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The second egg hatched thirty minutes after the first one.
Keeeh~ Keeh~
The two griffon cubs wiggled pleasantly in Princess Lilisain’s arms. It appeared that the two creatures had recognized Princess Lilisain as their mother. They followed her wherever she went, and they even fell asleep right by her side.
Chomp!
“It’s a relief that you are not a picky eater. Eat lots,” Princess Lilisain muttered with a bright smile while dropping something into the beaks of the griffon cubs one by one.
‘Even if they aren’t picky, giving them poisonous snakes is a bit…’
‘Shhh. The princess has been up since dawn catching them.’
It was a truly bizarre sight to see an elf princess feeding monster cubs poisonous snakes. It was an incredulous situation, but the person in question was Princess Lilisain. As such, the elven knights seemed to have given up. Besides, as she had said, the young griffon cubs were rather cute as well.
However, not everyone considered the griffon cubs to be adorable.
“Useless little gluttons… Those puny, ungrateful birdbrains…” Mirian muttered angrily on Eugene’s shoulder.
Eugene clicked his tongue. “Why are you so angry? They are only newborns, after all.”
“Kieeek! The two of them took turns gulping me down! Kieeehnng! What sins did I commit in my past life to deserve that?! It was bad enough that I had to get inside a sea monster’s asshole, but now, the beaks of those bird heads…” Mirian complained. The spirit still hadn’t come to her senses after almost being devoured by the firstborn. Rather, she had attempted to ‘educate’ the second of the griffons but ended up almost being devoured yet again. Since then, she kept her distance from the griffon cubs and continued bad-mouthing them while using Eugene as a shield.
“Sir, sir. Look at their beaks. It’s yellow. That’s not good…” Mirian pointed out.
Eugene responded, “You mean their roots, not their beaks.[1] Their beaks are supposed to be yellow.”
“Whatever! Anyway, just give them to Gal and the raccoon. Look, he doesn’t like them either,” Mirian said while pointing at Silion.
Neiiigh…
Silion cried softly as if it had understood the spirit’s words. It was only natural because horses were one of the griffons’ favorite foods. In addition, Silion had also experienced having to desperately flee from griffons as bait in the past. Perhaps, that was why Silion didn’t even spare a glance at the griffon cubs.
“Hmm…”
“Moreover, although those little bastards like the princess knight, they don’t like you, right? As far as I can tell, you won’t get to ride them,” Mirian continued.
Eugene answered, “I don’t think that’s the case.”
Eugene didn’t think the griffon cubs hated him. They definitely considered Princess Lilisain to be their guardian and relied on her, but in his case…
“I don’t think they hate me. They just seem to be scared.”
Whenever Princess Lilisain reached out, the griffon cubs would extend their necks and rub themselves against her. However, whenever he tried to touch them, they would simply freeze and look at him with fearful gazes.
“The ones they hate are the other knights. They don’t even let anyone touch them, right?” Eugene said. The griffon cubs only allowed the touch of Princess Lilisain and himself. Whenever the other elven knights approached them, they would peck those knights without mercy.
“Kieeeeek! That’s even worse! Why are they trying to eat me then? Do they think I’m a weakling?!” Mirian screamed. Her pride was hurt. Just as she said, it seemed that the griffon cubs hated the elves, and they only regarded Mirian as food.
“This won’t do. We have to find a solution. They’re like this already, so what’s going to happen when they get bigger? Kieeeehh!” The spirit fell into contemplation while biting her nails. She desperately wanted to discipline the griffons as their senior, but she had no idea how to do it.
However, Eugene wasn’t worried at all. The griffon cubs were extremely afraid of him, and he didn’t think that would change even when they grew bigger.
‘And if it seems like they’re going to cause trouble when they’re bigger…’
They were still nothing but monsters.
Eugene stared at the griffon cubs with dreary eyes. As soon as the yellow eyes of the griffons met his gaze, they immediately froze and dropped their beaks. Anyone could tell that they were helpless against Eugene.
‘They’re small, but they’re quick-witted. Good.’
The griffons would obviously still react the same way even when they matured. Eugene was satisfied knowing that.
In truth, however, the griffons didn’t react as such because they were quick-witted. Originally, griffons lived in groups of at least four to five and up to dozens. And regardless of species, there would always be a ‘leader’ in a group. In other words, the griffon cubs sensed the Origin’s Fear from the moment they escaped their eggs, so they recognized Eugene as an absolute being and the leader of their pack. Therefore, over time, they would come to recognize Eugene’s steed Silion and his spirit Mirian as a member of their group. But for now, they considered Mirian their prey because she was small, and they still hadn’t been taught to live in herds.
