Chapter 18: The Beginning of Punishment

They say that when something is truly absurd, you’re left speechless.

Right now was exactly that kind of situation.

Ethan struggled to make sense of what was happening.

The situation was simple.

Not only did some lunatic suddenly approach him, but he even tossed a pouch full of gold coins at him.

This wasn’t just a matter of being ignored—he’d been blatantly insulted right to his face.

‘So this is what happens when you live twice. All sorts of things do.’

It was something he couldn’t have imagined in his previous life.

Normally, from the moment he picked up a pouch without knowing what was inside, his subordinates would have immediately cut off his hand.

He’d more or less figured out what was going on.

There wasn’t a single reason for him to hold back.

Ethan’s figure blurred.

The moment Ruine blinked,

Ethan was already standing right in front of his nose.

Their eyes met only for a split second.

Then, Ruine’s vision flashed. The searing pain that began to bloom on his cheek was just a bonus.

“……Huh?”

Did he just get hit?

He, Ruine, the third son of Baron Cargas?

He was utterly bewildered.

And then, rage welled up inside him.

“You son of a—”

Ruine swallowed his words. Not only had he been grabbed by the collar in an instant, but his body was suddenly hoisted up into the air.

“Y-You bastard! Let go! How dare you, the third son of Baron Cargas—”

Still hasn’t come to his senses.

Ethan slapped him back and forth across the face.

Smack!

Smack!

Smack!

“S-Stop!”

Ruine, thrashing about, hurriedly began circulating the mana within his body.

The Mana Breathing Technique his father had taught him long ago.

Through it, he’d accumulated a fair amount of mana and reached a certain level. He was skilled enough to easily defeat a 2-star Knight.

With mana gathered, Ruine reached for the hand gripping his collar.

He was planning to shatter the bastard’s wrist. Ethan, seeing Ruine’s mana, let out a low chuckle.

‘So this bastard stole and learned the Mana Breathing Technique too.’

And just like the leader of the Red Scorpions last time, it wasn’t the lowest-grade Mana Breathing Technique that only trainee Knights learned.

It was an advanced Mana Breathing Technique, the kind only elite Knights of the family were taught.

‘But something’s off.’

What Ruine had learned was definitely an advanced Mana Breathing Technique.

But…

‘He’s so clumsy with it it’s almost laughable.’

How could anyone handle mana like this?

What’s the point of having an advanced technique, if the user can’t even draw out a single bit of its essence?

Ethan lightly grabbed Ruine’s hand.

“L-Let go!”

He struggled violently, but it wasn’t hard to subdue him.

Mana quantity and quality. And control.

There wasn’t a single area where this punk could catch up to him.

What’s more, for the direct descendants, Knights who learned the family’s breathing technique were nothing more than prey.

Direct descendants were taught how to suppress those who might betray the family, using the very breathing technique of the family itself. Elena and Myers might not know this, but Ethan was different.

‘If it’s an advanced breathing technique…’

Ethan sent mana flowing in and touched a few specific points, and the mana within Ruine’s body vanished as if it had been washed away.

“W-What! Where did my mana go!”

Did his mana hole shatter or something?

Ruine hurriedly checked his own body. His mana hole was clearly still there.

But his mana was gone?

What kind of trickery was this?

He desperately looked at Ethan.

Only he could give him an answer.

Ethan smiled slyly and said,

“I sealed it.”

“Sealed?”

“You can’t use your mana anymore without my permission.”

An advanced breathing technique.

It was a skill only given to Knights who were exceptionally talented and loyal to the family.

If a Knight who truly understood its secrets had reached out, even Ethan would have found it difficult to seal their mana.

But sealing this punk’s mana was easier than yawning.

It meant the fool had no idea how to handle mana.

“Can’t use your mana, huh?”

“For now, just take your beating.”

Thwack!

Ethan’s fists rained down on Ruine’s body without pause.

Each blow hurt enough to make his bones ache.

But he couldn’t even scream. Whatever trick had been used, his voice wouldn’t come out.

‘Aaaaagh!’

He screamed hundreds of times in his heart.

Eventually, his mind began to fade into darkness.

After the third son of Baron Cargas or whatever passed out with his eyes rolled back,

Ethan frowned.

