Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: The Lord's Confession
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The interior of the lord's manor was in even worse condition than it had appeared from the outside.
The floor was bare dirt, neither stone nor wood, and there wasn't a single glass window common in the Kailer Kingdom—instead, all the windows were wooden shutters.
"Something heavy must have been placed here, right?"
Eugene asked, pointing at the floor as he looked around the manor's entrance hall.
"Ah! The gift from Count Krollmarin..."
"Nothing! It's nothing at all!"
Calbun hurriedly cut off the oblivious servant's words.
But it was already too late.
"A gift? That's interesting. Lord Krollmarin. You came suddenly and left a gift behind?"
Eugene asked with a friendly smile directed at the boy in his mid-teens.
When the vampire noble—armed in ornate plate armor that looked like it belonged in a picture book—spoke to him, the boy's cheeks flushed red as he shyly replied.
"Yes, my lord. The count left a chest full of silver coins, along with weapons and clothing made from monster byproducts. Of course, it doesn't compare to your armor, but they're quite rare high-quality items..."
"Lloyd!"
Calbun screamed the boy's name like a shriek, and Lloyd jumped in surprise, turning to look at his father.
"You..."
Before Calbun could say anything more, Galpredic swiftly and naturally positioned himself between Calbun and his son.
"Heh."
Calbun shut his mouth upon meeting Galpredic's eyes, which gleamed with murderous intent.
He had the gut feeling that if he said one more word, that ferocious knight would slap him across the face right then and there.
Eugene placed a hand on Lloyd's shoulder and spoke in a gentle voice.
"Your father will spend some time with my knight. By the way, Lord Lloyd? What a fine name. It carries the strong honor of a knight. You'll make a splendid knight."
"Ah..."
Lloyd's expression turned ecstatic at the praise from the true knight of his dreams.
"So, Lord Lloyd. Does Lord Krollmarin visit often and bestow gifts?"
"Not at all. This is the first time since he stopped by briefly around this time last year. He didn't even come when Father inherited the title."
"Hoo. But yesterday, he came suddenly. And left a gift?"
"Yes."
"Lord Lloyd, do you know why?"
"Uh... I'm not really sure..."
Lloyd scratched his head.
"I see. Thank you."
Having obtained exactly the information he needed, Eugene patted the boy's head once before walking toward Calbun.
"You seem to know the reason. Or do you?"
"......!"
Calbun's expression, which had been twitching with anxiety as the boy's words continued, now changed dramatically. It was a reaction of clear shock and fear that anyone could see.
'He's such a coward. Not even a fraction of Luke.'
Eugene sneered inwardly.
From his experience, the more cowardly and craven a person was, the easier they submitted to overwhelming power. And that meant they were very easy to handle.
Clank!
"Eek!"
When Eugene suddenly thrust out his left arm, Calbun recoiled in terror.
"Why are you so startled?"
"I-I..."
Only then did Calbun realize Eugene had merely raised his arm, and his face turned pale.
"The real surprise starts now."
Eugene smirked and lightly summoned his presence. The presence infused with Origin's will concentrated on his left arm in an instant.
Whooo! Clank! Click-clack!
"Gasp!?"
"W-What is that?"
Everyone except Eugene's group widened their eyes in shock.
The gauntlet, commonly worn by continental knights, emitted a strange metallic sheen and transformed into a massive shield in the blink of an eye.
"A magic shield!?"
"What an incredible treasure...!"
The people gasped in admiration upon seeing the shield embossed with a red dragon.
Eugene held the shield out toward Calbun, who stood with eyes wide in shock, and spoke lowly.
"Lord. Do you know which family this shield's crest belongs to?"
"W-Well, I'm not sure..."
"The Bartla Ducal Family."
"......!"
Calbun's body froze stiff.
Even as a petty rural lord, he couldn't possibly be ignorant of the Bartla Ducal Family.
Excluding the royal houses vying for legitimacy, the Bartla Ducal Family held the highest status in Brantia.
No matter who unified Brantia and became king, without the Bartla's support, they wouldn't be considered a true king—the family's honor and prestige were that immense.
"Why was the Bartla Ducal Family's shield in the Lycanslope King's cave?"
"H-How would I know... Gasp!?"
Calbun, who had been denying it outright, belatedly realized something and choked on his breath in horror.
"That's right. I killed it. The Lycanslope King in Marin Forest."
There's a saying that people freeze when too shocked. That described Calbun and his servants' reactions perfectly.
Click-clack! Clank!
The Bartla Ducal Family's shield transformed again, shifting into a grotesque gauntlet.
"And. There was this too."
To Calbun, who stood dazed with a face drained of color, Eugene pulled something from his bosom and held it out.
It was a parchment torn in places and soaked in blood.
And stamped at the bottom of the parchment was.
"The Bosch Family crest. Right?"
"Th-That..."
At Eugene's voice dripping with cold menace, Calbun stammered before dropping to his knees right there.
"I was wrong! Please forgive meeee!"
* * *
"So. Early this year, Lord Laplace Bartla entered Marin Forest and went missing?"
With the group and servants all sent away, in their private meeting, Calbun confessed everything about Laplace Bartla, a direct member of the Bartla Ducal Family.
"Y-Yes. The knights who came to my castle with him never returned either. B-But I tried to stop him! I told him Marin Forest is full of magical beasts and he absolutely mustn't enter!"
Eugene stared coldly at Calbun, who was desperately defending himself.
"That's your side of the story. But this document says you permitted entry into the forest."
"......!"
"If the Bartla Ducal Family finds out, you won't escape responsibility. And you haven't reported Lord Laplace's news to them yet?"
"Sob."
Calbun, trembling violently, dropped his head limply.
