The long-troubled issue of who the Shulben territory belongs to has finally, under the joint request of the Church of Fertility and the people of Shulben, been temporarily resolved.
Viktor will become the lord of Shulben, and Priscilla has changed her surname to Clavenna.
She has become the only member of the Clavenna family in the kingdom.
With such a surname, even though Priscilla is still a vampire, no one dares to discriminate against her anymore.
The nobles even wish they could curry favor with her, and Laurien's past actions have long been forgotten by them.
After all, none of them died, and not a single resident of Shulben was harmed.
And Laurien is already dead.
As for Priscilla?
Don't talk nonsense, her surname is Clavenna.
She's a vampire of the Clavenna family, she has nothing to do with Count Laurien.
It seems that under the surname "Clavenna," everything about Priscilla can be forgiven.
At least, that's how these nobles see it.
As for the cause of Laurien's death, because the matter involves too many aspects, it even involves vampires, a race from taboo legends that feeds on blood.
Therefore, Duke Barlow issued a strict warning, forbidding anyone who knows the truth from leaking it.
It must not be allowed for the common people to know the truth of this matter.
Anyone who leaks it will bear consequences they cannot endure.
So the cause of Count Laurien's death was beautified in the eyes of the people.
In their view, Count Laurien, in order to revive his beloved daughter, willingly offered himself as a sacrifice.
In the end, his soul ascended into the sky together with his wife who had fallen into madness.
His sacrifice even moved the Goddess of Fertility.
The Goddess of Fertility bestowed mercy, sending down a blessing upon the entire Shulben.
That day, the fertile land turned into waves of golden wheat, covering the entire Shulben.
Faced with Count Laurien's actions, the people were deeply shaken.
They believed even more firmly in Laurien's greatness, even seeing him as a righteous man who could bring forth the descent of the Goddess of Fertility.
All the doubts and discussions that had surfaced at the beginning vanished after the appearance of the Goddess's light.
It made people revere Laurien even more.
This act of sacrificing himself for his daughter, putting family above all, filled them with deep sorrow.
The people even wanted to contribute money to build a statue of Count Laurien, to stand forever in the center of Shulben.
The stonemasons responsible for the construction even gave up their payment voluntarily, simply because they admired Laurien's actions.
Because of this, Laurien's daughter Priscilla received a great deal of care and help.
People spontaneously organized to repair her destroyed mansion.
And as for why that mansion was destroyed, it is said to be because of that legendary mage from the Empire... Viktor.
In order to help Count Laurien fulfill his wish, he used magic to assist Laurien in completing the sacrifice.
But the reputation of this legendary mage is something everyone knows very well.
Rumor has it, he loves explosion magic.
Wherever he goes, there's almost nowhere he hasn't blown up.
It's even said that during his visit to the kingdom, he blew up the royal city as well.
So casually using magic to blow up a mansion sounds completely reasonable.
After that, this mage will replace Count Laurien in raising the revived Priscilla, and temporarily serve as the lord of Shulben.
Truly worthy of a mage who loves explosions, they approve.
———
At this moment, Duke Barlow's territory is just in time to welcome the warm sunlight of spring.
Pleasant birdsong and the fragrance of flowers linger in the air.
Large flower beds, like patches of colorful blocks, intertwine and cluster along both sides of the tree-lined path.
There is also a chair, a chair placed gently at just the right corner of the flower beds.
Viktor is still sitting on that chair, warm sunlight resting on his shoulders.
In his hands is a profound magic book, which he is reading carefully.
In his free time, only reading can keep him from getting bored.
Vega stands on the nearby table, dozing off.
The cup of warm tea beside it provides a comfortable warmth.
Gwen stands nearby. From time to time, she lifts the teapot on the table and pours Viktor a cup of fragrant tea.
After a few idle moments, she quietly stands beside Viktor.
Even when butterflies land on her, she doesn't make any extra movement.
Only her tail sways from time to time, one of her few sources of amusement.
Aurelian, on the other hand, is training in the large courtyard.
Today, her sparring instructor is that female tigerfolk martial artist.
The female tigerfolk cannot speak, because she never learned the human language.
But as a martial artist, she can still teach quite a lot.
At this moment, the tigerfolk stands steadily in place, one hand behind her back, and only one hand held in front.
A cold flash emerges from Aurelian's waist as she moves lightly on her feet, launching an attack toward the tigerfolk who is half a head taller than her.
However, facing the incoming flurry of blades, the female tigerfolk simply turns her palm and easily deflects Aurelian's thrust.
In the end, she even extends two fingers and effortlessly clamps the tip of the sword between them.
The difference in level between Aurelian and the tigerfolk is still too great.
Especially since this is a tigerfolk with the [Martial Artist] profession.
The [Martial Artist] profession is relatively mysterious and rare.
Their profession is also the reason Viktor kept the two tigerfolk.
As for why Aurelian didn't go train with Gwen,
Gwen has been busy every day lately, with no time even for herself.
Early every morning, she leads a large number of knights and demi-human guards in training.
Mainly for those newly subdued demi-humans, as well as the demi-human slaves who were just rescued from noble dungeons and regained their freedom.
These guys, although physically strong, have no other advantages beyond that.
They are far from comparable to the group of demi-humans trained by Liya.
