“What are you glancing at? Why? Do you want to be friends because he’s so good-looking? You look like you would give your ass to him at night, hmm?”

Partec scolded Lavan, who kept stealing glances at Eugene’s back since departure.

“Come on, I’m only looking. We’re traveling together now.”

“It’s only for today. Don’t get too interested in a knight. A goblin will have his crotch ripped apart if he tries to go after an ogre.”

“Really? You’re calling me a goblin? It’s not like he was born a knight anyways.”

Lavan grumbled, and Partec responded with a grin.

“They are indeed born as knights.”

“What?”

“No matter how stupid or weak a knight appears on the outside, he learns to use a blade at the age of three or four.”

“Captain, aren’t you thinking too little of me?”

“I’m telling the truth, you brat. A child born into a knight’s family will start fiddling with a wooden sword as soon as they are able to take their first step. And if they have enough talent, they will receive systematic training once they are seven or eight years old. They will take classes from their father or older relatives.”

“By classes… you mean swordsmanship?”

“Swordsmanship, spearmanship, horsemanship, daggermanship, bare-handed fighting. Name it, and if it’s a method of fighting, they’ve probably learned it.”

“Really? And then they become a knight?”

“No. After they learn enough, they become aides. That’s when it really begins.”

“Ah, you’re talking about those little brats that follow around knights, right?”

“Yes. You think little of them, but those fifteen, sixteen-year-olds are stronger than you. They could eat two or three mercenaries like you for breakfast.”

“I-I see.”

“That’s right. Anyways, they usually spend two or three years as aides. Maybe even five if they meet a master with a crappy personality. They’ll have to perform all sorts of chores while experiencing real battles and whatnot. Once they have a recommendation, they will finally qualify to become a knight.”

“Wow.”

“But even that’s not the end of it. What’s the point of only having a recommendation? You only get acknowledged as a real knight once you’re sworn in.”

“Sworn in?”

“Either they defeat monsters, participate in a war, a jousting tournament, or fight in battles. After they build up experience over a few years, they can get sworn in once they catch the eye of an aristocrat with a title. Now then, here’s a question for you…”

Lavan already looked rather terrified, but Partec continued with a huge grin.

“Out of all the children who first played with a wooden sword, how many do you think made it all the way to the end? Which stage did Sir Eugene, who looks to be about twenty-two or twenty-three, reach? Hmm?”

“…I’ll just quietly follow you around, captain. I’ll be obedient.”

“That’s right, punk. Don’t get big-headed for nothing.”

“Knights are truly amazing. Now I see why that money-grubber was so happy.”

Lavan passed the reins of the carriage to another mercenary and glanced at Bilmoa, who was dozing off next to the coachman’s seat, with interested eyes.

“Of course. It costs more than a pretty penny to hire a proper knight. Moreover, knights who are as broad-minded as Sir Eugene are quite rare. With a knight like him accompanying us for free, it’s only natural that his jaws would drop.”

“And we’re lucky too?”

“Naturally.”

Partec and the mercenaries grinned.

When the knight suddenly asked to accompany them last night, they had been wondering if the gorgeous knight had gone crazy, or perhaps was plotting something against them. However, the mercenaries understood after hearing the knight explain his circumstance while showing them the letter that the chief of Broadwin had written for Lord Tywin.

In any case, it didn’t matter too much for them since it was just an additional escort on top of Bilmoa and the wagon. Moreover, although the subject of the escort was a bastard, he was still Lord Tywin’s son. A real knight was escorting him to the castle as well.

“I have a good feeling about this request. Aren’t you glad you decided to trust in my gut feelings?”

The mercenaries nodded without hesitation at Partec’s words. They knew Partec was a leader who was lucky, trustworthy and had experience and skills.

*** 

“Hey, a bear-like guy is grinning at you right now. Let’s just knock them all out and take their horse. It’ll be much faster.”

“If you are caught stealing a horse, it’s the death penalty. And that’s a luggage horse. It can’t travel fast anyways.”

“Really? Aren’t all horses the same?”

“They have different purposes. There are horses that run fast, horses that pull wagons or carts, horses for battles. All of them are different.”

“Wowzers! You sure know a lot, don’t you, Sir Eugene?”

“Yes. I certainly am better than you at reading and writing for sure.”

“Kieeek! Shut up!”

Mirian shrieked loudly, then sat down on Eugene’s shoulder and began chattering away.

“By the way, I’m glad the little brat is writing on the carriage. We can talk comfortably like this. It’s much more comfortable riding a carriage, so I don’t know why he insists on walking. What a weirdo.”

Eugene had a hunch that the stubbornness ran in the Tywin family, but he didn’t bother verbalizing it.

“So what kind of a man is Lord Tywin?”

“I do not know either. Only that he is the lord of this region, and he’s not long for life. I heard he was a very strong knight in his youth.”

It would be problematic if Eugene could not meet with Lord Tywin. He had been pondering about the issue since last night but failed to come up with any viable solutions. He was still deliberating.

“He’s not long for life? Then what happens with the little brat? Is he going to be orphaned as soon as he arrives there?”

“That’s none of my business.”

Felid would not receive great treatment since he was a bastard son, and if the mercenaries’ words were true, the territory was currently quite poor. Not much would fall to Felid. No, rather, if the family had no money and was riddled with chaos due to the discovery of the dungeon, perhaps he would be dragged off to the dungeon as a soldier and face a dog death.

‘But I guess you’re still better than me. At least you will get to see your father’s face. Hmm?’

Eugene suddenly realized.

‘Perhaps not me, but Lord Tywin will certainly meet with Felid.’

