CH 4

At first, he thought about disposing of the mercenaries in the village. There were thirty villagers, and to kill them all, there would be at least five or six mercenaries, or even more than ten. No matter how many times he thought about it, there was no possibility of killing all the mercenaries without ensuring no harm would be done to the villagers.

So there was only one way.

He would kill all of them in the middle of nowhere.

“W-what is it!?”

The young mercenary was located right behind Eugene. He shouted in panic and pulled out his short sword. Eugene quickly turned around and dug his arms into the mercenary’s body.

Puck!

“…..!”

The mercenary took on a shocked expression as the long nails pierced through his heart. At such a close distance, it would have been much better to put up his shield instead of choosing his sword. It seemed he was rather lacking in experience compared to the other two.

“Hiek!”

“You fucking monster!”

The reaction of the remaining mercenaries was divided. Eugene’s bare body was covered in black scales, and he was like a monster as he instantly slaughtered three mercenaries.

“Huaaagh!”

“Sa-save me!”

Three of the remaining mercenaries fled without looking back. It was obvious from their poor equipment that they were inexperienced. However, the other two rushed in with expressions of fear and excitement.

“Kuaagh!”

“Die!”

A wooden club embedded with sharp, metal pieces flew towards Eugene.

Clang!

Eugene avoided one strike and deflected the other with his arm. He pierced his dagger into the jaw of the surprised mercenary and flung him away.

Boom!

“Uagh!”

A mercenary collided with the body and rolled on the ground. A vampire’s brute strength was not to be underestimated.

Fwoosh!

Eugene’s black nails clawed across the fallen mercenary’s face and throat, and the man was dead in an instant.

“Krrrr…!”

Eugene brushed off the blood and flesh on his claws, then turned around.

“Fucking hell! I-I can’t see anything! I can’t see! Kuaagh!”

A red-haired mercenary shouted in frenzy. He had lost his eyesight after having his face clawed at the very beginning.

Thuck!

Eugene knocked out the red-haired mercenary with a well-placed kick to the throat, then shot off towards the rest of the escaping mercenaries. Each stride allowed him to cross a distance equivalent to five or six steps.

In an instant, Eugene narrowed the distance between himself and the mercenaries, then drew his claw horizontally while emitting a glow from his red eyes.

“Kuaagh!”

“Argh!’

The mercenaries fell forward while letting out terrified screams, blood erupting from their backs.

“Hiek! Please, please…”

“Sa-save me! Let me live!”

The young mercenaries begged for their lives while blood soaked their backs and piss drenched their pants. But the vampire had been hunted by humans in his past life. Their pleading words meant nothing to him.

Eugene slashed with his hands.

The three bodies were completely split from top to bottom, then fell to the ground one by one.

***

“So, you were trying to feign the one named Ziegler as a bastard son? You were going to kill all of the villagers and even your young underlings to frame them as perpetrators?”

Ziegler was the name of the young mercenary whom Eugene took care of the third.

It was ridiculous.

In the past, the villagers of Broadwin had been slaughtered, which had, in turn, led to his identity being discovered and him being captured, which finally resulted in him being beheaded after a long chase.

Everything was triggered by the greed of the mercenary named Timothy and his men.

“P-please forgive me! I wanted to create a scene because I thought it was a good opportunity. If I knew that someone like you were in B-broadwin, I would never have done such a thing! Never! Please, spare my life!”

The red-haired mercenary, Timothy, who was now blind as well, begged for his life.

If you tell me everything you know, I will spare your life.

It was a boring line Timothy used countless times until now. Of course, he never actually spared anyone’s life. But when the same line was used against him after he lost his eyes and became subjected to torture, he realized why all of them would say anything at all with tears and snot running down their faces.

“Did Lord Tywin make the request himself?”

“N-no. Lord Tywin fell ill last year due to a disease. I received the request from his two sons.”

“Sons?”

“Yes, yes! Camara Tywin and Bertel Tywin. The d-daughter have all been married off, so the two of them practically manage the land.”

Bertel Tywin.

