The succession ceremony was held in a grand manner.

Eugene didn’t care for how it was held, but the elders of the duchy strongly insisted that it had to be grand. The elders strongly recommended that the duchy’s succession ceremony needed to be carried out in a proper, befitting manner, even if it caused them to go into debt. Naturally, Eugene criticized them for already being poor beggars without any money, and the elders’ faces became dyed red with shame.

As such, it was originally decided that the succession ceremony would be simple and frugal as Eugene intended. However, an unexpected ‘hero’ appeared to save the day.

It was Odd, the depot merchant, and his fellow merchants.

“If you give us permission, we will provide the funds for the ceremony.”

“We have made massive profits thanks to Your Excellency. Please give us a chance to repay your kindness.”

The nobles of the duchy were almost brought to tears by the apparent altruistic acts of the merchants. However, Eugene was reluctant. He was different from the nobles of the duchy, who were still soaking in the duchy’s past glory and ignorant of the real world. He knew exactly why the merchants were making such suggestions.

“I can’t give you all exclusive rights to the goods that will come from the continent. However, I will consult Mungard’s merchant guild and allow you all to take advantage to a certain extent,” Eugene stated.

“Thank you!”

“We will never forget your kindness. If there’s anything you would like done, please let us know.”

The merchants responded with joy.

Eugene spoke, “However, you will cut the price of supplies once my army grows bigger.”

“Well… how much bigger? What do you have in mind?” Odd asked.

“Once it grows over 1,000, a twenty percent reduction in prices,” Eugene said.

“We will gladly follow your suggestion.”

The merchants were satisfied. Eugene’s army needed to triple in size for it to reach 1,000 troops, and it was impossible to achieve such a number even if Eugene hired all the mercenaries in the area.

It was possible if Eugene held the entirety of Brantia’s southwest in his grasp, but it wouldn’t happen in the near future.

‘Even if that’s possible, we’ll take advantage as much as possible until that happens…’

“We will follow Your Excellency until the end! With the highest quality goods and our loyalty! We will do our best!”

“Good. I feel reassured,” Eugene said, nodding.

“Hehe! I’m honored.” Odd and the merchants grinned after receiving Eugene’s praise. However, their joy disappeared without a trace three days after the splendid, luxurious succession ceremony.

Galfredik had returned to the duchy from Mungard with a whopping 800 troops.

“W-what t…” Odd’s face turned deathly pale when he saw the large army. The army easily exceeded 1,000 troops in total.

“You promised, right? A twenty percent cut in prices.” Eugene pointed out.

“Ah…”

Odd came to the unfortunate realization that there would always be a vampire ahead of you.

***

“This is amazing! Don’t you think so, Sir Drak?”

“That’s right. I have never seen such a large army before…”

Luke and Lanslo couldn’t hide their shock and admiration. Dozens of flags flapped against the wind, and more than a thousand troops were lined up in an organized, awe-inspiring manner. It was truly an awesome sight.

“Hehe! There are about 40 knights and 200 heavy infantrymen,” Galfredik said while pointing.

“Really?” Eugene responded before turning his head. The majority of knights were from Maren and the Carls Baggins Peninsula. Eugene was acquainted with most of them.

“All of the knights have plate mail, and all the mercenaries from Maren either have chainmail or plate coats. It seems that the City of Maren and the vice executive didn’t spare anything.”

Priscilla and the Palin Association were investing a humongous sum of money to assist Eugene’s expedition to Brantia. The City of Maren was home to some of the best armament workshops in the Caylor Kingdom, and they had provided high-quality, durable armor for a cheap price to the knights and mercenaries departing on the Brantia expedition.

Even though they made such decisions hoping to benefit from Brantia in the future, what they had done was still a great help.

“What did you do with the organization?” Eugene asked.

Galfredik responded, “I took care of it on my way here.”

“Were there any complaints?” Eugene asked.

“Kuha! All those disobedient bastards left long ago. The rest of them are head over heels with your reputation, Master. Ah, of course, this guy has also been a big help. A holy knight really does live up to his name,” Galfredik replied.

“You flatter me. You took care of it all, Sir Galfredik,” Edmund smiled shyly and responded when Galfredik patted him on the shoulder.

Still, Eugene was convinced that Edmund had been a big help just as he expected. No matter how famous Eugene was in Maren and the Carls Baggins Peninsula, many people could turn their backs on him after discovering his true identity as a vampire. But it was different with the support of a brave, faithful holy knight, especially if he was someone who had participated in the crusade. There was no better assurance than him.

