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In the Holy Mary Kingdom, people usually lived in wealth but were unhappy. This place, however, was better than what was said.

At least, that was Simon’s opinion.

"Does seeing this city surprise you?"

Lord Wilfried explained calmly. There was neither arrogance nor pride in his tone. Simon nodded and agreed. "It’s like coming to another world."

"Well said," the Lord said, satisfied. "What you see here, you won’t see anywhere else."

"It truly has a unique architectural style," Urien remarked admiringly, studying the city like a tourist. The Lord’s gaze turned to him. "I’m not referring to the architecture here."

"What do you mean?" Urien asked curiously.

"Look at the people," the Lord said calmly, gesturing towards the citizens. Every merchant and commoner greeted Lord Wilfried with a calm nod, without the fear of making eye contact with a noble like in the Kingdom.

"The people here are the real architecture. Without them, nothing you see would exist," the Lord explained, then added with a hint of disdain, "But you come from a country where you could never understand this."

Urien had to agree, though reluctantly. He had heard stories from Simon and Frank before, though he hadn’t seen much himself.

Even making eye contact with a noble, standing in their way, or criticizing them in the slightest could lead to severe consequences.

Simon was the biggest lesson in this. He was an ordinary, poor man. That was his downfall. He worked like a mule just to pay the rent.

Anyway, after walking for about 20 minutes through the city, the group finally arrived at a large house—if it could be called a house.

It wasn’t too big, nor too small. According to Simon’s observations, it had a familiar Wargan architectural design.

The house, made of hard stone and wood, looked beautiful. It resembled a simple warrior’s home. The northern style of architecture, in particular, looked both elegant and noble.

Urien and Simon walked slowly through the corridor, under the curious eyes of the servants and workers. Though the corridor was decorated with paintings, the most prominent items were swords, axes, and even some broken slingshots.

Seeing Urien’s curious gaze, the Lord quickly explained. His eyes shifted to a sword displayed inside a silver case. The sword looked old and worn, but its placement in the glass case indicated that it was still valuable.

"This sword belonged to the first of our ancestors to set foot on these lands," Lord Wilfried explained calmly. He took the sword from its protective glass and examined it quietly. "This sword passed through thousands of enemies, stained with their blood."

Reflecting the Lord’s warrior nature, a slight but fierce smile appeared on his lips. He extended the weapon to Simon and waited quietly.

It was Simon’s turn to examine it. His finger traced the finely crafted edge of the sword. Although its rust stained his hand, Simon paid no mind.

Then, he handed it back to Lord Wilfried. The Lord quietly returned the ancient sword to its place and without further delay, they headed toward his daughter’s room.

At last, the group passed through a wooden door and entered a simple yet spacious room. As the curtains blocked out the sun, a girl with long black hair lay on the bed, her eyes closed.

A blanket covered her entire body, and the girl, named Veronica, looked very pale. The most striking thing was that Veronica appeared quite healthy.

Yes, healthy. Despite her pale skin, which was due to a lack of sunlight, she seemed to have no other issues.

"Veronica," Lord Wilfried called softly, "you may get up."

Upon hearing her father’s voice, Veronica opened her eyes. The color of her eyes surprised everyone except the Lord. Her eyes were as red as blood, and they looked beautiful.

"Your eyes are stunning..." Urien remarked calmly. Veronica turned to him, gazing quietly. "Thank you."

"Father, why have they come here?" Veronica asked wearily. Lord Wilfried gave her a calm look. "They are here to treat you."

"Treat me?" Veronica sighed in disappointment. Her eyes were sorrowful. "I’ve become a monster. How can I be cured?"

"What do you mean?" Simon asked, puzzled by Veronica calling herself a monster, but his question was ignored.

Lord Wilfried’s expression hardened as he gazed at his daughter with stern but gentle eyes. "Do not lose hope. These people were sent by a God."

"A God?"

Veronica didn’t seem too surprised by this, but Simon was. After all, a God had intervened, yet Veronica didn’t look surprised?

"Veronica isn’t actually sick," Wilfried explained, drawing strange looks from Urien and Simon. "She’s a vampire."

"A vampire?"

Urien exclaimed in shock. His eyes turned to Veronica. He studied the young girl, then gave an unreadable look to Lord Wilfried. Had this man slept with a vampire?

But that was impossible. Vampires couldn’t have children. As questions swirled in Urien’s mind, Lord Wilfried didn’t want to cause further confusion and elaborated.

"Though Veronica looks 15, she’s actually 25," the Lord said calmly. "Everything changed suddenly that night, 10 years ago."

The Lord’s gaze shifted to a painting in the room. It depicted three people. The first was Wilfried, with a slight smile on his face. Then there was Veronica, with a bright smile, though she looked almost skin and bones.

The third person was a woman who closely resembled Veronica. She had hazel eyes, black hair, and a gentle smile. The painting portrayed the image of a happy family.

