"The Blood Tether is a power that exerts absolute coercive force over subordinate vampires. Since the Sire directly controls the blood of their kin, it strips away both the ability and the will to resist. A kin can never betray their Sire. However."
Murmurs erupted.
Some vampires looked at Tir, wondering if they shouldn't stop Lir's mouth right now. However, Tir listened to Lir's words without any particular restraint. With the Progenitor's implicit permission, Lir continued speaking.
"My father wanted my mother to commit treason, to break the Blood Tether and stand on her own. Only then could he taste my mother's blood again from the position of a gourmet. He made my mother an Ain, and had me, who shared her blood, made into a Yeling. By giving me blood again to make me an Ain, he twisted the tether and distorted the hierarchy, plotting Defiance of Heaven. Not only that, he forced us to attempt Defiance of Heaven."
A tether severed from above was somewhat shocking, but still acceptable. It made sense that the one who placed the tether could take it away.
However, a bound kin severing it themselves was unacceptable. They had their own kin, and a kin committing Defiance of Heaven meant their limbs were running amok. No one would be happy if their own hands and feet moved on their own.
The vampires looked at Lir with cold eyes.
"...In the end, that became the very thing that tightened the noose around my father's neck. My father ultimately proved his ability. Because he met eternal extinction at my hands."
Perhaps reading the mood, Lir did not mention the method.
Was that truly a wise choice? Did she not consider that the vampires would try even harder to kill her before that method could be revealed?
Or does she simply not care whether she lives or dies?
Her words had been strange from the start. I thought she was pleading for her life, but all she did was confess her father's sins one by one in the tribunal. Even if it's an Elder's scandal, a scandal is still a scandal. Lir's purpose was to chip away at the dignity of someone already eternally extinguished.
That person is somewhat subtly twisted. She is deeply interested in the lives and deaths of others, yet indifferent to her own. Even now, she shows no fear of death.
"If I am a sinner who dared to commit Defiance of Heaven, then my father, who forced my mother and me to commit Defiance of Heaven, is equally a sinner!"
Silence.
Only silence lingered in the hall. Having poured out her long speech, Lir, true to her vampire nature, showed no expression and waited for the Progenitor's words.
It was a truly unexpected fact, and all the vampires were shocked by this scandal, but... the outcome did not change.
"So. You are saying it is true that you killed Ruskinia."
"It is."
"This trial is about uncovering the truth behind the Elder's murder. Whatever circumstances you hold, they are not important. Your circumstances will not alter the outcome."
Tir, befitting a Progenitor, did not fuss over a minor scandal. Even if her heart had started beating again and she had regained her senses, the years and experience she possessed had not disappeared. Tir knew better than anyone that if she obsessed over every trivial circumstance, she would be unable to make any judgment.
The crime was clear. Tir pronounced softly, yet solemnly enough for everyone to hear.
"Nothing has changed. I shall now pass judgment on the sinner, Lir Nightingale..."
"I object."
The voice was heard from close by. Tir turned around hastily, as if caught off guard by a surprise attack. In her line of sight... was me, with my hand thrust forward.
"Hugh?"
"Tir. It's different. The situation has changed."
"Changed? What has?"
"That statement just now. If that series of words is true... this trial is overturned from the very beginning."
Thud, thud. I stepped down from the podium. Standing tall in front of the defendant, I looked up at Tir and asked.
"Honorable Judge. According to Lir Nightingale's claim, Elder Ruskinia also attempted to break free from the Blood Tether. Is there no room for leniency on that point?"
Tir was slightly flustered, but calmly matched my pace.
"Even so, nothing will change. Only I can judge an Elder. Whatever crime Ruskinia committed, since she killed an Elder without authorization, punishment is unavoidable. Setting aside the fact that we cannot try a dead Ruskinia in the first place."
"Only the Progenitor can judge an Elder? Then what about the Elders? Can an Elder not judge another Elder?"
I glanced at Valdamir as I spoke. He, too, was a vampire. He showed no signs of agitation at my words. Of course, seeing how he was focused on my every move, he was clearly paying close attention.
"Of course. How could an Elder kill another Elder?"
Then what about this? The truth hidden between the two criminals?
