Chapter 209
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: Overflowing Recruits
“Recruitment officer! Guild master!”
“Ugh! What’s the big idea this early in the morning?”
Trevik, who had gotten thoroughly drunk for the first time in ages at last night’s victory celebration, opened the door with a disheveled face.
The recruitment office clerk wrinkled his nose at the overpowering stench of alcohol.
“Jeez, seriously. Dawn or whatever, the sun’s been up forever. Anyway, you need to come out quick.”
“Why? Did some drunk fool cause trouble?”
“It’s trouble, but not that kind of trouble!”
“Then what?”
Trevik, nonchalantly gulping water as he responded to what was a routine occurrence, narrowed his eyes.
“Applicants! A ton of people showed up to enlist first thing this morning!”
“Huh?”
Seeing his subordinate’s intensely excited expression, Trevik realized this was no ordinary matter and hurriedly threw on some clothes before heading to the recruitment office.
“What the…?”
His eyes went wide at the sight of the place swarming with what had to be two or three hundred people.
“All these are enlistment applicants?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”
“No way, what the hell happened overnight… Ah!”
Mid-sentence, Trevik realized something and let out an exclamation.
“Did the mercenaries hired by the other territories come back?”
“Yeah, exactly. Word of His Grace the Duke and the other lords has already spread everywhere. Even knights showed up.”
“Hmm, hmm. As expected.”
Trevik nodded.
Maren was the major city representing the region. The surrounding nobles would have been on high alert about Maren’s situation facing the royalist army.
The moment news spread that Eugene and the knights had annihilated the royalist forces, they must have sent over the mercenaries they’d hired.
‘Nobles sure know how to play both sides, that’s for sure.’
He felt a twinge of bitterness inside, but he couldn’t blame them.
They preached honor and loyalty on the surface, but in a civil war where their own noses were at risk, how many would act “honorably”?
In these times, where one misstep could cost everything, it was wisest to keep your head down and watch.
‘Whatever, it’s good for us.’
Their intentions were transparent, but from Trevik’s perspective, it was a relief that they were siding with Maren now.
Because Maren was planning an unprecedented mega-event in the city’s history.
And at the center of it.
‘Our Maren’s living legend—no, divine guardian, Sir Eugene.’
Whether it was the mayor and other guild masters’ influence or not, Trevik unwittingly recalled the title they’d started using lately and chuckled.
“For now, process them in order. Don’t forget to assign everyone who enlists today to city defense duties.”
“Got it!”
The recruitment office staff sprang into action.
But with the city now safe and a massive force gathering under Maren’s banner—one for the history books—their faces were beaming.
* * *
“So, you’re saying you want me to go to the capital of the Kailer Kingdom?”
“That’s right.”
“And… you want me to witness you replacing the king?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself. Just decide if you’re in or out.”
“Ha…”
Vizark, still masquerading as the prince, could only let out a hollow laugh.
The idea of him, a mere attendant, replacing a king was absurd enough, but asking the Roman Empire’s prince to serve as witness? He had to wonder if they were serious.
“Sir, do you realize what kind of uproar this would cause…?”
“If I may presume to advise, Your Highness, it would be best to accept Duke Bartla’s proposal.”
“Huh…?”
Vizark’s eyes shook at the real prince Rocaroph’s words.
“No, even so, this is…”
“If you really hate it, no big deal. Anyway, decide by tomorrow before we depart. Alright then.”
“W-Wait, Sir! Duke Bartla!”
Eugene turned and left the prince’s quarters without a care whether he called out or not.
“Kie? Master, don’t we need the real prince? The mayor uncle begged me to convince you.”
The moment he stepped out, Mirian poked his head out of the leather pouch and chattered away.
“That’s the mayor’s wish. Whether the prince witnesses or not makes no difference to me.”
Last night, Maren’s mayor and the merchant guild master had quietly visited, pleading for him to bring Prince Rocaroph along to the capital.
If things went according to plan and Eugene and Maren’s forces seized the royal castle, deposing the current king and installing a new one was essential.
And to prevent other nobles or foreign powers from interfering, the sooner the better.
They’d each try to push a royal favorable to their own interests, potentially leaving Maren to do all the work while someone else reaped the rewards.
Even if they swapped the king as quickly as planned, it was such an unprecedented event that backlash was inevitable. It might even spark another civil war.
The mayor and guild master wanted to prevent that.
Their best card was the universally acknowledged powerhouse, the Roman Empire’s prince.
- Sir Eugene, just having the Roman Empire’s prince there would quell the nobles’ discontent. Please, we beg you.
Now accustomed to nobles’ ways, Eugene knew the mayor’s judgment was sound.
But.
‘Why should I bother?’
He wasn’t a noble of the Kailer Kingdom.
He just wanted to deal with the king and cardinal who’d picked the fight first; after that, he didn’t care what happened to Kailer.
But the mayor had begged so earnestly that outright refusal felt off.
Plus, Maren had been consistently friendly so far, and likely would be going forward.
