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To my relief, nothing unusual happened during the journey.

“I will return to my lord and report to him first.”

“You do you.”

“That mouth!”

Hans trembled in anger, then sighed in resignation.

“……I beg of you, please, be careful with that mouth in the presence of my lord.”

“If you don’t like it, you shouldn’t have let me get hold of your weakness. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again— if you pull any stunts…….”

“I-I know. I know! Do you think we’re stupid? With the Mask of Night involved, we know better than anyone how bad it would be if word of this got back to the palace!”

Hans raised his voice in frustration.

Thankfully, they weren’t complete fools, as they weren’t planning on going against the masked guy.

They are but part of a count’s family in a remote kingdom. The Mask of Night, on the other hand, is an organization spanning the whole continent.

With countless clients, even in the Empire.

No, no need to include the Empire.

All it takes is a few unfavorable leaks to rival fiefdoms that don’t have good relations with this one, and the Count’s future would turn bleak.

“……By the way, who are those kids?”

“What?”

Hans, who had followed my gaze, flinched.

It was a small practice field in the garden.

On it, two boys were engaged in a sword fight with another boy their age.

In a normal knightly family, one might think that the more skilled older brother was playing with his two younger brothers, but that was not the case.

“Ahahaha! Hey, hey. You weakling! You can’t even block this, and you think you’re going to take the knighthood test with me?”

“Why don’t I just take the test this year? If someone like him can pass, I’m sure it’ll be easy!”

That was absolutely not the case.

It was just a lone kid, sweating profusely, fending off the attacks of two kids.

It was a completely one-sided bullying.

“……It’s none of your business.”

But Hans didn’t even give them a second glance.

“You’re not going to stop them?”

“You’re about to meet the lord! Isn’t that what you wanted? Don’t worry about pointless things.”

“Hey, mask! Are you around?”

“This… Damn it!”

Hans finally explains, cursing under his breath.

“They’re the children of the lord of the manor! Do you see now? They’re not the kind of people someone like you can be interested in!”

“The children of the lord…….”

Apparently, there’s something going on in this house that I don’t know.

But I’m not the type of person to let something like that go unnoticed.

If I thought about my dead child growing up and being treated like that…….

“……Heh heh heh…….”

Damn it.

There’s that darned laugh again.

I forced myself to keep a straight face and walked straight towards them.

Spotting me, one of the two tilted his head in confusion.

“What the. Who’s this midget…… huh?”

“Wh-What the. How is she so pretty?”

The two douchebags stared at me with stunned expressions.

“B-By any chance, is she the daughter of a visiting family?”

“Daughter? But I didn’t hear anything about that?”

The idiots stopped what they were doing and jumped off the stage.

Each one of them had a puzzled look on his face.

“Beautiful lady, where have you come from…….”

“Beautiful lady, my ass. What a bunch of bullshit. Hey, you immature bastards. Are you having fun, ganging up on one person?”

“……!”

The two idiots stiffened, not believing my heavy usage of profanity.

“A-A guy?”

“What the hell is up with this disgusting bastard?!”

A smirk formed on my lips.

“Forget that. Let’s even the numbers. Two on two. How about it?”

“……!”

At the same time, the two idiots looked at each other.

“Two on two?”

“Wow, look at him. He thinks he’s all that. Isn’t he a complete lunatic?”

The two idiots weren’t the only ones confused.

“W-Wait! What is the meaning of this? Didn’t you hear me?”

“Hans! What’s with this refreshingly insane bastard? What’s he doing here?”

“Y-Young master. That’s…….”

Ah, screw it.

Forget about two versus two.

Before Hans could say anything, I threw my fist out like a thunderbolt.

Bam!

“Ack!”

“Ugh!”

One after the other, the idiots screamed and went down.

They had been hit squarely in the throat, and by now, the pain was too much to keep them awake.

“Hey! You lunatic!”

I neatly ignored Hans’ cursing.

“What are you doing? Step on them.”

I gestured my hand towards the kid, who had been staring blankly at the situation until now.

“H-Huh?”

“If you get hit, hit back. It’s because you let them hit you that they keep bothering you, you idiot.”

“……!”

“Just once. You only have to be brave once, so why are you just standing there? Be a man.”

At this, the kid started to shake, as if my words got through to him.

Whether it did or not, I turned away, leaving the two eyesores behind.

The lord’s children?

So what.

***

After a series of mishaps, I finally made it to Count Arsene.

“My lord, the lunatic…… no, Ancelot has arrived.”

“…Let him in.”

Once inside the room, a mustached man who appeared to be in his mid-forties sat still and stared at me.

“Hans, you should take your leave.”

“Pardon? B-But my lord. This bastard is…….”

“Enough. Have you forgotten? I’m a knight that has reached the level of an expert.”

“I-I will obey your order.”

From first impressions, he looks like he has spirit.

With the ‘thud!’ of the door that followed, I was soon alone with Count Arsene.

A stifling silence descended.

The difference between nobility and plebeians was absolute, to say the least.

Since the count thinks of me as a commoner.

If he were to slit my throat right now and execute me on the spot, no one would say anything

Or so it would be normally.

However, I have the reliable backing of the royal palace now.

‘Where’s he going to start? Anyone with even a modicum of greed for the rank of Marquis is bound to be interested in what I have to say.

But since I beat his child, will he try to bring me in line?

