Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Annan meets the Red Witch in a tavern in the Flower Capital. She greets him by biting his cheek hard enough to draw blood, explaining that it is payback for following her.
• The Red Witch reveals she has replaced her former crew with several burly men and plans to kidnap wealthy people for ransom. Annan refuses to join in.
• When Flower Capital guards arrive after sensing magic, Annan claims the wanted men are secret guards assigned to protect the Princess. The guards withdraw, though their captain notices Annan’s bite marks and suspects the Red Witch is a sorcerer.
• The Red Witch then bites Annan’s other cheek after learning he had supposedly put her crew on the wanted list.
• Annan warns that a robbery in a city full of powerful figures would be suicidal. The Red Witch finds the danger thrilling and inspires her men to attempt the crime anyway.
• To stop them, Annan proposes a more ambitious target: the Princess. He invents a story that he joined the Princess’s service to exact revenge on her. The Red Witch eagerly agrees, insisting that she be the boss. Annan buys time, hoping to keep the group under control and eventually use the Red Witch’s abilities to benefit Free City.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan stays composed and quick-thinking under pressure. He uses a false cover story to avert a fight with the guards, then improvises another lie to redirect the Red Witch’s plans. Though exasperated, he sees her maritime skills as a potential strategic asset.
• The Red Witch is forceful, impulsive, and attracted to danger. Her possessive, physical behavior toward Annan and her willingness to gamble against powerful opponents establish her as both threatening and hard to manage.
• The pirates are easily swayed by the Red Witch’s excitement, but Annan’s warning briefly makes them hesitate.
• Annan and the Red Witch trade threats and teasing; he tries to restrain her schemes, while she repeatedly asserts dominance. The guards’ suspicion adds tension, but Annan’s status persuades them to leave.

Significant themes

• Cunning versus force: Annan avoids violence through improvisation and deception, while the Red Witch relies on strength, intimidation, and audacious plans.
• Risk and ambition: The Red Witch treats overwhelming danger as part of the appeal; Annan tries to channel that recklessness toward a goal he can manage.
• Pragmatism and self-interest: Annan’s apparent cooperation is a tactic, motivated in part by the hope of improving Free City’s position in maritime trade.
• Complicated loyalty and control: Annan’s concern for the Princess, his political role, and his interest in recruiting the Red Witch pull him in competing directions.

Key plot points and events

• Annan returns from meeting the False Princess with conspicuous bite marks on his cheeks, which Idelia recognizes as kisses. He gets them treated so he can attend the evening banquet.
• The False Princess tells Annan that the Crimson Princess has arrived in the Flower Capital and wants to meet him. Annan agrees, but when he realizes that nobles who knew the real Princess may attend the banquet, he asks how the False Princess will handle them. She decides to stay away.
• At the banquet, Annan becomes the focus of a crowd of curious women, largely because of his role in a popular Magic Film. The nobles discuss his reputation and his recent achievements, while Annan privately sees the attention as a chance to sell more Magic Stones.
• Colette and Rosella watch Annan from a distance. Colette refuses to approach him because she has promised her uncle she will not, while Rosella urges her not to blame him and notes that Valencia is dead and the family must endure.
• At midnight, Annan meets the Crimson Princess outside the city. She asks about her mother, but he has no new information and proposes they find the False Princess.
• On their return, City Guards stop the carriage because they suspect the passenger is a vampire. Annan identifies the Crimson Princess as such and says the Princess can explain their purpose. Rather than wait for a messenger, he invites the guards to accompany them to the City Lord’s Mansion.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan remains resourceful and pragmatic, balancing social attention, business ambitions, and the search for answers about the Crimson Princess’s mother. He also protects the Crimson Princess from being exposed to the guards before the situation is clarified.
• The False Princess shows anxiety about meeting people who knew the real Princess, then makes the sensible choice to skip the banquet rather than risk giving herself away.
• The Crimson Princess is direct and emotionally invested in finding news about her mother. Her playful complaint about Annan’s floral scent adds an intimate, teasing note to their exchange.
• Colette and Rosella reveal a family conflict: Colette keeps her promise despite her feelings, while Rosella sympathizes with her and urges her to accept the family’s need to carry on after Valencia’s death.
• Idelia lightly teases Annan about his kiss marks, showing familiarity and affection, while Annan brushes off her questions.

Significant themes

• Identity and performance: The False Princess’s disguise, Annan’s role in a Magic Film, and the nobles’ memories of the real Princess all highlight the gap between appearance and identity.
• Duty versus personal desire: The False Princess avoids a risky public appearance; Colette honors her promise despite possible personal feelings; Annan prioritizes the group’s larger objective.
• Public attention and opportunity: Annan’s popularity is both overwhelming and useful, giving him social influence and potential commercial gains.
• Trust and scrutiny: The City Guards’ suspicion of the Crimson Princess creates tension between security and the characters’ need to move freely.

Key plot points and events

• The City Guard escorts Annan and the Crimson Princess to the City Lord’s Mansion. Annan asks them to keep her presence secret, though he believes the real Princess’s presence in Flower City protects him from suspicion.
• The Crimson Princess learns that the False Princess had not known the full situation and wants to confront the man who deceived her. Annan persuades her to stay hidden and let the real Princess investigate him for information about the Crimson Princess’s mother.
• Annan takes the Crimson Princess to his warehouse. Evelyn, a newspaper editor, appears and jokes about writing a scandalous story about Annan and a beautiful girl; he tells her to find different material.
• Annan introduces the Crimson Princess to his sister Idelia and the real Princess. The Crimson Princess offers to use the First Embrace to make Idelia walk again, but Idelia declines.
• Annan asks whether the Crimson Princess can cure a friend’s divine curse, but she is unfamiliar with it and doubts his account.
• The Crimson Princess wonders why Annan’s family accepts his transformation so calmly. Idelia explains that his changed bloodline has not changed their bond. Annan argues that people judge beings by their status: a powerful vampire princess might be welcomed where a weak undead creature would be attacked. The Crimson Princess asks if this means she could officially visit Flower Capital as a princess.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan acts as mediator, guiding the Crimson Princess away from rash action and helping her settle among his companions. He is also struck by Idelia’s unwavering acceptance of him.
• The Crimson Princess shows impulsiveness and insecurity but is willing to heed Annan’s counsel. She is curious about human customs and eager to prove her abilities to his family.
• The False Princess is frightened and overwhelmed by the complicated deception she has been asked to maintain, but agrees to cooperate.
• Idelia calmly accepts Annan despite his changed identity, emphasizing that their family bond remains intact.
• Evelyn adds comic tension by trying to turn Annan’s private life into newspaper gossip.

