CH 73

“Knights! Gather under the Archivold’s crest of the White Rose!”

Detailed explanations regarding the incident with Balmong and Essandra’s orders were delivered to the lords and the knights. An incredible number of the nobles in Carls Baggins immediately responded, and within ten days, almost 800 troops gathered in Essandra’s territory.

All were troops belonging to lords and knights subordinate to the Archivold family, and nobles incapable of sending troops sent large sums of money through their agents instead.

“The name of the Archivold family still has its worth,” Eugene noted.

“I told you. Great noble families will never collapse unless they become involved in a war on a national scale. The most important thing for lords is honor and cause, and they will never abandon such things voluntarily.” Galfredik responded with a grin.

In other words, even if the designated individual of the nobles’ loyalty shifted, they would always remain true to the family. As such, the previous marquis was removed from his seat after his reign of tyranny and locked in his castle. However, the vacant seat had to be inherited by a direct descendant who inherited the blood of Archivold.

In addition, even if the nobles were allowed to take advantage of the confusion and satisfy some of their personal greed, they could never deny and disobey Archivold. Such an act would bring dishonor and rob the nobles of any justification to be a lord on the peninsula.

“If Lord Essandra steps up as the marquis, she could easily gather three or four times the number. Now you know why the royal family is so wary of the great nobles, right? Hehe.” Galfredik spoke with a laugh.

“Definitely,” Eugene replied.

The royal family could be threatened even if there were five families capable of gathering two or three thousand troops each. The royal authority would be at stake. Anyone would panic if there were ten thousand blades pointing at them.

‘And if cities like Maren join in the fray as well, it will be over before it even begins.’

Eugene felt as if he had grasped a certain truth about the world.

“Huh? Look over there,” Galfredik spoke.

“Hmm?” Eugene turned his eyes in response.

“Isn’t that the same crest that was on the surcoats of those brats? Right?” Galfredik asked while beckoning.

“That’s right. Is that Lord Feedren?” Eugene responded. The nobleman, presumed to be Lord Feedren, was looking around with an anxious gaze. Although he was armed with the finest plate coat and a longsword, Feedren did not seem like a real knight at all. However, his hired mercenaries looked quite capable.

Galfredik spoke with a grin. “He must have spent quite a sum. Hiring 50 people is more than just showing off. Hooh? Did he bring the twins as well? He has definitely thrown his dice already.”

Unlike the subjugations of evil lands, there were no definitive promises of an end date for territorial wars. As such, it was quite burdensome to hire mercenaries for war. In the past, when Eugene kidnapped his son and nephew, Baron Bommel financially struggled to hire more than 100 mercenaries for over a month.

It was quite evident that Lord Feedren wasn’t better off than Baron Bommel. As such, there were many implications for him to have brought his own sons. In addition, he even hired fifty mercenaries.

But that wasn’t all…

“Huh! Master, look over there.” Galfredik spoke with surprise after scrutinizing the crowd of soldiers.

It was Baron Beogalan. He was standing with a few knights, including Oleg, as well as a large crowd of soldiers.

“Lord Beogalan is not a vassal of the Archivold family, so what is he doing here?” Galfredik asked.

“I don’t know.” Eugene shrugged while answering truthfully. However, Eugene would discover the reason for the attendance of his friendly neighbors in less than an hour.

***

“Excuse me, would you be Sir Eugene?”

“Hmm. I am indeed Jan of the Eugene family, but who might you be?” Although Eugene had been keeping an eye on the man since he began to approach, Eugene asked while feigning ignorance.

“Ah! It is nice to meet you. I am Bereta of Feedren. It’s good to see you, Sir Eugene.” Feedren introduced himself.

“Ah, so it was Lord Feedren. Nice to meet you as well.” Eugene responded in kind.

“I should have greeted you earlier, but as you know, I ran into some trouble because of the current situation. But I… I heard my son committed a great offense to you, Sir Eugene. That’s why I came here to apologize personally.” Lord Feedren spoke before beckoning at those following him.

Soon, a small box was delivered into Luke’s hands. Luke immediately opened the box and showed Eugene the contents.

“Kieeeeek!?” Mirian suddenly shot up from Eugene’s shoulder while screaming.