As these thoughts were going through my mind.

Clang.

With the noise of steel sounding, Count Arsene suddenly slammed his sword, still in its scabbard, onto the table.

“Your sins are great.”

“Of course, yours are too.”

“If you feel the slightest bit guilty about your actions, then cut your own throat with that sword.”

“Huh?”

“If you do, I’ll overlook this incident with just your life. This is my last act of mercy, so I hope you do not think of refusing.”

“…….”

I stared at the sword on the table for a moment, speechless.

Shnng.

Then, I even drew it.

Count Arsene watched me do so, unmoved.

He didn’t seem to have a single shred of worry that I might perhaps make a move.

I suppose that meant that he was confident in his abilities.

‘It’s a good sword.’

I stood still and looked it over.

It could easily be called a masterpiece.

As a count, he seemed to have amassed quite a fortune, despite being located on the outskirts.

How much would a sword like this be worth in today’s market?

Although I don’t know the exact amount, I’m sure that at the very least, all the money I’ve stolen from the slavers wouldn’t be enough.

Click.

After a while, I returned the sword to its scabbard.

“That wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear, though?”

“I heard that you were from the Duchy of Meeke.”

“…….”

I clenched my teeth.

It seemed he’d already uncovered that much.

“You disdained me. You dared to pretend to be his majesty’s property when you were not. I don’t know which house you are from, but unless you are one of the two dukedoms that produced a master, or even royalty, the Duchy of Meeke…… is more than enough for me to handle.”

“……Seems to me that it’s even worse if I’m a foreigner instead of a citizen of my own country. Do you really want to see a conflict between nations over something as simple as this?”

“And you? Do you want to see your parents, and by extension, your homeland, harmed by your sins?”

“…What child would want to see their parents harmed?”

As my feelings for the other man turned sour, my desire to give him the least bit of respect vanished.

“Die. I promise you. If you do so, your parents will remain unharmed.”

“So this is what they call, ‘the criminal makes the accusations.’”

Count Arsene didn’t even pretend to hear me.

Would this bastard be able to speak such bullshit even after hearing that I’m royalty?

“Your first sin. You dared to kill a knight of another country.”

“He was no knight, and no one can blame me for defending myself from being sold into slavery.”

“Your second sin. You dared to threaten a nobleman of this country.”

“It was no blackmail, but the communication of the truth, and I trust that his Majesty will hear the appeals of the innocent, and make a wise judgment. If I am found guilty, let them take my head.”

“……Your third sin. You dare to lay hands on my children, dishonoring me, the head of the household, once again”

“It seemed that the parents hadn’t educated their children properly, so I took some of my precious time to help them. I don’t think I’m to blame……”

Bam!

Finally, the impatient Count Arsene slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

“You just won’t close that mouth of yours, will you?! Did you really mean what you just said? A commoner from another country dared to mess with the children of a noble family! Under the laws of the nation that you are so fond of, that allow me to dispose of you with my own authority on this spot and no one in the country would care!”

There was nothing to say to this.

It was the law, so what could I do?

After all, I had acted out of anger at times.

“Any one of the three justifies your death! Now, what will you do?”

“I’ll say it again, but I disagree.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again— your parents can keep the peaceful life they have now if you are willing to pay the price. No, since I’m not entirely without fault, I’ll even promise to give them ample compensation. Don’t have the foolish notion that I won’t find out about your family!”

“Peace be damned if it kills your children.”

I muttered under my breath.

Naturally, the corners of Count Arsene’s eyes twitched, and I quickly added.

“I assure you, when I die, all that has happened to me will be told to the king.”

“Instead, your parents will suffer a worse death than anyone else in the world. And they will die resenting you, their child.”

I shook my head.

“You’re wrong about that, too.”

“What?”

“Because I’ve seen many cases of children resenting their parents, but not the other way around. My parents wouldn’t blame me if I got them killed.”

“……!”

This was an extremely subjective thought.

Not everyone in the world had the same experience with family as I did.

But, say Andy did something terribly wrong, leaving me with no choice but to die.

I’d be willing to die for him.

In return, just one thing.

If I could only save my child.

But if my child still has to die, I will kill every single one of the bastards who did it, no matter what.

Even if it’s the Emperor of the Empire.

“……Heh heh heh.”

“…….”

Did my sudden, grotesque laugh sound eerie?

Count Arsene made a face.

“……Your faith in your parents seems to be very strong, indeed. Now I’m curious, what kind of family a ruffian like you came from.”

“I think any parent of any family would do the same for their child in this situation.”

Count Arsene glare was as sharp as knives.

Unable to withstand his stare, I scratched my head.

“Oh, I’m not usually this talkative.”

“What?”

“Your honor, why don’t we do it like this?”

Seeing Count Arsene’s puzzled expression, I proposed a compromise.

“Honestly, I don’t want my parents to be harmed because of me, and I don’t like this situation.”

“So?”

“Let’s just duke it out, like men.”

“……?”

Suddenly, Count Arsene looks at me with a look that says, “What did I just hear?

“You seem to be pretty confident in your abilities. I’d like to challenge you to a match.”

“…….”

“However, if you have a conscience, let’s agree against the use of mana.”

Count Arsene now looked at me with a completely dumbfounded expression.

‘What’s he even thinking about?’

If he were a man, this would be a demand he couldn’t refuse, anyway.