“Sir! Why are you leaving me out of the subjugation?” Prince Localope asked.

“I should be the one asking you a question. Why would a prince want to participate in an evil land subjugation?” Eugene responded.

“T-that’s…” Prince Localope stuttered.

‘It’s because I want to see a knight I admire fight against monsters!’

It was something he could never say as an imperial prince. He was already extremely disappointed to have missed the battle between Eugene and the undead twin-headed ogre in the capital, as well as the 11-to-1 duel that had recently taken place in front of the castle’s gate. It was an honorable thing to work with an unparalleled knight who would surely go down in history, but what was the point if he could never see the knight at work?!

Indeed, Prince Localope was an enthusiastic follower of the knight Jan Eugene. However, he did not want to reveal the truth to Eugene.

‘There is a saying that a hidden virtue is a true virtue. It is the same with my expectations of him. I am being virtuous by not revealing myself.’

Prince Localope justified his actions with a ridiculous reason. Of course, Eugene had no idea how Prince Localope viewed himself.

“It will be better for you to stay here and show your face in the city hall from time to time and get acquainted with the nobles. You had only just resumed your true identity,” Eugene said. As he said, Localope was no longer pretending to be a servant, and as such, he was dressed appropriately as a prince. He wore a beautiful headband of pure gold set with matched gemstones and a wire-wrapped necklace with the finest refined mana stones. In addition, he even had a ring containing the seal of the imperial family. Prince Localope was overflowing with nobility and dignity in appearance.

Moreover, he had on a simple piece of armor made of ogre leather and enchanted with magic inside his elegant, sophisticated clothing. The piece of equipment was a treasure that protected its wearer from most physical attacks. Regular weapons could not even leave a scratch on the treasure’s surface.

In other words…

“It’s an explosion of awesomeness when money and magic come together! As expected! A truly wealthy man gives off a different vibe. It’s just like how I, King God General, radiate overwhelming force by simply breathing. Kihehe!” Mirian exclaimed.

Eugene commented, “Lilisain. Put a stop to the barking.”

“Honor! Fuwah, hwah!” Princess Lilisain responded as her breaths turned heated and ragged with excitement. The duke was implying that she could deal with the spirit as she wanted. It was a rare opportunity for her to gratify her desires freely.

“Come here, come! Good girl, right? Come over here!”

“Kieeeehhh!” The spirit started screaming as she lay on top of a tower of a fairly large, ornamental castle made of gold. Of course, it was actually only plated with gold.

Eugene continued while listening to the spirit’s desperate screams, “Your Highness. Don’t tell me you’re going to be satisfied with just the nobles of the kingdom’s royal castle?”

“What are you talking about?” Prince Localope asked.

How could the prince be so dense?

Eugene had to suppress a sigh from escaping between his lips. He then explained, “Nobles and merchants from various kingdoms have come due to the founding of the Dukedom of Maren. I’m sure some of them already have relationships with the imperial family of the Roman Empire, but there are sure to be a great number of them who do not. And what is it that you need the most right now? Is it not connections and influence?”

“Ah…!” Prince Localope exclaimed.

“This is your opportunity to achieve all that you wanted without spending a penny, so what is this talk about coming with us on subjugations? It’s not like you’re going to build relationships and connections with monsters…” Eugene said.

“But the protagonist of the event is the City of Maren and you, sir, rather than me…” Prince Localope muttered.

“There are a great number of people who are eager to meet Your Highness. They’re only staying quiet because they fear me. But what will happen when I’m absent? You will only need to take your pick,” Eugen responded.

“…” Localope’s eyes quivered.

Eugene continued in a quiet voice, “And everyone knows the relationship we share. Even if there are those who want to build a relationship with me, they will surely approach Your Highness first. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to establish connections with prestigious nobles from afar? This is your chance to grow your influence and presence.”

“S-sir Eugene. To think you would go that far for me… Keugh!” Prince Localope said with teary eyes. He appeared quite moved. It was only natural for him to feel this way when someone he admired deeply was taking care of him to this extent.

“My heart trembles. It has been my greatest fortune to have met you, sir,” Prince Localope said. His gaze was overflowing with heat and emotions as he stared at Eugene.

