Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 42: The Uninvited God

Although not great enough to be among the top 10 merchant groups of the empire, there is a merchant group that comfortably ranks within the top 30. Layton’s Merchant Group, operated by Viscount Layton Valencia, is the largest source of money in the Vlad duchy, and he even bought the title of viscount in the empire with that money.

The man, who had reached a position that could be called a big shot in the empire, lowered his head with sad eyes. These days, living has become too difficult for him.

Why was I born as a vampire?

They say there’s nothing money can’t buy, but there are truly things that can’t be bought.

There are things he can never have no matter how much he struggles, and they are a predetermined punishment from the moment he was born as a vampire.

The most representative thing is freedom.

No matter how much he has and acquires, it’s meaningless.

Duchess Shmira can take it away at any time.

Because she holds the power of life and death over him.

A higher-ranking vampire exercises absolute blood dominance over lower-ranking vampires. In front of Duchess Shmira, a pureblood, all other vampires are nothing more than puppets that can be controlled at any time.

What’s the point of being rich...If I can’t have freedom?

“Honey...”

His wife, Lila, quietly embraced him.

She stared at her husband, who only sighed without a word, and couldn’t hold back her own sobs.

However, they both were careful not to let their sobbing sounds leak out. The man carefully reached out his hand toward the silk swaddling cloth.

“Kya-hoo.”

“Yes, it’s Daddy. It’s Daddy.”

Viscount Layton slightly uncovered the swaddling cloth and caressed the cute baby’s cheek.

Every time he saw the baby, his heart felt like it was being torn apart, and he couldn’t hold back his tears.

The child’s eyes were a hollow grayish-white, having been born blind from birth. His son doesn’t even know his parents’ faces.

He’s been like that since birth, so he thinks it’s natural.

He recognizes his parents through the warmth conveyed by their hands and smiles like that. This child couldn’t even properly turn over, because his arms had no strength and one of his legs was missing. He was born with a deformity from birth.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. If only this father wasn’t a vampire, you would have been born healthy too.”

The curse of the sun directly imposed by the ancient god is not something that can be escaped by hiding from the sun.

Although they die instantly when exposed to the sun, they die all the same even without being exposed to the sun.

Because even if the sun is not visible, it hasn’t disappeared.

The sun will still continue to shine in its place and brightly illuminate the other side of the world.

Strictly speaking, there has never been a single moment when the curse of the sun has not flowed into this world.

It’s just that if they don’t come into direct contact with sunlight, the curse of the sun acts slowly and gradually, so it appears to have no problem from an individual’s perspective.

Viscount Layton, who had tightly held the child in his arms and then put him back down, finally sighed.

“Perhaps the end of our race is not far off.”

“Do we really have to sit here and wait for the day of our extinction...?”

“Someday, Her Majesty will have to know that fact. But she doesn’t want to know, so what can we do.”

The viscount gave a bitter smile. In fact, even that smile was forced.

Honestly, he was not in the mood to smile at all. His generation might be able to endure it somehow.

If they’re lucky, maybe even until the era when his son will live. But what about after that?

In the end, there is no future. Unless the sun suddenly goes out one day, it will be like this forever.

Already, half of the children born to commoner-class vampires are born with deformities.

Far from thinking about solving the problem, Duchess Shmira is trying to maintain the bloodline of vampires by weeding out the deformed children. Well, even if she had any intention of solving the problem, there is no solution to be found anywhere.

In order to at least solve his son’s deformity, Layton really searched high and low.

-Mr. Layton. It is true that the church does not refuse donations, but that only applies when it comes from the sincere hearts of the believers. We will not accept your donation. Seeing your sincerity, we will forgive you, a vampire, for invading the goddess’s temple. But take your son back with you. The goddess does not embrace your kind, and even that child cannot be an exception.

However, the Trinity Church did not even treat him, a vampire, as a conversation partner. No matter how much money he offered, those who prioritized money over faith did not rise to the upper echelons of the church.

Visit freёnovelkiss.com for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience.

The cardinals, archbishops, and temple leaders of the church are those who are always ready to choose the former if the goddess’s instructions don’t conflict with their own interests.

Even if Layton had prepared and offered ten times his entire fortune, they would have refused outright.

Still, he was able to bribe a priest from a small denomination other than the Trinity Church.

The god that the priest served eventually turned a blind eye to the massive donation and allowed a single exception.

However, even divine power had no efficacy. That god eventually returned the donation and said that this was the result of the laws of the universe being revised, so it could not be solved with his power.

It was decided by the ancient god. It’s the result brought about by the laws of the universe.

No one can lay a hand on such things. If even personified gods can’t do it, needless to say, neither can medicine or surgery. He even sought the help of acupuncture, which is said to be used on the eastern continent, but the child still had one leg missing, couldn’t see, and had delayed development.

