Transmigrated as a Ghost

"I suppose that I would say that it's nice to meet you too, but I was apparently cursed to make sure that I would come when called." Marcus said, a hint of resentment in his voice.

He still remembered the note Relia had left him after his nearly self-destructive battle with Jared.

While he was grateful to her for saving his life by giving him the mythic spirit gem, being threatened with a curse was not a particularly fun experience.

"Curse? This is the first I'm hearing anything about this."

The empress turned her gaze towards Relia and bore down on her.

She appeared to start sweating, and the fear on her face almost rivaled what she had displayed when Gronex had attacked them.

"My apologies!" Relia shouted, bowing so low that her head actually smashed into the ground.

"I was unsure of his character at the time and wanted some assurance to make sure he said nothing and would respond when you when called. There really wasn't any curse though. It was just a lie I made up in the moment."

A slight grin formed on Marcus' mouth as he watched Relia prostrate herself.

He had know for a while now that there was no curse that had been placed on the mythic spirit gem.

When he was still a lower level than Relia, he thought that she had concealed it somehow.

But with how powerful he had become now; there was no chance that he would have missed something like a curse that had been hidden inside of him.

And if he did, at this point he could cleanse any harmful status conditions with his Ultimate Refresh Supreme Skill.

"It seems that one of my most trusted servants has wronged you. As recumbence, I'll allow you to choose a punishment for her so long as it does not involve death or permanent harm."

Marcus was surprised by the empress's sudden offer. He had just wanted to get back at Relia a bit, not cause her any real harm.

"I think that her apologizing and admitting it was a lie is good enough for me. Believing that there was a curse on me hardly affected my life at all. Plus, it was never actually real. No harm no foul as they say." Marcus responded.

"Very well then. The matter is put to rest. Relia, pull yourself off the ground and come and take your place up here."

Following the Empress' orders, Relia got up and walked onto the raised platform to join the other eleven vampires standing at the sides of the throne.

Her position was at the far left, and from what Marcus could gather, this denoted her as being the lowest ranking member among Empress Draayer's top retainers.

"Now, let us not waste anymore time. I've called you all here to help me with a certain problem. Well, I called for two of you, but it seems that I've received four helpers instead. Not that I'm complaining about the free extras."

The Empress's eyes landed on Marcus when she said the word "four".

However, her eyes was not really looking at him, but at something else. A presence that no one else in the room had detected other than her.

'Sorry, looks like I've been discovered. I shouldn't have been staring at her so intently. I think that she noticed my gaze on her.' Roxene said a moment later with telepathy.

Marcus did not show any outward response, but internally he was pretty upset with this development.

Roxene was his trump card in case things went sideways and they needed to fight their way out.

Regrettably, since she had been discovered, it would be impossible for her to launch a surprise attack now. Although she could still add to their numbers on the off chance the situation turned violent.

"A beast companion I assume. And a powerful one at that. It's not often you see someone with the Companion System. That's something only reincarnations and transmigrations have access to."

Unable to refute the empress since she had already figured it out, Marcus just nodded his head and said, "That is correct. I'm not originally from this world. I died on a planet called Earth and was brought to this one a few years ago. That's not going to be a problem, is it?"

"No not at all. I had Relia investigate you thoroughly in the beginning and have known for a while. In fact, it is one of the reasons that I wanted to meet with you and Lyra."

"Of course, I also know about your beast companions, but not the exact identity of the one you brought with you. If I had to wager a guess, however, I would say it's the wolf."

Seeing as how Roxene had been discovered already, he asked her to come out and show herself.

If she could not make a surprise attack by suddenly appearing, the short amount of time it took her to leave his companion storage was more of a detriment than a boon.

Once she was out, Roxene grew her size a little so that she stood at eye level with the empress on her raised platform. She refused to show deference to anyone.

"Oh! I don't believe I have ever seen or heard of a mythic beast like you before. There's a quality to you that none of the others I've met have displayed." The Empress said, her interest in Roxene not disguised in the slightest.

"That's because there are none like me. Be grateful that I tolerate your impertinence ordering my caretaker around. We have far more important matter to attend to than coming here at your whims."

Roxene's haughty demeanor and words obviously did not help make any friends among the vampires present.

Several of them yelled out in protest and some of them even seemed ready to attack after seeing their ruler disrespected.

Fortunately, it took only the empress raising her hand to quiet everyone and calm the room back down.