Faced with the threat of death, no one dared to defy Hel at that moment.
And by using this show of power, Hel successfully bestowed the [Blood Slave] trait upon every noble present—except for one: Viscount White.
After all, when they first shook hands, he'd been wearing gloves, and during her later display of authority, he felt he hadn't personally offended Hel, so he stayed quiet.
But the main reason was that his loyalty to his family was too strong—Hel didn't dare to use the trait on him.
Of course, if White were ever to find out that merely wearing gloves during their handshake was the reason Hel would later target him, he'd probably cry himself to death.
With the matter settled, Hel dismissed the gathered nobles.
The so-called "business meeting" had merely been bait to gather them all in one place.
Her true goal had been to mark them with [Blood Slave], bringing them under her control.
The honorary barons held sway over the city's commerce, while the landed barons controlled the food supply.
Previously, White had led the honorary barons, forming the Heim City Commercial Alliance.
Viscounts Ralph and Hawke, on the other hand, had united the landed barons, monopolizing food trade in the city.
But now—
Hel, having taken control of all the barons within her domain, had effectively stripped those three of their influence.
As for whether Ralph and Hawke should be completely eliminated… Hel wasn't in a hurry.
Without overwhelming strength, she still had to play by the nobles' rules.
For example:
Nobles could not wage war on each other, and lords could not kill fellow nobles.
All "living forces" were expected to stand united against external enemies.
And "external" could mean many things—the beastmen beyond the Watch Wall,
the cultists who stirred chaos across human lands,and, of course… witches.
Including Hel herself.
In this sense, the noble laws that protected the aristocracy also, ironically, protected Hel—at least until her identity as a witch was exposed.
Would she ever be exposed? Hardly.
After all, how could the fourth son of the Grand Duke of Mandrake possibly be a witch?
So as long as she didn't draw too much attention from the old monsters of the world, and stayed hidden in this rural backwater, she'd be safe.
But then—what if a noble bore a deadly grudge?
Say, for example, Hel killing their sons on a whim.
Surely, no noble could just swallow that kind of humiliation.
A father's revenge for his child's murder—it was a feud that could not coexist under the same sky.
And any man who could let that go… wasn't much of a man at all.
Of course, most people weren't as brazen as Hel.
Normally, they'd settle such grudges quietly—with poison, kidnapping, or an "accident."
After all, everyone had some untitled relatives that could be used for such underhanded acts.
Hel wasn't the only one who played dirty—which was why, in these cases, nobles usually resorted to either secret schemes or formal duels sanctioned by the council.
The Knight Empire of Naitt was a land that revered martial prowess, and its vassal state, Serefis, carried on that proud tradition.
Dueling was not only legal—it was encouraged.
As for secret tricks? Hel wasn't afraid.
She could be more underhanded than any of them.
And if they tried a formal knightly duel—well, any one of her subordinates could crush them in seconds.
The following days passed quietly.
There was no retaliation from the fathers of the dead Harvey and his companions.
As for their corpses—they disappeared one night, stolen away in secret.
Sebas had already dispatched Soul-Eater Insects to monitor the Knight Guild and the viscounts' estates, but no unusual movement was detected.
It was as if those three had been quietly forgotten.
Hel, however, knew better.
This was merely the calm before the storm.
Meanwhile, Viscount White had barely returned home when he suddenly "fell gravely ill."
He handed over all family affairs to his son.
The reason, of course, was simple—Sebas's Soul-Eater Insects had infested him.
In the end, he hadn't escaped Hel's grasp after all.
And to ensure complete control, Hel and her scheming allies even planned for him to "pass away" after he smoothly transferred authority to his son.
Fortunately, his son was far less loyal to the family than his father had been.
One [Blood Slave] mark was enough to bind him completely.
That saved Hel quite a bit of trouble.
A few more days went by.
Hel spent them working on improving the city guard's equipment.
The old gear couldn't be used as-is—it would draw too much suspicion.
So she decided to redesign it.
For example, replacing the old chainmail with plate armor.
And since the 200 newly recruited guards were to receive these upgraded armors,
she couldn't let the veterans keep their old, tattered gear—that would be unfair, and could spark unrest.
So she had to refit all 400 men in total.
Even for Hel, it was a massive undertaking.
Fortunately, she made molds and used them to mass-produce the armor.
Even so, the effort left her utterly exhausted over the following days.
Just as she was in the middle of her work, Sebas appeared.
"Young master, there's been some movement from Viscount Hawke's side."
Hel paused. "What kind of movement?"
"I wonder if you've heard of the Black Mountain Bandits, my lord."
Without waiting for Hel to answer, Sebas continued his explanation:
"Between the territories of Count Heim, Count Ashton, and Marquis Gold lies an undeveloped mountain range known as the Great Black Mountains.
Within those mountains dwell a band of brigands called the Black Mountain Bandits.
They number around five thousand, and several knights are among their ranks.
Their leader is a mysterious man—no one knows his face or his strength.
The only thing known about him is his name: Hope.
Anyone who's ever seen him dies a gruesome death, and because of that, people in nearby territories call him Hope the Dismemberer.
That's the public story. But from Viscount Hawke, I learned something else—both Hawke and Hope come from the Golden Family.
And the lord of the neighboring Marquisate of Gold is their elder brother.
Hope is the second brother, Hawke the third.
The so-called Black Mountain Bandits are, in fact, a secret private army trained by Marquis Gold himself:
5,000 regular soldiers,
500 junior knights,
50 intermediate knights,
and 3 high-ranking knights—including Hope, who's at the peak of the high-knight level."
Hel raised an eyebrow. "Oh-ho… that's quite a catch.
So tell me—why did Marquis Gold stash so many men in the Black Mountains?"
"Most likely to evade conscription," Sebas replied.
"You see, nobles of different ranks are allowed to recruit different numbers of troops.
And the Empire mandates that every five years, each landed noble must send a number of soldiers equal to their levy limit to the Watch Wall,
where they'll fight against the beastman.
If a noble recruits more troops than permitted—even if those extra forces are later disbanded—they must still send ninety percent of the surplus to the Wall.
And here's the kicker: the lord is responsible for all the expenses—equipment, supplies, and death compensations."
Hel leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing.
"Conscription, huh?
So… what about the Heim territory?"