The soldiers of the duchy surrendered completely after witnessing with their own eyes the defeat of their hero — the Dark Knight Vandel.
The battle between him and Leon looked terrifyingly one-sided: Leon's armor didn't have a single scratch, while Vandel's armor had been shattered almost entirely. His once formidable and legendary gear now resembled nothing more than the remnants of former glory — a symbol of utter defeat.
To everyone's shock, it soon became clear that Leon had fought… completely alone.
Except for Arthur, there wasn't a single soul aboard any of the giant ships — ships that one would expect to carry thousands of crew members. Empty, silent, and yet perfectly functional, these vessels hovered over the duchy's fleet like the ghosts of some ancient war.
The first person to grasp the truth was Hertrude.
> "These are… the Lost Items, aren't they?" — she said, no longer tied up, staring straight into Leon's eyes.
> "Yep," — he replied calmly.
Suddenly, hundreds of small drones burst out from one of the Leon's ship, each equipped with mechanical arms. They quickly swarmed toward the duchy's ships, wrapping the crew members in durable cables and restraining them. Other drones took over control of the duchy's vessels. Everything unfolded like a perfectly coordinated operation, planned down to the smallest detail.
Hertrude, watching this spectacle, could not hide her irritation.
She would have preferred if Leon had destroyed the duchy's entire fleet — at least then, the ships wouldn't have fallen into his hands.
However, to her visible displeasure, not a single ship had been completely destroyed. Most were damaged, but all remained repairable.
> "How about not taking all the ships?" — Hertrude suddenly suggested, deciding to keep fighting at least with words. —
"I'm sure it'll be too difficult for you to maintain them anyway. You're from a viscounty, right? I doubt you have a dockyard big enough to house and service a fleet like this. And you surely don't have the manpower for it… So why don't you let me buy them back, Viscount Bartfort?"
Leon smirked, giving her a condescending look:
> "Oh, what persuasive words. Unfortunately for you, that won't work on me. I'll be richer than the royal family of Holfort itself."
His smug smile only irritated Hertrude more — she clicked her tongue and looked away.
> "My goal," — Leon said coldly, — "is to make sure the duchy never again attempts any schemes against the Kingdom of Holfort."
> "I doubt we could manage anything while you're still alive," — Hertrude replied, though her tone carried more admiration than hatred.
> "Alright, enough talk," — Leon interrupted her. — "Get on the ship. I'll take you to the duchy's capital, and then — to the Kingdom. You'll serve as a hostage for a while, and…"
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, as if remembering something important. He stepped closer to Hertrude.
> "What are you planning?" — she asked warily, taking a step back.
Leon abruptly grabbed her by the arm and, before she could react, quickly ran his hands over her body — as if searching for something.
A blushing Hertrude was about to shout at him, but Leon suddenly stopped. Pulling something out from under her clothes, he held it up in the air. It was a flute.
> "I'll be confiscating this," — Leon said casually, slipping it into his pocket.
> "How did he know about the flute?.." — flashed through Hertrude's mind. Her eyes widened — only a small circle of her closest attendants even knew about that artifact.
At that moment, four floating spheres appeared above Leon — three smaller ones and one massive. They hovered quietly in the air, as if observing everything.
> "Master," — they said in unison, their metallic voices perfectly synchronized, — "we have found the one we were searching for."
Hertrude looked surprised but kept her composure as she turned to Leon:
> "Who… are they?"
> "Ah, my loyal AI assistants," — Leon replied nonchalantly, pointing to each sphere in turn. —
"This one's Luxion — a total nag and a jerk.
That one's Cleare — a war criminal and sadist, she should've been tried in The Hague long ago.
This one's Ideal — still figuring him out.
And finally, this big guy here — Legion. Good lad, by the way."
Two out of the four AIs immediately lit up in anger — their lenses flaring like eyes filled with wrath, aimed straight at Leon. But he merely smirked arrogantly and deliberately ignored their outrage, as if this kind of banter was an everyday occurrence.
Then, out of nowhere, Arthur appeared beside him. His face carried visible irritation, and his voice, when he spoke, was cold and restrained:
> "O-oh… Arthur!" — Leon exclaimed, scratching the back of his head nervously. — "Sorry, totally forgot you were here."
> "Forgot, you say?" — Arthur replied dryly, crossing his arms. — "Weren't you the one who said our mission was only to gather evidence, not to launch a full-scale invasion?"
His voice grew sharper and louder with each word.
> "Do you even realize what you've done?" — he continued, stepping forward. — "We've practically attacked the duchy! Do you understand what kind of political disaster this could become for the Kingdom? Especially for the royal family — when their vassal, Viscount Bartfort, suddenly wages an aggressive campaign against a neighboring state!"
He sighed irritably, shaking his head, and added:
> "Even though we've gathered enough evidence to justify your actions… and maybe even get you rewarded, the king will now have to spend several sleepless nights trying to calm the neighbors and untangle this diplomatic mess."
Leon fell silent for a moment — and then, unexpectedly, broke into a wide evil grin.
> "Wonderful news," — he said with theatrical seriousness. — "Or rather, terrible ones. But don't worry — I've got it all under control."
He struck his chest with a fist and continued enthusiastically:
> "Here! Take this bucket. It's filled with documents — exactly one million words, not a single one less. Only His Majesty himself is allowed to read them personally. Bring it straight to the king's desk and tell him I believe in him with all my heart!"
He sounded so sincere that Arthur actually blinked in surprise.
> "A… bucket?" — he repeated tiredly, staring at the strange item in his hands.
> "Yep!" — Leon answered proudly. — "The papers are far too important to carry in a simple folder. This way they're safer. And hop onto one of my ships — you'll reach the capital faster than the wind."
Arthur closed his eyes for a brief moment, suppressing his irritation. Then he exhaled, and with a faint, resigned smile, gave a polite bow:
> "Alright… since you're entrusting this task to me, Lord Leon, I won't let you down."
With that, he carefully took the bucket — as if it were a sacred relic — and headed toward the nearest ship.
Leon watched him leave for a while, then smirked.
> "Perfect. Now let the king figure out how to explain all this to the neighbors."
Hertrude, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow as she observed the scene.
> "Or is it just me," — she said thoughtfully, — "or does he actually hate his own king?"