Chapter 25: Stop the Sound of Dogs Barking in My Territory! (1)

“Eek!”

I lightly deflected the soldier’s spear as he rushed at me, not sure if his cry was a shout or a groan.

The soldier didn’t even manage to recover his spear—he staggered awkwardly, and I swung Hellfire right at him.

Hellfire was truly worthy of being called a legendary sword.

Its smooth arc cut through the air without a hint of resistance.

It felt as if it was slicing through empty space.

But the aftermath of Hellfire was astounding.

“F-fire! It’s hot—save me!”

“Water! Water! Uaaagh!”

I hadn’t intended to kill—just to subdue.

But from the wounds Hellfire left, flames erupted and in an instant engulfed the soldiers’ bodies.

Where the inferno, which had swelled up in an instant like a grinning demon’s face, faded away, nothing but piles of ash remained.

Perhaps it was because of this overwhelming scene.

No one dared approach us, all avoiding the Knight Commander.

I only seemed strong because of this sword—my actual skill was still several levels below the Knight Commander.

If I recall, they said Knight Commander Brunello was at the peak of Sword Expert, just a step away from Swordmaster.

Brunello’s swordsmanship, overall, was plain and unadorned.

He faithfully blocked, dodged, slashed, and stabbed, following the basic sword forms of the Kingdom of Delphi.

With each swing of his sword, the enemy’s attack was parried, and with each additional swing, another life was snuffed out.

In other words, it was exceedingly efficient, clean, and straightforward.

Above all, it was beautiful.

What if I were standing before him?

Every time the Knight Commander’s sword flashed, a clear line appeared and then vanished.

Not a weakness, but perhaps a single narrow path for a head-on confrontation.

So thorough in the basics, his sword forced his opponent into just one proper response with every strike.

Against weaker foes, he thoroughly claimed victory; against stronger ones, he endured, provoking mistakes.

If I sparred with the Knight Commander, wouldn’t I be able to measure just how far my skills had come?

“Kugh…”

I must have been too absorbed in watching the Knight Commander’s swordplay.

Before I knew it, the last soldier had collapsed to the ground, clutching a wound in his abdomen and coughing up blood.

The Knight Commander grabbed the soldier by the collar, dragged him to Lady Titania, and forced him to kneel.

Lady Titania approached the bleeding soldier, sword in hand.

“Raise your head and answer my questions, and I’ll let you die without pain.”

The soldier, trembling as he clutched his wound, slowly raised his head.

In his eyes swirled despair, fear, and agony.

“Why—how did Hesedia manage to start a territorial war?”

“T-the mine… A mine was found in the wild hills on the territory border… there was a dispute over the mining rights…”

“If it’s a mountain lying between the two territories with possible ore veins, it must be Trial Mountain. But that mountain—eight-tenths of it is in Desemal Territory, so there’s no reason for a dispute, is there?”

“Kuh, cough. I… I don’t know…”

The soldier couldn’t finish his sentence and collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

There was no more information to be gained.

Lady Titania, her eyes cold, stared at the dead soldier, then looked over at me and the Knight Commander.

“Commander Brunello. From now on, we’re heading straight home at the highest speed, by the shortest route, without stopping by any other territories. Gather the company. Also, extract some soldiers and evacuate the remaining people.”

“Understood! Everyone, prepare to depart immediately!”

While the Commander prepared, Lady Titania and I climbed into the carriage.

And until the carriage departed,

Lady Titania’s reddish-brown eyes never left the villagers, who were still cowering in fear.

The first atmosphere I sensed upon entering the Squaret Duchy was chaos.

Normally, it would have struck me as a serene yet elegantly detailed and sophisticated domain.

Well-tended trees, antique benches scattered here and there, neatly maintained roads and streetlights—

It was, in every way, a refined territory, but now people moved about in anxious haste, unable to enjoy a single moment of leisure.

Their faces were clouded with worry, and I could feel their fear, as if they expected to be attacked at any moment on the streets.

Though the streets were filled with the wealthy—coats, dresses, hats, and jewelry in abundance—

For some reason, their figures overlapped with the refugees I had seen in Desemal Territory.

The carriage went straight to the castle of the Squaret Duchy.

As soon as we arrived, Lady Titania leapt from the still-moving carriage and strode quickly toward the waiting retainer.

“You’ve returned.”

“Has Father come back?”

“Not yet.”

“Desemal Territory was a disaster. What happened?”

“Well…”

The retainer seemed hesitant to speak, searching for the right words.

“I’ll explain, Sister.”

At that moment, a youthful voice interrupted from within the mansion.

The speaker was a young man, his boyishness not yet faded.

His short red hair was disheveled as if he’d just woken, his freckled face still holding a hint of youth.

About one-sixty centimeters tall? He wasn’t much different in height from Lady Titania, and his body looked completely untrained, rather frail.

“Teron.”

“Do you know just how much happened while Father and you were both away?”

Teron Squaret—if my memory served, the Duke’s second child, and this year, he’d turned eighteen.

At first glance, there was little resemblance between Teron and Titania, except for one thing.

The sharply narrowed, piercing eyes, inherited from Duke Squaret, unmistakably marked their bloodline.

However, in Teron’s case, his eyes were even sharper and thinner, resembling those of a snake or rat rather than a raptor or predator.

