CH 112

“…This is a mess. Are you all okay?”

Quate’s voice came close.

―Hick!

At his words, everyone looked back, Ratta was surprised, and Lucion’s shadow shook slightly.

There was no sound or presence, so no one noticed the approach of the assassins, including Quate.

The members of the organization seemed to wonder who were the three who were brought into their hands, but the Rent Mercenary Corps glared as if they were going to kill those three.

“Son…!”

At the earnest voice of the Head of Chonest, There was no one who didn’t know who they were anymore.

‘We won.’

Lucion already concluded.

No matter how you looked at it, they were the winners.

When Lucion’s head started pounding, he broke his possession with Bethel.

Tak!

Miella approached the Head of Chonest and fluttered the papers that Kran had handed to him.

It was like a declaration of victory.

“These are the letters you used to blackmail the Chefran family. Didn’t you start the threat and the attack first? I protected myself, and we’re the only victors in this war.”

Miella raised one corner of her mouth with a sneer.

“You bastard. You should have known the subject first before sending the letter.”

“Then how shall we deal with it, Ha… No, Kran-nim?”

Quate looked at Hamel and realized that Ale’s leader was Kran, so he headed toward him.

“For now, kill the eldest son. He’s not helpful.”

It was something that he had already discussed with Hamel.

The eldest son would have been really useful if they hadn’t taken control of the Viscount Chonest, but not anymore.

Isn’t he the main culprit who joined the anti-Cronia group and ruined the Viscount Chonest?

Later, if the organization became larger than it was now and caught Cronia’s attention, it could become unmanageable.

They had to cut it off now.

“P-Please wait a moment!”

The Head of Chonest approached Miella, pleading.

“Why should we?”

But the one who spoke was Lucion.

“Why did you covet someone else’s if you couldn’t even handle this much?”

Most of the room froze at the voice filled with a clear warning.

The contract between the Reint mercenaries and the Chonest had already been concluded.

In such a situation, it didn’t make sense to whine about extending the contract in the first place, citing the incident with Baron Kokoren which had already happened a week ago.

Perhaps Viscount Chonest had been aiming for the Chefran family for a long time, and they must have regarded this as an opportunity when the family head changed.

In the meantime, he found out that Kran was keeping an eye on the Reint mercenaries, so forcibly imprisoned them, and the letters to Chefran must have turned into a direct threat.

But the Chonest family overlooked many things.

His weakness was much bigger, and his family’s military strength wasn’t that great either.

“I… I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I was aiming for Chefran! I coveted a position I shouldn’t dare to!”

The Head of Chonest slammed his head on the ground.

Whoever he was speaking to, the loser was him.

The battle between the nobles was cold.

Now Chonest would write a lifetime contract under Chefran.

The contract would be distributed throughout the empire, and if it was violated, even his aristocracy could be taken away, so it was like the last chance for Chonest.

“Please, have mercy!”

“Are you going to kill your eldest son and save those two? Or are you going to kill those two for your eldest son?”

Lucion had no mercy for Chonest.

Since they touched what belonged to him, he would bite them off so that they wouldn’t even dare to glance in his direction again.

The face of the Head of Chonest became increasingly pale.

“Oh, Father. It can’t be? Right…?”

The eldest son cried out.

However, at Lucion’s gesture, Quate ordered his subordinates to silence the eldest son as well as the rest.

“If you have a brain, don’t forget that this is the West.”

Lucion personally informed the Head of Chonest of the reality.

Does he want Cronia to destroy this place, or will he keep the name Chonest even if he has to cut off his children with his own hands?

The Head of Chonest stared blankly into the air as if he had lost his mind and immediately gasped.

“I don’t like to wait.”

Following Lucion’s words, the Head of Chonest sobbed and pointed to the eldest son with a trembling hand.

* * *

Watching the Chonest family dazedly write a contract to obey the Chefran family, Lucion quietly left the Chonest family.

The rest would be settled by Kran.

Lucion crouched near the carriage he had been in, petting Lata who had become a fat fox.

Looking at the sky for a while, he thought the sky was very beautiful because the stars were attached to it.

“Teacher. …Do I look heartless?”

Lucion hesitated and spoke out.

He didn’t regret killing the eldest son of Chonest.

He was going to do the same again.

But he felt like his body was shrinking.

‘…I wonder if this is because of Lee Haram’s memories.’

[No, that organization is yours. Chefran is yours, too. They coveted yours. He was already prepared to kill you.]

Russell shook his head.

[I think so too, Lord Lucion. You don’t have to think hard about it, and it’s not something you have to think so hard about in the first place. If Lord Lucion hadn’t instilled fear in him, he would have done the same thing again.]

Bethel also opened her mouth.

Why is he heartless when he’s just trying to protect what he has?

The one to blame was the person who tried to steal it in the first place.

“Everyone hates having their belongings stolen. But I’ve never owned anything, so I don’t want anything taken away.”

Lucion’s neck gradually stiffened.

The things in Cronia were not his, but his father’s.

But the organization was different.

It was completely his.

Just thinking about it made him happy.

“Now the organization has gained force.”

The number of the Reint mercenaries was about 60.

The number of members was already approaching 200.

[Yes, they’re the mercenaries, so they’re a proper armed group.]