In the past, he had persistently chased after Eugene. Although they never faced each other in person, Bertel Tywin was a young knight who appeared quite strong.

“Please, please! I will live quietly from now on, so please spare my life…”

Timothy pitifully kowtowed towards the wrong direction while begging, and Eugene slowly approached him. He could not believe that he had been discovered and chased because of stupid, greedy humans like Timothy.

A long black fingernail pierced Timothy’s head.

“…..!”

Timothy died without ever getting a chance to scream. Eugene searched Timothy’s body.

‘This is it.’

He did not know how to read, but he knew the coat-of-arms of the lord’s family. He had seen the same symbol on the surcoat worn by Bertel Tywin in the past. After finding the letter of instructions, Eugene gathered the bodies of the dead mercenaries in one place. 

Afterward, he ran towards a mountain in the distance. Only the faint outlines of the mountain could be seen.

*** 

The black wolves of the nearby areas were feared by even experienced mercenaries. They were big, strong, and agile, and they always ran without hesitation when faced with an enemy stronger than themselves. They were sneaky as well.

But for an awakened vampire during the night, they were nothing more than just a couple of tricky, wild ‘muts.’ Eugene spent a couple of hours roaming the mountains with his five senses exerted to the max. As a result, he was able to find a group of five black wolves.

Two were fully grown, assumed to be the parents, and three appeared to be cubs. The wolves growled and showed their teeth even though they felt instinctive fear. Eugene used his dagger to catch the two mature wolves, then let the three remaining wolves escape. They were almost fully matured anyways, so they could live independently in the wilderness. 

He only needed two or three fully grown wolves anyways. With a large wolf on each of his shoulders, Eugene returned to the place where he killed the mercenaries. He then used the mercenaries’ weapons to carve wounds all over the wolves’ bodies, then damaged the corpses of the mercenaries with the claws and fangs of the wolves.

After scattering the bodies of the humans and animals, Eugene took a step back and examined the scene of his creation.

This would be a perfect crime.

*** 

After returning to the cabin, Eugene headed to the village chief’s house along with Mirian.

The chief went wild upon hearing Eugene’s story, that a group of mercenaries and black wolves had massacred each other not too far from the village. The village men, led by the chief, hurriedly followed Eugene with torches and farming tools in their hands. When they arrived at the place, which was located about an hour from the village entrance, their mouths became agape with shock.

“Buweegh!”

“I-It’s real.”

“This is crazy!”

“They must have been killed by the wolves on their way to our village!”

Some regurgitated their supper while others boldly rummaged through the bodies of mercenaries and wolves. All of the men created a huge ruckus over the shocking event.

“S-so, you found them on your way back from hunting?”

“I found them on my way back from inspecting my traps. I would not usually use this path, but I had heard rumors of black wolves appearing near these areas. I did spot three young wolves and chased them away.”

Eugene intentionally left alone the blood on his body. The chief and the village men believed it to have happened while he was driving away the wolves.

“Ah! So that’s what happened.”

The chief felt very grateful towards Eugene. The man had given his proper greetings as soon as he recovered from his disease, and he even chased away black wolves that the people were afraid of.

“By the way, why were these mercenaries heading towards our village?”

“Hmm. Well, actually, I did search through their bodies just in case I could deliver their belongings back to their homes.”

Eugene took out a letter while speaking.

“Isn’t this the seal of Lord Tywin?”

“T-that’s right.”

The chief saw the shield-shaped symbol decorated with a rose and a long blade. He hurriedly read the contents of the letter. He was the only one who could read in Broadwin.

“Huh! How could this be…?”

“What is it about, chief?”

The chief shouted while looking around at the crowd of men.

“These mercenaries! They were coming to get Felid!”

“Felid? Why?”

“Felid could be the bastard son of our lord, Sir Tywin!”

The men went wild once again at the chief’s words.

*** 

“So… you will take Felid to Lord Tywin’s castle?”

“Yes. I think that would be the best option. There may be black wolves wandering around, and we could run into monsters and beasts on the way to the castle. I know how to fight.”