Significant themes

• Identity and belonging: Annan’s transformation does not erase his relationships; Idelia sees him as the same brother.
• Power and prejudice: Others’ treatment of a supernatural being depends heavily on perceived status and strength.
• Trust and restraint: The Crimson Princess’s willingness to follow advice helps prevent a reckless confrontation.
• Family and acceptance: Idelia’s response contrasts with the vampire stories the Crimson Princess knows, where transformation leads to fear and separation.

Key plot points and events

• Annan and the Crimson Princess consider an alliance between the Crimson Castle and the Flower Capital. Annan offers to take responsibility, but the Princess decides to consult Lucy and Dracula before committing.
• Idelia realizes the City Guard knew the Princess’s arrival time in advance. She suspects someone wanted the Princess to fight the guards, provoking hostility between vampires and the City Lord’s Mansion.
• Annan investigates the leak. A Guard Captain reveals that his superior ordered patrols to focus on the gates because vampires were expected that night. Annan warns him he may be in danger and heads to the City Lord’s Mansion to confront Lord Moreno.
• While the Princess watches a Magic Film, Annan pursues the investigation. He finds the Butler threatening the False Princess and reminds her that she is only pretending to side with him.
• The Butler reports his failure to a vampire Count—the same vampire Annan previously observed. The Count kills the Butler for daring to frame a noble Councilor and plans to find a replacement.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan acts as the Crimson Princess’s devoted knight, but also proves resourceful and investigative. He balances helping her with pursuing the conspiracy, while showing concern for the False Princess.
• The Crimson Princess is moved by Annan’s willingness to support an alliance, though she remains cautious and seeks her family’s approval. She admires Idelia’s insight and playfully offers her the first embrace.
• Idelia identifies the likely motive behind the ambush: to provoke a deadly clash and damage relations between vampires and humans.
• The False Princess appears uneasy about her alliance with the Butler and is relieved by Annan’s reminder that she remains on the Princess’s side.
• The Butler is exposed as the one who arranged the trap, but his plan collapses when Annan investigates. His attempt to control the False Princess and his betrayal of the Count lead to his death.
• The Count emerges as a ruthless power behind the scheme, executing the Butler without hesitation.

Significant themes

• Political manipulation and false appearances: The ambush was designed to provoke conflict, while the False Princess’s allegiance is itself a deception.
• Trust and loyalty: Annan’s loyalty to the Princess contrasts with the Butler’s betrayal and the Count’s suspicion.
• Consequences of ambition: The Butler’s unauthorized scheme costs him his life.
• Alliance amid tension: The possibility of cooperation between vampires and humans offers an alternative to engineered violence.

Key plot points and events

• Annan tells Commander Moreno that a traitor in the City Guard tried to arrange the Crimson Princess’s death. Under questioning, the Guard Captain traces the warning about the Princess to the Knight Captain, who explains that an unidentified servant had urged him to increase patrols.
• Annan realizes the servant was the Butler, who had hoped the City Guard would kill the Princess. He asks Moreno to keep the matter secret and lend him the guards’ help in finding the person behind the Butler. Moreno agrees and assigns his subordinates to follow Annan’s orders.
• After leaving the guard post, Annan asks the False Princess to watch for the Butler, then returns to the Theater to collect the Crimson Princess.
• The Princess has been crying after watching The Mage Tower’s Fall. She mistook its events for something real involving Annan and Rose. Annan explains that it was only a film, then takes her to see Annan Potter and the Magic Stone instead.
• At dawn, the City Guard reports that the Butler has disappeared and is presumed dead, though no body has been found. Annan’s investigation stalls—until the Magic Mirror identifies Count Turner as the person behind the Butler.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan handles the investigation discreetly, winning Moreno’s cooperation while remaining focused on uncovering the true mastermind. He also shows patience with the emotionally affected Princess, though he is reluctant to lend her money for a Magic Stone.
• Moreno proves fiercely loyal to the Flower Capital and readily commits the City Guard to Annan’s cause. He also admires Annan and unsuccessfully tries to recruit him, asking whether he might take a temporary post in the city.
• The Crimson Princess reveals a vulnerable, romantic side: she becomes upset because she believes the film’s story is real. She reluctantly accepts Annan’s explanation and asks him for money to buy a Magic Stone.
• The Knight Captain is cleared of betrayal; he acted on the Butler’s misleading warning. He later gives Annan the news of the Butler’s disappearance.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and political intrigue: Moreno’s devotion to the city and the Butler’s plot show how loyalty and betrayal shape the struggle around the Princess.
• Reality versus fiction: The Princess’s emotional reaction to the film blurs the boundary between stories and lived experience.
• Uncertainty and hidden forces: The Butler’s unexplained disappearance leaves open questions about who is protecting or targeting the Princess, even as the Magic Mirror supplies a surprising lead.

