Justification
“Twenty armed men have set up camp in front of the main gate!”
Lucas’s voice froze the living room once more.
War? That crazy Marquis Lawrence.
Violetta’s face turned deathly pale again, and the two Grand Ducal knights behind her gripped their swords tightly.
Useless. Two knights could never stop twenty men.
I set the teacup down.
In the original story the envoy party had numbered only seven, and the twenty armed soldiers were a variable absent from the source material.
Wait… do I really need to be this scared?
It turned out to be a simple problem after all.
“Lucas. Did those knights enter the castle?”
“Ah, no. They remain waiting outside the main gate.”
That made sense.
If they had meant to enter, they would have come with the envoy. Setting up camp outside meant an escort force, not an attacking one.
The Marquisate was no fool. Dispatching armed troops for a condolence visit would be an open declaration of war.
No matter how weakened we had become, we would never be reckless enough to declare war outright under imperial law.
This was insurance. A way to extract them if something went wrong with the envoy party.
And the problem had arrived at the perfect moment. Because the envoy’s hand and tongue now lay rolling on the floor.
“Lucas, paper and pen.”
“Yes?”
“I’m writing an official document. Right now.”
Lucas hesitated, then turned and left. Less than five minutes later, thanks to the butler’s professional instincts, he returned with paper and ink.
I wiped the blood from the table with a cloth and unfolded the sheet.
The content of the official document was concise.
According to Imperial Noble Law Article 44, the customary law, the Lawrence Marquisate envoy who insulted the head family during the mourning period shall be immediately punished.
Punishment: Sever the right hand and tongue.
This punishment was carried out under the legitimate authority of Killian von Eberhardt due to the absence of the Grand Duke’s agent, and any objection should be filed formally with the Imperial Tribunal.
Violetta stared at me in disbelief.
“Killian… you knew about this from the beginning?”
Caught.
“Shouldn’t the eldest son know about a clause of this level?”
It had only been a day since transmigration, but that didn’t need to be said.
In the original story this law clause had been mentioned briefly around chapter 79, in the scene where the Marquisate claimed legal legitimacy after swallowing the Grand Duchy.
But it had been too late then. Now it was different. I had simply drawn the sword first.
“…I need to finish this.”
Violetta took out the Grand Ducal seal and pressed it firmly.
The red lion pattern stained the paper beautifully.
The woman who had supported the Grand Duchy with her own body judged the situation quickly. She filled in the part I had overlooked.
“Lucas. Deliver this official document to the envoy. And give copies to the knights outside.”
“Understood, young master.”
“And one more thing.”
I pointed to the severed parts on the floor.
“Send that too. Pack it cleanly.”
Lucas’s mouth twitched. Whether he was suppressing laughter or swallowing shock.
“…I will pack it respectfully, young master.”
I looked down from the third-floor window at the envoy party being driven out in front of the main gate.
The staggering envoy was supported by two knights, while the others stood frozen with swords still sheathed, doing nothing.
The escort knights outside rushed forward, but stopped the moment they read the official document.
As expected. Having received an official document based on imperial law—a justified punishment—they would not retaliate, or the Marquisate would be the one breaking the law.
Of course I knew the Marquisate did not care about the law.
But the motive was different.
In the rofan world, nobles staked their lives on a single motive. Without it they would lose the support of other nobles.
The reason the Marquisate had been able to swallow the Grand Duchy was that they had absorbed the surrounding nobles, and the prerequisite for that absorption had been the motive that “the Grand Duchy collapsed on its own.”
I spat that motive out cleanly.
“Brother.”
Felix’s voice came from behind. I turned to see my younger brother standing at the door, looking up at me.
His eyes sparkled. Combining last night’s training and today’s events in the living room, in this boy’s mind brother had already become a legendary figure.
I had simply used the original cheat key.
“Brother, I want to learn swordsmanship too.”
“Suddenly?”
“Although brother will inherit Father’s sword, I want to be the one protecting from the side.”
The line had entered loyalty mode perfectly.
It was useful. Felix had talent in the original story.
Given time to grow properly, he could challenge the position of palace knight commander. Most importantly, he would be the one to take the head of the house when I left.
“Good. I’ll call for you when the time comes, so wait.”
“Thank you, brother!”
Felix bowed deeply, his expression unnecessarily solemn.
In this child’s eyes, brother would appear as a reliable eldest brother who took care of his siblings.
My plan was progressing smoothly.
At the same time, at the Lawrence Marquisate.
