Lucifer's words pierced Guntor's ears like sharp needles. The casual way Lucifer spoke about wiping out his entire family if he refused to cooperate sent a chill down the elder's spine.
Yet there was something else. Guntor could understand why Lucifer hated the Purefield Duchy and the Lustbound Heaven Kingdom so deeply. The reason for his hatred toward the Purefield family was completely justified. If Guntor had been in Lucifer's place, he would have felt the same endless rage.
Guntor also realized that Lucifer was expanding his territory for one clear reason: he wanted to make his mother, Mia Velmora, the Queen of the entire human kingdom. In a way, that goal even seemed justified.
According to Lucifer's intelligence, the kingdom was trading human women every year to the orc tribes of the Remis Kingdom to serve as breeding stock. That was utterly wrong. Orcs were a strange and brutal type of humanoid monsters. They possessed immense physical power, but their sex drive was limitless and their morals were nonexistent.
Their entire lives revolved around only two things: sex, reproduction, sex, reproduction — an endless loop. They saw any woman who wasn't their own as nothing more than a breeding tool. To them, other females were mere machines — vessels to receive their seed and produce offspring.
Even Guntor had to admit this was completely disgusting. A kingdom had no right to play with the lives of over ten thousand women every year like this. A kingdom existed to rule over its people and solve their problems, not to create more suffering. This kind of human trafficking was vile and revolting.
After thinking about all this, Guntor's mind shifted to Lucifer's next words — the part where he said the story of Keil van Hopervent and Segencita was close to his heart. Guntor knew very well that apart from the main family, almost no one knew the true tale of Keil and Segencita. It was barely even recorded in the kingdom's official history. After all, it was over 1,700 years old. Yet Lucifer knew every detail.
Guntor thought to himself, 'But… how?'
Another thought struck him, one that touched his heart and stung at the same time. It was far better to stay loyal to the county's founder— Keil van Hopervent, his wife Segencita, and their son Hombert — than to the kingdom itself. After all, the name "Keilname" was a living reminder of Keil's sacrifices. Their capital was named Eterna Segencita out of Hombert's love for his mother. The entire Keilname family were direct descendants of Hombert.
What had the kingdom actually done for them? After forgetting Keil van Hopervent for nearly 200 years, one day the king suddenly remembered him. By then, Keil was on his deathbed and died right in front of the king. Out of guilt for abandoning his old friend for two centuries, King Litmon promoted Keil's village to a county. That was it. Nothing more.
Yet for the past 1,700 years, the Keilname family had remained blindly loyal to the kingdom, handing over 25% of their revenue every year. Why? Just because the kingdom had finally promoted their village to county status after forgetting their ancestor for 200 years?
If the Keilname family truly wanted to honor their founders, they should have stayed loyal to their own bloodline instead of the kingdom. They should have felt nothing but contempt for the kingdom. If Keil had truly been such a close friend of King Litmon, how could the king have forgotten him and his village for nearly two hundred years after Keil arrived?
From Lucifer's words, Guntor also understood that Lucifer respected Keil and Segencita far more than even the current Keilname family did. But respect was one thing — resolve was another. If the honor of Keil and Segencita ever stood in the way of Lucifer's goals and mission, he would crush that honor without hesitation.
Slowly, Guntor began to realize that while everything in Westirifer looked normal on the surface, nothing here was actually normal.
He was certain that if anyone else had been sitting in his place facing Lucifer, they would have suffocated to death from the sheer pressure. Guntor himself was an SS-rank earth mage, yet the aura of the green-haired man called K and even Lucifer's wife Almyth was so terrifying that just being in their presence made his head spin. And these people worked under Lucifer.
He had also witnessed a glimpse of Lucifer's true anger. That rage hadn't even been directed at him, yet Guntor had felt certain that death was coming for him that day.
How could someone's anger distort space itself? How could rage raise the temperature of an entire room? How could one person's bloodlust feel as thick and heavy as if he had personally slaughtered thousands?
At that moment, Guntor understood the harsh truth. Even if Keilname County had a larger army, more hunters, adventurers, and mages than Westirifer, it wouldn't matter. If Lucifer used his time magic again — the same ability he casually called his "weakest forte" — how long could the county's forces last? And even if, in some hypothetical scenario, the army managed to hold the fortress… how long would the actual Keilname family survive? If Lucifer simply paused time and killed the main family members one by one, who would be left to rule the county? Once the family was gone, would the county even continue to exist?