He’d noticed the guy’s pants were soaked.

He promptly tossed the unconscious Ruine onto the floor of the training hall.

Ethan’s gaze naturally shifted to Ruine’s attendant.

“……Eek! S-Spare me, Young Master!”

“Name.”

“S-Shuron, sir. That’s the third young master, Ruine, and…”

“Why are you here?”

“T-The Baron told us to deliver the invitation and the support funds.”

Ethan held out his hand.

Shuron, glancing nervously between the unconscious Ruine and Ethan’s hand, hurriedly spoke.

“Um… Young Master!”

“What.”

“T-The thing is! The amount the third young master gave you earlier is only a tenth of what it should be!”

He didn’t dare say that the support funds rolling around on the ground were just 10 gold, unsure what kind of misfortune that might bring.

No matter how you looked at it, it ought to be at least 100 gold to make sense.

“A tenth?”

“Yes, actually…”

He began to spill everything he knew.

“So, that bastard tried to pocket 90 out of the 100 gold, is that it?”

“Y-Yes! That’s right!”

He looked like trash and, sure enough, he was trash.

It was a relief Ethan had beaten him until he passed out.

“Bring it here.”

“Yes!”

Shuron rummaged through Ruine’s clothes and handed over 100 gold and a sheet of paper.

Ethan read the contents and snorted.

In short, it was a letter about hoping to get along in the future.

Ethan tore the paper up.

“Um… Young Master?”

“What.”

“A-Are you declining the invitation?”

“No, that’s not it.”

He was planning to deal with the Baron anyway, so he’d have to visit the Baron’s estate.

Since he was going anyway, he might as well use the invitation and ride a carriage there in comfort.

“Wait here.”

“Yes!”

Ethan went inside the Hunting Annex.

Myers and Hans.

Both of them had already left for the Count of Fernes’ estate.

Only Elena and the attendants remained at the Administrative Hall.

He approached Elena.

“Sis.”

“Yeah?”

“You’ve been practicing what I taught you, right?”

“Yeah. Mana gathers faster than I thought.”

Lately, Ethan had been teaching Elena a simple self-defense technique along with the Breath of Black Flame. In case she ever found herself alone, at least she’d be able to protect herself.

Maybe because she’d been blessed by the Lord of Fire, she was picking up the lessons well.

‘At her current level, she should be able to subdue a 1-star Knight without trouble.’

Compared to the past, when she could barely handle a thug, this was tremendous progress.

“Keep up your training.”

“Are you going somewhere?”

“I’m going to the Baron’s for a bit.”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”

“It’s tax collection season. I want to check if everything’s in order.”

“Really? Okay. Take care, Ethan.”

“Yeah. And soon, you’ll have a Knight escort.”

“Huh? Knight escort?”

“I got some help from someone I know.”

Elena’s face went blank with surprise.

“A Knight escort…”

“You’re the eldest daughter of House Ardan. You need to get used to these things now.”

“Mm. Thank you, Ethan.”

“I’ll be gone for up to a week at most.”

“Got it.”

After telling Elena, Ethan packed his things.

All he took was a single greatsword.

‘I’ve already sent a letter to Jeyron.’

He was the legitimate heir of House Besos. The Besos Marquessate was one of the merchant families handling imports and exports in the Kingdom of Heidern.

Though their fortunes had declined since they’d supported them fifteen years ago.

‘But the Besos Marquessate should still have enough influence to enter the royal palace.’

He’d already provided them with one of the goods he knew of, and heard it was selling well.

He’d extended a helping hand once; now it was time to receive the favor in return.

The first thing he asked of Jeyron was to submit a petition to the king.

A crystal orb engraved with the scene of the family’s secret arts being stolen, and another showing the breach of the binding contract.

He’d made copies of each orb and sent them along with a letter.

If Jeyron used the family’s influence to submit a petition to the palace?

‘Pass.’

If not?

‘Fail.’

He’d prefer it if Jeyron passed. No matter how much he remembered from his previous life, he couldn’t take on an incompetent ally.

He’d added one more simple request.

To assign a Knight from the Marquessate as Elena’s escort.

The fourth, Myers.

Even for the branch families supporting him, there was nothing to gain from messing with Elena.

