Joshua couldn’t understand it no matter how much he thought about it.
No matter what happens to Herand, it shouldn’t matter much.
“Damn, why did I lie?”
Orun’s usually stern and sharp eyes had something chilling in them this time.
A strong killing intent.
Sensing that this ominous feeling was directed at ‘Herand’, Joshua had instinctively lied.
‘Grandfather particularly hated Herand…’
Orun holds more power than the current head of the family, Joshua’s father.
He is the de facto head of the family and the chairman of the council of nobles, wielding immense power that even the top nobles bow to.
Defending Herand, who fell out of Orun’s favor, is absolutely forbidden.
Joshua knows this. He knows, but…
“I think he was here until a moment ago, but I don’t know now. He might have gone out.”
“Is that so? Hmm…”
Orun sighed at Joshua’s words that he didn’t know where Herand was.
“If he comes to the mansion, I will contact you directly, grandfather.”
Smiling, Joshua decided to continue lying to send Orun away.
Even if his grandfather entered the mansion and found Herand, he could claim he ‘didn’t know.’
“Haha, my dear child.”
Orun grasped Joshua’s shoulder.
In his prime, Orun was a renowned knight, and his hand was twice the size of Joshua’s.
“So, Herand is in the mansion?”
Orun’s eyes glinted as he tightened his grip on Joshua’s shoulder.
‘Ugh.’
The pain was excruciating, but Joshua tried not to grimace and looked at Orun with an innocent expression.
“You didn’t treat the first and second sons like brothers, but you always called Herand ‘Brother’.”
Orun’s sharp remark made Joshua flinch.
‘Damn, he caught on.’
He knew too.
When he was young, if Herand hadn’t helped him with a certain matter, he wouldn’t have received Orun’s favor like now.
“Ugh…”
As the pain intensified, Joshua eventually groaned.
But Orun, indifferent, only increased the pressure on his shoulder.
“He suggested in the recent family meeting that Julian be accepted as a legitimate member of the family, dropping the ‘Frason’ title.”
He knew. He was there.
“That’s absolutely unacceptable. Thinking such a thing, let alone saying it in a public setting.”
It was actually Joshua who brought up the topic.
He was about to say so, but Orun’s grip stopped him.
It felt like a silent command not to utter it.
“Oh, Chairman Orun.”
Herand, who had appeared without Joshua noticing, called out to Orun.
Although he was addressing his grandfather, Herand used his title instead, which made Joshua feel sorry for him. But as the pressure on his shoulder eased, he felt relieved.
If his brother hadn’t shown up, his shoulder might have been crushed.
Given how Orun treated Joshua, such a thing wouldn’t happen, though.
Orun’s glance back was sharp as ever.
“Herand, I heard about what happened at the family meeting.”
“……Yes.”
“Despite knowing how I, and the public, perceive Julian, you still uttered those words, didn’t you?”
Herand hesitated at Orun’s oppressive tone.
Already lacking the confidence to assert himself, Herand often heard people say, “Isn’t Herand from the collateral line, not Julian?”
Standing before Orun, Herand looked like a powerless animal.
“But, Chairman Orun, Julian no longer commits indiscriminate acts or tarnishes the family’s honor like in the past…”
“Herand!”
Startled by Orun’s thunderous voice, Herand flinched. Joshua, standing nearby, also jumped.
“I never intended to solve this with words, but I can no longer tolerate your behavior!”
Orun’s eyes blazed with fury.
“Herand, I will now commence the ‘Examination of Advancement.’ Follow me to the training ground immediately!”
***
The ‘Examination of Advancement.’
In the past, when Orun Crypart was the head of the family, this test was a form of training to find the family’s legitimate successor through a duel.
Although Orun no longer had the authority to conduct this test, no one could stop him.
Even Oben, the current head, wouldn’t be able to stop Orun now.
Strictly speaking, it was a grandfather disciplining his grandson for tarnishing the family’s honor.
Joshua sensed that this was not a simple ‘test’ but a ‘warning’ and ‘discipline.’
