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“Everything… I only did as I was told by that man! I just did what he told me to! Kihee! Kihehehe!” Maverick’s frightened appearance disappeared, and he started screaming and laughing in a strange manner. He broke free from Partec and Breen, who had been holding him in place, then started talking like a madman.
“T-to think that I tried to kill that man! Yes… Because of the request I received from Bertel Tywin, I tried to… Hiek! What did I even try to do?! Uhu, uhuhuhu!” After confessing his sins, Maverick suddenly began to cry with his hands wrapped around his head.
Camara and the mercenaries were stunned. It was then…
“Kihehehe! S-someone like me needs to die. Yes. People like me don’t deserve to live! We don’t!” Maverick suddenly shouted, then jerked around.
“Grab him!” Camara shouted.
Partec flung himself towards Maverick, but it was already too late.
“Ehehehehehe…!” Maverick rushed towards and threw himself out the window. No one had expected such a dramatic turn of events.
Thud!
“What the…”
Partec and Breen stuck their heads out the window, then stiffened at the sight. After falling down, Maverick had been pierced by a sharp wooden picket installed inside the moat. An unpleasant silence descended after the sudden, vain death of Maverick.
Eugene’s voice broke the silence. “His testimony was unmistakable, and we have many witnesses. Lord Tywin, what will you do?”
Camara flinched and turned around. The face of Bertel, his younger brother, was crumpled into a hideous expression.
“B-brother. Surely you won’t believe in the words of a madman, right? He only said what he wanted to before killing himself…”
“Sir Eugene, you can take care of it however you want.” Camara gave his permission. Bertel’s eyes filled with emotion, and Eugene raised him up by the neck.
“I will give you a choice.”
“H-how dare…”
“Unsheathe your sword. Beat me in a place where all of the castle’s residents are present. If you win, I will let it slide.”
“…..!”
Everyone in the room was shocked by Eugene’s declaration, including Bertel. To demand such a thing from a person who attempted to kill him could only mean one thing.
***
“Wow! You really are dogged. To make your first slave commit suicide.”
“That was his original purpose anyway.”
After answering Mirian’s words, Eugene equipped his armor. It was maintained and polished. Originally, it was a job for the knight’s aide, but Eugene had Mirian. She was fast and agile, and she liked expensive objects. As such, she volunteered herself to take care of the plate armor, and she performed better than expected.
“Anyway, it will be very useful to have a few of such slaves. Some of my seniors said that high-ranking members of the Night’s Tribe had dozens of slaves as their guards.”
“That’s something to think about later. It would be dangerous to have that many slaves right now. Moreover, anyone could tell that Maverick wasn’t in his right mind. If I kept him alive, it would have definitely created more trouble for me.”
“That’s true. All humans are full of suspicion.”
Eugene had turned Maverick into his slave in the dungeon. Vampires drained blood for two purposes – they either restored their energy and filled their stomachs, or they turned the subject into a vampire by enslaving them.
The former only required sucking the subject’s blood, while the latter required a slight injection of the vampire’s own blood into the subject.
Enslaving was quite draining for the vampire, so Eugene had attempted it only once in his previous life. The slave obeyed all his orders without question but was not very strong nor mentally sound.
Like how Maverick behaved before death, the identity of the slaves would be quickly discovered because of their altered mental state and their fear of sunlight. As such, Eugene only used Maverick to have him confess his sins, then ordered him to commit suicide.
“But I’m glad the muddy catfish played its role before dying. How dare he try to hurt our esteemed Sir Eugene?” Mirian complained in spite.
In the first place, Mirian had no affection for humans. She only acted and thought in the best interest of her contractor, Eugene.
“You have to make that ice-faced bastard pay as well! If you let someone like him slide, he’ll do something stupid again,” she continued.
“Did I say I would let him slide? Why do you think I gave the lord a choice?”
Eugene could have gone to Maren and asked for a formal trial, but the procedure was cumbersome and could only be held with a priest in attendance. Above all, he could not punish Bertel with his own hands if he headed to Maren.
However, by forcing Camara to make a choice, Eugene could now punish Bertel ‘legally.’
“As expected, the slyness of the Tribe of the Night! Kieeeek! This is why I like our esteemed Sir Eugene!”
After putting on his armor, Eugene placed his battle axe on his belt and left.
‘The grim relationships from my past life have finally come to this point.’
It was Jung Dircht who cut off his head, but Bertel was also one of the biggest contributors. Including this lifetime, Bertel had already attempted to kill him twice. Thus, Eugene had no intention of letting him off.
