CH 237

Baron Bommel was confident.

If he retreated inside his castle, or rather, if he blocked off his town, the evil vampire could never harm him.

“Think about it. Jan Eugene. Why did he provoke Franz into coming out of the castle? You also headed out of town after being deceived by him, right?” Baron Bommel said.

“…!!!” Pascal’s eyes widened. Come to think of it, it was true. Jan Eugene had neither set foot inside the Bommel Castle nor the town of the Bommel territory.

‘So the rumor was true after all?’

He felt his hair stand on end. How many days had he spent by the side of an evil, bloodthirsty vampire?

‘Wait, but he never sucked my blood, right? No, in fact, I never saw him consume any human blood…’

Pascal fell into confusion while he contemplated.

Baron Bommel continued, “Anyway, do as I told you. Jan Eugene. He will never be able to invade our territory. Neither as the king nor as a vampire. Hahaha!”

“Ah… yes,” Pascal answered. He still felt uneasy, but he knew there was nothing he could say to change his uncle’s mind. As such, he had no choice but to accept the outcome.

***

Although Baron Bommel was greedy and easily swayed by his emotions, he wasn’t a fool. He immediately instructed the villages of his territory to inspect their walls and wooden fences, as well as to tighten their defenses. In addition, he ordered everyone above a certain status, especially members of his family, to never leave their residences for the time being, regardless of the reason. The people of his land were greatly taken aback by the sudden, baffling order of their lord, but they obeyed. However, they were more afraid of the knights who brought the baron’s order rather than the order itself.

In any case, less than four days later, all four villages of the Bommel territory were transformed into heavily fortified strongholds of sorts. A few days later, Eugene arrived at the border of the Bommel territory with the elven knights.

***

“They didn’t let you inside the village?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They said that they are not accepting any visitors, for the time being, saying that there was an order from their lord. I don’t understand how they could possibly…” One of the elven knights fumed after being refused entry into the village.

Eugene responded, “We have everything we need, right? Mirian will make our water, and we have plenty of food as well.”

“That is true, but I wanted to be prepared just in case,” the elven knight responded. The elves weren’t simply there to protect Princess Lilisain, but they were also there to perform chores for their princess. Of course, Princess Lilisain was stubborn, and she had always insisted on taking care of herself on her own, which made it easier for the elven knights. Still, the elven knights had always been working hard to ensure that Princess Lilisain could always be in her best physical condition, including her cleanliness and beauty. After all, such things weren’t simply achieved like magic.

Like humans, elves would always need various supplies, and the knights had stopped by the village to restock.

“Let’s just hang in there for a few days. We will be at Baron Bommel’s castle in two days, so we can buy it there,” Eugene said.

“Yes, understood,” the knight answered while trying hard to suppress his anger. He could not continue to grumble and complain at Eugene, knowing that the vampire would soon become the son-in-law of Eland’s royal family.

Some of the children of the various lords, who had been staying as quiet as a mouse in the past few days, cautiously approached Eugene.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty.”

“Hmm? What is it?” Eugene asked. He was rather kind toward them. The lords had sent them of their own accord after being frightened, but now that they were here, Eugene had to take responsibility for them. In the first place, the lords had placed their children into his hands because they trusted him to take good care of them. As such, he could not treat them carelessly. To an extent, he had to treat them with honor.

It was slightly annoying to handle so many of them, but these children had never made things difficult for him because they had been greatly discouraged by Eugene’s reputation and status as a king.

“Do the sir elves need something for the princess? I think we can help with that,” one of the nobles said.

“Hooh? Really?” Eugene asked.

“Yes!”

When Eugene showed interest, they stepped up with confidence.

“Does she want items that noble women need?”

“Uh… There’s that, too.”

“These are some of my favorite items. Will they do? Madeleine.”

“Yes, miss. Here you go,” A maid quickly carried forward a box at her lady’s words.

“Would you like to see what I use as well, Princess?”

“Princess, Princess… How about this?”

“Oh, my! Are these your pets, Princess? They are absolutely adorable.”

The other ladies surrounded Princess Lilisain in a hurry. The elven knights and Eugene watched the scene play out with bewilderment. But in a way, this was only natural. The descendants of the local lords knew well that they were being kept as hostages of sorts.

After quietly watching the group for a few days, they came to think that the elf princess was quite amicable. On the contrary, the king seemed cold-hearted. In fact, they even wondered if the king would bleed when he was stabbed. It was obvious to them who was a better target compared to the king, and finally, the perfect opportunity had come.

