Chapter 653 – 653. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into A Baron’S Family
I got out of the carriage and, with the knightesses and Yuria, moved toward the location where the battle was taking place. First, I concealed our presence. I would first assess the situation before getting involved. If it looked boring, I would just ignore it and pass by.
I had thought it would be, at most, a battle between merchants and bandits. It was one of the most common battles in this world.
But the battle I actually saw was between knights and mercenaries. Three knights were fighting against twelve mercenaries. Around them were the corpses of knights and soldiers who had already died.
The knights were not in good condition. Their complexions were dark, and they were sweating profusely. Their arms and legs were trembling as if they were unstable.
“They seem to be poisoned,” Yuria said quietly.
Come to think of it, there was no way mercenaries could fight knights using normal methods. And the knights were fighting to protect someone.
“Young master… We’ll buy you time, so please escape.”
“E-escape? Do you think I can escape from those guys alone?! I need your protection!”
The young master seemed quite weak. He had an ordinary build, mysterious purple hair, and red eyes, but he was trembling like a rat.
“Young master, if you do nothing, you will only die. And you are someone who cannot die here. I will give a signal, so escape at the right moment. I will try to stop them from chasing you for as long as possible.”
The knight spoke with determination.
“Sir Berol…!”
The young master was preparing to sneak away.
I overheard their conversation and my curiosity quickly faded. The picture was clear just from their words. Someone must have hired mercenaries to kill that young master.
“How boring. Let’s go back.”
I was about to turn away without hesitation when Floy looked at the mercenaries and said, “My lord, those mercenaries belong to the High Tier Mercenary Company.”
“…Really?”
“The fangs and dagger drawn on their clothes. It’s the symbol of the High Tier Mercenary Company. Unless they’re deliberately trying to deceive us, they must be High Tier mercenaries.”
I turned back around.
They were attacking openly without even hiding their faces or affiliations? There were three possibilities. They were either idiots, or they were confident they could annihilate everyone, or they had a powerful backer.
“If it’s High Tier, then it’s a different story. They’re a group I don’t like, so shall we interfere?”
“My lord, are you getting involved in this?”
“Yes. You don’t like it?”
“I was merely confirming your intentions once more. There is no other meaning. Our knightesses will simply follow your will.”
“Capture half alive and kill the other half.”
“Understood.”
Floy and the knightesses rushed into the battle area.
The mercenaries’ faces contorted.
“Damn it! Retreat!”
The mercenaries quickly scattered and began to flee. It was the right decision.
‘But that’s only going from 1% to 2%.’
The Golden Rose Knightesses were a knight order made up of inexperienced knightesses, but their average skill was at least mid-level Aura Expert. Having received the elixirs I provided and Yuria’s training, they were more skilled than most knight orders. There was no way mercenaries could escape just by running away.
“Kuaaaaaaaak!”
I approached the young master, listening to the screams of the dying mercenaries. The poisoned knight stood in front of the young master.
“I don’t know who you are, but thank you for your help.”
“You don’t know me?”
I narrowed my eyes. As rumors of the succession competition in the Pruker family spread, I also became famous. Not only nobles but even commoners could recognize me immediately.
“Master, we are in the border region of Rapelli,” Yuria, who was next to me, said.
“Ah.”
This was the border region. The area where the territories of the Rapelli Kingdom and the Valt Kingdom met. It seemed I had ended up here while hunting nomads.
“Are you a noble from the Valt Kingdom?”
“Yes, I am.”
The knight was wary of me. The Valt Kingdom and the Rapelli Kingdom were close but not friendly. They would be at war in a few months.
“I am Baron Eugene Pruker of the Pruker County.”
I frowned. They still hadn’t revealed their identities.
While the knight named Berol was wondering how to react, the young master behind him stepped forward. He was trembling, desperately trying to hide his fear as he spoke to me.
“I-I am Zerdin Hisfield of the Valt Kingdom! The eldest son of the Hisfield County!”
“Of the Hisfield Gate?”
“Y-yes, I am.”
The Hisfield Gate.
It was one of the fortresses of the Valt Kingdom. Located between mountain ranges, this fortress guarded the center of the main road connecting to the Valt capital. If the Rapelli Kingdom invaded the Valt Kingdom, the Hisfield Gate would be the fortress they would inevitably encounter.
“Why is the guy who should be guarding the Hisfield Gate here? Is this an invasion?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
I knew it wasn’t an invasion.
“Then why are you here? I’m also curious why you’re being chased by the High Tier Mercenary Company.”
A smile formed on my lips. It felt like I had found a gold coin on the ground.
It was fortunate that I met these guys here. I could easily gain merit by capturing them and taking them to Count Pruker. I could also incite the idea that the Valt Kingdom had invaded the Rapelli Kingdom first. It would create a justification that was advantageous to the Rapelli Kingdom.
“That’s…”
“You don’t have to say it. But in that case, I will have to judge things as they are.”
“As they are…?”
“As they are, I will accept it as an invasion by the Valt Kingdom.”
“……!”
Zerdin’s face turned pale. The heir of a count’s family, especially a military family, was too naive.
“First, I will kill the knights and then interrogate you. If you’re the eldest son of the Hisfield County, you must be the heir. I’ll make you spill a lot of information.”
“Young master! We will stop him!”
The moment Berol stepped forward and pointed his sword at me, Yuria moved. The knife in her hand drew a clean trajectory. Berol’s sword blade was cut in half and fell to the ground. Berol’s expression was one of shock, a beat too late. He hadn’t even reacted to Yuria’s attack.
“T-this can’t be…! With that level of skill, she must be at least…!”