Key plot points

• Annan searches for Count Turner, an old enemy of the Scarlet faction who sent an alliance proposal to the Skeleton King. He commissions a portrait and asks the Tavern’s Mousehole Oddity to locate him.
• While waiting, Annan takes the Crimson Princess to watch Magic Films. She buys several films with money Annan’s sister lends her, much to Annan’s distress.
• A lead comes in: Turner is hiding in the Flower Capital. Annan gathers City Guards and surrounds his residence.
• Turner’s Blood Thrall recognizes Annan as Lena’s knight and panics. Turner kills the Thrall for showing disrespect, then admits responsibility for the butler’s death as well.
• Annan refuses to negotiate and summons two Epic Spellcasters, Mr. Swaro and Dean Breichim. They capture Turner without damaging the room.
• Annan sends Turner to the City Lord’s Dungeon, intending both to help the Crimson Princess and to improve his own standing. He later tells her that Turner has been captured.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan acts decisively, moving from investigation to arrest once he finds Turner. He uses an impressive string of titles to intimidate the vampire, though several are self-invented, and jokes that his “Sorcerer etiquette” means simply seizing his opponent. He also coaxes Mr. Swaro into staying by mentioning the Flower Capital’s rare flowers, which Alice likes.
• The Crimson Princess is cheerful and eager to watch Magic Films, but she understands that Turner was involved in the conflict. She is surprised when Annan reveals he has captured him.
• Count Turner presents himself as courteous and composed, but his manners conceal a ruthless contempt for those he considers socially inferior. Annan’s unexpected backup finally unsettles him.
• Annan and Turner trade barbed remarks about Annan’s humanity, etiquette, and the vampire’s threats. Annan makes clear that he captured Turner to help the princess, not to enter Southern Kingdoms politics.
• Mr. Swaro and Dean Breichim assist Annan, though Dean declines the invitation to the festival at first; Mr. Swaro is persuaded by the prospect of flowers.

Significant themes

• Politeness versus cruelty: Turner’s refined behavior masks his violence and class prejudice.
• Power and intimidation: Annan turns the tables on an Epic vampire by relying on allies, confidence, and reputation.
• Loyalty and political conflict: Annan intervenes to support the Crimson Princess amid the ongoing struggle against the forces targeting the Scarlet faction.
• Comic relief: Annan’s invented titles and his alarm over the cost of the princess’s movie purchases lighten the political tension.

Plot points and events

• The Crimson Princess questions Count Turner, a former Stuart-family vassal now serving Grand Duke Borodia. He admits he was sent to disrupt her plans, but knows nothing about her mother; the False Princess had deceived the Crimson Princess by suggesting otherwise.
• After Annan is called away, Turner urges the Princess to free him, arguing that she is a vampire who has allied with humans. He also points out that Annan is human.
• Moreno asks Annan to go on a date with his niece. Annan agrees to do so after the festival.
• On their return journey, Annan and the Crimson Princess discuss whether humans and vampires can truly be close. She threatens to kill him if he has deceived her, while Annan suggests they are more alike than she believes.
• The Princess insists that freeing Turner is a matter for vampires, not humans. Annan arranges to have him released and returned to vampire custody, while warning that the weakened Crimson Castle could be vulnerable to an attack.
• The Princess plans to conceal Turner’s capture from Elfy, the former maid posing as the Princess, and keep her under watch until the festival ends.
• At the chapter’s end, Annan recognizes the crest on a passing marriage procession: the Angelo and Figueiredo families are arranging an engagement involving Archbishop Valencia’s daughter.

Character developments and interactions

• The Crimson Princess shows lingering attachment to Turner and her mother’s past, but shifts from personal hurt to practical political caution. Her pride in vampire affairs clashes with her reliance on Annan and human institutions.
• Annan remains candid and pragmatic, helping the Princess while trying to limit the risks her plans create. Their teasing conversation exposes both his curiosity about her prejudice and her fear of being deceived.
• Count Turner is elegant and provocative, using Annan’s humanity to challenge the Princess’s alliance with him.
• Moreno reveals a personal, comic concern beneath his official role: his niece is pursuing Annan.

Significant themes

• Prejudice and kinship: The Princess compares humans and vampires to humans and livestock, while Annan challenges whether appearance or species should determine intimacy.
• Pride and political necessity: The Princess calls her insistence on vampire control “pride,” even as the Castle’s weakness makes her dependent on Annan.
• Trust and deception: Turner’s accusation and the False Princess’s lie sharpen the question of whether Annan has been honest with the Princess.
• Diplomacy amid personal entanglements: The festival, vampire rivalries, Annan’s promised date, and the newly revealed engagement all intertwine political and personal concerns.

Key plot points and events

• Annan wonders why Colette has suddenly agreed to an arranged marriage she had previously refused. Idelia advises him to find out what changed before intervening.
• On his way to the Angelo estate, Annan is confronted by the Red Witch, who demands his plan to help capture the Princess. He promises to create an opportunity after the celebration and improvises a quiet kidnapping plan, hoping to use the scheme to resolve the Princess’s predicament without implicating himself.
• Annan learns that the Angelo and Figueiredo families have arranged Colette’s marriage, apparently at the urging of Valencia’s younger brother. Using a Mousehole Oddity, he secretly observes Colette grieving over Valencia’s portrait and realizes she is not consenting happily.
• To stop the marriage, Annan alerts the Royal Guard Captain to the Figueiredo family’s possible connection to the plot against the Princess. An investigation uncovers the second son’s embezzlement, and Annan also collects evidence of crimes by the Angelo family.
• He sends each family an anonymous letter detailing its offenses and declaring that he will not let his daughter marry into such a family. The families, apparently fearing Valencia’s ghost, cancel the alliance.
• Colette visits Annan afterward and recognizes him as the author of the letters. She asks who he really is and presses him to tell the truth.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan moves from uncertainty to decisive action: although he recognizes he has no formal authority over Colette’s choice, her distress and his memory of Valencia spur him to intervene. He also juggles this rescue with the Red Witch’s kidnapping scheme.
• Colette appears to be suffering rather than willingly accepting the marriage. Her sharp observation and knowing approach suggest she understands more about Annan than he realizes.
• Idelia offers Annan measured advice, drawing on her own past thoughts about arranging a marriage to protect her family.
• The Red Witch keeps Annan under pressure, threatening to make him a kidnapping victim if he fails to cooperate. Their disagreement over a bold versus discreet abduction ends in a compromise.
• Annan and the Angelo/Figueiredo families never confront one another directly, but his anonymous accusations force them to abandon the marriage.

