Overlord: Start from the Goblin Lair.

Chapter 323 No Problem, or No Discovery

In the following days, Ron and his companions really lived here "like an earl". The broken and stitched-up body did not affect the professionalism of butler Alfred at all, and other residents in the territory also tried their best to meet the needs of Ron and others.

Since most undead creatures do not have an urgent need for blood, the wild animals nearby are all fat and strong. When Ron's team needs food, they can quickly get plenty of meat.

The only pity was that Sylvia was often missing because she had to prepare for the succession ceremony, and was unable to spend this time with everyone. After all, Count von Richthofen had to perform not only secular ceremonies but also magical sacrifices, and Sylvia had to help.

In order to ensure the safety of their companions, Ron, Victoria and Yelena also participated in the planning. They all knew some rituals and spells and could help. Fortunately, the count did not seem to have any intention of hiding anything. Instead, he was very happy to have someone to help. However, the ceremony had to be performed on a full moon, so even if the preparations were basically completed, the ceremony could not be held in advance.

"I've become a night owl these days," Victoria yawned as she walked out of her room at dusk on the seventh day. She didn't have any dark circles under her eyes, but she was obviously not in good spirits. "But for Sylvia, it's all worth it."

"You've adapted to this kind of life so well," the priest said, looking at Ron, who had gone out at about the same time but had actually woken up a long time ago. "I heard from Driver that you seemed to have 'fallen from the sky'? Did you often have to deal with jet lag before?"

Ron didn't reveal much about his past life to his companions, except that he was a herbalist. But since he had never been exposed to magic before, everyone thought that Ron's main working hours should have been during the day.

"Have you heard of the followers of Gond? They are all inventors with ingenious ideas," Ron said casually, "I also had some gadgets similar to theirs before, which allowed me to...hmm at night."

For someone like him, it is normal to reverse day and night, but it is not entirely for work and study.

"It seems that you were able to stay awake while helping Sylvia, unlike Victoria," Quest said with a grin. He had been elusive recently, but for some reason he suddenly showed up outside of dinner time today. "Remember the night before last? You worked until almost dawn, and when Victoria came back she slept on the stairs!"

"I was just taking a nap—"

"You mean sleeping with your head down?"

"But speaking of this, Ron," Quest looked around and made sure that the butler who moved quietly was not nearby. He then restrained his smile and asked in a low voice, "You have been helping every day for the past week. Have you found anything unusual?"

"Yelena doesn't know much about the rituals of the vampires, but I remember you have a pile of theoretical books on the subject. I think you can figure out something?"

"Enchantment and ritual magic do overlap, but they are still different," Ron said, choosing his words. "Let me put it this way: I didn't find anything unusual."

"The Earl himself was actually just copying someone else's instructions. He had never held a similar ceremony before, so all operations were carried out according to the records in a magic book. As his helper and a guest of equal status, I naturally had reason to observe."

"There is no problem with the content, whether in theory or calculation. It is all above board. The energy source for Sylvia's blood conversion comes from the Earl himself. There is nothing against the law." Ron was originally struggling with what to do if the ritual required thousands of vampire offspring, but after a week, he was almost certain that this would not happen.

Besides, this is not Baldur's Gate. Even if the Earl wanted to, he would have nowhere to find so many derivatives.

"But I still don't understand," Quest rubbed his chin, "Vampires have almost eternal life, which makes these guys usually have an almost perverted desire for power - why would he suddenly want to find someone to inherit the family business?"

"According to him..."

"I know, I know," Quest interrupted Ron. "He talked about this issue more than once at the dinner: 'My beloved wife and daughter chose to sacrifice themselves in order to let me live, but this kind of eternal life is too painful. I want to end it all, but my subjects still have attachment to the world. As a lord, I can't just leave like this.' But don't you think it's a problem? He seems to really care about his subjects?"

"Except for you, I have never seen a lord with such sentiments. At most, they are just worried that their territory will not produce enough or their status will not be maintained due to the difficult life of their people... But even if both parties have been dead for hundreds of years, he still wants to fulfill his responsibilities?!"

"I admire people like this," Victoria said. "Do you suspect he has other intentions? Do you have any evidence?"

"That's the problem. No," Quest spread his hands, "but my intuition tells me that something is wrong here. Very wrong!"

"Especially that Alfred," Quest confirmed again that the butler was not nearby. "I have been wandering around the castle these past two days, and he almost never came out to stop me. But once I reached the stairs to the attic, he would come to me with all sorts of excuses and send me away!"

"What on earth is in the attic?"

"Although this is your professional habit, it's not good to sniff around in other people's homes, right?" Ivy, who had already changed into pajamas, was about to go back to her room to sleep. She was in a completely different world from the others these days. "Ron, do you still remember Constance's adoptive father's house? Nobles and wealthy businessmen like this all have their own little secrets. We'd better not pay too much attention to them."

"Isn't Sylvia fine? What's there to worry about?"

"That's what we're worried about," Ron thought for a moment, and suddenly an idea occurred to him, "Where's that kid Driver? Where has he been these days?"

A white mouse jumped down from the decoration above the corridor. It seemed to have been squatting here for a long time, and it was actively controlled by Driver. The white mouse raised its head and squeaked at everyone, signaling them to leave and talk somewhere else.

(End of this chapter)