The princess had come to Ulrum by carriage. That much was an obvious fact but it never did hit Henry until they began marching out of the borders of Ulrum and arriving upon a caravan of carriages on the fringes of the borders.

Henry never did think about it but of course, they would travel by transport. Still, a part of his mind subconsciously thought the princess and her army of entourage actually walked all the way here on foot. It was an utterly half-witted thought. Henry couldn’t believe he entertained such a thought even if he did it subconsciously.

With his silliness out of the way, Henry climbed aboard the luxurious and humongous carriage along with Alayne, Rayne, and the princess. One thing Henry took note of was that the carriages all appeared to be automated. There were no horses or any kind of labour beast at the helm.

Furthermore, he could perceive Murux circulating all over the carriages. It was the machines back on earth but these ones were powered by Murux instead of electricity.

The interior of the carriage was nothing short of opulent. Its space was as large as one-quarter of Henry’s cave and it looked like what one would expect of a five-star hotel room.

Although Henry could hide his awe, the same couldn’t be said for his companions. Alayne was completely mesmerised by the design and furnishing of the carriage’s interior. Her mouth and eyes were agape with awe.

Rayne was holding back her awe but the twitching of her eyes and the slight frown of her cheeks betrayed her efforts. Even if she was someone who lived in a primitive manner all her life, she was still intrigued by the opulence wonder that befell her at present.

The princess saw the two’s reactions and she tittered with her lips hidden behind her hand.

The princess’ maidservants, who were also her bodyguards, were about to climb aboard too but she waved them away. After some persuasion, the maids got on another carriage but not before shooting Henry warning glances. If you hurt her in any way, you will sorely regret it, their gazes seemed to say.

Once all the important individuals were on board, the caravan began to move with half a battalion marching in front of the caravan and the other half marching right behind it.

“I believe I have yet to properly introduce myself,” the princess said shortly after the carriage started moving.

“I wonder why,” Henry muttered curtly in response.

“I am Princess Luciana IV of the Argon Kingdom, sister to the current king.”

“Henry. And these two here are Rayne and Alayne.”

“It is an extreme honour to be acquainted with the Overlord of Ulrum and his two lovely companions. I am thrilled even.”

“The feeling’s not mutual.”

“Understandable.”

“Is there something you wish to tell us, Princess? Something that you don’t even want your handmaidens to hear.”

The princess tittered. “You are very quick, Lord Henry.”

“Not that difficult of an inference. Now, speak your mind. Don’t stall and don’t mince your words. Don’t even sugarcoat it.”

The princess gave a cordial yet empty smile before it turned completely sorrowful. “I understand. If that is your wish, Lord Henry, then I shall be curt and blunt. Your presence will not be well-received by my brother or the court, Lord Henry.”

Henry shrugged. “Obviously.”

“Is it?”

“How is it not? Clearly, the kingdom’s intentions are to acquire Ulrum’s resources from the beginning until now. My counteroffer shot down that intention.”

“My brother’s intentions. Not mine. I don’t care about Ulrum. My country has enough. We have more than enough. Having even more would— sorry, correction— had only led to a series of conflicts.”

“So to say?”

“This journey will not be pleasant,” the princess admitted with a wry smile. “By now, my brother has probably heard the news of my… failure. By tomorrow, my apparent death will reach the kingdom and he will blame it all on Ulrum.”

“Pardon me, Your Highness, may I interject?” Alayne spoke up.

“You may,” Henry answered instead. “You’re not beneath them, Alayne. Just say what you want.”

Alayne glanced between Henry and Princess Luciana with a cramped expression.

“Just go ahead, Alayne,” said the princess.

Alayne heaved a sigh of relief inwardly. “Is there a need to go over all of these… pretences just to get his hands on Ulrum?”

“I understand what you’re saying, Alayne. It is because we know little about Ulrum aside from the precious minerals, rare stones, and Murux veins it holds in its lands. Ulrum is vast. Who knows what kind of beast or creature will the kingdom disturbed in the reckless pursuit of Ulrum's resources.”

“The king is not an utter fool,” Rayne muttered without giving a glance at the conversation.

“It is not my brother’s wisdom. It belongs to his advisors and the court. Some of them are old and they have heard plenty of stories about the various powerful beasts residing within Ulrum. True or not, that remains to be seen… until yesterday.” Luciana stared meaningfully at Henry.

Alayne frowned. “But you have an army of those… Slayers.”

“A very small army. Around three hundred strong altogether, contrary to what a lot of people may believe, including our enemies. This peculiar army cost a lot to sustain and they are considered to be the last line of defence when it comes to an open battle.”

Alayne’s frown deepened. “Which means?”

“The Slayers are soldiers of luxury,” Henry answered. “They are few in number and thus, reserved for only special cases if they are to be dispatched in a group. Otherwise, only a single of them is dispatched at a time.”

“I see…”

Henry narrowed his gaze at Luciana. “Your brother is trying to gather sympathy from other countries and factions and rally their strength to invade Ulrum altogether, isn’t he?”

“Sharp as usual, Lord Henry.”

Henry rolled his eyes. “How cliche.”

“It is as you said. My brother wants Ulrum but the army of the entire kingdom is no match for the natural might of Ulrum.”

“And why are you telling me this? This sounds like a state secret and you just nonchalantly revealed it to us.”

