Lord of Rot

Leech chatted with Pine, the "Golden Stallion," as they rode on horseback.

Leech had assigned the horse, Carrot, to Red Rose, and the three of them rode abreast.

"This place has changed so much!" Red Rose exclaimed.

She still remembered when she came over a year ago, this place was just muddy fields, where wagon wheels would leave deep, clear tracks.

The people were sallow and emaciated, dressed in tattered rags.

They lived in dilapidated mud houses.

At the time, Red Rose had thought the place was no different from a ruin.

But not much time had passed, and the entire Porcupine Territory had been completely transformed.

They had actually built a pier here. Although it couldn't compare to the massive port of East Port, it had definitely opened up a trade route.

Stone houses had been erected one after another, along with strange chimneys that constantly belched smoke.

The ground was also incredibly flat—even flatter than the stone-paved streets of East Port!

'What in the world happened this past year?'

She turned her head to look at Leech, at the profile of his face.

Red Rose felt that only she could truly understand how formidable this young Baron was. He had created all of this from nothing.

'A Divine Favored. Only someone blessed by the gods could bring about such a change.'

The Golden Stallion, Pine, nodded along. "The changes are indeed great!"

In truth, he didn't remember anything at all and was just agreeing casually. Thankfully, his own sister was willing to chat with Leech, allowing him to let his mind wander.

"I've just been lucky," Leech said with a small smile.

He could guess why the Golden Stallion had come...

The young nobles beside Lacy rode at the very back, their gazes fixed intently on Leech.

Leech was younger than any one of them.

If his inheritance of Porcupine Territory was because his father was a Baron, then his multiple victories since, as well as Iron Valley, were all achieved through his own efforts.

'Why wouldn't you pledge yourself to such a young and capable lord? Should you pledge yourself to the Golden Stallion instead?'

A number of them had wanted to pledge themselves to the Duke's heir, but unfortunately, Pine, the Golden Stallion, had no need of their fealty.

「Upon arriving at the castle」

It was once again Leech's favorite time: receiving gifts.

They weren't extraordinarily precious items, but they held considerable value. Leech accepted each one with a smile.

Inside the castle, cousin Bode and the others also met Pine and his retinue.

The two groups nodded to each other in greeting, but they were by no means familiar.

Thankfully, the son of the Baron of Three-fork River had arrived, and he brought along Agnes, from a side branch of the Leopold family, which eased the atmosphere considerably.

Everyone had their own social circles, and they gathered in small groups of two and three to chat.

The sky gradually darkened.

He noticed that after a full afternoon of dry conversation, the noble ladies' lips were starting to chap.

If the banquet didn't start soon, a good number of the young ladies would be faint with hunger.

A servant approached his side and said in a low voice, "My lord, the Simon family's carriage."

"I'll be right there."

He stood up and said apologetically to Pine and the others, "Another guest has arrived. I must go out to greet them."

Arriving at the castle entrance, a figure stepped down from the carriage.

She was dressed so conservatively that Leech almost didn't recognize her.

When he led her back into the castle, she unsurprisingly drew everyone's attention.

However, Leech also found himself the target of several glares from the women, as if asking, 'How on earth are you connected to her?!'

Fortunately, Becky Simon had no intention of causing a scene. She quietly took a seat and handled the advances of the young noblemen with a polite smile.

Leech took in the scene. He even thought it wasn't a bad thing for "Charming" to have come. At the very least, she helped him identify a portion of the men with extremely poor self-control, allowing him to put a question mark next to their names ahead of time.

Pine Leopold stood up.

"Sir Leech Clarence," he said, producing a roll of parchment.

Everyone present likely guessed what was about to happen and fell silent.

Miss Water Hyacinth, for instance, covered her mouth and nose nervously, holding her breath in anticipation.

"Yes," Leech replied, also rising to his feet.

Pine took a few steps, then turned to face the crowd. He unrolled the parchment in his hands and declared, "You fought bravely in Iron Valley and eliminated the traitors. The glory is yours."

"On behalf of Duke Leopold, I hereby enfeoff you as the Lord of Iron Valley and the Baron of Iron Wall Castle. Continue to serve Leopold."