While all these thoughts raced through Guntor's mind, Lucifer's calm voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Elder Guntor… I am asking you one final time. Are you willing to abandon the kingdom and accept integration into the Westirifer Duchy?"
"If yes, then I give you my word that I will not allow any harm to come to your family or Keilname County. Life will continue exactly as it is now even after integration. You will no longer be called a county, but a state of Westirifer, and your family will serve as its chief. You will not need to give anything to Westirifer, because everything will already belong to it. Westirifer will only exercise authority in case of an emergency. Your Welencia guards will remain under your direct command, while the rest of your army will become part of Westirifer's forces. We will risk our lives to protect Keilname State and its people. Their problems will become ours, and our joys will become theirs. But all of this can only happen if you surrender."
"Look… if I wanted to, I wouldn't have told you any of this. I could have simply killed both you and Count Jeffrey. As you saw in the crystal, my two men are already perfectly disguised as you and Jeffrey inside your mansion. They have even extracted your memories. Right now, they are more 'you' than you yourselves are."
"But if I did that, it would go against my moral code. I do not want any injustice done to Lady Talmora, nor to the memory of Sir Keil and Lady Segencita."
"That is why I want you to think carefully before giving your answer. On one side, I will do everything I possibly can for you. On the other side, I will erase you just as thoroughly. You have two options. I do not want to force you… but I am short on time, so please decide quickly."
After hearing Lucifer's words, Guntor thought bitterly, 'You say you don't want to force me, yet you threaten to wipe out my entire family. If this isn't forcing someone, then what is?'
'But… if what you promise is true — that you will protect my family, treat our territory as your own, and support our people — then I have no real objection. After all, these titles and the county status are mostly for show. You also say you won't touch our treasury or demand any revenue unless there's an emergency. That actually sounds like a beneficial deal.'
After thinking it over for a while, Guntor finally spoke.
"Very well, Sir Lucifer. We accept your proposal. Keilname County — which will now become Keilname State — agrees to become a state of Westirifer. However, you must also swear that you will never commit any crime or harm against us."
Lucifer replied without hesitation, "I swear upon the Goddess of Life and Fertility that as long as I live, I will never allow any harm to come to the Keilname family or its state, nor will I ever be the cause of such harm."
A peaceful smile appeared on Lucifer's face. He stood up, walked over to Guntor, and said warmly, "Elder Guntor… welcome to Westirifer. If you face any difficulty, feel free to tell me directly."
Guntor looked at him and replied, "Sir Lucifer… there is a problem."
Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Guntor hesitated for a moment, then spoke plainly. "Lucifer… right now, apart from Jeffrey, there is no other male left in the Keilname family to carry on our bloodline. My son Gordon died four years ago. He was the last man who managed to impregnate Talmora fourteen years ago. In all these years, Jeffrey has failed to impregnate his mother Talmora or any of his three sisters. I want another boy born into the family, or at least more members. But for years we have faced nothing but disappointment. The only true remaining members of the Keilname family are myself, Jeffrey, Talmora, Jkliona, Fobila, and Fifi. There is no one else left to continue the bloodline."
Lucifer listened carefully and then said, "Elder Guntor… Westirifer has certain rules and laws. You should look into them later. Let me tell you one thing clearly: girls under the age of 16 are not allowed to have penetrative sex here. That means Fifi cannot engage in penetrative sex right now, let alone get pregnant. As for Lady Talmora, Jkliona, and Fobila… I can help you with that, but it will require your consent as well as theirs."
"If you all agree, I can personally impregnate the three of them. Alternatively, my servants who are currently in your mansion can do it. But I do not want them to do it while disguised as you or Jeffrey — that would be a betrayal to those women."
"So I suggest you bring Lady Talmora, Fobila, Jkliona, and Fifi here for some time. Whether it's me or my servants, we will impregnate them. It should take no more than a week at most. Also, the current situation is a bit tense because your territory shares a border with Hector Duchy, which is hostile to me. It would be wiser to bring your family here for their safety."
Guntor asked doubtfully, "Lucifer… will just one week be enough?"
Lucifer smiled faintly. "If I am free, even one day will be enough. If not, my people will finish the task within a week. Don't worry — the responsibility of impregnating Lady Talmora, Jkliona, and Fobila now rests with me."
With that, Lucifer and Guntor continued talking. And just like that, from the other end as well, Keilname County officially became a state of Westirifer.