Keeee~ Kieeeee~

“Ahk! Oh, my!”

When the girls suddenly flocked around Princess Lilisain, the two chickens in her arms made a threatening sound and waved their beaks in the same manner.

“I will keep them for a minute,” Eugene said.

“Yes, Your Majesty. My sincerest apologies,” Princess Lilisain responded. Eugene took over the rude four-legged chicks from Princess LIlisain. After all, he could not afford for any of the hostages to get hurt.

Eugene looked down at the griffon cubs with a sweet gaze after taking them into his arms.

That was all he did…

Kieeek! Hieeekek!

But the faces of the grey, feathery cubs turned blue, and they began to hiccup.

“Nice and quiet. Both of you must continue to behave like this,” Eugene said. The two griffon cubs waved their beaks up and down like crazy as if they understood Eugene’s words.

“Kihehehe! Just what I would expect from you, sir. Kekekekeke!”

Neiiigh!

The spirit and the steed were naturally satisfied to see the griffons struck with fear.

“Anyway, this is strange. Did something actually happen to Lord Bommel? What was the atmosphere like in town, sir?” Eugene asked.

The knight answered, “It felt as if they were wary of something. As you commanded, I did not reveal my identity, but I didn’t think it would have been any different even if I did. The guards were checking everyone’s identification very thoroughly and blocked anyone they didn’t know or seemed suspicious.”

“Hmm. Were there any other knights there?” Eugene asked.

“There were two knights and their groups, and they got angry. However, they simply backed off without making a ruckus,” the knight responded.

“Really? That’s strange…” Eugene muttered. Knights lived and died by their pride. If they were denied access to a village even after giving their name and their family name, it was completely normal for them to have caused an incident.

“Well… I just happened to hear about it on my way back from the village,” the elven knight said with a bitter smile.

He explained the conversation he had heard between the two knights.

Eugene was dumbfounded.

“So it’s because of me?” He asked.

“Yes. Naturally, it’s a good thing. Isn’t it proof that even wandering knights value your glorious name and reputation?” The elf said.

‘No… no matter how many times you say it, it sounds like they were just scared of me.’

Apparently, the two knights had talked about how persistent and strong Eugene was as a knight. If they were caught causing an incident in the Dukedom of Maren, which was nearing its founding ceremony, they couldn’t expect to be released by just paying a ransom. The king was known to be as cold and as persistent as he was brave, so they were certain their horses and equipment would be taken away, and their entire families destroyed. As such, they decided to leave calmly without causing an incident.

Their conversation had apparently been something along those lines…

Eugene didn’t know whether to be angry or happy. The elven knight spoke to Eugene after slightly lowering his voice, “Anyway, I’m certain something is happening in this territory. Although they stopped the knights from entering the village, I saw them letting in those who appeared to be priests from a nearby monastery.”

“Hmm.”

Eugene’s eyes glimmered coldly. He couldn’t exactly figure out the situation with what he had. It seemed he had to see Baron Bommel as soon as possible.

***

Two days later, at noon, Eugene and his group arrived in the territory’s Castletown.

‘It has changed quite a bit.’

He narrowed his eyes. In the past, it had been an open village, but now, Eugene saw a tall, long wooden fence surrounding the establishment. He could tell that the fence had been erected quite recently from its condition. In addition, a rather decent wooden watchtower had been raised inside the wooden fence. The soldiers of the barony appeared to be greatly stirred when they spotted Eugene’s group.

Soon, the gates opened, and a young knight armed with plate mail came out with a group of troops. However, the gates had only been opened halfway to allow them to run back at any time, and they came no further than a few meters from the gates.

“Huh? He’s…” Eugen muttered.

“Your Majesty, do you know that man?”

“Very well. I’ve caught him once before,” Eugene answered with a smirk. The knight didn’t appear as inexperienced as before as if to prove the passing of time. It seemed like only yesterday when Eugene had taken him hostage, but now, he looked pretty decent.

“Where are you from!? I am Lord Bommel’s knight—” the knight started shouting.

“It’s been a long time, Sir Apiel Bommel Pascal,” Eugene said with a smile as he raised his visor.

He had been half in doubt, but to think that the king was really here in person?!

“S-s-sir Eugene… N-no, Y-Your Majesty,” Realizing his mistake, Pascal hurriedly corrected himself.

“At least you aren’t completely oblivious to the happenings of the world. I almost thought that this was the case with the Bommel territory, you know?” Eugene said.

