Chapter 4: Dammit, To Die Like That (4)
Chapter 4: Dammit, To Die Like That (4)
“Ahem… Anyway, I was surprised.”
“Look at him, trying to change the subject.”
“I had no idea the Young Master was hiding such skill.”
“Hey. Are you even listening to me?”
“I won’t let my guard down anymore.”
“Huh?”
“Now, let’s start again.”
With that, Brian took his stance once more.
It was as if the previous exchange had never happened.
Watching Brian, Patrick sneered.
“His mental game is 7-Star level, at least.”
“Ahem.”
“Fine, whatever. You want to go again, right?”
“I was careless just now.”
“Right. Sure. Of course. You were careless.”
A bright smile spread across Patrick’s face.
“Yeah, sure. People can be careless. How can a person live without making a mistake? Right?”
“Ahem…”
“Then let’s do it again. Don’t be careless this time. Got it?”
“…….”
With every word Patrick spoke, Brian’s face turned as red as a ripe apple.
Deep down, Brian knew this made no sense.
How could he not?
But even so, his pride wouldn’t allow him to admit defeat like this.
‘I am a 2-Star Knight, a man far too talented for a backwater estate like this. There’s no way I could lose to a mere ten-year-old brat.’
This was what people called groundless overconfidence.
Regardless, he thickened his skin and insisted on his delusion, oblivious to the consequences.
Patrick let his arms hang naturally at his sides.
“Alright, here I come.”
His voice was exactly the same as before.
Faced with that voice—one that even carried a hint of playfulness—Brian’s reaction was different this time. He focused his mind, every muscle in his body coiled with tension.
“Come!”
And then…
CRACK!
The exact same result occurred.
Well, not exactly the same.
This time, the strike was vertical instead of horizontal.
Patrick’s blow sent Brian’s head snapping to the side.
And there was one more difference…
“Ugh…!”
Unlike before, Brian didn’t collapse; he managed to stay on his feet.
Patrick spoke with a smirk.
“You can handle that, right? I hit you gently, so you should be able to take it.”
“Hyaaah!”
Refusing to back down, Brian tried to swing his wooden sword.
But before his diagonal slash could even fully connect, it was lightly parried by Patrick’s wooden sword.
Thwack!
“Ugh…!”
It was an attack Brian had swung with his full weight and strength using both hands.
Yet, Patrick had blocked it effortlessly with one hand.
No matter how hard Brian tried to press down with his strength, Patrick’s wooden sword didn’t budge an inch.
Then, Patrick swung the wooden sword held in his other hand.
“Ankle.”
Whack!
“……!”
It was a pain so intense that he couldn't even scream.
It was Brian’s first time experiencing such a sensation. Patrick spoke with a sly grin.
“We’re just getting started. Head—shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes, knees and toes!”
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
The sound, like a woodpecker hammering a tree, echoed through the training grounds in a strange rhythm.
Baron Schneider realized for the first time that a wooden sword beating a knight could produce such a sound.
Brian was now curled in a ball, taking a one-sided thrashing.
The two wooden swords flew without a moment’s rest, striking every part of his body.
The intensity was perfectly calibrated—not enough to make him collapse or lose consciousness immediately, but enough to hurt like hell.
In short, it was excruciating.
“Ack! Argh! Young… Young Master… Gack!”
“Hmm? Don’t worry. You haven’t lost yet, right? Since I respect your grit and fighting spirit, I’ll do my best to tenderize you.”
“Wai… Wait… Urgh…”
“Huh? I think I just heard some nonsense involving the words ‘wait’ and ‘a minute.’ I must have misheard, right? What kind of knight would dare utter such nonsense during a duel? Isn’t that right?”
“My… mistake…”
“Mistake? Oh? You’re saying you didn’t make a mistake? Wow… As expected of our Sir Erickson. Your grit is truly something else.”
“…….”
“Yes, yes. If a person lacks skill, has a rotten personality, and no manners, they should at least have grit. Absolutely.”
“…….”
Terror began to well up in Brian’s eyes.
In direct proportion, a hint of madness began to flicker in Patrick’s eyes.
“The thirty-seventh thing I hate most in this world is a bastard who loses but insists he didn’t. You piece of work!”
The true festival of violence began.
And amidst the beating, Brian thought to himself:
This brat sure has a lot of things he hates.
Patrick’s hands and words didn’t stop; they only accelerated.
It was as if he were venting a long-suppressed rage.
“A bastard who claims to live by the sword has the nerve to… ‘Wait’? ‘Sorry’? ‘Careless’?”
“I’m sorr… Gaaah…!”
“You should know some shame, you bastard!”
“Aaaaaagh!”
The two wooden swords in Patrick’s hands danced brilliantly, turning Erickson into a soft pile of mush.
“St… Stop! That’s enough!”
The scene of brutal tenderizing only stopped when Baron Schneider finally snapped out of his shock and intervened. And then…
“Phew… It’s been a while since I’ve used violence. My mind and body feel so refreshed.”
Patrick stopped his wooden swords, wiped the sweat from his brow, and spoke with a look of pure satisfaction.
He looked like a man who had just finished a very productive and fulfilling day.
If only there wasn’t a man writhing and groaning in agony at his feet.
‘Is my son a demon?’
Even if he was his own son, how could he look so refreshed after brutally breaking a man like that?
Baron Schneider spoke, his face full of indignation.
“You rascal! Patrick Schneideeeer!”
“Yes, Father. Did you call?”
