Chapter 333: While the half-Vampire is away...

Presented with a meal that had been prepared in one of Vandalieu's Inner Worlds to replace the one provided by the hospital, Amelia was very surprised, but her delight was even greater.

"It's really been a long time since the two of us had a meal together, hasn't it?" she said.

In reality, it was their first time eating together.

"It has," said Vandalieu. "This hospital doesn't let you eat with your family, after all."

"You can't say things like that, dear," Amelia said reproachfully. "The people here are trying their best to cure sick people like me."

"... Indeed," said Vandalieu.

"Don't fret, dear. The doctors and the clerics said that treatment needs perseverance... I'm trying my best to get better, even if it's only by a little, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do..."

"You're right, Amelia. It's alright. I'm sure you'll get better soon."

Vandalieu and Amelia continued their conversation as they ate, and Vandalieu succeeded in learning about how Amelia perceived the situation she was in.

Amelia believed that she was in the hospital because she had a serious illness. But she didn't say anything specific about the illness itself - likely because she didn't perceive it as anything other than 'a serious illness.'

She believed that Elizabeth was attending school with Mahelia to study, and that her husband, whom she referred to as 'dear,' was working to retake the Sauron Duchy.

She said almost nothing specific, and the details were vague. It was like she was telling a story for children.

"Thank you for the meal," Amelia said with a happy giggle. "It's been a while since I ate this much. I might gain a little weight," she said, rubbing her belly.

But perhaps because of her pale, ill-looking skin, she looked very thin, rather than fat.

She might need a healthy amount of exercise and sunlight for her treatment, Vandalieu thought.

"... Amelia. Do you want to sneak out of here and go on a picnic tomorrow?" he suggested.

"Oh my! I can't leave my hospital room!" Amelia exclaimed. "But that sounds fun. The doctors will get angry at us if they find us, but I'm sure they won't, since you can enter and leave through the windows and the walls."

And so, their plans for tomorrow were decided.

Vandalieu left Amelia's hospital room, leaving behind nothing but the now-empty plates that the hospital had brought her meal on.

"Did anything happen while I was away?" Vandalieu asked, having returned to his own hospital room.

Kühl made a wobbling noise. "Several scoundrels among the staff."

"This guy gave off an even more dangerous vibe than the others... Should we dispose of him now?" asked Ghost, showing him a sketch he had drawn of his face.

"Let's not do it now. Even if we leave no evidence and make it look like someone else did it, someone will definitely connect it to me," said Vandalieu. "But if they show any signs of actually harming Amelia or anyone else, let's get rid of them."

Vandalieu memorized this particular hospital worker's face from Ghost's sketch and added him to his mental list of people to watch out for.

"O great Vandalieu, Luciliano has attained results from his test on Amelia Sauron's meal," said Gufadgarn.

A hole opened in space, and Luciliano appeared from within.

"You could have just passed on the documents without making a connection in space," Luciliano said haughtily. "Hello, Master. No poison or drugs were detected in the meal you sent. I gave it to one of our prisoners just in case, and he began crying - out of joy at having been given such a delicious meal."

The 'prisoners' Luciliano was referring to... These were the criminals from the Alcrem Duchy whose faces Braga and the others had torn off before abducting them, and the criminals and bandits that Vandalieu and his companions had captured in Orbaume.

The ones that were still alive were being put to good use in Luciliano's research and experiments.

"It was indeed quite delicious," said Ghost.

Kühl wobbled to show his agreement.

They had eaten the meal that had been brought to Vandalieu's room in his absence. It seemed that this facility provided delicious meals to its patients.

"Is there any chance that the prisoner you used possesses resistance Skills like 'Poison Resistance?'" Vandalieu asked.

"Surely not. I used him as a subject for an experiment with drugs just a few days ago. Perhaps she is being drugged, but there is simply no need to mix the drugs in her food?" Luciliano suggested. "Your new wife has been taking medicine directly during her stay here, hasn't she, Master?"

