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Jurgen blocked Bernap's sword flying towards him from the front and Caleb's sword striking from the side.

But they weren't the only ones who rushed in.

Boooow!

The steel club of Ulkan was coming towards his leg. Jurgen saw it and tried to draw his sword.

Kak!

However, the blade got caught in Kalev's Sword Breaker and the sword couldn't be pulled out in time. Naturally, his body's reaction was also delayed.

Kwaaang!

"Ugh!"

Jurgen staggered for a moment after being hit in the shin. He defended himself by raising his mana as much as possible, but it felt like his bone was broken.

I definitely wasn't able to defend myself because I had used up too much strength while fighting Bernap.

However, the title of the Northern Best Swordsman was not an empty one. He did not fall to this extent.

"How dare you!"

Kwajik!

Jurgen broke the blade of the Sword Breaker wrapped in mana and twisted the bound sword out. Even the usually expressionless Caleb stepped back with a look of slight admiration at the power.

But there was still one more person Jurgen had to deal with.

Phew!

"Ugh!"

Taking advantage of the gap where Jurgen, attacked from both sides, was unable to properly take a stance, Conrad's rapier pierced his neck with lightning speed.

"These, these guys… … creak!"

However, Jurgen, who possessed great mana, did not die easily just from being pierced by a rapier.

He raised his sword again to kill at least one of them, but Caleb, who had already taken out his dagger and stabbed Jurgen in the neck several times.

Pok! Pok! Pok! Pok!

"Ugh, crap!"

The faces of the people in the banquet hall turned pale at the sight of Kalev repeatedly stabbing someone in the neck without any change in expression.

"Hey hey, get out of the way! The club's coming!"

As Ulkan raised his steel club and shouted, Kalev stepped back.

Ulkan gritted his teeth and struck Jurgen's head.

Kwaaaaang!

With a loud noise, Jurgen's head was shattered in an instant.

thud!

Jurgen's body, which had been staggering for a moment, fell to the floor.

A tranquil silence filled the banquet hall. No one opened their mouths.

Jurgen, the Northern First Sword, was Leipold's pride and symbol of power.

It was known that he could handle 100 knights at the same time. That was the level at which he could be called the best swordsman in a region.

Jurgen actually had a record of killing dozens of knights on his own in various conflict zones.

He, who was like that, died in vain after being attacked by some beggar-like guys that Amelia brought.

It happened to just three people, without even exchanging attacks. It happened so quickly that there was no time for other knights to intervene.

And Bernap, who had been pushed back by the three people who had barged in, had a gloomy expression on his face.

'I've exhausted all my strength… … .'

It was a chance to look good in front of Amelia, but I missed it again. I wasted my energy and got nothing out of it.

She shook her head slightly as she looked at Bernap, who was sticking out his lower lip.

I knew exactly what he wanted. How could he show his true feelings so openly? If that was an advantage, it was an advantage, and if it was a disadvantage, it was a disadvantage.

"Well done, Bernap. Thanks for your hard work."

Bernap's face brightened up immediately after hearing Amelia's compliments.

'I was the first to be praised, so I won.'

While Kalev, Ulkan, and Conrad were not thinking about anything, Bernap was the only one who was excited and betting on the outcome.

Bernap's fight is always decided by who looks better to Amelia, not who killed Jurgen first.

Since you were the first to be praised, that's fine. That means you're the best.

Amelia muttered as she looked at Jurgen's body.

"Phew, we finally killed the most annoying human. I wonder why he didn't believe us when we said we could handle it ourselves."

She had figured out everything from Jurgen's skills to his little habits and had planned the best strategy. It was only because Harold didn't trust her and kept delaying that she couldn't come forward.

Harold had no choice but to do so, as he did not know the true abilities of the men under her command. All of them, including Bernap, were taken in separately by Amelia.

Even if I were to say that he was a useful subordinate, I only knew of the fairly famous bandit, Ulkan.

"Okay, should we start tidying up now?"

Amelia looked around leisurely at the people who were huddled together, frightened.

Count Leipold was shocked and fell to his knees after Jurgen died. The knights who had been in battle formation also laid down their swords.

It's the end. With Jurgen, the last hope, dead, no one can leave this place alive without Amelia's permission.

She nodded to Bernap.

"Sort them out. Send the guests off safely and politely."

