Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 52

Duke Majenkin greeted Edar in the reception room.

Edar’s retainers were asked to wait in another room, leaving the two men alone.

A round table was set between them, laden with refreshments.

“It’s a bit early for dinner, but it’s better than nothing,” the Duke said with a smirk, a pipe clenched in his teeth.

“Do you smoke?”

“I do, quite often.”

“Good. Too many people don’t appreciate the taste.”

Edar nodded, also lighting a tobacco pipe offered by a servant.

Soon, the reception room was filled with smoke from their pipes.

“I received your gift.”

“I wasn’t sure if it would please you.”

“Pleased me indeed. You have a good sense for a young man.”

“Thank you.”

“Contacting me first, too. You’re quite interested in the central affairs, aren’t you?”

“As a nobleman, how could I not be?”

The Duke chuckled.

The gift, of course, referred to the gold.

Since occupying Wallachia in the north, Edar had sent tributes several times.

The amount of gold was so great that even the Wallachian high nobles were surprised.

And it was sent only to Duke Majenkin, excluding everyone else.

The Duke was quite pleased with that.

“The fabric you sent was also good. The quality was decent, but the expected price was quite low, wasn’t it? There seems to be some demand for it; is that what you’re aiming for?”

“Yes. If Your Grace permits, I would like to obtain tax-exempt privileges to sell it.”

“Hmm, tax exemption. That won’t be easy.”

The Duke frowned slightly, glancing at Edar.

Edar smiled and took a necklace from his inner pocket, placing it on the table.

The necklace was made of a metal that shimmered with a subtle blend of purple and silver.

The Duke’s frown vanished, and he exclaimed in admiration.

“Orichalcum!” [A mythical metal known for its unique properties and value.]

He immediately picked it up and examined it without asking Edar.

“Truly magnificent. What do the inscriptions say?”

“It’s a story about friendship. I was told my name and blessings are engraved in that ancient language.”

“Your name? Hmm.”

He clicked his tongue as if regretting something.

“I’ve only heard about it, so I don’t know if it’s true. But that goes for Your Grace and everyone else, doesn’t it?”

The Duke nodded.

Very few people knew the ancient language.

Among humans, perhaps only the high priests of the Theocracy might know it.

Or maybe the royalty of Germania might have learned it.

It was, after all, a language that was hardly used anywhere.

“Yes, that’s right.”

He fondled the necklace with greedy eyes before pocketing it.

He didn’t say he would give it back, but his attitude implied it was his now.

Edar smiled and quietly watched him.

“So? Is that what you want to ask of me? Tax-exempt privileges?”

His expression was more relaxed than before, but still not entirely enthusiastic.

It was as if he wasn’t satisfied and wanted a little more.

Edar leaned back and waved his hands.

“No, it’s just that I would like you to arrange a meeting with the other council members.”

“Indeed. I might be able to do that much.”

“I would be very grateful.”

“Hmm.”

The Duke reached into his coat and fidgeted.

His lips kept twitching upward, as if he was pleased with the necklace.

“Ahem… As you know, the reason I called you here is nothing special.”

“Is that so?”

“There’s a young rascal who dislikes you to an unusual degree. He’s been clamoring that I must capture you. I’m not inclined to do so, but I couldn’t just ignore him, so I called you here.”

“His name?”

“Hugo. Count Hugo Chaiken.”

“Hugo?”

Edar frowned, making a hmm sound.

The Duke tilted his head, curious about his reaction.

“Do you know him?”

“Yes. I’ve met him once before.”

“Oh ho.”

He asked with his eyes what they had discussed.

Edar hesitated, as if reluctant, before answering.

“To be precise, it’s not him, but his master.”

“Hugo’s master? What are you talking about? He’s a high noble—”

“A Bloodkin, are you aware?” [A vampire who has directly received the blood of Emperor Vlad.]

The Duke flinched.

The Duke wiped the smile from his face and straightened his posture.

“I know. They are vampires who have directly received the blood of Emperor Vlad.”

Vlad was the most powerful and oldest of the vampires.

A being who founded an empire that rivaled the elves and dwarves in power and age.

And the Bloodkin were like Vlad’s own children, who had received his blood.

The imperial family of the empire, who inherited great power by drinking Vlad’s blood.

“Hugo is a servant of the Bloodkin.”