Significant themes

• Personal choice and parental responsibility: Annan recalls urging Colette to live for herself, yet struggles to balance respect for her independence with the duty to protect her from an unwanted marriage.
• Grief and family loyalty: Colette’s attachment to Valencia’s portrait and Annan’s sense of Valencia’s lingering presence drive his intervention.
• Deception and hidden identities: Annan uses disguises, secrets, fabricated plans, and anonymous letters, while Colette begins to see through him.
• Justice through leverage: Rather than relying on formal authority, Annan uses evidence of corruption to disrupt the marriage arrangement.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Annan tells Colette the truth about her father, Valencia: during the events of three years earlier, Valencia died and became an Evil Spirit. Colette realizes that the fatherly figure in her recurring dream was tied to Annan’s experience of that day. Though Annan explains that Valencia eventually regretted his actions, Colette says she does not need comforting and leaves after finding the truth she sought.
• Colette soon sets out on a journey, saying she had been lost for over a decade and has finally found release.
• As the Flower Capital Festival approaches, Annan invites Idelia to the evening banquet and checks on the crisis in the North. Demon and Ratfolk forces have seized territory, Breeze City’s population has scattered, and a second expedition may be needed. Annan agrees to focus on making money to help Free City.
• The Crimson Princess insists on attending the banquet, but Annan persuades her to stay behind for now. On the way to the City Lord’s Mansion, Annan pointedly refuses a donation request from the Goddess of Fortune’s Church.
• Meanwhile, Rainer arrives with Alberto, a Noble who claims the real Princess is in Strange Tales City and that the Flower Capital’s Princess is false. Another Noble produces a letter accusing Annan of conspiring with a Vampire and installing a False Princess. The City Lord reacts with suspicion.
• When Annan reaches the Garden Cottage, he discovers that the Princess has been kidnapped by people posing as his agents. The kidnappers leave a ransom note demanding one million Gold Narls in pure gold, signed by the Red Witch—an eccentric pirate Annan knows.

Character developments

• Colette accepts a painful truth about her father and chooses to seek her own future rather than remain defined by the past.
• Annan balances political responsibilities and financial plans, but his willingness to help the Red Witch has created a serious complication.
• Idelia attends the banquet despite being unable to stand, serving as Annan’s companion and adviser. She bluntly reminds him that he should not have helped the pirates.
• The Crimson Princess shows her determination to take part in events, though Annan temporarily restrains her.
• Rainer and Alberto emerge as challengers to Annan’s political position, trying to cast doubt on the Princess’s identity and Annan’s motives.

Significant themes

• Truth versus comforting illusions: Colette learns that the loving father from her dream was not the father she knew in life.
• Moving on and self-determination: Colette’s departure marks her decision to find her own path.
• Political uncertainty and deception: Competing claims about the Princess’s identity threaten Annan’s standing.
• The cost of impulsive choices: Annan’s association with the Red Witch returns as a kidnapping and ransom crisis.
• Personal power amid wider hardship: Annan’s wealth-building is framed as a practical response to Free City’s refugee and military needs.

Character interactions

• Annan tries to comfort Colette with the truth about Valencia’s remorse, but she declines his reassurance and leaves.
• Annan asks Idelia to accompany him to the banquet; she later questions his decision to assist the pirates.
• Annan and Olmedo discuss the worsening northern crisis and the need to strengthen Free City.
• Rainer and Alberto confront the City Lord’s circle with accusations against Annan and the Flower Capital’s Princess.
• Annan recognizes the Red Witch’s ransom note and realizes that his earlier involvement with her has placed the Princess in danger.

Plot points and events

• Annan arrives at an important banquet with the real Princess, disguised in a gray robe and blindfold, while Idelia helps conceal and protect her.
• The Crimson Princess has secretly followed Annan, disguised as a servant. He warns her the banquet is dangerous, and Idelia keeps her close while Annan mingles with guests.
• Rainer, a knight investigating Strange Tales City, interrupts the banquet with Alberto, a survivor. Alberto falsely accuses Annan of conspiring with the fallen Princess, killing her, and installing an impostor in Flower Capital. Rainer publicly challenges Annan.
• Annan answers by showing the real Princess’s ring and recounting his original mission: the Princess sent him to clear Strange Tales City of Oddities. He says the trapped nobles, including Alberto, lied about the Princess to manipulate him.
• Annan then tells the story the other Princess shared with him: a girl left alone in a cabin wished for an older sister to protect her from a beast. The sister appeared, held the danger back, and ultimately sacrificed herself to kill it. Annan reveals this was the fallen Princess’s story and that the light from her sacrifice reached Flower Capital.

Character developments

• Annan remains composed under public attack, countering the accusations with evidence and a carefully framed account of the Princess’s sacrifice.
• The Crimson Princess demonstrates loyalty and trust by following Annan despite the danger; she relaxes when he approaches the disguised Princess.
• Idelia acts protectively and tactfully, helping maintain the disguise and redirecting the Crimson Princess’s attention.
• Rainer presents himself as an investigator but joins Alberto’s public accusation against Annan.
• Alberto is revealed as a surviving noble who is deliberately twisting events to discredit Annan.

Significant themes

• Truth versus manipulation: Alberto’s fabricated account competes with Annan’s first-hand testimony.
• Sacrifice and protection: The older sister gives her life to save the younger, reframing the fallen Princess’s death as an act of love and duty.
• Trust and loyalty: The Crimson Princess trusts Annan, while Annan relies on witnesses and the Princess’s ring to defend his account.
• Public image and political power: The banquet becomes a stage where competing stories can sway influential people.

