Chapter 48: You Must Have Many Worries (3)
Chapter 48: You Must Have Many Worries (3)
“My Lady, please wait a moment.”
A young noble approached her with hurried steps.
Marianne spoke to him with a practiced smile.
“I’m quite tired and would like to rest. If you don’t mind, perhaps next time…”
“I told you it would only take a moment!”
“…….”
Marianne stared at him, stunned by his sudden outburst.
It was the first time anyone had ever been so rude to her, especially in the middle of a banquet hall.
The situation was so unexpected that she froze, more out of bewilderment than anger.
Seizing the opening, the man lunged forward and grabbed Marianne’s hand, yanking her toward him.
“It will only take a moment.”
“Hey… let go! Let go of me!”
She finally screamed as he tried to drag her away by force.
As her sharp voice rang out, an echo of pure rage thundered through the hall.
“You scoundrel!”
Count Parmas trembled, his voice shaking with fury.
How dare someone try to abduct his daughter right before his eyes?
The Count’s anger reached its boiling point as he roared.
“Knights! Drag that insolent fool out of here! No, throw him into the castle dungeon!”
“Yes, My Lord!”
The moment the command was given, armed knights rushed forward to seize the ruffian.
“Release her hand.”
“You will regret it if you do not let go now.”
The knights tried to subdue him with words first, but that proved to be their mistake.
“Don’t get in my way!”
The man screamed in a crazed voice and lunged at the knights.
At first, the knights looked at him with disdain, but…
Crash!
“Gah…!”
The moment his fist connected, one knight coughed up blood and was sent flying backward. Still gripping Marianne’s wrist with one hand, the man glared at another knight.
“Don’t… don’t… get in my way!”
As he swung his fist again, it was shrouded in a black aura.
“Urgh…!”
Boom!
The knight quickly raised his shield to block the blow.
However, despite blocking the attack, he was forced back several steps, his boots skidding across the floor.
A clear fist-shaped dent was left on the shield that had taken the hit.
“Interfering… heehee… hehehehe… don’t get in my way… hehehe. I am… I am…”
“What? Who… who are you?”
Only then did Marianne realize something was terribly wrong.
The man holding her wrist was not sane.
The veins across his body were bulging hideously in a shade of violet, and his eyes had turned a blood-red hue.
Above all, his mental state was fractured.
He had seemed somewhat normal at first, but now he was nothing more than a madman.
“Let go… Aaaah!”
She tried to pull her wrist away and flee, but the man’s grip only tightened.
She screamed as a sharp pain, as if her wrist were about to snap, shot through her arm.
Seeing her in pain, the man let out a manic grin.
“You’re mine. You… you’re mine…”
“You… you crazy bastard…”
Even through the bone-breaking pain, Marianne glared at him with venomous eyes.
Her noble pride, refusing to yield to mere physical agony, was commendable.
However, that look only served to further provoke the man’s insanity.
“You… hehehe… you hate me? Me… hehehe… Hahahaha!”
The man pulled Marianne closer, now gripping her with both hands. He pressed his face right up to hers.
“You can’t. You’re… mine. Haa… haa… haaa… Because you belong to me… Hahahaha…”
“You’re out of your mind…”
It was a perfectly accurate assessment.
Watching the scene unfold, Count Parmas shouted, “What are you doing?! Subdue him immediately—no, you may kill him! Save my daughter!”
At the Count’s command, several more knights rushed in. However…
“Don’t get in my way! I said don’t get in my way!”
The knights couldn’t close in easily due to the man’s wild swinging and violent thrashing.
“Tsk…”
“Damn it…”
He was emitting too much power to be easily subdued, yet they couldn’t attack with full force for fear of harming their lord’s daughter right next to him.
In the midst of this frustrating stalemate, the Count shouted in desperation.
“What are you waiting for?! Save her this instant!”
The knights did their best, but the situation showed no signs of improving. Frustrated, the Count looked around and yelled to the crowd.
“Anyone! I don’t care who it is! Whoever defeats this madman and saves my daughter will be handsomely rewarded!”
The moment those words left his mouth…
People saw it.
Or rather, they didn’t.
All they saw was a single flash of light.
BOOM!
The thunderous roar followed a split second after the flash.
Then, the scene became clear to everyone’s eyes.
“You villain! How dare you threaten the Count’s daughter? I, Patrick Schneider, shall not forgive this!”
The assailant had been sent crashing into a wall, one of his arms severed, while a young man stood tall, having rescued the Lady.
Seeing this, Baron Schneider pressed his hand to his forehead.
‘I told you not to stand out, you brat…’
Children truly never did what they were told.
* * *
It was almost like a conditioned reflex.
The moment the word “reward” left the Count’s mouth, Patrick was already moving.
He had swung a steak knife to sever the assailant’s arm, rescued his precious money—no, the Lady—and then kicked the man away for good measure.
Then, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
“You villain! How dare you threaten the Count’s daughter? I, Patrick Schneider, shall not forgive this!”
The entire hall fell into a stunned silence.
“Good heavens, just now…”
“What did we just see? No, did anyone actually see it?”
“No, it was just a flash…”
“Was it magic? Is he a mage?”
Amidst the whispering crowd, Patrick acted with grand dignity.
He set Marianne down with extreme care.
“Are you alright, My Lady?”
“Ah… ah… yes.”
“I am glad you are unhurt. You may rest easy now. I, Patrick Schneider, shall surely protect you.”
“…….”
In Patrick’s incredibly polite and careful demeanor, Marianne felt a sense of genuine sincerity.
The man before her was treating her as someone truly precious.
She could feel that he wasn’t just using her as a tool for advancement or being dazed by her beauty; he truly seemed to value her.