Discipline that involved broken bones and torn flesh.
Thwack! Thud!
“Ugh…”
Herand’s groans of agony filled the training ground.
“Get up.”
Orun’s eyes remained cold as he watched Herand endure the pain on the ground.
Before becoming the head of the family, Orun was a knight with a reputation equivalent to a ‘Sword Saint.’
He was also a great general who left his mark on the history of the northern front and an excellent swordsman whose body hadn’t significantly weakened despite the ravages of time.
“Cough, cough…”
“I told you to get up!”
Thud!
As Orun’s kick landed on Herand’s solar plexus, the sound of air escaping his lungs echoed.
Seeing Herand cough up blood, Joshua couldn’t help but close his eyes.
Despite inheriting the Crypart family’s robust physique, Herand’s weak spirit and lack of sword training meant his body couldn’t withstand Orun’s assaults.
‘Brother Herand…’
The test was conducted with a blunt wooden sword, not a sharp real sword, but even a wooden sword could kill.
Moreover, since Herand couldn’t use ‘Aura,’ each strike from the wooden sword was even more lethal.
“I told you to get up!”
Thud!
Orun swung the wooden sword mercilessly at Herand.
‘I have to stop this.’
Seeing Herand coughing up blood, Joshua couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
He tried to intervene to stop his brother’s suffering, but…
‘Ugh.’
‘Ugh.’
His feet wouldn’t move easily.
The central power of the Crypart family.
In fact, Orun wielded more power than their father.
‘Denying such a grandfather…’
It was like turning his back on the family’s protection.
Conflicting emotions battled within him as he heard Orun’s voice.
“Herand, I’ve never liked your pathetic demeanor. You’re too scared to even hold a sword and you can’t socialize properly with other nobles, you idiot!”
Joshua bit his lip hard.
“The first and second sons may not be suitable as the head of the family, but they were never as incompetent as you!”
Orun, who had been unleashing violence like a storm, looked down at Herand, who lay groaning on the ground.
“Well, have you changed your mind now? Do you still think we should strip Julian of the ‘Frason’ title?”
Violence was used to extract the desired answer.
How could this be called a ‘test’?
Yet, Joshua kept his mouth shut.
‘Brother Herand, you just need to say one word.’
Just say no.
“Oh, Chairman Orun…”
Trembling, Herand finally managed to speak.
His battered body was soaked with blood and sweat, and it was hard to find a spot that wasn’t bruised.
‘Just say it, brother.’
Say that Julian is still a tumor of the family.
“I, I still remember the day Lady Milena was buried…”
Contrary to Joshua’s expectations, Herand continued with a trembling voice.
Despite his body being on the verge of breaking, his voice and eyes held more strength than Joshua had ever seen.
“You made him dig the grave with those small hands and made him put Lady Milena in the coffin all by himself, didn’t you?!”
“Who would want to see or touch a barbarian from the north?!”
“She was not a barbarian; she was a citizen of the Empire… She just came from the north…”
Cough, cough.
A heavy silence fell over the training ground.
Orun’s guards, the mansion’s servants, and even Joshua sensed it.
Something terrible was going to happen.
“I was willing to let it go, but now I have no choice.”
The veins in Orun’s hand holding the wooden sword bulged.
At the same time, a bluish aura began to emanate from the tip of the sword.
Though faint, aura began to envelop the sword.
“G-Grandfather! How about stopping now?”
Joshua shouted instinctively, but Orun’s steps towards Herand didn’t halt.
‘I must stop this somehow.’
If he left it like this, he knew he would regret it, but his legs wouldn’t move.
Orun’s imposing presence was like a towering mountain; trying to stop him would only result in being swept away.
“Maybe if one of your arms or legs becomes useless, you’ll come to your senses…”
“Arrgh!”
At that moment, a scream from outside drew everyone’s attention.
“What is it?” Orun was the first to voice his curiosity.
Before the surrounding servants could check, the entrance to the training ground began to open.
Step, step.
An uninvited guest entered.
A man with a human face but a beastly heart.
