Chapter 29: The Unveiling of Traitors

The first sense to return was touch.

A soft sensation enveloped the back of her head, and someone was gently stroking her hair.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, immediately spotting Xina’s joyful face.

“She’s awake!”

Chloe looked around.

Xina was providing her with a lap pillow, and Miko brought a healing salve.

Jack and Xiao Nuoqi stood guard, keeping a watchful eye on Mosin and his cronies. However, Alice was nowhere to be seen.

She sat up, a sharp pain flaring in her throat. Gently, she touched her neck, discovering it was firmly bound in bandages.

Evidently, her vampire’s rapid regenerative abilities had saved her life. Otherwise, she would have met the same tragic end as Alena.

“Ah… ah…” Chloe tried to speak, but only simple syllables escaped her lips.

“Don’t speak,” Xina whispered gently. “Alice said you still need a few hours to recover completely.”

“Ah…” Chloe opened her mouth, intending to ask where Alice had gone. Yet, Xina pressed a finger to Chloe’s lips, one eye narrowing playfully.

“Shh, just listen. Leave everything to us now.”

A gentle breeze ruffled her hair. Chloe gazed at Xina, whose eyes sparkled like beautiful amethysts.

Miko placed the salve beside Xina’s thigh, then called Jack over. Together, they bowed solemnly to Chloe.

“Thank you, Lady Chloe.”

Had Chloe not exposed them, they might have been reunited with their parents. Chloe felt a deep pang of regret for her impulsiveness.

Alice emerged from a wooden hut, a letter clutched in her hand. She looked at the now-awake Chloe, shaking her head with a sigh.

“Don’t be so reckless next time.”

Alice admonished her, much like a mother fretting over her child.

Chloe nodded. This was the closest she had ever come to death, and the sheer reality of it was suffocating.

In her original world, discussions of ending one’s life occasionally surfaced online. When Xia Ni first received her diagnosis, she too had wavered.

If life was so agonizing, perhaps death offered a release.

Yet, death was far more agonizing! Chloe felt this truth acutely: it was better to live poorly than to die well.

Moreover, she still had people she cared for.

Having spoken, Alice walked towards Mosin, who now resembled a drowned rat.

Upon seeing Alice approach, he hastily put on an obsequious smile.

However, Alice delivered a sharp slap, leaving a crimson mark on his handsome face.

Mosin was nearly knocked unconscious. Alice seized his head, then presented the letter in her hand to him.

“The Royal Seal of Saint Fros? Ha! You truly managed to secure such an unshakeable backer.”

Mosin was about to speak, but Alice crumpled the letter into a ball and forcefully shoved it into his mouth.

“Tell your dog of a master that if he dares to harm even a single strand of Chloe’s hair, then he and his principality will be utterly crushed by the Elder Council.”

“Understood?”

Alice drew a dagger and pressed it against Mosin’s neck.

Mosin’s legs stiffened, and he promptly fainted, the acrid smell of urine rising from below him.

Alice tossed the dagger to the ground and turned to leave.

Alice’s rare outburst of fury, especially on Chloe’s behalf, brought tears to Chloe’s eyes.

“What did that letter say?” Xina asked Alice eagerly.

“Mosin and Sir Rurik had conspired long ago to eliminate us, and Cliff was the mastermind behind it all.” Alice brushed off some grime, glaring at Mosin with disgust.

“The reward was those three earldoms. It seems Cliff knew I could only use hypnotic Elder magic.”

“Otherwise, his two dogs wouldn’t have dared to oppose a member of the Elder Council merely for a few earldoms.”

“Conspired? But weren’t their relations quite strained?” Xina asked, tilting her head.

“It was an act. So, I interfered, arranging a duel to the death for them—the kind with no quarter given.”

Alice swept her hair back, her golden locks shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight.

“First, they feigned animosity to lower your guard. Then, Mosin orchestrated the massacre of Pearbrook Village, luring us to his stronghold.”

“His plan was to slaughter us all there. Even if we had split our forces, Sir Rurik was already prepared to attack Sirena Castle.”

“What about Olga?” Xina inquired. “Even setting aside Miko and her brother’s testimony, Robert saw Olga leading the group; he must have been involved too.”

“Olga was aware, and he played a rather illustrious role. That night, he rushed to Pearbrook Village, scattering Mosin’s bandits and rescuing many women and children.”

“It infuriated Mosin to no end. However, Olga’s allegiance lies with Cliff’s neighbor—Carloman, the Emperor of the Eledis Empire.”

“After that, he departed directly from Avros for Eledis.”

“Why…?”

Xina asked sadly, seemingly unable to accept the truth that all her vassals were traitors.

“As I’ve told you before, I am the only one in your cabinet you can trust.”

Alice said, her voice flat.

‘Then… what about Sir Rurik?’

Unable to speak, Chloe raised her hand in a gesture.

Alice understood immediately. “As for Sir Rurik,” she said, “he’s likely already at Sirena Castle.”

“What do we do then? Sirena Castle doesn’t have many defenders, and Lucia is still there!” Xina asked urgently.

“Don’t worry. Sir Rurik and his rabble of worthless thugs could be handled by Sirena Castle’s guards alone. Besides…”

Alice glanced at Chloe.

‘Lucia alone is enough, isn’t she?’

Chloe had no doubt that Alice had long seen through Lucia’s true identity. No, it was more likely that Alice had watched Lucia grow up.

The Elder Council could even create the Ancient Progenitor, let alone a mere Progenitor. Before the Elder Council, the vampire faction was likely nothing more than a younger sibling.

“Cliff truly played a good game,” Alice remarked admiringly. “Strategically, he made almost every right move.”

‘Too bad he hadn’t anticipated the terrifying power of the person he was up against,’ Chloe thought.

Miko lowered her gaze, then looked at Alice. “Though I know it’s not appropriate to ask,” she began, “since you already knew their plan beforehand, why did you still walk into the trap they set?”

“Since I already knew what they intended to do, and with full confidence in our countermeasures, it was less risky to simply follow their lead.”

“If we had suddenly altered our plans, they would have adjusted theirs accordingly. We would have been exposed while they remained hidden, a very dangerous situation for us.”

Alice cast a contemptuous glance at Mosin.

“For instance, I knew he wanted to cause a major stir to draw attention. But I didn’t expect him to be so ruthless as to harm his own fiefdom.”

“I know, but little Alice, the risk this time was far too great,” Xina said, looking angrily at Alice. “Chloe was almost killed!”

Chloe felt a pang of guilt. In truth, it was her sudden exposure of Mosin’s deception that had provoked the attack.

Now, looking back, Alice stepping on her foot might not have been a signal to ‘get to the point,’ but rather to ‘shut up quickly.’

“I know, and for that, I am sorry, Chloe.” Alice clasped her hand tightly, her emerald eyes filled with earnestness.

Had Chloe not been a vampire, she would have met the same fate as Alena.

“Well, you could have told us all of this sooner,” Xina grumbled indignantly to Alice. “Then we wouldn’t have been so worried!”

Alice shook her head, a hint of regret in her eyes. “Until the very last moment, I truly believed it was all my misconception. I feared wronging good people.”

“I genuinely thought that despite their flawed characters, Sir Rurik and Mosin would remain loyal to their rightful liege.”

“But I was wrong, ridiculously so. It merely reinforced a truth: in this dark age, innocence is the original sin.”

Alice lifted her gaze, meeting Chloe’s eyes.