“Galfredik,” Eugene called out in a low voice, and Galfredik moved in closer.

“You sent the message to Ortos of the Rhodes Islands for sure, right?” Eugene asked.

“Hehehe. I sent the fastest ship. I told them that they could put the pocas to work and sink all the ships. Well, I said that if there were any survivors, they could enslave them or whatever,” Galfredik responded.

Those who had initially crossed the sea with the wrong intentions would meet their end in Rhode’s waters. If they safely returned to the Caylor Kingdom after suffering a beating from Galfredik, it was obvious what types of rumors they might spread. The rumors would morph and change as they spread, and eventually, they could even lead to trouble with Eugene’s strong supporters, including the two port cities, the Winslon County, and the Archivold Marquisate.

“It’s always better to uproot impure sprouts before they grow. There’s no need to even let them take root in the first place,” Eugene said.

“Kuhaha! This is why I like you, master,” Galfredik responded with a laugh.

“As expected, Sir Eugene is thorough! Mercy? Forgiveness? There’s no way that Sir Eugene would hold such cheesy feelings, right? Kihehehehehehehe!”

“Uhehehehehehe!”

“Heuheuheu!”

The shoulders of the spirit and the two vampires shook as they laughed insidiously.

“Let’s go.” 

“All right.” Galfredik grinned and turned around. He overlooked the 1,200-strong army. There were around 1,000 troops and 200 workers from the depot.

“We depart!” Galfredik shouted.

“Uwaaaahhhhhh!!!” A thunderous roar resounded over Batla’s sky.

***

“Excuse me, Lord Sithame.”

“Hmm?”

Lord Nosvolta called out, and Lord Sithame turned his head.

Nosvolta continued. “We will be arriving at your territory soon, right?”

“That’s right. What is it?” Sithame responded.

“Well… I’m just wondering how much you are going to prepare. Have you already decided on who to send?” Nosvolta asked.

“Hmm.” Lord Sithame smacked his lips together. The nobles who had participated in the four-day succession ceremony were accompanying the army of the new duke. And as was said, the duke visited the territories of each noble. Naturally, Eugene cracked down on those who didn’t personally attend the ceremony and sent representatives instead.

None of the families raised any objections nor attempted to resist. The duke held the perfect justification, and there was no one who would act pridefully in front of a humongous army consisting of heavily armed knights and ferocious warriors.

In the end, the nobles and their direct descendants were forced to come out of their gates, kneel in front of the duke’s horse, and kiss his feet.

Goods and coins equivalent to the one-year income of each territory were loaded onto carts, and dozens of slaves and the first sons of the noble families were collected as a token of their loyalty. Although their families hadn’t been completely ruined, they suffered a huge blow that would last for several years.

On the other hand, the nobles who had directly attended Eugene’s ceremony, like Nosvolta or Sithame, received Eugene’s mercy and deep consideration.

He decided to only receive a moderate amount of wealth and to take the direct descendants only if the lords wanted it.

- You sirs are lucky.

The two lords trembled as they recalled the cold smile of Duke Jan Eugene Batla and his promise.

“For now, I am planning to yield half a year’s income of my territory and my second son,” Lord Sithame answered.

“Your second son? Money is one thing, but your second son was chosen to become Sir Minros’s aide, wasn’t he?”

“Huh! Surely that’s not the problem right now. It’s Drak. Drak! Moreover, Count Crawlmarine basically worships the duke. If my son can become the aide of either one of them, then that would bring honor to the family, wouldn’t you say?” Lord Sithame explained.

“Well. I guess…” Nosvolta muttered

“So sir, seriously think about it. Although His Excellency gave us a choice, I think he’s very likely to consider this a test of loyalty,” Sithame said.

“Hmm. Is that so…?” Nosvolta muttered and fell into contemplation while looking at Eugene’s back from afar. Then, he spoke in a low voice after glancing elsewhere, “By the way, who is that lady? Every time I see her, she’s by Count Crawlmarine’s side. Is she his fiancée? She might be an aide as well since she’s always wearing armor.”

“Well, I’m not sure. I wasn’t very interested.” There were already so many people, so it was hard to keep track. Moreover, Lord Sithame was more interested in saving his own hide, so he had no time to care about such trivial things.

“Hmm. Hey, come here for a second.” Nosvolta called out to a Brantian mercenary who was marching just behind him.

“Yes, did you call for me, sir?” the mercenary asked.

“That lady by Count Crawlmarine’s side. Do you know who that is? Is she the count’s aide?” Nosvolta asked.

