Jia Hyson could practically see Prince Silas' mind buffering. To be honest, he didn't blame him. Jia Hyson rarely chose to be so rude and blunt normally, much less when he was playing as Alaric who held a more uptight demeanor.
Seeing the crown prince momentarily unresponsive, Jia Hyson didn't bother to be pretentious and continue talking. Instead, he took the opportunity to turn around and run as fast as he could.
There was no need to go into the forest to lose Prince Silas or try to shake him off. They were both attending the same school, and it was impossible to hide or outrun him long term. The best thing to do was get out and enter a more public setting.
No matter how powerful Prince Silas was or how tyrannically he has acted recently, he won't be brain dead enough to act so badly outside. The vampires who attend St Lailah's are full of nobles, princes, and talents from different covens and countries. Making a mess here is making a mess internationally.
A king can only keep his back straight when the people are willing to kneel, and Prince Silas knows this. He can afford to make waves in his own coven, but can he afford to splash against the world?
Alaric's speed is not bad by Noble standards, so it only took him about eighteen seconds to reach the main path. He could've been faster, but in case there were humans around, it was better to slow his pace at the end to not shock them by suddenly appearing.
It was after school hours, but not by much, so there was still a bit of activity around, with students walking around with friends, those who studied late walking back home, or others just wanting to visit other dormitory buildings. Some who saw Alaric and recognised his distinct Asian appearance and bright blue eyes nodded in greeting, with a few more enthusiastic and familiar students coming up to say hello.
Jia Hyson calmed his slightly rapid breathing and smiled gently, acting natural and patiently answering their questions.
"-yes, Korea was beautiful. I highly recommend Jeju Island if you want a nice calm change of pace from the city life there."
'Bebe, can you track where Silas is now?' He mentally asks his system.
Bebe, after a moment of silence, quickly answers, 'Bebe can tell his phone location is moving rapidly away, toward the direction of the Academy's main entrance. The Substantial Event Stimulator has probably been activated. While Bebe can't know what the event is, there's only so many things that can make the prince leave so hurriedly.'
'If he's leaving, then it should be about the coven.' Jia Hyson guesses as his mouth continues to spout basic holiday talk to the interested students. 'There's not much Silas is interested in, and less that can really affect his current standing. Most likely something happened to the king or some other covens heard what's happening from the elders, and have come over to dispute Prince Silas' behaviour.'
After all, there is no impenetrable wall and with such a big thing happening it's normal for others outside the coven to take note. The Golden Rose Coven is a powerhouse in the vampire community. Generally the inheritance battle is not something outsiders can necessarily intervene in, similar to a country's election or a family dispute. However if there were major problems, then naturally external forces will need to step in to investigate.
Prince Silas' methods against his brothers were not kind, but they were not illegal or immoral. After all the youngest prince indeed framed the second prince by conspiring with the Eclipse Coven, and at the time, the second Prince Damien who had been considered guilty indeed got an appropriately harsh punishment.
On one hand, it's cruel and coldhearted to be merciless toward his own brothers. On the other, many felt that this sort of decisiveness was good, that even their brotherly status cannot keep them exempt from justice. Though many others had also voiced their own conspiracies, saying it was strange to not have investigated thoroughly enough for Prince Damien's trial, and everything was just a master plan to clean out any future troubles between Crown Prince Silas and the throne.
If it was just this, the vampires would not be too dissatisfied with such methods. While there may be some worry about the future of the coven in terms of politics and how they will stand from now on, that is not something that needs to be determined now, and those wouldn't make Prince Silas hurry away.
In Jia Hyson's opinion, unless the other had done something that deeply violated the interests and safety of vampires, causing other covens to come to intervene, the issue should be in Prince Silas' father. The current sick king of the Golden Rose Coven.
'….The Substantial Event stimulator wouldn't kill an important character as a distraction, right?'
Bebe hesitates, 'Well, does the King really count as an important character?'
'...That was not the response I wanted to hear.'