Berol’s expression twisted in despair. Yet, he didn’t back down.
“Stop!”
It was Zerdin who stepped forward. He rushed in front of the knight, knelt before me, and bowed his head.
“I will tell you! I will tell you everything, so please spare us!”
“I’ll listen first. If there’s even a hint of suspicion, I’ll kill you.”
And just then, Floy brought back the captured High Tier mercenaries. The mercenaries’ faces were covered in blood. They must have been beaten while resisting.
I gave orders to Floy and Yuria.
“Start interrogating the mercenaries. I’ll take care of this one.”
Zerdin, who met my gaze, could only tremble.
•••
The interrogation went smoothly. Zerdin was terrified, and the knights who were protecting him fainted from the poison along the way. I left Zerdin’s knights alone. I didn’t care whether they died from the poison or survived.
“You were attacked by assassins while returning to your family from the capital?”
“Yes, Baron. Half of my escort was killed then. Thanks to their sacrifice, I managed to escape somehow… but the attacks continued.”
“Why are you here? Your family is quite far from here.”
Not all border regions were the same. This was the outermost part of the border region.
“I guessed who was behind the assassins, so I couldn’t return to my family. I thought there would definitely be an ambush on the way back to my family.”
“Who’s the mastermind?”
Zerdin clenched his fists and bit his lip. I could feel his anger. But it wasn’t anger directed at me.
“…It’s my younger sister.”
“Oh.”
A picture formed in my mind.
Zerdin’s younger sister was aiming for the position of head of the family.
In this world, female nobles existed. However, it was rare for a woman to officially inherit the position of heir, and in most cases, they became nobles due to unavoidable circumstances. For example, if the eldest son died suddenly, the eldest daughter would have no choice but to become a noble.
“What is Count Hisfield doing, just standing by?”
“…My father is ill and in such a critical condition that he cannot handle state affairs. That was also why I was returning to my family.”
“And then your younger sister revealed her ambition?”
“Yes. There’s no proof, but I’m sure of it.”
Diona Hisfield.
That was the name of Zerdin’s younger sister. They were said to be the same age, but their relationship had been bad since childhood.
“What about High Tier?”
“Huh?”
“Why were the High Tier mercenaries chasing you?”
“Diona! That vicious woman must have hired them to kill me!”
“The High Tier Mercenary Company operates in the Pruker territory of the Rapelli Kingdom. Do you think it makes sense for your younger sister to hire mercenaries from the Rapelli Kingdom?”
“B-but there’s no one else who would target me except for Diona.”
“Maybe you just don’t know.”
I didn’t ask Zerdin any more questions. I had lost interest. I planned to hand Zerdin over to Count Pruker to get credit, and I would get rid of the High Tier mercenaries by framing them somehow.
“……”
As I closed my mouth and stared blankly into the air, Zerdin fidgeted anxiously.
“B-Baron…”
“What.”
“I-I was wondering if I could ask what you plan to do with me?”
“I’ll hand you over to your father. He’ll decide what to do with you. Well, he’ll negotiate with the Hisfield family, and if the negotiations go well, you’ll return to the Hisfield family.”
“N-no, that won’t do!”
Zerdin’s face became urgent.
“If I return like that, my position will be weakened! And above all, Diona might try something and kill me on the way back!”
“That’s none of my business.”
“Baron!”
Zerdin crawled toward me and grabbed my leg. Zerdin begged me, shedding tears like chicken droppings.
“Please! Please help me! I need your help! I don’t want to die in vain at the hands of my younger sister! Baron!”
My face instantly soured.
Thud!
I kicked Zerdin. Zerdin rolled on the ground. Blood trickled from his nose. He crawled back to me and clung to my leg again.
“Ah, damn it.”
“Baron! Baron! Please! Help me! Baron! I’ll do anything!”
Thwack!
Zerdin flew backward and hit a tree. He must have taken a strong impact on his back, but he still crawled toward me.
“B-Baron…! P-please help me…!”
“Do you know how pathetic you look right now?”
“I-I want to live. If I go back like this, Diona will…! Baron, please help me!”
Why was this guy, who had been maintaining his composure until just now, suddenly acting like this?
‘Could it be that this guy secretly thought I would help him? And now that I’m about to cut him off, he’s begging like this.’
It seemed this was his true nature.
“You said you’d do anything?”
“Yes! Anything! If you help me, Baron, I can do anything!”
“Kill your knights with your own hands. Then I’ll spare you.”
“……!”
Zerdin’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.
“You’re slow to react. Didn’t you hear me? If you don’t want to, then forget it. I guess saying you’d do anything was a lie after all.”
“N-no, it’s not! I can do it! If you just spare me…!”
Zerdin got up and approached his fallen knights. He pulled out swords from the knights’ waists. Surprisingly, he had learned swordsmanship, and his stance was decent.
“Baron…”
“If you can’t do it, then forget it.”
“N-no, it’s not that. Could you spare just one… Sir Berol?”
It was an unexpected request.
“Why?”
“Sir Berol is the most loyal knight…”
“Fine.”
“Thank you!”
Without waiting any longer, Zerdin brought his sword down on the necks of the other two knights.
“Cough!”
“Ugh!”
I didn’t expect him to kill his knights without even hesitating for long.
“I did as you wished, Baron!”
Zerdin threw away his sword and knelt before me. He kept glancing at me.
Zerdin had followed my orders, but I had no intention of helping him.
“Alright. I’ll help you.”
I was planning to hand him over to Count Pruker.
“Master, the interrogation is over.”
Just then, Yuria approached.
