“Sure. Let’s do that,” Eugene answered without hesitation.

Ohh…!

The mayor and the guild leaders could not hide their excitement after hearing Eugene’s answer. They already knew that Eugene was straightforward and clear-cut, but they had never expected that he would easily make a decision on something as important as this.

“But there is one thing I must tell you all. If you can accept this, I am willing to accept your proposal without any objection,” Eugene stated.

“What?” The mayor and the guild leaders seemed puzzled by Eugene’s words.

Eugene looked over them with a calm expression before continuing, “I am a vampire.”

“…!”

They had heard the rumor, but they had never expected it to be true. The mayor and the guild leaders had stiffened up, but Eugene disregarded their reaction and continued, “And I am also one of the highest-ranking vampires as well. This is just my speculation, but there shouldn’t be more than a few vampires in the entire world who are above me in status. Of course, I’m sure there are a few who are similar to me.”

“…”

The noisy atmosphere instantly became subdued. The impact of Eugene’s remark was truly enormous. Maren traded with many different countries, and as such, the mayor and the guild leaders were rather knowledgeable about other races. Of course, they spoke the language of gold and silver, so the cultures and values of other nations didn’t matter to them. However, it was a completely different matter for a vampire to become their nation’s leader, and Eugene was well aware of this fact. That was why he had decided to leave the choice to Maren’s leaders.

‘The King of Maren? There’s nothing disadvantageous about it for me.’

He had not risen to the throne in Brantia, as he didn’t have any connections in the country. Even the elders and members of the Batla Duchy had made a fuss when they bestowed him the title of a duke. If a foreign vampire with no connections in Brantia had risen to the throne, quite a few Brantians would have protested and challenged his throne.

However, Maren was different. It was the place where Eugene first rose to fame and achieved many of his accomplishments. The residents of Maren liked him as well. Most importantly, he was in a completely symbiotic relationship with the city—both benefiting from each other’s existence.

‘But it will be difficult for them to enthrone a vampire as the king, right?’

As such, Eugene didn’t have high hopes of actually becoming king when he announced his true identity. Even if he didn’t become king, he would lose nothing by continuing the same relationship he had been having with the city.

However…

‘Was there ever such an occasion? A vampire king?’

‘I think there were a few vampire lords in Brantia and the empire…’

‘Would the Holy Empire dispute the matter? Those wacky old men certainly would…’

‘Just when did they not antagonize vampires…?’

Eugene wasn’t very knowledgeable about the people of Maren. Maren was a port-based, commercial city, and since birth, the people, including the mayor and the guild leaders, had set their priorities on ‘money’ and ‘profit’ rather than honor and customs. Ever since they had agreed to make Eugene their king, they had already taken into calculation the fact that Eugene could be a vampire.  

“We will take care of any diplomatic issues.”

“All we need to do with the Holy Empire is to lavish them with our sincerity. Surely, they wouldn’t be able to worry about us when the issue about a cardinal’s death is there.”

“The holy knights might flip out, but the cardinal’s conspiracy with a black wizard has just been revealed…”

“And Sir Eugene killed that black wizard, didn’t he? Priests or holy knights, whoever they are, if they know honor, they should shut up.”

“That’s right! Let’s do this!”

“…???”

Were these humans out of their minds? Eugene was taken aback by their response.

Eugene couldn’t help but speak, “No, why don’t you think about it some more? I’m telling you that I’m a vampire. One of the highest-ranking vampires…”

“As far as I know, high-ranking vampires drink the blood of larger monsters rather than humans. It’s not like you’re going to drink our blood, so is there a problem?”

“…”

“And we have plenty of slaves anyway. If you want to drink human blood, you can draw and collect it, right? I heard that vampires of the Roman empire have dedicated slaves for bloodletting.”

“That’s right. I heard that they aren’t put to hard work, and they are fed extremely well. It’s the most popular job among slaves.”

“It’s not just food either. They are fed refined mana stones regularly as well. Health is the most important when it comes to bloodletting, right?”

“Yes, I will personally find you slaves to collect blood from, Sir Eugene.”

“Of course, of course. It’s a fitting treatment for a king.”