"What if it wasn't 'another' Elder?"
"...What?"
To a vampire, kin are their limbs. Defiance of Heaven is the act of those limbs moving on their own to strangle their master.
"You all know this as well. That kin cannot go against their Sire. That is why what Lir did is even more shocking and unbelievable."
However, limbs are a part of oneself. If a kin, who shares blood and is controlled in body and mind, moved to kill their own master...
"But what if... it wasn't going against them?"
We agreed to call that suicide.
"If the death of Elder Ruskinia was planned by the man himself. What then?"
Unfamiliar murmurs arose. Even the cold-hearted vampires could not remain silent before my statement. A turbulent atmosphere, and inner thoughts several times louder.
The trial, which was expected to leave only absent evidence, distorted memories, and a verdict following the trend, flowed into a completely unexpected political situation. Unrestrained shouts erupted from all sides. The direction mostly came from the bloodline that had lost their Elder.
"Nonsense!"
The Ain, who had earlier been subjected to Valdamir's detachable upper and lower body stunt, shouted. She puffed up her entire body by raising the feathers implanted in it and approached me with an intimidating appearance. I smiled, welcoming my opponent.
"Oh, the opposition has appeared. Are you my opponent?"
"A vampire committing suicide? Is that even a reasonable thing to say?"
"It seems you don't know because you're a vampire, but there are quite a few people in the world who commit suicide or attempt something equivalent."
"Only weak and foolish humans would do such a thing. Lord Ruskinia would never! That the powerful and cruel Lord Ruskinia would choose eternal extinction himself!"
"Well. It's not a rule that only weak and foolish humans do such things. Climbing a dizzying cliff bare-handed, challenging an unbeatable opponent to a duel, or charging alone into the middle of an enemy army. Those who wish to test their limits throw themselves into danger."
A mad Elder who implanted feathers into his kin, made their arm joints double-jointed, and attached blood membranes to make them fly like bats wouldn't hesitate to twist the Blood Tether either.
"From what I hear, the late Mr. Ruskinia was also a very challenging person. How about it? Is the Lord Ruskinia you know someone who would attempt such things?"
"Hmph. Just a gut feeling. There is no evidence anywhere."
A vampire was still a vampire. Without getting swept away by my words, she accurately pointed out the blind spot.
"What the concubine is saying is only the possibility that it could be so. As you said, there is nothing Lord Ruskinia wouldn't do that would be strange. If it were him, there is a possibility; that is a clear fact... However."
The Ain pointed at Lir with her finger and said.
"Lir Nightingale. If she is the culprit, there is no need to even consider the possibility. She had the motive, she attempted it, and she actually took Lord Ruskinia's true blood. She even confessed to her crime herself! It is glaringly obvious that it is her doing."
The listening vampires nodded. As if adding to that opinion, interjections like 'Right', 'Clearly' and so on were heard. Backed by the spectators, the Ain bowed toward the Progenitor.
"Presumptuously, I suspect the motives of the concubine who is muddling the main point here. I earnestly hope the Progenitor will make a clear judgment."
"Hmm..."
'I am sorry to Hugh, but there is no fault in their opinion. Simply presenting a possibility cannot overturn the judgment. If you wanted to save that child so much, you should have given word beforehand. Then, by telling Valdamir and Kabila, you could have made her innocent.'
Huh? If I had spoken beforehand, she would have just been innocent? It was such a novel idea that it didn't even occur to me. So if you're a Progenitor, that's possible.
Don't worry. I didn't volunteer to defend Lir to save her. It's to know the truth.
The truth is important. Curiosity cannot be satisfied with lies.
"Motive. Attempt. Evidence. You said the defendant has all three."
The three grounds stated by the Ain are valid. If this were a military tribunal, they would have handed down a guilty verdict, even excluding the fact that guilty verdicts are their performance metrics.
But this is a Principality. A nation of vampires.
"I will deny those grounds with ability."
"Ability?"
"Yes. With ability."
A kin cannot go against their Sire, they cannot even conceive of doing so.
In this nation that wields perfect domination.
"The kin having the intent to rebel against their Sire. Having attempted it. Having succeeded and taking the true blood. All of it would have been impossible for Lir Nightingale herself."