The Baron and the Ducal Heir.
Among the twenty Knights watching the two argue, Manhattan, the captain of the Baron’s Territory’s knights, was also present.
He looked at Ethan.
Ethan.
That man was surely insane. Otherwise, how could he have the nerve to stand up to twenty Knights like that?
It was said he woke up after ten years.
That meant he’d only been seeing the outside world for just over a month now.
‘Hoo……!’
Today might be the last day the Ducal Heir would ever see the outside world. Judging by the Baron’s furious momentum, he’d almost certainly end up locked away in the Capital Prison.
The underground prison inside the inner castle was the most notorious in the Baron’s Territory.
A dank underground space without a single ray of sunlight, not even a blanket to keep body heat.
And as a bonus, all sorts of vile criminals were gathered there. It was the kind of place where even an ordinary person would lose their mind in less than a month.
Thinking of the Ducal Heir ending up there filled him with pity.
‘How did the House of Ardan end up like this?’
Once, there was a time when he not only admired but even revered the Ducal House. That hadn’t changed even now.
The Ducal House was a true Knight’s family, the one that had defended the kingdom with honorable sacrifice.
He couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Soon after, he shook his head.
‘Tch.’
What good was it to feel this way?
After all, when the noble one called lord gives an order, even if it’s unreasonable, a Knight must obey.
“Knights, subdue the Ducal Heir at once! If needed, cut off a limb or two! And grind his mana hole to pieces while you’re at it!”
The order was given.
There was no choice anymore.
The twenty Knights began to approach the Ducal Heir. They closed in slowly, pressing their advantage.
‘Huh?’
Manhattan tilted his head.
The Ducal Heir’s massive greatsword.
From between the blade, the surrounding heat was being sucked in like a tidal wave.
No one could tell just how much heat had been absorbed, but the air around the Ducal Heir was shimmering like a mirage.
Unconsciously, the captain of the knights swallowed dryly.
Even as a 4-star Knight, he couldn’t begin to guess how powerful the heat swirling around that sword was.
Any sense of composure from earlier had long since vanished.
Biting his lip, Manhattan shouted.
“All of you, charge! Hurry!”
The twenty Knights poured mana into their legs.
Their speed increased sharply.
But…….
‘Too late.’
Manhattan realized.
And his prediction was spot on. Ethan looked at the Knights.
‘Slow.’
The essences of fire within his body were blazing.
The technique was already complete.
[Flame Sword (Sword) Form 1]
[Serpent of Fire]
He swung the massive greatsword straight ahead. The heat gathered on the blade transformed into a gigantic serpent. The serpent, burning so hot it could melt flesh on contact, swept through the area.
At such speed, the Knights had no chance to evade or block it.
There wasn’t even time to feel pain.
The mana shielding their bodies evaporated in an instant, and their bodies began turning to ash in moments.
‘…… My god.’
Manhattan’s expression went blank.
Exactly half of the twenty Knights vanished in that single strike, not even leaving corpses behind.
Even more shocking, despite the overwhelming heat sweeping the area, he and nine other Knights were still alive.
‘Why?’
He looked at the ground.
Only the floor around the ten surviving Knights was unscorched by the heat.
‘…..He spared us on purpose.’
The captain’s expression hardened.
Unleashing such tremendous heat alone was already an incredible feat. But the Ducal Heir’s level was far above that.
‘To be able to control the heat so freely…’
It meant they were up against someone utterly out of their league.
Manhattan and the remaining Knights completely lost their fighting spirit after that single blow.
How could they possibly defeat someone like that?
Unless one was a 5-star Knight or higher, there was simply no way to even stand against him.
Meanwhile.
“Wha… What!”
A cry of shock came from the Baron in the back. Even a single official Knight could slaughter dozens of soldiers.
And it wasn’t just one, but twenty Knights who had charged in.
That meant he’d gathered every Knight in the Baron’s Territory for this.
And yet, half of them had vanished so easily?
It was truly a nightmare. With trembling hands, he pointed at Ethan.
“D-damn it! That bastard must be exhausted! Knights, what are you waiting for? I’ll reward whoever cuts off his limbs with five hundred gold coins!”
Helmut screamed at the top of his lungs. But even at the promise of five hundred gold coins, not a single Knight moved.
The Ducal Heir was simply on another level.
Besides, he’d just spared their lives. No matter how much the Baron ordered, none had the loyalty to charge in at the cost of their lives.
While the Baron was shouting,
Ethan looked down at his own body.
‘A lot of heat has drained out.’
Flame Sword.
One of the secret sword techniques of the Ducal House, using the essence of fire. What was needed was an immense amount of internal heat.
If not for the blessing of the Lord of Fire, it would have taken another half year to use this technique.
‘I need to recover my heat.’
If he were at the Circulation stage, his body would naturally restore the heat. But he was still only at the Sowing stage.
Still, there was a way.
Ethan vibrated the essences of fire.
Brrrr.
The essences trembled, raising their heat. In an instant, the heat in the air synchronized with the resonance of his body, and at their master’s call, the heat scattered throughout the air began to converge.
The essences of fire greedily absorbed the heat.
‘Recovered about seventy percent.’
If thirty percent was the cost of using the technique, it wasn’t bad.
Ethan once again lifted Dexter’s head.
With a faint smile, he looked at the Baron and spoke as if announcing a verdict.
“Your sons have all learned the ducal Mana Breathing Technique.”
“Not just your sons—looks like you’ve been spreading the breathing technique to all sorts of thugs. Do you know what that means? Any Knight who’s learned the family’s breathing technique is nothing but a toy to me.”
“What?”
“The direct descendants of the family always learn how to seal mana, in case of traitors.”
