The Reckoning (4)
"What the hell are you even saying, popping out of nowhere like that!"
A flustered Kent spoke a beat too late. Yet Werner simply looked down at him with those arrogant eyes, not bothering to offer a single reply.
Rustle. Rustle!
At that moment, the knights of Kent’s faction finally burst through the trees and poured into the clearing.
When his subordinates arrived, Kent tried to bellow at them with renewed bravado, but Werner silenced him with a casual flick of his wrist and continued speaking. His voice rang out loud and imperious, as though he wanted every one of those men to hear the truth with perfect clarity.
"As knight commander, you failed to protect the people of this territory and instead sold them to villains. I will now recite every last one of your disgusting crimes, right here and now."
"Young master, have you lost your damn mind? Or were you always a rotten lunatic? You must’ve finally snapped after running away in terror from those demonic beasts today! Wahaha!... "
Kent had begun by mocking Werner in a booming voice, but when the young man refused to waver in the slightest, he quickly shrank and fell silent.
"November 14th, two years ago. You sold twelve territory residents to a slave caravan. Your trading partner was Ophelia, the slave merchant outside the castle walls. You then secretly supplied them with two hundred magic stones."
"...!"
Kent’s eyes bulged wide.
"December 3rd, two years ago. You sold twenty more residents. Same caravan. Payment: five hundred magic stones. Among those sold were five members of a frontier farming family that my older sister had personally taken in as her own household."
A thin, shaky breath slipped between Kent’s lips. The absolute certainty and precision in Werner’s voice sent ripples of unease spreading through the knights of Kent’s faction.
Kent forced a smile, clearly trying to show his men that this was all ridiculous nonsense, but—
"June 21st, one year ago. Forty-five residents sold. One thousand magic stones. From this point onward, the people you sent weren’t merely sold as slaves. They were used for ritual sacrifices as well. This marks the moment you truly began colluding with the dark mages."
When Werner listed his crimes with such exact figures, even mentioning details only Ophelia knew—details Eric himself had never been told—and then exposed his connection to the black mages, the blood began draining from Kent’s face.
The murmurs among the subordinate knights grew louder. Not all of them had known the full extent of Kent’s atrocities. And even those who had participated in some of his evil deeds could not help but shudder at the words dark mages.
"And then, September 7th of this year. Thirty-one residents from the Albrecht Mine were sold for two thousand four hundred magic stones. On that occasion, you had Gareth create a separate copy of the victims’ personal records. That copy is still hidden in the secret compartment inside the third shelf of the second bookcase in your bedroom."
Werner’s words shone a perfect light on every shadow Kent had tried to hide, as if he were gazing down from the heavens themselves.
The arrogant chin that had been thrust high while Kent molested Leona now slowly sank. A faint tremor began to leak from his shoulders.
H-how does this bastard know all of this?
"And that is not even the end of what I know, Kent. I hold your entire ledger—including the secret remittance line you used to send additional bribes to the slave trader Ophelia."
With those final words, Werner stopped speaking.
Fear slowly flooded Kent’s eyes.
Every vile act he had committed in secret throughout his life, every sin he had been certain was perfectly concealed—
—was now spilling from the mouth of the worthless, good-for-nothing young master he had always treated like an insect, each one paired with the exact date and the exact number.
"H-how… how is this…"
Kent’s stammering was as good as a confession. Several of his knights, who had been murmuring in half-doubt, now turned toward Werner.
"I will not entertain questions, Kent."
Werner’s arrogant voice cut into him like a blade.
"By the authority of the acting family head, I strip you of your position as knight commander. At the same time, I hereby appoint your successor."
Werner’s gaze shifted sideways.
"Leona, vice-commander of the Kraus Knight Order."
The common-born vice-commander who had been standing silently at his side—whether to guard him or simply awaiting the next order—slowly lifted her eyes.
The expression on her face held neither ecstasy nor joy. Only absolute loyalty toward the acting family head, Werner. It was the face of a true knight.
"Yes, Lord Werner."
"Before I appoint you knight commander, I must respect the longstanding custom that a commoner cannot hold the position. Therefore, I temporarily grant you the family surname. You are now a Kraus. Leona von Kraus."
A bright, delighted expression—anything but knightly, and far more like that of a woman—spread across Leona’s face. It was so radiantly beautiful that even the knights of Kent’s faction felt their hearts stir, completely at odds with the brutal atmosphere and Kent’s desperate screaming.
"Leona von Kraus. You are now the commander of the Kraus Knight Order."
Leona completely ignored Kent, who was thrashing and howling that this was impossible, and slowly knelt on one knee before Werner.
"...Your command is my honor, Acting Family Head."
Werner lightly laid his sword upon her shoulder, then lifted it away.
In that instant, the position Leona had believed she could never reach in her entire life simply because she was a commoner came to rest upon her shoulders.
Only after a long moment did a bloodshot roar explode from Kent’s mouth.
"You madman…! Stop this insane nonsense, Werner!"
He drew his sword once more.
"You idiots! You cowards! What are you waiting for? Cut down that worthless bastard right now!"
At Kent’s command, over a dozen knights rushed forward to surround Leona and Werner.
Yet their movements were far from unified.
The core loyalists who had deeply participated in Kent’s human trafficking and feasted on the profits charged in with killing intent. But the half who had known nothing of the truth hesitated, stunned by Werner’s revelations. And the soldiers who had always trusted Leona deeply, even if they served a worthless noble, now openly turned toward her and the current acting family head.
Werner smiled arrogantly at the sight and pointed a finger at the trees behind Leona.
"You can come out now."
He gave a small wave. From behind the faltering knights of Kent’s faction, another group of knights emerged in force.
They were not Kent’s men. They belonged to Isabella’s faction or were knights who had followed the common-born vice-commander Leona.
The numerical advantage now belonged to Werner.
The knights of Kent’s faction who had been watching Werner with half-doubt either dropped their swords or stepped forward in disgust at Kent’s crimes, declaring they would aid him instead.
"Knight Commander."
At Werner’s short command, two voices overlapped.
"Huh?"
Kent’s stupid, still-delusional voice—
"Yes, Young Master."
—and Leona’s dignified reply, accepting her new title as naturally as if she had always held it.
"Use Hunt Harvest. However, with the war against the demonic beasts looming, do not spill needless blood. Cut down only the rotten ones who deserve death. Take the rest as prisoners."
"Your command is my honor."
Leona raised her sword. The moment she did, her aura exploded. All the energy stats Werner had generously poured into her over the past several days for this very moment, combined with the power gained through Hunt Harvest during their midnight purification of the territory, surged forth at once.
Only then did Kent realize Leona had been holding back her strength to lure him here. Had she revealed her true power earlier, she could have killed him effortlessly. The realization brutally stabbed the noble-supremacist’s inferiority complex.
"You— you bitch—!"
Leona casually parried Kent’s wide swing and stepped forward, cutting down the closest henchman charging toward her.
An overwhelming difference in stats.
Leona’s mana-infused blade sliced through the man’s armor in a single stroke, the tip continuing on to carve through the flesh beneath.
The armor of the leading knight, who had been radiating murderous intent, split apart instantly. The sword edge sliced straight through the meat inside.
Evil-Doer Judgment: High Rank
Hunt Harvest Activated
Strength +2 Permanent Absorption
Oh man, stat farming is fucking delicious. This is perfect mob-hunt setup.
I smiled with deep satisfaction as I watched Leona slaughter the knights of Kent’s faction like a wolf released into a flock of sheep.