"All of it… he made me do it! I only did what I was told! Khik! Khihihik!"
Where had his previous composure gone? Maverick began shrieking and laughing grotesquely.
Throwing off Partek and Bryn, who had been holding him, Maverick babbled like a madman.
"He said I should kill him! Yes… on Bertel Tiwyn's orders, I was told to… hiik! What in the world was I trying to do? Ugh, ughuhuhk!"
As Maverick confessed his crimes and suddenly grabbed his head, crying, Kamara and the mercenaries stared with their mouths wide open.
Then it happened.
"Khihik! Someone like me deserves to die. Yes. I don't deserve to live! I don't!"
Suddenly shouting, Maverick jerked his body violently.
"Gasp!?"
"Grab him!"
Partek leaped, but it was already too late.
"Uhiihihihi…!"
At a timing no one could have predicted, Maverick bolted forward and hurled himself out the window.
Thud!
"Insane…"
Partek and Bryn leaned halfway out the window, their faces draining of color.
Maverick had fallen and been impaled on the wooden stakes installed in the moat, instantly killing him.
A foul silence settled over the room at the sudden and pitiful end of Maverick.
Eugene broke the silence.
"The testimony is clear, and there are plenty of witnesses. Lord Tiwyn, what will you do?"
"..."
Kamara flinched and looked aside.
His younger brother Bertel, pale as a sheet, suddenly twisted his face like a demon.
"B-Brother… You don't actually believe the ramblings of that lunatic, do you? He just said whatever he wanted and then"
"Do as Sir Eugene wishes."
Kamara gave his approval.
Eugene grabbed the trembling Bertel by the collar and hauled him up.
"I'll give you a choice."
"How dare''
"Draw your sword. Defeat me here, in front of everyone in this castle. If you win, I'll bury everything."
"...!"
Not only Bertel everyone in the room was shocked.
Telling an attempted murderer to draw his sword meant only one thing.
* * *
"Wow! You're brutal. To think the first slave you get ends up killing himself."
"He was meant for that purpose from the start."
At Mirian's words, Eugene finished putting on his polished armor.
Normally a servant would handle that, but Eugene had Mirian.
Fast, nimble, and fond of expensive things, she volunteered to maintain his plate armor—and she was surprisingly good at it.
"Anyway, they say having a few slaves like that is very useful. Our seniors said high-ranking Dark Clan members keep dozens of slaves as personal guards."
"That's for later. Right now, it's too risky. And anyone could see Maverick wasn't normal. Keeping him alive would have caused problems."
"That's true. Humans are all suspicious creatures."
"You're no better," Eugene thought, but didn't bother saying it.
Maverick, before his death, had already become Eugene's slave within the dungeon.
Vampires drink blood for two purposes.
Simply to feed or recover strength, and to turn someone into a vampire's slave.
The first involves only draining blood.The second requires injecting a small amount of the vampire's own blood.
Since it consumes significant vitality, Eugene had only attempted it once in his previous life.
The resulting slave obeys absolutely—but is neither strong nor mentally stable.
Just like Maverick before he died—terrified of sunlight and obviously not normal, easily exposing the fact he'd become a vampire.
So Eugene used Maverick only to force him to confess and then ordered him to kill himself.
"At least that mudfish served his purpose and died. How dare he try to harm my Lord Eugene?"
Mirian, who had no affection for humans and thought only from Eugene's perspective, shook with rage.
"That ice-hearted bastard must pay too! If you let someone like that go once, they'll do it again!"
"When did I say I'd let him go? Why do you think I gave the lord a choice?"
He could have requested a formal trial in Maren, but the procedures were annoying, and a priest was required to preside.
Most importantly, Eugene wouldn't be able to kill Bertel with his own hands.
But by forcing Kamara to choose, Eugene now had a legal way to execute Bertel.
"As expected of the Night Clan's cunning! Kkieek! That's why I like Lord Eugene!"
