I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 38 - The Nature of Victoire

I instinctively touched my neck, but there were no bite marks.

When I nervously brushed my fingers along my neck, Prince Lawrence gave a wry smile.

“You are a Saint. Any wound—even the marks from a vampire’s fangs—your own power heals them. Right after I bit you, you awakened your holy power. I believe that’s when the wound closed up. Your power repels evil.”

“…I still can’t really believe it.”

“I figured. But that’s exactly why I can sense your life, and your location. That’s how I knew you were alive, even though you were supposed to be executed. And how I knew you were in Utis. Because we’re connected.”

“…………”

That… does make sense.

I lowered my eyelashes once.

So much information had come rushing in at once, and I couldn’t organize it all.

It wasn’t like I’d sorted everything out properly, but I just didn’t have the mental strength to do it right now.

So I just quietly asked what I was most curious about.

“Why are you here? Didn’t you go back to Arcana?”

“Yeah. I returned to the Empire and started looking into whether there was any information I could find. And… I discovered something.”

He paused, then averted his gaze as if unsure whether to continue.

Guessing from his expression that he was concerned about my condition, I answered for him.

“Please, tell me.”

“But you’re not feeling well, are you?”

“It’s okay. My head feels a little fuzzy, but that’s all. I want to know. Please tell me.”

After a short moment of hesitation, Prince Lawrence finally told me.

“That place—Victoire—no, to be more precise, it’s a barrier meant to confuse vampires.”

“A… barrier?”

“Some old documents came to light. According to them, a long time ago, Victoire was part of the Arcana Empire. But the humans there eventually got fed up with living under vampire rule and fear. They rebelled to escape that control and gain their freedom.

It’s well known in Victoire, right? The so-called War of Victoire’s Independence.”

Long ago—in the founding myths, Victoire was said to be ruled by demonkind.

Remembering that, I spoke up, my thoughts fogged by fever.

“They say they fought against demons…”

“To the people of Victoire—your people—vampires were called demons. Because they’re not human.”

Prince Lawrence took the cloth from my hand, dipped it in the basin again, and wrung it out.

He placed the cool cloth on my forehead. I closed my eyes at the cold sensation.

I must have a fever. My breath felt hot, and my whole body was burning up.

“Thank you…”

After I said that, something came to mind.

The cold cloth helped clear my thoughts—just a little.

“…In the Forest of Utis, a spear came flying at me. Was that… No, maybe the forest itself is trying to reject vampires?”

“Possibly. At the very least, I think it functions to prevent contact between humans and vampires. The way it confuses the minds of living things that enter, making it hard to tell friend from foe… that’s a bit extreme, though.”

“What’s underground?”

“I can’t say for sure. But I can make a guess. What’s down there, in that basement, is probably—”

He paused again and lowered his eyelashes like he was struggling to find the words.

But he chose to say them anyway.

His pale blue eyes looked straight into mine.

“The corpse of a vampire.”

“…A corpse.”

“Or maybe ‘mummy’ is more accurate. I think it’s being used as a catalyst to maintain the barrier. …Fueled by human anger—or maybe hatred. A very strong one. It’s likely the corpse of a vampire ancestor—in other words, a royal.”

I couldn’t help but sit up at that.

The cloth on my forehead slipped and landed on the bed with a wet plop.

Seeing me suddenly rise, Prince Lawrence’s eyes widened.

“Chalize. You have a fever. You should lie down—”

“That’s… inhumane…”

My voice trembled.

Using a corpse as a catalyst?

That means… they’re using the body of a royal from an enemy country to power the barrier?

If it’s something written in founding myths, then it must be hundreds of years old?

For centuries—maybe even millennia—Victoire has been using, exploiting, and desecrating the remains of Arcana’s royalty?

As someone who was once Queen of Victoire, the shock hit me hard.

And in Victoire’s founding myths, the Arcana Empire is labeled as demonkind, declared to be evil.

We don’t know how humans—those who would later become Victoire’s people—were treated in Arcana in the past.

But to call the Arcana Empire evil, use their royal corpses, and humiliate them for hundreds, thousands of years, or even eternally—

That is something that must never be done.

Hatred must not be passed on to the next generation.

That was something I always believed as Queen.

The grudges of one era should end with that era. If carried on for centuries, they only bring more suffering.

While I was silent, Prince Lawrence—the royal of Arcana—gave a small, wry smile.

“You’re angry, Chalize.”

“Why aren’t you angry?”

When I asked back, he looked troubled.

He gently looked away and lowered his eyes.

“…The Arcana Empire—or rather, vampires—live in a society where power means everything. The stronger your pureblood, the more powerful you are. That means us royals.”

The Arcana Empire is shrouded in mystery.

Despite its small territory, it holds overwhelming military power.

Other countries don’t know how to deal with it, and they just watch each other’s moves cautiously.

Even if they try to form ties by marrying off princesses, Arcana refuses all offers.

It’s said to be an exclusive, closed-off country.

Arcana doesn’t accept outsiders.

Even if they do, those people are forever treated as immigrants, looked down upon by others.

Prince Lawrence smiled gently at me.

As if trying to reassure me.

“Our ancestor lost the war. Well, that’s just how it is. A loss is a loss. So the fact that his body is being used by the enemy is also just the result of losing. I don’t know why he lost, but results are everything. …That’s the kind of country Arcana is.”

“─”

His blunt words left me speechless.

It felt like he had slapped me across the face, like he was saying I was too soft for thinking this way.

He smiled wryly at my silence. Like he was troubled.

“Do I… sound cold to you?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Is Prince Lawrence cold, or am I too naïve?

I don’t know.

But at least now, even if he—an Arcana royal—accepts the truth of the barrier at Utis,

I, as a citizen of Victoire, as someone who was once Queen, cannot nod and agree.

That’s probably due to my sense of ethics, or my conscience—something like that.

Then I thought of the barrier at Utis from a different angle.

If our ancestors—the founders of Victoire—created that barrier, then maybe… they had no choice. Maybe they had to.

For example, maybe… they were being attacked by the Arcana Empire.

I slowly lowered my lashes and took a few deep breaths.

My head was spinning.

Because of the fever.

Normally, I should sleep right away.

But if I sleep now, I don’t know when I’ll see Prince Lawrence again.

I felt I had to talk now.

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

Prince Lawrence was looking at me with concern in his furrowed brow.

He’s a kind person, I thought.

And honest, too.

“…Is the Arcana Empire still trying to invade Victoire?”