A familiar ringtone broke through the enthusiastic voices of the students. Jia Hyson pauses. And suppressing a foreboding feeling in his heart, he politely apologises and excuses himself from the small group of people to walk a small distance and pull out his phone.
The students were also not clingy and left happily; it was already quite good to exchange words with Alaric, who was still considered an Academy Emperor despite his year-long absence.
Jia Hyson looked at who was calling, and seeing it was his lover, he didn't hesitate to pick up.
"Alaric, the King suddenly fell deathly ill." Mr Garth whispers in a rush. In the background, there was a lot of noise. Clearly, things were a little chaotic over there.
Jia Hyson: …
Bebe: …
Damn. What a sin they have committed.
"Darrian, what, what do you mean?" Jia Hyson swallows heavily. Don't say it; he actually feels quite guilty and nervous. He laughs dryly, "Don't joke. It's true the king has been sick for a while, but it's been stable.. I.. how…?"
It's not like he's killed people before, but usually it's with the intent to kill, okay? This sort of accidental murder feels very different, and the mental preparation isn't there to buffer the emotions. Not to mention, it's one thing to accidentally kill someone in a car accident or something, but this was a fucking vampire king.
Jia Hyson: To have this be the most objectively impressive murder in terms of victim's status… it's a little embarrassing, right?
The most important thing though was that in the plot the king dies only much later in the series, when Prince Damien has matured enough to start taking over the responsibilities of the royal family properly. At least three to four years in the future. If the king dies at this sensitive time when Prince Silas is in power….
Wouldn't it be a case of refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit??*
*to hesitate to do something until forced to do even more of that thing. e.g. You don't want to do an exam and refuse to study and pretend to be sick on the day, however your parents notice and force you out to do the exam anyway but now you're even less prepared than if you just honestly studied for it.
'It probably is just a sudden temporary attack on his current illness.' Bebe tries to assure its host, but Jia Hyson could hear it wasn't confident. They had witnessed how random and strange the minor event stimulator was, it was hard to be sure what sort of things can happen when using a higher level version.
Besides, Bebe knew Overlord Li Jun had programmed a majority of items, including the Event Stimulators. With how crazy he can become, having someone die as a distraction… it was really possible ah.
Either way, as one of the promising noble vampires of the newest generation, and part of the most loyal Rong family, Jia Hyson had no choice but to also go home and visit the sick king. Of course, since he was a younger generation not directly related, he also didn't have to leave immediately like Prince Silas. Mr Garth gave him a heads up on the confidential news in advance to prepare, but generally, another elder of the coven should officially pass down this news to him in a day or two at the earliest.
But a day is enough to do a lot of things.
"We're still investigating. To be honest, the circumstances are a bit strange; however, the king is in a comatose state. Right now, a lot of people aren't sure how to proceed. The ones who want to do things have no right to investigate the king, and the ones who have the right to don't want to be the ones to fucking do it." At the last part, Mr Garth sneers, voice raising a little.
"Mr Garth-!" An angry voice in the distance was heard. "What are you telling outsiders?!"
"Bite me!" Mr Garth barked back, "This is my fucking wife, how can he be an outsider? Besides, if you just-"
At this point, the call cuts off, and Jia Hyson couldn't help but touch his ears, which felt a little ticklish and sensitive.
Wah, he actually called me wife. How embarrassing~
Bebe: '…' We may or may not have killed a vampire king, there may or may not have been a conspiracy behind it, yet all you can focus on is spreading dogfood.
The system sighs. This world was getting messier, but at least there was some sweetness in here. Otherwise it would also want to encourage Jia Hyson to leave the country and be a salted fish for the rest of the plot. 'So, what do you want to do now?'
'Isn't obvious?' Jia Hyson's smile fades, his delicate features serious and blue eyes filled with some calculations, 'Prince Damien should have also got the call, so despite his injuries he will also go back to see his father. This means we can't go see him, but there is another protagonist we can meet.'
Jessica Fang.