“Hugo, of the Bloodkin? That can’t be.”

He frowned, skeptical.

As far as he knew, Hugo had ties to the elves.

Not just Hugo personally, but the Chaiken County family for generations.

But connected to the Bloodkin, or rather, vampires?

‘Didn’t the three races—elves, dwarves, and vampires—agree to not interfere with each other implicitly?’

It wasn’t a rule, but rather an unspoken custom.

Because the three races effectively ruled this world.

They divided their territories to avoid conflicts of interest.

‘Besides, being a servant of the Bloodkin means…’

A servant was someone whose blood was sucked and enslaved by the Bloodkin.

The Duke found it hard to believe that the high noble Hugo would serve someone as his master, even if he was a different race.

“Hard to believe. Isn’t it just a slight connection?”

“It’s certain.”

Edar explained his relationship with Hugo.

After securing the gold mine in the Great Plains, Hugo approached him,

demanding tribute in exchange for recognizing the occupied territories in the north,

and when he refused, he threatened him by mentioning Vlad and his Bloodkin.

…or so the story went.

‘Reserves spanning the entire mountain range, you say? That’s enormous.’

The Duke was quite surprised internally when he heard about the reserves.

He had guessed that the mining volume would be high due to the repeated tributes.

The northern nobles had also banded together to target the Great Plains.

But he never imagined that the scale of the gold mine would be this large.

Information about the Great Plains was difficult to obtain in Wallachia.

He had to rely on rumors, so he assumed there was some exaggeration.

‘The orcs pushing in, too. I thought that Pinto, that commoner bastard, had incited the northern bumpkins to fight for a different reason, but it was just because of one ridiculously large gold mine.’

A hollow laugh escaped him.

When orcs appeared in the north and nobles were annihilated, all sorts of speculations ran rampant even in Sodomora.

But among them, no noble had guessed that the cause of the incident was just one gold mine.

At most, they thought the gold mine was a significant factor among many.

‘Hugo has reason to covet it. If I had known the reserves, I would have approached him first.’

He was lucky, or so he should say.

Edar had approached him first, though.

The Duke listened to the story with greedy eyes.

“After that, I was ambushed several times. Each time, it was connected to the Bloodkin, and I confirmed that it was Hugo who instigated it.”

At the word “ambush,” the Duke’s expression hardened.

“Can you prove it?”

Edar took out two rings from his pocket.

The Duke received the rings and nodded at the engravings in the center.

“Signet rings. Of Count Hugo’s. But these rings are no proof of anything… Hmm?”

He flinched, his eyes widening at the other engraving.

“The Holstein imperial family’s signet ring.”

An exterior that shimmered with purple and silver, just like the necklace he had pocketed.

It was a signet ring made of orichalcum, which humans could not refine.

The Duke swallowed hard.

“How did you get this?”

“Do you think I established myself in the Great Plains alone?”

“Hmm.”

He swallowed his words.

Edar was claiming that he had received help from a backer.

The Duke, like all the high nobles, had a backer from another race, so it was difficult to doubt Edar’s claim.

Any human of their stature, whether deeply or shallowly, could not avoid being entangled with other races.

They could not become high nobles otherwise.

‘He said he mobilized orcs when fighting in the north. The one helping this guy must be an orc.’

He snorted inwardly.

He, who had ties to the dwarves, found it laughable.

Were orcs not a low-ranking race among the other races?

‘If he stole the Bloodkin’s ring, he must have provided quite a bit of help. But it doesn’t seem like he’s powerful enough to directly prevent danger. He’s asking me for help, after all.’

He was pleased that Edar valued him more than the other race, but he also thought it was pathetic.

‘But this isn’t enough. If the two rings came from the same place, it would prove some connection, but there’s no way to prove that.’

Tsk tsk, Edar handed six letters to the Duke, who was examining Hugo’s signet ring with a click of his tongue.

After receiving the letters, the Duke nonchalantly checked the contents, then—

“…What is this?”

He opened his eyes wider and more fiercely than before.

Edar spoke quietly and solemnly, so no one else could hear.

“These are letters Hugo sent to the Bloodkin. He’s pleading to have Your Grace killed. Do you understand? Hugo’s target isn’t just me. He’s targeting Your Grace as well.”

The Duke clenched the letters tightly, crumpling them.