“He wakes up once in the afternoon but he isn’t in a good condition. It will be difficult to see him for a long time.”

“We’re only giving our greetings anyways.”

“Let’s go in first and wait.”

Eugene, Galfredik, and Felid entered Lord Tywin’s bedroom, located in the main building of the Rose Castle, along with Camara. A few maids were situated inside the room, and they bowed their heads as the group entered. The room was dim.

‘The smell…’

Eugene frowned involuntarily. It wasn’t only due to the horrible stench. As a vampire, Eugene instinctively sensed the scent of ‘death’ that originated from Lord Tywin’s bed. As the rumors had it, it appeared Lord Tywin was not long for this world.

“How is Father doing?”

Camara asked, and the Rose Castle’s doctor responded with a grim expression. It was the same doctor who had bandaged Eugene’s arm.

“He will wake up in a moment since we administered the medication. And… as I said before, you must prepare yourselves. Even if he continues to consume mana stones, we are only delaying the inevitable. We should allow him to ascend to God’s arms peacefully.”

“Tsk. I understand.”

Camara answered, and the doctor bowed before leaving the room.

Eugene shifted his gaze towards Lord Tywin. The old man was lying on the bed, and his pale, blue face was covered with black spots. He already looked like a corpse. 

It was hard to believe that he had been one of the five strongest knights of the region until only twenty years ago.

“Do you know why I gave up on becoming a knight, aside from my lack of talent?”

Camara spoke in a soft voice, and Eugene shifted his gaze.

“I did not want to become like this. And I still share the same sentiment, as I will in the future. I will never become like this.”

Flames seemed to flicker in Camara’s eyes as he observed Lord Tywin. Eugene was a little surprised at Camara’s expression. It seemed he wasn’t simply an arrogant successor to a small territory.

“You may not know, sirs, but my father had displayed signs earlier on, even when I was but a child. He lived a life full of alcohol and violence under the guise of knighthood, so perhaps it’s only the natural outcome. All he ever knew was to wear his armor, ride his horse, and fight.”

“And that is the life that all knights live.”

At Galfredik’s response, Camara turned his head towards the burly knight and grinned.

“Yes. And I am not criticizing it. Our territory was formed from the money my father earned from various expeditions and wars. But here’s the catch.”

Camara’s tone turned serious.

“Even our small, little territory never functioned properly. Even putting aside the aristocrats who always coveted this place, the man who always ordered our father around employed various tricks as soon as the dungeon was discovered. If you sirs had not succeeded in opening the dungeon, we would have gone bankrupt in a few months. Do you know what this means?”

Camara’s smile deepened. 

“Although my father was the one who founded our territory, he is also the one who ruined it. Our very own Lord Tywin. Well, I guess he held on for 20 years. It could be considered long.”

“And is it not the role of the eldest son to overcome the crisis? Since we succeeded in opening the dungeon, you should be able to properly manage the territory, sir. Right?”

“Heuheu! I would love to. And I will do my best to do just that. But it is easier said than done. Why else would small territories similar to ours change their masters so often?”

“…..”

“I’m saying that everything is useless unless you have strength. The materials and the mana stones from the expedition? After paying you sirs for succeeding in the expedition, I will only have a few pennies left. Then it’s back to debt. But since we succeeded in the dungeon opening, maybe the Palin Association will lend us some without as much hassle, hmm? Keukeu.”

At Camara’s helpless words, Eugene realized something. A lord was nothing without power, and being a lord of a small, distant territory was not worth much. If the Tywin family had power, they would not have required the strength of an unknown knight and the capital of the Palin Association.

‘Wait. What if I use this to my advantage?’

As Eugene sank into thought, Lord Tywin’s eyelids started twitching ever-so-slightly.

“It seems Father is waking up.”

“Who… is it…?”

Lord Tywin spoke after managing to come to his senses, and Camara approached him.

“Father, it’s me, Camara. I wanted to introduce you to the two knights who succeeded in the dungeon opening.”

“Is that so? Assist me…”

Lord Tywin raised his hand, and Camara quickly helped him up. After barely managing to prop himself against a pillow, his lifeless gaze met with Felid’s eyes.