Character interactions

• Annan introduces Idelia to the Deputy City Lord and leaves the Princess in her care.
• Idelia asks the Crimson Princess to help with her wheelchair, keeping her near while distancing her from Annan’s negotiations.
• Rainer and Alberto confront Annan before the assembled guests; Annan rebukes Alberto for interrupting and continues his account.
• Annan’s story centers on the bond between the two Princesses, presenting the fallen Princess’s sacrifice as the truth behind the city’s miraculous light.

Plot points

• Annan reveals the Princess’s injuries: she has lost an arm, is blind, and has unpredictable periods of lucidity. He explains that she concealed her condition and entrusted him with Strange Tales City’s ring, which he returned.
• The Flower Capital’s nobles ask Annan to prove the Princess’s identity. An ancient noble senses the Princess’s Divinity and confirms she is genuine.
• Annan challenges Alberto to explain why he framed the Princess. Alberto’s denial triggers a Truth Spell’s red warning, exposing his lie. Guards arrest him and Rainer, and fourteen people are named for punishment.
• Annan refuses the nobles’ offer to take custody of or heal the Princess, choosing to seek Eliyes Montreal’s help. He says Strange Tales City cannot yet be rebuilt and takes responsibility for the Princess as her knight.
• The next morning, Annan presses the City Lord to impose harsher consequences on those who slandered and hunted the Princess. He then asks to see Rainer in prison.
• Annan finds Rainer remorseful and tells him he wants to share a story about Valencia.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan takes a firm, protective stance toward the Princess, using the truth to expose Alberto while insisting that the powerful cannot simply claim her. He also pushes for accountability beyond the City Lord’s initial, lenient plan.
• The Princess is revealed as deeply traumatized and impaired, hiding behind Annan when others approach. Her vulnerability strengthens his resolve to protect her.
• Rainer appears remorseful rather than wholly malicious. Annan treats him differently from Alberto, suggesting he believes Rainer may still be reached.
• The City Lord and nobles move from demanding proof to recognizing the Princess’s identity, but some still seek control of her. The City Lord ultimately yields to Annan’s demands.
• The Crimson Princess jokes with Annan about how he fooled the nobles through truth-telling, then playfully suspects he may have deceived her too.

Significant themes

• Truth and deception: Annan’s “highest form of lying” is telling the truth; Alberto’s false denial exposes him.
• Protection and responsibility: Annan treats the Princess’s trust and his role as her knight as obligations, not opportunities for power.
• Justice and accountability: He argues that slandering and pursuing the Princess deserve serious punishment.
• Trauma and vulnerability: The Princess’s injuries and disorientation reveal the cost of her sacrifice, while Annan’s care contrasts with the nobles’ political interest.

Key plot points and events

• Annan admits he had combined the two Valencias’ stories into a single idealized account, then reprimands Rainer for dishonoring Valencia’s loyalty and the Princess’s sacrifice. He strikes Rainer once with a guard’s sword hilt, then leaves him imprisoned.
• Searching for the False Princess, Annan finds the Mousehole Oddity’s hideout in a slum cellar. Mr. Swaro unexpectedly joins him, and they investigate a kidnapping report.
• The Red Witch has already set fire to the cellar, killing her burly accomplices and injuring the False Princess. Mr. Swaro traps the Witch in a magical prison, and Annan orders the guards to take her to the dungeon.
• Annan finds the False Princess unharmed and reveals that Count Turner’s people kidnapped her. Though she begs him to hide her betrayal from the Princess, Annan says the Princess already knows. He offers her a chance to atone by continuing to play her role.
• Rainer is released from prison. He learns that the Princess Knight considers him manipulated rather than wholly at fault, and he murmurs Annan’s name.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan acts decisively against the Red Witch and the False Princess, but shows some compassion by offering the latter a path to make amends. He also acknowledges that his earlier account of Valencia was an embellished composite. His brief, ineffectual bite of the Witch is a petty act of revenge.
• Rainer accepts punishment for his actions and appears humbled. His release gives him another chance, though the chapter ends before he responds further.
• The Red Witch is exposed as violent and self-serving. She protests that Annan has betrayed their partnership, while Annan points out that he has merely turned her own methods against her.
• The False Princess shifts from calculated seduction to genuine fear when she realizes the Princess knows what she did. She accepts the possibility of atonement.
• Mr. Swaro helps Annan by capturing the Witch, maintaining his dry, irritated manner throughout.

Significant themes

• Accountability and manipulation: Rainer is punished, but others distinguish between his misguided judgment and the person who manipulated him.
• Betrayal and reciprocity: Annan’s treatment of the Red Witch mirrors her own treachery.
• Atonement and second chances: The False Princess and Rainer are both offered ways forward, though neither is absolved.
• Truth versus idealization: Annan’s confession underscores how stories can reshape complicated lives into noble legends.

Key plot points and events

• Annan accidentally wakes the Crimson Princess, who has been dreaming. He explains that he told the False Princess the truth and argues that Count Turner should face consequences before being released for betraying the Stuart family.
• The Crimson Princess admits she never wanted her inherited Councilor seat; she kept it only to prevent it falling into hostile hands. Her reluctance helps explain why she has made little progress near Flower Capital.
• Annan proposes that she visit Flower Capital—not as part of an alliance, but as a guest invited by the Princess. Such a visit would be unprecedented and could give the Crimson Princess room to pursue her goals without binding her to the Southern Kingdoms.
• The Crimson Princess warms to the idea. Annan goes to the City Lord’s Mansion to arrange an invitation, presenting their meeting as having occurred earlier. The City Lord enthusiastically supports the plan and intensifies the investigation into those who framed the Princess.
• Annan insists that the imprisoned nobles answer for their role in the slander. The high-ranking noble who delivered the supposed “mysterious person’s letter” must tell the truth or pay the price, despite influential people pleading on his behalf.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan acts as the Crimson Princess’s protective, politically astute knight. He balances reassurance with blunt advice, and turns her personal hesitation into a practical diplomatic opportunity.
• The Crimson Princess shows vulnerability and naivety about politics, but also reveals that her Councilor role is a burden rather than an ambition. Annan’s proposal rekindles her enthusiasm.
• Their conversation is affectionate and trusting: she praises Annan as dependable, while he guides her without dismissing her feelings.
• Annan also cooperates with the City Lord, using his influence—and the Princess’s and Councilor’s authority—to ensure the framing plot is investigated.