***
“The second young master tried to kill Sir Eugene?”
“Apparently he instigated Sir Maverick. The knight confessed the truth in Lord Tywin’s presence before committing suicide.”
“Huh! That’s truly…”
At sunset, the people of the Rose Castle were all called out by the lord’s order. They were in a state of extreme confusion. The subjugation was only half-successful, and one of the participating knights had committed suicide. On top of that, the younger brother of the lord had instigated a knight to kill Sir Eugene, the hero from the dungeon opening.
The story sounded especially convincing since there were several witnesses present at the scene. Moreover, the lord himself had made an announcement.
But they were especially surprised by something else.
“A duel of honor…”
“So what happens if the second young master wins?”
“He gets to keep his honor. But…”
The people of the Rose Castle had known Bertel for a long time. They knew him for three or four years at the shortest, and some knew him ever since he was born. Nevertheless, they were not convinced that Bertel could achieve victory over Eugene.
Even if it was a practice battle, the opponent had once bested Galfredik. In addition, he pulled out the head of a troll with his bare hands and killed two orc warriors with a single spear in the City of Maren. Even though it had been only a few months since he made his appearance, the outstanding skills of the knight Jan Eugene were already deeply imprinted on the people of the Rose Castle.
“H-he will win! No matter what anyone says, Young Master Bertel is the strongest knight in our territory, right?”
“Right! He will definitely win and regain his honor. I’m sure he will prove his innocence, that he’s only being framed!”
Many people were gathered in the courtyard. They chatted in loud voices filled with anxiety. Under the red sunset, the mercenaries created a circle in the middle of the courtyard.
The lord of the castle, Camara, appeared on the balcony while facing the dry wind. The gust brought along with it the changing of seasons.
“We shall begin the duel of honor!” Camara announced without giving any explanation. The mercenaries opened the way.
Eugene was armed with plate armor and a battle axe, while Bertel wore full-body chainmail, a surcoat embedded with the symbol of the Tywin family as well as a shield and a shortsword.
It was very difficult to deal with a knight armed with plate armor with only a single longsword unless he was a master of swordsmanship. In that sense, Bertel’s judgment of choosing a shield and a shortsword was commendable.
“I will not say much! Since both sides cannot come to an agreement, the winner’s words will be announced as truth! The truth to the winner!”
“The truth to the winner!” The crowd echoed Camara’s words.
“Then, start!” Camara announced.
The surroundings became engulfed in silence at Camara’s words.
Clank!
After lowering his visor, Eugene grasped his battle axe with both hands. Bertel was wearing a cylindrical helmet. After covering his upper body with the shield, Bertel began circling around Eugene. It was a basic tactic to probe the opponent before a full-fledged confrontation.
‘I will kill you! I just need to win. Everything will go as planned.’
“Hoo, hoo.”
With such thoughts, Bertel collected his anxious breaths. It was when he had exhaled two times that…
Shuack!
Eugene narrowed the distance in an instant. Bertel’s eyes widened. It was hard to believe that someone could move so fast in heavy armor.
“Heup!”
Bertel instinctively adjusted his position and stabbed forward. It was a fast and sophisticated attack befitting of a knight who was systematically educated in swordsmanship for a long time. However, it was a foolish move as well. It was a move that should have never been used against an opponent with plate armor.
It had been too long since Bertel experienced battle. The price he had to pay for his stupid mistake was harsh.
Kaaang!
Bertel’s blade slipped down the groove of the armor. At the same time, Eugene’s battle axe drew a sharp diagonal gash in the air.
Chararak!
A full-body chain mail provided excellent defense as well. It was difficult to pierce or cut through without sufficient force. However, Eugene’s strength was more than sufficient, and he was currently using a battle axe.
“Kuaaagh!”
Bertel rolled on the floor. Blood flowed from the joints of his legs and one arm.
“Keugh! Ah…!”
Bertel struggled to get back up. The large blade of the red axe filled his sight, and his mouth opened slightly.
‘I will be the lord of…’
Clang!
The battle axe split Bertel’s helmet in half, then hacked into his skull, and cleaved his thoughts as well. After a while, Bertel crumbled forward in a kneeling position.
“…..!”
The people of the Rose Castle were shocked. The match was decided in the blink of an eye. Although everyone assumed that it would be difficult for Bertel to win against Eugene, no one had expected that the difference would be so overwhelming. The match did not even last a minute.