Amelia's soldiers, under Bernap's command, dragged all those who were to be spared to a corner of the banquet hall.

They were the daughters of a powerless count, some officials, surrendered knights, and nobles invited from other fiefdoms.

Count Leipold was dragged out separately, tied up tightly.

"Let go! You rascals! I am the master of this place! Me! It is I who should be your loyalties, not that bitch! I will never forgive you! My army and my vassals are wide awake. I will kill you!"

No matter how much they shouted, the knights and soldiers held on to Count Leipold with expressionless faces.

Those who remained at the banquet hall were the vassals who held power, the commanders of the armies who had attended the banquet, and the sons and relatives of the counts who were in Leipold's line of succession.

As she raised her hand slightly, the soldiers stood silently surrounding them. Then, all those who remained became thoughtful and shouted.

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"S-save me! Amelia!"

"This can't be happening! We're family!"

"Miss! Please spare my life! I will be loyal to you! I will follow you unconditionally!"

Amelia didn't even blink an eye at his screams.

The moment her hand went down.

Papapapak!

The soldiers fired a huge number of crossbows at the same time. The sharp arrows pierced the bodies of defenseless people without hesitation.

"Eww!"

Everyone fell down with a scream of pain. It didn't take long for their breath to stop.

The banquet hall floor was stained red with the blood they shed. Those who survived, separated from others, shivered and cowered.

"Ugh, ugh… … ."

Count Leipold watched the whole scene with a bewildered expression.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh… … ."

He couldn't speak properly and just kept groaning. His legs felt like they were going to give out and he would fall, but he couldn't fall down on his own.

Because the soldiers held him tightly and did not even allow him to sit down.

Amelia approached Count Leipold and looked into his eyes.

"You, you… … . You… … ."

Count Leipold was so shocked that he couldn't speak properly.

In an instant, he lost his throne to his daughter, whom he had never cared about. Even his vassals who had been on his side were killed. Even the Northern First Sword, who had always protected him, was killed.

I couldn't believe that this was real. How on earth, how could something like this happen!

It was a dream, this was definitely a nightmare.

"You… … You… … ."

Because he had a quiet personality and was well-known, he seemed to have no intention of getting married, but people just left him alone.

After breaking off her engagement with Giselle Ferdium, it became difficult for her to find a new partner due to her age, but she was thought to be a useful addition to the family since she had the talent to appease the people of the territory.

But it was all an act! He was preparing to take my place!

If I had known this would happen, I should have married her off to a lower class family a long time ago.

"You… … . You b*tch, you b*tch, how dare you… … ."

I wanted to swear and curse, but the words wouldn't come out. Something was stuck in my throat and I couldn't say anything.

"Keuuuu… … Keuu… … ."

Didn't they say that power isn't shared even with children?

More painful and shocking to him was the loss of power to his daughter, whom he had ignored, than the death of his sons, his loyal vassals and knights.

Amelia didn't say anything as she watched her father's eyes turn red and foam at the mouth with anger.

She looked at Count Leipold for a long time as if thinking about something, and finally she blurted out a short word.

"Take it and go."

"Ugh! You! You!"

Even as he was dragged away in a shabby state, Count Leipold turned his head and glared at Amelia.

She met his eyes and opened her mouth as if something had come to mind.

"Oh, wait a minute."

The soldiers stopped walking. Count Leipold still turned his head and looked at her as if he was going to kill her.

Amelia recalled happy memories from long ago with her father.

– Dad, Dad!

– Oh, Daddy's favorite daughter has arrived!

When Amelia was still young, the Count lifted her up in his arms and rubbed her cheek.

We met eyes like this back then too.

When I looked into my father's eyes, I remembered what he had said with a big smile at the time.

Amelia smiled just as she had before and repeated what she had said then.

"Happy birthday, Dad."

Today was Count Leipold's birthday.

* * *

"Eww!"

"Please save me!"

The night's massacre did not only take place in the banquet hall. Commanders of the armies who did not attend the banquet were ambushed in various places and killed or captured and executed.

The same was true for the vassals and officials. Anyone who opposed Amelia or looked down on her was dealt with without fail.

The vacant positions were filled by people loyal to her.

As the new sun rose and the morning dawned, Leipold's master had completely changed into Amelia.

And when the people of Yeongji heard the news, they ran out into the streets one by one and cheered.