Different from the story, she is definitely more active and assertive. Of course, she wasn't a completely brainless person in the original plot either, but it was undisputable that most of her brain was full of love and drama, usually only becoming clear at critical moments. Her IQ… well, even with a new personality, it doesn't necessarily mean the IQ has improved, but overall, Jia Hyson felt pretty good about her current state so far.
He didn't intend to waste time and energy running around the campus looking for her, though. Instead, it's better to rest and wait in his dormitory room. Jia Hyson believed that Prince Damien should have told her about his current position, and she would come visit later on to continue the previously unfinished talk.
Hurrying back to the dorms, Jia Hyson failed to notice a pair of piercing silver eyes staring hungrily at him from a distance.
Seeing the young blue-eyed vampire's back quickly getting smaller, Kylan finally pulled out his buzzing phone, which had been vibrating nearly non-stop for the past few minutes. However, how could he focus on that when he had only so much time with his beloved?
His eyes, which were filled with a paranoid and obsessive light, cooled down as he pulled his gaze onto his phone screen and saw the caller. Connecting the call, he put the phone against his ear and immediately asked, "Is it done?"
Count Vericus, on the other side, curses this vicious little white-eyed wolf for the nth time today in his heart, but his voice is pleasant and flattering. "Of course, of course… boss." The older vampire tries not to grit his teeth at the honorific. "The Golden Rose Coven king is weak and greedy for life. Even if he suspected something, he still jumped into the pit and even consumed the drug himself."
Thinking of this, Count Vericus couldn't help but sigh. After all he was much older and used to know the king back in his heyday. While he wasn't a particularly outstanding vampire, to be reduced to this… hey, hey, it's really shameful.
…Then again, looking at his own situation, it seems he didn't exactly have any solid ground to stand and judge others either.
Kylan's mouth ticked upwards at the good news, and a sneer soon graced his lips. It turns out, despite all their arrogance and power, a vampire was really just that, huh?
How funny.
.....
At the same time, in a pale, almost crystalline castle on a cliffside in the most northern point of Alaska, a vampire awakens.
The vampire had skin like snow and short curled hair that seemed spun like gold, more like an ethereal angel rather than a creature of the night. It was like the world was painted with rich oils and acrylics, but only he was painted in a pale and delicate watercolour with the finest brushes.
The only thing that stood out intensely was his eyes.
One black. One silver.
As he pushes open his coffin, the head butler of the castle who had been waiting for this moment immediately provided him a small bed tray with the other's favourite meal on it. "How was you sleep your highness?" He politely murmurs, careful not to let his voice be too loud and jolt the prince's slow process as he comes out of his year-long slumber. "The king is eagerly waiting for your results."
The butler does not even dare to look in his direction, submissively and deferentially looking downwards as he patiently waits for an answer.
Prince Rigel stares at the bloody human heart on his plate, and frowns lightly. His mouth was honestly salivating at the fresh blood, but what he wanted was something sweeter and milkier. After a moment, he chuckles softly as he takes a knife and fork, piercing the organ and slicing it into delicate bite-sized pieces, "Well, I had a very nice dream. I believe the king will be satisfied."
The servant bows his head, "Very good your highness."
Prince Rigel doesn't answer him. To be honest, even if he had slept for a whole year, if one took more notice, they could see the skin under his eyes was so dark as if he hadn't slept at all.
He, who has the plot, will naturally dream differently than before. One would think it was a blessing, but…
"I miss milk tea," Prince Rigel laments with some nostalgia. "It's too bad I probably won't get the chance to taste it again in this life."
As he says this, behind him, a shadow of something large blurs faintly in and out of existence. While the shape was indistinct, one could immediately feel the pressure it emanated. Fortunately, the butler didn't dare to look, avoiding the inevitable strong sense of anxiety and danger that would choke their heart.
However, even if he didn't see, the servant felt an instinctual, visceral fear crawl up his spine, making him shiver. Yet, his eyes burned red in subconscious excitement. The vampiric blood inside him was clamouring and screaming.