CH 124

“Drak…”

“The Knight of the Lake?!”

The mercenary ‘knights’ started buzzing with shock after hearing Lanslo’s words, while Lucas froze in place with a blank expression. The Knight of the Lake was the right-hand man of the legendary knight king Aiden, who first unified Brantia. After the fall of the Aiden family, numerous families and dynasties gunning for Brantia’s throne asked for the cooperation of the Drak family, but they were all rejected and the Drak family remained the best knight family of Brantia.

The Drak family’s reputation was so great that there was even a saying in Brantia that involved them—“He who obtains the three knights of the lake qualifies to aim for the world.”

“A-are you really a knight of the Drak family? D-do you have proof…?” Lucas muttered.

“Would anyone dare to impersonate and tarnish the honor of the Drak family in Brantia? You jest, Your Excellency,” Lanslo responded with a chuckle before taking out his spear. Lucas and his knights became greatly surprised.

Elves were usually known for their superior archery, but in Brantia, they were more famous for their excellent spearmanship thanks to the Drak family.

“What do you think you are doing?! Even if you are a knight of the Drak family, this is my territory! How dare you try to persecute me in the land of Crawlmarine and…” Lucas screamed.

Lanslo interrupted him, “Count Lucas Crawlmarine. You are charged with the murder of Lord Harrel Bosch and the murder of Lord Graham Crawlmarine. Do not resist and come with me.”

“...!”

Lucas’s face paled in an instant. In addition, the ‘knights’ took on blank expressions. They finally understood why Lucas had exited the castle like a cornered rat upon immediately arriving at the castle.

“Everyone,” Lucas said.

Krrrrrrr!

The beowulf warriors immediately transformed into their beast forms.

“I-I surrender!”

“Surrender! I will surrender!”

“A murder charge against the late count? I have nothing to do with it!”

The ‘knights’ were all former mercenaries. As such, they had no sense of good faith and honor but were instead quick to grasp the situation. They put down their weapons without resisting.

“Keugh! Kuaaagh!” Lucas suddenly let out a devastated cry before unsheathing his longsword and charging forward amidst his fury.

Thuck!

“Keugh!” However, he was immediately thrown off from his steed after taking a blow from Lanslo’s spear to the face.

“Am I starting to take after Sir Eugene?” Lanslo muttered. He was way too calm for a man who had knocked out a count in broad daylight.

***

“...!”

The nobles of Crawlmarine Castle could not hide their shock. It was an unprecedented incident in which the count and the territory’s knight conspired to kill each other’s father. The nobles couldn’t think of how to respond in any other way than to simply stare with horrified eyes and with their jaws agape.

Of course, some of them didn’t believe the story and attempted to protest and refuted the facts. However, the killer, who was also the witness, was made to kneel in front of them while tightly bound by rope.

“He threatened to kill not only my father but also everyone in the Bosch family if I didn’t comply with his demands! I had no choice but to do as I was told for the sake of my family… Keugh! I’m not asking for forgiveness! However! Please show mercy and spare my family!” Calburn Bosch shouted with a face drenched in tears and snot.

It was hard to refute the testimony of a knight whose family had faithfully served the Crawlmarine family for generations. Moreover, it was made even worse by the presence of an ‘outsider’ witnessing the entire event. As long as the noble, vampire conqueror of Marine Forest’s lycanthrope king and his subordinates were closely observing the matter, no one would dare to attempt any chicanery.

“T-then what should we do now?”

“What else is there to do? This is a grave incident regarding the murder of the previous count and one of his territorial knights. We must hold a trial.”

“That’s right. We should hold a formal trial with honorable and distinguished nobles.”

“Sir! Are you suggesting that we reveal such a disgraceful incident to everyone?”

“Oh, then what? Should we hold a trial on our own and convict the count?”

“Well, no, but…”

The nobles started to argue, all the while stealing glances at Eugene. Someone who had murdered their own father deserved the death penalty. However, it complicated things when the criminal was one’s own lord. None of the nobles around wanted to take responsibility for giving the count the death penalty.

