How to Live As the Vampire Lord

am away.
However, never cross the bridge.
You cannot give them an excuse.”

“Don’t worry about that.
If anyone tries anything, I’ll make sure to bash in their skull,” Galfredik answered with a grin, and the squad leaders flinched before nodding at once.
They knew Eugene to be more skilled than Galfredik, but they also knew that Galfredik was better at tormenting and beating people.

Moreover, Galfredik was superior to Eugene in terms of military arts regarding group battles.
The knight Galfredik perfectly filled the shortcomings of Lord Eugene.

‘How could these two have possibly met?’

‘If that’s luck as well, Sir Eugene will surely go on to become an unrivaled figure.’

The squad leaders returned to their respective positions while having such thoughts.
However, they were unaware that there was another figure with as much loyalty as Galfredik.

“Veron, wait a minute.”

“What’s going on, Brother Partec?”

Veron stopped and turned his head while returning with the other squad leaders.

“Call some guys.
Those who are bigmouthed and glib-tongued.”

“Huh? What do you need them for?” Veron asked with genuine curiosity. 

Partec answered while clicking his tongue as if he were frustrated.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.
What were your first thoughts when you heard that Sir Eugene was heading into the dungeon by himself?”

“Well, Sir Eugene’s about to be Sir Eugene again?”

Partec chortled at the novel expression and continued.
“Right? You would think so since you saw Sir Eugene take care of Balmong and the Hounds, right? That he’s simply about to go on another slaughter.
Right?”

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“Ah, of course.
To be honest, it will be much easier to head into a dungeon and deal with monsters than climbing a mountain on a rainy night to confront criminals.
I saw Sir Eugene personally flogging monsters at the ruin as well.”

“Okay.
But what about the others? Those who didn’t actually see Sir Eugene pulling off a ridiculous, impossible feat with their own eyes?”

“…Ah!”

It seemed that Veron had finally realized the crux of the matter.

“Go and tell them.
Let them know what it means for Sir Eugene to be Sir Eugene.
We will prevent any of them from complaining.
It would be better for you to do it rather than me, right? Since I’m an outsider.”

“Leave it to me! Hey! You bastards!”

Veron walked away while calling his men.

“Kyah! Just what I might expect from you, brother.”

“When did you wheedle Veron as well?”

Glade and Lavan approached Partec with a smirk.

“Everyone has their own part to play.
How could I boast that I was the first to serve Sir Eugene if I can’t even do this?”

Lavan grinned in response, then sneakily turned his head before speaking.
“But even if we do this, what about those knights over there? They look like they have a fucking lot to complain about.”

Their gazes turned to the group of knights in the distance.
It was clear that they had been immersed in sweet imaginations about fighting glorious battles and raising their reputation.
They appeared quite upset by Eugene’s decision to enter the dungeon alone.

“Hmm… I’m not sure.”

Partec responded while narrowing his eyes.
There wasn’t much he could do about the knights.
At this moment, he caught a glimpse of Eugene riding Silion toward the knights.

The knights stole glances at Eugene with displeased looks.
Eugene spoke in a polite, kind manner.
“Sirs.
I wanted to say how grateful I am that all of you have listened to my requests until now.
You must be quite sore.
It has been of great help.”

“Ehem! It’s only natural for us since Sir Eugene asked us personally.
However, to be frank, I am a little disappointed that you will enter a dungeon by yourself.”

“That’s right.
I understand why you might want to leave the mercenaries behind, but I thought that us knight would fight alongside you, Sir Eugene.”

“Are we perhaps not to your liking, sir?”

Unfortunately, a knight was forever a knight.
The seven men were covertly expressing their dissatisfaction.
Eugene wanted nothing more than to beat them into obedience.

But…

“Nonsense! How could that be?! Any sensible lord would be honored to be accompanied by knights as talented and dignified knights such as yourselves.
So how could I have any other thoughts?”

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He could feel Galfredik sniggering in the distance, but Eugene tried his best to maintain a calm, soft attitude.
Even a small-time lord like Camara Tywin was capable of thoroughly hiding his inner thoughts at times, so Eugene would need to do better.

“Oh!”

“I cannot believe you would think so highly of us! Please forgive us for doubting you, even for a moment, sir.”

“We were insolent, Sir Eugene.”

The atmosphere was instantly soothed by Eugene’s praise.
He continued in an even more tender voice.
“What is there to forgive? Anyways, sirs, could I ask you to watch the situation here for three or four days? I have great expectations for all of you, and so does Lord Essandra.”

“Even Lord Essandra?”

“Is that really true?”

“I’m telling you the truth.
She could not spare any praise for how all of you followed me with determination, even without being officially hired.
She also mentioned how she would not forget any of you if she became the next marquis.”

It was naturally a lie.
Eugene could tell such lies because he knew the knights would never have a chance to speak with Essandra alone.

“Now, this is not much, but it is a token of sincerity from Lord Essandra and myself.”

Eugene beckoned, and Mark brought forth pouches filled with 50 silver coins and presented them to the knights.
Of course, all the money stemmed from Essandra’s vault.

“Ohhh!”

However, the knights rejoiced without knowing the truth.
Although it wasn’t a very large sum, some of them still trembled as if they were greatly touched.
Many of them were free knights.
Although they possessed some skill, they had never been sworn in by a noble.
As such, they were weak to praise and gifts from nobles.

“And that’s not the end.
These are just my personal thoughts, but in three or four days…”

Although Eugene had no way of knowing whether his predictions would come true or not, it didn’t really matter.
He would be satisfied if it happened, but he wouldn’t lose anything if it didn’t.

The knights were completely mesmerized by his words and their hips seemed to bounce off their saddles with excitement.
It seemed that they would be fine staying put for even ten days, never mind three.

“…What do you all think? I think it would be an excellent opportunity to show Lord Essandra the skills and chivalries of you sirs.”

“Please leave it to me!”

“I will do my best not to betray the trust of Sir Eugene and Lord Essandra!”

“Just what I might expect from you sirs! You are all so trustworthy.”

“Haha! You flatter us.
Hahahaha!”

Eugene died a little inside after saying these things that he didn’t truly mean.
Nevertheless, he was satisfied with having increased the working hours of the volunteers.