Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: No Way... That Target
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-No way... that target.
I suppressed my chill and replied to Catsy Mielephon via telepathy. She let out a short snort.
-He's my son, but even I don't know what's going on in that head of his. I pray it turns into a good connection for you.
Would any mother-in-law in the world want a troublemaking son-in-law like this?
But when I thought about Lady Isna Mielephon's eccentricities and her shocking entrance, it filled me with anxiety, like I'd been caught by the nose instead.
Melissa had once said I'd get hit hard someday...
"Lord Ledan. Whether intentional or not, the fact that House Cascadia was insulted has been revealed. Young Master Leon acted to protect the honor of the nobility and his family. Do you have any objections?"
"Th... that is..."
Even if he had objections, nothing would change. His son's aura heart was already shattered, and normal methods wouldn't heal it.
Especially not now that he'd fallen out of the Mielephons' good graces.
At this point, entanglement was inevitable, so my stance was to avoid any follow-up strikes from the Mielephons at the very least.
"Mercy..."
"However, I'll give him a chance at redemption. If he wins the duel, the Mielephons won't lay a hand on him."
It implied they'd at least let him live here if he won.
The Mielephons were a family that prized strength above all, so it wasn't particularly surprising.
But no one present was unaware of one key fact.
The Mielephons were one of the continent's most historic sword families.
Their forces were far too overwhelming for the Ledan Count's house to withstand.
But what could the count do?
There was nothing within his power.
"Go... go and protect the family."
Finally, Lord Ledan spoke to his knight, who stepped forward with a conflicted expression to guard him.
His realm was roughly mid-level Sword Expert.
He was a fairly skilled knight.
With the situation irreversible, he aimed to save face and halt any further vicious cycles.
Retreating now would invite a barrage from the Mielephon family as a follow-up.
Many assumed Catsy would summon one of the Mielephons' renowned knights in response.
But her gaze was fixed on me.
"Young Master."
"Yes, Duchess."
"Will you handle it yourself?"
"Are you telling me to do it?"
My question stirred greater murmurs from the surroundings.
Pitting a boy not yet in his twenties against a Sword Expert knight.
Even though I'd crushed Siger Ledan, few had discerned the process or the extent of my power.
"Of course, if you're not confident..."
She gestured, and a neatly dressed maid stepped forward from beside her, bowing her head.
See? Mielephon maids aren't just any maids.
"I can appoint a proxy for you."
"...No, I'll do it myself."
She offered a proxy, but she seemed utterly convinced I wouldn't abandon the spot.
A chance at redemption? By whose decree?
Murmurs swelled around us simultaneously.
"My goodness... Young Master Leon Cascadia seems more merciful than expected."
"That way, he even gives them an excuse to escape the Mielephons' wrath..."
"No wonder there were talks of marriage with the Mielephons."
Some even mistook it for me stepping up out of mercy toward House Ledan.
Common sense dictated a teenage boy—barely sensing any aura—had near-zero chance against a Sword Expert or higher.
No one would laugh at a young noble scion losing a spar to a seasoned knight; it was the norm.
"Young Master, as a knight sworn to my lord, I will fulfill my duty. I thank you for your mercy."
"Mercy? Sorry, but what are you misunderstanding?"
"Misunderstanding?"
This knight, too, thought I knew I couldn't win but stepped up to show mercy to House Ledan, expressing gratitude.
But they were all gravely mistaken.
Why would I, the one who started this mess, bail out House Ledan?
My anger hadn't fully subsided yet.
I loosened my necktie with one hand and strode forward.
At the same time, the knight Lord Ledan had put forward advanced with seasoned aura operation at mid-to-high Sword Expert level.
He picked up a wooden sword brought by a Mielephon attendant and assumed a stance. I casually lowered my sword and took him into view.
Not even assuming a proper stance, he mistook it as confirmation of his assumptions.
He wasn't even considering the possibility of losing.
"I'll hold back to avoid injuring you as much as possible."
After a brief exchange of glances for probing, the knight moved first.
He didn't unleash his aura, but he thrust his blade sharply at me with the speed of his enhanced body.