As such, Eugene offered a good escape. Although he was a foreigner and of another race, he satisfied the conditions of being an ‘honorable and distinguished’ noble. In that, he was even overqualified.

“Sir Eugene! What do you think?!”

“Y-yes, that’s right! Sir Eugene, you are the only one capable of giving a fair judgment in this situation.”

“Please give us your opinion, sir.”

Although the nobles were somewhat ignorant, they had the wits to quickly flock with others once the silence was broken.

‘Of course.’

Eugene was ultimately an outsider. As such, he had been waiting for the nobles to initiate the conversation. He pretended to contemplate for a moment, then responded calmly, “Hmm. Well, since all of you are asking, I will give my thoughts regarding this matter.”

“Yes, yes.” the nobles responded with glistening eyes. It was as if they were baby birds eagerly waiting for their mother to feed them.

Eugene continued. “Firstly. Other nobles are not needed to judge this case.”

“What? W-well, why is that?” one of the nobles asked.

“The disgrace of Crawlmarine. It must be concluded by the honorable men of Crawlmarine. That is what I think,” Eugene responded.

“Ohhh!” The nobles exclaimed, ardently taking in Eugene’s praise.

“You are absolutely right, Sir Eugene. However, with just us…” one of the nobles said.

Eugene interrupted, “If the new Count of Crawlmarine takes responsibility, there will be no problem. That is what I think.”

“What? What do you mean, a new count?”

“P-perhaps?! Are you saying that you will establish one of us here as the new count?”

“Hmm?!”

The nobles felt conflicted. Their hearts were filled with greed, but also with the potential weight of the responsibility that would naturally accompany the seat. Eugene turned his head before speaking, “The late count. A direct descendant remains.”

“What?!” The nobles shouted with shock and disbelief. Then, their eyes naturally followed Eugene’s gaze.

“M-master?” Luke stuttered.

“Come this way,” Eugene called out. Eugene took Luke to his side and turned toward Calburn. The man was looking up at Eugene with a resigned expression.

Eugene spoke coldly, “Sir Calburn Bosch. Speak the truth.”

“...?!” The eyes of the nobles once again turned toward Calburn.

Calburn bit his lips, took a long breath, then confessed the secret that only two people had known until now. “Sir Eugene’s aide, Luke Bosch. No, Young Master Luke Crawlmarine is… not my father’s son, but rather the son of the late Count Crawlmarine.”

“What?!” The truth was as shocking as Calburn’s previous confession.

“As you all know, the late countess was known to be quite jealous. The late count could not reveal Luke’s existence to the world. As such…” Calburn continued. “The count entrusted Luke to his most trusted knight, Sir Harrel Bosch, and asked him to take Luke in as his illegitimate child instead. Sir Harrel Bosch was happy to comply with his lord’s request. Since he lost his wife earlier on, it wouldn’t be a problem even if he had an illegitimate child.”

“T-then! That man, or rather, Master Luke was sent to the battlefield because…” one of the smarter nobles muttered. 

Calburn nodded with a grim expression. “Yes. It’s just as you fear, sir. Count Lucas Crawlmarine found out that Young Master Luke was his half-brother. The late count must have informed him on his deathbed. And then…” Calburn hesitated.

Eugene whispered, “We’re almost there. The only way that you might get to keep your life.”

“Keugh!”

Calburn closed his eyes tightly before shouting, “Lucas Crawlmarine is not the son of the former count! He is a child born to the countess and her own brother, Baron Riwad! She hastened her marriage with the late count to hide the truth regarding the incestual birth!”

“What?!”

“But Lucas Crawlmarine found out… and he sent Young Master Luke to the battlefield because he felt threatened. Keugh!” Calburn shouted.

“H-how could that be…?”

“This is crazy. This is…”

Some of the nobles even collapsed to the ground in shock.