It would be a different story if Amelia was refusing to directly take any medicine, but if she was obediently taking the medicine that she was given, then there was no need to go to the effort of mixing drugs in with her food.

"It is also possible that the doctors are being cautious since you entered the facility. Perhaps they are simply refraining from mixing the drugs in her food in order to avoid your suspicion, Master. Well, in any case, good luck in your investigation," said Luciliano.

"I understand that, but what do you mean by 'new wife?'" asked Vandalieu.

"Am I wrong? I have heard that you have been quite passionate."

"I won't deny that, but don't go telling people. It's possible that once she recovers from her mental illness and her cognitive ability returns, she'll start acting cold towards me."

Amelia was behaving intimately with Vandalieu because she mistakenly believed that he was her 'husband.' Once her sanity returned, she would perceive Vandalieu as nothing more than a party member, friend, and companion of her daughter. Naturally, her behavior towards him would change completely from how it was now.

Vandalieu mentally steeled himself for this eventuality as he shook off Luciliano's joke.

"... Given how these things have gone in the past, I do not think it will end up that way. In any case, it is of no concern to me. Well then, if you get your hands on a sample of the drugs administered by this facility, please send it to me. There is no guarantee that I will be able to make an antidote, but I shall give it my best effort," said Luciliano.

And with that, he went back through the teleportation gate to return to his laboratory.

"I feel like my laboratory-workshop has been taken over by Luciliano recently," Vandalieu murmured. "Leaving that aside - Ghost, could you please find the place where the drugs are prepared?"

"Alright. Leave it to me," said Ghost.

Three days had passed since Vandalieu was admitted to the Hospital of Psychotherapy. During that time, news of his hospitalization had spread, causing a great shock to the powerful figures in Orbaume.

In Lambda, there were no known treatment methods for mental illnesses, and severe mental illnesses were generally considered to be incurable and impossible to fully recover from without some kind of miracle.

Vandalieu was suffering from a severe mental illness, and he had been hospitalized at the Hospital of Psychotherapy, which was famous for having a dismal record for curing its patients. There was no way this couldn't become the topic of conversations.

Prime Minister Tercatanis and Marshal Dolmad had several theories to explain why this had happened - perhaps Vandalieu had a falling-out with Duke Takkard Alcrem, or perhaps Takkard and Darcia were now romantically involved and Vandalieu was a nuisance to them, so they were trying to get rid of him and cover it up. But none of their speculations arrived at the truth.

Those of the Commerce Guild began making threatening moves, seeing if they could steal some of the market from Vandalieu's businesses or even absorb his businesses entirely. The Mages' Guild began discussing the possibility that the reason that Undead obeyed him was because his mind was of a peculiar nature. Meanwhile, the Adventurers' Guild gave words and gifts of condolences to Arthur and the others.

Those who simply liked to gossip and those who just didn't like Vandalieu began whispering rumors such as "I guess he finally lost it," and "I've always thought that there's no way someone who uses Undead could be sane."

In the midst of all this, the organizations with the calmest reactions were the Hero Preparatory School, where Meorilith was principal, and the Tamers' Guild, where Orlock was in charge. Both of them had received a letter from Vandalieu informing them that he would be hospitalized for around seven days.

Given that, they knew that he intended to be discharged in seven days' time, and they continued to observe the situation, regardless of what the people around them whispered.

If either of them had informed the nobles of these letters from Vandalieu, they would likely have received a generous reward. But they both remained silent, as Meorilith didn't intend to sell information regarding a student, and Orlock didn't intend to sell information regarding one of his Guild's members.

On the other hand, there were two individuals who were severely shaken and panicking as if they were competing to see who could panic more. One of them was the man who was supposed to be Elizabeth's legal guardian - Earl Dratze Reamsand. The other was one of Elizabeth's half-brothers, Veedal Sauron, who lived in one of Duke Sauron's villas.

"That greedy, insatiable racoon! Just how much did he get paid to let the boy into the hospital?! There's no chance that he's even ill!" Earl Reamsand screamed, cursing the hospital's director for ignoring his orders despite the large donations he had made.

