SWNOVELXO Chapter 113
– 1 –
The first step of Solemio’s takeover, the replacement of the Lord, proceeded very quietly.
“Not recognizing a witch and inviting her into the castle…”
“I’m sorry, Father… This was the only way.”
“It’s alright. You must have struggled greatly.”
The Lord, who was an elite knight in his youth, broke his sword before the existence of the contract hanging around his daughter’s neck, accepting the binding along with the seal.
“From now on, you are the Lord of Solemio.”
Feeling the weight of her father’s glare in front of his daughter’s tears, I took the Lord’s signet ring and slipped it onto Amelia’s finger.
She was now the de facto Lord.
To dispel any suspicions about her handling of lordly duties, an additional report to the Royal Capital would be needed, but from the moment she wore this signet ring, she could start performing her duties as the Lord.
“… How should I address you?”
“Those who know us well call me Lady.”
“I understand. Lady Libertus. … I didn’t want to receive the Lordship like this, but I’ll ensure that you won’t needlessly kill the commoners.”
The determination in her eyes, ready to sacrifice for others, was both fierce and beautiful.
I, too, didn’t want to tear away such eyes to make them bleed, so I gently caressed her cheek and replied.
“That’s enough. I don’t enjoy slaughter.”
Leading the distrust-filled Amelia, we headed to the location where my subordinates had already gone.
To the place where magic was stirring.
“Magical spells using artifacts… in the blink of an eye…!”
The Lord’s wife was found on the rooftop of the castle.
She had collaborated with the mages within the castle, attempting to conduct a grand spell using military artifacts.
However, she had been detected by me before that, and the magic was easily nullified.
By the time I arrived at the place where Xue had led several elite personnel to disrupt the magical initiation, about thirty seconds had passed.
“Thank you for your hard work. To bring such a fine item here as well.”
It seemed that my eldest daughter’s magical talent had come from her, as her capability was quite impressive.
Just not quite to my level.
“Please don’t kill my mother…!”
“I never thought it would go without noise, so there’s nothing to worry about, Amelia.”
“Thank you…!”
Just because you’ve entered into a contract doesn’t mean you can act ruthlessly toward the subject.
The contract mediated by the Dungeon Lord isn’t absolute; if one truly puts their heart into it, there are ways to harm the Dungeon Lord somehow.
‘Even pets or slaves might snap at their masters if they face excessively harsh conditions.’
Contracts were no different.
It was merely a matter of having the willingness or grudge to “burn one’s soul and endure the pain.”
“All forces have gathered outside. If it’s as you said, there won’t be any room to focus internally because of the vigilance against the orcs.”
“Now, I will report on the current status of Solemio. Master, Lord.”
The Lord’s subordinates had already seized control as previously discussed.
The surviving administrators of Solemio were all subpar, having become part of the Demon Clan. And demonic beings cannot resist me, the Dungeon Lord.
Emotionally and rationally.
If we were to limit it to those within the Inner Castle belonging to the demon, there was no reason to hesitate about transforming them into monsters or demons.
Whoosh.
“Guards…? What are you doing right now…!”
After redirecting all soldiers outside through the administrators, the remaining knight order within was subdued under the blade of Evangeline and the demons we had already planted inside.
This was a process without difficulty, and the incorporation of them was the same.
‘They say rural knights are just managers who can wield a sword rather than aspiring for honor.’
That saying seemed to fit the situation perfectly.
Except for a very few knights, no one mentioned honor at all.
“I do feel like I am getting stronger…”
During the process of subduing, I transformed some of the surrendered officials and knights to be “on my side.”
Since they were transformed into a form that didn’t alter much of their human appearance, like orcs or beast-men, there was little discontent.
At least, they wouldn’t think it’s worse than becoming skeletons.
Those who led the soldiers to the castle would go through a similar process afterwards to be ‘recruited.’
“Rather than that, be glad to have a new master.”
“Uh? How can that be… Ooo…”
Those belonging to the Demon Clan easily showed reverence to the Dungeon Lord with whom they had contracted, so it wouldn’t take long for the remaining worries to vanish.
Thus, most of these individuals became demons or monsters.
Including hopefuls among the family.
“Good. Those rotten ones who go around beating people.”
“I hear they got caught for siphoning finances on the side.”
However, not all of them were made into demons.
Some who were deemed to be obstacles in managing the castle were promptly turned into parts of the dungeon after some investigation.
“Please, save us…!”
“Why aren’t we even given a chance?”
To put it simply, they were killed and absorbed.
It was wasteful to control them with a contract given the core’s magic power, and if I simply let them go, they would undoubtedly question the situation within the castle.
“Take away the freedom of those who want to remain human.”
“There will definitely be some resistance…?”
“If you feel it wouldn’t hinder your serving me to leave them free, you can do as you see fit.”
“… Understood.”
Of course, among the family who became my subordinates, some who wanted to remain human were spared, and instead, they were gathered in one of the empty annexes of my Inner Castle to live there.
‘With this, the Inner Castle has been seized.’
The next target is the freely armed individuals existing within Solemio.
However, since I had seized the Inner Castle, it wouldn’t be hard to obtain their heads.
– 2 –
Solemio, relatively rich in guilds for a backwater town, had its merits.
Most were occupational or research guilds rather than adventurers, but all together, the small lord of a minor castle could be treated as “nothing.”
However, that was only in emergencies; on normal days, mages and adventurers would not routinely disregard the summons of nobles.
Especially when the current Lord had both reputation and ability, it was even more so.
“Do you know why we were summoned?”
“Well, I don’t. Last time, the Copgerin Dungeon Lord expedition was quite profitable, so maybe it’s something like that again?”
