How to Live As the Vampire Lord

responded.

“…?” Was that really something to be so excited about? He obviously had other troops as he was a king.

“The expedition includes other nobles, the delegations of many kingdoms, and the third prince of the Roman Empire.”

“What?”

“Well, when we asked, we found out that…” the priests quickly explained what they learned about Eugene’s expedition.

After listening to their summary, Laerina nodded her head with glistening eyes.
“I understand.
I will meet with them.
For now, I think it would be good for all of you to say hello to them first on my behalf.”

“Understood,” the priests responded before heading out excitedly.
The opportunity to share their ‘faith’ with nobles prestigious enough to be sent as members of delegations was very hard to come by.

As soon as the priests disappeared, Laerina turned her head.
“Sir Parma,”

“We must return to the Holy Father as soon as possible and inform him,” she continued.

“Yes? Ah, yes,” Parma replied.

“And I think it will be better for us to keep the issue of the blessing a secret for the time being,” she added.

“Why would we—Ah!” Parma exclaimed in realization.

Laerina nodded.
“That’s right.
If this becomes known, the aftermath will be tremendous.
Regardless of the circumstances and our intentions, we will be held responsible for it.”

“That’s true, but it will come out eventually.
If that’s the case…” Parma hesitated.

“Then we can invite the King of Maren to the Holy Empire,” Laerina responded.

“What?” Parma’s eyes widened.
It wasn’t rare for the Holy Empire to invite royalty or prestigious nobles.
Inviting those religious and contributors to the church to the Holy Land and rewarding them with direct praise was also a way to maintain the authority and dignity of the Holy Empire.
However, it was unprecedented for a member of another race—especially a vampire—to receive an invitation.
Although the Holy Empire recognized them officially, they weren’t particularly favorable toward other races.

“High Priest, please reconsider.
Inviting the King of Maren will only serve to increase his reputation.
No, even without that, the Roman Empire and the other kingdoms will definitely say something about it.
The backlash… How will you deal with it?”

“What if there’s no backlash?” Laerina asked.

“What?”

“I don’t know about the Roman Empire, but it should be fine as long as the other kingdoms accept it, right?” Laerina asked once more.

“Of course, but that’s impossible, right?” Parma mumbled.

“No, it will be possible…” Laerina responded.

“How could that possibly…” Parma muttered with disbelief.

Laerina calmly replied, “You heard the priests just now, right? The King of Maren formed the expedition to resolve the issue of the monster uprising, not to rescue us.
That’s why he was able to arrive here much earlier than we had expected.”

“Hmm.”

Laerina then continued, “Anyway, the nobles of the delegations should already know that I blessed the King of Maren.”

“That’s right.
That’s why I said it would be hard to keep the blessing a secret,” Parma answered with a grim expression.
There was no guarantee that the King of Maren would keep his mouth shut even if he and Laerina remained silent.

However, Laerina shook her head.
“No.
We just have to stay silent.
The King of Maren shouldn’t know the effect of the blessing, and even if he knows it, he will stay silent.”

“…!”

Parma hurriedly said, “Surely! The disappearance of the restriction will be the most powerful weapon for the king, and if it becomes known, the kingdoms with faith will try to keep the king in check.”

“That’s right.
He will never reveal exactly what he had received as a blessing,” Laerina said.

“Hmm. Let’s say that’s true.
But it will definitely become known one day.” Parma pointed out.
Even if the effect of the blessing would remain a secret for the meantime, it was only a matter of time before it became known.
Everything would be revealed one day, and the kings and nobles all over the world would criticize and blame the Holy Empire.

The root of the problem was still there.

“There’s a simple way to take care of that,” Laerina spoke with a smile, then continued in a quiet voice.

“Hmmm. Well… Oh! Ohh!”

Parma’s expression brightened as he listened.

***

‘No way.’

‘Those ignorant pirates are repenting? The lizardmen and mermen have been converted?’

The foreign nobles could not believe their eyes after they landed on the island and greeted the priests of the Holy Empire.
The ignorant and savage pirates had been edified to become similar to those people who dedicated their entire lives to worship in monasteries.
And all of them had been converted in just a single day.
More importantly, even the pirates of other races had been converted.

‘Is the King of Maren really protected by the gods?’

The nobles had been half doubtful even when they saw Eugene’s ship sail through the rough current and the reefs.
But now, they had no choice but to take the matter seriously.
As the nobles started making complicated calculations in their heads, Parma and Laerina showed up.

“Ohhh! That’s…”

“The High Priest of the Holy Empire!”

Among the envoys in the founding ceremony of the Maren Dukedom, the High Priest of the Holy Empire was the most distinguished guest along with Crown Prince Voltaire.
It was extremely difficult to see a high priest, and Laerina was famous as a saintess as well.
The nobles could not hide their excitement as they greeted her with excitement and expectations.

“It is a great honor to meet so many of you sirs.
Although the current situation is somewhat exceptional, I believe this is also the will and the protection of the three gods,” Laerina said.

“I believe…”

“As the holy will of the three gods…”

The nobles imitated Laerina’s holy symbol while nodding.
As she said, they could only regard the current situation as being the ‘will of god’.
The delegation had been rescued, and the pirates had been converted.

“As all of you know, the three gods have sent His Majesty the King of Maren, an honorable knight and the flagbearer of faith, to rescue me,” Laerina continued in an elegant, pious voice.

The nobles turned their eyes toward Eugene.

“It’s nothing.
As I said before, I only did my duty as a knight,” Eugene stated.

‘That high priest.
I like her.’

Eugene lightly nodded while staring at Laerina with a friendly look.
He was grateful to her because she had removed his restraint.

‘How audacious! How cheeky!’

Laerina suppressed her boiling emotions.
Eugene was responsible for the unbelievable divine proclamation of ‘are you out of your mind?’.

While sweeping her gaze at the nobles, she continued, “But I do not think that this is the end of their holy will.
The deep and generous will of the gods continues.”

“…?”

The nobles took on puzzled expressions.
Laerina drew the holy symbol in the air once more as she continued, more pious than ever, “The uprising of monsters is prevalent everywhere.
That is the reason I blessed His Majesty, who is trying to save everyone from the crisis.”

Ohhhh…!

“Yes.
I dare declare that I have been entrusted with full authority from the Holy Father.
Blessed be His Majesty as he fights against the monster uprisings, and the Holy Empire will join in the holy war as well.
In addition, in the holy name of the three gods, I hereby invite His Majesty Jan Eugene Batla to the Holy Empire,” Laerina declared.

The high priest had given her blessing before the holy war with the monsters began.
From now on, the King of Maren would bring glory to the Holy Empire with every victory.

If you couldn’t beat them, join them—that was the conclusion the high priest reached after accidentally giving an unexpected blessing.