“Are there any other vampires you would like here? I heard that vampires have clans or whatever. If you let me know in advance, I can take care of any issues that might come up in the future.”

“…”

He didn’t know anymore. Eugene looked over the mayor and the guild leaders with a complicated expression, and then he eventually nodded. They were filled with enthusiasm.

“Well, do whatever you want.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty!”

Thus, Eugene became the master of the newly established Dukedom of Maren.[1]

***

The Dukedom of Maren was born.

The master of the dukedom was Duke Jan Eugene Batla, and the dukedom consisted of seven neighboring territories of the City of Maren. The decision had come from the discussions with the lords of the territories while Eugene had been away in the capital, so no problems arose with the demarcation of the duchy’s land. The only problem was with the Evergrove County. However, it was promptly solved as Jevin stepped down from his seat, and his five-year-old son was declared the new count.

Of course, Maren was second to none when it came to being persistent, and there was no way they would let the Evergrove County off the hook. The city had demanded an enormous sum as reparations from the Evergrove County, and in the end, the county was forced to sell more than half of its territory rather than simply pledging allegiance to the duchy.

The other territories didn’t suffer much damage, as they had conceded to the City of Maren much earlier. Although the various territories would have to pay taxes every year, the fees they paid for trading with the City of Maren disappeared after they were absorbed into the duchy. As such, they actually benefited considerably rather than suffering any losses.

Regardless, Eugene didn’t need to pay attention to such complicated matters. The mayor and the guild leaders were extremely competent leaders, and they intended to keep the promise they had made to Eugene.

- We will never bother you!

- We will take care of all the numbers, money, and administrative issues!

- We will build you a castle, and we will take care of your personal interests, as well as the duchy’s!

And indeed, the City of Maren kept its feisty promises. However, the City of Maren soon came to face a completely unexpected problem.

***

A castle was built on a hill overlooking the entire City of Maren. It was originally a fortress, so all it needed was a little renovation and expansion. And since Eugene was the founding king of the dukedom, only the finest products and materials were used to decorate the interior. The castle was smaller than the royal castle of the Caylor Kingdom, but it was much more lavish and elegant in terms of its exterior and interior.

Naturally, there was one particular creature who was extremely fond of this fact.

“I can’t believe I got to see an actual golden castle before I returned to the Spirit World. Kieee… This humble spirit can finally return to the Spirit World without any regrets.” The spirit imitated an old man, even going as far as to create wrinkles on its face using waves.

However, her words were true. The walls and spires of the castle were created from a special stone material of some kingdom, and they sparkled brilliant gold during sunrise and sunset as if they were built with real gold.

“Do you like it that much?” Eugene asked.

“Obviously! We finally have our own castle! Well, it’s kind of unfortunate that we don’t have any guardians like in a real demon king’s castle, but it’s fine since we have lots of slaves and servants! None of my seniors’ contractors have made it as far as you, sir! Kihehehehe!” Mirian responded with glee. Eugene felt satisfied when he saw Mirian’s wide grin. It felt like only yesterday when he lived in a shabby cottage drinking the blood of animals. He couldn’t believe that such a large, glamorous castle belonged to him. However, he couldn’t be satisfied just because he had a castle and had become a king.

He had something much more important to take care of.

“Sir Eugene! No, Your Majesty!” Prince Localope came rushing along with his entourage.

“What’s the matter?” Eugene asked.

“S-something’s up!” Prince Localope shouted with a pale expression.

“…?”

Eugene was puzzled.

Prince Localope continued, “M-my brother is coming with the envoy from the empire! Brother Voltaire is coming!”

“Voltaire?” Eugene asked. Although he had an approximate guess of Localope’s issues with his family, Eugene had never actually learned about his family history.

“…The crown prince of the empire.”

Eugene could not help but be stunned. The crown prince was the next emperor of the Roman Empire, so why was such a hegemon coming here? However, Prince Localope’s following words were even more shocking.

“B-brother Voltaire has a Marecasio by his side. A daywalker, a vampire lord just like yourself.”

“…!!!”

A vampire lord. Judging by Localope’s attitude, it couldn’t have been a lord of a vampire clan.

