"I know that."
Hel raised his hand, intending to pat Layman on the shoulder lightly—only to realize that, with his short arms, he couldn't reach.
Seeing this, Lily, ever perceptive, picked Hel up so he could rest his hand properly on Layman's shoulder.
"Knight Layman, no matter what, I am still the Duke's son, am I not?"
[Trait Bestowed: Low Intelligence (Black)]
Knowledge -20 → Current Knowledge: 3
[Trait Bestowed: Blood Thrall (Black)]
Loyalty to Hel +60
As the two traits took effect, Layman's expression changed instantly.
The once weathered and wary look in his eyes became clear—and stupid.
His attitude toward Hel also did a complete 180.
"You are right, Lord Hel."
But after a moment's hesitation, a troubled expression crossed Layman's face. He struggled internally for a long while before finally speaking:
"Lord Hel, there is something I don't understand. Steward Uriel gave me a secret order from the Duke—he told me to cooperate with the kitchen maid to poison you."
So it really was like that.
Hel's brows arched. He had long suspected that someone in the Mandrake family had poisoned his predecessor, but he hadn't expected the order to come directly from the Duke himself.
As the saying goes, even a tiger will not devour its cubs.
Unless… the original Hel wasn't really the Duke's child—or the Heim territory hid some enormous secret, valuable enough for the Duke to sacrifice a son just to reclaim it.
For now, Hel didn't bother to think further. The immediate concern was how to handle Layman.
"Steward Uriel has already betrayed the Duke. He's sided with one of my brothers."
"But… but…"
"No buts. Otherwise, tell me—why would the Duke order the poisoning of his own son? What good would that do him? The only reasonable explanation is that one of my brothers wants to secure the inheritance early by getting rid of me—the easiest target."
The reasoning was flimsy. Normally, the original Layman—with a Knowledge score of 23—would have immediately noticed the flaws in Hel's story.
But right now, Layman's Knowledge was only 3.
What is Knowledge? It represents intelligence, learning, instinct, and experience.
A normal adult's Knowledge averages around 5. Slightly dull people score 4.
A score of 3 is typical of a child.
In other words, Layman's mind had been reduced to that of a 7- or 8-year-old.
He was ridiculously easy to fool.
And with 60 points of loyalty to Hel—equal to his loyalty to the Duke—there was no reason for him to doubt Hel's words.
"You're right, my lord! Damn that Uriel—how dare he betray the Duke! No, I must write to the Duke and tell him to have Uriel executed!"
"You're too rash, Knight Layman. Uriel has served the Duke for decades. He's trusted more than you are. If you accuse him of treachery, who do you think the Duke will believe—you, or him?"
"Then what should I do, Lord Hel?"
"Do nothing different. Pretend you know nothing. Oh, and—you've been sending reports about me and my territory to Uriel every month, haven't you?"
"Yes, my lord. At the end of each month, I send messengers with those reports."
"From now on, bring the reports to me before sending them. Since Uriel has betrayed the Duke, we can't let genuine information reach him. Don't you agree, Knight Layman?"
"You're right, my lord."
"Good. Then summon all your knights. There's something I need to discuss."
"As you command, my lord."
Layman bowed slightly in a knight's salute, then turned to gather his men.
This garrison was personally dispatched by the Duke.
It consisted of Layman, a Tier 2 Intermediate Knight, 20 Tier 1 Junior Knights, and 200 elite soldiers.
These 200 men weren't ordinary foot soldiers—they were the best of the best.
Most were trained to the limits of human ability, comparable to knight's squires.
If they possessed even a trace of supernatural potential, they could become knights themselves.
But alas, they had no such talent.
No matter how strong their bodies were, without the enhancement of battle aura, they could never match even the weakest of true knights.
In short, the 200 soldiers had a fighting power roughly equal to the 20 Junior Knights, who served as their officers.
Thus, if Hel wanted control of the garrison, subduing Layman alone wasn't enough—he needed control over those junior knights as well.
Soon, eight of those junior knights—Layman's immediate subordinates—were brought into the castle's reception hall.
Six were loyal to the old Duke; two were loyal to the First Prince.
Since Hel intended to take command of this force, those two little spies had no reason to remain.
"Seize those two traitors."
Hel pointed at the knights who served the First Prince.
Lily and Arvin had been prepared from the start, but before Lily could move, Arvin flashed forward—appearing behind the two men in an instant.
With a thud, both knights were slammed face-first into the marble floor, knocked unconscious.
A Tier 3 High Knight—the gap between them was like heaven and earth.
If Arvin wished, he could have killed everyone in the room—including Layman—in a few breaths.
"I have confirmed intelligence that last night's attack was connected to these two."
Hel scanned the room, his voice cold.
The remaining six knights exchanged uncertain glances.
They didn't believe a word of it—after all, they were loyal to the Duke and took orders only from him.
But Arvin's display of power had shocked them into silence.
Hel seized the opportunity and swiftly bestowed the [Blood Thrall] trait on each of them.
Their existing black traits weren't [The Duke's Loyal Servant] like Layman's, but rather [The Duke's Loyal Retainer], which only gave +40 loyalty.
Two of them merely had [The Duke's Subordinate], granting +20 loyalty.
So when Hel added his +60 loyalty from [Blood Thrall], their allegiance to him instantly outweighed their devotion to the Duke.
No persuasion was needed—their loyalty shifted naturally to him.