Upon hearing the gunshot Vlad ran as fast as he could to the scene with his trusty P-22 which his family got as a gift from the german crown to help protect their members much good it did against a rebellion though.
Before Vlad could get there, there were multiple more gunshots.
When Vlad finally got onto the scene there were multiple of his house guards aiming their muskets at a man wielding a smoking pistol in front of a corpse.
Vlad recognized the dead body as the court's doctor and the man with the pistol being a lord Deborah, but something seemed wrong when Dracula looked deeper into the scene.
Vlad didn't notice the multiple armed guards following him or the German-style salutes.
He only looked at the panicked lord Deborah, that kept scanning an open window that noticeably upon closer inspection had a bullet hole through it.
"You know you could have called the guards instead of putting a hole through my abode," Vlad said to the tall but burly man who had dropped his pistol at this point.
"They wouldn't have arrived on time, sire." Lord Deborah politely responded.
"Who was the perpetrator?" Vlad asked with a stern expression looking out the window but not spotting anything unusual.
"I would like to know that myself milord, but they had their face covered." The giant Wallachian said in response to his lord's questioning.
The guards were confused about the conversation, but they eventually started to piece the puzzle together through the clues.
There were multiple gunshots so it wouldn't make sense for an unarmed man laying on his stomach to have fired any of those shots.
Then there was a fact there was a mini ball projectile lodged through the corpse's heart pushed back to view by the dead man's weight.
Not only was the corpse facing the wrong way but the ammunition was clearly different than that used in the Wallachian lords modified early Austrian cavalry rifle.
The gun he had didn't use the outdated mini-balls but German bullets instead, so multiple valid points proved Deborah's innocents in this matter.
Vlad decided to take the only choice he can think of in this situation. "Double the patrols, shoot anyone who hides their face in the castle on sight, take no chances.
If they have a rear officer service pistol arrest them immediately, don't be shy to cripple them, afterward take them to the interrogation chamber.
Every man, child, and woman should have guards on them 24/7 with no room to escape the castle. If they try you know what to do.
Find the assailant as fast as possible, leave no chance and use your brains whoever it is they are a tricky one they just had a slip-up here."
Vlad left to his chambers which door he remembered that he left open was now closed.
"....Did I overestimate the assailant?" Vlad whispered to himself and ordered his guards to breach and clear the room.
After ten minutes from the gunshot, the murder was found hiding in the Voivodes chambers being captured by his guards and getting tortured for intel.
The investigation lead to Vlad finding out that the bafoon was a relative to a rebel and wanted revenge for his death, Dracula hung the man with his entrails personally after he was insulted.
The Voivode didn't take that shit and the rest of the world soon found out shortly after when the rest of the remaining rebels that the jest of an assassin ratted out met his same fate publicly.
Vlad sighed to himself and sat down on his seat of power, he was covered in blood that he didn't bother to wipe off he was too worried about the implication of a letter arriving from Germany shortly after the war with Hungary had begun.
'Dear Vlad Dracula III of Wallachia
The German Empire and Kufstein crown would like to celebrate the seventh prince coming of age at a ball held in the Kufstein estate all noblemen and women of good standing have been invited to celebrate this occasion, along with the celebration marriage of the said prince and his new princess, there will be a special gift for all attendees and a free train ride.
The event starts in a month we expect to see you there and join the festivities.
Sincerely Baron Gesegnet ' Vlad read the letter in his mind and felt the Dread in his heart increase after each line.
Vlad in his past life as Falken and before he became Vlad, the original Vlad, all hated formal events. The worst part about it is he as a leader of a small nation amid war had no choice but to attend these useless frivolities or he'd face the ear of the whole German Empire.
All Vlad cared about was efficiency which is one of the few reasons he didn't just immediately call it quits in this life he had options, things to do, and the ability to implement an efficient society.
Vlad was like a machine, he had flaws, but all beings do. He was efficient, ruthless, and an advocate for pride in the work you do.
Unluckily for many people, Vlad found pride in the art of bloodshed and he became well known for spilling far more blood than necessary.
====================================
A few days after the death of the Wallachian court's doctor Vlad had to search for a new one.
It was more troublesome the Dracula would admit though, there were many frauds, novice botanists, witch doctors, insane philosophers, and 'divine' healers which were all thrown out especially the latter since the court already had a man from the German Church.
Hours went by with almost no progress being made. Then an eccentric man about four foot eight (4'8) came before Vlad with what looked like to be a nightdress.
"Why is there an ugly dwarf in his nightgown standing in my throne room?" Vlad asked the captain of his guards.
The captain had to hold back a laugh at his lord's supposed jest before shaking his head not owing how to respond to the question.
Vlad gave the man an understanding look, how the hell would a guard understand something even his lord didn't know? He couldn't.
"Can you explain to me yourself why you are here then...dwarf?" Vlad asked genuinely confused on how to address the short strangely dressed man.
"I am Fava milord, a renowned mag-" Fava began to explain but was interrupted by the boisterous laugh of all the guards and lords.
Magic has long been seen as a fake practice even before the scientific community took prominence over the development of nations.
Now, this tiny man boasts to be a mage, a wielder of the arcane arts?! What a joke.
After Germany crushed most of the catholic world all the superstitions they built had been woefully eliminated and by now magic has been long ago confirmed a fantasy.
The little man was outraged and began to 'cast' magic through an incantation 'cursing' Vlad who got a good laugh at Fava's display offering him the position of court jester which the men promptly took offense to and denied.
Promptly after denying the Voivodes offer Vlad pulled out his P-22 and emptied its full clip into Fava. If he took the position as jester Vlad would have just seen he's little curse as a jest.
Sadly for the fool, he wasn't wise enough to understand the depths of Vlads offer ending in the man's death with a priceless look on his face that was immortalized in an art piece that the Voivode found hilarious to look at in his latter years.
Vlad would always be cruel to those he didn't like and had never not gotten a kick out of their misery after all in his mind they damn well deserved it. It was simply natural selection to Vlad.
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ITS 3 AM •∆•
I'm going to need coffee for the morning ~°∆°~
Anyway it got late I couldn't get to sleep thanks to a thing I like to call...not enough brain damage or insomnia take your pick.
Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chap and join the discord I need critique π∆π
Discord Link: https://discord.gg/Ag9jS7GSDh
I would also like to endorse a friend of mine a bit. I'm working ,practical done with, a discord for him and his novel "Reclaim Glory" which you can read free on webnovles or go to his patron and get all kinds of cool benefits while also keeping chapters free for people on this platform among other personal gains.
[P.S he doesn't know that I'm sending you over there make it a surprise, yeah? °∆^]