A direct descendant—it referred to the 10 children of the progenitor Beriache, and as owners of a lineage of purity and integrity, they were called nobles and reigned over the vampires. It was the Blood King who was qualified to lead such a direct line. There was only one condition to becoming the Blood King—by force. 

Unlike the direct descendants, it wasn’t based on lineage. The strongest being who defeated the direct descendants would be qualified to be the Blood King, regardless of lineage. 

Braham once explained the reason why—“There is no future for the vampires as long as there is the Curse of Sloth. My mother knew this as well so she made rules for outsiders.” 

The reason that the rule gave outsiders the chance to become the Blood King was simple—the vampires couldn’t move forward with just their own power. As long as there was the Curse of Sloth, the vampires couldn’t try hard and couldn’t develop. Since they couldn’t develop, they didn’t have the strength to defeat great demons. Vampires alone couldn’t achieve Beriache’s wish. Of course, the story would be different if Marie Rose became the Blood King, but Beriache didn’t have confidence that Marie Rose could overcome the Curse of Sloth, so she made sure there was insurance. 

[The condition...