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Unofficially, the actual matter was entirely about something else, but publicly, the scene was portrayed as Grand Pope Werner of the Holy Kingdom Aeon visiting the Argentum, the capital city of the Graviol Empire. As a courtesy, the Emperor of the Graviol Empire visited the Argentum Cathedral, where the Grand Pope was staying. (Regardless of a nation’s military might, Grand Pope is greater than if not equal to Emperor in the hierarchy, so customarily, the Emperor would pay a visit. Unlike usual, where he might delegate the task to others, this situation compelled the Emperor to visit in person.)

On the other hand, a representative of the Aeon Holy Kingdom visited the imperial palace in the afternoon as part of the formalities, since the Grand Pope was invited to a banquet that same evening.

At the same time, Imperial Princess Oliana of the Graviol Empire (or May Bell Princess, as people love to call her), who was in a villa in the Imperial Palace, received a private visit from two people. One of them was the acting ruler of the Cres Freedom United Nation, Revan, with whom she had become acquainted at a recent territory negotiation meeting… or at least, that was how they described their relationship to the public. The other person was a beautiful black-haired maiden wearing a magnificent rose dress, who claimed to be the said representative from the Holy Kingdom of Aeon. Plenty of evidence was left behind, indicating their visit.

However, officially, there was not a single record of the earth-shattering event that took place in the same villa on the same day—the event where the two mortal enemies, Grand Pope Werner of the Aeon Holy Kingdom and Hiyuki, the ‘Princess’ of Imperial Crimson, were there, much less about them exchanging words face-to-face, which should have been impossible even if heaven and earth were to be destroyed.

Regardless of the fact, as far as it goes, it was left in the annals of history that Grand Pope Werner and Hiyuki had never ever seen each other’s faces in their lifetime. However, among the recovered fragments of Werner’s private letters or diaries, a majority of them mentioned ‘A Charming Rose Maiden’, clearly describing his infatuation. In later years, the same record became the source of debate and confusion among historians, who were left scratching their heads to guess, ‘They surely might have had an unofficial meeting at some point,’ or ‘Or maybe, their relations were even beyond that than the record suggests’.

Well, whatever the future was, let’s set it aside for now.

For now, the one who was having the most trouble at this moment—to the point she would have been cradling her head in her hands if alone—was undoubtedly Imperial Princess Oliana, the one who orchestrated the unofficial «Conference of the Continent’s Three Greatest Power» and also the one facilitating it.

The seating arrangement in the venue was set up in a unique configuration, with high-ranking officials from the Empire seated in the central area, high-ranking priests from the Holy Kingdom on the left side, and representatives from Imperial Crimson and the Cres Freedom United Nation on the right side.

This arrangement was solely due to the opposition of the Holy Kingdom of Aeon, which refused to have any direct conversation with Imperial Crimson.

But of course, since they were all in the same room and it was impossible not to see each other, the Aeon Holy Kingdom chose to completely ignore everyone but the Empire faction. In contrast, the representatives of the Cres Freedom United Nation stared daggers at them, as if they had found their parent’s killer. The Imperial Crimson faction, unlike the Aeon Holy Kingdom, regarded everyone in the room as part of the scenery, akin to tables or chairs, further fueling the anger in the heart of the Aeon Holy Kingdom.

In this tense atmosphere, Imperial Princess Oliana, seated in the central position to oversee the entire room along with the grand chamberlain, displayed a charming smile and appeared amiable. Grand Pope Werner intently stared at Hiyuki, who was sitting on the opposite side, with a lost expression, as if someone had snuck out his soul. Hiyuki, being herself, watched the whole scene with a (wicked) grin.

“Concerning the alarming escalation of the vampire count in the Yuz Grand Duchy, it appears there’s little hope for survivors within the Duchy. Consequently, I have proposed the formation of a tri-alliance to address this menace,” Oliana stated with poise.

“Wait a minute. I would like to clarify that this gathering is primarily for the support conference of our country’s second expeditionary force,” a cardinal from the Holy Kingdom quickly interjected.

“—Hmph. As long as this doesn’t lead to another defeated force,” came a sharp retort from the Cres faction. The Cardinal, after a brief mental struggle, chose to ignore the comment.

“Rest assured, the term ‘Tri-alliance’ is merely provisional to facilitate our current discussion. The choice of its official designation shall be left to the discretion of all parties involved. The Empire will not impose in this matter,” Oliana stated gracefully, giving others the freedom to decide on the naming.

“Very well. In that case, I propose we discuss the composition of the second expeditionary force, which our church plans to bolster with an additional 100,000 soldiers,” a representative of the Holy Kingdom faction announced, subtly emphasizing ‘second expeditionary force’ and ‘hundred thousand’.

Both the Empire and Cres factions expressed astonishment at the Holy Kingdom’s declaration of 100,000 soldiers.

The Holy Kingdom faction initially wore a smug expression, but it quickly turned sullen as they noticed Hiyuki’s gaze, which seemed to regard their performance as a mere spectacle.

“—Your Highness. Do you harbor any doubts?” Oliana inquired casually, further dampening their mood.

“Rather than doubts… I am curious as to what exactly you intend to fight against,” Hiyuki inquired.

“Obviously, the vampires responsible for the downfall of the Yuz Grand Duchy.”

“Could you be more specific?”

“The chief vampire and the residents of Yuz Grand Duchy he has transformed into vampires. Our estimates suggest their numbers to be at least between 500,000 to 600,000.”

Upon hearing this, Hiyuki shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

“They have been assimilated into a Chimera; they are no longer mere puppet vampires.”

A wave of confusion swept across the faces of those present as Hiyuki finished speaking.

Only Grand Pope Werner gazed at Hiyuki with sparkling eyes, hanging on her every word, though whether he was actually following the conversation remained uncertain.

Meanwhile, Oliana appeared to have surmised something.

“Your Highness, the «Chimera» you mentioned, is it perhaps the colossal snake-like creature?”

As Oliana posed the question with her eyebrows arched in elegance, high-ranking officials and intelligence officers from both the Empire and the Holy Kingdom exchanged surprised and concerned glances.

“—Indeed. It appears the news has reached your ears as well. Yes, that creature is an artificial monster created by the instigator of the vampire outbreak. It has absorbed its own kind and other life forms, assimilating other vampires, and is currently advancing towards the northwestern border. Our true adversaries are the mastermind vampire and that colossal chimera,” Hiyuki clarified.

“Can this be true?” “Such a revelation is hard to digest suddenly,” “Where did this information come from?” murmured members of the Holy Kingdom faction in hushed tones.

Oliana turned her gaze from them to her own officials, silently inquiring if they had similar intelligence. The grand chamberlain, stepping forward as a representative, confirmed, “We have yet to receive such a report.”

“Your Highness, please forgive my forwardness, but can we rely on the accuracy of this information?”