“He’s far too young to be the lord.”
Judging by appearances, this was a man who had just entered his twenties.
Which meant…
The infamous young master who lost his inheritance to his younger brother due to his eccentric and reckless behaviour.
The young master who commanded troops in his late teens to repel hordes of monsters.
The young master who advocated pioneering undeveloped lands and brought prosperity to the territory.
The young master who secured victory in the territorial war!
“W-why…?”
The moment Redem realized who this was, his face turned deathly pale.
No way. It can’t be. Impossible! Absolutely not!
He desperately denied the reality before him.
“You called me a ‘stray mutt from Schrantz,’ didn’t you? How rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Ian von Schrantz.”
“……”
“And if you must know who sent me… let’s just say it was my father, Hugo von Schrantz.”
The reality he had been denying had finally come crashing down.
I’m fucked.
Redem’s face turned from pale to white as he recalled every word he had carelessly thrown at the young master.
He had insulted none other than the lord’s son—no, a member of the very family ruling this territory—to his face.
And worse, Ian had come under the lord’s direct orders.
This wasn’t just an insult to Ian—it could very well be taken as an insult to the lord himself.
“Good heavens… Schrantz? As in, our new ruling family? The lord’s son?”
“This just got much more serious.”
Even the private soldiers grasped the gravity of the situation.
No matter how dim-witted they were, they understood the magnitude of Redem’s blunder.
“Young Master of Schrantz… what brings you here?”
“Nothing much. Just heard you’ve been feasting at this territory’s expense.”
“M-me? How could I? This is all a misunderstanding! Someone must be framing me!”
Redem put on an Oscar-worthy performance of innocence.
To an outsider, he might have looked like a poor, wronged man.
Ian’s gaze swept over the surroundings—the extravagant mansion, far beyond Redem’s station, and the nearly hundred private soldiers standing guard.
“The house is one thing, but this many private soldiers? Impressive.”
“Ah, well, a recent investment paid off handsomely. I came into quite a bit of money.”
“Oh? Feeding, clothing, and housing a hundred soldiers must cost a fortune. Business must be very good.”
Maintaining such a private force wasn’t something just anyone could afford.
Only the wealthiest could manage it.
“Can’t be too careful these days. Public order has been… lacking, so I hired extra security.”
Redem kept up his act, smooth as ever.
His performance was worthy of a best actor award.
“Hmm. At this point, this is just a waste of time.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the investigation is already over, and the evidence is more than enough. So drop the act.”
Crimson eyes locked onto him.
“Not content with embezzling taxes, you’ve even dipped into narcotics and illegal slave trading. Will you come quietly, or do I have to drag you out? If you’re truly innocent, you can prove it during the investigation.”
Ian smirked, but Redem wasn’t laughing.
If Ian knew about the illegal operations, it meant they had dug deep into his affairs.
“Damn it all!”
Realizing the jig was up, Redem abandoned all pretense.
“All units, prepare for combat!”
At his command, the soldiers drew their weapons in unison.
It didn’t matter if the man before them was the lord’s son—or even the lord himself. These were private soldiers, loyal only to the man who paid their wages.
“Hope you won’t regret this. Last chance to surrender.”
Ian rested a hand on his sword.
This was his final warning.
“Attack!”
Redem chose violence.
The moment the order left his lips, the soldiers surged forward, blades flashing.
“Well, this is the North, alright. No hesitation—just charge in headfirst.”
[Quest ‘Corruption’ has been generated.]
[Corruption]
Objective: Subdue private soldiers (4/100), Subdue Redem (0/1)
―Suppress Redem Roman and his private soldiers, who have been exploiting the territory and making life hell for the people.
Reward: Territory security +10
Ignoring the quest window, Ian drew his sword.
Unlike the dull gray steel of the soldiers blades, his own gleamed a blue color.
A hundred men rushed him—and Ian didn’t so much as blink.
He only muttered one line.
“I did give you a chance.”
Redem was the one who threw it away.
“W-what the hell is that monster?!”
Redem couldn’t believe his eyes.
He’d heard Ian was strong, but—
“Since when can one man overpower a hundred like this?!”
There were limits to human capability.
And yet, here was Ian, shattering every expectation.
Thirty soldiers were already down.
A full third of his force.
“Master, we must flee while we still can!”
Amid the chaos, the butler whispered urgently to Redem.
“Y-yes! Right!”
Redem understood immediately.
The soldiers were buying time—time for him to escape.
Without hesitation, he and the butler slipped away, heading for the stables in the rear courtyard.
