Chapter 65: A Family Portrait
***
Vlad, who finished the operation and also put a stop to any procedures, walked out from the reception room and arrived in front of the people gathered in the hotel's courtyard, instantly cheering him when seeing him surrounded by General Fischer and the other officers.
"Hurray to the Great Doctor!!"
"We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!"
Various cheers from the citizens made Vlad smirk a little bit, as he took in their loud presence, utilizing his Echolocation only to have a hard time figuring out how many of them there were, and letting them cheer him to soothe out his arrogance and pride, he raised his hand which attracted their attention silencing them down.
"I know that some of you might want me to look at their health. However, it's already 10:35 PM, and I've been operating for almost 10 hours. Everyone who arrived today and showed signs of reaching a complication requiring me to act has been treated and now are safe."
*HURRAY!*
"I've taught your General and Royal Guards how to proceed with the treatment for the early stages of infection with the Maggris Worm, and even if some of you who haven't been lucky enough to get inside the Hotel to be treated, return tomorrow in the same place and request to be treated by the Royal Guards."
"What about you, doctor? Won't you continue treating our sicknesses?" asked a man from the crowd, noticing how Vlad who wasn't looking at him suddenly shifted his look watching him with his abyssal black eyes that gave him a chill.
"I will not continue. I did what I wanted and in the process rescued some of the sickly from Tartarus Gates. As for some of you suffering from back pains or other common afflictions, you'll have to count on your own Kingdom doctors. While the ones getting bitten by the Maggris Worms, you know who to approach for treatment."
Some of the citizens pleaded for Vlad to continue the treatment by tomorrow, but Vlad just scoffed denying them such a benefit of getting treated by him, and having said everything that he had in mind, he walked back toward the reception room where he stopped in front of a man with a fat appearance, wearing some expensive winter clothes.
Eleine behind him watched the fat man with her black eyes looking calm, and spoke for Vlad who stood tall towering over the small fat man, who was only 1,64 meters.
"Mister Bernt, I can't bring myself to thank you enough for the kind gesture of allowing us to use the reception of your establishment."
"F-For nothing, Lady Eleine, I-It was my pleasure serving you." said the man who was following the woman who was standing tall at 1,85 meters, but having the appearance of a Fallen Angel in his opinion, constantly following her the entire time since walking from his office, especially stopping at her backside.
"Ohhh, to think the Sorbet Kingdom has such men, it changed my perception a bit."
"Of course, my lady, this is the hospitality of the Everfall people. Hmmm, would you have time to come to dinner with me? I think we have a lot of things in common."
Eleine only smiled a bit when hearing the advances of this Hotel Owner, turning her head at Vlad who "focused" on the short fat man, and before she was able to say something, the one to speak was the tall man next to her.
"We don't have time for pleasantries here. I paid already for using your own Hotel by giving it publicity that would bring forth clients wishing to stay in your hotel."
"... Still, doctor, if the lady wants to have dinner with me …"
"We have other business to attend to. Let's go, Eleine, we can't let the old lady wait around. If she would be some common noblewoman maybe, but a Queen should be treated with dignity regardless of her state."
Vlad turned around walking toward the exit of the building, while Eleine only gave the fatman a small smile which turned rather frosty moments later, turning around with an aloof aura around herself, she started following next to the black-haired man, hearing him tell the old queen.
"I've settled down all the small things. We can have dinner, your Majesty."
"Excellent, mister Dracul. Garald, prepare the carriage for the departure."
.
.
.
With the night spreading around the Everfall City and the Sorbet Kingdom, over the high ground a simple carriage with various decorations attesting the prestige of the one possessing such carriage, a tall man with long black-hair, wearing a crimson-red winter coat with expensive furs surrounding the neck and the sleeves, was seated on the seats of the carriage, where in front of him stood an old lady with silvery pink hair.
The young and old were having a conversation to kill the time required for the carriage to reach the Rock King's Castle, where Queen Conney was interested to find more information about Vlad, only to receive small breadcrumbs from this mysterious man.
"Mister Dracul, tell me more about your homeland, maybe I heard about it and even visited the place in my long years of living."
"I am not that important. I am from Picodras Island, a place far away from the Sorbet Kingdom requiring me to journey out on the sea for 2 months to reach the island."
