In the days that followed, Duke Lurgan ordered the shutdown of the churches of the Holy Mother of Life in his dukedom and the arrest of all their notable figures. Investigations of the attack were carried out by the Order of the Golden Sun, and the proceedings of Mary's burial were led by Viscount Maxton.

After ordering the arrest of the high members of the Church of the Holy Mother of Life, Duke Lurgan locked himself inside his study and hadn't come out since or allowed anyone in. Even those that brought him food to eat.

The backlash Duke Lurgan received from the upper echelon of the Church of Holy Mother of Life and their followers was massive following the various protests and riots that were mediated by the police under the orders of Viscount Maxton in Duke Lurgan's name.

When news about Mary's death reached every corner of the empire, a week of mourning for her death was ordered by the Emperor himself. All trades were to be put on hold apart from particular sectors that were necessary for the functioning of the empire. Marybeth Caliscus was the Duchess of Linfolm and the 7th Princess of the Imperial family of the Maenan Empire. Her elder brother is the current Emperor of Maen, Emperor Theodore Caliscus III; also dubbed the 'Mad Emperor'.

The Church of the Holy Mother of Life knew better than to go against the orders of the Mad Emperor, and proactively stopped their followers from organizing protests. The news about the intruder being a vampire was kept from the public due to unspecified reasons but the excuse the churches gave to the Emperor was to 'avoid civil unrest'.

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It's been ten days since I was reborn into this world… Timothy was being rocked by the maid that was currently nursing him.

I have noticed that I can surprisingly understand this language I've never heard before, despite not being able to the first time I heard it. I can understand it, doesn't mean I can speak it. Quite literally if I must say…

"Ar lau la la…" Timothy made jumbled sounds as his tongue twisted in unnatural manners. He couldn't speak yet.

…The boredom has been killing me. I can't continue like this. Who knows what that evil person is doing to my precious Allison. I keep talking to myself like there's someone else besides me to listen because of how bored I've been.

"You've made a mess again, Prince William. You're just a few days old so you still have time to learn to be a good boy." The maid said to Timothy despite knowing he was a baby.

And there's this too. The endless humiliation…

"Oof, it stinks so much. No wonder the other maids don't want to take care of you."

Curse this body of mine. Why didn't I just get truck-kun'd and appear in the body of a magnani prince? I would choose that any day over this. And this maid…

"Haha, Prince William, I'm just joking. They don't want to take care of you because you're cursed, not because your poop smells so bad. I'm the only one that volunteered, so you better not forget me when you become the emperor, ok?"

She's crazy…

"Ok? Ok? Prince William, you can answer me, riiight?" She drew closer to Timothy's face with a creepy smile on her face and smiling eyes.

"L-La…" Timothy uttered with a chill running down his spine.

No, this is way beyond crazy. This woman is mad! Mad I tell you!

"Haha, that's my Prince."

I can't control my bowels, I can't move on my own, and my eyes automatically close when my body feels a little bit sleepy. Looking at how long I will have to wait before I grow, I've come to realize that I can't continue like this…

I've been collecting information from what and what I've been hearing. All thanks to this crazy maid that speaks to a baby and expects them to respond. Apparently, after I slept off after that old man appeared, my 'mother' died. It's a bit sad I guess. The whole empire is mourning her loss and the Duke dude hasn't shown his face since he ordered some arrest or so.

Speaking of which, I was inspected by some weird men in white robes and a golden mask. I think they are from something called the Order of the Golden Sun. They said I am indeed cursed. What on earth do curses mean in this world? I just have no bloody idea. Everyone just keeps saying I'm cursed…

And I have three older siblings. It's a new experience… my… my eyes are closing again… f*ck this body…

❈ ❈ ❈

Twenty days after the assassination of Duchess Marybeth of Linfolm, her burial was held at the capital city of Maen Empire, Cantophe. A grand parade marched in her name and a monument was built for her in Linfolm.

The Church of the Holy Mother of Life renamed one of its Temples to St. Marybeth of Linfolm Church in honor of her heritage and to appease the Imperial family and other Churches for their 'supposed' involvement with her death.

Below the surface, rumors of the princess' infidelity made rounds in pubs and inns and also the Temple's involvement with vampires. Some conspiracy theorists even suggested that Duke Lurgan was angry with Mary and hired a vampire to murder his wife then pinned the blame on the Church of the Holy Mother of Life. One said Mary died during the birth of her bastard child and now they are using the well-known term 'vampire' to cover everything up.

The existence of a bastard child of royalty was kept from the ears of the empire. Duke Lurgan made sure that news never got to the Emperor's ears. Luckily for him, all the midwives that were there during childbirth were murdered by the vampire nun. The few soldiers that broke the door might've seen the child as it was under Mary and shared their thoughts when they got tipsy but since it was never publicly acknowledged that Mary had a child, no one will believe the ramblings of a drunkard over the words of the Duke.

Only a few maids that took care of Mary during her pregnancy knew about the existence of a bastard child.

After the burial was over, Viscount Maxton took the newborn baby boy back to his city and named the child William Maxton. He made it public that the child was his child born from a harlot. Such stories were common with nobles so the public readily accepted them. But few that had known Viscount Maxton knew that he wasn't the type to dabble in grey places but what could they do apart from sharing their opinions with a few friends?

The vampire investigation by the Order of the Golden Sun bore no fruit after a span of 6 months and was easily forgotten and remains unsolved. Any media that tried to bring light to the issue were quickly silenced by unknown forces.

Of course, Duke Lurgan didn't take this sitting down but he personally received a letter from the Pope of the Church of the Golden Sun. At that point, there was nothing he could do. It was as clear as day that the churches wanted to bury the matter, till the extent the Popes were involved.