“That boy is… Ah, that’s right. Vera had a son. Our youngest. Huh…”

“My lord.”

“You can call me… Father. Since I’m going to die soon, when else will you get to say it? Haha.”

After patting Felid on the shoulder, Lord Tywin turned his gaze towards Eugene and Galfredik.

“You sirs… succeeded in opening the dungeon?”

“Yes, Lord Tywin. It is an honor to meet you. I am Rowan, the third son of Galfredik.”

“I am the eldest son of Eugene, Jan.”

Galfredik slightly lowered his head after resting his hand on the pommel of his sword, and Eugene followed suit.

“I see… It must have been tough. And… Sir Eugene, right?”

“Yes, Lord Tywin.”

“I heard you brought us the youngest, right? You wanted something… what was it?”

“Sir Eugene wants his identity to be verified, Father. I told you about it a while before.”

“Ah, that’s right. That was it… Here.”

Lord Tywin gestured with his hand and Camara held out an object. It was a document verifying Eugene’s identity – something Camara prepared in advance. Lord Tywin stamped the document with the seal of a ring located on his middle finger, then spoke with difficulty. 

“For a knight who already succeeded in opening a dungeon… I’m not sure if this will be of any significant help… but this should be more than enough to verify your identity around this area, Jan of the Eugene family.”

“Thank you.”

Although he achieved one of the most important goals he set while bringing Felid to the Rose Castle, Eugene remained indifferent. Lord Tywin nodded slowly, then shifted his gaze to Camara once more. He looked up at his eldest son with mixed expressions while stroking Camara’s hands with his rough, thin hands.

“You’ve… gone through a lot.”

“I only did what I had to do.”

“No. I know it wasn’t easy… You and I both know it. Cough! Cough!”

Lord Tywin gave a dry cough, then tightened his grasp on Camara’s hands.

“F-father, this is…”

“From now on… you are the master of this estate. Please lead Tywin… not as a knight… but as a proper… lord…”

Thud.

His head drooped after leaving the family’s ring in his eldest son’s hand.

“Father? Father!”

“F-father!?”

Camara and Felid shouted with shock.

Lord Tyinw had drawn his last breath. Although he was an incompetent lord, he had drawn his mark on the world as a knight.

*** 

“I apologize for not being able to attend the funeral.”

“It is fine. Since he met a brave knight like you before he passed, sir, I am sure he was satisfied.”

Camara responded while shaking his head, and the two people shook hands. Then, Galfredik turned to Eugene.

“Take care. I don’t know if or when we will meet again, but I hope we will be on the same side.”

“Hmm.”

Eugene shook hands with Galfredik. The burly knight had broken Eugene’s prejudice against knights. He was a man of honor and promise, and he always gave his all in a battle. 

“Then you as well…”

Galfredik turned to give his farewell to Bertel, then smirked. Bertel wasn’t even looking towards him, as if he was discontent.

“Unbefitting a man. Tsk.”

Galfredik openly criticized him and even clicked his tongue, but Bertel did not respond, only flinching at the remark.

“Then take care, all of you!”

Galfredik rode off on his steed. Although he was alone, no one would be crazy enough to attack a knight, especially when he was wearing plate mail, a long sword, and even battleaxes.

“Now! Let’s go in. We need to prepare for the future.”

“Yes, Lord Tywin!”

The people of the Rose Castle responded in one voice and bowed. As of today, Camara was the new ‘Lord Tywin’, and this castle belonged to him as well.

“Sir Eugene, I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

“I’ll do my best. It’s in the best interest of the both of us.”

Camara exchanged a gaze with Eugene, then turned to Felid.

“Although it’s only for a short while, take care. Don’t talk too badly of us to your master either.”

“Ah! That will never happen. By the way, the funeral…”

“You saw him when he passed anyway, right? It’s enough.”

“Yes… Lord Tywin.”

“I told you. Call me brother.”

“Ah, yes. B…brother.”

Felid answered awkwardly. After patting his younger brother on the shoulder, Camara walked towards the main building. Bertel, who glared at Eugene and Felid with malice, followed behind his brother.

“That icy bastard! I really don’t like him! Can’t you just sneak up at night and rip his throat out?”

As usual, Eugene ignored Mirian’s nonsense and strode forward alongside Felid.

