Chapter 213: Knife of Eden

[A New Quest Has Been Generated]

[Quest: Find the Knife of Eden]

[Objective: Locate the Knife of Eden.]

[Time Limit: None.]

[Reward: Eden’s Broken Sword]

[Grade: Diamond]

[Additional Information: A broken sword that possesses a mysterious connection to the Knife of Eden. Its true potential cannot be unlocked without the knife.]

Amon’s footsteps slowed as he read the notification hovering before his eyes.

’...What the hell is this quest?’

He had expected something related to the vampires.

Especially after Ragnar asked him to identify the infiltrators inside the royal palace but not this.

Amon had never heard of such an item, but the name sounded important enough to make him curious.

’...Is the Knife of Eden some kind of treasure belonging to the royal family?’

He glanced toward the enormous palace buildings surrounding them.

The system probably wouldn’t have issued a quest for it without a reason.

Unfortunately, he had no information to work with, and the system wasn’t offering any additional explanations.

Amon dismissed the notification and was about to ask Ragnar about the royal family’s treasures when his expression suddenly changed.

His gaze shifted toward the servants hurrying across the corridor, followed by the soldiers. ’...Wait a fucking minute.’

Every single one of them carried the same faint smell he had noticed on the vampire he killed earlier.

Amon’s expression turned grim as he watched a maid bow politely to a passing noble before continuing toward the throne room.

The smell was unmistakable. ’...They’re all fucking vampires.’

They’ve infiltrated the very heart of the kingdom.

Amon glanced at Ragnar, who continued walking without appearing to notice anything unusual.

The two continued through the palace corridors, passing enormous paintings of former monarchs.

Eventually, they reached the throne room.

The massive doors stood open, revealing a spacious chamber with towering pillars.

The room was filled with nobles dressed in expensive clothes, their expressions ranging from grief to irritation, while armed guards stood at regular intervals along the walls.

At the center of the chamber, beneath the watchful eyes of everyone present, lay the king’s dead body in a coffin.

Amon’s gaze lingered on the motionless figure for a moment before sweeping across the room.

Some avoided looking at one another, while others exchanged cold stares that suggested years of resentment and political rivalry.

Everyone here hates everyone else.

Before Amon could examine the room more carefully, a sharp voice echoed from the other side.

"Ragnar Edinburgh! Have you lost your mind? Why have you brought a commoner into the royal palace?"

Amon turned toward the speaker and found a middle-aged man standing beside a group of nobles.

The man had neatly combed black hair streaked with silver, a narrow face, and cold grey eyes that seemed to judge everyone around him.

Ragnar stopped and looked at him without showing the slightest respect. "He’s my relative."

The head of the Odette family scoffed. "Don’t insult my intelligence. I know your family inside and out, and that boy has no relation to you."

Ragnar gritted his teeth, clearly regretting that he had to explain himself in front of everyone.

"He’s my son-in-law."

The room fell silent for a brief moment.

Several nobles turned toward Amon with expressions of surprise, while others looked at Ragnar as though they were wondering whether he had finally lost his mind.

Amon, meanwhile, stood beside the Duke with an uncomfortable expression, struggling to keep himself from laughing at how constipated Ragnar looked.

’...Son-in-law? Seriously? Well he isn’t wrong though.’

Before the Odette family head could respond, another voice interrupted the exchange.

"Ragnar is permitted to bring his relatives into the palace."

Amon looked toward the speaker and recognized the head of the Janard family.

He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark brown hair, a well-trimmed beard, and calm amber eyes.

"Unless the royal family has issued a new restriction that I haven’t heard about, I don’t see why this should concern anyone," the Janard family head added.

The Odette family head clicked his tongue but didn’t argue further.

Ragnar led Amon toward the side of the room, where they stood among several other nobles who were deliberately keeping their distance from one another.

The king’s death had left a vacuum of power, and everyone in the room seemed determined to fill it before someone else could.

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed through the throne room, and nearly every noble turned toward the entrance.

Queen Eleanor entered with five people following behind her.

The five men following her wore expensive clothing and carried themselves with varying degrees of confidence.

Amon examined them carefully, his attention lingering on their faces as he tried to determine whether any of them carried the familiar scent.

Ragnar leaned closer and spoke quietly. "Her harem."

Amon immediately understood. ’...Oh. So those are the men she’s keeping around.’

Despite the explanation, he continued his investigation, moving his gaze from one man to another until he finally noticed something that made him go still.

One of the five men was a vampire.

The man had neatly styled dark hair and a handsome face, and he wore a pleasant expression as he followed the queen.

’....How long have they been infiltrating the palace?’

If a vampire had managed to become part of the queen’s personal circle, the infiltration had probably begun years ago.

His thoughts were interrupted by another arrival.

Crown Prince Arthur entered the throne room, and the bandage wrapped around his forehead immediately attracted everyone’s attention.

The queen raised a hand to her mouth, her face displaying exaggerated concern. "Oh, dear! What happened to your head?"

Arthur didn’t answer. He simply glared at her, as though he were struggling to contain his anger.

Amon remembered the vampire he had encountered on the university campus and wondered whether the two incidents were connected.

If someone had attacked the Crown Prince, it was possible that the vampires were already moving against the royal family, although he had no evidence to confirm it.

Arthur finally took a deep breath and stepped forward. "I will be the next king."

Eleanor’s expression hardened almost immediately. "You are not fit to rule this kingdom, dear Arthur. Governing a nation is not the same as winning a fight, and your arrogance will destroy everything your father spent his life building."

Arthur’s face twisted with anger. "If you don’t step aside now, you’ll regret it for the rest of your miserable life."

The queen slowly walked toward him, refusing to show any fear despite the threat.

The tension between them intensified with every step.

Three dukes immediately moved forward, attempting to position themselves between the queen and the Crown Prince before either could do something irreversible.

Amon watched the exchange with little enthusiasm.

’...Why don’t you just kill each other and save everyone the trouble?’

He was only half paying attention when movement near the queen caught his eye.

One of the men from her harem had quietly stepped away from the others and was moving toward Arthur, keeping his body partially hidden behind the nobles gathered nearby.

Amon narrowed his eyes as he saw the man holding a small knife.

Instinctively, Amon activated Merchant’s Divine Insight and focused on the weapon, expecting the system to reveal its grade and value.

Instead, the information that appeared before his eyes made him freeze.

[Knife of Eden]

Amon’s expression changed as he stared at the weapon. ’...You have got to be fucking kidding me.’