Chapter 29: Do They Think Ragnar Is a Joke? (3)
“What are you all doing! Why haven’t you brought that wench before me at once?!”
The noble who had been approaching the maid with a fork flew into a rage at Elise’s sudden intrusion.
At that, everyone except the knight sprawled on the floor closed in on Elise at the same time.
“Everyone, stay alert. She’s not an easy woman.”
The knight who had just been struck down possessed mid-tier combat strength among the Royal Knight Order.
The fact that Elise had knocked out a knight who had even drawn his sword in a single move meant she was no ordinary opponent.
Then, at that moment.
The maid, who had been trembling in fear, muttered in a small voice.
“G, Gamo-nim…….”
At that short utterance, the knights faltered as they looked at Elise.
‘……Is she the lady of the Ragnar Head of the Family?’
To swing a sword at the lady of the house meant declaring outright hostility toward the Ragnar Family.
Of course, Pramo was treating the Envoy Delegation as guests, but if things went wrong, they might be expelled from the territory without carrying out the king’s orders.
Seeing the knights hesitate and fail to move, the noble, his face twisted with fury, strode toward Elise.
“How dare you humiliate a knight before a noble of the Daon Kingdom!”
At his enraged voice, Elise let out a derisive laugh and asked,
“What is your title?”
“My title? It’s not a title low enough to be told to the likes of you!”
Nobles who deliberately avoided stating their titles were desperately trying to conceal their inferiority.
At the very least, a count or higher would state his title without hesitation.
Elise shook her head and said,
“Then it must be below a count.”
“……What?”
“When you get angry, is barking and throwing a tantrum all you can do? I don’t even know if you realize where you are, acting like this.”
“What does it matter that it’s a family on the verge of collapse, to spout such nonsense!”
Elise looked at the noble, veins bulging at his neck as he shouted, with cold eyes.
She had endured his blatant disregard for the Ragnar Family in front of Pramo, but not this time.
‘To dare lay hands on the people of the territory.’
All those who worked in the Ragnar Family’s mansion were people of the territory.
Yet he had tried to harm an innocent territorial resident—something she could not tolerate as Gamo.
Elise stepped closer to him and said,
“You seem to live with the word ‘base’ on your lips, but is it you who’s base, making a spectacle of yourself in the Ragnar Family’s estate?”
“What did you say?!”
“Shut your mouth. Before I cut that neck right now.”
“How dare you try to humiliate me……. What are the knights doing! Didn’t I order you to make that wench kneel before me at once?!”
At the sight of the noble raging without regard for consequences, the knights let out deep sighs.
Having heard that she was Gamo, they didn’t want to step forward, but they also couldn’t disobey an order that had already been given.
Just as the knights reluctantly began to move, two men appeared in the dining hall.
Among them, the man with white hair vanished like a ghost and reappeared in front of the noble in the blink of an eye.
“Are you the envoy who came from the royal capital?”
“And who are you?”
The man who grabbed the noble by the collar hurled him against the wall.
Kyle Ragnar, of pure Ragnar blood, with white hair and crimson eyes, had just returned from Chaplin Castle.
“Impudent bastard.”
As Kyle growled at the noble sprawled on the floor, Seros issued a warning to the knights holding their swords.
“Put your swords away at once. If you don’t, I’ll cut you down.”
Shrring—
Seros drew his sword and released his killing intent.
The overwhelming killing intent that filled the entire dining hall made the knights’ bodies tremble violently.
Though Seros’s killing intent didn’t reach the maid, she still hadn’t escaped the fear caused by the noble.
Kyle looked down at the maid and extended his hand.
“Get up.”
The maid stared at the offered hand, then clasped Kyle’s hand with both of hers.
After helping her to her feet, Kyle spoke to Elise.
“Elise, I taught you wrong. Creatures like these don’t listen to words.”
“Brother-in-law…….”
“They only understand after they’ve been beaten until they do.”
Kyle withdrew his gaze from Elise.
Then he slowly walked toward the noble, who was beginning to regain his senses.
“Listen well, Elise.”
“I’ll listen carefully, Brother-in-law.”
“In Ragnar land, no one can exercise noble privilege. That is an unchanging law and covenant since the Daon royal family was established.”
Even a king lost all authority the moment he set foot on Ragnar land.
Whether marquis or duke, if they violated that covenant, summary execution could be carried out.
Kyle looked down at the noble with icy eyes and asked Elise,
“They treated the Envoy Delegation like a ruined family, didn’t they?”
