Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Blood Revenge
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City of Plain entrance.
Recently, the guard captain's anxiety had grown severe.
His body tired quickly from all the worry.
Yet sleep still wouldn't come.
Whenever he closed his eyes, all sorts of thoughts dominated his mind.
"Captain, are we really okay?"
"We're fine. It's an order from the city administrator himself, Lord Naiman."
He said as much, but things were far from fine.
The Piana family supports Lady Brilda.
No issue there.
Most of Frontier's knights, mages, and administrators did the same.
But recently, there had been a drastic change.
The viscount himself had declared it publicly.
Both in the past and the future, Frontier's heir would be Elwin.
"But why are you trembling, Captain?"
"Am I trembling?"
He tensed his arm.
Only then did the quivering spear finally steady.
"What do we do going forward? If they come again, do we block them?"
"We have to."
He had blocked the hunters and mercenaries,
and reported to Lord Naiman.
The response that came back was to block them even if they returned.
'Just how are we supposed to do that...'
They had demanded evidence,
and next time, they would surely bring it.
But how was he to stop them this time?
He lifted his gaze to the hill.
That was where the hunters and mercenaries waited.
They hadn't budged for even a moment, keeping this place under constant watch.
"Hoo..."
A deep sigh escaped him.
Never had the guard captain's duties felt so grueling.
"Captain!"
"What is it?"
"The mercenaries are moving!"
The guard captain pulled a sheet of paper from his breast pocket.
It was densely packed with writing.
All of it excuses for blocking them.
Tension mounted as the mercenaries drew nearer.
Gulp.
He swallowed dryly.
'No turning back now. All I can do is trust Lord Naiman.'
The mercenaries came even closer,
close enough to make out their faces.
'That man... no, it can't be?'
The instant he spotted the figure at the lead,
the guard captain's mind went blank.
**
**
"Grandfather, are they blocking us?"
"They are."
I walked toward Plain.
As I approached, the people at the entrance scattered to either side.
The crowded path cleared in an instant.
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
I passed through the crowd and reached the city gates.
Clack. Clack.
The guards crossed their spears.
"Sto... stop!"
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
I didn't slow my pace.
I pressed on at the same steady speed I'd maintained all along.
The spear drew ever closer.
I could see the keenly honed blade.
Not a mere spear, but a halberd design.
A piercing tip,
with an axe blade on the side.
The edge gleamed with exceptional sharpness.
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
"Elwin!"
"Heir, it's dangerous!"
Grandfather's and the mercenaries' voices rang out from behind.
Yet I kept advancing.
Could they truly bring that blade to my body?
Dare they?
Unlike the worries of the others,
I even hoped for a wound.
If it truly happened...
I could turn all of Plain upside down.
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
Was it the thought?
My footsteps quickened ever so slightly.
"He... Heir, stop!"
"N... no!!"
The guards screamed.
Slash.
The halberd's blade sliced my collar.
Clang.
The startled guard dropped his weapon.
...Thud.
"A pity."
I truly regretted it.
If it had cut flesh instead of cloth...
This would have been far simpler.
But those words struck the guard differently.
Thump.
The guard collapsed to the ground with dazed eyes.
Then he let out a groan-like mutter.
"Ye... yes?"
I passed the fallen guard
and sought out the guard captain.
"Guard Captain! Where's the Guard Captain!"
"He... Heir, the Guard Captain is here!!"
The guard captain trembled like an aspen and dropped to his knees on the ground.
"Did you do something wrong? Why so terrified?"
"Aaah... no. It's ju... just that seeing the Heir is so gla... gladly..."
I bent at the waist to meet the guard captain's eyes.
"You couldn't have decided alone. Sir Naiman's orders, right?"
"Tha... that..."
"You know I'm merciful."
The guard captain recalled the rumors swirling about.
Monster Slaughterer.
Lord of Slaves.
Not just rumors.
There were clear truths too.
In the early days of farming,
he'd personally slit a militiaman's throat for interfering with his work—a famous tale.
"Of course. The Heir is more merciful than anyone in the world."
"That's why. Depending on how you handle today, I'll consider your punishment."
For a moment, the Heir seemed to shine.
Perhaps the nightmare that had haunted his nights could finally end.
"I'll keep it in mind!! Just give the order!!"
I straightened my bent waist.
"Seal every gate in Plain. From this moment, no one enters or leaves."
"Understood!!!"
The guards moved with crisp precision.
The guard captain issued clear commands,
and the guards carried them out swiftly.
Looking at them, I touched the sliced collar of my shirt.
'Well-honed blade. Not bad at all.'
I entered the city depths with the hunters and mercenaries.
The guards escorted us.
"Clear the way!!! The Heir is passing!!!"
"You there, move it!!!"