Fully armored, Eugene strapped his battle axe to his belt and stepped out.
'Our grudge from the previous life has finally come to this.'
The one who slit his throat had been Jung Dirhit, but Bertel had been one of the main accomplices.
Twice now—in his previous life and this one—Bertel had tried to kill him. Eugene had no intention of letting him go.
* * *
"Second young master tried to kill Sir Eugene?"
"Seems he hired Maverick. They say Maverick confessed everything before Lord Tiwyn and then killed himself."
"What! That's…"
By sunset, the people of Rose Castle—summoned by the lord—were in utter confusion.
The subjugation had only been half-successful, and one knight had committed suicide.
And now the lord's own brother had ordered the death of Eugene, the hero of the gate-monster subjugation.
Multiple witnesses had heard Maverick's confession, and Kamara himself had announced it. No one could deny it.
But the most shocking part was still to come.
"A duel of honor…"
"If the second young master wins, what happens?"
"He regains his honor. But…"
The people of Rose Castle had all seen Bertel grow up—from three or four years, or from birth.
Yet almost none were confident Bertel could defeat Eugene.
Even if only in training sparring, Eugene had defeated Galfredic.
He had supposedly torn off a troll's head barehanded in the dungeon, and in distant Maren, killed two orc warriors with a single thrown spear.
He had appeared only a few months ago, but the reputation of the knight Jan Eugene had been carved deeply into their minds.
"He'll win! No matter what, Young Master Bertel is the strongest knight in our land!"
"Right! He'll reclaim his honor! He'll prove it was all a conspiracy!"
Trying to hide their anxiety, people gathered into the courtyard.
Under the red sunset, mercenaries formed a large circle.
Welcoming the dry breeze of a changing season, Kamara stepped onto the balcony.
"The duel of honor will begin!"
Without explaining further, Kamara shouted, and the mercenaries opened a path in the circle.
Eugene, armed in full plate armor and wielding a battle axe, and Bertel, in chainmail and the Tiwyn surcoat with shield and shortsword, stepped forward.
Facing a plate-armored knight with only a longsword was difficult even for a master swordsman.
Thus, Bertel's choice of shield and shortsword was wise.
"No more words! With both sides' claims in conflict, the victor's words shall be truth! Truth belongs to the victor!"
"Truth belongs to the victor!"
The crowd repeated loudly.
"Begin!"
At Kamara's command, silence fell.
Clank!
Eugene lowered his visor and gripped the battle-ax with both hands.
Bertel, helmet on, raised his shield and began circling Eugene—standard pre-fight probing tactics.
'I'll kill him! I just need to win. Everything will go as planned.'
"Huuu… huu…"
Bertel breathed shakily, tension evident.
Swoosh!
Eugene closed the distance in an instant.
Bertel's eyes widened—no one wearing that much armor should move that fast.
"Hup!"
Instinctively, he thrust his sword.
It was a quick and precise attack, the product of years of formal knight training.
But it was also the stupidest possible move against someone in full plate armor.
It had been too long since he'd experienced real combat—the price for that foolish mistake was harsh.
Clang!
The moment Bertel's sword slid along the groove in the armor and bounced off, Eugene's battle axe traced multiple diagonal arcs in an instant.
Shraaak!
Full-body chainmail is excellent armor. No ordinary strike can easily cut or penetrate it.
But Eugene's strength was far from ordinary, and the weapon he wielded now was a battle axe.
"Kraaaak!"
Blood gushed from one arm and both leg joints as Bertel collapsed to the ground.
"Ugh! Oh…!"
Trying to rise again, Bertel parted his lips slightly.
In that moment, a red axe blade longer than a hand filled his vision.
'I will become Lord of the Tiwyn lands…'
Kang!
The battle axe, splitting his helmet in half, struck Bertel's skull, cutting off his thoughts.
Moments later, Bertel collapsed forward onto his knees.
"...!"