“…It’s embarrassing, so stop it there,” Eugene responded while carefully avoiding the prince’s gaze.

‘As if it’s for you…’

In truth, he was just lazy. He found the babbling prince to be annoying and the foreign nobles even more annoying than the former. He could see straight through the ulterior motives of the foreign nobles and how they only wanted to make connections with him.

In part, that was what caused him to make plans to subjugate some of the evil lands. If he left Localope behind in Maren, he would be liberated from everything bothering him, and he could stand proudly in front of the parliament and the governor.

They would turn to the best alternative during Eugene’s absence, and it was highly likely that everyone’s attention would turn to Localope, an imperial prince of the Roman Empire. The governor and the parliament would be relieved that there wouldn't be a diplomatic vacuum during the king’s absence. The foreign nobles would also be glad that their vanity would be assuaged. Meanwhile, Localope could personally pursue connections that would expand his influence.

‘While I’m happy to avoid the cumbersome work!’

Who cared if Eugene was hiding his true intentions?

Anyway, everyone would benefit from this plan.

“This opportunity that you have created for me, I will do my best to take advantage of it. From the bottom of my heart… Thank you,” Prince Localope said.

The prince’s passionate gaze reminded Eugene of Princess Lilisain, and it felt slightly burdensome.

***

Eugene quietly departed from Maren with only Princess Lilisain and the elven knights. The governor and the parliament wanted Eugene to be accompanied by a proper delegation, as it was his first trip as the dukedom’s leader. Even regular lords mobilized dozens of people when they left to inspect their own territories. The governor and the parliament reasoned that it would be damaging to Eugene’s reputation and dignity as a king if he were accompanied by fewer troops than even regular lords.

Their reasoning was valid, but Eugene rejected their offer, saying that he wanted an exact, proper understanding of the dukedom’s current situation.

It was naturally a lie.

He couldn’t even imagine how much the lords would annoy him if he brought with him dozens of followers and servants. Moreover, he was certain they would hold banquets and invite numerous nobles to them. Since he was a king, he could not reject such invitations, and he had no doubt it would take more than a month before he could finally get to the Tywin territory.

As such, Eugene departed for the Tywin territory without any slaves or porters. There were only eight figures in his group. Although an actual king, who was also a prestigious vampire nobleman, and an elven princess were traveling, they lived like mercenaries or free knights. The elven knights of Eland were accustomed to taking care of various chores, as they rarely took on aides except for a few special cases. Princess Lilisain felt no discomfort either. Ever since she was young, she had roamed around by herself and had always been beating up monsters on her own. On the contrary, she was very satisfied that she could monopolize Eugene during their travel without anyone disturbing them.

“Your Majesty. There is a fallen tree in our path. I will go and clean it up.”

“No, I think we can just jump over…”

“Your Majesty. Anemia is a great enemy of the Dark Clan. Please drink my blood whenever you need it. I am willing to donate my blood at any time for Your Majesty.”

“No, I think I’ll be fine catching roamers…”

“Your Majesty. Please leave it to the other sirs and me to set up camp. Sir Paulsa, firewood. Sir Madeleine, drinking water. I will personally prepare dinner. A special goblin stew for His Majesty…”

“No, I don’t eat goblin meat…”

“No, I will prepare the meal, Princess! Sir Paulsa! Quick, go catch a rabbit or something similar!”

“I’ve caught it!”

“That’s fast!”

There was one thing the elven knights and Eugene could agree on unanimously, and it was regarding cooking. Princess Lilisain’s dishes were truly evil.

“Princess, please rest. We will take care of it.”

“Hmm! One without responsibility cannot be called a true knight. I will at least go and get some water…”

Fwoooooosh!

“Kieeeeh! Drinking water is done!” Mirian reported while saluting as she stood atop a hanging pot.

“How cute…” Princess Lilisain muttered. She was disappointed that there was nothing for her to do, but her heart was thawed by the spirit’s charm.

She slowly crept to Eugene’s side, and as the distance between the two narrowed, anxiety began to rise in Eugene’s heart. Ever since his battle with the twin-headed ogre, and after he drank her blood after falling into exhaustion, he felt more burdened by her.

