Eugene employed a small carriage to load his luggage, then soon arrived at a dark gray manor located on a hill. He proceeded to reveal his identity to the men standing guard at the gate, who were looking at him with suspicious eyes. Utter surprise soon filled their faces as their jaws became agape, and one of the guards immediately rushed into the manor. Even though the distance from the gate to the manor was quite long, Delmondo rushed over in black clothes and a mask less than five minutes later.

“M-master!” he called out.

“Have you been well?” Eugene asked.

“He must have been more than just well. He looks more well done from everything he has enjoyed until now,” Mirian spouted nonsense while poking her head out of her leather pocket. She had been staying in her pocket to potentially detect the presence of any wizards or elves at the port.

Delmondo disregarded her and knelt on one knee before speaking politely, “This humble one has done everything in my power to carry out your instructions. My wish is to work my life for you, master, before I return to eternity. For me, that is what it means to be well.”

Count Delmondo was a celebrity in the City of Petrucca and was famous for his seemingly endless wealth. It was commonly known that he was a subordinate of Maren’s King, but the employees of the manor were stupefied to see that the relationship between the two was no different from a slave and his master. They were also shocked that the King of Maren was a fair, handsome man, or rather, an elegant and beautiful man. They couldn’t believe that someone with such an appearance was a world-renowned knight.

‘This man is really the famous King of Maren?’

‘He is indeed handsome, but he looks a little normal compared to the rumors.’

The employees had been riddled with nonsensical rumors about Eugene, that he had five horns on his head or that he drank the blood of dozens every single day. When they saw what he truly looked like, they became rather suspicious of the man. However, it wasn’t as if they could voice their suspicion and curiosity when their employer Delmondo was acting so respectfully toward the king. As such, the employees simply bowed their heads without daring to even breathe.

“Let me guide you. Please, Master, this way,” Delmondo said.

“Yes,” Eugene responded.

Eugene and Edmund walked through the manor, which was considered one of the five largest residences in the City of Petrucca. As Delmondo led them through the building, one of the swordsmen quietly disappeared to the annex while stealing glances at Eugene’s group. Although the swordsman had moved silently to avoid anyone’s attention, it was impossible to avoid the senses of an Origin.

Eugene opened his leather pocket naturally while slowly moving through the manor. The spirit of water made herself invisible and quickly flew in the direction where the man had disappeared toward.

‘Delmondo has already been here for almost a year. It would be strange if there weren’t one or two spies in the manor.’

Eugene predicted that there was a high probability that the spy was related to the empire’s vampire clans. And his prediction was true.

***

“What? The King of Maren is here?!”

“That’s right. I received news from our secret agent in the Black Dragon Manor,” the vampire butler reported.

Lord Mehen, the leader of the Rivoles Clan’s family in Petrucca, shouted with disbelief, “How could that possibly be? Wasn’t he supposed to continue eliminating the monsters with his troops?”

“I-I’m not too sure about…”

The expedition of the King of Maren to resolve the monster uprising was a hot topic, but the detailed route of the expedition was unknown. Moreover, it took more than a month for news regarding the expedition to reach all the way to Petrucca.

“The King of Maren is here… Doesn’t that mean he was successful at resolving the monster uprising in the Hisain Countdom?” Lord Mehen asked.

“In all likelihood, I think—”

“In all likelihood your mother! Of course, he was successful. Right. So, how many soldiers has he brought with him? Rumor has it that he even drags around an undead ogre… No, then we should have heard the news from the pier first, right?”

The King of Maren was famous for always being accompanied by powerful knights and hundreds of elite soldiers. His arrival would have certainly caused a loud commotion at the pier, but Lord Mehen had never heard of such a thing.

“Well… He’s only with a single knight,” the butler answered.

“Bullshit. He would not have done such a thing unless he has gone mad. Even when he destroyed Markus of Mungard, he mobilized hundreds, from knights to mercenaries,” Lord Mehen commented while glaring at the butler.

The butler responded while stealing a cold sweat, “I-I did not believe it at first either, so I checked it once more. But it’s true. The coachman who carried the king’s luggage to the Black Dragon Manor said that there were only two guests.”

“Ha! What a madman. Unless… Is he really the equivalent of our clan’s high lord?” Lord Mehen muttered.

“Seeing that Lord Delmondo treated him with utmost courtesy, I can’t help but think that the rumor may be true…” the butler muttered.

“Hmm.”

Lord Mehen’s expression became stiff. Jan Eugene Batla—the stories about the King of Maren could be heard everywhere. Minstrels sang songs of him beating up a troll in pubs, and whenever one headed to the square, they could see a play of the king conquering Brantia. Moreover, Eugene was the first in decades to have made such great achievements that he even became a king. As such, there were many nosy chatterboxes who loved to talk about him.

Such events led to an unexpected situation. Most people came to regard the stories of Maren’s King as being overly exaggerated. It was perhaps unavoidable, since the king seemed to be achieving greater things every day, and since stories tended to be revised slightly every time they were retold. Lord Mehen was also rather skeptical regarding the stories of Maren’s King. He had come to distrust the rumors due to the numerous songs and stories that were sung and told about the king.

“You shouldn’t carelessly believe in rumors,” Lord Mehen said.

“But my lord…”

“From the way I see things, someone is deliberately spreading the stories of Maren’s King. It’s almost as if they are deliberately trying to raise his reputation. Well, it’s definitely the king himself,” Lord Mehen continued.

“What? Why would he do such a—Isn’t the King of Maren known to be a knight of great honor?” the butler asked.