Significant themes

• Power and obligation: The Crimson Princess holds a prestigious office she never wanted, yet feels responsible for keeping it from enemies.
• Diplomacy as opportunity: A symbolic visit can achieve what a formal alliance cannot, creating leverage while avoiding political entanglements.
• Justice and accountability: Annan distinguishes between ordinary punishment and the intolerable offense of slandering the Princess, and demands consequences for those responsible.
• Trust and storytelling: Annan’s partly fabricated account of his meeting with the Princess helps make the diplomatic invitation possible.

Key plot points and events

• The Crimson Princess’s visit to Flower Capital is politically significant: she is the second Vampire Clan councilor to visit the Southern Kingdoms, after the Vampire Queen, and has the support of the Princess. The City Lord takes charge of the preparations, seeing improved relations with the vampires as a lasting achievement.
• Annan reads the Voice of Freedom, which reports the Rikaner Kingdom’s worsening war with the Ratfolk. The paper also mocks Rikaner for its unwillingness to resist. Annan is pleased with Evelyn’s work, though Idelia has warned that Rikaner might retaliate against them.
• At the dungeon, Annan confronts imprisoned councilor Miland Farr. He suspects Miland helped Rikaner and, through it, the Ratfolk. Miland refuses to explain himself, apparently confident that his powerful family will secure his release.
• Annan warns that Miland’s alleged collusion now also looks like an attempt to sabotage the Crimson Princess’s visit—making the matter far more serious.
• Annan encounters a goblin king being tortured after his people were killed and his territory invaded. He acknowledges that the treatment is unjust, then offers the goblin a chance to challenge the world’s racial hierarchy. The goblin accepts his hand but doubts Annan’s sanity.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan is confident that Flower Capital’s powerful allies make retaliation less threatening. He uses political pressure to unsettle Miland, then reveals a sympathetic, reform-minded interest in the goblin king’s plight.
• Miland Farr remains silent and scornful, relying on his family’s influence, but Annan reframes his alleged actions as an attack on a high-profile vampire diplomatic visit.
• The goblin king shifts from protesting his people’s treatment to cautiously engaging with Annan’s offer, though he responds with blunt disbelief.
• Klein accompanies Annan to the dungeon and views a strategically placed building as a defensible position, highlighting his practical, security-focused outlook.

Significant themes

• Power and justice: The chapter stresses that the strong often dictate what counts as justice, as shown by Miland’s expected privilege and the goblins’ mistreatment.
• Political reputation and diplomacy: The Crimson Princess’s visit offers Flower Capital both prestige and leverage, while Miland’s alleged interference could carry serious consequences.
• Racial hierarchy and coexistence: Annan questions why different peoples must be ranked or kept apart, suggesting a broader challenge to the established order.
• Propaganda and resistance: The Voice of Freedom uses satire to criticize Rikaner’s conduct, showing how the press can shape political narratives.

Plot and key events

• Annan travels with a Goblin King he rescued, hoping to use him to make contact with goblins in the southern Swamplands and eventually secure Goblin Golems for Free City.
• The Goblin King’s former settlement—nearly ten thousand goblins—was destroyed by a small human cavalry squad. He admits he was not truly a king: he had become the group’s leader after getting lost and gathering goblins around him.
• The goblins are scattered, impoverished, and vulnerable. They lack a central leader, resent Ratfolk and Elves, and have struggled since the Year of Turmoil weakened peoples dependent on gods. The Goblin King agrees to introduce Annan to the Swamplands goblins, but needs Annan to fund the trip.
• Annan arranges lodging and travel expenses for him, and gives him his titles to share with the southern goblins, hoping they will turn to Free City rather than the Southern Kingdoms.
• Annan and Idelia discuss the “mysterious stranger” who sent Miland Farr a letter and knew about the False Princess. Miland confessed not because he feared Annan, but because he feared the City Lord’s influence and the consequences of opposing him.
• The Crimson Princess arrives, disgusted to find a goblin in the Attic. She accepts that he must stay briefly because Annan finds him useful. She says Lucy and Dracula will arrive that evening, and agrees to visit Flower Capital late that night; Annan promises to accompany her.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan remains pragmatic and politically ambitious: he sees the goblins’ potential, treats their leader respectfully despite his weakness, and funds his journey. He also tries the Magic Mirror for information about the stranger, but gets only a tautological answer.
• The Goblin King is eager to repay Annan and hopes for a human consort, but reveals prejudice against Kobolds and Ratfolk. Annan recognizes that the goblin’s outlook reflects the same dominance-seeking impulses he criticizes in humans.
• Idelia helps Annan assess the risks posed by the mysterious stranger and asks what else the stranger may know.
• The Crimson Princess shows strong revulsion toward goblins, contrasting with Annan’s more inclusive approach, but cooperates because the goblin is temporarily useful. Her anticipation of the Flower Capital visit suggests growing personal interest in Annan.

Significant themes

• Power and political leverage: Miland’s confession shows that influence and alliances—not merely personal strength—can compel people.
• Prejudice and hierarchy: Goblins are oppressed, yet the Goblin King looks down on other vulnerable peoples, revealing how domination can reproduce itself.
• Survival and interdependence: The goblins’ poverty and dependence on divine protection make them especially vulnerable, while Annan sees cooperation with Free City as a possible path forward.
• Uncertainty and hidden knowledge: The mysterious stranger’s knowledge of the False Princess leaves Annan and Idelia wary of what may still be concealed.

