Chapter 378: Choose carefully
West of Caelhart was where Count Bihn’s estate was located, as this was his territory. Once Count Reginald Bihn was done talking to his son, he heard a voice from behind him.
"Now that was a rather interesting conversation you just had."
Reginald turned around and saw a young man with silver hair and ruby-red eyes. Of course, he knew who this was. He had seen this person a few times when he visited the Capital; this was Lucen Thornehart.
"How did you get in here?!" Reginald shouted as he grabbed hold of his sword, placed near his side.
"How else? I walked through the door," Lucen answered with a smile on his face.
"Even if you are the heir of Duke Thornehart, you cannot just brazenly walk to my quarters! I’m a Count, and you’re just an heir."
"Yes, yes, yes, I already know all that," Lucen spoke in a rather flippant way.
Reginald’s face twisted. "You arrogant brat. As expected of someone who stays around commoner filth."
Hearing what Reginald said, Lucen sighed as he suddenly burst with killing intent. Reginald, who was also a third mantle aura user like Lucen, was actually frightened by the killing intent emitted by a brat that was so much younger than him.
Still, Reginald, as a Count of Norvaegard, had experienced many battles prior and did not back down as he enveloped himself with his aura mantle.
It was at that moment that Lucen took a step forward. It was just a simple step with Lucen lifting his foot forward, but then he disappeared from Reginald’s sight. He then felt cold steel at his neck.
"You’re the kind of noble b*stard I hate. Are you stupid? Why bother looking at people as if being a noble or a commoner is so much different? In the end, we are all just people who live in Norvaegard."
Lucen couldn’t help but sigh again. "You do understand that every noble family here didn’t start as a noble; they were bakers, merchants, farmers, and other such people you call commoners. Even this family of yours was just descended from farmers. Even my own family, which is much older than yours and of higher nobility, did not start that way. Before, the first Duke, before we came to establish Norvaegard, the Thorneharts were mercenaries."
Reginald’s eyes shook for a brief moment, but his pride quickly returned.
"So what?" Reginald forced himself to speak even though the barrel of the gun was still touching his neck. "Those who rise above the mud are no longer the same as those who remain in it. That is the meaning of nobility."
Lucen looked at the back of Reginald’s head for a few seconds before he started to laugh softly.
It was the kind of laugh someone made after hearing something so stupid that anger almost felt like a waste.
"You really don’t get it, do you? Even those in the mud, as you say, every one of them has the chance to rise up from there, and those who rise above the mud should help those in it."
Reginald gritted his teeth. "Spare me your pretty words. Nobility exists because some bloodlines have already proven they deserve to stand above others."
"Heh, it’s like talking to a rock. Since it doesn’t seem like you understand human words, and reasoning with a fool like you just makes me feel even more foolish, I’ll get straight to the point. This will be your only warning, do not touch my students."
The happy, nonchalant tone Lucen had turned into a cold one. Reginald gritted his teeth. "Are you going to protect those commoners to the end?"
"Yes," Lucen answered simply.
"And what will you do if I don’t comply? What can a brat like you do to a Count like me?"
The second Reginald said those words, Lucen started laughing maniacally. It was as if he heard the funniest joke of all time. It was at that moment that Reginald felt a heavy pressure press down on him, making him kneel.
Even though he and Lucen were in the same third mantle, the difference between them was quickly shown with this.
"It seems that you may look like a human, but you have the intelligence of an ogre. What do you think I can’t do to you, Count Bihn? Right now I can kill you while you’re kneeling on the ground, unable to fight back."
Reginald’s face paled, but his pride did not allow him to beg.
"You would not dare," Reginald forced himself to say. "Killing a Count would not be something even a Thornehart could ignore."
Lucen stared at him for a few seconds before smiling.
"See? That is why I said you have the intelligence of an ogre. You think killing you would be hard. I just pull the trigger, and your head explodes. Covering it up would be easy. You have made quite a few enemies in the court."
Lucen shrugged his shoulders before continuing. "Even if I don’t kill you, which I can do at any time, as you can see, I have many ways to make you wish for death instead. I can take away your noble title if I show this to his majesty."
Lucen took out the focus video orb he used to record Reginald’s conversation with his son. Lucen activated the video orb, showing the scene that happened moments ago.
It showed how the father and son, as they talked about how they would punish every commoner that looked down on them, that he would kill Harlik and Alexander, making it look like an accident while framing other members of Thornefang.
"W-what is this?!"
"Oh right," Lucen smacked his hand on his forehead. "I haven’t shown this to the public yet. Listen closely since you might not understand a word I say. This is a video orb; it is something that is used to record what happened and show it again exactly as it was."
Reginald stared at the image being shown by the orb. His own face was there. His son’s face was there. Their voices were there. Every word they had spoken was there.
For a moment, Count Bihn could not speak. His mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out.
Then his expression twisted. "This is fake."
Lucen tilted his head. "Fake?"
"An illusion," Reginald said quickly, as if he had finally found a way out. "You used an illusion spell. This proves nothing."
Lucen looked at him for a few seconds before sighing. "That is the kind of excuse I expected from you. Well, then who do you think the King would believe? I, who has created one thing after another, pushing Norvaegard forward, and protected its people from numerous monsters? Or would he believe you, a known noble with rumors of being disgusted with commoners? I think it’s obvious who anyone would believe, right?"
Reginald’s face twitched. He wanted to deny it. He wanted to say that no one would believe such a strange object. He wanted to insist that Lucen had fabricated everything.
But the confidence in Lucen’s voice made his words feel hollow before he even said them.
Lucen looked at him and smiled even wider.
"Of course, this isn’t the only other way I can bring you down. A higher-ranking noble cannot initiate a Styrhord against a lower-ranking noble. Meaning my Father cannot initiate such a thing to anyone but other Dukes. We also can’t have a territorial war with you because of the distance between our lands. Still, that does not mean we cannot support a lower-ranking noble, have them initiate a Styrhord against you, and help them take everything from your family."
Reginald’s face became pale. For the first time since Lucen appeared, the pride in his eyes cracked.
A Styrhord was not a normal dispute. It was not something that could be solved with apologies, bribes, or quiet negotiations. Once it began, one side would fall completely. Lucen leaned closer, his smile cold.
"So choose carefully, Count Bihn. You can pretend this conversation never happened and keep your house intact, or you can touch my students again and watch your family name disappear from Norvaegard."
Reginald’s throat moved, but no words came out. Lucen stopped using pressure to push down Reginald as he started walking towards the door. Before leaving, he glanced back one last time.
"Oh, and tell your son this for me. If he wants to defeat Alexander, he should use a sword in front of everyone, not hide behind his father like a coward. Also, the reason I’m not killing you despite it being easy. Is simply because I noticed that even with your beliefs about commoners and nobles, you do manage your territory well. Which is rather surprising."
With that, Lucen walked out. Reginald remained kneeling on the floor, staring at the place where Lucen had stood. Only then did he understand.
Lucen Thornehart was not someone he could handle. No amount of scheming or bribery could match what Lucen was capable of doing.