- It means I cannot get married any longer…

He wondered what the hell it meant, even though he always shivered when he recalled her words. However, he planned to never ask her about it. His intuition as an Origin warned him that hearing the answer would plunge him into an inescapable hole. Fortunately, the princess had never mentioned the elephant in the room.

However, Eugene still couldn’t help but feel anxious whenever he was left alone with Princess Lilisain.

“Your Majesty,” Princess Lilisain called out.

“What is it?” Eugene answered. Her voice was subtler than usual, and the Origin vampire felt goosebumps rising on his skin. He was more nervous in his current situation than when he had to face a powerful enemy or monster.

“I have something that I am genuinely curious about,” Princess Lilisain said.

“Don’t you think it’s better to leave the things that you are curious about alone? That way, you can spend every day more meaningfully with expectations and hopes for the future,” Eugene hurriedly responded while desperately avoiding the princess’ fiery gaze. Even he could not make sense of his own nonsensical words.

“I think my life will be more fruitful and meaningful if you answer my questions, Your Majesty,” Princess Lilisain responded. She appeared quite determined.

“…”

Eugene gulped unknowingly. Princess Lilisain slowly skirted over his entire figure with a burning gaze.

Slurp!

She licked her plump lips with her cherry-red tongue and spoke in a voice that vividly conveyed the heat.

“Ha… Your Majesty…”

“W-what? What?” Eugene said.

“Your armor, Armis! Truly beautiful and strong!”

“What?” Eugene mumbled with a frown.

Princess Lilisain continued without hiding her excitement, “I can still feel a little bit of sinister energy, but even that makes Your Majesty stand out more. How does it feel? Is it comfortable? When I saw you fight those unsavory knights, you didn’t seem uncomfortable at all.”

“…”

So, she was curious about the demonic armor. Eugene felt all the tension in his body drain away as he answered, “It’s a perfect fit. I can’t even feel its weight at all. But the Eland’s royal family previously owned this armor, right?”

Armis, the demonic armor, was something he had received from the royal family of Eland thanks to the Sword Master Pranbow. Eugene could not understand how Lilisain, a princess of Eland, was ignorant of Armis and was instead curious about it.

“They say that the demonic armor charms those who lay their eyes on it. As such, only trained masters and the king are allowed to see it,” Princess Lilisain explained.

“Hmm. Is that so? But it’s fine now?” Eugene asked.

“Yes. That’s when I became certain. Your Majesty is the true master of the magical, demonic armor. I would like to congratulate you once again,” Princess Lilisain answered.

“Well, I guess so,” Eugene said with a bitter smile. During his bloody battle with the undead twin-headed ogre, Armis had recognized that he was in danger and flew over to him of its own will and even equipped itself on him. That was understandable, as it was a valuable treasure containing the powerful mysteries of magic. However, Armis craved blood endlessly after being equipped even once, as if it were a living creature.

Eugene was certain…

‘Only an Origin like myself is capable of wearing this.’

Armis was literally a demonic armor, and it absorbed the blood and energy of its wearer. An ordinary person would last not even ten minutes, and even a knight with excellent physical and mental strength would last no longer than an hour.

Only lord-class vampires with special blood or pure-blooded elves could last a reasonable amount of time wearing Armis. The royal family of Eland had been aware of this fact, which was why they kept it safe. It was something that even those belonging to the Batla Duchy had no idea about.

“So you don’t know much about Armis, do you, Princess?” Eugene asked.

“Yes. Father and Master Pranbow were both reluctant to talk about the demonic armor,” she answered.

“Hmm.”

Eugene had many questions. The treasured sword, Wolfslaughter, the demonic spear Madarazika, the magical shield Paracletus, and the demonic armor Armis—each piece of equipment was worthy of being called a legendary item, so how had all of them gathered in the Batla Duchy? And why were they all deadly to vampires but were simultaneously only capable of being fully utilized by an Origin?

‘Now, all of them are in my hands.’

Eugene’s intuition was telling him that there was something more to be discovered.