As the roar of the engines began to fade, Mar-Vell's spaceship took off.
"So... this Dracula Vlad guy, could he really be the Vlad the Impaler from history?" Peggy Carter couldn't help but ask as she watched the ship disappear into the distance.
If it was the old Peggy Carter, she might not have thought much of it when she first heard Dracula's name.
But now? After seeing super-soldiers, hidden nations like Wakanda, aliens... and even doing things with one? It was hard not to let her imagination run wild.
"That's right, he's exactly who you're thinking of," Josh nodded, directly confirming it.
Since Dracula had already left, there was no need to hide the truth.
"So... he's really a vampire?" Peggy's eyes widened. "But don't vampires fear sunlight?"
"Ordinary ones, sure," Josh chuckled. "But he's not an ordinary vampire. The usual ways of dealing with them don't work on him at all."
"Then... he's not going to do anything to Mar-Vell, is he?" Peggy asked, a little concerned.
"Haha, don't worry," Josh reassured her with a pat on the shoulder. "The so-called 'Progenitor of the Vampires' is not as ruthless as the legends make him out to be. He promised he wouldn't harm my friends—including Mar-Vell. And frankly, with his powers, if he really wanted to cause trouble, there's nothing we could do to stop him. Unless we somehow got our hands on a nuke, and even then, our chances of taking him down would be slim."
In the mirror dimension, the Ancient One, who had been secretly monitoring Dracula, was about to return to Kamar-Taj after confirming his departure from Earth. But when she heard Josh's words, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
Dracula isn't ruthless? Who gave you that idea?
She couldn't help but remember the gruesome sight of tens of thousands of Ottoman soldiers impaled on stakes centuries ago.
Shaking her head, she decided not to dwell on it. Instead, she returned to Kamar-Taj and made herself a cup of tea.
This peaceful life... it's nice...
But before she could even take a sip, she sensed a disturbance beyond the dimensional barrier formed by the three Sanctums.
"Sigh... More overtime. Can't these guys ever take a break?"
With a tired sigh, the Ancient One disappeared once more.
-
Meanwhile, Josh and Peggy boarded a helicopter to return to Neuschwanstein Castle.
As the helicopter flew past Hohenschwangau Castle, Peggy caught something out of the corner of her eye—a blindfolded fool playing hide-and-seek with five curvy women in revealing outfits.
"When did he get here?" she asked in a disgusted tone, recognizing the man as Howard Stark.
Since she had been in Vienna with Mar-Vell for the past three days, she hadn't known that Howard had arrived in Schwangau. (TL/N: Schwangau is the name of town where the castle is)
"Two days ago," Josh replied, even though his eyesight wasn't as sharp as Peggy's, he knew exactly who she was talking about.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little bitter inside.
Because he knew that the women playing with Howard weren't just any women—they were Dracula's so-called vampire brides.
Dracula had even personally brought them to Neuschwanstein Castle to introduce them to Josh.
But faced with such vulgar temptation, Josh had firmly rejected them on the spot.
Seriously, Dracula, you old monster... you knew my wife and child were here and you still pulled this stunt?
And right before his wedding, no less.
However, his "righteousness" that night had earned him the most tender and affectionate treatment from his lover.
Margaret, who came from a wealthy background, was well aware of the dirty secrets of high society. Even if Josh had done something behind her back, she would have pretended not to know.
But over the years, Josh had always been incredibly self-disciplined, which had earned him an excellent reputation in high society.
This touched Margaret deeply, and as a result, their relationship had never been in trouble.
After Mar-Vell and Dracula left Earth, Josh's life returned to its usual peace.
As his wedding day approached, more and more guests arrived in Schwangau, turning the once quiet town into a lively and bustling place.
Luckily, Josh had made thorough preparations. With the Austrian authorities cooperating and Howard Stark too exhausted from vampire brides to cause trouble, the town remained peaceful in the days leading up to the wedding. Aside from a few reckless thieves who unwittingly became fertilizer, nothing major happened.
Beyond Schwangau, the world continued to be shaped by the intensifying Cold War and independence movements in various British and French colonies, but nothing that required Josh's immediate attention.
However, his peaceful days were soon interrupted by the arrival of Karl Renner and several high-ranking officials from Austria and Ouroboros.
"What? Reorganize the country into a United Kingdom? Make me king? What the hell are you thinking?" Josh stared at Karl Renner and the overly enthusiastic Peter II in disbelief.
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