Chapter 57 : Long-standing Hatred (2)

The questioning continued.

Contrat wanted to be absolutely sure whether Glenn, and by extension House Lepent, harbored some hidden intentions.

At this point, Ariane’s true master was just one step away from becoming an absolute monarch.

A betrayal from Lepent now would be unbearably painful.

“Answer me. You dare to hold a grudge so great that everything else seems trivial…”

Glenn interrupted him with a hard expression.

“How dare you.”

His voice was different.

It sounded as if something unbearable welled up inside him, grinding his words out one by one.

“Hm?”

“Prince?”

Contrat widened his eyes in surprise.

Isabelle stiffened slightly, feeling a surge of blood flow within her.

But Glenn had no energy left to care about such things.

[Kill that bastard right now! Kill him, that insolent bastard!]

Riclang was spilling out every ounce of hatred from the start.

Yet, Glenn couldn’t even hear that anymore.

Ugh.

His teeth ground together involuntarily.

His anger slowly spread throughout his body—

until it finally boiled over into hatred, shooting out from his mouth in bursts.

“If I may be so bold as to say…”

“…it’s reckless.”

“Spare your murderous intent!”

The murderous aura leaking out of him caused the bodyguards to tense immediately.

“…P-please, calm down.”

Isabelle, sitting beside him, gently massaged the back of Glenn’s hand to ease his tension.

From the trembling creeping up his hand, she felt a strange pity.

She had seen him corner himself like this many times before.

“…Hmmm.”

Meanwhile, Contrat raised a hand to stop the bodyguards.

His gaze remained fixed on the green eyes flickering with hatred.

Glenn exhaled deeply, then continued clearly and firmly.

“My hatred for the empire…”

His voice faltered for a moment as he gripped the edge of the table tightly.

Then he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

He seemed to be trying to restrain himself.

The suffocating air filled the room.

“It is deeper and more vile than anyone else’s in this world. So obvious, it needs no proof.”

His voice scraped like sandpaper against skin.

Yes, it was painful.

“Shall I be more explicit? If, by any chance, the empire falls—it will be by my own hand. Without fail.”

Hatred.

He was a man who had spent his entire life fueled by hatred for the empire.

He endured those hellish days just to see the empire’s collapse.

“And no one can stop it. Not my father, not you standing before me, not even the most merciful goddess! No one!”

For Riclang in his previous life—the empire was both the object of hatred and the reason for living.

Literally, he had devoted his entire existence to this hatred for the empire.

No one in this world would dare to understand it.

…Yes, who would dare?

“Hoo…”

A few more long exhales passed, and some time went by.

The murderous aura gradually faded from Glenn’s eyes, his excitement calming.

Thanks to Isabelle’s calming influence beside him, it was much easier than expected.

“This is—quite impressive. No basis whatsoever, but it certainly feels convincing, haha!”

Clap clap!

Despite the slightly dangerous atmosphere, Contrat applauded with delight.

Though pretending not to, his palms were noticeably damp with excitement.

“Good, I’ll believe your words. There’s no way I could think this is acting.”

Contrat understood that sharp gaze from moments ago.

It was the look of those who live by vowing revenge.

Those who barely survived from a destroyed noble house.

What possible grudge could that brat have?

“Are you alright?”

“…Yes, thanks to you.”

Glenn quietly expressed gratitude to Isabelle, then bowed slightly to Contrat.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to lose control.”

“No worries. You snapped back to reality thanks to her, haha!”

Contrat laughed heartily.

Fortunately, there was no further disturbance, and they proceeded smoothly with drafting the documents regarding the alliance.

Suddenly going so smoothly, Glenn couldn’t help but feel as if he was being tested.

After a short while, the documents were completed.

“All right, this should do.”

Each took one copy and sent another to the Republic of Lepent via courier.

“Well then, excuse me.”

The brief meeting with Contrat ended like this.

***

Not long after, Glenn slipped out of the house.

Isabelle tried to follow, but Contrat quietly called her back.

“Why are you leaving?”

But Contrat only emptied his glass in silence.

He seemed deep in thought.

As the cup was half emptied, he finally spoke.

“What exactly is that guy?”

“Hm?”

Surprised by the unexpected question, Isabelle chuckled.

“You knew? That he was that dangerous?”

“Dangerous… What do you mean?”

Contrat frowned.

“What I mean is exactly what I said. That guy is dangerous. Can’t you tell?”

“Well, he is a bit rough around the edges. I guess any noble in the Duchy at his age would be like that…”

“No, it’s not just that.”

Contrat’s expression stiffened, nodding decisively.

Isabelle laughed again.

“That guy is basically a wild beast. Maybe even a monster. Very dangerous.”

“Come on, not that bad…”

“He’s not some prodigy like you. He’s far more cunning—yeah, it’s just not normal for his age. Like an old man trapped in a young body. It’s uncanny.”

Isabelle had indeed felt a sense of discomfort from Glenn.

But she had no real understanding of what Contrat was implying beyond “just being talented for his age.”

“Anyway, you better remember this. That guy must either be made your subordinate or, if that’s impossible, you absolutely must get rid of him.”

Contrat warned quietly.

Isabelle simply nodded vaguely at his serious tone.

***

“Damn it, this is unbearable!”

Thwack.

