CHAPTER 54: THE COUNT’S INVITATION

"Creeak,"

Geoffrey pushed the gate and opened it, producing a terrifying, creaking sound. Suddenly, "Boom!" "Sssrh," a sound of thunder boomed, and heavy rain began to fall, soaking the earth.

"Why is it suddenly raining?" Irwin asked, covering his head.

"Yeah, come on, let’s get inside quickly," Ainsley urged.

They immediately ran along the path in the mansion’s yard, with a garden full of weeds on their right and left, toward the mansion’s main door. Ard, who was running in the back, kept looking around while covering his head. When they reached the covered porch, they turned to look at the yard. The heavy rain truly drenched everything, accompanied by the light and sound of thunder above.

"This... got terrifying and tense, didn’t it?" Ainsley asked, cleaning his glasses.

"Yep, looks like it," Irwin replied.

"Huh... I’m not scared at all," Geoffrey replied, lowering his greatsword, which he had been using to cover his head.

"Let’s go inside. It looks like what’s inside is more terrifying than what’s outside," Ard replied.

Ard turned back to look at the double door behind him. There was no visible doorknob, only two door knockers decorated with lion heads that appeared to be made of iron. Ard reached out his hand, intending to knock on the door, but before he could even touch the iron ring to knock, "Click," the center of the door split and opened by itself, accompanied by a booming sound of thunder and the bright flash of lightning behind it.

"Okay, this is getting a little creepy," Ard said.

"O-open it, bro," Geoffrey said, raising his sword.

"I thought you said you weren’t scared," Irwin remarked, glancing at Geoffrey.

"Shut up," Geoffrey replied.

Ard pushed the door wide open. "Whoaaaah!" Ard, Ainsley, Geoffrey, and Irwin flinched in shock, jumping back a bit when they saw a hunched-over old man in a butler’s uniform carrying a candle open the door. The old man’s face examined Ard, Ainsley, Geoffrey, and Irwin from top to bottom and back up again. Then the old man stared into Ard’s eyes, examining the face of Ard, who was standing right in front.

"Welcome, sirs. My name is Edward. I am the head butler of this mansion. Please, follow me. The master is waiting in the dining room," Edward, the old butler, replied.

"Alright, please lead the way," Ard replied.

Ard, Ainsley, Geoffrey, and Irwin walked inside, ushered in by Edward. Suddenly, "Slam," the door closed by itself, making all four turn back to look at the door.

"Follow me, please," Edward said.

"Okay," Ard replied, immediately turning back to Edward.

They walked behind Edward, who was moving slowly while carrying a candle and holding his hand behind his back. Ard glanced around the interior of the mansion. He saw several gargoyle statues on the upper terrace of the mansion, a crystal chandelier in the high ceiling that was unlit, and a painting in the center of the lobby depicting a noble man around 30 years old with a pale face. While looking around,

"Yank," Geoffrey suddenly pulled Ard’s shoulder from behind.

"Bro, we aren’t making a mistake just following him, are we?" Geoffrey asked into Ard’s ear.

"I don’t think it’ll be a problem," Ard replied.

"Uh... are all our friends really here?" Geoffrey asked.

"I don’t know. Let’s just be ready for the worst-case scenario," Ard replied.

"Okay, bro. So your plan is to prepare for the worst-case scenario," Geoffrey replied.

"Something like that," Ard replied.

"Simple plan, but makes sense," Ainsley replied, adjusting his glasses.

"Yep. Bottom line, if anything happens, attack immediately," Irwin added.

They walked through the corridor. Ard glanced at the window; the rain was still heavy outside, and a lot of thunder was rumbling in the sky, but the sound wasn’t too loud. On the left, there were many displays of empty armor standing as if watching them, plus paintings that seemed to have moving eyes, making all four of them very uncomfortable.

"Ugh... do we really need to be here?" Ainsley asked, shifting back and forth with Irwin.

"Why won’t you walk next to the wall?" Irwin asked, annoyed at being shoved.

"Shut up. It’s bad if they hear us," Geoffrey replied.

"Stop talking. Let’s just walk," Ard replied.

"You’re still so calm in a situation like this, huh?" Ainsley asked, adjusting his glasses.

"What else can I do? We have to, don’t we? Besides, our friends might be in danger," Ard whispered.

