Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Even a Treacherous Subject Has Their Uses
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'Finally, they're here. I thought I'd die of boredom waiting. Let's see.'
Beonald, who had been busy preparing to receive his guests, watched Sir Geral and the thieves stealthily infiltrating the mansion.
He observed the two who appeared to be knights moving separately, scaling the wall to reach the second floor first. Only after confirming this did he finally begin to move.
'They're splitting up to infiltrate, just as I expected. It's standard procedure, and a natural choice since they think they have overwhelming combat power. Are they also trying to block potential escape routes while committing their theft?'
Their dispersal went exactly as Beonald had anticipated.
And thanks to some preparations he had made during the day, he could respond immediately.
Drawing his sword, Beonald leaped out of the building, cleanly cutting down one thief who was trying to sneak into the mansion.
"What the...?"
'No time.'
While the surprised soldiers and thieves, caught off guard in the dead of night, were still reeling, he channeled his aura and spun his body in a flash, slicing through five soldiers and thieves.
Flicking the blood from his blade and confirming the count, Beonald moved without hesitation.
'Five here. Next!'
He swiftly circled the exterior of the mansion next. This time, he discovered four men trying to open a window on a different side to get in.
They hadn't noticed Beonald yet and were relying on a single small candle to try and open the door.
"Damn it, what kind of window is this...? I can't see a thing, it's driving me crazy. Bring it closer."
"Maybe we should've just gone through the door."
"Both of you, shut up. Just pick it qui— huh? What's that?"
"What?"
Unlike the soldiers and thieves, Beonald had awakened his mana, so his vision was not severely restricted even in this dark night.
The moment they saw the violet afterimage rushing toward them, Beonald's sword had long since severed their necks.
'That makes nine. Next!'
After a quick count, Beonald dashed off again.
Since no more human figures were visible around the mansion's exterior, it seemed the remaining personnel had all infiltrated the interior. He quickly followed the trail of their entry.
What he found was Sir Geral and his five soldiers, who looked puzzled by the complete lack of activity inside.
"What's going on? Why is no one on patrol? Even if it's the countryside, this is a baron's territory... Don't they even set a single watch?"
"Well, perhaps they're short on manpower?"
"No. There wasn't even any external security around the mansion. No matter how thoughtless that baron is...! Be careful!"
'Got you.'
Although he had approached with silent footsteps, Sir Geral, who could sense mana, detected Beonald's aura and immediately warned his soldiers. But Beonald was faster.
He shot forward like a violet flash and simultaneously beheaded the four soldiers who were moving according to Sir Geral's command, silencing them before they could even scream.
The moment he tried to cut down the fifth, a sword clad in a blue aura blocked his path.
"Eeek!"
"Damn it! You! Who are you?"
'What a pointless question.'
Clang! Thud!
Ignoring Sir Geral's words, Beonald parried the blocking sword and immediately ended the soldier's life.
He had considered killing Sir Geral first with a surprise attack, but if he did that, the other soldiers' morale would shatter and they'd all flee, causing unnecessary commotion. That's why he deliberately targeted the soldiers first.
'Besides... this is my first time fighting a knight.'
In his previous life, as a ruling high noble, he never had occasion to fight a knight directly. Since this was his first experience battling a knight, he wanted to eliminate all other variables.
Finally, after dealing with all the soldiers, Beonald turned his gaze to Sir Geral.
Even in the dark night, the violet aura enveloping his body left visible afterimages. With elegant and dignified movements, Beonald performed a proper salute.
"It is an honor to greet you again at this late hour, Sir Geral. My name is Beonald Dustycloak, son and heir of Leon Dustycloak, the Baron and master of this territory. I sincerely apologize for the disgraceful display I showed earlier today."
"Wha... what did you say?"
Sir Geral looked at the self-introducing Beonald with an incredulous stare.
His disbelief was not unreasonable, as 'Beonald' referred to that lanky 10-year-old boy who had humiliatingly fallen over in front of him earlier that day.
'Impossible!'
But the gaze now fixed upon him was sharp and cold, utterly unlike that of a 10-year-old boy. The thick violet aura flowing over the boy's entire body emitted a pressure akin to that of at least an intermediate, if not an advanced, knight.
A 10-year-old advanced knight—an utterly impossible existence—stood before him. His reason refused to accept it, but the overwhelming presence conveyed repeatedly by his senses was undeniably real.
'...What in the world? The son of Baron Leon? A mere 10-year-old is an advanced knight? Am I seeing things? Is this... is this reality?'
But his body and brain's judgment were brutally honest.
His body trembled at the advanced knight-level aura, and he found himself unconsciously stepping backward.
Faced with a reality he didn't want to acknowledge, he began to shiver in fear, but as if to confirm that reality, the boy made footsteps and slowly approached him.
"In any case, you understand the price for unlawfully entering another's territory, let alone his mansion, do you not? You have no right to complain, even in death."
"Wai... wait! Hold on a moment. This is... this is some kind of mistake... ugh!"
'Imperial Knight Order Derivative-Neumel First Form—Viper'.
A violet trajectory arced like a crescent moon toward Sir Geral.