A member of the Lion Knights unit spat irritably and spoke loudly.

Across from him lay a fallen knight covered in dirt.

Though his armor was for training, it was clearly inferior in quality compared to the Lion unit’s gear.

Not just the outfit—

his gauntlets, sword hilt, longsword, bracers, and greaves were all inferior.

Even with that equipment hanging on him, he couldn’t hold his own in a duel.

“What kind of joint training is this? A total waste of time.”

“What the hell is this? Feels like fighting clowns. Damn it.”

“What was that?”

When the Lion unit member shouted as if ordering everyone around, another knight, who appeared to be a companion of the fallen one, frowned and stepped forward.

“Why? What’s wrong with what I said? You Ariane knights are better suited for clowning around than swordplay.”

“I’m done talking!”

The Lion unit member muttered grumpily.

As their voices grew louder, other knights nearby rushed over.

Among them was Krork.

“What’s going on here, Sir?”

“Someone insulted the Ariane Knights!”

Krork quickly grasped the situation.

One fake knight (a derogatory term used for Ariane knights) sprawled out like dead weight.

And a dissatisfied member of the unit stood with arms crossed.

“Rom! That bastard, you again?”

That one had been grumbling from the start.

Krork himself was not happy with the situation.

No matter the commander’s orders, joint training with these fake knights?

Why bother with such useless nonsense?

Still, that was that.

Krork boldly struck the back of the knight named Rom.

Thwack!

“Argh! What the hell, man!”

“What do you mean ‘what’? Apologize now before this gets worse.”

“Are you crazy? You want me to apologize?”

“Then what? Should the vice-commander show up? I’ll swear you’ll be half dead by then!”

“Grrr…”

When Krork mentioned Nedian, Rom’s expression froze.

Rom knew very well this was a direct order from the commander.

And the vice-commander hated disobedience more than anything else.

If this got reported, Rom would be finished.

“Ah—I’m sorry. It’s just my kid’s usual bad temper, you know…”

“Hmph, this kind of thing isn’t new! Do you think we enjoy joint training? We’re only doing it because we’re ordered to!”

The Ariane knight who had been protesting earlier was full of complaints.

Who doesn’t know the hostility between Lepent and Ariane?

Especially the relations between the knights of the two countries were at their worst.

“Yeah, no kidding. We just happened to be thrown into it…”

“See, that’s why barbarians are barbarians. Just swinging swords all day, never reading a single book.”

When Krork showed that attitude, an Ariane knight who was already very annoyed spat out a curse.

“Fake knights, paper knights,” were derogatory terms mocking Ariane knights.

And calling someone a barbarian was a taunt aimed at Lepent people.

“…What? Did you just say that?”

Krork’s expression stiffened immediately, but the other had no intention to stop.

“Barbarian! That’s why Lepent fools always pick fights with orcs, and ended up with orc brains—cough.”

“You crazy bastard! You want to die?!”

The orc talk pushed Krork over the edge.

His eyes darkened as he grabbed the other knight’s throat.

Though the orc was huge, Krork’s strength was overwhelming, and the Ariane knight quickly struggled for breath.

“Hold back, hold back!”

“Stop him, now!”

Two Lion unit members rushed in, but it was impossible to stop Krork, who was like a bear.

Then—

Ssshh—!

A blade suddenly stopped just inches from Krork’s throat.

“Tristan.”

Tristan, whose sharp eyes were filled with irritation, had pointed his sword at Krork.

“Stop. Before this gets worse, like you said.”

“What the hell? Listen to this and hold back? Could you do it?”

“Then what? Should I get punished because of these non-knights? That would annoy me even more.”

Damn.

Krork loosened his grip, and the Ariane knight gasped for air.

Tristan sheathed his sword and turned away.

No—he was about to turn.

“Wait, you with the sharp eyes. What did you just say? ‘Non-knights’? You’re talking about us?”

Another Ariane knight challenged Tristan.

Normally, Tristan would have ignored and dismissed them.

But now, like the others, he was irritated.

“No? I never said that.”

Tristan stared coldly at the challenging Ariane knight and retorted.

It was more like picking a fight.

Naturally, the other was furious.

“What? I heard it myself! Does the Lion Knights not know honor?! Apologize immediately!”

“Stop whining.”

Tristan snapped his fingers at them.

Just as the fight between the two groups threatened to flare up again—

Ssshaaa—

A chilling aura filled the air like frost spreading over skin.

The bodies that had been heated from training suddenly felt cold.

Startled by the murderous intent, everyone turned in one direction.

“…Vice-commander.”

“Th-this is…”

Nedian stared with an expression as if he had just crawled out of hell.

His gaze was sharp and merciless, especially toward Krork and Tristan.

The commotion that had just erupted disappeared in an instant.

A silence fell so deep you could hear swallowing.

Unable to hold back, Krork finally spoke.

“No, Vice-commander, it’s not that—”

“Silence.”

But he was immediately silenced.

His gaze shifted to Tristan nearby.

“You’re handling the training well.”

“…I will do my best.”

Tristan was the vice-commander and the next leader after Nedian among the members.

That made it impossible for him to avoid Nedian’s piercing stare.

“Quiet. Lion Knights, assemble immediately.”

The tone carried like a death sentence, echoing through the training ground.

The bright daylight around them darkened in an instant.