The First Vampire

Chapter 411: 409 Sincerity_1
“Count… Count Evan…”

Count Brugen’s voice was trembling. He finally understood why Count Evan had always hidden his whereabouts.

Turns out, he had secretly returned from the North Territory to White Dew City and probably established a consensus with Duke St. Prowse!

That’s why during the meeting at White Dew Fortress, Viscount Fein never mentioned about the possible assassination of Marquis Vincent.

The prompt and decisive actions of Duke St. Prowse could only mean one thing – he had confirmed the death of his eldest son, Marquis Vincent, and determined to support his second son, Count Evan, to succeed the nobility.

Realizing this, Count Brugen’s face visibly turned pale, and his eyes slowly filled with despair.

Following a long silence, he finally croaked out:

“Count Evan, have you come to mock us?”

Count Evan slowly shook his head and said somberly: “No, I just want to prevent the Eastern Territory from becoming a joke.”

Count Brugen frowned, looked at Count Evan with perplexity, apparently not understanding his intention.

Count Evan leisurely settled down in his chair, took a sip of coffee in front of him, and then smiled, “Count Brugen, you are so smart, you must have guessed the truth already, right?”

Count Brugen nodded bitterly, “Marquis Vincent must have died in Silver Moon City, right?”

Count Evan nodded, “Yes. My poor brother, he probably couldn’t believe until his death that he was killed by a mad half-elf.”

Count Brugen wanted to ask about the details of Marquis Vincent’s death, but a sudden wave of helplessness left him speechless.

What’s the point of entangling these now?

With the death of Marquis Vincent, Count Evan’s succession as Duke of the Eastern Territory was inevitable. The many years of effort by the Brugen family will come to naught.

Count Evan looked at Count Brugen, who was silent and in low spirits, and took the initiative to comfort him, “Count Brugen, as I just said, I’m not here to mock you. On the contrary, I want to prevent the Eastern Territory from becoming a joke.”

Count Brugen took a deep breath, regained his spirits, and asked, “I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

Count Evan didn’t beat around the bush anymore, stating directly, “I know that many nobles in the Eastern Territory actually supported my brother, including you. But whether you believe it or not, I have never held a grudge against you and I won’t retaliate in the future.”

Count Brugen stared at Count Evan with an emotionless face, saying nothing.

Most of the nobles in the Eastern Territory had good reasons to support Marquis Vincent.

Marquis Vincent was a full ten years older than Count Evan.

For a whole decade before Count Evan was born, Duke St. Prowse only had one legitimate son.

In such a circumstance, Duke St. Prowse had early on instated Vincent as the Marquis of the East Territory, formally confirming his status as the primary successor.

At that time, almost all the nobles in the Eastern Territory believed that Vincent would become the future Duke of the Eastern Territory, hence it was only logical to invest early.

For example, Count Howell had eagerly married off his daughter to Marquis Vincent, and all the bright descendants of the Brugen family swarmed around Marquis Vincent, serving him loyally.

Duke St. Prowse didn’t intervene too much in this situation either. After all, he indeed only had one son at the time.

In fact, even after Evan was born, Duke St. Prowse had no intention to revise the succession, despite discovering as time passed, that his younger son was somewhat smarter.

But Duke St. Prowse was also aware that replacing the elder with the younger one was bound to cause turmoil.

The nobles of the Eastern Territory who had already invested in Marquis Vincent would not want to see Evan ascend to power.

So, during the initial Silver Moon Riot, when Marquis Vincent was ordered to ambush the Dark Cavalry at Shadow Gorge, it was clearly a golden opportunity to gain public favor. Meanwhile, Count Evan was sent off to doomed Silver Moon City to manage an almost certain losing situation.

This disparate treatment reflected Duke St. Prowse’s attitude towards his two sons.

However, the subsequent turn of events defied everyone’s expectations.

After Marquis Vincent’s notorious defeat of the Dark Cavalry at Shadow Gorge and his capture of the North Territory’s greatest warrior, Marquis Garcia, he became somewhat overconfident. He unilaterally decided to attack Silver Moon City, and to everyone’s shock, he was defeated by the traditionally weak half-elves and the hitherto unknown Colin Angler.

And it was a crushing defeat.

His Pegasus Army was completely obliterated, and Marquis Vincent himself became Colin’s captive.

This blow caused Duke St. Prowse to begin questioning his decisions.

Although Marquis Vincent was subsequently successfully ransomed, Duke St. Prowse clearly intended to replace the heir.

The engagement between Count Evan and the daughter of Prince Lexie was proof of this.

Most of the Eastern Nobility had already bet on Marquis Vincent, so they wouldn’t support Duke St. Prowse’s decision to replace the heir. Therefore, Duke St. Prowse had to secure a powerful ally for his second son.

Unfortunately, things are unpredictable, and Count Evan’s powerful ally had an unexpected issue.

The Eastern Nobles who had invested in Vincent breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that their luck had turned, but they didn’t expect that Vincent, who was unsatisfied, would go back to Silver Moon City. Not only did he fail to reclaim his honor, but he got himself captured again.

This rollercoaster of events, the ups and downs, the twists and drama, had the Eastern Nobles, including Count Brugen, under immense stress, leaving them uncertain how to face the current situation.

Even if Count Evan promised not to retaliate, how could Count Brugen easily believe him?

Everyone knew that in order to ensure Marquis Vincent’s inheritance, the Eastern Nobles, including Count Brugen, had to suppress Count Evan, forcing him to seek external help like that of Prince Lexie.

Other than minor families like the Fein family, almost half of the nobility circle had offended Count Evan.

Under such circumstances, Count Evan’s rise to power could very well turn into a political disaster.

Of course, Count Evan was well aware of this. So, looking at the anxious and unsettled Count Brugen, he decisively threw a “bombshell” at him:

“Count Brugen, your daughter Miss Grace is dignified, virtuous, elegant and beautiful. I have admired her for a long time, and now, I formally propose to you for her hand! ”

Count Brugen’s eyes widened in disbelief.

But Count Evan had already risen from his seat, bowed courteously, and respectfully presented a letter to Count Brugen.

Count Brugen, taking the letter and opening it, found that it was indeed a marriage proposal, and on it was the Duke of St. Prowse’s unmistakable autograph.

“What about… Princess Sallya?”

“Given Prince Lexie’s unpopular actions at Dragon City, my father will publicly announce the cancellation of my engagement with Sallya!”

Count Brugen was looking at Count Evan in shock, obviously taken aback by this turn of events.

Count Evan was also looking into Count Brugen’s eyes and said seriously, “Count Brugen, I’ve shown my sincerity, now it’s your turn.”

Finally, there was a change in Count Brugen’s expression.

He held onto the sheepskin scroll tightly, took a deep breath and said:

“Fine! Since you, Count Evan, value my daughter so much, I certainly won’t oppose this marriage.”

Count Evan gave a smile and said, “Father in law, my foundation in the East is weak, I’ll need your guidance in the future!”

“Rest assured, I’ll help allay those nobles’ concerns, so they realize that Marquis Vincent’s era is over, and you’re the future of the East! However, there is one person…” Count Brugen suddenly frowned.

“You’re referring to Count Howell, aren’t you?” Count Evan immediately interjected.

“Yes. After all, his daughter is married to Vincent…”

Count Evan smiled confidently and said:

“Don’t worry about that, I’ve already made arrangements for the Howell family.”