“I’m going to show them one day! Just wait, you bird heads!” the spirit exclaimed from deep within Eugene’s clothes, then quickly buried herself into her leather pocket. It was truly an ugly, cowardly sight.
‘It will cost a lot to feed them… Well, it’ll work itself out somehow.’
Obviously, these griffons would eat more and more as they grew, though they were simply feeding on small animals like snakes for now. However, Eugene was much too wealthy to be worried about feeding a mere two monsters, and he could also simply feed other monsters to the griffons. Rather, it was highly likely that the griffons would prove more than their worth in the upcoming war against monsters.
‘Good. I’ll feed them without sparing anything and make them grow as quickly as possible.’
Eugene looked over the griffon cubs once again with a different type of gaze, and the creatures once again trembled as a chill ran down their backs.
***
Unstoppable—one word was sufficient to describe the momentum of Eugene’s group as they roamed the dukedom. As veteran monster hunters, the elves and Eugene cleared the monsters at a pace comparable to hundreds of mercenaries. The elves continued their hunt without suffering a single injury, as they knew almost all the traits and characteristics of numerous monsters, and they were also capable of roaming through mountains and deep forests unhindered. Moreover, the elves simply hunted those easily spotted or those that initiated an attack against them. Eland had waged war with monsters from a long time ago, and the elves knew how to completely eradicate monsters by following them to their caves and nests. Even Princess Lilisain couldn’t count the exact number of monsters they had killed in the Dukedom of Maren in the span of a month.
Christian had also played a crucial role. After departing under Eugene’s orders, Christian blocked all the corridors leading out of the evil lands within the Dukedom of Maren, and he even disposed of monsters in their vicinity. In the end, the monsters in the dukedom returned to their original numbers a month after Eugene left Maren. Eugene wanted to uproot the monsters for good, but he decided to follow Juseppel’s advice and leave some alive for the sake of maintaining the food chain.
After killing nearly 2,000 monsters in a month, Eugene earned a huge amount of by-products and nearly 1,000 mana stones. He had achieved a huge profit comparable to subjugating more than ten evil lands.
And that wasn’t the end of it…
Eugene wasn’t a regular knight, but rather the ‘King’ of Maren. The supreme leader of the Dukedom had personally roamed his territory and resolved the growing threat of monsters. The lords of the territories couldn’t repay his favor with simple gratitude.
As such, everyone fought to send Eugene gifts. Some sent boxes full of gold and silver, while others sent dozens of slaves and precious equipment…
However, there were some who sent gifts that Eugene had never even imagined.
“I-I would like to serve Your Majesty.”
“I will dedicate my body and my heart to serve you, Your Majesty!”
“…” Eugene was slightly taken back to see the children of noble families with numerous servants and slaves. They only had to send a reasonable amount of money, so why had they sent the direct descendants of their families? Moreover, although everyone talked of loyalty and honor, it was obvious from the fear on their faces that they considered themselves ‘hostages.’
Indeed, the lords hadn’t regarded Eugene’s activity as a king’s unblemished will to eradicate the monsters of his territory. Since they had served under the royal family and powerful lords for many years, they assumed it to be the new king’s show of force. Otherwise, there was no reason for the new king, who was already famous for his skills and power, to travel around the dukedom and personally wield his weapons at such a sensitive time.
Naturally, the nobles were frightened by his actions, and they sent their sons, daughters, and even nephews and nieces to Eugene as hostages. If they feigned ignorance, it was entirely possible that the king would come to them personally. By then, how would they deal with the consequences?
However, not all the lords made the same decision.
There would always be defiant souls, and in this particular case, the ‘defiant soul’ possessed a poor relationship with Eugene from the get-go. Indeed, the only lord who hadn’t sent anything to Eugene was Baron Bommel—the same man who had caused a territorial dispute with the Fairchild Viscounty and was humiliated and forced to negotiate after having his eldest son and nephew taken hostage by Eugene.
‘How strange. I’m sure I taught them a proper lesson back then.’
As such, it was only natural for them to be even more frightened than the others, but Baron Bommel still abstained from sending anything. Of course, he had no obligation to send Eugene anything, whether it was wealth or a hostage. Eugene himself also didn’t think it was absolute to receive something from the lords.
