Becoming a Lord (1)
Olivia drank the blood until it was just enough, then finally picked up the Shai dagger. She channeled mana tinged with a reddish glow onto the blade and pressed it against the wound. The skin sizzled and sealed shut in an instant. In the end, both of us were left with a small scar about one and a half centimeters long above our chests. To be precise, I now carried the mark on my left breast, while hers rested above her right—proof of our sworn sibling bond.
A scar above the heart, shared through blood and blade.
Wherever we may roam, this mark shall bind us as brother and sister.
“With this, we’ve become siblings,” Olivia said, gently tracing the scar above her right breast with a soft smile. “Even if we’re far apart, whenever we stand naked before a mirror, we’ll always see this scar. And you’ll remember my face as I drank your blood.”
“I too will always think of you, Sister, whenever I see this scar.”
It still felt awkward calling her “Sister,” but I was incredibly proud to have gained a blood-sworn older sister. Now that we were officially sworn siblings, Olivia felt like true family, and her presence became a solid source of strength. Above all, I was happy to have family beyond just my wives.
Beaming, I pulled Olivia into my arms with both hands. Since we had both removed our tops, her soft breasts pressed firmly against my hard chest, molding warmly against me.
“Sister. Thank you for accepting me as your brother.”
“And I’m glad to have gained such a reliable younger brother.”
Olivia, still wrapped in my embrace, hugged me back and stroked my back with her hand. “If anyone ever stands in your way, use the name Olivia Penclau without hesitation. Your enemies are my enemies, and your friends shall be my friends as well.”
She slipped the mithril ring from her finger and handed it to me. It was engraved with the Penclau family crest and her name—a ring forged from metal far more precious than gold. It was wide and heavy enough to cover half a finger joint.
The bestowal ceremony for my title took place in secret inside the inner castle, witnessed by the king, the queen, a handful of ministers, Dana, and the members of the Kether Mercenary Group.
The Minister of Ceremonies unrolled a scroll with both hands and continued reading from it.
“Therefore, in accordance with His Majesty’s command, Kang Hyun-woo shall be elevated to the rank of viscount. Furthermore, judging that his original surname is unusual, difficult to pronounce, foreign, and carries a somewhat barbaric tone unsuited to noble dignity, His Majesty has decided to bestow a new family name upon him. The new surname shall be Richard. Henceforth, Kang Hyun-woo shall be known as ‘Hyunwoo Kang Richard,’ with his former surname ‘Kang’ becoming a middle name to indicate his origin from a distant eastern land. Now, Kang Hyun-woo.”
The Minister of Ceremonies looked down at me as I knelt on one knee with my head bowed before King Mikelan.
“Decide here and now whether you will accept the name ‘Hyunwoo Kang Richard’ bestowed by His Majesty.”
Since I had already decided to lay my bones in this world alongside Dana, there was no choice for me. I would become a person of this world completely.
“It is a tremendous honor, Your Majesty. With great joy, I shall henceforth take Richard as my family name.”
King Mikelan stroked his white beard and let out a hearty laugh.
“The queen and I pondered over it all night. I’m glad you like it.”
The Minister of Ceremonies continued.
“Then I shall proclaim it once more under the name granted by His Majesty. Hyunwoo Kang Richard, having risen from commoner status to the rank of viscount, shall be elevated to the nobility. He shall receive the lands of Lanchester in the southern region, all income derived therefrom, and full rights over the entire territory. Furthermore, this wealth and authority may be inherited by his descendants for generations to come.”
Lanchester was a territory far removed from Nobern. I had no idea of its exact location or what kind of place it was, since I had never been there. It was somewhat disappointing that I wasn’t granted the vacant lordship of Nobern or the lands of Lapilwood—which I had personally executed—rather than some distant territory.
What was certain was that I would be separated from Adelia.
“Additionally, Viscount Richard shall be granted the proud title of ‘Watcher of the South,’ one who aids the Franz Royal Family. This is because the distance between the royal capital and the southern region makes it difficult to grasp local conditions in detail; thus, Viscount Richard is entrusted with the role of watcher. From now on, you must regularly report to His Majesty on everything that occurs in the southern region—every phenomenon, incident, movement of the lords, no matter how trivial.”
“I shall obey your command.”
Once the contract with the king was complete and the title bestowal ceremony ended, a brief stir rippled through the hall. At King Mikelan’s summons, the youngest princess appeared with an anxious and tense expression. Just as written in the letter he had sent earlier, the king handed over his youngest daughter, Princess Irene, to me.