“I sent two such boxes to your administrator as well, Sir Eugene. It’s a small token of my sincerity for my new neighbor, as well as an apology for my son’s misdeeds. I would appreciate it if you could accept it without burden. Ah, and I will do my best to cooperate in the development of the silver mine as well.” Lord Feedren spoke.

“I am truly grateful for your consideration. It was just a small mistake committed by a young man in his youth. I have already forgotten the matter, so please don’t worry about it.” Eugene responded kindly after seeing the shiny gold coins stacked in an orderly manner. His original plan was to take the initiative with Feedren’s son as an excuse, but it appeared that he had gained much more than what he expected.

‘Delmondo must have done his part as well.’

Delmondo was always humble and cowering in front of Eugene, but it appeared that he had fully displayed his sly ability against humans. As expected, it had been the right choice to have him concede without killing him.

“Sir Eugene! There you are!” A familiar voice called out and a group of nobles approached Eugene.

“Lord Beogalan. It has been a while. Ah, I want to thank you for swiftly taking care of things at that time.” Eugene answered.

Eugene could only be referring to the matter with the signatures of the nobles and lords. Baron Beogalan smiled awkwardly before quickly nodding. “Ha, hahaha! How could I not, when it was your personal request? Oh! If it isn’t Lord Feedren. Have you already spoken with Sir Eugene?” Baron Beogalan quickly switched the subject. Eugene and Galfredik were forced to swallow a smile.

“Yes. We will be neighbors from now on, so would you not agree that it would be best for us to form a good relationship?” Feedren answered.

“That’s a good attitude. Now, now. Sirs, say hello. This is Sir Eugene, whom I mentioned several times before!” Baron Beogalan turned and spoke to the surrounding nobles.

“What? I’m not sure if you did mention…” A clueless nobleman started speaking with a frown before quickly shutting his mouth after receiving Baron Beogalan’s fierce gaze.

“I have heard a lot about you, Sir Eugene. I am Caylor of Paramonte.”

“Tutran Ramon, Sir Eugene.”

The nobles fought to introduce themselves to Eugene. The man in question, Eugene, was slightly confused, but he returned all of their greetings without becoming flustered.

“Hahahaha! Sirs, it has been a while.”

“We greet Lord Essandra!”

The nobles quickly bowed as Essandra called out with a laugh. She was fully equipped in plate armor. Although she wasn’t a knight, no one could deny the fact that she was the commander of almost 1,000 troops. Moreover, knights weren’t the only ones with knowledge and proficiency in tactics and military arts.

Nobles, and lords, in particular, were always educated in military management as one of their fundamental studies.

“First, I want to express my gratitude to all of you who have responded to my request. As the legitimate successor to Archivold, I promise not to forget your contributions in the future.” Essandra spoke.

“Not at all! It is our duty!”

“I have claimed until now that the honor of the White Rose was with you all along, my lord!”

“I would like to join your efforts in achieving peace and prosperity on the peninsula!”

Essandra smiled after seeing the nobles shout while bowing deeply. She was deeply satisfied, even though she knew that they were simply fawning over her. Almost seventy percent of the nobles and knights of the Carls Baggins had responded to her declaration by participating or sending large sums of money with pledges of loyalty.

It was evident that the nobles and knights had noticed the tide turning in Essandra’s favor.

Essandra judged that there was a single person who played the decisive role.

“Now! Let me introduce you! This is Sir Eugene. He will stand as one of the pillars of the peninsula along with the rest of you!” Essandra declared while patting Eugene on the shoulder.

The nobles who were already familiar with Eugene nodded calmly after seeing Essandra’s friendly gesture, but those who were unfamiliar appeared rather puzzled. Essandra had already expected such a response. As such, she continued in an even louder voice. “Yesterday evening! My younger brother, Edrique, has contacted me and he now recognizes me as the head of the family! He has made it known that he will actively support me to claim what is rightfully mine!”

Oohh…!

Essandra had deliberately abstained from including Edrique’s intent in her letters to the lords and knights. She had tested them by attempting to rally the troops while only making the incident with Balmong known.