However, the heart of a man was simple. Eugene couldn’t help but give attention to the only lord who abstained from sending anything. However, it was unknown whether the attention was good or bad.
‘Is there something going on? Is the territory in danger because of the monsters?’
Such was the thought of Duke Jan Eugene Batla as the responsible King of Maren…
‘Those bastards. Didn’t they learn their lesson last time? Did I go too easy on them? Do they think I’m a pushover?’
And such was the thought of Eugene, the insidious vampire…
Either way, Eugene had no choice but to make a decision.
“I will head to the Bommel territory.”
The group of over fifty headed for the Bommel territory. They were now accompanied by four carts filled to the brim with gold, silver, and treasures, as well as the sons and daughters of the various lords of the dukedom.
***
“It’s not too late, uncle. We must send something to the king, whether it’s money or a hostage. At the least, we could have Sir Franz participate in the coronation ceremony, and—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Baron Bommel rejected the plea of his nephew Pascal. Baron Bommel’s anger only grew every time he heard of Jan Eugene’s great success and achievements. However, that wasn’t really the problem. He could live just fine even if he were angered. Although he felt repulsed by Jan Eugene, they would never interact ever again. However, the one responsible for humiliating him had become the King of Maren. Moreover, the man had dared to include his own territory in the dukedom’s land.
‘How dare you?!’
The Bommel territory had been handed down for many generations. He may have no loyalty to the royal family of Caylor, but his title was originally bestowed by the royal family. As such, how could he betray the royal family, let alone serve the greenhorn who humiliated him back then?
“Impossible! Never!” Lord Bommel raged.
“Uncle! Please reconsider! Have you forgotten about the king’s strength? What’s more, there are countless knights following him,” Pascal pleaded.
“Hngh.” Baron Bommel was shaken by Pascal’s warning. He knew in his mind that his nephew was correct, and it was right to follow Pascal’s advice. However, his heart did not allow him to do so.
Not all lords were rational and smart. Moreover, Baron Bommel was an emotional man who had started a territorial dispute with the Fairchild family simply because of his greed.
“It’s impossible. That man can’t just invade this territory,” Baron Bommel declared. Eugene’s own coronation ceremony and the founding of the dukedom were just around the corner. Invading a territory within the dukedom and causing conflict with a lord at such a time—such behavior would only reveal the dukedom’s instability to the public. A proper monarch would never do such a thing.
“However, uncle—”
“Haven’t you heard? The strange rumor regarding that man.” Baron Bommel interrupted.
“…!” Pascal flinched after seeing Baron Bommel’s mysterious smile.
Jan Eugene…
Pascal still vividly remembered how the knight had taken him hostage and dragged him around with unbelievable power and skills. Pascal had simply considered Eugene to be a knight with incredible power and skills, but he had changed his mind after hearing the ‘rumors’ his uncle had mentioned.
- Jan Eugene is an evil member of the Tribe of Darkness.
Everything would make perfect sense if Eugene were a vampire. Furthermore, nothing more had to be said if Eugene was a high-ranking vampire capable of being active during the day.
“But uncle, nothing changes even if he is a member of the Dark Clan. No, rather, wouldn’t we be facing an even greater, cruel ordeal if that were true?” Pascal said.
“Haha! My nephew, you know one thing but not the other,” Baron Bommel burst out laughing before speaking confidently, “I heard that there are quite a few vampire nobles living across the sea, in Brantia. However, the lords and nobles there aren’t very afraid of vampires. Do you know why that is?”
“…?”
“It’s because god is fair and has imposed a restriction on those evil creatures,” Baron Bommel continued.
“Restriction… Are you talking about their weakness against sunlight and pure silver?” Pascal asked.
“Hmph! That’s basic. They have another weakness. The biggest weakness of the evil clan and the reason they can’t easily invade other cities or territories. You and I have already experienced it, though we didn’t realize it at the time because we didn’t know his true identity,” Baron Bommel said.
“I-is there such a thing? What could you be…?” Pascal muttered.
Baron Bommel confidently said, “It is the fact that vampires cannot enter a castle or an establishment without the permission of the owner.”
1. A reference to a saying in Korean. The exact saying would be that the “seeds are yellow”, which basically means that something’s already wrong from the beginning / that the griffons were no-good since birth. ☜