The ministers who had not yet heard the news reacted with utter bewilderment at the sight of me taking the youngest princess as a political hostage.
“Y-Your Majesty! Handing the princess over to a mere viscount like him!”
“Your Majesty, please reconsider!”
“This is preposterous!”
The king stepped forward and rebuked them sharply.
“Hyunwoo abandoned the Hildegart family and the Penclau family to come to me!”
The king looked down at me with satisfied eyes.
“Our youngest princess will forever strengthen the bond between our royal family and the Richard family. I view this positively. I would prefer no further objections.”
The ministers fell silent at once.
In any case, by accepting Irene I also gained one knight assigned to escort her, three maids, and two pages. With the addition of the knight’s three squires, a total of ten new people joined our household. They were no longer servants of the royal family; they now stood under my command.
“For the prosperity of the Richard family!”
Once the princess had been formally received and the title bestowal ceremony fully concluded, the guests shouted loudly.
“Long live Lord Hyunwoo Kang Richard!”
The so-called guests were, aside from a handful of ministers, entirely members of our Kether Mercenary Group. Today’s ceremony had been conducted in secret so that neither the Hildegart nor Penclau families would notice. The royal family had decided to hold it quietly, judging that it would do no good for either house to learn of it. As a result, only a very small number of ministers had attended.
“Long live! Long live! Kyaa! I’m so excited!”
Ephibia held a basket in one hand and scattered rose petals into the air.
I hugged Dana and kissed her cheek. Then I kissed Kelly’s and Unia’s cheeks as well, exchanged handshakes and embraces with Pasvachio and Mateus, and shared a deep hug with Marcus.
“If Harry and that rascal Phelton knew you’d achieved this much, they’d be absolutely shocked.”
And Princess Irene, who had suddenly found herself in a position little better than a slave, stood awkwardly among our rejoicing group. She wore a tight blue dress that clung to her body and revealed the upper part of her breasts, stealing glances at me. Her eyes were filled with unmistakable fear and clear anxiety about the unfamiliar life that lay ahead.
When I approached her with a smile, she flinched and took a step back.
“I look forward to our time together, Princess.”
“Y-yes…”
Irene seemed quite terrified of me, so I couldn’t even exchange more than a few words with her. I asked Unia to take her back to the house and left Pasvachio in charge of guiding the knight and maids who had come with her.
After sending all the members away, Dana and I met privately with King Mikelan in his chamber.
“When do you plan to leave?”
“Around the evening four days from now.”
The king nodded with a pleased expression and looked at Dana, who sat across from him.
“It pains me deeply that I cannot even give you a proper wedding and must send you away like fugitives.”
“Not at all, Your Majesty. Everything is being done for my sake.”
“Thank you for understanding. The situation is too complicated to handle things comfortably…”
Regret was clear on the king’s face. If they held a grand public wedding, news of Dana’s survival might reach the neighboring Ferus Kingdom. On the other hand, holding a small, quiet ceremony left them with very little time if they wanted to distance themselves from Marquis Espera as quickly as possible. The current plan was to slip out of Nobern secretly under cover of night.
Marquis Gregory had already been persuaded in advance, so there was no issue with him. But there was nothing to gain from continued encounters with Marquis Espera, so vanishing without a sound in the blink of an eye was the best course. The king had promised to handle the aftermath.
He also intended to keep the information about which territory I had been granted from reaching Marquis Espera for the time being.
“He’ll probably grumble at me for sneaking you away. But in a few days he’ll have no choice but to accept reality. He’s sharp, so once he realizes you and I have formed a contract, he’ll back down. In other words, this is power suppressing power. Even Espera cannot defy a higher authority. It’s cold, but that is the nature of rule. There are times when one must bare one’s fangs and display dominance before subjects who would otherwise rush in to bite…”
The king muttered with a bitter expression. From his face, it was easy to see that a life of wielding power was not always comfortable.
From the day I received the proof of my lordship over Lanchester along with various documents from the king, Kelly and I began selling off the office building and the house, and I instructed everyone to prepare for departure. I intended to take every person who had been with me and make them my vassals.
It was now time to bid farewell to Nobern, the city that had brought me every emotion—joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—over the past year.
To Adelia, with whom I would inevitably be separated for a while, I went in person to tell her where I was going. She shed tears, saddened by even this brief parting, and said:
“Once the subjugation of the bandits in the southern provinces is complete, I will live in your territory for the rest of my life. I will live there until I grow sick of it. I won’t come out until I’ve given birth to a hundred sons.”