"They're part of the Emperor's elite guard—Draconian Vampires. They work directly under your father and are some of the most powerful vampires in the kingdom. Their wings give them an edge in combat."
Edmund watched the Draconian Vampires in awe. "I see. And what makes them so powerful?"
"They're amongst the special ones who have bi essence," Sasha explained. "They can manipulate the elements to some extent and are incredibly fast and strong. They have cultivated the blood arts to a very high level. A single one of them is synonymous with fifty thousand holy knights and can take on entire cities by themselves. They're also fiercely loyal to your father, which makes them both allies and potential threats, depending on your relationship with him."
"Not to mention, they are responsible for fooling the human world and other supernatural creatures that vampires can't appear during the daytime," She added.
'I also used to think they couldn't... I guess the movies didn't get that right,'
Edmund was stupefied. Nevertheless, he filed away the information for future reference. "Interesting. I suppose I have a lot to learn."
One of them turned to stare in Edmund's direction as he and Sasha strolled into the palace grounds. Most of his face was obscured by a layer of misty darkness but his eyes were undoubtedly shooting in Edmund's direction.
'Bloodlust?' Edmund thought his senses were playing tricks on him at first but now he was certain... the one staring at him was exuding bloodlust.
"Sasha... Who is that?" He turned to Sasha while gesturing in the direction of that particular draconic vampire.
"Who?" Sasha asked with a clueless expression.
"That..." When he turned back to stare in the direction of the vampires, they were gone.
"What's wrong?" Sasha questioned once more.
"I sensed bloodlust from one of them," He decided to reveal this to her.
"You must be imagining it. With your essence locked, you're just an ordinary person despite your title. The bloodlust of a draconic vampire is not something ordinary people can withstand. You'd have burst to pieces," Sasha disputed his claims immediately.
"Besides they're loyal to the crown. No matter how unhappy they may be about your existence, they would never try to harm you," she added.
"Hmm... I hope you're right," Although Edmund was sure of what he had sensed, he decided not to dwell on it.
...
Sasha had finished tidying up Edmund's royal chamber with meticulous care. The rich, dark wood furniture gleamed under the soft candlelight, and the heavy velvet drapes were perfectly aligned, framing the tall windows that overlooked the moonlit kingdom.
The massive bed structure was adorned with crimson and gold silks. It stood as the room's centerpiece, inviting yet intimidating in its grandeur.
"Is there anything else you need, Your Highness?" Sasha asked, her voice echoing slightly in the spacious room.
"No, thank you, Sasha. That will be all for tonight," Edmund replied, a hint of weariness in his tone. "I need some time alone to collect my thoughts."
"Very well, Your Highness. I'll be in the servants' quarters if you need me," she said, offering a small bow before exiting the room, the door closing with a soft click behind her.
Edmund sighed deeply, sinking into the plush armchair by the window. The events of the day swirled in his mind—his encounters with the council, the citizens, and the act of compassion he had shown the young vampire boy.
He realized that the original Edmund truly had a few screws loose in the head as some memories surfaced in his mind.
'He really did try to do a girl by force despite knowing he was impotent? That's crazy,' Edmund also recalled how he cut off a vampire ballsack for calling him 'small peepee' and then fed them to the castle death hounds.
When the vampire healed, he would cut off his balls again and again and again and again, till the vampire got tired of screaming in agony.
The vampire crown prince was truly cruel but Edmund understood that it stemmed from a place of deep insecurity.
"He was definitely sick in the head... I'm much diff..." Edmund wanted to say he was different but he recalled how he slaughtered thirty-six people in total.
Even though they were criminals and he was exacting revenge for his family, it didn't change the fact that made a video while cutting off their limbs and posted it on the internet.
He recalled how it had taken the online world by storm when they watched the process at which he hunted them down one after the other, tortured them, and made sure they stayed alive long enough to see their body parts being separated and their innards spilled.
It was truly a grueling sight.
Not to mention how he crowned it all by sending their body parts in packages to their family members before turning himself in.
