CH 160

“Be quiet.”

The chaos subsided in an instant when a low, heavy voice laced with a hint of fear resonated. However, the gazes of those staring at Eugene were still filled with dissatisfaction and aggravation.

“There seems to have been quite a few misunderstandings. Let’s go back to the castle. I will explain when we arrive,” Eugene said.

“However, Your Excellency…”

“Eland is…”

Bonmer and Pranbow started to retort, but Eugene’s eyes instantly turned toward them.

“You two sure talk a lot for prisoners,” Eugene said.

“…!”

The two flinched, and Eugene glared at them while growling. “Don’t overstep your boundaries while I’m treating you with honor. My honor is just as valuable as yours.”

“Yes, yes...”

“I understand…”

The two representatives nodded before closing their mouths, which caused their subordinates to follow suit. They had forgotten that they were prisoners because of the great treatment they had been receiving. Duke Batla was a wise, articulate noble, but he was also someone who preferred to cross blades instead of conversing.

“Let’s go.”

Eugene declared after calming the chaos.

***

The castle’s atmosphere was quite solemn, perhaps due to the situation with the Brodia family and Reyma Fransil. Eugene received a short welcome from the nobles and the elders, then summoned the two representatives responsible for the earlier commotion.

Eugene spoke while looking around at Pranbow, who was attempting to suppress his emotions, and Bonmer, who was stealing glances at him, “First of all, I want to say that both of you are misunderstanding something.”

“….”

They wanted to respond but decided to abandon that thought after seeing Eugene’s icy gaze. Eugene continued. “I have no intention of marrying Lorraine, so I have no idea why Reyma Fransil would have said such a thing.”

“Hmm. I see,” Pranbow muttered with a slightly brighter expression.

Eugene met his gaze and continued, “In addition, I have no intention of marrying a direct descendant of Eland’s king.”

“Your Excellency?!” Pranbow exclaimed in shock.

“I’m not finished with my words yet,” Eugene said.

“Phew… Please excuse me. Please continue.” Pranbow took a deep breath to quench his emotions.

“I made a promise to make a direct descendant of Eland’s king into the Queen of Brantia, and I intend to keep it. However, that doesn’t mean that they will be marrying me. I don’t intend on becoming the King of Brantia,” Eugene declared

“W-What do you mean by that?” Bonmer said

“Huh? Who else will ascend the throne if not you, Your Excellency? Didn’t you tell me earlier that you were going to unite Brantia? It doesn’t add up,” Pranbow spoke with doubt.

Eugene clicked his tongue. “Uniting Brantia. Does it mean I have to become a king?”

“With all due respect, that’s merely playing with words,” Pranbow said.

“Sir Pranbow. Do you really think that the honor of Duke Batla is to be taken lightly? And that I’m wasting my time playing word games with a swordmaster?” Eugene asked.

“Ugh…” Pranbow flinched at Eugene’s stern eyes and voice.

“I will unite Brantia. However, someone else will be ascending the throne instead of me. And that man will possess more justification and legitimacy than any other person who claims themselves to be king in Brantia,” Eugene stated.

“And who could that person…”

“Count Crawlmarine.” Eugene declared.

“Hmm?!”

The two were taken aback. They were filled with confusion and shock.

Eugene spoke softly, “The Crawlmarine County is lacking in comparison to the Drak family or the Batla family. However, its title was recognized by both families in the past. It’s a noble family with an extensive history.”

“Well, that’s true.” Although it was severely weakened after the crusade, the Crawlmarine County was still a well-recognized, prestigious family. It had long reigned in history as a monarch of Brantia’s Southwest.

“Over the course of history, the blood of many different dynasties was introduced into the county as well. However, there is one decisive reason that will allow the Count Crawlmarine to ascend Brantia’s throne,” Eugene said. The two people’s expressions had become completely different from when they first entered the office.

Eugene declared, “I, Duke Batla, and Eland’s King will give our support to Count Crawlmarine. Does he need any further justification to become the King of Brantia then?”