As Lord Wilfried’s expression darkened, his eyes narrowed with ruthless intensity. "A Pureblood Vampire visited us. His name was Balthazar."

"Who is Balthazar?" Simon asked calmly. Lord Wilfried continued in the same tone. "He said he wanted to give us a gift. He claimed he could heal my daughter and asked for nothing in return."

"A vampire never does anything for free," Urien whispered, recalling Frank’s words. The thought of those sharp-toothed monsters made his skin crawl.

"I was desperate. Under the pressure from my wife Aria, I accepted the vampire’s offer." As he said this, Lord Wilfried’s tough expression faltered, showing a moment of weakness. His eyes filled with sorrow as they rested on the portrait of Aria.

"From that moment on, our lives were plunged into darkness."

"What happened?" Simon asked calmly. Lord Wilfried sighed, collected himself, and looked at him. "Veronica was healed, but she was no longer human. She had become a vampire."

As Lord Wilfried said this, there was a deep hatred in his voice. Even Simon was sure that carrying so much anger for ten years must have been incredibly hard.

"My wife Aria," the Lord said sharply, "was raped by Balthazar."

Urien’s eyes widened. He covered his mouth with his hand. "That must have been terrible..."

Simon agreed with Urien. Meanwhile, Veronica only looked at the ground, likely blaming herself for everything.

"I wish that were the end of it," the Lord’s tone grew even darker. He stared at the floor in a daze. "After six months of living Aria died."

"I’m truly sorry for your loss," Urien said, understanding the feeling of losing someone close. It felt like there was always an irreplaceable void inside.

The Lord only remained silent. After a minute of silence, Simon coughed awkwardly and then turned to Veronica.

Recalling the events that happened after Urien prayed, he clasped his hands lightly, imitating the priests he had seen before, a calm smile settling on his face.

"May the Creator of Darkness, Thunder, and all things bless you, Lady Veronica."

Yes, from the start, Seth had wanted to present himself as the God of Creation rather than just the God of Darkness. After all, Creation was a higher concept than darkness.

Moreover, there was no bad reputation attached to it. In this world, the mythology of Creation was less prominent than in the modern world. While some priests claimed that the Goddess of Light had created the world and the universe, that was merely a theory they proposed.

Seth had also thought about this, desiring the title of the God of Creation in this world. After all, there was no existing God or Goddess of Creation.

Apparently, it had been effective because Veronica’s eyes filled with hope. Her red eyes sparkled as she looked at Simon with hope.

"So this is the God you worship?"

In contrast to Veronica, Lord Wilfried was more skeptical. The title of God of Creation was too grand. Why would such a god care about a simple lord like Wilfried?

At this point, Lord Wilfried probably had his own theories in mind and would investigate them further.

"Tell me about your God," the Lord demanded firmly, his gaze steady.

Urien nodded and continued. "When there was nothing, He existed. He allowed light to emerge from the darkness, offering us a chance for life. He created us and left us with free will in this world."

As Urien quickly crafted a lie, he skillfully spun the words. "The God of Creation granted us free will and left us to our own devices. As a result, we killed each other, reduced to mere monkeys in the eyes of other races."

"But even so, the All-Knowing and All-Powerful gave us a second chance. We should be grateful for that."

Unknowingly, Urien began to manipulate Lord Wilfried’s emotions.

"If the God of Creation knows everything, then why didn’t he stop my wife’s death?"

"Your wife’s death was caused by the aimless wandering of races left unchecked by false gods." As Urien explained this with seriousness, the Lord lowered his head in disappointment.

Blaming the gods and other races, Urien calmly continued, using the anti-non-human ideology.

"The God of Creation created us. Not vampires, not elves, not orcs. We are his beloved race, Lord Wilfried," Urien said calmly. "And yet, the God has given us a second chance. For the first time, He revealed Himself and sent us here. Please believe me."

Imitating Frank’s devout attitude, Urien continued calmly. Even though he harbored no hatred or malice toward other races, his views on the other gods were accurate.

To Urien, worshipping other gods led people astray and down a dark path because their gods were selfish and arrogant.

His whole village had been slaughtered, his family killed, and his sister taken away to be sacrificed to another god. It would have been strange if Urien held a positive view of the other gods.

"What do you think?" Urien asked calmly, seeking Lord Wilfried’s opinion. The Lord’s expression was complicated. Though moved by Urien’s words, he didn’t want to make a hasty decision.

"I won’t interfere with your religion, but don’t expect me to believe you," Lord Wilfried said sharply, almost harshly, as he turned to Veronica.

"As you wish," Urien smiled gently. "After all, we all have the freedom to choose."

Simon wondered when Urien had developed such a silver tongue but refrained from asking. Then, without wasting any more time, they turned back to Veronica.

Despite the previous miracle, Simon didn’t believe the God of Darkness would show Himself again, but he sighed and waited in hope, curious about what Urien would do.