In the blink of an eye, the duel ended, leaving the people of Rose Castle staring wide-eyed.
Everyone had expected Bertel to struggle against Eugene, but no one imagined the fight would end so swiftly and overwhelmingly.
Looking down at Bertel's corpse, blood gushing from the split head, Eugene turned away.
He met Kamara's gaze with his visor raised.
"Announce it."
Kamara flinched at Eugene's eyes, redder than the sunset, and nervously raised his trembling hand.
"Sir Yan Eugene of the Eugene family is victorious! Truth and honor belong to Lord Eugene!"
Uoooo!!!
The mercenaries, led by Partek and Bryn, shouted in unison.
Leaving only the gruesome corpse of the second son of the Tiwyn family, the duel ended somewhat anticlimactically.
* * *
"Are we… leaving now?"
Kamara cast a complicated look at Eugene, the benefactor of the territory and the one who had just killed his brother.
"Of course. You wouldn't want me lingering here either."
"...I won't deny that."
Bertel had been the younger brother, sharing blood, even if he had conspired and paid the ultimate price. Kamara could not feel at ease.
Nor could he resent Eugene. In fact, he should be grateful that Eugene had ended it with only Bertel.
"You won't need to return to this castle. Besides, you've got strong slaves now. Bryn's team will handle them, so there's no need to worry."
Kamara sighed deeply at Eugene's words.
Since Maverick had confessed his crimes, the mercenaries who followed him could not escape their own responsibility.
It was a common fate: meet the wrong leader, and your life could be ruined with no one to appeal to.
So Eugene received a suitable payment and handed all remaining mercenaries over as slaves to the Tiwyn family.
Following Partek's advice, Bryn and his team were hired by Kamara and remained in the castle for the time being.
"Farewell. I cannot pray for God's blessing on your future."
"I do not wish it either."
Indeed, he did not. Eugene was a vampire, an enemy of the church and a heretic. He did not want divine favor or concern for his future.
"One more day here wouldn't hurt."
"I don't want that."
Having loaded all his belongings onto Sirilion, Eugene mounted, and the castle gates, lit with torches, swung open.
As Eugene turned Sirilion's head, two horses came galloping swiftly from the far side of the drawbridge.
"What's this?"
"Enemies!?"
The soldiers rushed to the walls in alarm.
The lead rider waved something and shouted.
"Do not attack! I am a messenger! Sent by Lord Fairchild!"
At the sight of the white cloth, the crossbows aimed at them were lowered.
The middle-aged man dismounted quickly, recognizing Kamara, and greeted him courteously, dressed like a lord.
"Are you Lord Kamara Tiwyn? Pleased to meet you. I am Mills, steward of Lord Fairchild."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
"I sincerely apologize for visiting at such a late hour. And this is a small gift from my master, Lord Fairchild, for Lord Tiwyn. He asked that you kindly understand that he could not attend the funeral in person."
The steward of a titled noble house showing such courtesy eased Kamara's unease.
Moreover, the gift—a pure gold command baton—showed that Lord Fairchild had carefully prepared this first greeting for the new Lord Tiwyn.
"A fine gift. Convey my full understanding to Lord Fairchild. But… what brings you here?"
The Count of Fairchild, a true noble, had no prior ties to the Tiwyn family. He had even skipped the father's funeral. There was no reason to send a steward in such haste just to exchange pleasantries.
"Then, if I may speak frankly. My master, Lord Fairchild, insisted that I deliver this message personally to Sir Yan Eugene of the Eugene family."
"To Lord Eugene?"
Kamara's gaze turned to Eugene, and Mills respectfully bowed in his direction.
"Pleased to meet you, Lord Eugene. I should have formally introduced myself, but please understand the urgency. My master insisted that I deliver this message to you."
Mills handed Eugene a letter on fine stationery.
Although elaborate in style, the meaning was simple.
"Is he asking me to come to Lord Fairchild's estate to assist in a territorial conflict?"
(To be continued in the next part)