Of course, running away was impossible.
If she tried to escape, not only would her noble title be stripped from her, but she'd also face trial by the noble council.
Admittedly, nobles in this world were greedy, corrupt, and arrogant…
But when it came to facing foreign invasions—they took things seriously.
And they had to take them seriously.
After all, the war between humans and beastmen had lasted nearly a hundred thousand years.
If either side showed weakness, the other would surely wipe them out completely.
Because of that, the lords of every land either died defending their territory or were hanged on the gallows.
There was no third option.
What a headache…
After leaving the Witch Court, Hel had been thinking about all of this and hadn't slept a wink.
By morning, she was sporting a pair of dark circles under her eyes when she called for Arwin.
"Arwin, have the people from the Heim territory been evacuated?"
"Almost all of them have arrived. Those who didn't want to come were… brought in by force."
"Good. Tell Blake to maintain order in the city. I don't want chaos breaking out before the beastmen even arrive.
Also—who's handling the refugee resettlement and food distribution?"
"Knight Lily is taking care of that."
"Lily should be fine. Oh, and send word to Sebas—tell him to be careful. Also, have the outer camps dismantled and move the miners into the goblin ruins for shelter."
"Yes, young master."
Arwin nodded, then reported,
"Young master, some of the townsfolk are unhappy about all this… and the Church claims they don't know anything about a beastman invasion."
"They don't?"
Hel frowned. The information about the beastman invasion came from Vivian, and she had already verified its authenticity through the Witch Council.
So why was the Church claiming ignorance?
Could this be another one of the Duke's schemes?
There wasn't enough information. Hel massaged the spot between her brows, then suddenly lifted her head as an idea came to her.
Perhaps it was time to build a new intelligence network.
"Arwin, I'll leave the territory in your hands. I'll be away for a few days."
"Should I accompany you, young master?"
"No, no need. I'll have guards with me."
And with that, Hel darted off before Arwin could say another word.
That very night, Hel, accompanied by three bloodthirsty elf maids, slipped silently into the Golden Marquis's castle.
Of the three brothers of the once-powerful Golden family, two had already fallen by Hel's hand.
So, to avoid being stabbed in the back while she defended the front lines from the beastmen, she decided to act first—eliminating potential threats before they could bloom.
And if she decided to be merciful and spare someone's life, it was only natural for them to serve her loyally in gratitude, wasn't it?
The Golden Marquis would serve perfectly as her new informant.
Coincidentally, Heim Fortress wasn't far from Golden Fortress—only separated by the Great Black Mountain.
To the west was Golden Fortress, to the east was Heim, and at the northernmost point of the mountain range lay Black Mountain Fort, the crossroads of all three territories.
Since everyone in Hel's group was at fifth rank, the journey didn't take long.
Sneaking in wasn't difficult either—the Golden Marquis's domain was only a marquisate, and its defenses were slightly stronger than Heim's, but nothing more.
The strongest person there, the Golden Marquis himself, was merely a 3-star Earth Knight—a small fry.
Granted, that might sound a bit arrogant coming from Hel, but it was true.
After the generous gifts she'd received from the goblin ruins, her frontline combat strength had already reached the fifth tier.
Thus, before the Golden Marquis even knew what was happening, Hel's team had quietly dragged him out of his castle.
They didn't stop until they reached the cliff behind the castle. There, Hel finally woke the man up.
"W-Who are you? A human or a ghost!?"
The Golden Marquis blinked awake from his magically induced slumber—only to see a huge skull hovering before him.
Tied up like a rice dumpling, he let out a high-pitched scream and struggled frantically, terrified out of his wits.
To calm him down, Hel reluctantly took a sword she'd "borrowed" from his castle and lightly rested it against his neck.
As expected, the man instantly quieted.
"Golden Marquis, is that correct?"
The soul-flames flickered within Hel's skull as a raspy male voice came from within.
"Have you heard anything about the beastman invasion?"
"Beastmen? What beastmen invasion!?"
"I see." Hel withdrew the blade. From his reaction, it was obvious the invasion news hadn't been made public yet.
"Well then, I won't waste time. Just answer one question—do you want to live or die?"
"I want to live! Lord, I want to live! Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it!"
The Golden Marquis collapsed to the ground, squirming like a worm toward Hel's feet, groveling and knocking his head repeatedly.
Not a trace of dignity remained from his supposed status as an Earth Knight.
Judging by his fat, pampered appearance, even if he once had the qualities of a warrior, years of decadent luxury had long eroded them away.
Men like him were easy to control—once you held their life in your hands.
Hel proceeded accordingly.
A top-tier Soul Enslavement spell would've been overkill for this kind of man.
So instead—
[Advanced Death Magic: Soul Severance]
With a wave of her hand, Hel pulled the man's soul from his body and neatly sliced off a fragment of it.
Once the main portion was returned to him, she carefully sealed the fragment into a crystal vial.
"Now, a part of your soul belongs to me," Hel said coldly. "If I wish it, I can erase your existence at any moment.
And don't bother running to the Holy Tribunal—they won't be able to protect you if I decide to kill you."
"I—I understand, my lord! Whatever you need, I'll do it—even if it costs me my life!"
"Good. I need you to sell some items for me. Present them to every single lord under the Duke's domain—make sure they see the effects with their own eyes, whether they buy or not. Understand?"
"Understood! Yes, my lord!"
Relieved that it was something simple—and not a suicidal mission—the Golden Marquis exhaled shakily.
After giving him a few more instructions, Hel turned to leave.
But just to be safe, she planted a [Blood Servant] sigil on him before she vanished into the night.