CHAPTER 43: GRATEFUL

After a few days of rest, I finally recovered fully thanks to Willabelle’s companion, the healer Lethra. I’m truly glad I brought Willabelle’s companions along. Not just Lethra, but the others too. They had helped me and my citizens with everything from maintaining order in the city to rebuilding the damaged areas while I was unconscious, or so I’d heard.

Willabelle, meanwhile, had shouldered the heaviest burden and taken care of the tasks I needed to handle. But now, it was time to get back on my feet.

Before slowly picking up my clothes and getting dressed, I glanced at my bare stomach through a small mirror. The mark from the magical arrow had spread across nearly my entire abdomen. It was lighter than my normal skin, as if the top layer of my skin had dissolved where the arrow struck. Still, oddly enough, it didn’t look too bad.

I don’t know... It even seemed kind of cool to me, this scar.

As for how I stopped that damn vampire’s magical arrow... I hadn’t noticed it when I first woke up, but apparently, right at that moment. When I was on the verge of death. I might have unlocked the first ability of the new technique given to me by the demon god Igrathar. This technique’s first ability was, luckily, the protective kind, and if I understood it correctly, my new ability would tremendously increase my potential power.

Rebecca had also unlocked the first ability of her new technique too, and according to her, it allowed her to perform some kind of explosive magic. Honestly, I wished she had an ability that would protect her as well.

As I dressed, my mind still wandered through the memories of that moment. The pain from the vampire’s arrow felt as fresh as yesterday; but now, with the scar on my stomach, I carried it like a badge of victory. Thanks to Lethra’s healing spells, the wound had closed, but the scar... Ah, that scar was permanent. Perhaps that was Igrathar’s gift: power born from pain.

Once I finished dressing and left the room, I found Willabelle in the corridor. As always, she stood calm and resolute, gazing out the window at the city. The sunlight highlighted the black tones of her hair; but the fatigue in her eyes betrayed the weight she’d carried in recent days. "You’ve finally gotten up, my Lord," she said, turning to look at me. Her voice was soft, but there was a hint of reproach beneath it.

I smiled, though it wasn’t genuine. "Thank you, Willabelle. If it weren’t for you and your companions... I don’t know. I’m grateful to Lethra, but to all of you. The city folk say the same." I approached and touched her shoulder, but she pulled away slightly, maintaining her usual distance. "Where’s Rebecca? I need to talk to her. About her new ability..."

Willabelle shook her head, gesturing out the window. "Down below, on the training grounds. She’s trying not to set everything ablaze with that explosive magic. But be careful. She’s still angry. The vampire’s attack changed her too; it’s like the fire inside her has flared up even more... But before you go, there’s an urgent matter I need to discuss with you."

The seriousness in Willabelle’s tone froze me to the core for a moment. She was always calm, like a rock standing firm amid storms; but this time, her expression hinted at an approaching shadow. "An urgent matter?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity. In the dim light of the corridor, the lines on her face seemed more pronounced - was it fatigue, or worry? I couldn’t tell.

She nodded, stepping away from the window and approaching me. "Yes, my Lord. In my room... forgive me. I mean, It would be better if we spoke in your room."

I agreed, the curiosity about me tightening like a knot. "Alright, let’s go."

Willabelle led the way back to my room; our footsteps echoed on the stone floor of the corridor, as if even the city’s peace was disrupted in this silence. When she closed the door, she turned to me in the room’s dimness. Her white eyes deepened under her black hair.

"Sit down, my lord," she said, gesturing to the edge of the my seat. She remained standing, leaning her back against the window.

"This matter... It’s sensitive. As you know, you were unconscious for about ten days. During that time, stories about the vampire that attacked your city and how you heroically stopped it have already begun spreading throughout the Empire. The good news is that your fame and reputation have grown quickly, and it seems they will grow even more. In fact, a letter praising your heroism came directly from the Emperor. I apologize for reading it in your absence, in case it contained something important."

I sat on the edge of the seat without taking my eyes off her, placing my hands on my knees. "No need to apologize. But from your tone, I gather there’s something even more important than the Emperor’s letter that you haven’t told me yet. Tell me. What’s going on?"

She leaned against the window and let out a soft sigh; her black hair waved slightly in the gentle breeze. Her white eyes seemed distant, as if watching a far-off storm.

"While you were unconscious, I arranged a group to assess the city’s situation. From the documents I obtained, I saw that there was some damage to the city’s walls. Moreover, during the vampire invasion, hundreds of our men were either killed or left unable to fight. When I realized this information wasn’t hard to access, I assigned some of my companions to intelligence duties, and a few days ago, I received this intelligence document."