He looked as if he had lost everything in the world, but Eugene remained cold. His true goal hadn't even begun yet.
"That person."
"......?"
Calbun barely lifted his head and looked with trembling eyes at where Eugene pointed.
"The previous Lord Bosch?"
Eugene's fingertip pointed to portraits of the late Lord Bosch and Lady Bosch.
"Yes."
Even amid his fear, Calbun felt a chilling unease crawl up his spine as he nodded.
"You look very much like him."
Of course father and son would resemble each other, Calbun thought, but Eugene continued calmly.
"But not like Luke. Not at all."
"......!"
"Interesting."
"W-What do you mean?"
Staring straight into Calbun's eyes quivering with anxiety, Eugene enunciated clearly.
"I saw portraits of past Count Krollmarins in Krollmarin Castle. The previous Count Krollmarin didn't resemble the current one much."
Clack! Clack!
Calbun, his face deathly pale, unwittingly clacked his teeth together.
"Instead. Luke looked just like the previous Count Krollmarin."
The day Eugene met Viscount Lucas Krollmarin in Krollmarin Castle, his attitude and meaningful glances had seemed suspicious, so he observed the castle's other residents closely.
And he noticed something odd.
Lucas Krollmarin and his two younger sisters didn't resemble each other much. Strangely, he saw Luke in the two girls' faces.
It turned out Lucas took after his mother, while the two sisters resembled the previous Count Krollmarin.
So the next day when leaving the castle, he carefully examined the portraits of past Count Krollmarins in the corridor.
And he realized it. The stubborn jaw and solemn eyes of the previous Count Krollmarin, who had died last year, were remarkably similar to Luke's.
He had a hunch, but mere resemblance wasn't proof, so he left the castle without pursuing it.
But today, seeing Calbun Bosch and the Bosch retainers, he could form a degree of certainty.
Luke was not, at minimum, Lord Bosch's blood.
So he probed just in case.
With Calbun already terrified and groveling before him, he figured there'd be some reaction.
And his guess hit the mark.
"I-I... I really d-don't know a-anything..."
Whoosh.
"I don't want to hear the obvious excuse that you know nothing. Have you forgotten what I am?"
With a subtle release of presence, Eugene's eyes glowed a deeper red than usual.
His pupils gradually contracted, soon sharpening into thin vertical slits like a blade.
"I-I... kn-know..."
"Why are you so afraid?"
Eugene's voice lowered. In a completely different tone from usual—like reciting poetry, rhythmic and soft—he whispered.
"Everyone does things they're afraid of and ashamed of. Everyone. So, confess."
"Ugh..."
Staring blankly into Eugene's snake-like eyes, drool trickled from Calbun's mouth.
"Lord Calbun Bosch. Right now, in this moment. What do you fear most?"
"What I... fear..."
"Yes. The shame you can't tell others. The sins you've committed. The people you've killed. Whatever it is. The secrets that must never be known. Won't you tell me?"
The low, seductive voice burrowed into Calbun's ears, implanting itself in his mind. It was a heartfelt plea to his soul, an irresistible command.
"Th-That is... Hup!"
Calbun's dazed eyes suddenly stilled.
He had seen something in Eugene's pupils.
It was the image of the person he had killed with his own two hands.
"Huh, huuuh..."
"What do you see?"
"F-Father. And... Count Krollmarin."
"Yes. What did you do to them?"
"I had no choice... Lucas... Lucas Krollmarin told me to kill him. The count. F-Father. It wasn't me. It was Lucas, Lucas..."
"Who did you kill? What did Lucas Krollmarin do?"
"I... killed Count Krollmarin... L-Lucas killed my father... We killed each other's fathers..."
The young count who hadn't shown his face for a year and suddenly appeared, and the secret between him and Calbun, who became lord of the Bosch territory around the same time he inherited his title, was revealed.
A few days ago, Eugene consumed the red mana stone from the Lycanslope King and gained the 'Berserker' ability.
A cheat-like power that temporarily doubled all physical abilities and senses, but with the fatal drawback of exhausting all stamina after one use.
But this time, he hadn't gained just the Berserker ability.
As fragmented memories became clearer, he awakened once more as a vampire.
And what awoke was the Origin Vampire's innate ability, 'Charm'.
'This is useful.'
A charm that required being alone with the target and them feeling strong affinity or fear toward him.
It was a powerful hypnotic ability that forced the truth out of anyone, regardless of race.
He had been slightly disappointed thinking beatings and threats would make them spill anyway, but achieving this result here proved its worth.
"Have you ever seen such vile traitors?"
"Hic!?"
At Eugene's sudden Kailer Kingdom tongue, Calbun snapped out of his trance, drool dripping as he jolted awake.
Then, Mirian peeked her head out from the leather pouch.
"Kie? Milord, all done?"
Eugene nodded to the spirit who had faithfully obeyed his order not to emerge during his private talk with Calbun.
"Yeah. This bastard and Lucas Krollmarin, those two scum, killed each other's fathers."
"Kieeeeek!?"
That's why one became count and the other lord of the Bosch territory at nearly the same time.
"Filthy traitorous scum."
Unable to kill their own fathers directly, they had each taken out the other's instead. But that didn't absolve their crime of treason.
"L-Lord? What just happened...? And what did you say?"
Calbun, who didn't know Kailer Kingdom speech, hurriedly wiped his drool and asked. Eugene replied with an icy smile.
"That you killed the previous Count Krollmarin? And Lucas Krollmarin killed Lord Bosch?"
"Hic!?"
Eugene grabbed Calbun's deathly pale face and yanked it close, speaking in a voice dripping with killing intent.
"You're done. You dog-worse-than scum."
(To be continued in the next installment)