A notorious figure who, despite the derogatory nicknames that sullied his name, exuded an air of dignity as he looked around.
“It seems I have arrived to see Brother Herand, but there were others here first.”
The man with squinting eyes quietly smiled and murmured.
His face bore a small smile.
That smile held…
Elegance and character.
Authority and order.
Prioritizing these values, he wore the ‘Frason’ label like a badge, mocking the seemingly virtuous Crypart family.
***
‘What on earth is going on?’
Seeing Herand rolling on the floor, beaten to a pulp, I couldn’t help but look troubled.
Something felt off.
As I was on my way to see Brother Herand in the training ground, a guard blocking the entrance had stopped me.
Usually, they wouldn’t react so sensitively.
‘Should I have not forced my way in?’
Knowing this, I should have just left when they told me to go back.
But it was too late now.
I had to resolve this, as ‘Julian’ would.
A tense silence settled over the training ground.
When I realized that everyone’s eyes were on me, I felt a pang of regret.
I should have come earlier or much later.
“Do you know where you are, you trash, showing your face here?”
Breaking the uneasy silence was a knight inside the training ground.
He didn’t seem to be one of the family’s knights but rather someone’s guard, approaching me with a clear look of discomfort.
‘Is he with the knight order? He seems skilled.’
Sensing the unusual atmosphere in the training ground, I decided to leave quickly.
But I knew I couldn’t leave without making an impact.
There were too many eyes watching, including Joshua.
Although I had leverage over him, I didn’t want to create a situation that disrupted the hierarchy.
‘If that knight comes closer and says something, I can pretend to leave reluctantly.’
Just as I was finishing that thought, the knight spoke.
“Get out of here at once. This is no place for someone like you…”
The knight didn’t stop with words but reached out his right hand to shove me.
Watching this unfold, I sensed something unusual was happening.
—
<Sombra> responds to hostility.
It counterattacks to protect your body.
—
Even though I hadn’t commanded it, ‘Sombra’ was ready to attack the approaching knight.
‘Damn it! Why is this happening!?’
Weakened by lingering thoughts and residual energy in the underground waterway, ‘Sombra’ was hypersensitive to hostility directed at me.
It couldn’t afford to become weak again, so, fortunately, it didn’t explode with its usual speed since it hadn’t fully healed yet, but if left unchecked, its true nature would be revealed in front of so many onlookers.
‘If that happens…’
The true identity of the Black Knight would be exposed as ‘me.’
That cannot happen.
I still have much to do.
Thinking quickly, I twisted the knight’s outstretched arm.
Crack.
“Argh!”
Caught off guard by the sudden move, the knight was easily subdued, but he quickly prepared to draw his sword with his other hand.
‘Not a chance!’
I kicked him, sending his scabbard flying from his body to the ground.
Then, to prevent any further actions, I pulled him close and choked him.
“Gah, gah…”
He struggled, choking for air.
It was a natural reaction to avoid suffocation, but ‘Sombra’ perceived it as resistance.
It was still poised to attack.
‘Damn it…’
At this point, there was no choice.
I drew the sword from its scabbard and aimed it at the knight’s neck. Only then did the struggling knight finally calm down.
The intense energy coursing through my body also subsided.
‘Good.’
It seemed ‘Sombra’ had finally relaxed.
“…What… what are you trying to do?”
Confused gazes from those around me pierced through.
From Orun to Joshua, everyone except the low-ranking servants was staring at me like that.
Why? Was subduing this knight such a shocking event?
I squinted my already narrow eyes further and glanced around before turning my gaze back to the captured knight.
‘Huh? He looks familiar…’
The emblem on his shoulder armor looked familiar.
It was the symbol of the ‘Godrich’ family, one of the four great families of the Empire, just like the Crypart family.
Huh? Huh?
Names from the Godrich family started flashing through my mind.
From a warrior comparable to a Sword Saint to several at Julian’s level.
Given the nature of the four great families that hold honor in high regard…
‘If it’s known that I threatened the life of a Godrich family knight…’
I’m screwed.
Cliche Novel 