‘He said a reward, a handsome reward, right? Hehehehe… I wonder how much he’ll give me?’
Of course, Patrick was being sincere.
‘Hehehehehehehehe.’
Extremely sincere.
“Grrr… Mine… You’re mine! Marianne, you’re mine!”
The man Patrick had sent flying into the wall let out a beastly shriek. He stumbled to his feet and lunged once more.
Marianne flinched.
Even for someone as strong-willed as her, facing such raw madness head-on was terrifying.
But then, a dependable back appeared before her.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Patrick let out a cold smirk.
He hadn’t expected the man to die from that.
He had controlled his strength so as not to kill him, and more importantly, if this was what he thought it was, the man wouldn’t die easily anyway.
“Well, fine. I had something to ask you anyway.”
Patrick lunged forward before his opponent could reach him. And then…
CRACK!
With a clean punch, the man’s jaw was sent spinning.
It wasn't just a twist of the head; the jawbone was completely dislocated.
“Gwaaaaagh!”
Normally, a person would be rolling on the ground in agony, but the man didn't seem to care at all as he continued to scream and charge.
However, Patrick was ready. He grabbed both of the man’s shoulders.
With a nonchalant touch, he pressed down on the joints with precision.
Snap! Crack!
It was a masterful Joint-locking Technique.
Without the need for complex twisting or bending, he used acupressure and Qi to pop the joints out of place.
The downside was that it required a significant gap in skill to pull off, but there was no better technique for subduing an opponent.
With both shoulders dislocated, the man’s arms hung limp at his sides.
“No matter how much you can’t feel pain, you can’t move if your joints are out.”
“Kwahahahaaa!”
At Patrick’s words, the man let out a roar, opening his mouth wide to try and bite Patrick’s neck.
Despite his dislocated jaw, he showed a terrifying level of obsession. But…
Thwack!
The gap in skill between him and Patrick was far too wide to be overcome by mere obsession or willpower.
Patrick sent the man airborne with a kick and clenched both fists.
“I won’t kill you. Instead…”
A cruel smile played on Patrick’s lips.
“I’ll grind every bone in your body to dust.”
Then, Patrick’s fists rained down on the airborne opponent in a blur.
Infinite Hell Chain Fist
Weakened Form: You Are Not Allowed to Die.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
“Woah… woah…”
“Wow…”
“My god…”
No words could come out except for gasps of awe.
So, a human could hit someone like that.
So, a person could be hit like that.
Everyone present witnessed it—the strange sight of a ruffian suspended in mid-air, unable to even scream as he was pummeled relentlessly.
After about five seconds of tenderizing…
“Hah!”
With a final blow, the assailant was sent flying back into the same wall he had hit earlier.
He lay there, twitching, letting out nothing but unintelligible groans.
“Grrr… hhhh…”
Patrick pulled back his hands and spoke with gravity.
“I, Patrick Schneider, cannot forgive such atrocious acts in my presence.”
“…….”
“……."
“…….”
Amidst the silent crowd, only one person spoke coldly.
“What a load of crap.”
‘Father, please… just a little bit of support…’
* * *
Baron Schneider glared intently at his son.
Receiving his father’s burning gaze, Patrick simply turned his head away and started whistling.
Fuming at the sight, Baron Schneider spoke through gritted teeth.
“Didn’t you say you’d stay quiet?”
“…….”
“Didn’t you say the plan was to stay low-profile, keep your seat, and then go home?”
“Well, the situation was just…”
“The moment you heard the word ‘reward,’ your eyes flipped and you went charging out? And you call that staying quiet?”
“Hahaha. I had to save a life, didn't I?”
“Oh, so you have no greed for money? Then I’ll tell the Count that the reward isn’t necessary—”
“Are you crazy, Father?”
“You little brat…”
The bickering between the father and son in someone else’s house finally came to a halt when Count Parmas entered the study.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting.”
“Not at all, My Lord.”
“Please, sit. Young Patrick, you sit as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Count sat across from the father and son, staring intently at Patrick.
“Young Patrick. How old are you?”
“I am fifteen this year.”
“You haven’t even had your coming-of-age ceremony yet.”
Count Parmas looked at Patrick with an expression of disbelief.
The martial prowess Patrick had shown at the banquet was extraordinary.
He was so fast that he was barely visible, and he had subdued a madman that the knights were struggling with in an instant.
To think that someone with such power was only fifteen.
‘Is he a genius?’
In life, one occasionally encounters individuals whose rate of growth defies common sense.
The kind of people who make others feel cheated just by looking at them.
The Eastern Region had lacked talent for a long time.
The most prominent talent recently was his own beautiful daughter, who was excelling in the Academy’s Administrative Department. Looking at the other youths of the East usually made him sigh in disappointment. But…
‘So, both his insolent attitude and the light, shallow side he showed afterward were expressions of confidence?’
Geniuses often displayed behavior that deviated from common sense or etiquette.
The norms and formalities created for ordinary people were simply too stifling for geniuses.
‘Not bad. No, it’s actually magnificent.’
At first, he thought he was just a spirited youth.
Then, he thought he was an insolent, shallow brat who only cared about money.
But now that he had seen his true strength, Count Parmas felt he finally understood Patrick’s true nature.
Well, that was what he thought, anyway.
“You must be proud to have such a magnificent son, Baron Schneider.”
“…Yes.”
Baron Schneider replied in a voice that sounded like it was being squeezed out of him, his expression one of profound grievance.
A magnificent son?
Yes, he was magnificent.
In just five years, he had stabilized the barren and dangerous Schneider Territory, significantly raised the people’s standard of living, and trained the soldiers into a powerful army.
So yes, he was magnificent, but…