He pounded his work desk angrily and gulped down the wine in his glass.

These violent noises and angry shouting continued as the alcohol made its way to Earl Reamsand's brain. But his anger did not subside; it was only growing stronger.

"What is he plotting? Does he intend to do something with Amelia after all? Does he intend to do something with Amelia and then steal Elizabeth from me? Then what shall I do? ... Perhaps I should just hire an assassin and be done with it?" Earl Reamsand murmured.

This idea that had suddenly popped up in his head seemed like an excellent plan to him. The hospital was sturdy, but different from the haunted mansion that Vandalieu normally lived in. He even had one of the hospital workers in mind - someone he could buy off to let the assassin inside.

"If I use intermediaries, even if something goes wrong, nobody will find out that I'm the one who hired the assassin. Very well. I shall try to make contact with some of my intermediaries," he decided.

But Earl Reamsand's scheme didn't go very well. Orbaume's skilled assassins... in other words, those who already had accomplishments to their name, had already been killed or turned into guinea pigs by Vandalieu's subordinates, or retired from their assassination work after swearing loyalty to Vandalieu the moment they saw him.

Thus, his intermediaries were unable to immediately procure an assassin for him.

As for Veedal Sauron, he was simply bewildered. He couldn't discern what Vandalieu - or Duke Alcrem, the one who was supporting him - were aiming to do.

"I had thought they were supporting Elizabeth simply because Vandalieu Zakkart has befriended her, but... could it be that he intends to use Elizabeth to make some political move against us?" he muttered to himself. "My brother asked me to gather information and be cautious, but what am I supposed to do?"

Veedal's position was equivalent to that of an ambassador of the Sauron Duchy to Orbaume.

Legally, the Orbaume Kingdom was a single nation, but it was actually a collection of nations that were known as the duchies, and diplomacy and politics in the royal realm, also known as Orbaume Central, were important to maintain the nation. Veedal's current position was an important one that he had acquired by giving up on succeeding the Sauron house and pretending to swear allegiance to Rudel.

... In reality, however, Veedal was being monitored to make sure that he didn't betray Rudel. He had fought to succeed the Sauron house until the very end, and although he was an eyesore to Rudel, he wasn't someone that Rudel could easily get rid of. Although there were no vassals that were loyal to him, he had a certain amount of influence. And most importantly, he was one of the Sauron house's few surviving males.

From Rudel's perspective, it was likely that he had given this position to Veedal to put on a show of putting him to good use, and he was waiting for Veedal to either make such a great mistake that there was no way for him to avoid punishment, or for his position as duke to become more stable. Currently, things were not going as planned, as Veedal hadn't made any mistakes or shown his true colors, and Rudel's position as duke was still unstable.

But here, Veedal was struggling with a very important matter.

"Could it be that Duke Alcrem intends to take Elizabeth in and reignite the struggle for succession of the Sauron house? It can't be. The stability of the Sauron Duchy should be as important to Duke Alcrem as anyone else. Or perhaps he intends to take Elizabeth in because she possesses the blood of the Sauron house, so she can serve as an insurance policy for the next time there is trouble in his family! Yes, that must be it! There's no mistaking it!"

Coming to this conclusion, Veedal wrote his thoughts down in a letter to be sent back to the Sauron Duchy. The weakening of Rudel's political influence was something that he would welcome, but if his suspicions were correct, it would be very inconvenient for him as well. With that being the case, he had no choice but to support Rudel here.

But even he would never have dreamed that it was Vandalieu who was supporting Duke Alcrem.

"Phew. But Elizabeth really is a pitiful girl, being made to enter a struggle for succession that she had no chance of winning. Then Earl Reamsand, who was supposed to be her patron, started plotting to make her his concubine. And now, Duke Alcrem is after her lineage and her womb. If she'd just pretended to submit to our brother like I did, she would have had quite a nice position for herself," Veedal said to himself, assuming that his half-sister was being used as a political pawn and pitying her.