Just as he had done to Ruine, he completely sealed Dexter’s mana hole.
He then grabbed both their heads and lifted them.
“These two can no longer use mana. Unless I undo the seal, it’ll be that way forever.”
“Now, only your punishment remains.”
He approached Helmut.
Helmut’s hands were trembling as he drew his sword.
Mana flowed, but it wasn’t very strong.
At best, he was only about a 3-star Knight. With a single punch to the abdomen, he knocked him out cold.
He, too, had learned the ducal Mana Breathing Technique.
Just like his two sons, and just as sloppily. After sealing the Baron’s mana hole, Ethan looked at the Knights.
“Where is the Capital Prison?”
“Surely not….”
“That’s right, I mean exactly what you think.”
Unbelievable.
He was going to imprison the Baron in the Capital Prison!
The roles were completely reversed.
Ethan looked at Manhattan.
“Captain of the Knights?”
“…Yes.”
“I’d like you to serve as the warden of the Capital Prison from now on.”
“Guard my lord? Even if you spared us, I can’t obey such an order!”
“If the Baron and his two sons escape from the Capital Prison, I’ll behead every member of the Baron’s household. Isn’t it your duty to protect your family?”
When Manhattan met Ethan’s eyes, chills ran down his spine.
‘He’s serious.’
After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded. For now, he had no choice but to obey.
After all, the one with power was the Ducal Heir, not himself.
The capital of the Kingdom of Haidern, Pellantium.
There, in the royal palace, a court assembly was being held.
Everything from the kingdom’s tax revenue to policies and military affairs was decided in this place.
“Let’s end today’s court assembly here.”
Delprion, looking at the ministers, spoke. The important matters had already been coordinated with the kingdom’s Seven Great Houses.
Now, it was time to close the meeting.
Just then,
Someone raised a hand and spoke.
“Your Majesty, I have something to report.”
“Marquis Bloten?”
Marquis Bloten.
The head of the House of Besos, and one of the ministers attending the assembly, but usually so quiet he was almost invisible.
Especially after his family’s fortunes declined drastically fifteen years ago, he’d become even more withdrawn.
What could such a man have to say, raising his hand like this?
Delprion nodded.
“What is it?”
“The Ducal Heir of House Ardan has submitted a petition directly to Your Majesty.”
“A petition?”
Delprion furrowed his brow.
Ethan, the Ducal Heir of House Ardan.
He was said to have awoken only a month ago.
Considering he’d been in a coma for ten years, a month wasn’t even enough to recover his body.
And yet, he already had a matter important enough to write and deliver directly to the king….
‘When did he become connected with the House of Besos?’
The fact that the head of a marquis house was handling the communication surprised him even more.
“What’s it about?”
“It’s a petition stating that one of House Ardan’s vassal families, the Baron’s Territory of Kargas, has violated the vassal contract.”
“They violated the vassal contract?”
“Yes. The evidence is recorded in this Memory Crystal. The Baron collected taxes exceeding the maximum rate stated in the contract, profited unfairly, cleverly evaded the private soldier limit by using various organizations, and….”
The marquis’s words continued, finally reaching the last sentence.
“Additionally, the Baron spread the ducal house’s techniques to outsiders without permission.”
||
At that moment.
The atmosphere in the assembly hall turned icy.
Especially among the members of the Seven Great Houses, the tension was palpable.
It was a subtle pressure not to argue further about this topic.
But Marquis Bloten didn’t even blink at such pressure.
“Thus, His Majesty is asked to give a ruling on the Baron’s punishment.”
Delprion fell deep into thought. The ministers watched him quietly, eyes shining.
Ardan!
At that name, the people of Haidern cheered, wept, and laughed.
Those who had defended the kingdom by sacrificing themselves against the dragonkin were regarded as legends.
Even the previous king, Sigmund, had been forced to grant the Ducal Heir extraordinary rights such as immunity, so great and unshakable was their fame.
How would the king respond?
Until now, Delprion’s attitude had been closer to indifference.
‘Even for His Majesty, it’ll be hard to cover this up.’
The matter had become public. Even the king couldn’t sweep it under the rug.
Not even with the help of the Seven Great Houses.
They couldn’t risk giving the impression that they were destroying the family known as the kingdom’s guardians with their own hands.
Especially since it had been less than twenty years since the war with the dragonkin ended.
Soon, as if he’d reached a conclusion, Delprion smiled gently and spoke.
“Ho. So such a thing happened?”
“Yes. The evidence is clear.”
“It’s truly shameful. I don’t know how I should regard the late Duke Malone now. So… what punishment does the Ducal Heir seek?”
“He requests the vassal contract be annulled and that the Kargas Castle, which was granted by the ducal house, be reclaimed.”
In other words, not only would the Baron be demoted to a commoner, but the Ten Branch Families would be reduced to nine.
“I see. I’d like to help if I could, but since the late king established the Senate to handle such matters, it’d be inappropriate for me to intervene….”
He tapped the armrest of the throne, then delivered his conclusion.
“This seems to be a matter between the Ten Branch Families and the main line. It’s more like a ‘family affair,’ so it wouldn’t look right for me, an outsider, to interfere. Tell the Ducal Heir to resolve it himself.”
At those words, the ministers’ eyes gleamed.
‘So in the end, he’s not siding with Ardan.’
This decision was as good as siding with the Ten Branch Families.
After all, it was known the Ducal Heir’s mana hole was destroyed, so how could he possibly deal with the Baron’s Territory of Kargas?
In the end, the Ducal Heir’s petition became meaningless. That’s what most of the nobles present thought.
“I’ll convey your words.”
Only Marquis Bloten, bowing politely, had eyes that shone quietly.