Chapter 30: I’ve Shown Everything There Is To Show (4)

Keter placed Ultima down on the pile of straw in the hay storage of the stable and said, “You can open your eyes now. There’s no stable keeper at this hour, and the soldiers don’t come near here after lunch because of the manure smell.”

Ultima was alive. There was a clear handprint on his neck that looked like he had been strangled, and he had been slammed into the ground so hard that it shook. The sound was loud enough for his ribs to break and his organs to twist, but...

Crackle...

Suddenly, Ultima sprang up. He raised his upper body, leaned against the pile of straw, and wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve.

The loud sound was a trick. Ultima’s body hadn’t actually hit the ground; Keter had slammed his fist into the ground instead. It only appeared that way to those watching from afar. Ultima was alive, but he wasn’t relieved. Keter, who had deceived the eyes and ears of everyone, was now blocking his path.

“Meticulous bastard. Even in that situation, you were thinking about fooling the onlookers.”

Ultima and Keter had known each other since childhood. It was more of an ill-fated destiny rather than a coincidence. They were both abandoned orphans, so they often crossed paths because they had similar places to stay and similar things they could do. Because of that, Ultima was constantly compared to Keter, who always came in first at everything, no matter what.

Of course, Ultima wasn’t a fool. He tried multiple times to kill Keter—as that was how things were done in Liqueur— but each time he ended up beaten and robbed of everything he had.

“You always acted reckless, but you always had a plan. And I was always the victim.”

“I didn’t bring you all the way here to reminisce about the past.”

“Ugh, right. So, you’re saying you can protect me—or rather, my company? The Sefira family can?”

“

Tsk

. Did you land on your head when you hit the ground? I already told you, it’s not the Sefira family.”

Keter pointed to himself with his thumb and said, “I will protect you.”

“...Wait, is this some kind of hallucination or dream? Did you actually kill me, and this is the afterlife?”

As Keter raised his fist, Ultima quickly changed his tone.

“I’m joking. But surely you’re joking too, right? Protect me from high nobles? It’s not just one family, it’s a coalition of them. They may not be prestigious families, but their combined power isn’t something any one person can handle.”

In this world, nobles were divided into high and low nobles. Even low noble families had enough privileges for generations to live comfortably, but ambitious people dreamed of becoming a high noble. That was because high nobles were granted the right to maintain private military forces; they had the right to have at least five hundred soldiers and ten knights, and four of these families had joined forces.

They were a small army that even a prestigious family wouldn’t take lightly, but Keter, a mere individual, was saying he could protect Ultima from them. The logical conclusion was that it was impossible, but Keter had always been an eccentric that defied logic.

“Ultima, I didn’t bring you here to hear how strong or impressive our opponents are,” Keter said.

“...”

“I brought you here to hear your answer: yes or no. Is that difficult? Don’t try to persuade me, just tell me your decision.”

The unspoken threat was clear: depending on his choice, Ultima could really end up dead. Ultima didn’t fully understand that, but he couldn’t reject Keter as easily as before.

It was absurd. No matter how many times he thought about it—whether a hundred or a thousand—it still didn’t make sense. Ultima would scoff if the Sefira family offered to protect him, yet, strangely, Keter’s offer to protect him made him hesitate. It wasn’t something he could decide in a day, or even a month, but Keter was pressing for an answer.

“If you die, you’ll have plenty of time to think about it forever. Want me to help with that?”

“Before I answer, what do I stand to gain from joining forces with the Sefira family? Just so you know, the high nobles promised to make me a low noble.”

“I’m explaining this for the last time, Ultima, but you’re not working with the Sefira family; you’re working with me.”

“Wait, so, you’re not doing this because of Lord Besil’s orders but on your own?”

Snap!

Keter snapped his fingers.

“Now you’re getting it.”

“...I thought I couldn’t get lower than this, but this is even worse.

“There is one thing that I can do, Ultima, and I’ll tell you what it is so you don’t get confused.”

Keter squatted to Ultima’s eye level.

“I won’t kill you.”

“Ha.”

Ultima frowned deeply. On the other hand, Keter’s eyes glistened clearly and calmly. It was the look of a lunatic.

* * *

“Did that crazy bastard really kill him?” muttered one of the baggage carriers from the Ultima Merchant Company. He looked like a typical carrier, but in reality, he was a subordinate of a high noble, tasked with monitoring Ultima. He glanced at the stable where Keter had entered, keeping a close watch.

That was when...

Bang!

...the stable door flew open violently, and a man sprinted out. It was Ultima. Blood was trickling from his lips, and his hair was a mess, but it was unmistakably him. He looked panicked, as if he had barely escaped with his life.

Keter, who was chasing after him, shouted angrily, “Hey! If you come back now, I’ll only hit you twice!”

“

Shriek

!”

It was clear to anyone watching that Keter had beaten Ultima. The assassin disguised as a carrier was disappointed.

“If Keter killed Ultima, we could’ve used it as a reason to put more pressure on the Sefira family. What a shame.”

Since Ultima was alive, the carrier still had to at least pretend to help Ultima. And he wasn’t the only one with that thought. Ultima’s subordinates rushed in to protect their master. Blocked by the crowd, Keter yelled furiously about teaching that commoner some noble laws, while Ultima, without looking back, mounted a horse and left the estate.

“Hmph, did he run away? How lucky.”

Now, everyone knew that Keter had severely beaten Ultima and chased him away. This news quickly spread not only to the patriarch but also to the spies who were monitoring them. Keter had caused a major incident in just two days of joining the family.