"Wow! The lord has changed!"

"Miss Amelia is the new Countess!"

"I will be loyal!"

People were genuinely happy.

Amelia was highly respected by the people of the land, because she was always thinking of them and had long helped those in need.

Not long ago, they had generously distributed food to those suffering from famine. It was food that had been stockpiled cheaply thanks to Giselle.

Naturally, Count Leipold and his vassals reprimanded her.

― How can you waste such precious food on such lowly creatures? Bring it right now and put it in the storehouse of the territory!

― I will use my property as I see fit. There must be people in the territory for the territory to exist. Please treat the people with care.

― How dare you say such presumptuous things in front of anyone! Confiscate all of Amelia's food immediately!

Count Leipold forcibly took the food Amelia had saved, not knowing that it was only a small part of it.

The news spread throughout the territory in an instant, almost as if someone had spread the rumor on purpose.

After that, the food rations stopped, but the people of the estate did not resent Amelia, but only cursed Count Leipold. Instead, they praised her even more for taking care of them, even against her father's wishes.

Amelia rode in a magnificent carriage with a clear view, like the kind used for royal ceremonies, and traveled around the territory distributing food to the people again.

People cheered and cheered more enthusiastically. They were truly welcoming the change of owner.

Bernap stuck out his tongue as he looked at her with a kind smile.

'Oh, you're so unpredictable. Sometimes you seem like a devil, and sometimes you seem like an angel… … Oh, what am I thinking! Of course you're an angel!'

Bernap slapped himself a few times on the cheek for having disloyal thoughts.

Among the crowd of people gathered around the carriage, a young girl was holding a necklace made of flowers and waving it wildly.

Amelia saw that and stopped the carriage, approached and asked.

"Did you bring this for me?"

"yes!"

The girl nodded several times with the aforementioned expression.

"Thank you so much. I will treasure it."

Amelia put the flower necklace around her neck and hugged the girl tightly. It was a very shabby and unattractive flower necklace, but Amelia acted as if she had received a shining jewel.

"Wow! As expected, it's Lady Amelia!"

Meow!

The people's cheers grew louder. In such a noisy atmosphere, Amelia smiled brightly, but her eyes remained cold and settled.

'Where on earth did you go? Where are you hiding?'

There was a bit of a problem with the follow-up to the 'banquet'.

I checked the corpses of those who died in the banquet hall one by one, but I couldn't find the corpse of the 4th prince, Dave.

Daven's carriage was definitely in the castle. So naturally, I thought he would be in the banquet hall, but not only Daven, but also his personal escort knights and servants were nowhere to be seen.

Amelia finished the parade without showing any sign of anxiety, but she planned to go around like this for the time being to appease the people.

Although they had built up a reputation over a long period of time, they had to make it clear quickly and clearly that the land had changed hands.

Amelia returned to the castle after the event and roughly tore off the flowers hanging around her neck and shouted.

"Daven! Did you find Daven?"

"I'm sorry. I still don't know where you are… … ."

Bernap answered, struggling.

At first, I simply thought that they had gone to the bathroom or garden to have a secret meeting. I believed that since the castle was surrounded anyway, they would not be able to escape.

But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find even a trace of it.

Amelia said with a face full of anger.

"Find that bastard right now and bring him in front of me."

Meow!

"All right."

Bernap, who was also angry, became sullen and began to search the entire estate thoroughly.

The Caleb smugglers, the Ulkan bandits, and the Conrad caravan were all focused on finding Daven.

As a great lord of the North, Count Leipold had many personal connections and public alliances. He had to re-establish relationships with each of them, and he had to renegotiate with his vassals who held lands.

In such a situation, if it was known that Daven was alive, it could have been a very troublesome situation. After all, the kingdom did not welcome a woman inheriting a title.

But I couldn't find him, whether he had fallen to the ground or flown into the sky.

Amelia's men traced Daven's movements and gathered information. It took several days before they finally found any trace of him.

When Bernap learned of Daven's whereabouts, his expression hardened and he muttered.

"You're there? Why? I heard you declined that banquet… … . Oh, really?"

Daven had already left the estate a month ago, and had hired a stand-in.

At the very moment that Bernap confirmed Daven's whereabouts, Giselle smiled and spoke to the trembling man in front of her.

"I saved your life just now."