“They certainly did.”
Kyle gave a small nod and then looked at Seros.
“Seros, take responsibility and bring every noble who came from the royal family before me. If they spewed such foul words before the Head of the Family, they deserve to die.”
At Kyle’s command, Seros bowed crisply and vanished from the spot.
The knights watching that scene widened their eyes.
Seros disappeared so fast they couldn’t even tell when he moved.
They had never once heard information that the Ragnar Family possessed such a powerful expert.
While the knights stood there in shock, Kyle forcibly hauled the noble to his feet.
“You were going to make the lady of Ragnar kneel? To give such an absurd order—your vulgar mouth is the problem.”
Kyle grabbed the mouth of the noble who had caused the disturbance.
The noble, jolted awake by the pain, clutched at Kyle’s hand as if begging him to let go.
“Mmgh!”
“I heard that Clover, the second prince, seized the throne. A madman struck with frenzy really did take the king’s seat.”
Still gripping his mouth, Kyle turned his head.
Then, fixing a cold gaze on a knight whose eyes met his, he spoke,
“You there. What is this wretch’s title?”
“I, I’m a baron.”
“And the highest title among those who came as the Envoy Delegation?”
“……A viscount.”
“So that’s all they amount to.”
Kyle turned his head again and looked at the noble, whose mouth was still clamped shut and who couldn’t move.
“If you’re going to provoke someone, you should choose your opponent carefully.”
Eventually, Kyle struck the noble’s forehead hard with his palm.
The noble’s head snapped back, and he passed out on the spot. Kyle grabbed the slack nape of his neck.
Dragging the noble across the floor, Kyle walked forward and then stopped abruptly in front of the knights.
“Are you going to block me?”
“……No.”
“No chivalric spirit at all.”
At the mention of chivalric spirit, the knight revealed a bitter expression.
The moment they had faced Seros’s killing intent, they hadn’t even been able to twitch a single finger.
On top of that, there wasn’t a single knight reckless enough to charge at Kyle, who was radiating an even fiercer presence.
Only after Kyle left the dining hall did the knights finally feel as if they could breathe again.
Though they could move their bodies now, they didn’t dare leave the dining hall.
Kyle threw the noble he had dragged along into the courtyard of the mansion.
Not long after, Seros also tossed down the remaining two he had captured.
Pramo, who had come outside due to the commotion in the dining hall, approached Kyle as soon as he spotted him.
“Brother.”
“Why are you enduring it?”
“……I thought my actions might cause trouble for you, Brother.”
“This isn’t a place where you need to mind me.”
As Kyle spoke with Pramo, he drew his sword.
In one swift motion, he severed the baron’s neck as the man regained consciousness and sprang to his feet.
The baron clutched his neck with both hands, but he couldn’t stop the blood pouring out.
Kyle looked down at the fallen baron and spoke to Pramo.
“No one will blame you for doing this. You are the Head of the Ragnar Family.”
“……Brother.”
“Don’t be afraid, and don’t hesitate. Even in this very moment when you’re unsure, someone is already suffering because of your choice.”
Even as he spoke, Kyle’s sword didn’t stop.
After taking the life of the other noble, Kyle turned his head toward the last remaining one.
“Does Ragnar look like a ruined territory to you?”
“To cut down the heads of an Envoy Delegation sent by the Ruler of the Daon Kingdom! You will never die an easy death!”
“This is why I hate nobles.”
Clicking his tongue, Kyle leveled his sword at the man’s neck and warned him.
“Go on. Beg me to spare you.”
“……You bastard!”
“That worthless pride of yours only matters if you’re alive to indulge it.”
Drip—
As Kyle’s sword dug into flesh, dark red blood flowed down along the line of the man’s neck.
Having already killed two nobles, there was no reason he wouldn’t kill the last one as well.
The noble, whose head was still attached, finally realized that he might die and relaxed his expression.
“……If I beg you to spare me, will you?”
“No.”
Kyle merely wanted to see.
Whether he would protect his honor, or abandon his life.
Thinking that he had become a plaything, the noble twisted his face again.
“The Daon royal family will never overlook this. Can you bear the consequences?”
“The one who’ll have to bear that won’t be Ragnar, but the Daon royal family.”
The moment the words ended, Kyle’s sword brushed past the noble’s neck.
Slice—
The noble’s body collapsed limply, and Kyle flicked the blood from his blade.
“It wouldn’t be bad to personally deliver the corpses to the royal family.”
