Chapter 22: The Eternal Night Project and a Daughter’s Dilemma

Chloe’s face was etched with a large question mark.

“Who are you calling ‘Mother’?”

How had she suddenly become a mother? As a Grand Mage who had been single for thirty years, she could responsibly declare that both in her original world and here, she remained a virgin. ‘Little one, you can say whatever you want, but you can’t just claim a mother so casually.’

“As the Oldest Progenitor, you are my mother by seniority.”

Lucia carefully tidied her disheveled clothes. Her face flushed, she dared not even meet Chloe’s gaze. Sitting back in her chair, her legs pressed tightly together, she lowered her head, appearing as obedient as a child chastised by their parents.

Moments ago, Lucia had been brazenly tugging at Chloe’s clothes, yet now she seemed an entirely different person. Chloe pinched her own cheek hard; the sensation was intensely real, confirming she wasn’t dreaming.

“Wah!” Lucia cried out, clutching her cheek. “Why did you pinch my face?”

“Pinching my own face would hurt,” Chloe retorted, her reasoning sound. She sat comfortably on the ground, feet together, propping her chin with her hand as she gazed up at Lucia.

Lucia’s face twitched imperceptibly, betraying her anger, yet she dared not unleash it. With downcast eyes, she murmured, “To have my cheek pinched by you is my daughter’s honor.”

Chloe’s lips curled into a mischievous, impish smile. So, being a mother was this enjoyable? She found herself wanting to do many more amusing things to Lucia, but the last vestiges of her rationality swiftly extinguished these dangerous impulses.

Although Chloe was a vampire, she knew surprisingly little about their abilities. Perhaps now was the perfect time to glean some knowledge.

She certainly couldn’t just blurt out a foolish question like, ‘What is an Oldest Progenitor?’ That would only expose her utter ignorance.

As Chloe pondered how to begin, Lucia preempted her, asking, “Pardon me, but why have you appeared at this particular time?”

“Hm?” What time? What was she talking about?

“Did Father awaken you? Is the ‘Eternal Night Project’ finally commencing?” Lucia’s barrage of questions left Chloe utterly speechless.

“I absolutely cannot condone the Eternal Night Project. After all, treating all humans as mere livestock is far too…”

“Hold on, stop right there.” Chloe interrupted Lucia’s rapid-fire pronouncements. “What are you talking about? What ‘Eternal Night Project’?”

Lucia’s eyes widened, and she looked at Chloe with trepidation. “Could it be that he has already erased your memories?”

‘What in the world is going on?’ Chloe thought. Then, ‘Wait, memory erasure?’ A flash of inspiration struck Chloe; Lucia had just provided her with the perfect excuse.

“Yes, I’ve lost my memory,” Chloe blurted out a lie, her heart pounding with anxiety, terrified that her deception would be exposed.

“As I suspected… No wonder you were in the Elder Council. It seems Father asked those well-dressed beasts to use some kind of brainwashing magic on you.” Lucia’s expression turned grim. She suddenly pressed her hand onto Chloe’s shoulder, making Chloe flinch.

“Don’t worry, your daughter will protect you!”

Chloe gently pushed Lucia’s soft hand away. Shaking her head helplessly, she said, “Could you please explain the full scope of things to me first? Everything about the Oldest Progenitor, the Eternal Night Project—I genuinely know nothing.”

‘Claiming amnesia is truly wonderful; I can glean all sorts of information for free!’ Chloe was utterly impressed by her own cleverness.

Lucia nodded and began to explain in a measured tone: “Vampires are divided into five classes: the Oldest Progenitor, the Progenitor, Duke, Count, and Commoner. The Oldest Progenitor is the ancestor of all vampires, and those personally transformed by them are called Progenitors, and so on. The classes are maintained through bloodline; those who are transformed regard their transformer as either a father or a mother.”

Chloe propped her chin in thought. “It sounds as though vampires reproduce asexually, so how do you have parents?” she inquired.

‘That sounded almost like an insult, but never mind,’ Chloe mused.

“Because there are only two Oldest Progenitors, one male and one female. Although my siblings and I were all transformed by Father, he frequently speaks of the other Oldest Progenitor, referring to them as his ‘beloved wife,’ and instructed us to call this person we’ve never met ‘Mother’.”

Hearing the nauseating term ‘beloved wife,’ especially when it was directed at her, made Chloe feel a wave of nausea roll through her stomach.

She had never even met that inexplicable man. More importantly, her sexual orientation was perfectly normal! She would never allow a man to become her husband.

“So, what does this ‘Eternal Night Project’ have to do with me?”

“Father wishes to create a world dominated by vampires, where humans are merely livestock, confined to pens as a blood source. To achieve this, he intends to use mind control on all of humanity. This particular magic requires two Oldest Progenitors to complete together.” Lucia’s gaze wavered slightly, as if she were hiding something else.

Chloe was numb. She had just dealt with two church members, and now something even stranger was unfolding. However, Lucia’s inexplicable pause piqued her interest.

“What’s wrong? Does your unfortunate father have yet another scheme?”

“No, actually, he once ordered me to test this magic to observe its effects. Most of the test subjects went insane directly, with only two samples considered somewhat successful: Lord Norlin and his daughter, Xina.”

“What?” Hearing this, Chloe nearly cried out. “So Xina’s inexplicable madness was because…”

Lucia pressed her lips together tightly. She managed a reluctant nod, her head feeling as heavy as if filled with lead.

“In truth, I only used the magic on Norlin, but it spread like a curse to his daughter. Furthermore, my control over Norlin was never very strong. It was fine initially, but as time passed, he grew increasingly frantic, his habits becoming more like those of a vampire. He craved blood, becoming cruel and bloodthirsty; he feared sunlight, sealing all his windows. Eventually, even I couldn’t calm him down.”

“You truly are scum.”

Chloe’s voice was flat as she cursed.

Without her, Norlin would never have lost Avros, nor would Xina have become displaced. And if Norlin’s end was so tragic, then Xina…

“I am indeed scum,” Lucia admitted, raising her head resolutely. “Though it was Father’s command, I won’t deny my actions.” She turned her gaze to a glass jar on the table. “That’s why I’ve remained as a steward in Sirena Castle, solely to find a way to break this state of madness.”

Lucia picked up a glass jar containing a pale grey liquid and swirled it in her hand.

“I’ve been experimenting here for nearly a decade, and I’ve finally developed an antidote that can undo the mind control. However, it still lacks a few ingredients.”

“What’s still missing?” Chloe asked, though a familiar dread suggested it wouldn’t be anything groundbreaking.

“Your blood, and my father’s blood.”

‘Just as I thought!’ Chloe mused. ‘No, why did I think “just as I thought”?’ Extending a finger, Chloe told Lucia, “You can draw my blood whenever you like.”

“The problem lies with my father’s blood,” Lucia said, shaking her head regretfully. “He long ago detected my betrayal. Approaching him now is an impossibility.”

“How is it impossible? Everything is possible.” This was Chloe’s creed. She then pressed, “By the way, who exactly is your ‘unfortunate father’?”

“Carloman, Emperor of the Eledis Empire.”