The reason Eugene wanted to take Lord Tywin’s bastard son, Felid, to the castle – It was to gain proper identification. If he completed the commission on behalf of the dead mercenaries, the lord would compensate him that much at the least.

“Well, that is true.”

The chief nodded with a grim expression.

The chief traveled to a larger village with a traveling merchant two or three times a year. He knew the dangers of the wild better than anyone else. Even though monsters and predators rarely ventured outside of their territory, robbers and mercenaries were problems. Mercenaries could turn their backs at any time without hesitation, and robbers were… well, real robbers. Besides, what about the knights? They would cut down two or three commoners without blinking an eye. They did not care even the slightest bit for the country folk.

Knights had treated even his past superiors carelessly with contempt. 

“Excuse me. Pardon my words, but… Are you from a knight or noble family?”

The chief asked with utmost caution. He recalled Eugene’s unusual beauty and combined with the fact that he defeated several black wolves on his own, it was hard to believe he was an ordinary person. 

Eugen was taken aback by the unexpected question. However, he immediately nodded, thinking that this could serve as an opportunity.

“That is correct. I am Jan of the Eugene Family.”

Although the only thing he remembered about himself was the name “Eugene,” the name Jan came to mind at that moment as well. He combined the two names to come up with a first name and a family name, just like the aristocrats. 

“Please forgive me for being so rude until now! Sir Eugene!”

“Wow! You’re as good at lying as you are at killing people, aren’t you? Well, I guess vampires are technically nobles known as the Tribe of the Night.”

Ignoring Mirian’s words, Eugene shook his head.

“No, it is fine. Since I did not tell you, it was only natural.”

“Thank you. Sir Eugene is so kind and merciful.”

Eugene felt a little bewildered by the chief’s attitude, who was still acting so subservient even after getting up from the ground.

‘Why is he acting like this?’

Eugene did not know that the chief had witnessed countless narcissistic, arrogant, evil knights and aristocrats in his youth.

“Anyways, I will do as Sir Eugene suggested. Since you are a knight, you will be safe even if you are alone. Moreover, Lord Tywin will surely trust the words of someone who is so dignified.”

‘Dignified? Me?’

Eugene was puzzled. Rather, he had been relieved that his skin was somewhat clear and his nose and mouth were in their proper places. However, the chief saw even great nobles during his youth, and his thoughts were different.

‘Even the direct descendants of the Grand Duke of Cosa weren’t this handsome. He must be a descendant of a family with a story and history.’

The chief rubbed his hands together while having such thoughts.

“Sir Eugene. You must be exhausted after all that you did today. Why don’t you get some rest?”

“Yes. Then I will leave first thing tomorrow with the lord’s son.”

“Yes! Have a safe trip. Ah, and I will write a letter for Lord Tywin explaining today’s matters and hand it to you tomorrow. You can pass it on to Lord Tywin.”

“Thank you.”

He was somewhat puzzled that the chief accepted his sudden lie without having any doubts, but it did not matter as long as the man believed it.

‘I’m glad the chief believed me, but this is not enough. Real aristocrats and knights are less likely to believe me. Then…’

“Should I learn how to write?”

Eugene heard that very few commoners knew how to read and write, just like the village chief. Even a majority of knights were illiterate as well. Since he was pretending to be a knight, his credibility would only increase if he learned to read and write.

“Oh, you ignorant vampire. You’ll live at least 200 years unless you get a stake and a silver blade pierced through your heart, so learn to read and write. While you’re at it, learn the ancient texts and the imperial language as well.”

“You’re right.”

Eugene nodded. He turned his gaze towards Mirian as a sudden thought struck him.

“So that means you know how to read and write?”

“Nope.”

“…..”

“Spirits don’t have to know about insignificant things such as writing and reading. I’m never going to write anything, and none of the other humans can see me anyways. So why should I?”

Mirian spoke confidently with her hands on her waist.

Were all spirits so brazen?

‘Anyhow, I should learn to read and write when I have the chance.’

He still had many things to achieve and far ways to go. But Eugene was confident all of it would act to his advantage as he overcame adversities in the wide world.