“Tsk, tsk. Stupid fellow. Listen carefully.” Lord Mehen looked around the family’s butler and knights before continuing, “What would you all think if you saw the King of Maren right now?”

“W-well, that’s…” The vampires of the Mehen family were speechless. They could not bear to say something that would damage their lord’s pride.

“You don’t have to tell me. Regardless of your clan, you would kneel in awe. However, your actions wouldn’t be based on the fact that the King of Maren is a member of the Dark Clan like us,” Lord Mehen explained.

“What? Then—”

“It would be because his achievements as a knight and a monarch are great, not because he is a member of the Tribe of Darkness. Isn’t it obvious when you see the nobles who grovel every time Delmondo holds a banquet or attends one?” Lord Mehen added. Including himself, it was true that the vampires of the other clans were doing their best to present themselves to Delmondo. The society of vampires was strictly guided by hierarchy. However, even bannerets and lords could not gain the upper hand against Delmondo, who was without a clan and not even at the level of lords. However, it wasn’t because Delmondo was a count of Brantia.

“The decisive reason behind why Delmondo became a celebrated figure of our city to network with is because he is an agent of the King of Maren. To be precise, it’s because of the reputation and stories about the King of Maren,” Lord Mehen explained.

“That’s true, but…”

Lord Mehen continued, “So, I’m saying that the unverified reputation of the king has been dictating everything. The king’s reputation is the reason why all of you—as well as all the nobles here—would kneel in awe upon meeting him!”

“…”

The vampires still appeared confused. Lord Mehen clicked his tongue before continuing, “In the end, the King of Maren may have artificially created his reputation to take advantage of it! Stronger than a high lord of the clan? Has anyone actually seen it? He has basically conquered Brantia? Then why did he hand over the throne to his aide? He killed all sorts of monsters in evil lands? Do you really think the bannerets and the high lords of the clan would not be capable of doing the same thing?”

“Ah…” The eyes of the vampires slightly widened at Lord Mehen’s words of conviction.

“Do you finally understand? The King of Maren inflated his achievements and spread them intentionally. Why? Because he can receive the respect and awe of human nobles and the members of the clan without even having to fight! Because no one is willing to fight him due to his ridiculous exploits!”

‘H-his words are… convincing!’

Doubt slowly disappeared from the faces of the vampires. Lord Mehen became more excited as he carried on. “In the end, the truth will be revealed if someone steps forward and collides with the King of Maren head-to-head. That’s the solution!”

“Will you be taking on that role, my lord?” one of the vampires asked.

“Tsk, tsk! That’s why you’re still a long way off. Do you really believe the King of Maren will respond accordingly if I did so?” Lord Mehen said.

“Uh…”

The vampire knight had asked with an excited expression, but he took on an embarrassed expression at Lord Mehen’s response.

Status was everything. There was no way a king would personally deal with a mere lord of a vampire clan’s family. In fact, the nobles of Petrucca would definitely intervene and rebuke him.

“Something that can cause the king to move… A perfect painting… No, we need an overwhelming situation. We need to create a situation where the other clans and Petrucca’s nobles will not dare to speak,” Lord Mehen said.

“What? How could we—”

Fwoosh!

Lord Mehen whirled his cape before raising his voice as if he were making a declaration. “As lord of the Mehen family and a member of the honorable Rivoles Clan, I have appealed to the clan with tears in my eyes for the day when the King of Maren came to Petrucca! I have appealed for the opportunity to directly crush the tricks of Maren’s King and to make the honor and the bravery of the Rivoles known! And the clan answered my desperate plea!”

“…?!”

Paaaa…

Lord Mehen’s Fear involuntarily surged amidst his rising excitement. He then exclaimed, “The clan of warriors, Rivoles! The master of our great clan will take glorious steps to the City of Petrucca!”

Ohhh…!!!

The vampires of the Mehen family evoked their Fear as if responding to their lord. For vampires, the masters of their respective clans were no different from a ‘god’. The clan masters were the source of their blood—their founder. Clan masters were absolute existences. Naturally, all vampires had a burning desire to personally meet with their clan masters. However, with the exception of high-ranking vampires like the high lords, the majority of vampires were vulnerable to the sun and silver. As such, traveling long distances were very difficult for them. Indeed, there was a good reason why most vampires lived their lives holed up in their territories or cities.

In the end, the only chance for most vampires to actually meet their clan masters was if their masters visited them. However, an existence as great as a clan master wouldn’t randomly choose to go around visiting cities.

However, the clan master of the Rivoles Clan would actually grace them their presence in the City of Petrucca. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the vampires.

“The master must have recognized your excellent leadership, my lord! Congratulations, my lord!”

“If the master takes the precious steps to come to Petrucca, even the King of Maren will have no choice but to kneel!”

“Uhahaha! Would it only be the King of Maren? That smug Helmond, and those from the Samit and Todor Clans will also kneel at the feet of our master and worship. Our master won’t be able to convict them directly because of the agreement between the clans, but they will have no choice but to live as quietly as mice for the foreseeable future,” Lord Mehen responded to the excited shouts of the vampires.

“Hahahahahaha…!”

The laughter of Lord Mehen and the vampires of his family continued as they steeped in anticipation and joy. However, they were ignorant of one thing. The vampire bannerets and lords of the other clans in Petrucca—Helmond, Samit, and Todor—had pleaded with their clan masters as well. As such, their masters were also on their way to the City of Petrucca. And they had only one goal in mind—the King of Maren.