"He’s right. Stop complaining," Geoffrey replied, who was also feeling uncomfortable.

Shortly after, after passing through the very uncomfortable corridor, they arrived in front of a room with double doors. Edward stood in front of the door, then turned briefly to Ard and the others.

"We have arrived. Please enter," Edward said.

Edward opened the doors. Ard and the others could hear the sound of clinking plates against cutlery, as well as people talking, as if there were a party behind the doors. When the doors opened wide, the eyes of Ard, Ainsley, Geoffrey, and Irwin immediately widened because they saw Milia, Alicia, Patricia, Claudia, Mirea, Beatrice, and Rosalind eating heartily at a long dining table.

The room was bright, the crystal chandelier overhead was beautiful, and several female servants were busy around them, taking away empty plates and serving food. Of course, Alicia and the others turned to look at the door, seeing Ard and the others frozen in front of the door.

"Huh... what is this?" Ard asked.

"Why are they eating so casually here?" Geoffrey asked, pointing at the others.

"Hello! Come on in and sit down. The food is delicious, you know," Claudia said.

"That’s right, come here," Rosalind added.

"Hurry up, or we’ll finish it all," Beatrice said.

"Yeah, hurry up," Patricia added.

"You guys... why are you so relaxed?" Irwin asked.

"We were invited to dinner by Count Dimitri," Alicia replied.

Finally, Ainsley, Geoffrey, and Irwin entered. Ard looked at the end of the table. He saw Eva talking to a man about 30 years old, with neat black hair, red eyes, a pale face, wearing a dressing gown like a noble, and holding a glass of wine that seemed to contain blood, sitting in the middle of the table as if that were his rightful place.

Ard walked past the long table toward the end of the table. Eva turned to see Ard walking toward her. She immediately stood up to greet Ard, then turned to look at the man who seemed to be asking a question. The man also stood up, putting his glass on the table.

"Welcome to my mansion, Prince Arden Larsen Fredonia. My name is Dimitrius Raven Northrom. Just call me Dimitri," Dimitri said.

"He’s a Count in the Orthus Empire," Eva added.

"Ah... pleased to meet you, Count Dimitri," Ard replied.

"Please sit, Prince," Dimitri replied, inviting Ard to sit next to Eva.

"Thank you. Please call me Ard," Ard replied.

Ard sat next to Eva, then Dimitri sat down again. Several servants immediately served food for Ard. After the servants left,

"First, I apologize for bringing everyone here. I only intended to keep you safe because you all entered my territory. I had previously informed Princess Eva," Dimitri said.

"Um... are you a vampire?" Ard asked.

"Hush... Ard," Eva nudged Ard.

"It’s alright, Princess. I am indeed a vampire, and I have lived for over 1,000 years. I know exactly who you both are," Dimitri replied, smiling and picking up his glass of blood-filled wine again.

Ard, hearing Dimitri’s words, turned to look at Eva, who was also looking at him. When their eyes met, Eva nodded.

"Okay, that means you know me and Eva," Ard said.

"That is correct, Prince. I have known both of you for 1,000 years," Dimitri replied.

"Thank you for inviting us here, but why not do it in a normal way?" Ard asked.

"I couldn’t possibly use a normal approach. I am being watched here. The current Emperor is not himself. His decision to go to war with the Ateras Kingdom is completely illogical. He is putting this empire at risk. He has been taken over by the Goddess Ophelia. Besides, my people told me you intended to come here on your own because you woke up, so I apologize if you experienced any difficulties getting here," Dimitri said.

"Oh? Goddess Ophelia? Isn’t this the doing of the Demon God Malekh?" Ard asked.

The smile on Dimitri’s face disappeared. He carefully observed Ard’s face, then he also observed Eva’s face, which looked tense next to Ard.

"Hmm... it seems you have forgotten what happened 1,000 years ago. I don’t blame you, as you have reincarnated, unlike me, who has been alive since 1,000 years ago. Very well, I will explain it to you again," Dimitri said seriously.

Ard and Eva looked at each other, then returned their gaze to Dimitri seriously, waiting for what Dimitri was about to tell them and steeling themselves to accept what they were about to hear. Meanwhile, their friends, including Ainsley, Irwin, and Geoffrey, had also joined in and were eating heartily.