To the Promised Land Where Scheming and Betrayal Flow (2)
On the way to the royal capital, being ambushed by bandits!
Or running into something like that!
A hero who saves a woman in danger and becomes her savior! That’s exactly what carriage journeys are all about!
— “If anyone dared to say such nonsense, Sion would’ve socked them in the jaw right then and there.”
What kind of lunatic bandits would dare try to collect tolls in the middle of the highway leading directly to the royal capital?
Merchants traveled with escorts nearly equivalent to regular soldiers, and the nobles themselves had their own private troops.
If the nation were in such ruin that bandits could do as they pleased here, they wouldn’t even have the right to call themselves a kingdom anymore.
‘Boring··· this is the first time I actually miss my phone.’
Carriage, city, carriage, some noble’s estate, carriage again, city again, carriage once more. It was like his army days, shuffling back and forth between the supply warehouse, the teaching materials warehouse, and the food stores.
Sion glanced around inside the carriage. Lilith had already fallen asleep a while ago with her head resting on his lap, and Lucia was silently concentrating, claiming she was training her mana control, already over an hour now.
Lischida was excluded since she was riding outside on horseback, and lastly, the protagonist Kim Yoo-hyun was···.
Clatter!
Clatter!
His sword half-drawn from the scabbard, then pushed back in, drawn out again, then slid back once more.
There was no special reason. That was just Kim Yoo-hyun’s old habit whenever he zoned out.
“···.”
Clatter!
Clatter!
‘Creepy bastard. Just doing that makes him scarier than he already is. I’m scared he’s gonna show up in my dreams.’
His eyes unfocused, he looked like a genuine lunatic. Add some blood spatter on that face and have him swing a blade, and he’d be a perfect demon of slaughter.
Or a dancing serial killer with a sword?
“Lord Sion.”
At the voice calling him, Sion slightly opened the carriage window.
Lischida was riding right next to it, speaking in as low a voice as possible so as not to disturb those inside.
“By tomorrow morning we should reach the royal capital. So I thought perhaps we should rest here for today, but…”
“But?”
“The other knights say they would prefer to avoid that noble’s city.”
At that, Sion tilted his head, roughly gauged the date and distance, then let out a small exclamation.
So this was ‘that bastard’s’ place.
‘The Marquess of Redenen.’
A noble house famous for producing fiery-tempered warriors. The problem was their offspring were either outstanding aces or absolute trash, nothing in between. And here, Kim Yoo-hyun was fated to run into one of the worst brats in the middle portion of the novel.
“Lischida. Other noble estates nearby besides the Redenen marquisate?”
“None, I was told.”
“Well, sleeping in the carriage again would be uncomfortable. Since the Marquess of Redenen has at least some acquaintance with my father, tell the knights it’d be better to stop by and pay respects.”
“Yes, understood.”
Luckily, the current head of Redenen, Volco Redenen, counted as a ‘decent’ person.
An acquaintance of Count Lichten. Not that they shared a deep friendship, more like cautious rivals aware of each other.
The problem was his son.
‘I remember the name well because it stood out. Ludwig Redenen. Self-proclaimed knight who will lead the kingdom’s future.’
Emphasis on self-proclaimed, because no one else said it. And he even used that line openly when introducing himself to others. It was so cringeworthy the listeners’ toes curled, yet Ludwig himself had no clue.
Worse, that wasn’t the end of it.
The guy lived in his own world, looking down on and belittling others like it was second nature. Because of that, he and Kim Yoo-hyun were at odds from the very beginning, and even when Hispania was in crisis, they were too busy snarling and tripping each other up.
‘At least his skills were trash so he retired early. Otherwise I might’ve ended up being the one who became mana-user Sion Clausen.’
If Ludwig heard that, he’d be furious. He and Kim Yoo-hyun didn’t get along, but his relationship with Sion Clausen was even worse. For many reasons, but chiefly because his first love, a young lady of another noble house, fell for Sion at first sight, treating Ludwig like dirt ever after.
‘Uselessly handsome bastard. Almost feels like the author planned it that way…’
Sion Clausen carried that setting where he inexplicably attracted women thanks to his looks.
As if mana sensitivity and good looks were inversely proportional.
Meanwhile, the carriage rolled into Redenen territory. As expected of one of the top ten great noble houses of the kingdom, their grandeur was obvious from the very gates.
As the saying goes, even a rich house in decline can last three years, and when Hispania collapsed, the Redenens still held on.
Of course, thanks to Saik, Trisha Faker, the house would soon be reduced to ashes.
“What is this place?”
“The Marquess of Redenen’s estate. We’ll be staying here tonight.”
“Hm. Seems like there are some pretty decent folks around here. I can feel a lot of dense mana.”
Kim Yoo-hyun too had shed his vacant stare, eyes gleaming as he looked outside.
Clearly he was also intrigued by the presence of skilled knights. But to him and Sion, knights were nothing more than ‘perfect prey for farming experience.’
“Alright, everyone. Please pay attention. Focus.”
“?”
“There are two things I need to warn you of before we go into the Redenen estate.”
“What are they?”
“First, don’t be surprised. He really means it.”
“Huh?”
“Second, don’t be shocked. That’s just how he is.”
Completely vague warnings. No one, Lilith, Lucia, Lischida, not even Kim Yoo-hyun, could make sense of them, all tilting their heads in confusion.
And the reason became clear once they entered the Redenen manor.
“Welcome, everyone, to the Marquess of Redenen’s estate. Ah yes, I am the perfect knight candidate who will lead the future of Hispania, Ludwig Redenen. Ah yes, that’s right. I’m also the heir of this house.”