Those who were hostile to Sefira smiled in triumph. They had thought that Keter, who suddenly joined the family, might be a hidden talent for Sefira, but it was now confirmed that he was a disaster.

That day, an urgent order was issued to all spies.

“From now on, do not interfere with what Keter is doing.”

“Cease all activities for now to avoid getting mixed up with Keter.”

They temporarily stepped back from the frontlines, waiting for Sefira to implode on its own, and this change was immediately noticeable. Besil, the patriarch of the Sefira family, hadn’t heard anything yet, but he could feel it.

“This is ominous.”

As usual, Besil was wrestling with a mountain of paperwork, but he stood up and moved to the window. Unfortunately, his premonitions were rarely wrong.

“It doesn’t seem to be an attack.”

It was noisy, but not the dangerous kind of noise. In fact, it sounded almost lively.

“I hope it’s just unnecessary worry,” he muttered, massaging his arm.

Besil already felt bad about having imprisoned Panir, his uncle. There were only circumstantial clues of betrayal and no clear evidence, but it would also be a problem if there were.

The family should be coming together right now, but...

The elders, who were the pillars of the family, were all acting independently. The previous patriarch had disappeared without a word about his whereabouts, Panir was in custody, and his father-in-law, Elder Reganon, was avoiding any conversation with him.

My children are doing their best, but...

It wasn’t just because they were his children; objectively, they were exceptional. However, they weren’t really helpful.

I can only rely on Hissop.

His eldest son, Hissop, was now working as the young master and taking care of external affairs. While he hadn’t had any remarkable achievements, in the current situation, the mere absence of bad news was an accomplishment.

Knock, knock.

Besil, lost in thought, was interrupted by the sound of a knock at the door.

“Lord Besil, this is Navakin, Knight of the Sacred Order of Sefira. I have urgent news to report.”

Besil, who had a worried expression, quickly changed his demeanor and said, “Come in.”

Without even greeting him, Navakin spoke urgently.

“Lord Keter has caused an incident.”

“...Keter again.”

Honestly, Keter was a name Besil didn’t want to hear at this moment. Even just yesterday, Keter had caused too many incidents. As soon as he arrived, he knocked out Anis, took ownership of Demon Bow Amaranth, and turned Taragon into a racing horse. And if that wasn’t enough, he even turned Katherine, the flower of Sefira, mute. To make matters worse, rumors of a ghost stabbing necks at night began circulating the moment Keter arrived.

Complaints and suspicions about Keter had piled up like an avalanche from all directions. Yet, Besil had patiently endured, even apologizing to those affected.

Let’s observe for just one more day. I can’t discern Keter’s true motives.

That was what Besil had told himself earlier that morning. But just before Navakin arrived, Volkanus and Hans came to see him. As soon as they arrived, they got straight to the point: they had sold all the stored bows to Ultima.

Since Besil trusted them, he believed they had good reason for doing so... until Keter’s name was mentioned.

“The deal was driven by Keter. This is the temporary receipt issued by Ultima.”

“...?”

Besil, who wondered why Keter was being mentioned, was shocked when he saw the receipt from Volkanus. It wasn’t because they had earned two hundred thousand gold from selling the bows, nor was it because he had just learned, for the first time, that they owed Ultima four hundred thousand gold.

“A commission...?”

Keter had taken ten percent of the earnings as a commission, which was recorded in the receipt.

Who allowed this?

Selling the family’s bows without the approval of the patriarch was already an overreach of power, but Besil thought he could allow it if it was the idea of Hans, who was in charge of finances, and Volkanus, the head of the forge.

But

Keter? He not only led the deal but also made a huge commission?

“Master Volkanus, what happened? I can understand selling the bows, but you let Keter take a commission?”

“Ahem, Keter will explain that. We’ll get going now.”

Then, Volkanus hurriedly left with Hans. It was something that only Volkanus could have done. Besil rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache. Volkanus, who had always shown such a stern demeanor, fled without even looking back.

Should I call for Keter?

It was a strange dilemma; the head of the family should not hesitate to summon a child who had caused trouble. However, Besil had sworn just yesterday to never see Keter. It wasn’t an official vow, but even the thought of breaking it bruised his pride.

In truth, Besil deeply wanted to summon Keter immediately and question him and ask what he was thinking when he did everything he did. However, Besil couldn’t act recklessly; he wasn’t an immature child anymore. With the wisdom of an elder and the dignity of a patriarch, he held back for the family’s honor. He believed that was the best teaching he could give as a father and a patriarch.

“So, what did Keter do?” Besil asked gently after having calmed down his impatience.

Besil’s demeanor was so forgiving, as if he’d even pardon murder, that Navakin felt reassured to tell him what had happened.

“He beat Mr. Ultima, the merchant.”

“

Hahaha.

”

As Besil laughed calmly, Navakin awkwardly joined in.

“

Ha... Haha.

”

“

Hahaha.

”

“

Haha... Hahaha.

”

“Bring him to me.”

“

Haha...

Pardon? Oh, Mr. Ultima rode off first. Should I chase after him?” Navakin asked.

“No, no. Not Ultima.”

“Then...?”

“My son.”

“Oh, you mean Lord Taragon. He’s running around the track. I’ll fetch him right away.”

When Navakin still didn’t catch on, Besil softly called his name, “Navakin.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Bring me the lunatic.”

If Navakin didn’t get it at this point, no one could blame Besil if he beat Navakin.