Among mid-level knights, he was quite skilled—a clean, unadorned lunge.
Just as the knight's wooden sword neared me.
My right foot moved a beat late. Yet despite the delay, my body had already slipped beyond his predicted range.
The knight's eyes widened in an instant.
Realizing something was wrong, he hurriedly withdrew his sword to create distance.
But in the time it took him to exhale once, I'd already infiltrated his opening.
Thud!!!!
A deafening crash, unlike wood striking flesh, rang out, and his body stiffened dramatically.
Without pause, I stabbed at his acupoints with moderate speed. Each strike sent shockwaves through non-target areas, making his body twitch like he'd been hit by dozens of arrows.
"Gurk... guh. Wh-what."
His eyes registered one hit, but the impacts felt like five or six.
Doubting if aura alone—without magic—could do this, confusion and shock mixed on the knight's face.
His meridians wrecked via the wooden sword, he couldn't move. Toward him, I gently pressed into his solar plexus like driving in a wedge. He collapsed unconscious without countering.
Of course, with sword aura, it'd end the same.
"My... my goodness!"
"What just happened?"
"A Sword Expert knight taken down in an instant..."
The knight was Sword Expert caliber, treated as talent in kingdoms or empires.
Yet he hadn't laid a hand on me.
From my perspective, having fought Masters, he wasn't much threat. But to others, it looked different.
I'd subdued him with my usual instant acceleration. Leisurely, I tugged my necktie looser with one hand.
Then casually tossed the splintered wooden sword to the floor.
A suffocating silence followed.
The nobles' faces showed surprise at the swift outcome.
Catsy Mielephon, too, seemed taken aback, her eyes slightly widened.
"So that's why Father said that. Take the fallen one and go. And Young Master Leon."
"Yes, Duchess."
"As host, I must handle the aftermath. Retire first and rest."
Her attitude differed from before, as if confirming something about me.
Having seen all there was to see, I realized staying offered no gain and nodded.
"With things like this, no choice. I'll head back first."
"Wise judgment. Lord Ledan, you should go too. I'll send someone later for detailed talks."
It was like a death sentence.
House Ledan was like a subcontractor to the Mielephons.
Falling out of favor would shake the family.
"..."
Lord Ledan rose with a dazed face, looking around.
Even after our business, the Mielephons would exact payment—this left him numb.
"Pl... please! Mercy!"
He hastily knelt and bowed, but she turned away without hesitation.
With a lost expression, he slumped, then was half-dragged out by attendants like he was being chased from the hall.
In Labyrinthos, there was no time for hesitation or mercy.
It was a place where if you didn't strike first, you'd be the one hit.
Maybe because of that.
Suddenly, I realized that since leaving Labyrinthos, my actions had been unusually impulsive.
But I didn't find it particularly strange.
Would Melissa get angry hearing this, or react differently?
It was hard for me to guess.
The night sky outside the banquet hall felt bright with densely packed stars.
I realized anew: this world's night sky didn't feel as dark as my previous life's.
Misha, my maid who'd been attending me, approached as I exited—unclear when she'd returned.
"Young Master."
"Yes."
"You caused quite the scene."
"Didn't I?"
I chuckled, and she let out a deflated, exasperated laugh.
"Still, you were impressive. I heard what Young Master Siger Ledan said."
She followed familiarly behind me.
"And if I may say one thing out of concern..."
"What is it?"
"I'll apologize in advance for Lady Isna's antics."
Unease surged at her words.
And I understood why.
"Wow! Why hide such a pretty face?! Come here! Let me doll you up!"
"Y-you crazy bitch!"
Luna fleeing, chased by Isna Mielephon.
She'd left the hall, and it'd taken less than 30 minutes for me to return here.
Yet even Luna, known for her own antics, was terrified after just 30 minutes.
I turned away pretending not to see. Life in the annex ends here. Settle in some inn in the territory...
"Where do you think you're running? Take that crazy lunatic away right now."
Luna clung to me like a cicada on an old tree, refusing to let go.
In any case, it was just groundless worry; the worst didn't happen.
Thinking about it, it was the natural outcome.
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