“···.”
Don’t be surprised. He really means it.
Sion’s words echoed freshly in everyone’s minds. It was already absurd to call himself the perfect knight who’d shoulder the kingdom’s future, but when he followed it up with, ‘I’m also the heir of this house,’ and even put a finger to his lips like ‘Shhh!’...
They wanted to die of secondhand embarrassment. If it had been a joke or a bit he did whenever guests visited, that would’ve been better.
But no, this was just Ludwig’s everyday self. A man who lived for his own brilliance and charm!
“But it seems we have an uninvited guest here, don’t we?”
Gone was the smarmy bravado, replaced by a sudden menacing aura as Ludwig marched up to the man standing with arms crossed, staring at him quietly. He tilted his chin up ever so slightly, voice dripping with condescension.
“So now you’ve stooped to stealing even the Count’ honor and claiming it for your own?
Truly pitiful, to think a man with such a useless son could suffer so.”
“···?”
Sudden provocation, outright insults. It was so abrupt that for a moment one might think, ‘Are they just close friends messing around?’
But Sion’s reaction made it clear that wasn’t the case.
“As heir of the Marquess of Redenen, you should keep some dignity, Ludwig.”
“Ha! Hearing that from you is a joke. What else do you do besides hide away in your borderland, chasing after women? Dignity? Did you ever have the right to speak of such a thing?”
Don’t be shocked. That’s just how he is.
Finally, everyone understood Sion’s earlier warning.
Sion, having fully expected this, spoke flatly.
“Nope.”
“···What?”
“I said I don’t have that right. I know exactly what kind of bastard I am.”
They say clapping requires both hands, but here, Ludwig was the only one smacking his palms raw. Sion had slipped away unscathed, leaving Ludwig looking ridiculous.
One side, a childish brat picking a fight. The other, too mature to even play along.
‘This bastard…’
Ludwig was stunned.
Sion Clausen had always blown up in anger whenever provoked. And that was when Ludwig delivered his favorite line: “If you’ve got a problem, prove it with your sword.”
That always shut Sion up. And every time, Ludwig would call him a coward too scared to fight, reveling in his humiliation. But this time, Sion wasn’t reacting the same way.
Now he seemed determined not to play Ludwig’s game at all.
‘Not a chance!’
If Sion thought he could wriggle out, he was mistaken. Ludwig had the perfect method to crush him, challenge him to a duel.
Every time before, Sion had cowered like a frightened puppy.
This time would be no different.
“The son of the kingdom’s shield, Count Clausen, agreeing so easily… If it were me, I’d grab a sword and settle who’s right and wrong with steel, Sion Clausen.”
“···.”
“Pity. If only you actually liked the sword—”
“I don’t like it. But I do know how to use one. So why don’t we cross blades?”
“What?”
For a moment Ludwig wondered if he’d misheard.
Sion Clausen, spineless whelp terrified of swords, was actually suggesting they duel. Suggesting him, Ludwig Redenen, heir of the Marquess, knight of the kingdom’s future, duel!
“···What’s your angle all of a sudden?”
Faced with such a drastic change, even Ludwig couldn’t help but be wary.
Had Sion made some great breakthrough? Had his swordsmanship suddenly advanced? They said he’d distinguished himself in the war, could it be connected?
“Well, I am a war hero of sorts, but you treat me like dirt. Do you even know how much I suffered against Nudia, Ludwig Redenen?”
“···.”
At that, Ludwig sneered inwardly. That face-painted clown, actually fighting in war? The coward who shied away even from simple sparring matches?
Finally, Ludwig understood.
This fool had been dragged to the battlefield by his father, then by sheer luck ended up in victory, and now strutted around as if he’d earned it himself.
‘Idiot. So much for my worries. I thought maybe he’d really grown from the war. But of course not.’
By any measure, Ludwig was clearly the superior knight candidate.
He could already take on low-ranked knights in battle!
Today, Sion Clausen had truly met his match.
‘The fact that this fool became a war hero and is marching to the capital already infuriates me. Perfect. I’ll drag his pride down to the gutter right here.’
Resolved, Ludwig feigned hesitation, as though worried Sion might catch on and back out, then shrugged as if it couldn’t be helped.
“Well, since you insist, I suppose I must. Follow me. I was going to wash up before resting anyway. might as well work up a sweat first.”
“Agreed, Ludwig.”
Idiot. Whoever that lady is, I’ll shatter you right in front of her!
Ludwig trembled with anticipation, thrilled at the thought. That intellectual aura, the cold beauty, it was more than enough.
As he gazed at Lucia, he was eager to crush Sion utterly and claim all her admiration for himself.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
The training yard wasn’t far, so soon Sion and Ludwig stood facing each other with wooden swords.
Sion glanced at his companions.
Lucia caught his eye first, she looked the most worried.
Without mana, even a simple duel of swords could be hopelessly one-sided in this world.
Her concern was only natural. Lilith’s face was hidden beneath her hood, but likely she felt much the same.
As for Kim Yoo-hyun···.
‘Don’t make that face. It’s creepy. Damn it, it’s creepy!’
Perhaps he understood Sion’s pride as a man refusing to back down, but Yoo-hyun’s faintly disturbed expression only made Sion shiver.
“Well then, let’s see the swordplay you supposedly used on the battlefield.”
Ludwig’s mockery only made Sion laugh inside.
The fool had just invoked ‘real battle swordsmanship.’
To Sion, that was no different from saying, “Do whatever the hell you want.”
“The rules are simple. Whoever points their blade at the other’s neck wins. Any objections?”
Of course not...By the time he’d said it, Ludwig had already lost.