“This is proof of Sir Calburn’s words,” Eugene said before showing the letters sent from the previous count to Sir Bosch to the nobles. Calburn had started to conspire with Lucas after he discovered the letters that his father kept in secret.

‘Although I never knew that Lucas Crawlmarine was born incestuously.’

It provided Eugene with even more justification for ousting Lucas and appointing Luke as the next count. He had prepared to utilize a show of force if it came to it, but it was as if everything in the world was pushing Luke to become the new count.

“M-master? What’s this all about?” Luke said. His eyes were trembling as he looked up at Eugene.

“What else?” Eugene said.

He continued with a suspicious smile after putting his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “It means that you will be the new Count of Crawlmarine starting today. Sirs, would you not agree?”

Eugene’s eyes swept through the nobles. However, his gaze was completely different from when he looked at Luke. It was a completely icy, cruel, vampire-like look.

“...!”

The nobles immediately came to their senses and surreptitiously gazed at each other. Simultaneously, they all kneeled and shouted, “We greet our lord, the Count of Crawlmarine! Spirit of the Lake! Give your blessings to the new master of Crawlmarine!”

The young man, who had been a slave and became a knight’s aide through chance and luck, had finally reclaimed his true fate as the Count of Crawlmarine.

“Kieeeeeek! I can’t accept this! A mere Aide Number 2 dares to become a count before Sir Eugene?! Everyone, did you know that all of this is a lie… Kiek!” The spirit also reclaimed her fate and suffered a beating after muttering nonsense.

***

Everything proceeded smoothly after that. It was the worst event in the history of the Crawlmarine county, and the nobles knew the condemnation they would be subject to if rumors ever spread. As such, they wanted to conclude the matter as swiftly as possible.

It was extremely disgraceful for a son to have conspired to murder his own father, but for someone without the blood of Crawlmarine to have reigned for a period of time as the count was unthinkable. It wasn’t simply a matter of disgrace.

The nobles decided to hide the fact that Lucas was born from incest and to only publicize the fact that he conspired to murder his father.

People went to extreme lengths to claim power, so as long as the involved parties were punished, the matter could be concluded. Of course, there was no helping the fact that it would be the talk of the town for a while.

In the end, Lucas was sentenced to death, and within ten minutes of the sentencing, his decapitated head was hung on the gates of Crawlmarine Castle for all to see.

Calburn’s fate was also debated. Although the crime he had committed was great, he was judged to have kept his honor as a knight by confessing all of his sins. How he had been forced into cooperation was also taken into consideration. Therefore, his family was deprived of their status and made into serfs.

Naturally, Luke became the Count of Crawlmarine.

The knights and nobles of Crawlmarine vied for loyalty to the young, legitimate count. However, their actions stemmed largely from their fear of the high-ranking vampire standing behind Luke rather than hope and expectations toward their new lord.

‘But Sir Eugene will be leaving the territory soon, right?’

‘Then the new count will have no one but us to rely on.’

But the plans of the nobles and knights were thwarted by Luke’s declaration…

“I have not mastered myself as a knight. As such, I will continue to follow my master, Sir Eugene.”

“What?!”

The nobles were shocked. However, a figure stepped forward and quenched their worries with a smile. Out of everyone present, he possessed the highest rank, aside from Luke and Eugene, and perhaps, he even slightly surpassed the two in Brantia.

“His Excellency Crawlmarine has expressed his desire to be sworn in after fulfilling his duties as Sir Eugene’s aide. When that time comes, I, Lanslo Drak, will gladly stand as a witness.”

“...!”

The most prestigious family of knights in Brantia would stand witness to the ceremony!  It was an honorable event that would go down in the history of the Crawlmarine family and was something that even royal families would be jealous of.

After hearing Lanslo’s declaration, a similar thought dominated the minds of the nobles.

‘Maybe the Crawlmarine family will become one of Brantia’s pillars after this.’

‘To do that, we must win over Sir Eugene!’

They may be ignorant, but they were incredibly quick-witted.