Episode 15

"Ugh..."

"Brother!"

The odd-eyed slave boy groaned as he regained consciousness on Kai's back.

They had been moving for only a short while after Kai had picked him up to take him to a priest, given how severe his injuries appeared. Despite his battered condition, the boy woke up far sooner than expected, surprising not only his younger sister walking beside them but even Kai, who glanced back with a puzzled expression.

Logan, however, remained unfazed.

"He really woke up quickly."

It was only natural—Logan had been secretly channeling the power of his Force Core throughout their journey. The life energy he poured into the boy at maximum output for over thirty minutes was far more potent than any low-tier priest's divine magic.

So the boy's recovery was entirely expected. What did catch Logan's attention was the way the younger sister kept glancing between her brother and him.

'Could it be...?'

Even sensitive knights had failed to detect the unique nature of his Force in experiments. Kai, who was carrying the boy, hadn't noticed anything unusual—so how could a mere child?

'Must be coincidence.'

Dismissing it, Logan flashed a bright smile at the barely conscious boy.

"Awake, Victor? Congratulations on escaping your violent master."

The response to his smile was a sudden punch.

"Die!"

Whoosh.

For such a scrawny frame, the speed was unexpected.

Not that a child's fist could do anything to Logan.

With an exasperated expression, Logan dodged the strike just as Kai twisted his body to pin the boy down.

Thud!

"Ugh! L-Let go!"

"Brother!"

"R-Ria?!"

"What should I do with him, employer?"

Amid the sudden chaos, Logan sighed as he watched Victor—now pinned with his arm twisted—and gestured for Kai to release him.

The moment Kai stepped back, Victor lunged at Logan again.

"Ria! Run—Ghk!"

"Determination or stupidity? Honestly..."

Logan grabbed the boy by the throat and lifted him, forcing their eyes to meet.

"Kid. Can't you read the situation? Do I look like that slaver bastard to you?"

An overwhelming killing intent—far surpassing that of an ordinary Force user—poured from Logan's crimson eyes.

Even Kai flinched at the intensity. For a child like Victor, resisting was impossible.

Victor's face paled instantly as he choked out a gasp.

"Guh... Cough!"

"P-Please... spare him!"

Ignoring the girl clinging to his legs, Logan kept his cold gaze locked on Victor, whose face was now turning white.

"Determination is good, but you need to pick your battles."

"Grrk..."

"A dog that can't tell friend from foe only has death waiting for it, kid."

Thud.

"Cough! H-Hack!"

Looking down at the coughing boy, Logan spoke icily.

"Let this be your last warning, Victor. Follow my orders, and I'll guarantee your and your sister's safety. But if you pull something like this again..."

Ssshh—

The killing intent flooding Victor's scarlet eyes drilled into his soul.

"I'll dispose of you—and your sister."

Crunch.

Logan crushed a pebble in his grip effortlessly. The color drained from Victor's face.

Then, slowly, the boy nodded.

'Good.'

Satisfied that the whip had done its job, Logan finally offered the carrot.

"I plan to train you in martial arts. You'll undergo knight training—and eventually, I'll make you a knight."

Victor's head jerked up at that.

His mismatched red-and-blue eyes widened, shaking violently.

"M-Me...? You mean... me?"

Logan's declaration didn't just shock Victor.

Kai's expression stiffened in disbelief, and even the dwarf Hamar looked taken aback.

Buying a random slave child only to suddenly declare you'd turn him into a knight? It was absurd.

But Logan met Victor's gaze steadily.

"Yes. As you know, knights are quasi-nobles. Naturally, you'd shed your slave status."

"B-But..."

The blue-haired boy's expression, once filled with hostility, flickered through countless emotions in seconds.

Could he trust this? Could he even endure knight training?

A storm of thoughts must have been raging in his head.

But Logan didn't give him time to dwell.

"If you follow my orders faithfully and become a knight, I'll elevate not just you—but your sister's status as well. And beyond that—"

"I-I'll do it!"