“Well, that would be great. The leftovers from that expedition were greatly helpful for our research…”
There had been prior profitable expeditions regarding Serika, so the adventurers’ and mages’ trust in the current Lord was sky-high.
At least, they did not believe they would be called over for no reason.
“Please, come in.”
“Lady Amelia? Baron Valeon is…?”
Thinking it was about some important matter, I wasn’t surprised even when the heir of the house, not the Baron himself, appeared.
Amelia had already participated in such grand events several times and had established familiarity, having given a consistently good impression.
“Father went out this morning due to an urgent matter. I will be your host.”
“Oh. I see. What kind of matter could it be that he left without notice…?”
“That’s a national matter, so I can’t disclose it. This way, please.”
The three heads of the magic guilds, along with one or two disciples each, and the head of the adventurer guild with two of his subordinates, a total of thirteen adventurers and mages entered the banquet hall without suspicion.
“This is not the usual banquet.”
“Wow… What is all this?”
Soon, they discovered a rare feast not usually seen.
From dishes made from the powerful monster’s meat, which only high-ranking nobles could taste, to various unique foods that the three powerful nations of the Western Continent boast, it was a properly arranged banquet as if inviting nobles.
“Enjoy your meal. It’s a matter that was previously directed by father, who cannot greet you in person.”
“Oh my. To think we get to dine in the Inner Castle. What an honor.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
As adventurers, they could occasionally taste such things, but it was at a level that even non-nobles couldn’t see often.
A place where they could rest easy thanks to the trust and credibility accumulated over time.
Even those guild leaders, who are generally in a position to frequently eat rare foods, couldn’t dismiss it, and it was natural for their eyes to go wide.
“Guuurrrr… Zzz…”
“Oh dear. It seems that the head of the Truth-Seeking Eye guild has drunk too much.”
“Falling asleep before business…?”
Those who devoured the food without resistance soon fell asleep.
This was due to several “measures” I had arranged in advance.
– His wisdom is indeed profound.
Immediately after, Amelia’s appearance rapidly crumbled, revealing the figure of a silver-haired being.
A doppelgänger.
An entity that takes on a human form, devouring the person’s body to absorb their existence, situated between demons and monsters.
– Welcome, Lady.
He greeted the black-clad woman approaching.
“You’ve worked hard. Zain.”
– Not at all.
“I’m sorry for not allowing you to have a meal.”
– It’s fine.
The presence of such a doppelgänger here indicated the foreboding of Amelia’s death.
However, for now, it only borrowed her appearance temporarily under the orders of Libertus, having learned her form.
There was no way I could use Amelia to capture those who had just been sharing smiles with her until yesterday.
Both ethically and practically.
– For me, it’s just a meal, but for you, it’s a step toward achieving your goals. Completing a mission as a mercenary is the least I can do.
“Thank you for saying that.”
He, or rather she, was one of the mercenaries recently recruited by Libertus from the Demon World.
Their experience was merely at the formal level, but the reason for their recruitment was actually that very factor.
Doppelgängers ranked high or low had top-notch mimicry skills among the same category.
If Talhan had chosen to transform into another species, there was a possibility that the doppelgänger would have been here instead.
– And you won’t refrain from treating me to a meal, right?
“True enough.”
Thus, the standard by which Libertus chose the doppelgänger was solely ‘humanity.’
Whether weak and good at catching on, or strong yet accommodating to others, or just having an easygoing personality like now.
“Sure. How about one of these? My personal recommendation would be one of them.”
Libertus pointed with a finger at two individuals.
They were the heirs of the two guild leaders aside from Sonia’s “Truth-Seeking Eye” guild.
Having attained a mature level even at the upper echelon, the current Zain could fully absorb a presence if someone else were to assist him.
– I’d be grateful…
“Wait a moment. You never said you would kill them, right?”
The interjection came with a displeased tone.
Libertus turned his gaze to the person from whom the doppelgänger had been mimicking their appearance.
“Amelia.”
Amelia, draped in a blue cloak of silver thread symbolizing her status as Lord, stood glaring at the two individuals.
Unable to shed fears or guilt, yet armed with pressing duty and responsibility.
“The reason is the same as I mentioned when people were gathered in the mansion, correct?”
Yet, Libertus simply smiled at her objections.
Such was merely a demand for fulfilling the contract, not an inappropriate restraint.
The flaw lay solely in her assertion.
“Every condition of yours will be upheld from the moment you can reliably fulfill my requirements.”
“Then…!”
“These individuals could potentially detect my existence and disclose it to the outside world, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Ugh…”
Amelia bit her lip, suppressing the words she wished to say.
‘Though there is a way to manipulate them using the poison given by Echidna…’
However, the quantitative experiments regarding that poison were not yet perfect.
There wasn’t much experimental data regarding humans, and depending on their level, the dosage needed to vary, and the subsequent results needed observation before they could be deployed to the field, so it was put on hold for now.
‘So this method seems safer for now.’
That imperfect usage had risks of causing the subjects’ death, but if the existence of the poison was revealed, its lethality would significantly decrease.
Thus, using the poison now would only leave losses or cruelty.
Having completed my thoughts, I reached out to Amelia’s face, full of discontent…
“Enough.”
Clang!
I grabbed the elongated silver blade right in front of her.
“What are you doing, Zain?”
Libertus smiled as he looked at the culprit.
The owner of the blade, precisely the tipped tentacle, was none other than the doppelgänger Zain, who was just speaking with her moments ago.
– Gasp…!
Seeing his blade caught in Libertus’s hand, the silvery sheen that had existed on Zain’s face dimmed to ash-gray.
Like someone overcome with terror.
“…”
Libertus’s eyes, looking at him with a soft expression, shone with a mineral brilliance.