Patrick answered the furious Baron politely.
His tone was incredibly civil and well-mannered, his voice calm.
It was as if he hadn’t just finished pummeling a man into a pulp moments ago.
“Pa… Patrick, you… you… you…”
Baron Schneider was at a loss for words.
The outcome was completely different from what he had envisioned.
He had hoped Brian would humble his son’s arrogance, leading to Patrick finally dedicating himself to sincere training.
But what was this situation?
His son, who was barely ten years old, had one-sidedly thrashed Brian, a 2-Star Knight.
“How do you possess such strength? I have never once seen you train.”
Patrick had expected this question from the Baron.
He had already thought of how to answer. The result was…
“Just because.”
“What?”
“I’m a genius, so I just keep getting stronger even without training.”
“…….”
Indeed.
What else could he say?
There was no way a fantastic excuse was going to work in this situation.
In the end, Patrick decided to just push through.
He thickened his skin and went with the ‘I’m a genius, what are you going to do about it?’ approach.
Baron Schneider’s jaw dropped. He struggled to find words before finally forcing them out.
“Does that even make sense?”
“Why wouldn’t it? Haven’t I just shown you the results?”
“…….”
The Baron was speechless.
He wasn’t wrong.
His ten-year-old son had just crushed the territory’s only knight, Brian.
The result was undeniably clear.
To the Baron, who still looked like he couldn't believe his eyes, Patrick said:
“Father. What does the world usually call those who reveal such extraordinary skill at a young age?”
“They call them geniuses.”
“Then what is your son?”
“…A… genius?”
“Exactly. I’m a genius.”
“…….”
It felt like it made sense, yet it also didn't…
Well, looking at the situation, his son was indeed a genius.
And geniuses were, by definition, beings difficult to understand through common sense.
Therefore, he decided to accept that this result was possible. However, another problem arose.
“I understand that you are stronger than Sir Erickson. But what on earth is the meaning of this behavior?”
“Oh, why?”
“Why…? Why? Why… Ugh…”
Seeing his son answer while nonchalantly picking his ear, Baron Schneider pounded his chest with his fist to suppress his frustration.
“You turn a man into that state and then ask ‘why’?”
“Yes. It comes out quite easily, actually.”
“You… you rascal… Ugh…”
Baron Schneider felt like he was about to faint from high blood pressure.
Seeing this, Patrick let out a sigh and spoke.
“Father, you might have thought I just had a bad attitude and clashed with Brian at every turn because we didn't get along.”
“Was that not it?”
“It wasn't.”
Was it really?
That was debatable, but he moved past it for now.
Patrick pointed at the fallen Brian.
“Father, the reason I hated that guy is because he used his position to embezzle the property of the people and siphon off the territory’s budget.”
“What!?”
Baron Schneider shouted in shock. Brian, who was lying on the ground, forced his head up and cried out.
“That… That’s a lie! My Lord. That is a blatant lie… Gack!”
“This one still has a mouth on him.”
Patrick stepped on Brian’s head without hesitation and looked back at the Baron.
“Father, you trusted this man and delegated almost the entire military budget to him. Everything from the money for purchasing weapons to the soldiers’ wages and the purchase of food supplies.”
“That’s right. He is the only knight in our territory. So, isn't it only natural to entrust him with the military budget?”
“You entrusted it to him, but did you ever verify it?”
“I did, a few times.”
“When was the last time?”
“I believe it was about six years ago.”
“Fatheeeer…”
As Patrick sighed, Baron Schneider spoke with a serious expression.
“Son, in a relationship between people, trust is more important than anything else.”
“…….”
“If I cannot even trust my own knight and must doubt his every move, how can I call myself the lord of this territory?”
“Haaa… So that’s how you think, is it?”
Patrick let out a deep sigh.
What the Baron just said was a piece of nonsense that only sounded good on the surface.
It was something a leader of an organization should never say.
Because, as a matter of fact, there are plenty of times when good intentions can cause harm to the world.
Patrick shook his head and spoke.
“As a result of your one-sided trust, Brian has been embezzling the budget for his personal gain.”
“What?”
“He bought cheap weapons for the soldiers and pocketed the difference. He made up all sorts of excuses and found faults to dock the soldiers’ pay, pocketing that difference as well.”
Baron Schneider was truly shocked.
As he stood there, looking as if he had never even imagined such a thing, Brian shouted desperately.
“Lies! It’s all lies, My Lord! The Young Master is framing me!”
Patrick completely ignored Brian and continued.
“That’s not all. This bastard even intercepted the condolence money meant for the families of soldiers who died fighting monsters.”
Upon hearing this, Baron Schneider staggered from the sheer impact of the words.
His legs seemed to lose their strength, but he managed to steady himself and spoke to Brian.
“Sir Erickson, is this truly the truth? Did you really do such things?”
“I told you it’s a lie! Do you not trust me? I am your knight!”
As Brian shouted in a final struggle, Patrick spoke mockingly.
“Trust, trust… It really is a nice-sounding word.”
“…….”
And because it sounded so good, it was also very easy to exploit.
Patrick knew people like Baron Schneider all too well.
‘How can he be so much like my Master?’
A man who was good-natured to a fault.
Being called such a thing usually meant one was a very good person.
However, the world was full of trash looking to stab such good-natured people in the back.
If one didn't know how to defend against that and only showed goodwill, how could they lead an organization?
Indiscriminate goodwill breeds weakness, and weakness blunts one’s decisiveness.
Just like the current Baron Schneider.