“Ohh!” Pranbow’s expression brightened at once. Many families had sought the Batla Duchy’s support in contesting Brantia’s throne. As such, if one had the support of both the Batla Duchy and Eland, no one else could possibly compete against them in terms of justification and backing.

It would be game over…

Moreover, Pranbow was a swordmaster and an outstanding knight. However, he suffered defeat at the hands of Eugene and his army. Duke Batla possessed both status, justification, and outstanding skills, as well as a powerful army under his command.

Who could protest against a king with such a powerful backer?

“The direct descendant of Eland’s king will become Count Crawlmarine’s wife. Are you satisfied with that, Sir Pranbow?” Eugene asked.

“Please forgive this foolish knight for my failure in comprehending your deep intentions, Your Excellency.” Pranbow bowed without hesitation. He was greatly satisfied. Although the anticipated husband of Eland’s daughter went from a daywalker to a regular human being, it wasn’t a bad thing at all. Rather, it was good. If the king died earlier than the queen, then the throne would eventually be handed over to the queen and her children.

“And Sir Bonmer,” Eugene called out.

“Ye-yes!” Bonmer answered with a completely transformed attitude. From the very beginning, he found Eugene quite difficult to deal with, which was largely due to Eugene’s incredible skills. However, the current conversation shocked him as much as Eugene’s overwhelming skills.

‘He wasn’t simply strong. I never imagined that he had such a deep mind as well…’

Bonmer gulped with awe and anxiety.

Eugene spoke, “If the Fransil family so desires, then you may send Loraine Fransil to Count Crawlmarine in marriage. There will be no evidence of trust greater than the joining of the two. However, she will be a concubine. If you accept, I will elevate the Fransil family’s status to an independent lord after I unite Brantia with Count Crawlmarine. I will guarantee the independence of the eastern territories.”

Bonmer fell into thought after hearing the unexpected proposal. After a moment, he looked up and responded cautiously, “Well… I don’t know if it’s my place to say this, but I think it’s highly likely that my lord won’t accept the proposal. He is an extremely proud man…”

“Even though I’ll be saving the life of his eldest son?” Eugene said.

“…!” Bonmer’s eyes shook violently. He had momentarily forgotten about Reyma’s situation due to the magnanimity of the things they were discussing.

“If you refuse, I will do nothing in regard to the Fransil family’s eldest son. I’ll simply stand by and watch, regardless of whether they will kill him or not. And after I hand you and Lady Lorraine over to the Fransil family, I will declare war.”

“B-but…!”

“No buts. You were the ones who attacked me first. It’s reasonable for me to simply hand you, sir, and Lady Lorraine over for ransom. In fact, handing over prisoners before declaring war is an extremely honorable act, is it not?” Eugene asked.

“Ah…” Bonmer’s expression turned bleak. He could not find any faults with Eugene’s logic. Even if the two families went to war, everyone would know that the Fransil family was the provoker.

‘The problem is that we will have to go to war with the Brodia family as well.’

Although he felt sorry for Lorraine, the reality was that Reyma’s value was incomparably greater than hers. If the Brodia family demanded a ransom for Reyma, it would undoubtedly be dozens of times greater than Lorraine’s ransom, and if anything happened to Reyma, the two families would immediately go to war. As such, what would happen if a grand army led by a dreadfully strong, frosty duke declared war on the Fransil family?

‘I-it would all be over…’

Bonmer made up his mind. As soon as he returned to the Fransil family, he would strongly advocate for maintaining a harmonious relationship with the newly appointed Duke of Batla. He stuttered a response while breaking a cold sweat, “Y-your Excellency. I-I…”

Eugene interrupted him. “I know that this is not a matter for you to decide. Return to your family and relay my message to Lord Fransil.”

“Yes, yes!” Bonmer responded before immediately lowering his head.

Eugene turned his gaze to Pranbow once more. “Now, Sir Pranbow…”

“Please speak.”

“If you take my promise to be true, then from now on, we are sailing on the same boat. We are family, wouldn’t you agree?” Eugene said.

“Haha! Of course...” Pranbow responded.