Plot points and events

• Annan, disguised as the Princess Knight, brings the Crimson Princess to the Flower Capital. The city’s residents greet her with unexpected enthusiasm, partly thanks to their familiarity with vampire stories.
• The Crimson Princess asks to remain in the city for a few more days. The Goblin chief explains that Goblins were once a great empire before divine punishment cursed them; it wants time to prepare gifts. Annan agrees and arranges for Olmedo’s knights to escort and monitor it.
• At a welcome banquet, Annan negotiates with the City Lord on behalf of the Crimson Castle. The City Lord agrees to recognize the castle and grant it land. The Crimson Princess asks for something far less political: the chance to watch a Magic Film.
• She leaves the banquet to watch The Mage Tower’s Fall, which she loves despite having seen it many times. Moved by the film, she demands that Annan make a film about vampires, even volunteering him to act while refusing to appear herself.
• Annan takes her sightseeing. At a jewelry shop, she is drawn to a large, blood-red gemstone and asks to have it. Though he initially resists, Annan agrees to arrange the purchase and sends her back to the carriage.

Character developments

• The Crimson Princess shows a playful, sheltered side beneath her fearsome reputation. She enjoys the city, films, and shopping, and seems unfamiliar with ordinary human life. Her response to the gemstone suggests it has a particular, possibly supernatural pull.
• Annan continues to act as her protector and intermediary, balancing practical concerns with compassion for her rare chance to enjoy herself.
• Dracula and Lucy support the goal of securing recognition for the Crimson Castle, while the False Princess remains present and observant.
• The Goblin chief reveals pride in its people’s ancient history and asks to delay its departure, prompting Annan to ensure its journey is supervised.

Significant themes

• Appearances versus reality: The celebrated “vampire menace” proves more interested in entertainment and ordinary pleasures than conquest.
• Power and diplomacy: Annan turns the visit into a chance to secure recognition and land for the Crimson Castle.
• Kindness and freedom: Annan’s indulgence of the Princess reflects sympathy for someone who has spent centuries fleeing and rarely gets to explore.
• Cultural memory and decline: The Goblins’ account of their former greatness contrasts their present status.

Character interactions

• Annan teases the Crimson Princess about her popularity; she playfully threatens to bite him.
• Annan negotiates with the City Lord while Dracula and Lucy help define the Crimson Castle’s modest aims.
• The Crimson Princess’s enthusiasm for films leads to a comic exchange with Annan about making and starring in a vampire movie.
• Annan tries to steer her away from the jewelry shop, but gives in when she becomes attached to the red gemstone.

Key plot points and events

• Annan negotiates with jeweler Pero over the Crimson Heart, a ruby Crimson Princess wants. Pero refuses to meaningfully lower its 670-gold price, so Annan offers Blood Pearls instead.
• Annan trades five rare Blood Pearls for the gemstone, despite knowing the pearls are worth more than the ruby. He gives the Crimson Heart to Crimson Princess, who feels it belongs to her.
• After Annan and Crimson Princess leave, the apparent Pero reveals himself as an impostor: the real jeweler is bound in a back room. The stranger says his business is finished, tells Pero he can seek help from Annan, and identifies himself as “a Bard who does it for the fun of it.”

Character developments and interactions

• Annan shows himself to be a sharp, persistent negotiator, using logic, the City Lord’s reputation, and the promise of publicity before settling on barter. Though he treats the deal lightly, he is generous toward Crimson Princess and offers the real Pero a possible refuge in his city.
• Crimson Princess is eager for the gemstone and responds to it with a sense of personal connection. Her quiet anticipation softens Annan’s resolve to walk away.
• Pero is shrewd and stubborn in business, but the revelation that he has been impersonated and secretly bound makes him a victim of the stranger’s scheme.
• The impostor, revealed as a shadowy Bard, is playful and unsettling. His casual treatment of Pero suggests he enjoys causing trouble and has motives beyond the apparent sale.
• The main interaction is Annan’s comic bargaining duel with Pero; the closing scene sharply shifts the tone by exposing the shop’s hidden danger.

Significant themes

• Value and meaning: Annan separates the gemstone’s sentimental appeal from its market price, while Crimson Princess’s response suggests it may hold significance beyond its cost.
• Negotiation and leverage: Annan and Pero each try different forms of persuasion, but barter ultimately resolves their standoff.
• Appearances and deception: The respectable shopkeeper is an impersonator, turning a lighthearted transaction into a sinister mystery.
• Generosity and consequence: Annan’s offer to help the real Pero may become important, even though the jeweler mistrusts him.

Key plot points and events

• During the Flower Capital Festival, the City Lord promotes cooperation with the Crimson Princess, using the historic claim that a vampire progenitor once offered humanity goodwill. The Princess and Crimson Princess’s meeting draws public attention, while officials also track opposition to the initiative.
• Annan uses the festival and the success of his Magic Film Theater to make agreements with nobles: they provide land, and he contributes tax revenue. Though some try to compete with him, they soon seek partnerships instead.
• Annan refuses to ban merchants’ cheap, unauthorized film screenings. He argues that affordable access can build goodwill among poorer audiences and spread Wilhelm’s language and culture.
• In the Garden Cottage, the Crimson Princess discovers that the Crimson Heart is the Seal of Victor Morel, an ancient vampire progenitor. As she draws power from it, the ruby is fading—and Victor warns that its disappearance would kill him.
• Victor recognizes the Crimson Princess’s mother, Selenao, and asks what has happened since he was sealed. She tells him about her expulsion from the Blood Council and her time in the Flower Capital.
• Victor notices her affection for Annan and tells her to give him the First Embrace. When she says Annan already received it, Victor insists Annan is still human and advises testing him in sunlight. He also reveals that Catherina—the God of Love—is the vampires’ progenitor.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan shows strategic business sense: he turns political support and theater profits into expansion deals, while treating cheap screenings as a way to build popular loyalty.
• The Crimson Princess remains awkward in formal politics but is curious and candid in private. She grows attached to Annan, though she denies it, and is startled by Victor’s claims about him.
• Victor Morel shifts from a voice trapped in a fading Seal to a source of ancient knowledge. His reunion with the world begins through his conversations with the Crimson Princess.
• Lucy identifies Victor as a First-Generation Blood Councilor and explains that he vanished roughly a thousand years ago.
• The Crimson Princess and Victor form an unusual bond: she feeds on the Seal that sustains him, then listens as he questions her about vampire history and her relationship with Annan.

