Chapter 83: An Oath of Blood and Power

Once again, Chloe found herself witness to the wealth of Aredis.

Dozens of carriages lined up in formation, like cavalry poised for battle. The compartments were spacious and bright, their interiors extravagantly luxurious—floors made of gold, seats gilded and plush.

A crystal chandelier hung upside down from the ceiling, swaying gently with the carriage’s movement, casting reflections of the four occupants within.

Chloe glanced at Wuxu sitting beside her. She stared ahead, her expression stern.

The carriage could easily hold eight, but Carl had not wanted too many involved in their conspiracy. Thus, beside Chloe sat only Wuxu.

Alice was displeased, but she had to acknowledge that Wuxu knew Aredis better. So she went to another carriage.

The atmosphere was tense. Chloe felt parched.

Fortunately, a chilled drink box sat beside her seat. She picked up a pale blue beverage and took a sip.

The blue drink smelled fragrant, but it tasted strange. She caught a familiar scent—the sweet aroma of blood.

“This is Aredis’s specialty—Tears of the Goddess.”

Emperor Carl sat across from Chloe. His brows were furrowed, his demeanor unusually tense. Beside him sat a stranger in a wolf mask, whom Wuxu called Laiwan, captain of the Imperial Guard.

“What did you add to this?”

Chloe suddenly lost her appetite. She set the unfinished Tears of the Goddess between her legs.

“Blood.”

Laiwan rubbed his hands together, excitement coloring his voice.

“Human blood?”

Wuxu frowned slightly, as if dissatisfied with the answer.

“It depends on the grade… Your Grace. The cheap stuff in taverns is mostly horse or cow blood, but what we drink in the palace is human blood.”

Laiwan smacked his lips, greed flickering in his eyes. Chloe disliked meeting his gaze.

“Where do you get human blood?”

“Lord Carloman keeps a large number of blood servants. They donate blood regularly.”

Great. Chloe wished she could find a stable source of blood too.

As if! She had no desire to sink to Carloman’s level. Who knew how he coerced his servants?

“As expected of a vampire kingdom.”

Though said as a joke, Wuxu’s tone carried no humor.

Carl pursed his lips, clearly disliking the jab.

“Not for long. I will drive them all out of Aredis.”

Chloe had just learned that nearly all of Aredis’s powerful vassals were vampires. But she felt no fear—only a strange pride, as if a child had done well.

Thus, she could not understand Carl’s sudden declaration. “Why drive the vampires out of Aredis?”

“They are your legitimate vassals,” Wuxu added.

“Legitimacy is decided solely by His Majesty.”

Chloe could sense Laiwan smiling beneath his mask.

Carl was not good at refusing flattery. He stroked his beard and chuckled.

“You killed Carloman on your own authority. In their eyes, you are the rebel.”

A glint flashed in Wuxu’s cold eyes.

“Of course, in my eyes as well.”

Carl’s laughter stopped abruptly. He shrugged, adjusted his crown, and said, “We already reached a consensus on that point.”

Consensus? What consensus? Had they found Chloe a new husband again?

“What agreement did you make behind my back this time?”

Why did Wuxu always love underhanded dealings? This was the difference between her and Alice, and the reason Chloe still couldn’t fully trust her.

“I apologize.”

Wuxu bowed her head sincerely. Her innocent expression made Chloe feel a pang of guilt. Fine, she would forgive her for now.

But Chloe couldn’t let herself be led around any longer. She turned to Carl and declared loudly, “I want to make one thing clear: she cannot represent me. From now on, you will deal with me directly.”

Carl nodded in agreement. “A sovereign without a mind of their own is but a fool. It seems you are not that kind of person.”

“So what is the agreement?”

Chloe did not want to waste more time with this elderly emperor. She had her own plans.

She could only hope Wuxu’s proposal was not as absurd as last time with Carloman.

“I wish for you to become my vassal. In exchange, I will appoint you as the ‘Consul’ of Aredis.”

“Consul? What is that?”

Chloe remembered the Roman office, akin to a republic’s president. Was Carl giving up the throne? She had no idea what he was plotting.

“It’s equivalent to Saint Fros’s Prime Minister,” Wuxu added briefly.

Prime Minister? Chloe’s mind conjured up the image of Charles Farauti, barking like a dog.

‘That sounds inglorious,’ she thought. She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good position.”

“The Consul has more authority than the Prime Minister, overseeing diplomacy, internal affairs, and the military. When the emperor is absent, they are the master of the entire empire.”

“You want me to manage your vassals?”

Chloe quickly grasped the core of the matter.

Carl needed someone to handle his restless vampire vassals, and he couldn’t suppress them alone—hence he sought Chloe, who possessed the combat power of an Elder.

“But what’s in it for me?”

Was he trying to fob her off with an empty title? No way!

Carl chuckled. He signaled Laiwan, who took a miniature map from a cabinet.

Laiwan spread the map on his lap, making sure everyone could see it.

“What is this?”

“A map of Aredis. Look, the center is the imperial capital, Loenia,” Wuxu said, pointing.

Carl nodded. He placed his finger on the map and drew an arc around Loenia.

“Unlike Saint Fros, the imperial family controls nearly half the empire’s territory.”

Chloe began to see where this was going.

“A consul with only three counties would hardly command the respect of dukes with multiple domains. If you agree to my proposal, I will grant you one-third of the empire’s territory.”

Chloe pointed at the map, utterly astonished. The land Carl promised was half the size of Germany.

No wonder Wuxu had agreed immediately.

Wait—Carloman had once offered her the entire empire, but it ended in chaos. Reason told Chloe not to accept easily.

“Why do you think I can drive out the vampire vassals?”

Chloe couldn’t even manage a single county, let alone an entire empire.

“You don’t need to drive them out. Just stabilize them.”

Carl relaxed his brows, clearly seeing that Chloe was tempted.

“Even stabilizing is hard.”

“But you are different. You are their elder, aren’t you, Mother?”

Laiwan removed his wolf mask, revealing crimson eyes.

“You… are you a vampire too?”

No wonder Chloe had sensed something odd about his aura.

“Carloman was my father. Poor father—to be killed by that Cliff kid.”

“Cliff?”

Chloe distinctly remembered it was she who had driven the dagger into Carloman’s chest.

“You’re shifting the blame to Cliff?”

“Yes. Soon, I will issue a declaration of war in the name of avenging my son, formally campaign against the tyrant Cliff.”

Carl’s eyes widened, his expression utterly serious.

“A declaration… of war?”

“The era of nonaggression is over. It’s time to settle old scores.”

“But you and Cliff still have an alliance?”

Cliff, Carl, and Chloe had formed a tripartite alliance. Declaring war on each other would surely break it.

“Both of them want to shift domestic conflicts. Cliff will likely use this war to weaken his rebellious ministers,” Wuxu pointed out incisively.

Carl narrowed his eyes, looking out the window.

“That is the true essence of the tripartite alliance. But my actions are probably all within Cliff’s calculations.”

He shook his head helplessly.

Carl taking Chloe under his wing, transforming the triad into a duo, even declaring war on Cliff—the logic was too straightforward.

But Cliff couldn’t have failed to foresee this.

A chill ran down Chloe’s spine. She downed the Tears of the Goddess from between her legs.

Since she couldn’t see through the other side, she might as well follow Alice’s example and go along with their plan for now.

Besides, Chloe had already prepared herself to join Aredis.

The taste of blood swirled in her mouth. She lifted her head, her crimson eyes fixed on Carl.

“I, Chloe Raina, hereby swear to join your service as the Consul of Aredis.”

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