"Picodras? … I think I heard it from the stories of my Advisor when he went on a long journey around the South Blue. He met a good man who helped him a lot when he struggled to get around a specific place."
Vlad, who heard the old lady mention about the Advisor who went on a long journey around South Blue, started processing the information and comparing it with the various information he had in regard to Sorbet Kingdom, and he reached the conclusion that it might be related to the one called Kylian.
"There are good people on each island, but the same could be said for wicked people."
"Mister Dracul, I would also like to present to you Advisor Kylian Alenvord, the person I mentioned having adventures all around the South Blue. I am sure, he will be pleased to make an acquaintance with you, especially if you are from the Picodras Island."
"I don't mind it." replied Vlad in a detached voice, but he got intrigued a bit because this Kylian Alenvord could offer him clues about the various locations he was looking for regarding the rest of the Keys to the Great Mausoleum.
The journey back to the King's Rock Castle took 28 minutes since Garald wasn't in a hurry as per the old ladies instructions, since she wanted to find more information about Vlad on this journey, but to her amazement, the experience she build as a monarch, being able to read various people easily, didn't bring any gains.
How could she? She was facing a monarch in Vlad Dracul, who himself could be said to have experienced various dark plays, and was knowledgeable on human nature.
'You'll know only what I want to give you, madame. Nothing much, nothing less, just enough to paint in your mind a picture of an interesting youngster with a boundless future.'
Vlad could feel the temperature dropping as the carriage was getting closer and closer with the King's Rock Castle that was placed on a clif, and along the way Queen Conney noticed how Vlad began humming with a melancholic tune.
"Something is on your mind, mister Dracul?"
"Hmm? It's nothing your Majesty, I was thinking about some sceneries I heard in the past, and as we passed by, I could feel some of the atmosphere described in those stories being similar to this place we are going."
"Ohh, you've heard stories about Rock King's Castle of the Cormac House?"
"Not at all. This castle I heard about is called Poenari Castle, similarly built on a high mountain."
Opening a new topic for conversation, the Queen made sure to ask Vlad for some details, to which he didn't mind, but clearly shrouded the whole truth keeping it to a "story" format.
When he arrived he was first to get off the carriage taking in the new sensation of being at about 1,800- 2000 meters high mark, "watching" over an entire city full of life, while behind him stood tall a large castle made of white stone, giving off the appearance of a dignified yet old masterpiece.
Titania was whispering to Vlad everything she was seeing, as he was moving slowly following Garald and Queen Conney, while he was clicking his tongue, and he was given a tour of the castle by the old lady.
"Gram, go to the kitchen and have the Chef prepare the dinner for me and my guests." said the old lady after a man with an old appearance, wearing butler clothes arrived to greet the ones stepping inside the castle.
"Understood, my Queen. Is there anything else you request of me?"
"No, Gram. Just have the Chef prepare the dinner, and prepare the dining room."
The old man bowed, and retreated toward another part of the Castle, while Conney, who had Garald next to her, started giving Vlad, Titania and Eleine a tour of the castle, where various art pieces, statues and decorations were placed on display.
Yet, what stopped Titania and Eleine from the tour was the painting of a young woman about 18 to 20 years old, wearing a Princess dress, while her hair was a bright pink which amplified her beautiful appearance.
Not far from this painting, there was a picture of a man with a large frame, with shoulder length black curly hair, being painted with a gentle expression on his face, while wearing the Royal Regalia with a silvery scepter in his hand and the golden crown on his curly hair.
They took in all this information, especially Eleine who made the connection between the pink-haired girl and the pink-haired woman who had features closely related.
Passing by another section of the castle, from the many paintings covering the walls of the castle, there was a family portrait, where the same large man was standing to the center of the painting, while on his left side was on the throne a beautiful pink-haired woman wearing the Royal Regalia, while on the right side was a little girl with pink hair, about 8 years old having her head touched gently by the man.
'Could it be? Master already figured out the identity of the little girl who managed to turn him into a child?'
'Now that I look at those portraits, I wonder where the woman and the man are right now?'
Eleine didn't give the impression she was interested in the portraits, not giving off that she was studying them, but she noticed that Titania who was standing on Vlad's shoulder shifted her expression a little bit, making her scoop her, and tell in a cold whispering tone.
"Act normal, stupid Fairy."