Significant themes

• Cultural influence and soft power: Annan sees films as a way to shape loyalties and cultural familiarity, not merely earn money.
• Pragmatism and public goodwill: He accepts competition and lower-cost access when it serves his broader aims.
• History resurfacing: Victor’s survival connects present events to forgotten vampire history and challenges what the Crimson Princess believes about her own world.
• Identity and trust: Victor’s claim that Annan is human—and the proposed sunlight test—casts uncertainty over Annan’s nature and the Crimson Princess’s understanding of him.

Plot points

• Rainer leaves to pursue his teacher’s final wish: finding the Sovereign. Annan learns that Lily has also left, seeking purpose.
• Annan visits the Dungeon, where the Red Witch refuses his offer to be released in exchange for becoming a law-abiding citizen and helping Free City’s maritime trade.
• The Crimson Princess discovers Annan is human when she sees him standing in sunlight. Annan admits that Dracula mistook him for a vampire and explains how he maintained the deception, including his role as an Envoy and his mission to Strange Tales City.
• The Princess is devastated by the lie and orders Annan away. Lucy asks him to leave, and the Princess’s party departs the Garden Cottage without him.
• Annan arranges for Knights to escort the party and promises to deliver the deed to the Crimson Castle later. Rather than follow immediately, he plans to visit the Goblins in the southern Swamplands and retrieve the Oddities.
• In the departing carriage, the Princess questions the presence sealed in the Crimson Heart. It identifies itself as Victor Morel, a founder of the Blood Council, and offers knowledge and wealth. The Princess rejects its help, but Victor asks whether she wants to awaken her mother.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan chooses honesty at last, despite knowing the truth may cost him the Princess’s trust. He accepts her decision to leave and tries to protect her by arranging an escort.
• The Crimson Princess reveals that betrayal—not hatred of humans—is what wounds her most. Lucy explains that she was deceived by a terrible lie for nearly a century, making Annan’s concealment especially painful.
• Lucy is torn between her loyalty to the Princess and her feelings about Annan; when the Princess calls out in distress, Lucy’s manner turns firm and she sends him away.
• Dracula hesitates before leaving with the Princess, while the Goblin chief mocks Annan over the rupture.
• Rainer sets out independently in pursuit of the Sovereign.

Significant themes

• Truth and deception: Annan’s long-kept disguise collapses, showing that a lie meant for survival can still destroy trust.
• Trust and old wounds: The Princess’s reaction is shaped by a century of deception, not simply by Annan’s humanity.
• Separation and choice: Annan respects the Princess’s need for distance, while both he and Rainer embark on separate paths.
• Temptation and unresolved grief: Victor’s offer of help—and his question about the Princess’s mother—introduces a potentially powerful but emotionally charged temptation.

Key plot points and events

• Annan’s Southlands mission achieved its original aims, but his conflict with the Crimson Princess left him troubled. He wonders who revealed the answer that prompted her to test him, though Count Turner appears to know nothing about it.
• Annan decides to leave the Flower Capital early. He takes Count Turner out of the Dungeon in public, then secretly portals him to Free City to avoid drawing attention to the vampire in the Swamplands.
• Before departing, Annan says goodbye to the City Lord and asks him to contact Steelton Fief. He also brings Idelia back to Free City for safety, while the Princess must remain with him.
• Annan gathers his companions and supplies, including a branch of the Otherworld Tree. At the Skeleton King’s territory, he feeds the branch Oddity fragments and leaves it in the Skeleton King’s care.
• Madam Puppet joins the party, apparently hoping to repay Annan for helping her find her people.
• Near the Swamplands, Annan hires a local Ranger as a guide. The Ranger warns him that goblins are widely distrusted; the goblin chief reacts angrily, while Dole stays composed. Annan negotiates the guide’s fee down to ten Silver Coins a day.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan remains practical and cautious, managing political risks while preparing for the dangers ahead. His strange mental image of the Crimson Princess accusing him of betrayal suggests her confrontation still weighs on him.
• Idelia urges him to pursue the Crimson Princess, but Annan prefers to give her time. She also explains that sunlight seems to help the Otherworld Tree branch grow.
• Count Turner is released from the Dungeon but sent away discreetly, as Annan does not want a vampire attracting attention in the marshes.
• The Red Witch pleads to leave her confinement by claiming they are companions; Annan rejects her because she betrayed him.
• Dole has become more human in manner after years with Annan, and the goblin chief envies his coat. Annan promises one only if the chief behaves.
• The Ranger is wary of goblins and bluntly challenges Annan’s intentions. Annan listens to the warning but hires him for his local knowledge.

Significant themes

• Trust and betrayal: Annan’s strained relationship with the Crimson Princess and his rejection of the Red Witch show how betrayal shapes his choices.
• Practical leadership: Annan balances loyalty and compassion with caution, protecting companions and minimizing unwanted attention.
• Prejudice and belonging: The Ranger’s distrust of goblins highlights their widespread exclusion, while Dole’s composure contrasts with the chief’s anger.
• A new journey: The party’s departure marks a shift from political maneuvering in the Flower Capital to the uncertain, dangerous expedition into the Swamplands.