In the days that followed, Duke Edward Lurgan ordered the shutdown of the churches of the Holy Mother of Life in his dukedom, Linfolm, and the arrest of all their high clergy members. Investigations of the attack and arrest were carried out by one of the empire's domestic counter-intelligence and security branches, M19.
M19, the 19th Military Section of the Joint Intelligence Council of the Pentagogue, was one of Maen Empire's domestic counter-intelligence and security agencies that protect economic interests and counter terrorism and espionage. The others were M20, M21, and M22, all designated to the regional zones of the empire.
These agencies were composed of holy knights of the five orthodox churches who had sworn an unbreakable oath to the empire and now served under the Pentagogue, mainly specializing in investigating paranormal cases and unusual activity within the empire.
All the while, the police made efforts to maintain peace in the state by mediating riots and protests due to the backlash Duke Lurgan received from the believers of the Holy Mother.
After dishing out those orders, the duke had locked himself in his study and hadn't come out since nor allowed anyone in. Even those that brought him food to eat.
News about Duchess Marybeth's death reached every corner of the empire, and a period of National Mourning was declared by the emperor himself. All trades were to be put on hold apart from particular sectors that were necessary for the functioning of the empire.
Princess Marybeth Caliscus was the Duchess of Linfolm and the seventh princess of the Imperial family of Maen. Of course, this meant her elder brother was the Emperor, Theodorici Caliscus III; who because of his feats, was dubbed the 'Mad Emperor.'
The Church of the Holy Mother of Life knew better than to go against the decrees of the Emperor and proactively stopped their followers from organizing protests and riots.
The news about the intruder being a vampire was kept from the public due to unspecified reasons but the excuse the churches gave to the Emperor was to 'avoid civil unrest.'
❈ ❈ ❈
'It should be ten days by now since I was reborn into this world…'
William was lying in a carriage and was rocked by a maid. She was the wet nurse Lord Maxton hired for him since he was now without a mother.
'I… surprisingly understand this language I've never heard before now, despite not being able to the first time I heard it. Hmm, maybe I can speak it?'
"Ar lau la la…" William made jumbled sounds as his tongue twisted in unnatural manners. He couldn't speak yet.
'Urgh, this boredom is killing me. I can't continue like this. Who knows what that evil person is doing to my precious Allison? But I'm still an infant. Sigh… I might have to get used to talking to myself like this.'
"You have made a mess again, Prince William. You are just a few days old so you still have time to learn to be a good boy." The nursemaid reprimanded William, however, he was still a newborn baby.
'And this too. The endless humiliation,' he added in his thoughts.
The maid looked him out from the cradle and raised him high, "Oof, it reeks so… bad! No wonder the other maids don't want to take care of you," she lampooned.
'Curse this body of mine! Why didn't I just get truck-kun'd and appear in the body of a banished prince or something? I would choose that any day over this! And this woman…'
William's eyes stared at the maid in bewildered fashion common in babies.
"Aha! Prince William, I jest." Her smile faded as her eyes widened to a freakish degree. "They do not want to take care of you… because you are cursed, my prince, not because your filth smells so bad. However, I am the only one that volunteered, so better not forget me when you become the emperor, alright?"
'She's crazy…'
"Alright? Alright?" She shook William, her expression slowly turning foul. "Prince William, can you not answer me?!"
She drew William closer to her with an unusual and creepy smile on her face as though she was keeping herself from lashing out.
"L-La," William uttered, a chill running down his spine.
'No, this is way beyond crazy. This woman is mad! Mad, I say!' he screamed inwardly.
With William's supposed answer, the nursemaid's expression eased. "Haha, that is my prince."
'I can't control my bowels, I can't move on my own, and my eyes automatically close when my body feels a little bit sleepy! Looking at how long I will have to wait before I fully grow… I just… can't continue like this! I have to make use of my current state.
'From what I've been hearing…'
Yes, William had been hearing things. This was all thanks to the maid who constantly spoke to a baby and expected a reply.
'Apparently, after I slept off after that old man appeared, my mother died. Later, I was inspected by a weird masked man. He said I am indeed cursed. I'll have to find out why.
'Mm, yes. And I have three older siblings. It's the first positive experience since my arri—my… my eyes are closing again… damn this body…'
❈ ❈ ❈
Twenty days after the assassination of the Duchess of Linfolm, Princess Marybeth, her burial was held at the capital of the empire, Cantophe. A grand parade marched in her name and a monument was built for her in Linfolm.
The Holy Mother of Life Church renamed one of its temples to St. Marybeth of Linfolm Church in honor of her heritage and to appease the emperor and the other orthodox churches for their 'supposed' involvement with her death.
Below the surface, rumors of the princess' infidelity made rounds in pubs and inns and also the Temple's involvement with vampires.
Some conspiracy theorists even suggested that Duke Lurgan was angry with Mary and hired a vampire to murder his wife then pinned the blame on the Church of the Holy Mother of Life. One said Mary died during the birth of her bastard child and now they are using the widely hated term, vampire, to cover everything up.
The existence of a bastard child of royalty was kept from the ears of the entire empire. Duke Lurgan didn't want news of it to spread. Lucky for him, all the midwives that were there during childbirth were murdered by the vampire nun.
The few soldiers that broke the door might've seen the child as it was under the princess and shared their thoughts when they got tipsy, but since it was never publicly acknowledged that Princess Marybeth had a child, no one would believe the ramblings of a drunkard over the words of the duke.
Only a few maids that took care of Mary during her pregnancy knew about the existence of a bastard child.
Of course, the emperor still knew of the existence of the bastard child. When he heard from Lord Maxton that the child was now his son, the emperor simply didn't pursue anything on the case any longer.
After the burial was over, Viscount Maxton took the newborn child back to his city—Denvern, and proclaimed the child… William Maxton.
He made it public that the child was his child, born from a mistress of his. Such stories were common with nobility, so the public readily accepted them.
Though, few that knew the viscount, knew that he wasn't the type to dabble in grey areas, what could they do apart from sharing their opinion with a few friends?
The investigation by M19 bore no fruit after six months and was easily forgotten, remaining unsolved. Any media that tried to bring light to the issue were quickly silenced by unknown forces.
Of course, Duke Lurgan didn't take this sitting down but he received a letter from the Holy Emperor, the ruler of the Holy Solean Empire and the patriarch of the Church of the Bright and Golden Sun. Its contents? Only the two parties involved knew.
At this point, there was nothing he could do. It was as clear as day that the five orthodox churches wanted to bury the matter, till the extent the patriarch of his belief was involved.