Incidentally, he felt no guilt over the rumors he had started, which had caused much mental anguish for Amelia Sauron. In fact, he had forgotten that he was the one who had ordered for such rumors to be started.

His perception was that he had merely carried out one of the measures at his disposal during the struggle for power; he had done nothing wrong. If that had caused Amelia to suffer from mental illness and become hospitalized, then it was her own fault for being weak. This way of thinking was only natural for Veedal.

Meanwhile, a spectacular event had been prepared by the house of Duke Alcrem.

Sparkling displays of magic and music like none that had ever been heard before. Beautiful women and girls wearing costumes that changed form as they sang and danced.

This idol concert seemed to be leaving a positive impression on the nobles who had been invited by Duke Alcrem.

"Wonderful," one of them said. "It is amazing that they are able to sing so clearly while dancing to such a quick rhythm..."

"This is magnificent," remarked another. "I have always enjoyed more traditional music, but this music and singing is getting me quite excited."

"But perhaps they are exposing a little too much skin?" said one of the ladies. "Especially those sisters. They may be wearing armor, but it looks just like underwear..."

"Madam, those are apparently Undead who serve as the familiars of Countess Zakkart's son. Strictly speaking, what they are showing is not skin," another noble informed her.

"Oh my, is that so?!" the lady exclaimed. "I thought their skin looked too pale."

Meanwhile, Darcia was talking to the people who had organized the event.

"Good work, everyone. We were very rushed as we prepared this event, but thanks to all of you, it's been a great success."

"Truly, we are sorry for the trouble that we have caused," said the man who served as the governor in Duke Alcrem's residence in Orbaume, bowing his head.

The guests had requested for him to put on a display of the 'interesting music that is becoming popular in the Alcrem Duchy,' which had led to the hasty organization of this live concert.

The performers at this event were Darcia; Kanako and Zadiris, who had been inside one of Vandalieu's Inner Worlds; and Rita and Saria, who had been inside Silkie Zakkart Mansion.

"Not at all. I'm greatly indebted to Duke Alcrem, and I'm taking regular lessons, so I can handle things like this without a problem," said Kanako. "But, well, it is a little difficult in terms of the performance... we can't put on a one-hundred-percent performance without using Demon King Familiars, after all."

"Kanako, don't say such careless things in public," said Zadiris. "Well, it is true that I feel much more confident with the boy's aid, however."

"I want to go and visit him, but that hospital doesn't let familiars in," said Saria.

"Nee-san, how about having others wear us when they go to visit him?" suggested Rita. "What do you think, Darcia-sama?"

Due to the limited size of the stage, Pauvina and Eisen had been relegated to juice-making duty.

"I wanted to dance, too," said Pauvina.

"Me toooo," said Eisen.

"We can all perform together if the stage is bigger. Are we still not being given permission?" asked Kanako.

"My apologies," said the governor. "It seems that steps have been taken against us by the Church of Alda... and a portion of the Church of Vida. And there are still many among the nobles who stubbornly refuse to acknowledge those of you who are familiars, and they always end up saying that it would be unsightly to allow familiars to perform in a public place..."

The kind of performance that Kanako wanted - a public performance with a large stage that large crowds of people could see - had yet to become reality.

"So, the peaceful faction is still very powerful... Come to think of it, why hasn't the peaceful faction united into one?" Kanako asked, suddenly curious.

Alda's peaceful faction in the Orbaume Kingdom and the worshipers of Vida who had friendly relations had not united into a single organization. They existed as a mixture within the peaceful faction within the Church of Alda and the pro-peaceful-faction worshipers within the Church of Vida.

Compared to them, the worshipers that belonged to Alda's radical faction were far more united... though nobody wanted the peaceful faction to follow their example.

"Maybe it's because Heinz hasn't appeared in public yet. It must be difficult to unite a faction when you're inside a Dungeon," said Darcia.

"Indeed. Inside a Dungeon, he's more like a mastermind in the shadows than a symbolic leader for the peaceful faction. Everyone knows that he exists, though," said Saria.