“Then I ask this of you, not as my prisoner, but as a swordmaster of Eland. Will you join me in saving Reyma Fransil?” Eugene asked.

“It would be my great honor to fight by your side, Your Excellency.” The eyes of Eland’s swordmaster shone with a brilliant light. On the other hand, Bonmer’s expression grew even darker.

‘The Duke of Batla, and even a swordmaster of Eland… Our family’s debt is growing out of control.’

***

“Eat.”

“Hmph! Do you really think I would eat anything that the unworthy, cowardly, dishonorable hands of yours have touched? Get rid of it!” Although his armor and weapons had been confiscated and he was left with only his outerwear, Reyma remained confident and proud.

The knight, who had brought the dry, black bread, and the strange-smelling bowl of stew, glared at Reyma. “It won’t be good for you if you keep acting like this. Be an obedient little sheep when we’re treating you like a noble. All of your weak knights are already dead, so why are you talking so big? No wonder your knights died like that. Their master doesn’t know his own place.”

“Hahaha!” The other knights laughed after hearing his words. They were eating a little away from Reyma and the knight.

Reyma’s face turned red like autumn leaves. “How dare you ambush us like cowards? Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves? And you still call yourselves knights? Ah, I see! The Brodia family is just a band of bandits who ambush their opponents without declaring war!”

Thud!

“Keugh!”

Reyma stumbled backward as the knight struck his jaw.

“You were the ones to encroach on our family’s territory without permission, so who’s the bandit here? That’s right, you are! Moreover, all of you were wimps weaker than the roamers roaming our front yard.”

“That’s right. An immature young master who ran away from home will have to suffer a little to get his act straight, right?”

“If he’s unlucky, he might even die, right? It’s common.”

“Hahahahahaha!”

Reyma was both ashamed and angry as his captors attacked him with blatant ridicule. He bit his lips until blood started to flow. However, there was nothing he could do without any equipment. Moreover, his legs were restrained by steel chains. In addition, even if he had access to his weapons, there was no chance he could defeat eight knights by himself.

“Even so, he’s the heir to the Fransil family. Treat him honorably, sirs.”

“Ah! Yes, Lord Helmond.”

The knights immediately apologized and turned toward the voice.

Tap. Tap.

A figure approached Reyma with heavy footsteps. Reyma struggled to set himself upright.

“I apologize for their mistakes, Sir Reyma Fransil,” the figure said.

“Keugh…” Reyma wanted to dismiss the apology, but he had no choice but to raise his head.

“I accept your apology, sir, though I don’t know why an honorable, noble man such as yourself is with the bandits of Brodia.”

“It is my duty as a native of this land to control that… brethren of mine from the continent since he’s running rampant in this great land without knowing his own place. And since your family’s planning to tie knots with that hooligan, it’s no longer someone else’s business,” the figure spoke with a smile. He was a handsome man in his mid-20s with long, bright blonde hair.

“Lord Federique Helmond! Is the Helmond Clan truly going to go against the Fransil family?!” Reyma shouted.

“If necessary, of course…”

Federique Helmond. He was a high lord of one of two representative vampire clans of Brantia. His large, pointed fangs glinted sharply.

At that moment, two horses could be seen approaching the group from afar.

“Whoa, whoa!”

Two knights wrapped in obsidian robes and helmets with a pointed, beak-like appearance quickly descended from their saddles and kowtowed.

“We report to the great high lord. The one who calls himself the Duke of Batla is leading his force northward after crossing the Riwad territory,” one of the two said.

“Hooh? Does that mean he doesn’t care what happens to his brother-in-law?”

“I believe that to be the case. However, his forces seem less powerful than the rumors. In addition, I don’t think Banneret Randolph and his knight are with the army.”

“Randolph? Hmm.”

Federique stroked his smooth chin, then grinned.

“Well, that’s even better. Destroying a single member of our kin is enough. And since he was kind enough to come out of his castle of his own volition, we won’t have to go through the trouble of getting an invitation. This is a good sign.” Federique laughed silently while turning toward the dying sun.

Despite facing the glittering sunset, his expression remained as calm as a placid ocean.