High Duke Mila sat down as she kept her eye on Rale.
" High Duke Oris can Teleport, and he can take two people with him. We canât send more than one High Duke there since we need to protect the Demon Realm too. Three High Dukes need to stay behind, at least. As for Rale and me, donât worry. Iâm sure they wonât scheme against me. High Duke Oris is very strong. He can escape with us at the first sign of a scheme," Ryder suggested after everyone sat down.
"No. We are not letting you do that!" High Duke Mila, High Duke Eston, High Duke Oris and Rale, all said at the same time, refusing Ryderâs suggestion.
"But listen to me first!" Ryder let out, trying to get them to listen, but they refused to listen at all.
"We are not letting you go there. Even though the chances of anything happening to you under High Duke Orisâ watch are almost nonexistent, but we canât take the risk of sending you there," High Duke Eston said, refusing his suggestion.
" But..." Ryder tried speaking again, but they again cut him off.
"No, but! The relationship between the two Realms is unstable right now. If you go there openly and something happened to you there, do you know how much of a trouble we will be in? There will be instability in the entire Demon Realm. People will start getting restless at the news of your death. Theyâll lose morale, and theyâll lose confidence in our ability to win. Whatever happens, we canât let anything happen to you, at least not in the Death Domain!" High Duke Mila said, refuting Ryder.
" I agree with them. Itâs not feasible for you to go there. I will go alone and do what you intended to do. I donât need anyone else to come with me. I can still escape under the assault of four Death Envoys, but with you around, itâll be tough to make sure of your protection!" High Duke Oris let out, shaking his head.
"Sigh, I can take care of my safety. I will talk to you about this later, but I donât have any danger even if I go there," Ryder let out, trying to convince them.
" What can you do to make sure of your safety?" High Duke Oris inquired as he looked at Ryder curiously.
" You can test that for yourself. After weâre done with the interrogation, you can come with me alone to my room. Iâll show you my abilities," Ryder told High Duke Oris.
"If itâs a suitable ability to help me survive, you can let me go with you, and if youâre not satisfied, then we can talk about that later. What do you say?" Ryder asked again.
"Interesting. Fine. Iâll test myself if you have what it takes to survive in that place. As long as Iâm satisfied, Iâll take you with me," High Duke Oris let out, nodding his head.
" What are you saying? Have you lost your mind?" High Duke Devilia asked High Duke Oris with an incredulous look on her face.
" What Iâm doing is right. As a Prince who will be our King, he canât always hide in the Palace. If he really has the ability to pass my test, then it would mean that he had no danger in the Death Domain. Then there would be no reason to stop him from coming," High Duke Oris said.
"Right. If their Prince Candidate was brave enough to come here, how can I fall back? How can I stay behind! I have full faith in my abilities. Thereâs no way Iâll die there," Ryder said, nodding his head.
High Duke Oris and High Duke Eston looked back and forth between High Duke Oris and Ryder.
"Sigh, Fine. If High Duke Oris believed in your ability, Iâd believe as well. As long as you pass the test he decides to take, youâll be allowed to go," High Duke Mila said as she sighed.
" Hah, if two High Dukes agree to it, who am I to say no. You can go if High Duke Oris sees you fit," High Duke Eston let out as he agreed as well.
" High Duke Oris and Rale, it will be your responsibility to keep the Prince safe. Donât take your duties lightly and bring him back safe if he passes the test and go there," High Duke Mila said to Oris and Rale.
" It is my oath and my duty to keep His Highness safe. It doesnât matter if itâs Death Domain or the Demon Realm. I will bring him back safe even if it means my death," Rale let out as he nodded his head.
As the plan was made, they continued eating in silence until someone broke the silence.
"Itâs good that you have decided what youâre going to do but let me interrogate the prisoner before you leave. If I donât get satisfying answers from him, I will come with you as well," the Vampire King let out.
"I can only take two people with me," High Duke Oris let out, shaking his head.
â Yeah, we canât allow him to come. I still donât trust him completely. If he backstabs us there, it wouldnât be good. On the other hand, I can use that time to test his resolve. Itâs not like my life will be in danger,â Ryder thought as he glanced at the Vampire King.
"I donât need you to take me. I have ways of my own to come there," the Vampire King said casually.
Before the High Duke could say anything, Ryder agreed.
"But youâll come separately. Iâm not leaving Rale behind to take you with us," he continued.
"But..." High Duke Eston said, worrying the same thing as Ryder. He also thought that Vampire King could betray them. He wanted to say something, but he knew that Ryder wouldnât listen.
"Iâll come as well if heâs coming." he continued.
" I know what youâre thinking. Donât worry about anything. I know what Iâm doing. Let the Vampire King see with his own eyes how the Death Domain schemed against his people. He needs to know the reality," Ryder let out, shaking his head.
After a lot of back and forth, Ryder managed to convince all Hugh Dukes. It was decided that Ryder, Rale, and High Duke Oris were going to go there, and the Vampire King was going to come alone, separately from them.
The dinner was completed, and everyone went back to the Great Hall for the interrogation.
Ryder and the others sat down on their thrones. High Duke Eston was the only one that was still standing in the center of the great hall.
He brought Master Mao out of his Spatial Prison and stood beside him to make sure that he doesnât kill himself or someone doesnât hurt him.
"Go ahead. You can ask your question first," Ryder let out, gesturing the Vampire King to ask his question.
The Vampire King nodded his head as he glanced towards Master Mao.
"Mao, tell me! What did you do to my General, Viden?" The Vampire King asked Mao.
" W-what your general? We did nothing to anyone related to you! In all my time staying in the Demon Realm, youâre the first Vampire I saw!" Master Mao let out intently.
The Vampire King released some of his aura, only affecting Mao. The pressure was so powerful that Mao dropped down to the ground.
"Donât lie to me! Tell me why you attacked him in the Undead Region inside the Valley of Wandering Souls! What did you steal from there?" The Vampire King asked again as he narrowed his blood-red eyes.
"I never went inside the Undead Region!" Mao said as he struggled on the ground.
The Vampire King stood up as he started walking towards Mao.
High Duke Eston glanced towards Ryder, wondering if he should stop him, but he didnât do anything as he saw Ryder gesturing to him to let Vampire King do what he wanted.
Ryder knew that the Vampire King wouldnât kill Mao. He probably wanted to threaten him. Also, he knew that the prisoner was essential to them. He would not kill Mao. At Least not before they finished interrogating Mao as well.
The Vampire King sat in front of Mao as he looked into his eyes. He brought his hands near Maoâs face. His long nails penetrated Maoâs face, leaving a deep scrape on his face.
"You know about us Vampires, right? You know thatâs going to happen to your Body now, right? If you donât tell me what Iâm asking for, youâll see that first game," the Vampire King told Mao as he smirked.
Maoâs face started turning unusually green.
" So thatâs the Vampire Poison. Heâll start speaking, or heâll suffer a lot," High Duke Oris muttered as he nodded his head.
"I-i will tell you everything! I never went to the Undead Region! I swear to my family name! Her Highness went there a few times, but I never accompanied her. I donât know if she did anything to your general! I donât know anything," Mao let out as he felt his veins bulging.