The First Vampire

 

The Central Cathedral of Winterfell City is located on the southern side of Lion Roar Castle, closest to the mountaintop.

The cathedral is built of sturdy gray limestone, its walls smeared with a layer of white sand. It shimmers in the sunlight, perfectly melding majesty and subtlety.

The cathedral inside is tall and spacious; its bell tower points straight to the sky as if a bridge to communicate with the Lord of Glory.

Being located in the nobles’ district, this central cathedral seems somewhat deserted, as it caters exclusively to the nobility, forbidding entrance to the commoners.

In the afternoon, the bright sunlight shines through the colorful domed ceiling into the prayer hall, casting beams of light that make the atmosphere inside feel even more sacred and solemn.

In the quiet and empty prayer hall, only a petite figure is kneeling before the Holy Light altar, silently praying to the statue of the Lord of Glory.

She is wearing a red pleated dress. At a glance, it appears simple, but every detail hides retrained luxury. Her cinched waist highlights her graceful figure, and her slender neck is slightly sagging like a sleeping white swan.

Light footsteps sound outside the prayer hall, disturbing the girl in prayer.

She slowly rises, her pearl flame-patterned gold hairpin slightly swinging, instantly infusing the prayer hall with vitality.

“Duke St. Hilde, I hope I did not interrupt your prayer?” An old but forceful voice echoes in the prayer hall.

Vera turns her head, looking confused towards the entrance of the hall.

The first thing she notices is the figure of a man wearing a red priest’s robe.

Of course, Vera recognizes this as the exclusive attire of a Cardinal. As he gets closer, she eventually recognizes his identity. She quickly smiles and says,

“Sir Turennes, I didn’t expect you to be in Winterfell City!”

As Turennes walks toward the center of the hall, he laughs and says, “My apologies, Duke, for not informing you of my visit in advance.”

Vera gently smiles, “No problem. Winterfell City’s gates are always open for you, and as representative of the St. Hilde family, you are always welcome.”

Turennes walks slowly to Vera, looking at this elegant and beautiful Duchess radiating a sacred aura. Showing satisfaction, he says,

“Glorify the Lord! Under His guiding light, the world has lost a reckless mage and gained a devout knight!”

Vera’s eyebrows slightly furrow but relax quickly. She nods and says,

“Glorify the Lord! I should also glorify the Pope. After accepting his baptism, I suddenly realized the wonder of Holy Light, as if it was an indispensable part of my life.”

Turennes smiles, making a Holy Light sign on his chest, “The omnipotent Supreme Lord does not let any of his lambs stray. Duke, now you have finally been found by our Lord!”

Shame flashed across Vera’s face as she replies, “It is a pity that my realization came so late that I can’t go far on the Way of the Knight now…”

“There is no need to worry about it.” Turennes slowly shakes his head, consoling, “The Lord has His plans for everyone. Serving in battle is not the only way to serve our Lord.”

“I understand. Thank you for your enlightenment, Cardinal Turennes.” Vera respectfully offers a curtsy to Turennes, then asks, “Speaking of which, what brings you to Winterfell City this time? If there is anything you need help with, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”

Turennes eyes become serious, “Duke, I indeed need your assistance.”

“Please, tell me.”

Turennes pauses, apparently considering how to phrase his request. But instead of directly asking, he remarks,

Duke, on my visit to the North Territory, I have discovered quite some fascinating things.”

A look of pride gleams in Vera’s eye, shyly she responds,

“Cardinal, are you referring to the new policies implemented by my husband? I must say, before these policies were implemented, including myself, many nobles in the North Territory had doubts about Colin. But after being put into practice, these policies have indeed shown great effectiveness.

The North Territory could recover so quickly from the previous chaos, all thanks to these new policies.”

Turennes gives a slight smile, “Count Angler’s wisdom is indeed impressive!”

After praising, Turennes changes the topic, “But, he is too young and lacks adequate governing experience. It is inevitable that there will be oversights.”

“Oversights?” Vera queries, “Cardinal, please enlighten us.”

After scrutinizing Vera’s expression and seeing that she is genuinely seeking advice and the devotion in her eyes has not diminished, Turennes asks straightforwardly,

“Duke, do you know about Count Angler’s welfare lottery?”

“Of course. Actually, I secretly bought a few tickets myself, but unfortunately, I didn’t win.” Vera playfully sticks out her tongue.

However, Turennes doesn’t laugh, looking seriously at Vera, he asks solemnly,

“Duke, do you think this welfare lottery is good or bad?”

“Of course, it’s a good thing.” Immediately Vera explains, “You probably didn’t know, the profits from these lotteries are not flowing into the Angler family’s pocket, but are being used to establish welfare institutes. These welfare institutes offer unconditioned help to distressed and helpless commoners.

I believe that such noble deeds can surely please our Lord.”

“No.” Turennes slowly shakes his head.

Vera’s face stiffens. After a while, she cautiously asks, “Cardinal, why do you say that?”

Turennes looks at Vera with deep sympathy, “Because, this welfare lottery stirs up the greatest evil in people’s hearts – Greed!”

“Greed?”

“Yes! Even you, as the Duchess of the North Territory, could not resist buying a few lottery tickets, let alone the appeal it has to the commoners.

In the long run, the commoners will lose the will to work, just dreaming of hiting a lottery jackpot. Some people even resist spending money on food and clothes, just to buy these lottery tickets!

Therefore, this method doesn’t please our Lord but spreads the Devil’s temptation!”

Vera’s smile fades, she furrows her brows and ponders for a while, then says, “Cardinal Turennes, I think you might be overly worried. Although the lottery might have a certain appeal to commoners, at least so far, I haven’t seen anyone go broke because of it.”

Turennes’s face darkens, “Duke, are you disregarding even the warning from our Lord?”

“The Lord’s warning?”

“Yes.” Turennes suddenly raises his hand, pointing directly behind Vera.

Vera turn around in confusion, only to see that the statue of the Lord of Glory on the altar of the Holy Light is shedding bloody tears.

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