“Brother, are you really planning to enter the Imperial Palace?”
“If they call, I have to go. Even if it’s a mad dog, it has business with me.”
“……Understood, Brother.”
“Until I return, you hold the military authority. It won’t take long.”
Kyle was about to step away, but a sudden thought made him look back at Pramo.
“I’ll have to retract what I said earlier. If I handle another matter as well, it might take longer than expected.”
“Another matter?”
At Pramo’s question, killing intent surfaced in Kyle’s eyes.
“Can we really leave the Sinoah Merchant Guild as it is?”
The framework was already roughly in place.
The Iron Mine had been reclaimed, and Acacia had been placed at the side of the Ragnar Knight Order.
Even if Kyle left his post, the Ragnar Knight Order would grow stronger.
On top of that, with an alliance formed with the Ork Tribe and the front lines stabilized, all that remained was the direction Pramo would take going forward.
Kyle gestured toward Aron, who had been watching from a distance.
“Aron.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Stay by the Head of the Family’s side and plan the matters and strategies that need to be handled from here on.”
“I will do my utmost to assist the Head of the Family.”
“Handle the negotiations with the Ork Lord at your discretion. And I trust you’ll take care of the Rapid Merchant Guild matter as well.”
Kyle left swiftly before Aron could even finish responding.
Inside a room lit by a single lamp.
Before a man sitting motionless, a figure dressed in black appeared.
“Merchant Guild Head, we couldn’t find the whereabouts of Branch Head Benshi.”
“……What about infiltrating the Ragnar Territory?”
“It’s impossible.”
“Haa…… Just where did such a monster suddenly crawl out from?”
The master of the Sinoah Merchant Guild.
Sinoah let out a low groan from his seat.
News of Branch Head Benshi, who had taken a large force of the guild to seize Ragnar, had been cut off.
They had been scrambling everywhere, trying to track his whereabouts.
Yet not only could they not find Branch Head Benshi, those stationed in the Ragnar Territory were also completely unaccounted for.
“What about the spies we planted earlier?”
“They’re judged to have all been eliminated. Merchant Guild Head, wouldn’t it be better to withdraw from the Daon Kingdom altogether?”
“That won’t do. With the cult reduced to ruins, where else would we even settle?”
Clenching his fist, Sinoah muttered to himself with a twisted expression.
“If only that demon-like bastard hadn’t existed, the cult could’ve swallowed the Tylers Empire…….”
Most of the power built up over a hundred years had been destroyed by a single man.
As a result, their century-long plans were ruined, and the cult he belonged to lost its strength and plummeted endlessly.
At least it was fortunate that they had led the remaining forces to hide in a kingdom where the Tylers Empire couldn’t exert its influence.
But now, there was nowhere left to run.
They had to resolve this situation somehow to regain the cult’s approval.
As Sinoah sank into thought, the man continued his report.
“……According to royal informants, King Clover has sent an Envoy Delegation to the Ragnar Territory. It seems the king has issued an order for Kyle Ragnar to enter the Imperial Palace.”
“What power does the royal family think it has to send a letter to the Ragnar Family? They’re bound by a covenant.”
“It may be an overreach by the king, but if it’s Kyle Ragnar, there’s a chance he’ll enter the Royal Capital.”
At the subordinate’s report, Sinoah’s gaze sharpened.
“And what makes you think that?”
“If the Ragnar Family has begun to revive, then Kyle Ragnar will be at the center of that change. Given that he removes everything in his way, I believe there’s a high probability he’ll sever ties with the royal family.”
“So Kyle Ragnar will come to the Royal Capital to cut that tie?”
“Yes.”
“……The probability isn’t that high, but it’s not a bad development. If we can eliminate Kyle Ragnar, the Ragnar Family is highly likely to collapse again.”
“If Kyle Ragnar enters the Royal Capital, we’ll begin preparations to strike.”
“Deploy all personnel if you must. We can always replenish our forces later.”
“I’ll personally take responsibility and eliminate Kyle Ragnar.”
At the confident reply, a faint smile formed on Sinoah’s lips.
Yet at the same time, an uneasy thought surfaced.
‘The one escorting Branch Head Benshi was at the Exford Intermediate Level. To overcome such an escort and secure Branch Head Benshi himself…….’
Grinding his teeth as he recalled Kyle Ragnar, Sinoah hardened his resolve to eliminate him, even if it meant requesting reinforcement of every last bit of power he possessed.