The stablehand, who had been tending to the horses, looked up in surprise.
“Master? What brings you here at this hour? There was quite a commotion at the front—”
“Horses! A carriage! And fetch the coachman!”
“Huh?”
“Now!”
Unfortunately, neither Redem nor his butler knew how to ride.
The stablehand, puzzled by his master’s urgency, quickly hitched the horses to a carriage.
“Drive.”
“Where to, sir?”
“Anywhere! As far as possible!”
To flee without even a destination in mind…
What’s happening? Did the villagers finally rise up? Or did a mob of vengeful enemies arrive?
The former wouldn’t be surprising, but one thing was certain—it didn’t seem like a villagers’ revolt.
When he’d been summoned earlier, the village had been as quiet as ever.
Had the villagers risen up, the entire place would have been in an uproar by now.
If only you’d lived a little more virtuously…
But of course, he couldn’t say that out loud.
And whenever Redem hired a carriage, he always paid generously.
Even knowing the money came from embezzling the villagers, the stablehand wasn’t in a position to refuse—he took what he was given.
“Drive at full speed!”
“Understood. I’ll get us moving quickly.”
The coachman cracked the reins. The back gates were already wide open.
As the carriage sped toward the exit, Redem could only hope the chaos would buy him enough time to escape.
Just as the carriage picked up speed and drove toward the gates—
BAM!
A deafening crash sent the carriage shaking violently before toppling onto its side.
Redem, his head smashing against the interior, groaned as he clutched his skull and struggled to sit up.
“Ugh! Butler, wake up!”
He shook the unconscious butler, but there was no response.
For a horrifying moment, he thought the man might be dead—but the faint rise and fall of his chest confirmed he had merely been knocked out.
Miraculously, despite the severity of the crash, Redem himself was relatively unharmed, save for a bleeding gash on his forehead.
But he had no time to assess his own injuries.
Because when he finally managed to pry the carriage door open and crawl out, a gruesome sight greeted him.
“What in the—?!”
A mangled corpse lay before him—its skull and pelvis crushed, its stomach split open, entrails spilling onto the ground.
The coachman.
The carriage must have slammed into something at full speed, crushing him against the wall. Nearby, what looked like the remains of one of the horses twitched slightly.
“Bleh—!”
Redem retched violently, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the dirt.
As he wiped his mouth, his eyes darted around—and then froze.
The back gates were wide open.
But something was wrong.
“What the hell is this?!”
At first, he couldn’t make it out in the darkness—but then he saw it.
A translucent barrier, stained with blood, blocking the exit.
That was what they had crashed into.
But now wasn’t the time to wonder about its origins.
‘I have to run!’
The sounds of battle from the front had gone silent.
Either that monstrous young master had slaughtered all his men, or his men had somehow defeated him.
Or, worst of all, they had surrendered in terror.
The second option would be ideal—but Redem had a sinking feeling that monster hadn’t lost.
He had seen Ian’s strength firsthand.
‘I have to run—no matter what!’
“Impressive work, Sera.”
“All I did was block the gate.”
A man and woman’s voices echoed from the direction of the gates.
Redem’s head snapped toward the sound.
A knight with a drawn bow and a woman in mage robes approached calmly.
‘Wait. A mage? She blocked the gate?’
Their conversation confirmed his suspicions.
Magic.
That translucent wall could be nothing else.
And if they had deliberately sealed the exit…
‘They were sent by Ian!’
‘They anticipated my escape and cut me off!’
Of course. No matter how confident Ian was, he wouldn’t have come alone.
Blocking escape routes was basic strategy.
The realization drained the color from Redem’s face.
“It’d be nice if you surrendered quietly. Less painful that way.”
Dwayne held his bow at the ready, arrow nocked but not yet drawn.
The threat was clear: Try to run, and I shoot.
‘As if I’d surrender now!’
He had already crossed the point of no return.
He hadn’t just fled—he had tried to kill Ian.
If he had surrendered peacefully, there might have been mercy.
But now?
This was a death sentence.
‘I can’t get caught here!’
Redem was a man who clung to life with desperate determination.
His mind raced for an escape.
The gates were blocked, leaving only one option—scaling the walls.
His only hope was to run for it and pray the arrow missed.
He bolted toward the nearest wall.
“Persistent bastard.”
Dwayne saw right through him.
The arrow loosed with a sharp sound, embedding itself deep in Redem’s thigh.
“GYAAAAAH!”
Redem cried as he collapsed, writhing in agony.
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