This was a good answer to Kanako's question. It wasn't that the peaceful faction wasn't uniting; it was that they couldn't unite.

Some of the people in the peaceful faction were high priests or cardinals - quite high-ranking members within the Church of Alda - but there were none who were capable of having an influence in the Churches of other duchies. The same was true for the worshipers of Vida that were pro-peaceful-faction.

"It is also possible that they believe uniting would make it easier for us to target them," said Zadiris.

"You're right," Rita agreed. "Uniting would make them easier to keep an eye on. There's way more of them than the people in the radical faction, so it's probably difficult to gather and meet while staying hidden, too."

Zadiris and Rita suggested that they feared being targeted by Vandalieu. Vandalieu and his companions were already known by human society to be Vida fundamentalists, and people were wary of them for that.

It wasn't strange to think that they were wary of possible confrontations that would occur if they were to unite into a single organization... especially Heinz and his companions.

"Umm, everyone... Could I please ask you to continue this dangerous conversation after the party has concluded?" said the governor, interrupting the discussion.

"We're sorry," everyone apologized in unison.

The guests at this event had been invited by Duke Alcrem, but they weren't all his and Vandalieu's allies, so it was wise not to say anything careless.

One example of that was Duke Jahan, who was making his way towards Darcia right now.

"Forgive me, Honorary Countess Darcia Zakkart. I am sure you must be tired from your wonderful performance on the stage, but may I ask for a moment of your time?" he said.

"Ah, how good it is to see you, Duke Hadros Jahan," said the governor, putting himself between the duke and the others and giving a bow.

Duke Jahan was a Titan of average height for his race - around two and a half meters tall - and had a dignified appearance. He was also a worshiper of Alda with the rank of high priest at the Church of Alda.

It wasn't unusual for nobles to be a priest or high priest at the Church. In the case of important nobles such as dukes, it was little more than a title. The vast majority of them didn't voice any opinions or involve themselves at all with the Church's work.

But Duke Jahan was an exception to this, and he was known to be a pious worshiper who had carried out organizational reforms at the Church of Alda in his own duchy... though he was simply known as the 'Titan Duke' in the Amid Empire, as the Jahan Duchy was in the most northeastern part of the Orbaume Kingdom.

"I did not realize you were still in Orbaume. Please forgive me for my belated greeting," said the governor.

"My duchy is a snowy land, after all. Spring is always late to come to us, though it seems that spring has begun and the cold of winter has already been forgotten in the Alcrem Duchy. Do not concern yourself over it," said Duke Jahan.

His duchy was not on good terms with the Alcrem Duchy. As the two duchies did not neighbor each other, they usually showed no interest in each other, but Duke Jahan had sent Duke Alcrem a letter of criticism when he allied himself with Alda's peaceful faction... and was now quietly but openly hostile towards him now that he worshiped Vida.

But with that said, both were duchies that made up the Orbaume Kingdom, and no bloodshed had occurred between them. The noble families that served the dukes had canceled planned marriages of convenience between their children, exchanged snide comments during events in high society, and refused to invite each other to parties that they hosted. From the perspective of Vandalieu and his companions, their hostility didn't make them enemies; they were just people they couldn't get along with.

Thus, Duke Alcrem had sent an invitation to Duke Jahan's house as a way to put on an appearance of having no ill will. Nobody had expected Duke Jahan himself to actually accept this invitation - and arrive some time after the party commenced, no less. Thus, Duke Alcrem's subordinates had been late in dealing with him.

"Incidentally, it is Honorary Countess Zakkart that I wish to have a word with," Duke Jahan said.

"My sincere apologies, but the honorary countess and her companions are exhausted as they just finished their performance a short while ago, so if there are any matters that you wish to discuss, I am more than willing to listen," the governor said.

"It won't take long. I am just concerned about her son. I have heard that he has been hospitalized because his mind is unwell? I am just worried, you see, as he possesses rare talents, including the ability to tame Undead."

Duke Jahan and the governor were engaged in a war of words that seemed peaceful, at least on the surface. But it was time for Darcia herself to join the fray.