So Eugene decided to grant the mayor’s request.
Of course, it was a proposal that excluded none of the desperation the mayor had shown.
“Uwoong. Still, I think it’d be good to do it for the mayor uncle. He’s a nice guy.”
“You think anyone who gives you stuff is a nice guy?”
After hearing how Mirian had shone in the royalist battle, the mayor had given him a special gift.
A hundred gold coins separately, plus inclusion on Eugene’s statue in the plaza.
“Kie!? Gold and jewels are the true proof of trust, right? You said so yourself, Master!”
“…”
Faced with the bone-chilling truth, Eugene opted for silence.
“Anyway, I’m all for the mayor uncle! And the chatty real prince said he’d do it. It’s done! Kiehehehe!”
At Mirian’s boisterous laugh, Eugene nodded, recalling Rocaroph’s reaction.
He’d never heard the exact reason Rocaroph left the empire from the man himself, but Eugene had a rough idea.
It was obvious why a great noble, the emperor’s own son, traveled with just a dozen escort knights and one attendant.
‘He’s on the run. From some power player in the Roman Empire.’
Few could dispose of a prince. But not the emperor—if he were furious, the whole world would know.
‘Whatever, he’ll figure out the details. Until then, I just keep the prince safe.’
Before leaving Brantia with Prince Rocaroph, Eugene had sent one man ahead to the Roman Empire for solid intel.
The one among his followers who knew the empire best and was among the tiny few who’d never betray him.
Delmondo, the former imperial official.
He’d gone to the Roman Empire as Brantia’s baron, armed with a personally signed identity from Luke.
‘Meeting his dad or something? Nah, the empire’s too vast for that.’
Not that it mattered.
For a vampire, the parent who turned you was absolute, but across all clans, the “lord” was the ultimate authority.
* * *
“Your Highness! Are you serious? Please reconsider. If this reaches the imperial capital…”
“My brothers will be furious. Accusing me of sullying the golden blood’s honor.”
Vizark clutched his chest in frustration at Rocaroph’s words.
“No, you know that full well—why go through with it? His Majesty might intervene. A royal meddling in another country’s civil war… This could escalate into a major diplomatic incident.”
“His Majesty won’t say a word. No, he’ll be pleased.”
“P-Pardon?”
As Vizark’s eyes widened, Rocaroph smiled.
“His Majesty has always wanted the neighboring kingdoms in his grasp. But it’s impossible in reality. Do you know why?”
“This foolish servant doesn’t…”
“The empire is great, but fighting all neighbors at once is impossible.”
“S-Such irreverent words! What if someone hears?”
“Irreverent or not, it’s the truth. Even in Conqueror Leondolaph’s day—called the Conquest Emperor—we only made the eastern kingdoms vassals. Kailer and the western and southern ones? We sent envoys to reassure them. Why?”
“Hmm.”
Vizark, from a prestigious noble family with top-tier education, knew the reason well.
No matter how mighty the Roman Empire or how the neighbors bowed, war with all was impossible.
It would overextend the fronts, dispersing forces and risking failure even in the east.
Thus, the wise Conqueror first sent envoys and gifts to ease the western and southern states.
“His Majesty wants to fulfill the Conqueror’s legacy, turning the west and south into vassals too. But like the Conqueror, he fears multi-front wars. That’s where I come in—present at Kailer’s regime change. Would he dislike that?”
“Ah…!”
“My brothers will hate it. But I guarantee His Majesty will take notice. If I just observe quietly, it’ll be minor. But if I make my presence felt…”
Prince Rocaroph trailed off.
Truth be told, even he couldn’t predict the outcome.
With the crown prince already set for the throne, a third prince gaining influence abroad wouldn’t upend things.
But.
‘At least when I return home, they won’t be able to touch me openly.’
The emperor’s attention tied directly to his survival.
Still a fugitive, Rocaroph decided that was enough for now.
* * *
The next morning.
Some eight hundred troops marched out of Maren’s gates.
Including the Jubo Merchant Company, it was a thousand-strong force—the largest expedition in Maren’s history by far.
Leading with Maren’s banners and those of the joining noble houses, the army followed the highways northeast.
Toward the eastern front, where the noble alliance gathered in Count Winslon’s territory.
To all eyes, it signaled Maren joining the nobles against the king and cardinal.
Amid the civil war chaos, the stunning news spread fast.
Of course, no one knew the force was slightly smaller than when leaving Maren.
Nor that the missing were all knights, with Maren’s commander vanishing alongside them.
“We’re using the same strategy as the royalists. All cavalry comes with me to the capital. The rest join Count Winslon.”
The king’s army would panic and focus there, while the friendly count would be grateful.
Eugene would strike the castle first, claiming all the gains.
“No better plan! As expected, our Demon King Overlord Master is the slyest! Kiehehehehehehe!”
Amid the evolved spirit’s lecherous cackle—now in perfect sync—Eugene and the knights raced toward the Kailer Kingdom’s capital.
(To be continued)