“W-what do you mean… by that?” Pascal asked. He had already heard the story and had seen the official letter with the seal of Maren and Eugene. However, it felt rather surreal to be actually reunited with Eugene.

“Well, after I dealt with monsters and bandits, the other sirs sent me them in return to express their gratitude, but I just didn’t hear anything from Lord Bommel, hmm? So I was wondering if he had no idea that I became the King of Maren,” Eugene explained.

“…!!!” Pascal’s pale face gradually turned ashen. He was familiar with some of the people riding behind Eugene, as he was acquainted with the nearby nobles as Baron Bommel’s nephew.

‘W-why did he have to bring the worst justification I could have imagined…?’

Moreover, it was clear at first glance that the knights standing by Eugene’s side were armed with excellent equipment. Eugene was an incredible knight in his own right, so a small group of elite knights accompanying him would obviously be skilled as well.

‘Pascal! Get it together!’

He was no longer the foolish young knight of the past. He quickly regained his composure.

“Anyway, are you going to keep us here?” Eugene asked.

“I must report to my lord before all else. I apologize, but please wait here for a moment,” Pascal said.

“Hmm.” Eugene swept over Pascal and Bommel’s soldiers with keen eyes. Those soldiers couldn’t stop their anxiety from leaking out. Eugene’s achievements were famous enough to be made into poems and songs, so they were all familiar with Eugene. However, what caused them to be fearful of Eugene wasn’t the fancy achievements told in songs and poems. Rather, they remembered that Eugene had been responsible for taking the eldest son of their lord hostage just a few years ago.

“I will do so. Since I’m a guest here, the owner’s invitation should come first,” Eugene responded.

“…!” Pascal’s eyebrows twitched at Eugene’s words.

‘I-it’s true after all. My uncle was right. This man is a vampire. He cannot enter this place without the permission of the owner!’

Pascal hurriedly returned, thrilled. Shortly thereafter, Baron Bommel appeared behind the wooden fence with knights, mercenaries, and even priests.

“Long time no see, Lord Bommel,” Eugene said while raising his hand. Although he had become the king, he had to show appropriate courtesy to a lord

However…

“Hmph! How dare you show your face here?! Member of the Evil Clan!” Baron Bommel shouted.

“…” Eugene frowned without realizing it. He was extremely dumbfounded.

However, his silence escalated Baron Bommel’s guess into complete conviction.

“Just as I thought! You might have deceived and taken advantage of others with your evil, schismatic mysteries, but such goes against the will of god. This is the end!” Baron Bommel exclaimed once more.

“…Baron, have you gone mad?” Eugene asked.

“Ha! As shameless as always. You truly are a sneaky, insidious, evil creature. You are a servant of evil! You can’t enter an establishment without the permission of the owner, right? I will never allow you to set foot inside my land! Try it if you can! Hahahaha!” Baron Bommel roared triumphantly.

Eugene had to stop himself from bursting out into laughter. He had been wondering what the hell was going on, but it seemed Baron Bommel had plotted all these, knowing he was a vampire.

‘Well, I would have been caught off guard not long ago.’

Even though he was an Origin, a vampire still couldn’t enter establishments belonging to others without an invitation. As such, it was true that it was Eugene’s biggest constraint.

However…

Eugene dismounted his horse, then started walking toward the entrance of the village without hesitation.

“Huh?!”

Baron Bommel’s knights and mercenaries hurriedly pulled out their weapons. The soldiers also turned their crossbows toward Eugene.

Tap, tap, tap.

However, Eugene continued to walk toward the tightly closed gates as if he were unconcerned about the soldiers.

The soldiers grew tenser, and Baron Bommel shouted confidently, “Hahaha! There is absolutely no need to worry! Even a vampire noble capable of striding around during the day can’t come into an establishment without…”

Boom!

A well-placed kick completely destroyed the wooden gates. Immediately after, Eugene could be seen passing through the entrance as pieces of wood fell from the sky.

“…!!!” Baron Bommel couldn’t keep his jaws closed.

Eugene spoke, “Your pledge of loyalty was well received, Baron Bommel.”

Indeed, Baron Bommel had also stamped his seal to express his willingness to join the Dukedom of Maren along with the other lords. In other words, the Bommel territory and the baron’s castle were both Eugene’s ‘territory.’

Craaack!

Eugene smiled while cracking his neck from side to side.

“You have to pay the price for ruining the king’s reputation and tarnishing the dukedom’s reputation, right? Sir?”

Eugene could travel anywhere without restriction, as long as it was land that had been declared part of the Dukedom of Maren.