Blood spilled from Bertel’s split head. Eugene looked down at the corpse for a moment, then turned around. Eugene raised his visor, and his gaze met with Camara’s.
“Announce it.”
Eugene’s eyes were dyed redder than the sunset. Camara quivered involuntarily, then raised his trembling hands and shouted, “The victory goes to Sir Jan of the Eugene family! The truth and honor lies with Sir Eugene!”
Uwoooooaaahhh!!!
The mercenaries erupted into a cheer with Partec and Breen at their center. The duel ended abruptly, leaving behind only the horrible corpse of the Tywin family’s second son.
***
“Are you… leaving now?”
Camara had a complicated expression. Eugene was the territory’s savior, but also his brother’s murderer.
“I should. You wouldn’t want me here longer anyways.”
“…I won’t deny it.”
Camara had been wanting to have Bertel disappear, but Bertel was still his brother, which shared the same blood as him. Although Bertel conspired, utilized underhanded methods, then paid the price of death for his actions, Camara still did not feel at ease with Eugene’s presence here.
However, he could not blame Eugene either. Rather, he needed to be grateful that Eugene concluded the matter with the death of Bertel.
“I won’t have any reason to return to this castle in the future, so there is no need to worry. You also earned some capable slaves, right? Breen’s men will take care of them, so you don’t need to worry about that either.”
Camara sighed deeply at Eugene’s words.
Since Maverick confessed his sins, the mercenaries who followed him could not avoid their just deserts either. It was common for followers to end up horribly after meeting a bad leader. Thus, Eugene handed over all the remaining mercenaries to the Tywin family as slaves after having received a reasonable price as payment.
Breen and his men accepted Partec’s advice and decided to stay at the Rose Castle for the time being as Camara’s hired men.
“Goodbye. I cannot pray for the grace of God in sir’s future.”
“I do not wish for it.”
Eugene really did not wish for it. He was a vampire, an enemy, and a heretic in the eyes of the church. He did not want the grace of God in his future, let alone any attention from the church.
“It will be fine for you to stay another day.”
“It’s okay, I don’t want to stay here any longer anyway.”
Eugene’s luggage was already packed up on Silion. After Eugene climbed the saddle, the castle gate opened with torches lining its sides. As Eugene was about to turn Silion, two horses were spotted coming towards the castle from the other side of the drawbridge.
“What’s going on!?”
“Are they enemies!?”
Soldiers were taken by surprise and flocked the castle wall. Then, the person on the leading horse shouted while waving something.
“Do not attack! I am an envoy! I have been sent by Lord Fairchild!” The person shouted while waving a white cloth. Crossbows aimed toward the figures were lowered.
“Whoa! Whoa, whoa!”
The middle-aged man quickly dismounted his horse. He quickly recognized Camara as the lord and gave his greetings.
“Would you be Lord Tywin? It is a great pleasure to meet you. I am Lord Fairchild’s butler, Mills.”
“Hmm. Is that so?” Camara questioned.
“I sincerely apologize for visiting you this late at night. This is a small gift from my master to Lord Tywin. He asks for your broad understanding of not being able to attend the funeral in person.”
The Fairchild family was a noble family with a rank. Camara’s anxiety faded somewhat with the butler showing respect. In addition, the baton of pure gold contained in the gift box was enough to let him know that Viscount Fairchild had paid quite a bit of attention in greeting the new lord of Tywin.
“I am grateful for the gift. Let Lord Fairchild know that I fully understand his circumstances. By the way, what is the purpose of your trip?”
The Fairchild family was a real noble family with the title of viscount. They had little to do with the Tywin family. Lord Fairchild had not even attended his father’s funeral. There was no reason for him to send his butler in such a hurry to pay respects to Bertel’s funeral.
“Then, please forgive me for getting straight to the point. I took the liberty of coming all this way because my master, Lord Fairchild, wants to send a message to Sir Jan of the Eugene family.”
“To Sir Eugene?”
Camara’s eyes turned towards Eugene. Mills naturally shifted his gaze as well, then bowed politely towards Eugene.
“Nice to meet you, Sir Eugene. It would only be right for me to officially greet you, but please understand the urgency of the issue. My master wanted me to deliver this to Sir Eugene.”
Mills handed Eugene a letter written on high-quality paper. Eugene felt slightly confused by the unexpected situation, but he removed the seal of the Fairchild family and skimmed its content.
The letter was lengthy and redundant, as expected from a nobleman, but the gist was simple.
“Lord Fairchild wants me to come to his castle and assist him in a territorial dispute?” asked Eugene.