Willabelle carefully pulled out the document. When she placed it on the table, I noticed the red wax seal on the thick paper was still fresh. It had probably been delivered just a few days ago.

"What it says concerns you, my Lord," she said in a low voice. Her fingers touched the corner of the document, as if the words’ weight had made the room’s air heavier.

I broke the seal and began reading. Each line stung my eyes like thorns.

**Report:**

Unusual activity has been observed in the forces of neighboring nobles.

In the last ten days, the number of agreements with arms merchants from border regions has tripled.

The situation in Argenholt, with its breached walls and depleted soldiers, is on everyone’s lips.

In particular, the **Hertvald Dynasty** on the western border has reinforced its army with two thousand new soldiers.

The **Duranth Dynasty** in the south has begun recruiting mercenaries.

In the east, the **Lorrim Dynasty** is fortifying its border outposts.

Note: All these preparations point to one thing: They’ve noticed our weakness. And they’re waiting for an opportunity.

————

As I read, my face tensed. The scar on my stomach still burned, but this news was a more painful sting.

"So... This is the price of my survival," I muttered. "I stopped a vampire, but I left a trail of blood behind me. Now the jackals are circling."

I flung the document away in anger. Willabelle didn’t bow her head, didn’t avert her eyes from mine. "Exactly, my Lord. Your neighbors have heard of your heroism, but for them, heroism alone doesn’t matter. They see a bleeding imperial city, a county with crumbling walls. And they’re preparing to attack."

I took a deep breath, my fingers tapping involuntarily on the table’s edge. Along with the anger inside me, a strange resolve was swelling. In this world, a noble didn’t need permission to attack another. If there was a valid reason, and often reasons that seemed valid but weren’t, one could declare war on another noble.

Of course, no fool in this world would claim the lands of a noble protected by the Emperor and his family, but beyond that, war could be waged on anyone. This was a right granted to nobles by the imperial core laws themselves.

The original purpose of this law was to allow the Empire’s expansionist policy, enabling nobles to freely attack other small kingdoms or regions on behalf of the Empire. But in its current form, it had become a law that greedy nobles constantly invoked.

A moment of silence fell. The dim light in the room reflected in Willabelle’s white eyes.

Finally, I stood up, pressing my fist down on the report on the table. "Then we’ll prepare. We’ll turn the ruins into an opportunity. This city won’t just withstand a vampire’s wrath. It’ll resist the attacks of greedy neighbors too."

"I understand, my Lord."

For the first time, a faint expression of worry appeared on Willabelle’s face.

"And Willabelle... I haven’t had the chance before," I said, approaching her. "Thank you for everything you did while I was gone... and for still being here. For a moment during the vampire attack, I thought you’d leave because this place was no longer safe, for your son’s sake."

Upon hearing my words, Willabelle froze for a moment. The expressionless mask on her face cracked for the first time. It was as if a hidden shadow stirred in her eyes. The silence grew heavy in the room; only the howl of the wind from outside battered the stone walls.

Finally, she took a deep breath. Her white eyes seemed even brighter in the darkness.

"My Lord..." she said in a hushed voice. Her lips trembled, but the resolve in her eyes remained steadfast. "Actually... That night... When the Shadow of the Vampire attack fell over the city, I truly considered leaving. Taking Magnus and fleeing these lands. Taking him to an ordinary, peaceful life that a child should have."

Her words pierced my heart like a knife. A weight settled inside me, but I didn’t interrupt her. I let her continue.

"I saw the screams echoing in the corridors, the burning houses, and the blood-soaked streets." She closed her eyes, gripping her arm with her slender fingers. "Magnus’s face appeared before my eyes. If that night the vampire had razed the city before reaching you... I would have lost my son. And I... as a mother, would have committed an unforgivable sin."

Her words caught in her throat. She fell silent for a few seconds, then fixed her eyes on me. "But I didn’t leave. Because..." Her voice trembled, but she steadied herself. "Because you were still alive. And I knew this city wouldn’t fall as long as you didn’t."

In that moment, a warm wave washed down from my shoulders. She didn’t know... Her place in my eyes was far deeper than that of an ordinary companion. Yet as she made this confession, there wasn’t the slightest regret in her eyes. Only a mother’s honesty and a woman’s will.

I slowly approached her. I considered touching her face, but my fingers hung in the air. Instead, I merely whispered:

"Even if you’d left, I couldn’t have blamed you. Because a mother’s priority is her child. But you stayed... you stayed with us. For that, I’m grateful, Willabelle."

Willabelle averted her eyes from mine, turning her face to the darkness. A faint, bitter smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

"I-I... Actually... I’m thinking of leaving here ."