“Excuse me, master.”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you ask me to come with you? You said before that you had no intention of bringing me along…”

“Well, yes. But there is something you need to do now.”

“What?”

Felid answered with puzzlement, and his expressions soon brightened.

“Mister Partec!”

“Hello there, young master.”

Partec, Glade, and Lavan were waiting for the two at the end of the drawbridge. They bowed as the two approached. 

“What’s going on?”

Partec smiled instead of answering, then spoke to Eugene.

“All the preparations have been made, Sir Eugene.”

“What about the mercenaries I hired yesterday?”

“I told them to stand by in the village until Sir Eugene came back. They obeyed without making trouble.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

“Master? Were you not going to reside in the nearby village?”

Felid hastily followed the men while asking, and Eugene answered while turning his head.

“You’re suddenly talking a lot. Isn’t it customary for an aide to obey and follow silently, no matter what the knight does or says?”

“Ah, yes. Yes, sir.”

Felid remembered his position and promptly shut his mouth. Lavan sneaked to his side and whispered.

“We are going to Brahms now, young master.”

“Brahms? Why would we…”

“For now, we are going to purchase Sir Eugene’s steed.”

“Ah…”

“But our final destination is not Brahms.”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

Felid frowned with frustration, and Lavan answered while smiling mysteriously.

“We are going to purchase a horse in Brahms, then head to Maren.”

“Maren… is… Heuk!”

The eyes of the bastard son grew large with shock. He was but a hillbilly born in the countryside of Broadwin, and Maren was the region’s largest commercial city. It would take ten days to travel there.

*** 

‘Using up the money happens in the blink of an eye.’

Eugene examined the lightened purse with a disappointed expression before putting it away. More than half of the remunerations he received from the Tywin family had been used up to purchase a carriage in the village of Martella, which was located just outside the Rose Castle. Although it was required to transport the monsters’ materials and he would sell it after arriving at Maren, he still felt disappointed.

“It would have been nice if there was a warhorse. Don’t you agree, Sir Eugene?”

“It would be strange for there to be a warhorse in a town with only one knight.”

“We will be able to find a decent horse once we get to Brahms.”

Eugene nodded at Partec’s words. But people were fickle, and he felt a little greedy after obtaining some money.

“But would there not be a better horse in Maren? Perhaps a real warhorse.”

“That is true. Maren is incomparably bigger than Brahms. Should we just head straight for Maren instead of passing through Brahms?”

Eugene nodded after a moment of thought.

“That would be better.”

Although there was more than a month remaining until the next expedition, it would take more than 15 days just to travel to and from the Rose Castle and Maren. There was no reason to delay their trip and waste a day when he could find a better horse in Maren.

“Are you not going to ride in the carriage? It feels a bit… weird for us to take turns and…”

“I don’t care.”

After consuming the blood of various monsters in the dungeon, Eugene’s condition was at its peak. The blood of monsters was incomparably better than those of animals.

When he lived in Broadwin, he had to feed once at least every 10 days to survive, but he felt as if he would be fine without having to feed for several months. The blood of monsters, especially of those intermediate-rank and above, provided him with considerable amounts of power.

‘But I should feed every couple of months just in case.’

It was absolutely unacceptable for him to be lazy or to be ill-prepared. He would always maintain his condition to prepare for any circumstances. As Eugene reaffirmed his determination, Felid climbed down from the carriage and spoke.

“Master.”

“What?”

“I apologize for asking again… but what is it that I have to do? No matter how hard I think about it, I can’t figure out what there is to do for someone like me.”

He could not figure out why he was included in the group. He had no use in selling the materials, and the group was comprised of three mercenaries and a knight. Stories had it that his master had single-handedly pulled out the head of a troll, so they weren’t short of guards. He wasn’t worth much in performing chores, since Eugene and the mercenaries took care of their own chores and Lavan did the rest.

In other words, the man named Felid Tywin was useless in the group.

“When we arrive in Maren, there is something for you to do.”

“In Maren?”

Felid responded with shock, and Eugene nodded.

“Yes. On behalf of the Tywin family, you will manage everything that comes out of the dungeon.”

“…..!”

Felid’s mouth opened agape with surprise.