That meant…

“There is a strong possibility that the head of the Helmond Clan will be with him. What should we do about this?”

The Silver-Browed Demon King—Eugene was sure that Prince Localope was talking about him.

“Will he be the only one?” Eugene asked, recalling the three vampires he had seen in his memories. His memories were becoming clearer and clearer every time a tattoo was erased.

“Well… he might be accompanied by someone else as well because he’s the head of his clan,” Localope answered.

“Someone else? Another vampire? Is he strong as well? Are they someone I should be wary of?” Eugene asked.

“Most likely. And it’s not him… it’s her,” Prince Localope said in a wistful voice.

Eugene paid more attention to the word ‘her’ rather than the prince’s tone.

“A female vampire? Who is it?” Eugene asked.

Prince Localope bit his lips before he spoke in a voice containing a strong sense of loss, “Lefersha. It’s Lefersha Ram Ventrua.”

Crack!

The moment Eugene heard her name, the sound of something breaking resounded in his head.

***

“So you want me to come with you?”

“Isn’t that obvious? There’s news that a member of the Dark Clan is by Localope’s side. We need to find out who they are,” Prince Voltaire spoke while parting his lips from a golden grail. Dozens of young, beautiful slaves were attending to him, but none of them dared to raise their heads.

It wasn’t just because of his status as the crown prince. Rather, it was due to the mysterious energy Voltaire radiated. The crown prince of the Roman Empire possessed brilliant silver hair and bright golden eyes, and the golden blood that flowed in his veins—the same blood that was mentioned so often—was actually the glorious blood of a ‘dragon.’ Therefore, ordinary people couldn’t help but prostrate themselves when they were in the presence of a direct descendant of the Roman Empire—one who possessed the glorious golden blood.

Of course, it was possible for them to hide their bloodline ability, but most direct descendants wouldn’t do so unless there was a special reason. People would bow to them with nothing but a gaze, so why would they give up such a privilege?

Among those who possessed the glorious golden blood, the crown prince possessed the most power, second only to the emperor. However, there were a select few who would never shrink in front of the crown prince. An example was the woman with flaming red hair standing opposite Voltaire.

“Do I have to? I heard Helmond is going, right? If you want, I’ll send some of my subordinates. I’m busy,” the woman said. Voltaire looked calm, even though the woman had just refused his request and had spoken informally. It was because a mature charm and the innocence of a young girl coexisted in the woman. He didn’t mind someone like her.

“Don’t be like that. Come with me. And he might be of your descent, Ventrua. They seemed to have built quite a reputation in the Caylor Kingdom, so it won’t hurt to have them under you. You need to escape from your father’s shadow after all, right?” said the Crown Prince.

Fwoosh!

Crimson Fear suddenly emanated from her body.

“Hieek!”

The horrible fear affected the slaves, even though they had their heads bowed. They whined while putting their heads against the floor.

However, Voltaire was still calm thanks to the dragon’s golden blood flowing in his veins.

“I warned you, didn’t I? Don’t ever bring that up,” Ventrua said.

“I apologize. It was my mistake,” Voltaire responded. The Crown Prince was born with a right to be shameless and uncaring, but he still apologized. However, she still glared at him with her crimson eyes. Voltaire felt goosebumps rising on his forearms.

‘You’re not even a hundred years old, but you’ve managed to stimulate the golden blood. Just as I thought, it was a good idea to get her. You must live for my descendants and for me forever, even after my reign ends.’

Voltaire’s eyes quivered. However, it was due to his greed for the vampire’s power, rather than the fact that he had recoiled at a force as strong as the dragon’s blood.

“I ask you one more time, Lefersha. If you do me this favor, I will make you the beautiful, red queen of this great empire,” Voltaire offered.

She was an Origin with a life that might last forever. If he could have her by his side, the empire and his name would live on forever. That was why he had taken her away from Localope.

1. The word that’s being used to describe the new ‘Kingdom’ is actually not the word ‘kingdom’ in Korean. Instead, they are using the word ‘공국’ which is defined as a small kingdom ruled by not a king, but rather a duke. Hence, I’ve just decided to call it the Dukedom of Maren and leave Eugene’s title as a duke ☜