"Oh my. Thank you very much. I'm sure my son would be very happy to hear that you're worried about him," she said.

The governor looked surprised for a moment, but knowing that there was nothing more he could do, he took a step away from the duke.

"... I was hoping to visit him if possible. I hope you wouldn't mind?" the duke said.

"I've left my son's treatment in the hands of the people at the hospital, so if the doctors allow it, then I don't mind," said Darcia. "But please keep your conversation short. My son is in a very delicate situation at the moment."

Delicate indeed. He was currently treating the mother of a school friend while pretending to be her husband, while simultaneously investigating the shady nature of the hospital. He was even seriously proceeding with the plan of having the emperor that he planned to imprison build his own imprisonment facility. He needed to be treated with caution.

"I understand. I shall respect your wishes to the full extent of my ability," said Duke Jahan. "And your performance on the stage was splendid. Your wonderful hymns had me enraptured. If there is an opportunity, I would certainly love to welcome you to perform in my duchy, too."

"Yes, if there is an opportunity," Darcia said, smiling cheerfully.

Duke Hadros Jahan looked a little confused as he left - probably by the fact that Darcia seemed completely unaffected by her son's hospitalization, and by the fact that she had agreed to let him visit him so easily.

"Darcia-sama... Nobles would normally attempt to conceal the fact that their son is hospitalized with a mental illness," said the governor. "It is good that you managed to knock the wind out of Duke Jahan's sails and made him draw back, however.

"I'm sorry," said Darcia. "I was told what a noble would normally do in this situation, but I couldn't see much point in trying to hide it at this point."

After all, everyone related to Vandalieu knew about it, and even those that weren't had learned about it as well. Given that, Darcia had decided that there wouldn't be any meaning in continuing a war of words with Duke Jahan.

"It is also possible that the duke left quickly because he realized that the hierarchical relationship between Darcia and the Alcrem house is actually reversed," said Zadiris.

"I mean, if you look at the governor and Darcia-san, it's not hard to tell who's in the higher position," said Kanako.

The governor gave a short groan in realization. Duke Alcrem had ordered him to keep the true power balance between him and Vandalieu a secret, as he still intended to maintain the story that Vandalieu was the son of an honorary countess that served the Alcrem house, rather than making it public that he was the Demon Emperor.

"I-I'm sorry. It's all because I acted without being told," said Darcia.

"It's alright, Darcia-sama. Even if people found out, nothing would happen," said Saria.

"At most, we might have to send a few more people to Luciliano," said Rita. "Come to think of it, what about Duke Jahan's invitation to perform in his duchy?"

"That is something that was said merely for politeness's sake. We'd look like fools if we took it seriously," said Kanako. "Well, if we mentioned Duke Alcrem's name, I'm sure we could say, 'Hey, remember that time when you said we could perform in your duchy?' and force the issue, but..."

"Please refrain from doing that," said the governor.

"You heard the governor. So, let's just keep an eye on the situation for a while. And like Darcia-san just said, we're very much in his debt," Kanako said.

Indeed, Duke Alcrem's governor had protected them in a lot of ways behind the scenes. For example, there were nobles who had heard the news that Darcia's only son had been hospitalized with a mental illness... something that was considered impossible to recover from in the society of nobles. Believing that they were rid of this thorn in their side, some had aimed to approach Darcia or try to claim Eisen as their own familiar, but the governor had turned them away from the event venue.

"You've gone through a lot of trouble, haven't you, governor?" said Pauvina.

"Yes. Have a driiink," said Eisen.

"Thank you very much," said the governor, moved to tears by their appreciation and offering of juice.

Dawn broke, marking the morning of Vandalieu's fourth day in the hospital. The hospital's pharmacist got to work.

"It's getting to the point that we need to administer the medicine now. But that patient... Vandalieu Zakkart. Ever since he was admitted here, there's been nothing but strange things happening. Amelia Sauron suddenly beginning to recover is just one of them," he muttered. "I must be very careful in administering the medicine to Amelia Sauron."