He tried to channel aura into his own sword to deflect it, but just before the blades met, the suddenly swinging trajectory broke away and shot straight forward like a venomous snake, piercing Sir Geral's throat.
"Wh... what kind of technique...?"
'Hmm, it's fairly usable in real combat.'
"Ghk! Urk!"
Instinctively trying to stem the fountain of blood gushing from his throat, Sir Geral dropped his sword and collapsed to the ground.
But it was futile.
Without divine power or a potion, this wound was irreparable. And since he hadn't expected to encounter an advanced knight-level foe in a situation that wasn't even a war, he didn't possess such items.
"Ghk! Cough! Cough! How... how could this happen...?"
"Think of it as bad luck. It's the same principle as a human being unable to do anything against a typhoon, landslide, or flood."
"No. I... ghk! Ghk! Can't die... in a place like this... urk...!"
Squelch!
Sir Geral, already bleeding so profusely that a small pool was forming on the mansion floor, could no longer maintain consciousness. He finally fell into his own pool of blood and breathed his last.
As if Sir Geral's death wasn't even worth confirming, Beonald turned and headed for the second floor.
By this time, the knights who had infiltrated the second floor would have already reached, or even passed, the bedroom where his parents were supposed to be sleeping. But they would never be able to kill his parents.
'Because my parents aren't here.'
Heh.
Having judged it impossible to protect his parents and fight alone in this mansion, Beonald had persuaded his mother to head for the Callermain territory.
Persuading his mother wasn't very difficult.
'Mother, could you please take Father and leave this place immediately under the pretext that an urgent message has arrived from the Callermain Earldom?'
'What are you talking about, dear?'
'Time is extremely tight. A great disaster could occur otherwise.'
The method was simply to draw up his mana and show her the violet aura.
The symbol of a knight, attainable only by those with talent who train in mana breathing techniques. His mother was momentarily shocked upon seeing it but immediately decided to follow Beonald's advice.
Having already witnessed his uncharacteristically wise demeanor for a 10-year-old when meeting Sir Geral, she did as Beonald said. Thanks to that, he was also able to clear out the mansion's soldiers.
'Damn those servant bastards. When someone tells you to leave, you should just go without so many questions. Why are they so inquisitive?'
And by telling the servants to stay out just for tonight, he was able to minimize casualties.
Although he had to be somewhat forceful because he couldn't properly explain the reason.
"Damn it! Where the hell is the lord? Sir Encia, have you found anything?"
"I don't see him either. All I see... is this one room with a double lock."
"Well, aren't these country bumpkins surprisingly cautious. Let's try opening it first."
Upon reaching the second floor, he saw the two knights diligently searching the empty rooms, looking for his parents.
They still hadn't sensed that something was amiss, thanks to the thick iron door of Beonald's training room, sealed with a double lock, blocking the entrance.
Blocked by an iron door so thick it seemed to anyone that something very important was being hidden inside—it was perfectly set up for misunderstanding.
'...I never thought the lock on my training room would be so useful. Anyway, then...'
Beonald gripped his sword, took a deep breath, and in an instant, drew up his mana. He unleashed the Neumel family swordsmanship toward the two men straining to open his training room door.
'Imperial Knight Order Derivative-Neumel Sixth Form—Anaconda'.
The violet aura flowing from his sword twisted like a serpent and shot forward at high speed. The two, who had been struggling with the iron door, sensed the mana and reacted instantly, but evading was another matter.
Sir Encia barely dodged, but Sir Galson had his right arm cut. They looked toward the direction from which the aura had flown to identify their attacker.
"Ugh!"
"Who are you? How dare you launch such a cowardly sneak attack?"
"...Oh? And sneaking into another's house in the dark of night like common thieves is an honorable action? How strange."
Beonald gave an utterly matter-of-fact reply as he approached them.
Sir Galson, with his right arm cut, was busy trying to stop the bleeding and was effectively out of the fight. Only Sir Encia glared at him, but Beonald paid no mind.
In fact, he looked at Sir Encia with surprise.
"A female knight? That's quite astonishing."
"What does that matter?"
"...It's only natural to be surprised upon seeing something rare. Don't you think?"
In this world, where civilization and society had not progressed much and had even regressed since 500 years ago, women's social participation was restricted. Naturally, knights and soldiers were mostly men, so seeing a female knight was surprising.
Anyone who learned mana breathing techniques, awakened mana, and possessed combat power was recognized as a knight regardless of gender. However, most knight or noble families had no reason to pass on their techniques to daughters, as they were married off to other houses.
"Are you perhaps a Natural Knight?"
'Natural Knight'—a type who awakens with a constitution that naturally gathers mana without mana breathing techniques.
It was a phenomenon that usually appeared when a family had mixed blood with another race, but Sir Encia shook her head in denial.
"The mana breathing technique was taught to me by my father."
"It's uncommon, but such cases exist. Sometimes a family has no sons. But to use the technique your proud father taught you to become a knight and then commit such dishonorable acts... You're sullying your father's face."
"Shut up!"
Completely falling for Beonald's provocation, Encia drew her sword and glared at him.
Thinking once again that knights were simple-minded, Beonald likewise raised his sword and took a stance, beginning to calculate in his mind how to deal with her.