The report reached Chester Lawrence’s office before sunset.
The Marquis read the report repeatedly, stopping each time, then placed it on the table after the third reading.
“…He cut off the hand and tongue?”
It was not anger but a tone of incomprehension.
“Yes. An official document stating that immediate punishment was carried out based on the customary law came with it.”
Sweat beaded on the forehead of the reporting administrator.
“What is the envoy’s condition?”
“He will not die… but his mental state is not intact.”
The Marquis’s pupils shook for a moment.
If it had been only the hand, it could have been seen as simple revenge. Cutting off the tongue, however, meant something else.
Not only had he prevented direct reporting to the Marquisate, but he had also sealed the envoy’s mouth.
The envoy could no longer testify on his own to what he had said at the Grand Duchy or what insults he had received.
What remained was the official document. And the document only stated “justified punishment for insulting the head family.”
“You did this at eighteen?”
The Marquis leaned forward for the first time, no longer leaning back against the chair.
He stroked his mustache repeatedly.
“Killian von Eberhardt. What kind of boy was that eldest son?”
“No special report. He was simply locked away in the room after the Grand Duke’s death…”
“The boy locked in the room used the customary law to cut off the envoy’s hand and tongue?”
The administrator bowed his head. It was an unanswerable question.
The Marquis gazed out the window toward the distant north, in the direction of the Grand Duchy’s territory.
“I thought he was a toothless dog.”
The Marquis’s expression turned displeased. It was the look of a hunter re-evaluating his prey.
“A puppy was baring its teeth.”
“Father.”
The office door opened and a young woman entered. Her black hair was neatly tied up, her eyes cold. Claudia Lawrence, the eldest daughter of the Lawrence Marquisate.
“I read the report.”
“So?”
“Information about Killian von Eberhardt is insufficient. The eldest son locked in the room suddenly cited the customary law and used the Grand Duke’s aura? It makes no sense.”
The Marquis looked at his daughter.
“What do you want to do?”
“I want to confirm it directly. Up close.”
The Marquis’s eyes sharpened for a moment, then softened.
“There is a condition.”
“Speak.”
“Bring only information. He might be difficult.”
Claudia sneered.
“The young master who was locked in the room?”
Claudia’s eyes as she turned were already filled with calculation.
In the Grand Ducal estate, Killian’s room.
After everything was settled, I collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Second day of transmigration. Discovery of the secret training ground, bloodline awakening, the envoy’s body severed, official document written, legal justification secured.
This was not two days’ workload. It had been more intense than overtime at the company.
My body felt heavy, as if weighed a thousand pounds. The backlash from using aura made my muscles scream.
Let’s check the plan.
Today’s success had been great. I had sent a message that the Marquisate was not an easy opponent for the Grand Duchy.
With legal justification secured, I could not reach out openly for the time being.
But it was only for the time being. The Marquisate’s capital and network connections remained intact, so I had only bought time, not solved the root problem.
I needed to think of the next move. With knowledge of the original story, I could easily predict the Marquisate’s next action.
The problem was when unexpected variables appeared, like today.
The twenty escort knights. A force absent from the original story.
This world was based on the original but not exactly the same. Figuring out how far that deviation went had become an important task.
“…This is annoying.”
As I tried to close my eyes, a knock sounded.
“Oppa, are you sleeping?”
Stella’s voice.
“…Not sleeping.”
“Can I come in?”
Stella had already entered the room with a pillow in her arms.
It was not waiting for permission but a unilateral notification.
“I had a scary dream.”
“Ah, this.”
She had probably heard the scream during the commotion with the envoy.
“…Come here.”
Stella ran across the room like a bullet and climbed onto the bed. Her small body curled against my side.
“Oppa punished bad people, as Grandpa Lucas said.”
“Yeah.”
“Oppa is cool.”
“…Thank you.”
“Did you get hurt?”
“No.”
Stella closed her eyes with relief. Her breathing evened out in less than a minute.
It was a talent to fall asleep so quickly.
I recalled my own past self, staying up until dawn reading web novels.
Protecting this child was part of the plan. It was simply included in the process of saving the Grand Duchy.
But.
The small body heat digging into my side kept touching places unrelated to the plan.
“…Let’s finish and leave quickly.”
Muttering, I closed my eyes.
From now on: Felix’s sword training, reorganization of the Grand Ducal knight corps, financial inspection, prediction of the Marquisate’s next move.
There was a mountain of things to do.
I had started this to live comfortably, but it was becoming busier by the day. No choice.