Victor's answer came before Logan could even finish.

It was the first loud, clear voice Logan had heard from him—aside from pained screams.

Logan noted how quickly the response had come the moment his sister's future was mentioned.

'Just as I thought...'

The small girl clinging to Victor's side might just be the key to tempering the future Noble Slayer's violent nature.

"Good. Your sister will also receive basic education—literature, etiquette, and more. But if you slack off or cause trouble again—"

"I-I'll work hard!"

His heterochromatic eyes blazed as if shooting flames.

Meeting that gaze, Logan gave a small, satisfied nod.

With his original targets—the dwarf and combat instructor—secured, plus a future Aura User now in his hands, Logan's steps were light.

But the journey back to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠MacLaine Territory took longer than expected.

The malnourished Victor siblings, who looked even smaller than children their age, lacked the stamina to endure a galloping horseback journey.

Yet Logan couldn't slow down indefinitely for them.

What should have been a three-day trip stretched to five—the only concession Logan made.

'Still, they're holding up better than I thought.'

Logan had split the siblings between Kai's horse and Hamar's pony.

But the day their bottoms ached from the rocking motion lasted only one day.

By the second, they adjusted smoothly to the horse's movements. By the third, they could handle even a full gallop without trouble.

Victor wasn't the only one—his sister matched him.

Victor was destined to become an Aura User, so his physical talent made sense. But his sister?

'Must be bloodline.'

As Logan considered revising his plans for their training, the group arrived at MacLaine Territory.

The old fortress, once a bulwark against mountain monsters when MacLaine ruled the southwest as a Lord's domain, now stood as the shabby ancestral castle of the fallen MacLaine family.

The moment they entered, waves of people recoiled at the sight of Logan.

Most territory residents fled from a distance. Those who couldn't avoid him immediately prostrated themselves, trembling.

The way even the household servants scurried away—worse than before he left—forced a bitter smile from Logan.

This was the treatment reserved for tyrants who exploited their people.

Kai kept shooting Logan sidelong glances, while Victor and his sister's faces darkened in real time as they watched the reactions.

Though questions hung thick in the air, no one dared speak—until the tactless dwarf finally broke the silence.

"Master. To receive such treatment in your homeland... What exactly have you been doing?"

Logan smirked and focused his hearing, picking up whispers from afar.

"He's insane."

"A monster fetishist, I heard..."

"I heard it was corpses?"

"Either way, not normal."

"An utter disgrace to the family..."

"Why's he hiring mercenaries? It's unsettling..."

"He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even bought child slaves. What's he planning...?"

Rumors about him had spread at a baffling speed.

'How do they already know what happened in Halun?'

And not just spread—twisted into increasingly bizarre versions, dragging his already-rock-bottom reputation even deeper underground.

"They're just rumors. None of it concerns your duties, so ignore them."

Logan's calm demeanor left the group uneasy, but they could only nod hesitantly.

Despite his composure, Logan had a sinking feeling this would be troublesome.

'Might have to deal with another mess...'

That foreboding became reality the moment they entered the inner estate.

"YOUNG MASTER!!"

A familiar face—though slightly distorted from frantic panting—came sprinting toward him.

Rick, his attendant, screamed before Logan could even greet him.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD HAVE YOU BEEN DOING OUT THERE?!"

He'd expected some backlash, but not this intensity.

"Spending over 150,000 gold on useless monster meat?! The most absurd rumor I've ever heard! It's a lie, right? Just nonsense?! TELL ME IT'S NONSENSE!"

Rick's desperate, breathless tirade bordered on tragic, but Logan remained unruffled.

"It's true."

The flat response plunged Rick's expression into deeper despair.

"The whole territory's saying you've lost your mind! The family head summoned you immediately!"

"Hmm. As expected..."

"As expected?! AS EXPECTED?! Young master, this is not the time to be calm!"

"It's fine."

"It's not fine! NOT FINE!"

"Your sentences are getting shorter."