“What? A priest of an ancient god?! Are you sure?!”

In the Hopeless situation, where their kind was heading to their doom,

Those who worry about the future are originally rare and don’t receive good words. If it weren’t for the senior soldier Handel coming to find Viscount Layton, who was only sighing, he would have continued to do so.

“It’s certain. I saw it with my own eyes. Although it wasn’t directly exposed to the sun, the wound inflicted by the sun’s mana, no, the entirely burned hand, grew back whole. Who else but an ancient god could perform such a miracle? The curse of the sun originates from the ancient god of Light!”

He was a soldier that Viscount Layton often took care of, as he was smart for a commoner-class vampire. He was practically his trusted subordinate. Of course, they talked about this and that, including the curse of the sun.

Viscount Layton’s head suddenly became dizzy after hearing all the circumstances. He staggered unknowingly and only came to his senses after Handel supported him. His whole body was trembling and his teeth were chattering. Without further ado, he prepared himself.

“Laila. Report to Her Majesty. Tell her that I will personally meet and entertain the one presumed to be the priest of an ancient god.”

Leaving only those words, he burst through the door and ran out. Of course, he knew in his head.

There was no guarantee anywhere that what Handel had noticed was correct, and it was not yet something that could be confirmed whether he was a priest of the ancient god or not. But a single ray of light suddenly cast upon one wandering in pitch-black darkness was too alluring. He simply couldn’t stay still.

Bang!

Viscount Layton ran out, almost knocking over half of the shoe rack. Handel also politely bowed and comforted Laila.

“Madam. It will be alright. The young master will be fine. That priest definitely undid the curse from the sun. Surely he will be able to cure the young master as well.”

“Can my child... really get better?”

Lady Layton couldn’t hide her agitation. Her eyes were shaking uncontrollably.

What does a deformed child mean? It means a mongrel that does not possess a superior vampire bloodline.

At least, that’s what Duchess Shmira thought. So their son, Zig, had to hide and live in this small house forever. That way, the duchess wouldn’t notice the child.

For such a child to be able to proudly reveal himself to the world, make friends, and date a lover. That’s an even more important issue than the return of distant sight.

Because death approaches the moment the son is discovered, being able to escape a life of having to avoid the gazes of others, Laila could give her everything for just that. If he asked for her liver, she would give her liver, if he asked for her gallbladder, she would take out her gallbladder. She could even give her heart!

“Of course. Don’t worry too much. Then, Madam, I will take my leave now.”

“Go in peace.”

Handel comforted her and went out, disappearing. Only after she locked the door tightly did she feel relieved.

A lord is equivalent to a noble class in human terms. If she wanted, Laila could have several commoner-class vampires as attendants. However, she didn’t, worried that the child’s secret might leak out.

So now, only she and the child are left in this house.

Laila couldn’t hide her trembling hands. Fearing that she might drop the child, she carefully laid him back on the silk bed, gently stroked his head, and muttered over and over again.

“My baby, my baby... our baby...”

This child is being raised in secret even from the queen.

Zig might be able to see the world. He might be able to walk on two feet.

The moment that overwhelming hope filled a chamber of her heart, the world suddenly seemed brighter. She even offered a prayer that she hadn’t done before.

She didn’t pray to a specific god, and if there was a subject of her prayer, it was fate.

Vampires are a type of demon abandoned by god, so they don’t pray to god.

“Please let that person really be the priest of the ancient god and help us. May he take pity on us and bestow mercy upon us!”

-Do you wish for Hope? Do you pray for happiness?

A voice.

Just a voice.

Except that it was heard simultaneously from inside and outside of her, it was just a voice. It seemed like her inner self was saying that, and it also seemed like someone was asking.

-Do you Hope for the future? Will you be delighted? Will you be saved?

Clack clack. Her teeth chattered unknowingly.

The instinct that every living being possesses rang the alarm. The child burst into a loud cry, but she even forgot to soothe the child. Fear completely engulfed her mind.

-Invite us. Call us. Pray to us. Hope for us. Let us join you.

Knock knock. The sound of knocking on the distant front door rang out.

The small knocking sound heard from very far away, from a distance that would normally be impossible to hear, reached this inner room deep inside the house without fail. A small hand was carefully knocking on the door.

-Please.

That babbling, like the crying sound of a wailing baby, brought back memories she never wanted to recall. The woman, her strength drained from her legs, sank down.

She covered her head with both hands and closed her eyes. A stream of tears flowed from her closed eyes.

As the woman tried not to face her sins, the sins came directly to her.

Knock knock. It knocked. The time for a fearful encounter was approaching.