The demi-humans trained by Liya are well-disciplined, whether in discipline or obedience, they are just like normal humans.
They are even more outstanding than ordinary people.
But this group of wild demi-humans has not undergone strict military training.
They are naturally fierce, their inner wildness still present, more like beasts.
The demi-human slaves are slightly better, but having regained their freedom, they are even less obedient to discipline.
If they are not trained, they may develop rebellious tendencies in the future due to certain painful memories.
Although, aside from the two tigerfolk, Viktor has no intention of taking them back to the Empire.
Shulben will become their hidden base.
They will continue secretly rescuing more demi-humans in the kingdom.
So their training must be firmly controlled.
To prevent them from acting on their beast instincts and refusing discipline.
Right now, the demi-humans are Vega's basic foundation.
Especially those newly rescued demi-human slaves.
For Vega, they are the best blank slates for planting faith.
Believers are not something you can gain just by talking; at its core, belief in a god depends on what the god can provide.
Followers of the Goddess of Fertility believe in her for bountiful harvests.
Followers of the Goddess of Justice believe in her to uphold justice.
Similarly, if Vega wants to gain believers, it must also give something in return.
And the simplest way is to gain these demi-humans.
Because demi-humans only want to survive, and Vega can let them live.
The rescued demi-humans want freedom, they never want to return to those dark dungeons of the past.
So if they want to survive, they need power to protect themselves.
The evil god they believe in may not offer much, but it can at least keep them alive.
Those demi-humans who have tasted the sweetness of freedom will become more and more dependent on Vega.
In a positive cycle, they will become loyal believers of Vega.
Once the conditions for belief are met, Vega can gain divine power.
At this time, Aurelian stops her training, drenched in sweat, looking very exhausted.
Today's morning training is now complete.
These past few days, the Minister of Foreign Affairs needs to frequently appear in the royal city to handle diplomatic matters.
Because the king cannot appear, Aurelian and Viktor naturally have no need to accompany him.
In other words, even if they wanted to accompany him, those nobles wouldn't dare let them.
As a result, the two of them have been quite free these past few days.
As for why they haven't returned to the Empire yet, it's because not long from now, August is going to be married.
The person August will marry is that female instructor from the Stellar Academy, Hilda.
At that time, Hilda will become the queen of the Cant Kingdom.
However, how long she can remain in that position is unclear.
After all, August has lost his mind.
This matter, Aurelian knows very well.
When August and Hilda were captured and brought back by Hilda's younger sister, Aurelian was present the entire time.
Her grandfather separated August's soul from his body.
This was Duke Barlow's final punishment for this king who did not deserve his position.
Extremely cruel.
At the same time, because she tried to help August escape, Hilda also received her punishment.
The punishments for the two were not made public or announced to others.
August's soul was extracted, while Hilda's punishment was, "I want you to marry August."
"You must live with this king until the end of your life."
In that deathly realm filled with thick mist, Duke Barlow looked at Hilda with cloudy eyes and delivered this cold and cruel punishment.
Under the entanglement of ghosts, August's soul was swept within a vortex of the dead.
His hollow body stood upon the shattered ground.
Hilda knelt beside August, head lowered, her face dim.
The ghostly green flames reflected in her eyes, yet she didn't even blink.
At this moment, Hilda had already fallen into the brink of despair.
Such a punishment, for Hilda, was truly despair to the extreme.
She had always liked August, longing to live and die together with him.
Now, her wish has come true.
But August, with his soul removed, is left with only this body.
She must face this empty shell that looks exactly like August and spend the rest of her life with this living corpse.
This extreme contrast is something Hilda cannot accept.
Even more despairing is that even if Hilda cannot bear it and wants to commit suicide to escape, under Duke Barlow's necromancy, she cannot even die freely.
Compared to that, Hilda's punishment is still the better one.
At least she can still live freely in this world.
But August has had even his soul completely imprisoned.
Before August's soul was extracted, he once said this, "…I am clearly the king, I just didn't want to see those lords look down on me anymore."
"I only wanted to take back the rule that belongs to me, what did I do wrong?"
At that time, August was hysterical, no longer having his usual elegance and calm.
"Fesitan Barlow! Even if you are the greatest and most legendary necromancer, you are still human."
"You cannot escape the limits of lifespan, you are also destined to die!"
These words were not a curse toward Fesitan Barlow.
Aurelian understood very clearly.
The Samuel royal family had declined, leaving only August, and it was destined never to return to its former glory.
Duke Barlow is the kingdom's final guardian.
Indeed, August could rely on Duke Barlow to secure his rule, but what happens once Duke Barlow also dies?
He is already a man over a hundred years old. Even if magic extends his life, how many more years can he live?
Ten years? Twenty years?
Twenty years is so short.
At that time, who will be left to protect the Samuel royal family?
The lords are destined not to accept a king with no achievements.
This is an extremely realistic problem, and Aurelian even saw her grandfather's body bend a little more.
Clearly, he is already so old that he can no longer straighten his back, yet when he spoke that sentence, his body, within the shadow covered by heavy ghostly flames, still stood upright, "Your Majesty."
"The moment you treated the lives of the kingdom's people as worthless grass, you no longer deserved to remain king."