"Trying to die?!?!"
The guard captain's tone grew rougher by the word.
"Guard Captain, you're getting too worked up."
"My apologies, Heir."
Following the path cleared by the guards, we reached the entrance to the Piana family estate.
A sprawling mansion in the heart of Plain city.
"What's the meaning of this!!"
Ten private soldiers burst out, flinging open the doors.
They froze at the sight of the assembled numbers.
"You bastards!!"
Thwack.
The guard captain drove his boot into a soldier's chest.
He beat down all ten and threw the doors open himself.
"Heir, this way."
"Thanks."
As we entered the mansion, the guard captain directed his men.
"You lot, check the first-floor archives. You, the basement records. The rest of you, follow me. We're arresting Naiman."
"Hold on. Arrest?"
Even the Heir couldn't arrest a retired knight without evidence.
The Piana family had been loyal for three generations, after all.
"Sir Naiman, head of the Piana house, ordered me directly. He said to block the Heir's men if they came. And to block them again next time."
The guard captain, in the midst of his fervent speech, faltered.
Then he added hastily.
"I am loyal to the Heir without question!! I'll have Naiman on his knees at once!!"
The guard captain's testimony provided ample cause for arrest.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"The chairs in the first-floor meeting room are excellent. Please rest there briefly."
As he said,
the first-floor meeting room was impeccably appointed.
Especially the head chair—supremely comfortable.
I sat there and waited for Naiman.
A short while later,
uproar erupted outside.
"What is this outrage!! Do you not know who I am!!"
The meeting room doors flew open,
and Naiman entered, bound by the guards.
"El... win?"
The boisterous Naiman fell abruptly silent.
"That's informal."
"Elwin-nim..."
"I told you to use a different title when addressing me. Haven't you heard?"
"No, Heir."
A light exchange of greetings passed,
and Naiman cut to the chase.
"But why have you had me seized? What crime have I committed!"
"That's what I'm wondering... How did things come to this?"
The merchant caravan raid had occurred,
and I'd suspected either Brilda or the Silnia Merchant Group.
Then suddenly, the Piana family was implicated.
A knight house loyal for three generations.
Their devotion ran deep.
That was why I'd entrusted them with managing a key city like Plain.
Lacking compared to noble houses,
they were still quite prominent among knightly families.
"Why go to such extremes?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"The heir position is all but confirmed, and many vassals have shifted their allegiance. Some still follow Brilda, of course. But none have gone as far as the Piana family."
They'd sheltered a criminal,
and blocked the hunters and mercenaries pursuing them.
Why risk so much?
"Are you loyal to Brilda, not Frontier?"
I said with a sneer.
Yet his reaction was fiercer than expected.
"Absolutely not!!! What are you saying, Heir!! From my father's time, my son and I have devoted ourselves to Frontier!! I cannot accept such words!!"
"I'm just saying. But... your reaction only makes it stranger."
Naiman clamped his mouth shut.
Of course, loyalty to Brilda was odd.
The Piana family had been our vassals long before she arrived in Frontier.
"The investigation will uncover it. Stay in jail until I summon you next."
Even at the mention of jail, Naiman said nothing.
He silently followed the guards from the room.
Only after sunset
did the investigation conclude.
The mansion was vast, with countless rooms.
They'd even carved out space in the basement.
"So, what did you find?"
"My apologies. Nothing unusual."
The guard captain bowed his head deeply.
No unusual findings?
Then was it simple loyalty to Brilda?
Enough to go this far?
At that moment,
Grandfather Campbell entered.
"Grandfather, did you find something?"
"No. But..."
"But?"
"There were traces of recent document disposal."
Disposed of documents.
That meant they were hiding something.
"Bring Naiman at once!!"
I gave the order,
and soon after,
a guard came rushing in, breathless.
"Heir! Si... Sir Naiman is dead."
"What? Naiman dead?"
The man who'd been shouting vigorously just moments ago.
No health problems whatsoever.
Moreover, a retired knight who still wielded mana.
"Take me to the jail now!"
City of Plain.
Jail.
There lay Naiman.
His face a deep purple.
Grandfather examined the corpse.
"Poison."
"Poison? He was poisoned?"
"Could have been administered, or self-inflicted."
Why?
The deeper this went, the stranger it seemed.
What could the three-generation loyal Piana family possibly lack...
'Enough to do all this for Brilda?'
I turned to the guard captain.
"What of the Piana family members?"
"Under strict watch. But the only core figure left is Sir Nielsen."
Naiman's parents were long dead.
His wife had passed years ago.
He'd died today.
The last of the Piana line was his son, Nielsen.
"Bring Nielsen immediately."
"Sir Nielsen is at the front lines..."
"Invoke my name and drag him here if you must!"
"Understood!"