“It started with four people, including me, and it’s gotten this big.”

Lucion’s voice mingled with laughter.

The growth was fast because they brought in people who had already formed an organization.

[At this rate, the organization will grow incomparably faster. You’ve already taken over two viscount families.]

Bethel looked at Lucion with pride.

“To swallow all six branches…”

Lucion stopped talking and looked at Hume, who quietly handed over a macaron.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes.”

“So, Hamel-nim.”

Hume pointed his finger to Viscounty of Chonest.

―Oh! Lucion’s people are coming!

Ratta wagged her tail and quickly entered Lucion’s shadow.

“I wonder if we can be here today. I’m here to find Mr. Hamel.”

Kran caught his breath and stared at Lucion.

“Mr. Hamel. I’ve been looking for you for a long time. I wouldn’t have found you without Mr. Quite…”

Kran caught his breath and stared at Lucion.

He had crouched down to pet Ratta. Ratta had entered the shadows, so Lucion looked strange.

“…Why are you sitting like this?”

Kran’s face distorted.

Aren’t you one of the contributors to this plan?

“Right.”

Lucion said, hiding his embarrassment.

“Chonest is now ours.”

“Yes.”

“We’ve decided to have more than half of Chonest’s assets and businesses.”

“Good job.”

“You should be more pleased.”

Lucion paused for a moment as he tried to get up from his seat.

He had been crouching down, so felt numb as if he had a cramp in his leg.

[I think you got a cramp? You indeed went too far. You will suffer from muscle pain tomorrow.]

When Russell snickered at Lucion’s legs, Hume hurriedly lifted up Lucion.

He didn’t know what it meant to have a cramp, but it sounded strange.

“…Are you not feeling well? Are you overdoing it?”

Kran looked anxiously at Lucion.

“No. I am fine.”

“Everyone is waiting for Hamel-nim. I’ll help you.”

“No. It’s just a cramp, I can walk.”

As Lucion’s voice rose slightly, Kran took two steps back and followed Lucion.

“Hamel-nim.”

“What?”

“I want Hamel-nim to think of the organization as a home.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Yes. Thank you for your words.”

Returning to the mansion, Kran couldn’t be more excited when he thought of the applause Lucion would receive.

As a prince, he was reluctant to serve someone at first, but it turned out better than he thought.

He might save his body like that, so he couldn’t hate it even if he tried.

* * *

The next day.

After breakfast, Novio called Lucion separately.

Novio had returned to the mansion two days ago and calmly informed him that he had taken care of the Stepping Stone as well as those who had hired assassins who attacked Cronia.

However, there was no specific word about where or how they disappeared, so Lucion didn’t ask.

“Did you call for me, Father?”

Lucion greeted Novio and sat down on the sofa.

Like Russell said, as soon as he woke up in the morning, he had muscle pain all over his body, so it was very difficult for him to sit down.

“Yes, Lucion. I called because I had something to say.”

“Speak, please.”

“Luminos is destroyed. We got a call early this morning.”

Novio officially announced that Luminos had disappeared.

[Still, considering that it took a week, there must have been quite a bit of leftovers.]

Russell’s eyes turned to the letters piled up on Novio’s desk.

“What a relief…”

Lucion was about to share his feelings but then he looked at Ratta, who was on Novio’s lap before he knew it.

“This one is as cute as she looks. I gave her meat and cookies, but she didn’t follow me so quickly.”

Novio smiled pleasantly.

‘She has no backbone.’

Lucion snorted right away.

But he couldn’t say anything because Ratta was perfectly keeping her word that she wouldn’t eat food given by strangers.

Novio beckoned to the desk.

“These are invitations for you.”

“Invitations?”

“It’s already been almost two weeks since you came back to the border. I think it’s time to choose the next track.”

Lucion frowned.

The title of a saint was given by the Imperial family and the temple for their own benefit, not so he could live like a real saint.

‘…But it’s a good opportunity.’

He had to travel around the Empire anyway.

“I just don’t want you to look at it negatively.”

Novio advised Lucion cautiously.

He was in a different situation from Novio and Carson, who were bound to be tied to the border.

“Yes. I know.”

Seeing Lucion biting his lip, Novio let out a short breath.

“I understand what you’re thinking. But now that you are known to the public, there are so many people who will abuse you. At least build strength to stand properly so you don’t get swept away by either side.”

“Is it difficult with just the name Cronia?

“Cronia will always be your shield. But you can’t win a battle with a shield alone. Lucion, do you understand what you need now?”

“A sword. A sharp, pointed sword.”

“Yes. Everything you can get is over there.”

Novio winked at the letters piled up on the desk again.

“The noble world is a cold one. Power instead of sword. It’s a place where fancy speech is needed instead of fancy technology.”

He could tell that every single word contained deep worries.

Lucion relaxed his expression and looked at Novio.

Novio’s eyes were filled with affection.

“Lucion.”

Novio softly called Lucion.

“I want you to win any battle.”

Following Novio’s slowly widening smile, Lucion also smiled.

“Don’t worry, Father. I’ve never lost a fight I’ve had.”

Even in the first crisis of death.

Even in the fight against ghosts.

Even in the fight with the world.

He won them all alone.

“Yes. I know. I know how hard you try.”

A voice full of pride naturally warmed Lucion’s heart.