There was no parent in the world who would not meet their child after finding out they existed after sixteen years.

‘So how do I use this?’

Eugene mulled over the thought.

He gained more than simple beauty after awakening as a vampire. Eugene was beginning to recover the intelligence of the Night’s Tribe, who were second to none when it came to being smart and crafty.

*** 

After traveling for an entire day, Eugene and the mercenaries finally arrived in the village of Martella, where Lord Tywin’s castle was located. Martella was a town slightly larger than Brahms. However, the lord’s castle located in the middle of the town wasn’t very big. Inside the moat and the high walls, there were only three buildings, including the main structure where the lord’s family resided.

Still, Mirian could not keep her mouth shut. It was a great spectacle for a small wetland spirit.

“Sir! Sir Eugene! You need to get ahead in life and get yourself a castle like that! The Earl of Blood Eugene! Eugene, the Count of Darkness! Kiekkk!? I would love to see a few gargoyles over there! We can have ghouls roam the walls!”

“Stop talking nonsense and get in here. I will open the cap if I need you.”

“Oh, by the gods. You are a man with no romance or ambitions.”

Even while muttering grumpily, Mirian obediently flew into the leather pocket. 

Eugene’s group was led by Bilmoa, a member of a large city’s merchant association. As such, they had no trouble passing through the drawbridge into the castle. Once they entered the small castle of the Tywin family, which was also known as the Rose Castle, they instantly caught the attention of the castle’s residents. 

Among the onlookers, a group of nicely dressed men and women approached the carriage. They appeared to be the high-ranking people of the castle.

“You! Are you from the Palin Association?”

A man who appeared to be around 30 asked, and Bilmoa answered while putting his hands together.

“Yes. I am Bilmoa of the Palin Association. And may I ask for your name, sir?”

“I am Camara, the successor of Tywin. I don’t need introductions from the others, so get unloading.”

“Yes, yes.”

Partec and the mercenaries began to unload the carts. But since it had nothing to do with him, Eugene took out the letter of introduction to give to Camara Tywin.

Camara’s gaze turned to Eugene.

“What about you? Why aren’t you getting to work?”

“Ah, yes. Yes!”

Felid started to move with an anxious expression, but Eugene stopped him by grabbing his arms and leading him forward.

“Nice to meet you. I am—”

“Brother Camara!”

A clear voice resonated and cut off Eugene’s words. A young man wearing a gray surcoat over chainmail strode forward while being accompanied by two soldiers.

‘Bertel Tywin.’

He was a knight of the Tywin family. In Eugene’s past life, Bertel Tywin had troubled Eugene in many ways along with Jung Dircht. Although it had been Jung Dircht who actually killed Eugene, Bertel Tywin had been responsible for leading the tracking team.

“What are you doing now?”

“What does it look like? Goods arrived from the Palin Association, so I was overseeing the unloading process.”

“Brother, why are you personally doing such things?”

“You take care of matters regarding the troops, and I, the successor to the family, handle everything else. Isn’t that obvious? Why? Do you want to be the one to oversee these things as well? Perhaps you even want to play successor?”

“You know that is not what I meant.”

“If not, then mind your own business.”

The brothers glared at each other like mortal enemies. Eugene realized that the stories he overheard from the mercenaries were true.

The lord was about to die, and the family’s finances were in a mess. Meanwhile, a dungeon was newly discovered, but the brothers were at each other’s throats when they should be joining forces.

“So, what are you?”

At that time, Bertel’s gaze shifted towards Eugene. His expression was rather unwell, perhaps after being told off by Camara. Eugene took two pieces of paper out from his arms and pushed them towards Camara, rather than Bertel.

“One was in the hands of a mercenary named Timothy, and the other was sent by Chief Gev of Broadwin.”

“What?”

Camara became visibly surprised and snatched the letters from Eugene’s hands with a flinch. Then he hurriedly read the letters.

“This…”

“What is going on?”

“Read it.”

Camara frowned and held out the parchments. Bertel’s face quickly stiffened after reading confirming the contents.

“The mercenaries were attacked by black wolves and wiped out? And this… sir, brought back the lord’s illegitimate son?”

“That is correct. This is Lord Tywin’s illegitimate son.”

Everyone’s heads followed Eugene’s gaze.

“N-nice to meet you! My name is Felid!”

Felid bowed his head.

People in the castle shifted their attention to the lord’s bastard son, whom they had only heard about. They began to murmur with curiosity.

“Take this guy with you. Get him washed and put some proper clothes on him.”

“Yes. Please follow me, young master.”

A neatly dressed servant of the castle stepped out at Bertels’ words.

“Ah, yes!”

Felid looked back towards Eugene as he followed behind the servant. It wasn’t until Eugene gave a slight gesture with his hand that Felid moved on with a relieved expression.

“Sir Eugene.”

Bertel spoke.

“I am grateful for your hard work. There was a set of unfortunate events, the request could only be completed because you decided to take it up. I will pay you the appropriate amount tomorrow. It must have been a rough journey, so please rest for today.”

It was a polite response, but he was essentially asking Eugene to leave tomorrow.

“Thank you. By the way, is it possible for me to meet with Lord Tywin?”

“It will be difficult. The lord is in bad condition.”

“Is there no way?”

“Unfortunately.”

A clear refusal.

And it did not seem that the eldest son, who reminded Eugene of Jung Dircht and his shitty personality, would allow it either.

However…

“What’s so hard about meeting him for a short while? Although he was born from a different womb, this man still returned our brother to us.”

Camara, the eldest son, shattered Eugene’s expectations and suddenly sided with him.