He wasn't going to be the only one to suffer the loss of family.
"Ahem... *cough cough* I'm certainly not as sick as he is in the head," Edmund tried to console himself.
"But damn... I truly ended up in a different world... I'm royalty... It still feels like a dream."
As he stared out at the night sky, a system notification appeared in his line of sight, pulling his thoughts in a different direction.
[ Goal Incomplete ]
"What goal?" Edmund wondered out loud, his curiosity piqued.
More notifications appeared, filling his vision with lines of text.
[ Goal: Extract a bark fragment from the silver oak tree ]
< Status: Incomplete >
Edmund's brow furrowed in confusion. He had never heard of the silver oak tree, and the original Edmund hadn't concerned himself with botanical matters.
He closed his eyes, trying to focus, and a faint memory surfaced—a mention of the silver oak tree in passing. It was some sort of mystical tree but that was all he could manage to muster from his memories.
"I'll have to ask Sasha about this later," he muttered to himself.
In the meantime, he wanted to understand more about these system notifications.
"Is it like those things that appear in games?" he wondered aloud.
As if in response, another notification appeared.
[ You Were Granted The Essence System By The Mysterious Old Man ]
This revelation left him even more puzzled. Who was this old man, and why had he granted him a system? The questions were piling up faster than he could process them.
Before he could dwell on it further, another notification materialized before him.
[ Opening Status Window... ]
...
Name: Edmund Rigorial Alucard The Twenty-Seventh
Race: Half human/vampire
Essence: (Locked)
Skills: (Locked)
Supernatural level: Underground
Strength: Basic
Speed: Basic
Agility: Basic
Durability: Basic
Immunity: High
Distributable points: 0
Title(s): Nil
Completed goals: Nil
...
Edmund blinked at the information, feeling a strange mix of nostalgia and confusion.
The display was reminiscent of the video games he used to play with his father in his previous life, yet the stakes were far higher now. His essence, his skills, everything important seemed to be locked.
"So this system is the old man's doing... He must have put it in place to help navigate things easier in this world," he said.
"I have a goal to focus on at the moment... I believe another one will appear after I complete this... Perhaps I'll also get some rewards," Edmund tried to make sense of it all.
As he reached for more of his memories, trying to piece together the significance of this tree, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
Nightfall had already descended, cloaking the kingdom in a blanket of darkness. He felt a twinge of apprehension, knowing what the knock signified.
"Enter," he called, bracing himself for the inevitable.
The door swung open, revealing a group of beautiful consorts, their presence immediately commanding the room.
They were dressed in sheer, flowing fabrics that clung to their curves, leaving very little to the imagination. Their attire was a mix of silk and lace, in deep shades of red and black, designed to entice and seduce.
The first consort, a striking woman with raven-black hair cascading down her back, wore a dress that barely covered her, the plunging neckline revealing ample cleavage. Her eyes, a deep, mesmerizing green, locked onto Edmund's with a predatory gleam.
"Good evening, Your Highness," she purred, stepping forward with a sultry grace. "We are here to serve you."
The second consort, a tall, statuesque blonde with golden locks that shimmered in the candlelight, wore a similarly revealing dress that highlighted her long, toned legs. Her lips curled into a knowing smile as she joined the first woman.
"Yes, Your Highness," she echoed, her voice a seductive whisper. "We hope to please you tonight."
The third consort, a petite redhead with fiery hair and piercing blue eyes, wore a more delicate ensemble. The lace fabric accentuated her petite yet sexy frame. She moved with a dancer's grace, her every step deliberate and enticing.
"We are at your disposal," she said with a soft yet confident.
'Father ended up sending three this night...'
Edmund swallowed hard as the reality of his situation sunk in.
These women were here for a purpose, sent by his father in the hope of unlocking his essence. The notion was both humiliating and frustrating.
Having such meals before him and yet unable to eat.
"You're err welcome," he spoke with a steady voice despite the internal turmoil.