"Oh, that lady? She’s a prisoner of His Excellency Eugene,” the mercenary answered.

“What? A prisoner?” Nosvolta asked.

“Yes. The knight next to her is also a prisoner,” the mercenary said.

Nosvolta looked at the knight with wide eyes, then spoke dumbfoundedly, “How could a prisoner be left to be so free? And why is the count so close to the prisoner?”

“Well, that’s because she is a direct descendant of the Fransil family,” the mercenary explained.

“Fransil…? What?”

“Monarch of the East. The family that faces the Sun?” Even Sithame interrupted the conversation with disbelief. 

The mercenary nodded. “I don’t know much about those titles, but she is indeed Lord Fransil’s youngest daughter, Lady Lorraine. She was on her quest to knighthood, but she challenged His Excellency the Duke and was defeated. So, she became a prisoner and accompanied him all the way here. If you don’t have any further questions, sirs, I will be on my way.”

“Y-yes, go ahead.” The mercenary retreated with a bow, and the two vacantly stared at Luke and Lorraine with incredulous eyes. They had been half-forced into swearing allegiance to the duke. But it seemed their lord was a man beyond their imaginations.

It was shocking enough that he possessed such a great army, but he had also captured a direct descendant of Fransil, one of the most powerful families challenging the Brantian throne. What more would they discover about this man…?

“Ah!” Lord Nosvolta gasped as if coming to a sudden realization. Then, he turned his head with a determined expression. “Lord Sithame. I have come to a decision.”

“A-about what?” Sithame asked.

“I will send my second son and my youngest daughter to His Excellency. I will have my son become one of their aides, and my daughter as Count Crawlmarine’s concubine,” Nosvolta stated.

“What? Sir, do you mean it?” Sithame asked.

“Yes. I’m dead serious,” Nosvolta answered with burning determination.

Sithame looked at Nosvolta with ridicule before eventually responding, “Your youngest daughter. She’s eight years old this year, right? Are you crazy?”

“What does that have to do with anything? She will be at a suitable age to become engaged in four or five years,” Nosvolta retorted.

“No, that’s not how things work!”

“Ha! Lord Sithame, you told me you were planning to send your second son, but are you actually going to send one of your daughters as well? Are you worried because my daughter is younger? You’re worried that you might lose your spot?” Nosvolta questioned.

“Have you truly gone mad? How can you even say that to me?!” Sithame shouted.

“Well, if that’s not the case, then why…”

The two lords raised their voices and criticized each other, although they had a rather harmonious relationship until now. As the competition for loyalty began in earnest among the duchy’s vassals, Mirian excitedly buzzed over. She had been snooping around in search of anything interesting.

“Kihehehehe! It’s me~ Number one~ Sir Eugene’s most loyal servant is here~ Ten gold coins~! Just ten gold coins and I will hook you up with Aide number two~! Now, now~! This isn’t an everyday opportunity~ Ten gold coins~” She was fully aware that they couldn’t see or hear her. However, she continued to shout excitedly like a crazed merchant, drooling at the sight of their coin pouches.

However…

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

The two lords suddenly stopped arguing and looked around.

“D-did you hear something just now?”

“Huh? You as well? I did hear something. It sounded like a very wicked, insidious voice…” the two lords muttered.

“Kieeeeeeeeeeekkk?!” Mirian screamed with shock.

“Hmm?”

“W-what is it?!” The lords jumped back with surprise, and the ‘wicked, insidious spirit’ quickly flew away from above their heads.

“W-what’s going on? Did those humans hear my voice just now? How? Why?” Mirian shouted with shock and confusion. 

Lanslo, who had been watching from the very beginning, explained while holding back his laughter. “You might call it a manifestation of an overwhelming yearning. A creature of mana like yourself is capable of manifesting their will when their yearning is deep and strong. You are evolving alongside the one you are contracted with.”

“Kieeeeek?! Is that true?” Mirian asked.

“Of course. Normally, it tends to be a manifestation of pure love and honest faith toward the one you are contracted to, but you’re just a little different in that you express strong will for money and wealth. Pffft!” Lanslo explained before bursting out into laughter.

“Kieeeek?!” The spirit’s wings trembled in shock.

“D-does that mean that my words could be conveyed to those humans in the future?” Mirian asked.

“Perhaps, depending on the situation,” Lanslo responded.

“Kieeehhh.”

She appeared rather embarrassed.

“I like it! That means I can strip them of all their silver and gold, all their treasures! Kiek! Kieehhh!”

…Or perhaps she wasn’t.