Transmigrated as a Ghost

"I was wondering if you were going to bring that up." The empress said, her smile falling into a neutral expression.

"I don't know if I have an answer that will satisfy you. Are you sure that you really want to hear what I have to say? Our relationship might become more strained. "Ignorance is bliss" as some say."

"Let's just say it's been on my mind for a long time. At first, I figured that he was just acting like any other vampire. But after coming here, that doesn't seem to be the case. There aren't a bunch of vampires walking around with brainwashed thralls, or soulless husks drained of all of their blood shambling around. I've only seen part of your city, but it seemed normal enough other than being adapted to the underground environment."

Marcus was understandably curious and confused about the difference between his first expectations and what he had come to find.

Had he come across some sort of vampiric incursion into Borealia, that would have at least made sense.

But from his perspective, the vampire he had fought was really just playing around with his powers and tormenting others because he could.

"Yes, I've tried to keep a certain level of order within my nation. Blood is supplied mainly through collected taxes from non-vampire citizens. Not enough to be harmful of course. Some of my subjects do have willing partners that they drain blood from directly. Typically, without any lasting consequences. Though I cannot say there have been no cases of deaths by exsanguination. But, in those cases, a suitable punishment is doled out based on the circumstances."

"As for what goes on outside of my domain, however, that I do not have much control over. Vesairous allowed himself to become drunk on his own pawer and was slayed because of it. The death of one of my blood kin is a heavy loss for me, and normally for even someone like Vesairous, I would avenge them."

Marcus' eyes grew a bit wider, and his body tensed up at the Draayer Empress' words.

If Relia had been sent to kill him instead of just keep and eye on him, he was certain he would not be here today.

Yet, she had not made a move to harm him and instead had ordered Relia to help him not once but twice during dire circumstances.

No doubt to keep him around for whatever needed him for, which she viewed as more important than exacting revenge against him.

"You still haven't really answered my question. Does that mean that you condone what that man, Vesairous did?" Marcus asked, not wanting her to talk around the issue any longer and give him a straight answer.

A sad smile formed on the empress's face as she replied.

"No, what he did was unacceptable. It was only a matter of time before he drew the attention of someone stronger than him. Had it been the authorities of Borealia instead of you, it easily could have caused trouble for us. As for killing so many people and taking over an entire town, that was a grave sin that he would have been punished for had he ever returned."

"If what he was doing was against your wishes, why didn't you stop him? Surely that would have been within your ability." Lyra said, speaking up for the first time.

Being a ruler herself, she had a good understanding of its intricacies and hardships.

Should she have learned that one of her subordinates had taken over a town in a forging land and killed many people, she would have done whatever it took to rectify the situation.

"Yes, I could have given him an order even from so far away. Yet that would have defeated the purpose. It is within my ability to forcibly control all that I have shared my blood with, but I don't except under the direst of circumstances. Otherwise, they would never have any true free will."

She went on to explain that everyone she personally turned into a vampire was required to go on a journey above ground to both broaden their horizons of the world and to grow into their new race. It was essentially a rite of passage for them.

"I rewarded Vesairous with a drop of my blood because his family has served me loyally for generations. He was the first among them that wished to discard their humanity to become a vampire. Unfortunately, I know now that I lost a good retainer that day. The change in him was not clear while he remained here, but they soon surfaced once he left. Becoming a vampire doesn't fundamentally alter who a person is, but it heightens certain emotions and allows one to be freer with their desires."

Marcus felt conflicted about how to feel about the answer that had been given.

He understood where the empress was coming from, but it still left a bad tase in his mouth.

He could remember the state of the town he had saved vividly. People had been drained of every last drop of their blood and turned into soulless puppets, while others had been subjected to a vampire's unique mind control.

'I suppose I should just drop the matter. It's not why we came here, and it happened a long time ago now. The empress seems decent enough. Although, I should save my final judgment for later.' Marcus thought.

He knew that he was no saint. Since being brought to Mirrion, he had left piles of bodies in his wake to get where he was.

While he had his justifications for most of them, he could not impose his own morals on everyone else in the world.

"Fine, I'll consider this matter laid to rest then. So, let's get back to the main topic at hand. You called us here to repay the favors that Lyra and I owe you. I do wonder what someone as powerful as you needs from us? You're not going to tell us that you've grown bored with eternal life and can't end it yourself so you've been looking for someone that can?" Marcus said jokingly, remembering the plot of some story he had read back on earth.

"What?! How did you figure that out?!"

The Draayer Empress' reaction left everyone stunned. Including Relia who had not known.