“And Sir Eugene played the most important role in getting Edrique to pledge his loyalty to me,” Essandra spoke.

“…..!”

Baron Beogalan and Lord Feedren were surprised by her words, as well as the other nobles.

“Hahaha! I think I should introduce him one more time. Sirs! Sir Eugene succeeded in the subjugation of the Karinsa Dungeon!” Essandra declared.

Ooohh…

The nobles exclaimed to be polite, but they were rather puzzled.

What was so amazing about that?

Perhaps the subjugation was only an excuse, and Essandra was actually introducing her lover. Since he looked quite fit and possessed a beautiful face like an elf…

“By himself!” She continued.

“…..?”

“Hahaha! Sir Eugene successfully subjugated a dungeon by himself! Moreover, he killed three intermediate-rank monsters!” Essandra shouted excitedly.

“…..!!!”

The expressions of the nobles changed in real-time. Most of them didn’t know or believe that Eugene had killed a wyvern. However, such rumors could not be compared to Essandra’s official declaration when it came to credibility. Moreover, it was already well known that Edrique had forbidden Essandra’s troops from crossing his territory under the pretext of tolls.

‘Heuk! Then Lord Edrique suddenly gave in to Lord Essandra because…’

‘If that knight succeeded in a subjugation by himself, it’s totally understandable!’

Oooohhhhhh!!!

Dozens of nobles and knights burst into loud exclamations.

Simultaneously, some of the nobles quickly processed the current situation. Obviously, the beautiful, or rather, the incredibly strong knight would take his place by Essandra if she became the new marquis.

***

“Sir, sir! Their eyes! The nobles are looking at you like those bums who used to suck, lick, and bite each other buck naked in my pond… Kiek! I’m sorry!” Mirian started to shout excitedly before being quietened by a single glare from Eugene.

“This is hot. Smoldering hot. Hehe!”

However, it wasn’t only Mirian who took notice of the eyes of the nobles and the knights. Galfredik grinned and inched closer to Eugene before speaking. “It looks like they want to get you in their ropes somehow. Baron Beogalan and Lord Feedren are talking about master as if you are their best friend. Kuhahaha!” Galfredik whispered before laughing.

“There’s nothing bad about it,” Eugene responded.

“Kuhaha! Nothing bad about it? It’s amazing. Master’s position has been elevated thanks to Lord Essandra. It’s a good thing.” Galfredik said.

“Who knows. Do you really think so?” Eugene asked.

“Hmm?” Galfredik looked puzzled.

However, as an awakened, highest-tier vampire, Eugene was capable of looking even further and wider than Galfredik. He was predicting a situation that Galfredik couldn’t even fathom.

“There’s no need to worry about it. Leave it to me.” Eugene assured Galfredik.

“Naturally, I’m your vassal. But what is it? Can’t you tell me now?” Galfredik asked.

“You won’t lose anything from it, so don’t worry about it,” Eugene answered.

“That’s a relief.”

To be frank, Galfredik intended to obey Eugene’s orders even if they caused him to suffer. Perhaps he could die if he was ordered to do so. Galfredik himself didn’t know it yet, but that was the bond between an Origin and his vassal.

“Oh, and by the way. Take Partec and his men, and…” Eugene instructed Galfredik in a quiet voice.

“…It has already been discussed with Lord Essandra, so take care of it,” Eugene said.

“Haha! When it comes to dealing with wizards, I might even be better than you, master. I’ll take care of it.” Galfredik answered.

“Good.”

***

A day after Essandra’s army departed from her territory, Edrique joined forces along with the nobility and other troops under his command. Although 200 troops weren’t anything to be compared to Essandra’s army, it was enough to showcase Edrique’s ability as a lord.

Moreover, the nobles were shocked to see Edrique treating Eugene like his own brother. As such, it became an indisputable fact that Eugene would stand next to Essandra once she took her place as the new marquis.

The nobles and the lords continued to calculate their next moves regarding Eugene as the group traveled to Gabriel’s territory.

Four days later, more than 1,000 troops and dozens of merchant carriages arrived at the border of Gabriel’s territory. It was the largest gathering of troops ever seen since the Carls Baggins Peninsula became embroiled in chaos.