"Y-you, noticed too? The portraits…"
"Yeah, so better don't mention it right now. After we get out of the castle, you can go about how smart you are."
Vlad who was clicking his tongue acted oblivious, not caring about what his girls were playing around with or what the old lady's intents were of showing him around the castle, he wasn't able to see any of the "glorious" decorations, and his Echolocation was only able to make up the shape of various sculptures and rooms.
Only after he got to have the actual dinner, he sat close to Queen Conney as per the arrangement, while Eleine was to his left side, watching over General Garald who stood on Queen Conney's left side.
Food was also brought at the lighted room not in a banquet's quantity, but plenty enough to fill the three guests, and it didn't take long for Vlad to comment about the food, even though he wasn't a picky eater, being able to eat most foods that even the peasants would eat.
"Your Majesty, the food is delicious, there's nothing to complain about on my end. While I might not be able to see the colors on the plate, I can feel the dedication and the talent of your Chef."
"The dishes you've tasted are the traditional food of Sorbet Kingdom with a small twist from my personal Chef, Nob. This is just a small thank you for the kind gesture of treating the citizens of Everfall."
"The food will be enough to pay for the trouble I took to heal those people. However, I know you might want something from me, so please, Your Majesty. No need to drag along the conversation with pleasantries."
Queen Conney, seeing how direct Vlad was right now, sighed, later on mentioning.
"You, youngsters, always want to get direct when it comes to sensitive subjects. Fine, I will not beat the bush around for too long and ask you. What would it take for you to help train talented people of Sorbet Kingdom in the art of medicine?"
"..."
"Can't do." replied Vlad, with a stoic appearance, drinking some of the wine served at the table.
"Mister Dracul, everything has a price in the world. Just think about what could my Kingdom be able to offer you in order to train some of the talented people of Sorbet in the art of medicine.
Sigh, you must be aware of the situation in regard to those 5 old fools. They are indeed doctors, but they lost their passion for the medicine, after they lost their families."
"None of my concern, madam. I have other important things to settle down which can't disturb me."
"Such as?" asked the old woman, watching Vlad standing on his seat behaving casually, while speaking short and direct with his words.
"Climb and reach the summit of Yehimal Mountain."
"I see. You sound certain of yourself and your target, so I will not go about telling you how foolish trying to climb the Yehimal who has never climbed to the summit by anyone in the history of Sorbet Kingdom."
"Mhm, that's my own problem. As for teaching some people the art of medicine, it might be enticing for me, being able to have access to the resources of a Kingdom. Yet, the mountain's call is too loud for me right now."
Conney heard that Vlad might have been interested in her offer of teaching some of her subjects, but because of his target of climbing the mountain, the interests clashed with each other.
"Mister Dracul, I will be honest with you. Sorbet Kingdom isn't a place rich in resources. We can't offer you too much money because of various restrictions on the Kingdom's Treasury."
"I am aware. The Heavenly Tribute must be quite high since it's based on the population of a country. But, I am not a person blind over money. No, far from it. If I would have accepted your offer, I would be interested in the old books and scrolls of your kingdom."
"Does sound promising and fair, coming from a young scholar to be interested in the knowledge of my kingdom. Still, it can't be compared to the rest of the world, being outdated and irrelevant in this day and age."
"That's for those reading the books to decide what information they took for granted or not."
Vlad now pondered about extending his stay inside Sorbet Kingdom after climbing Yehimal Mountain, getting interested in researching the Maggris Worms who required a cold climate to survive, and now with a new opportunity arising, studying the old documents, books and scrolls of Sorbet Kingdom, who might offer him information worth millions of berries.
The dinner at the castle ends with Vlad only mentioning to the Queen who gained some decent answers she wanted to hear in regard to her interests.
"Your Majesty, for now I will not reach any deal in regard to instructing some of your "promising" youngsters. Once I return from Yehimal, I will be sure to visit you, and by that time also bring that Prime Minister of yours since I might have some subjects to discuss with him."
"Young man, I told you my thoughts about how foolish it is to attempt to climb something no man will ever be capable of climbing. But, you'll realize when you are facing the mountain.
So if you start struggling, don't risk your life over some stories from foolish people trying to paint a grander picture of a mountain."
"That I will remember, Your Majesty. Have a pleasant night."