The Accidental Vampire

"Is something wrong?" the young man asked again.

He couldn't understand why this topic was being raised so suddenly. Who informed him about this in the first place?

"Is something wrong? Of course, something is wrong." Zhang frowned. "You left an invitation behind and didn't even confirm if they were coming or not? You know how it could've been misused by our enemies? Moreover, when someone from the Merchant Union came, you didn't even welcome them. Is that how a host should behave?"

"Someone from the union came? Who?"

"What do you mean who? She!" Zhang gestured to Lilith. "Since the union members couldn't come, they sent one of their own here instead. If you had confirmed with them once if they were sending anyone, how hard would it be?"

"I expected better from you."

Hearing Zhang's response, Lilith sighed in relief. It appeared as if Zhang wasn't suspicious. He believed her story.

She kept most of the story about coming from the merchant union the same. The only thing she changed about the story was that she wasn't part of the team that met the young man. Instead, she claimed to arrive at the hotel late to meet up with the others.

It was at that time she was informed about this party. Everyone told her to stay behind for one day since it wasn't nice to reject the invitation altogether.

Through a slight modification of the story, she removed the chances of being caught. Moreover, even if the young man didn't recognize her, it wasn't troublesome since she already took that into account when making her story.

"Why don't you stay with our guest and keep her company throughout the party? Make sure she has a great time."

Zhang left Lilith with the young man before he left. Along the way, he subtly glanced in the direction where Lilith was sitting before. The wall appeared to be as it was before. There were no blood marks or any formations.

As Zhang had asked Lilith to sit down, she herself destroyed both the formations, leaving no trace behind. Fortunately, she was right on time. She had managed to fool Zhang.

Despite not accompanying Lilith himself, Zhang was still a bit suspicious of her. That's why he left Lilith with his men, telling them to accompany her the entire time. It was his way of making someone keep an eye on her since he couldn't do anything just because he was suspicious.

"You are from the merchant union as well? I apologize for not accompanying you. I didn't know you came here from my invitation. If I had, I would've been more careful."

The young man was also relieved that Zhang didn't scold him too much. It was genuinely his mistake since he didn't confirm before. He thought that if those people had come, he would've been able to recognize them. But he had forgotten that they couldn't send someone else as well.

Now that he knew his mistake and was assigned the task of accompanying Lilith, he wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

Lilith took another sip of her wine, glancing at the exit. It wasn't easy to sneak out of this place with the young man on her tail. Let alone him; even Zhang was occasionally glancing at her.

Five more minutes passed, leaving only twenty minutes to her deadline and the event finally looked like it was going to start.

Zhang stepped to the center of the hall. Everyone stood before him, at some distance from each other, waiting for him to speak.

'If I create a clone, I should be able to get out of here without raising suspicions, but unlike me, my clone won't be able to hide the aura. She would be caught right away by Zhang. So that's out of the question. Should I make everyone go to sleep?'

'No, with so many Mages here, it's impossible. They can immediately take a precaution. The hall should also have some protection for such spells. It would be too dangerous in this place.'

Lilith went through her entire spell knowledge, trying to find something that she could use without starting an all-out war with Zhang and his clan. Unfortunately, at the moment, there was nothing she could do.

'I guess I really can't do anything here. Then again, sometimes the most basic skill is the most effective as well. And what better than...'

She glanced at the young mage near her.

"You might be wondering why I've called you all here? You're all the most influential people in the surrounding land, so I thought you should hear it from me first. Today is a celebration! It's a celebration of me getting what I wanted for a long time! It's also a celebration of a decision! A decision that's going to change this world forever!"

Zhang started talking, and the more he talked, the more everyone listened to him. His words were odd, but they were also mysterious. What did he mean by a decision that was going to change the world?

These words even put Lilith on alert. For a moment, she stopped trying to leave. She wanted to hear more about this decision. Just what was this guy talking about?

"What decision, Lord Zhang?" The middle-aged Duke asked.

"The decision to change everything. The decision to finally ask for what we deserve! Throughout the years, we've lived in seclusion because of the decisions of our ancestors, not going after any worldly materials."

"However, I've decided that it's time we change that!" Zhang declared confidently.

'Change the status quo? Did he mean the treaty of Abestice? Don't tell me he's talking about what I think he is...'

Lilith was the most surprised about the words of the man. He was talking about upsetting the world order. That only reminded her of one thing. She wasn't sure if he was actually talking about that or not, but she did hope he wasn't.

The entire hall was silent, waiting to hear more about the decision of Zhang.

Zhang spread out his arms as a bright grin graced his lips. "We have lived in the distant land for long enough, away from the influence and power. But it's time we change that! That's why I declare the establishment of a New Empire!"

"And as you know, a person needs land and people to establish an Empire?"

Seeing Zhang lick his lips as he talked about establishing an Empire made the young Duke gulp down. Was Zhang talking about waging an uprising against the Royal crown? Let alone creating an Empire, his own Clan establishment came under an Empire. The only way to take over the control of the Empire was by killing the Royal Family!