It was already widely known that the youngest was devoted to his sister.

Still, you never know what might happen.

It didn’t hurt to be prepared for emergencies. He couldn’t just hire some cheap mercenary, so he’d asked Jeyron for help.

‘He said he’d arrange it within three days.’

That was reassuring.

He went outside and got into the carriage.

The carriage set off for the Baron’s estate.

The Baron’s estate was in the small city of Poerte.

It was the most developed place in the Barony, and where the family’s main house was located.

Thanks to the carriage, he arrived in Poerte in just one day.

Passing through the city gates, he saw throngs of people bustling about.

It was a city so large, it seemed unfair to compare it to a mere village. Even after entering the outer walls, it was a long ride.

At last, the inner walls of the city came into view.

It was even grander than he expected.

‘Impressive.’

Compared to the Hunting Annex where his family, including his sister, had lived, it was like a palace.

Both in his previous life and this one,

The Ducal House had twice sacrificed everything to stop the Yongs.

And yet, the result…

‘Was to fatten up the bellies of branch families who hadn’t lifted a finger.’

It left him feeling filthy.

There had always been plenty of people like that in his previous life, too. Those who grew fat sucking the blood others had shed.

If only they’d shown even a hint of gratitude for that fact, it would have been something.

But as far as Ethan had seen, most of them were the exact opposite.

‘Even now, it’s the same.’

The Ducal House had kept taxes low for the sake of the people for a long time.

But what about now?

Since the ten branch families took power, the taxes in the Duchy had been raised to nearly the maximum allowed by contract in less than seven years.

When he first heard, he was so shocked he almost exploded with rage.

Because the ones taking the blame for their actions would inevitably be the Ducal House.

Their tyranny didn’t stop there. Even now, the family’s secret techniques were spreading across the world, and the true heirs who should have benefited were cast out to the poor Hunting Annex.

The ten branch families.

They’d long since crossed the line where mercy could be shown.

So, from now on, he would bring down punishment. The starting point would be the Baron Cargas’ estate he was now arriving at.

The carriage entered the inner walls.

“We’ve arrived!”

At the coachman’s words, Ethan got out of the carriage.

Immediately, he felt sharp gazes on him.

‘Ruine, was it?’

A face that looked just like that bastard’s.

The guy who’d been glaring at him soon approached Ethan.

“Where’s the third? Did he take a detour to the gambling den or something?”

“And who are you to talk down to me when we’ve never met?”

“Just answer the question.”

Not only did he look the same, but his arrogance was identical.

“Did the Baron tell you to act like this?”

“What?”

Dexter, the second son of the Baron, frowned. The only reason he could act so arrogantly was probably because of Helmut’s invitation.

It was infuriating.

What was so scary about this guy that the Baron had sent his third son to deliver the invitation?

The Baron’s behavior was beyond timid.

Letting someone act up just because of the family’s reputation could only go so far.

Dexter had no intention of acting like Helmut.

He spoke quietly, almost as a warning.

“Seems you’re getting cocky just because you got an invitation from my father. You’d better watch yourself. Do you even know where you are right now?”

This was the estate of Baron Cargas, one of the strongholds of the ten branch families.

No matter how much of a thunderbolt he was outside, in here, he could be made to disappear without a trace.

“This is as far as we let some upstart act tough just because of his family. So just keep quiet and get lost, unless you want your limbs shattered.”

“You sure talk big to a direct heir of the family.”

At those words, Dexter sneered as if he couldn’t stand it.

“I never imagined there’d still be idiots going on about being a direct heir. I’m honestly shocked. Well, I guess after ten years in a coma, that’s understandable.”

Then he whispered quietly,

“Face reality. You’ve got nothing left. Oh, maybe a little of that worthless reputation you earned by sacrificing yourself like a fool?”

The stupid citizens of the kingdom still worshipped the name Ardan. For the branch families, that was all the direct line was good for.

“A fancy signboard. That’s all you’re good for. So just live quietly. Don’t go making a scene…”

Dexter didn’t finish his sentence.

Because the moment the Duke’s arm moved, a searing pain exploded in his cheek, and he was sent flying.

Thud!

“Gahk!”

As he screamed, his teeth rattled loose and fell from his mouth.