"Do you not grasp the situation?! The atmosphere is deadly serious! I've been defending you, saying it's all misunderstandings—but if it's all true..."

Logan chuckled at Rick's distress—far more agitated than he himself was.

"Don't worry. It'll be resolved soon."

"Aaargh! Are you even listening to me?!"

Tuning out the desperate pleas, Logan headed straight for the lord's office.

"Logan, reporting."

"Enter."

The deep voice sounded like it had been waiting. Without delay, Logan opened the door.

'Just as I thought.'

The two figures seated at the conference table radiated a chilling aura.

The moment he stepped in, a voice as cold as their expressions greeted him.

"So. Did you enjoy your 'excursion'?"

"It was a fruitful 'outing.'"

"From the rumors, you've been joyously committing madness everywhere. At least you found it fruitful."

'Tch. This is annoying...'

His father's reaction was worse than anticipated.

But despite his inner frustration, Logan's reply came smoothly, as if rehearsed.

"Rumors are just rumors. I feel no shame for my actions."

At that, his stepmother's face twisted in disbelief, while his father's showed a flicker of hope.

"You're saying the rumors are wrong?"

"I'm not sure which rumors you're referring to."

"The Grand Prince ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bought monster meat in bulk, purchased a child slave and a dwarf, and dragged hundreds of low-tier mercenaries into the territory. That's just the facts, excluding wild gossip."

The stepmother, Marian, delivered her "helpful" explanation with a sharp smile. Logan's brow twitched slightly, but his composure didn't waver.

"Do you have any defense?"

"No."

The unflinching answer made his father's eyebrow twitch.

"So it's all true."

"Yes."

"Dear! See?! The Grand Prince has no awareness of his position! His actions are dragging the family's honor through the mud—"

"Stepmother, you exaggerate."

"What?"

"I merely spent the money from my annulled engagement as I saw fit. Father already said he wouldn't interfere."

Marian's black eyes glinted with fury, but Logan met them squarely with his own crimson gaze.

The clash was sharp enough that the other pair of red eyes in the room—Patrick's—released a heavy sigh.

"You heard him. Will you still take his side?"

"Enough..."

"The Grand Prince is rotten to the—"

"Enough, wife!"

The booming voice, thick with authority, drained the color from Marian's face.

"Y-You... How dare you—"

"Wife. Leave us. I wish to speak with Logan alone."

"You're really—"

"This will be my final 'warning' to Logan."

Whether it was the earlier intimidation or the word "warning" that softened her, Marian shot Logan one last venomous glare before storming out—though not without a parting shot.

SLAM!

The door shook as if it might break.

Long after it closed, Patrick simply stared at his eldest son with heavy eyes.

Then, in a voice even heavier than his gaze, he spoke.

"...What exactly is your problem, Logan?"

'No way to brush this off.'

Logan sensed it immediately.

As his expression hardened in thought, his father continued calmly.

"Let's talk openly. What's wrong with you? Why are you like this?"

"...Even if I explain, you wouldn't understand."

"Or do you not want to be understood?"

"That's not it."

"...So there is a reason?"

"Yes."

"Sigh..."

The groan carried palpable frustration.

Logan opened his mouth to speak seriously, but his father's low, conflicted voice cut him off.

"Do you know what people say about you?"

"I have some idea."

"Oh? Violent, cruel, money-obsessed—and now, apparently, insane."

"..."

"How much have you heard? Should I share more detailed rumors?"

Knowing this wasn't a genuine question, Logan stayed silent.

"How long must I shield you? If there's a time limit, just say it."

Faced with that despairing tone and deeply sunken expression, Logan could only bow his head.

Then came the dagger to the heart.

"At least then I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could tell your late mother I did my best."

Logan's face froze.

The same raw nerve for both of them—Logan's birth mother was practically a taboo subject in the family.

Mentioning her now was Patrick's ultimatum.

After a long silence, Logan spoke gravely.

"...One year. Just give me one year."

"...What?"

The utterly unexpected answer made Patrick's expression shift sharply.