“Teron. Why did Desemal Territory and Hesedia Territory end up waging a territorial war? With Father not yet returned, who authorized it?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? I did, Sister.”

“You… authorized the territorial war?”

Teron’s lips curved into a narrow arc, as sharp as his eyes.

Something’s off about him.

Lady Titania was obviously frantic and furious.

He couldn’t possibly be unaware of his sister’s feelings.

Yet his attitude was nothing but defiant.

“Father rushed to the royal capital on official business. While you were also away, an urgent matter was suddenly brought up.”

“So you handled something as major as a territorial war on your own?!”

Lady Titania’s voice kept rising.

The servants and retainers, there to greet her, stiffened in place.

“On my own, you say? You wound your younger brother, Sister. I deliberated thoroughly. Besides, the Hesedia Viscount was extremely angry.”

“The other party was Duke Desemal! He’s cared for us for years.”

“Sister. Why bring emotion into official affairs? Yes, Duke Desemal was a fine man. But being fair and impartial in duty is another matter. Duke Desemal…—” Teron paused to steady his breath.

“…was greedy.”

“Teron Squaret!”

That was the decisive remark.

Titania looked as if she would draw her sword at any moment.

“My Lady.”

I quickly called out to Lady Titania to calm her.

Her eyes, turning to me, were ablaze with fury.

But now was not the time to let that anger loose.

There were simply too many oddities.

And…

I glanced toward the mansion window.

Around the time Lady Titania and her brother began their argument,

I had felt a faint, suspicious presence.

It seemed as if something unknown was lurking in the mansion.

All the more reason to first grasp the situation.

“You’re someone I haven’t seen before.”

Teron’s eyes slowly raked up and down my figure.

His gaze was wary, and at the same time, deeply hostile and destructive.

“I am Laward Gordem, Count of the Helpion Duchy, Steward to Duke Helpion and his retainer.”

“Laward Gordem.”

Teron rolled my name on his tongue, his tone tinged with subtle displeasure.

“My Lady. It’s been a long journey. You should wash and rest before continuing this discussion.”

Fortunately, Lady Titania managed to calm herself in that brief moment.

She forced a smile as she spoke to Teron.

“I’ll rest for now. Let’s talk more over dinner.”

Teron smiled in return and replied.

“Very well. I’ll have supper prepared. Rest, and I’ll see you shortly, Sister. Count Gordem as well. Butler, show our guests to their rooms.”

We quickly gathered in Lady Titania’s room for a conference.

“The retainers all seemed to be watching each other.”

Both of them turned their gaze to me at my remark.

“What do you mean?”

“My first impression was that the retainers had divided themselves into factions. Forgive me if this is impertinent, but is the Squaret Duchy usually so politically split?”

The Knight Commander shook his head.

“Not at all. The Duke is still healthy, and the succession issue is perfectly clear.”

Indeed, a man as thorough as the Duke would never allow political strife.

So this must be something that arose while the Duke was away.

“Then something must have changed in the few weeks you and the Duke were absent. Among those gathered, half looked upon you very kindly, showing concern at your words and actively responding. But…”

Every time Titania raised her voice or scolded Teron, there were others whose expressions hardened.

Yet they didn’t seem to support Teron, either.

Rather, there was a sense of guilt and fear about them.

“They seemed afraid of something—of what, exactly?”

At the Knight Commander’s question, a figure sprang to my mind.

“Is there a Swordmaster in the Squaret Duchy?”

Lady Titania shook her head.

“No, there isn’t. Commander Brunello, as a top-level Sword Expert, is the strongest here.”

“Then who could that Swordmaster be?”

“A Swordmaster?!”

“While you were arguing, there was a swordsman who met my gaze through the window. That aura… It was similar to the Swordmasters I’d encountered in the Helpion Duchy.”

Looking at him, I’d felt an odd sense of tension and unease.

I checked Lady Titania and the Knight Commander, but neither seemed to notice the old man’s presence.

He was, in every respect, a person completely out of place among the Squaret family and Lady Titania.

“A Swordmaster…”

“An old man with a long scar running from his right cheek down to his neck…”

Upon hearing my description, Commander Brunello paled.

“A Swordmaster of the Empire with a scar on his right cheek—that’s Lumpen Hound!”

My clumsy description seemed enough for the Commander to recognize him.

“Hound?”

“He’s an Imperial knight known as the Hound. When the Empire needs someone to handle unpleasant business, they send him. He’s a great warrior from the desert, infamous for doing whatever it takes to accomplish his goals, no matter how dirty.”

As I suspected.

It was the same feeling I got when I met the Chamberlain, the Head Maid, and once, Captain Darenberg.

For someone like him to brazenly walk into the Duke’s household…

“Why is someone like that here?”

I shook my head without answering.

I wasn’t sure of the details, but if this Hound dealt in such dirty schemes, it couldn’t be for anything good.

And if the Squaret Family had invited him on purpose, there’s no way Titania wouldn’t know.

It wasn’t the kind of thing arranged in just a few days.

Sensing the danger, Lady Titania quickly issued orders to the Commander.

“Secretly meet with the knights and gather information. Find out what happened while we were away.”

“Yes, understood.”

As the Commander accepted the order and opened the door to leave Lady Titania’s room—

“Ah, at last, the siblings have come out. I got a little antsy waiting outside, just listening to all your secret chatter.”

There stood Lumpen Hound, leaning against the wall, waiting for us.