It was an enfeoffment!

CLANG!

Leech drew his longsword. The tip struck the stone floor, leaving a small dent.

Leaning on his sword, he knelt on one knee and declared in a loud voice, "I swear to the Four Gods to be loyal to Leopold, to protect the safety of my people with all my ability, to guard the peace of the kingdom with all my authority, and to await my lord's command at any time."

Pine handed the parchment to Leech. "Please rise, Sir Leech."

Leech excitedly took the parchment. A quick glance revealed Duke Leopold's seal, meaning that from this day forward, Iron Valley belonged to him, legitimately and officially.

Unless someone could overthrow the entire Lu Leiyi Kingdom, he was now the absolutely legal and rightful Lord of Iron Valley.

"The Lord of Iron Valley!" Lacy Sith was ecstatic. He was once again certain that he had made the right choice.

It was the same for the young nobles who had come to pledge their allegiance; they watched the scene with excitement.

The number of Knights required for one territory was limited, but with Leech now holding two, things were completely different.

Ruling two territories would require more subordinates, which also meant more opportunities.

Leech could feel the burning intensity in the gazes of the young nobles.

...

The kitchen staff, having received Leech's orders long ago, had already been working at full steam to prepare the food for the birthday banquet.

With so many people, a multi-layered cake was a must.

Leech could guarantee that the cake in his territory was the best on the entire Lu Leiyi Continent—not because of its taste, but because he had blacksmiths weld a nine-tiered cake stand. When the cake was wheeled out, the crowd couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

They had never imagined a cake could be presented like this. It was like a tall tower.

Leech took a knife, cut the cake, and served a piece to everyone.

A ball was not part of his plan for the birthday banquet. This was not only because he didn't want to turn Porcupine Castle into a battlefield for nobles, but also because Porcupine Territory lacked an orchestra.

Only Pilite, the 'Minstrel's son', had a lute.

Elegant nobles could dance to the sound of a piano, but they would never accept a lute accompanied by an untrained singing voice.

「After the banquet.」

Pine Leopold had drunk too much Porcupine Wine and was ordered by Leech to have a male servant help him back to his room to sleep.

He had come here purely to win people over.

In the future, if any trouble really arose, it could be said that Leech's status as Lord of Iron Valley was granted by Pine Leopold. Although Leech's fealty was technically to the Duke, thanks to this wordplay... in the eyes of others, Leech was now part of the Golden Stallion's faction.

Leech knew this, but he didn't care at all.

The other guests also gradually returned to their rooms to rest or gathered together to chat.

Leech just hoped no one would cause any fatal incidents.

Porcupine Territory didn't have much in the way of entertainment, so these people weren't likely to stay. They would leave by boat early the next morning.

The main event came after the banquet.

Leech looked at the twelve people in front of him, listening as each one introduced themselves.

They were all from minor noble families. None of their fathers held a title; they were merely the sons of ordinary Knights, and second sons at that.

Leech, who was in desperate need of talent, actually wanted to weed out a few of them first, but the development of Iron Valley truly was short on manpower.

It was lacking in every aspect.

"I cannot guarantee that I can enfeoff you all as Knights," Leech said, looking at the group of young men, who were generally older than him. "Honor is something you must earn for yourselves. But, as you saw tonight, I am now the Lord of Iron Valley."

At the mention of Iron Valley, the young nobles' breathing quickened again.

"In a few days, I will be heading to Iron Valley, and you will go with me. There, you will have ample opportunity to display your abilities," Leech said. "I believe you will be able to rely on your own effort to win glory and become Knights."

SHING! SHING! SHING!

All twelve men drew their swords in unison and knelt on one knee.

"We pledge our loyalty to you!"

These twelve men swore fealty to Leech, but they were not Pine's vassals and had no obligation to be loyal to him.

Leech, however, was obligated to be loyal to Leopold.

Especially on this night, that feeling became even more peculiar.

"Please rise," Leech said. "I will have Lacy tell you what to do from now on. But before that... Lacy, take these gentlemen back to rest, and then have Gelan from the town hall create a file for each of them."

Lacy nodded. "Yes."

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