“You tell me, Lord Henry.”

“...You don’t fear the repercussions— no, you look forward to the repercussions.”

The princess snickered. “You already know me so well, Lord Henry.”

“Then why bother with this charade?”

“It’s not entirely a charade. I truly do wish for the vampire threat to be… quelled. After seeing what you’re capable of, I say you are my best hope.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t believe I would actually stumble upon a solution. I have already accepted the fact that this trip was made in vain for the sake of satisfying the greed of my brother and his cohorts. But things turned out way better than I could ever imagine. How fortunate of me.”

“I’ll be returning to Ulrum the first thing after I have dealt with this vampire.”

“You don’t wish for a reward?”

“This whole mess your people are facing is partially my fault. I’m merely trying to fix my mistakes. I don’t think a reward is needed here.”

“Even if that’s so, I wish to reward the brave hero who humbly admitted to his fault and did his best in amending it. Don’t be a stranger, Lord Henry. I insist. A reward is in order.”

Rayne snorted loudly with her chin resting on her hand as she gazed out of the window.

“Does your lady companion doubt my words, Lord Henry?”

“His lady companion certainly does,” Rayne retorted.

The princess tittered. “Your response is certainly understandable. I haven’t exactly given you a good reason to trust me. Well, I might as well start giving you reasons to.”

Henry smirked and stared straight at the princess.

Rayne and Alayne noticed the change in Henry’s mood and they both had a premonition that made them uneasy.

“If you truly insist, Your Highness, then allow me to make a request.”

Even Luciana perceived the change. As much as she tried to hide her discomfort, her composure failed her and she couldn’t help but let her smile drop.

“If I manage to quell this plight, I want your kingdom to sever all ties with Ulrum.”

“I’m afraid that’s not a wish I can grant with my power. Please, anything else, but that.”

“Then this discussion is over. I will do what I must and take my leave. Should you try to impede my quest in any way, I will take it as an act of aggression towards Ulrum as a whole. Now, tell me what I should know and expect while you still can without incurring my wrath.”

Gone was nearly all of Luciana’s confidence in soliciting Henry to her side. She had showered him with praises and been forthright with him, all in hopes of him letting his guard down but to her dismay, his guard only strengthened.

Luciana swallowed her pride and unease. “This journey will not be pleasant or smooth, as I said before. I suspect my brother’s hired thugs or sellswords will make sure of it.”

“The men outside… Are they loyal to you?”

“...I do not know,” Luciana admitted after some hesitation. “All they care about is making home to their loved ones. Their loyalty is uncertain.”

“Some things are just inevitable.” Henry sighed. “But it’s not like I expected things to go smoothly all the way. Forgive me, your highness.”

“What for?”

“For what I will do should your premonition come true.”

Before Luciana could respond to Henry’s vague words, there was a knock on the window. Luciana opened the window slightly, just enough for sounds to flow through clearly.

“What is it?” Luciana asked with mild irritation.

“Apologies, Your Highness,” said the soldier who tapped on the window while riding beside the carriage. “The paths ahead have all been cleared of all creatures but not by our hands and no blood has been shed.”

The princess frowned. “What are you saying?”

“Someone or something has driven all the creatures away from our paths. Our scouts reported no anomalies ahead or in our vicinity.”

“Are we in any immediate danger?”

“No, Your Highness.”

“Very well. Then, carry on, soldier.”

The soldier nodded and went back to his post.

When Luciana slumped back in her seat, she saw Henry’s smirking gaze and the undertone concealed underneath did not escape her notice. “Is this perhaps your work, Lord Henry?”

“Who knows?” Henry shrugged. “Maybe.”

“...Just what are you, Lord Henry?”

“Oh? Now you’re worried about that?” Henry chuckled. “Don’t you think it’s a tad late to be pondering about that now?”

“Will you not be answering my question?”

“I don’t believe I have any need to.”

The princess cursed silently at herself. She had overestimated herself. Even though she knew she couldn’t physically restrain the other party, she thought she could at least steer the other party’s thoughts and mind. She now realised she had been too naive.

At first, she believed the natives of Ulrum were simply overcautious of humans. She assumed Henry was no different but it was no overcaution. It was understanding. Though she had yet to figure out Henry’s true identity, he was someone who understood the way a human mind works, as if he was a human himself but Ulrum would never accept a human as their guardian and overlord.

The individual in front of her was not sharp-witted but knowledgeable. She was naive to believe she could manipulate him to her cause.

After the cold and subtle sparring of words, the journey continued on in silence, that was until the entire caravan suddenly came to a stop. It was so abrupt that Alayne nearly fell out of her seat if it wasn’t for Henry’s support.

“Why have we stopped?” Alayne asked as she gathered herself.

“It’s happening,” Rayne muttered.

Alayne stared at Henry in horror. “Oh, god. Are we—”

“It’s alright, Alayne. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“What about me?” Rayne asked.

“You can handle yourself just fine.”

Rayne rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, there was a shout from outside the carriage.

“Your Highness, stay inside.” It was from one of the maids. “We are being ambushed by bandits! There are a lot of them. More than fifty. Please, stay inside the carriage!”

Luciana’s expression was still rigid and composed but her colour was paling, much to her chagrin.

As for Henry, he merely cocked his head and rose from his seat. “Right on time. I was just getting bored.”