who always maintained a calm and composed mind.
He carefully stowed Laura Agamemnon's notebook and looked at Carmilla as he spoke.
"Thank you. For protecting my mother's notebook."
"Laura is the benefactor of my life. I miss her so much even now."
Looking at her wistful face, Zeke could tell her words were sincere.
With his questions resolved, Zeke dismissed Richmond and Bane's summons, lifting the barrier.
Then he said to Carmilla,
"For now, focus on fully making the Royal Vampire's power your own. I'll call for you when the time comes. Until then, we'll communicate through Bacchus."
"Understood, my king."
"One more thing. From now on, call me lord, not king."
At Zeke's words, Carmilla looked troubled for a moment before nodding.
"Understood, my lord."
Next, Zeke turned and pointed to Icaros, huddled in the corner of the room.
"By the way, can you make use of that thing if I give it to you?"
Carmilla examined the high-rank Nightmare Demon Icaros from various angles and nodded.
"Nightmare Demons have surprisingly many uses. Even those who won't speak in reality are honest in their dreams."
"You'll use the Nightmare Demon to extract information?"
"A high-rank Nightmare Demon can create dreams similar to reality, so we can pull out even more accurate details." Zeke nodded at Carmilla's words.
He called out to Icaros.
At Zeke's call, Icaros slithered across the floor toward him.
"You called, master!"
He pointed to Carmilla and said to Icaros,
"I'm entrusting you to Carmilla. What she says is the same as my command. From now on, obey the vampire queen's orders, understood?"
Icaros bristled at having to serve Carmilla, a vampire from the mortal world of lower rank than himself, but as it was his master's order, he had no choice.
"Ah, understood, master."
Zeke said to Carmilla,
"I've given the order, so from here on, make good use of him as you see fit. I'll send the other Nightmare Demons along too."
"Thank you for your consideration, my lord."
Carmilla turned to Icaros and looked down at him as she spoke.
"By my lord's command, from today I am your master, Icaros. Address me as Queen Carmilla."
True to her status as the vampire queen, the fully matured Carmilla exuded an alluring yet overwhelming presence. Moreover, having absorbed Garin's Dagger and the power of the ancient bloodline mage, she easily subdued Icaros.
The dignity of a Royal Vampire noble from the demon realm already emanated from her body.
Even the high-rank Nightmare Demon Icaros was overwhelmed by Carmilla's aura, forgetting all his previous grievances.
"I-I will obey, Queen Carmilla."
Zeke watched Carmilla and thought he had made the right decision entrusting Icaros to her.
*
Zeke spent the night at the vampires' hideout and planned to return to Himonas in the morning.
Entering the warm private room Bacchus had prepared, Zeke finally found some leisure.
But there was no time to relax fully.
'I still have two unopened Special Random Boxes.'
As Zeke pulled out the Special Random Boxes to open them, a thought crossed his mind.
'Can I enhance the Special Random Boxes to create a higher-grade box?' Most items from Special Random Boxes were Unique Grade.
But since the Extra-Grade Random Box had yielded a Legendary Grade artifact, Zeke naturally desired an even higher random box.
On a whim, he opened the system window, accessed the enhancement window, and placed a random box on it.
"Huh? It actually works!"
It had been half in jest, but it turned out enhancement could indeed upgrade the random box's grade.
"To make an Extra-Grade Random Box... it requires five Special Random Boxes plus a bunch of other materials."
The other miscellaneous items seemed acquirable somehow.
The problem was the Special Random Boxes.
"I have two now, so I need three more. Ha... If I'd known, I wouldn't have opened the other Special Random Boxes."
A Legendary Grade artifact held far greater value than five Unique Grade items, so regret was inevitable.
But regretting wouldn't change anything, so Zeke set aside his disappointment and stored the boxes in his inventory for now.
He lay on the bed and flipped through the contents of Laura Agamemnon's notebook.
Most of it detailed Dawn Society activities, with occasional entries on the Apocrypha that Arina had mentioned.
As Zeke skimmed through, he realized one thing.
'Mother... she wasn't the type to organize things well.'
The notebook's contents were written quite haphazardly, making it hard to classify and comprehend the information.
Skimming it once like a review, Zeke noticed a folded piece of paper fall out from within the notebook.
'What is this?'
The paper's surface was frayed, indicating it was quite old.
Zeke unfolded the paper and examined it, then sat up in surprise. 'This is... a sea chart!'
The reason for his shock was the route marked on the sea chart—it was unconventional.
'A route crossing the Dark Sea to the Dark Continent.' Zeke knew who had left this route.
'The owner of the Triangle and the legendary pirate. It's a sea chart left by Captain Kidd.'