Nobles are dying.

All of them, are supporters of the second prince Logan.

To be precise, they were nobles who supported the Drason Empire.

Logan and the nobles tried to flee, but they couldn’t escape the grasp of the trained assassins.

“Please! Please spare my life! I will follow Lord Kian! Please…. Kuhek!”

Kian stomped on the head of the noble who was grabbing his pant leg.

“Shut up! Don’t you have any pride as a noble!? A worm like you doesn’t deserve to breathe!”

Kian kicked the noble furiously.

He too had been trained since childhood, so he possessed strength no less than that of an ordinary knight.

The noble, who had instantly become a bloody mess, trembled.

“Pl-please… Just my life…”

“Still haven’t come to your senses.”

Just as Kian raised his foot to crush the noble’s head.

“Stop!”

Ian shouted.

She was witnessing violence for the first time in her life.

She was crying at the sight of this horrible massacre.

“Kian… What are you doing!”

“What do you mean what am I doing? You’re not one to talk, sister?”

“I, I… Never meant to go this far… I didn’t mean to hurt people!”

It was true.

All she had planned to do was implant suggestions through brainwashing.

Just erasing today’s events from their memories.

While there might be side effects from tampering with their minds, she never intended to take anyone’s life.

“Pfft! Puhaha…!”

Kian burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! What? You didn’t mean to hurt people? Well~ I was wrong. I thought you were quite smart, sister, but you’re completely stupid?”

He had been laughing while shaking his head, but suddenly turned serious and shouted.

“Do you think you can lead a kingdom with such a soft attitude? You’re so weak, yet you talk about overthrowing the empire? I guarantee that even if you succeeded and became monarch, the future of the Kingdom of Chersi would only lead to destruction!”

Ian didn’t say anything.

She just lowered her head and cried.

Meanwhile, Kian, having calmed his excitement, smiled again.

“Anyway, thanks. Things have become easier thanks to you.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I’m becoming a hero today! Ian Del Chersi who plotted treason coveting the throne. The hero who stopped you and saved the Kingdom of Chersi!”

Kian glanced at the dying nobles around him and continued.

“And while we’re at it, getting rid of these useless ones too. It’s perfect.”

“You’re going to… Sell the Kingdom of Chersi to Gatren…?”

“Is that wrong? We can have everything under Gatren’s protection. Why choose such a precarious path?”

“That’s…!”

Kian patted Ian’s shoulder.

“Let’s end our conversation here. I don’t plan to kill you right now. The law states that traitors to the kingdom must be publicly executed, right?”

Kian walked past the frozen Ian.

His destination was where his father, Mollin Del Chersi, was.

“Kian…”

King Mollin looked at his son with sad eyes.

“This isn’t right. Stop now while you can.”

He tried to persuade his son, but it was futile.

“You’re the same, father. Our Kingdom of Chersi has become like this because you’ve been daydreaming like an idiot.”

Kian drew his sword.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to die here today, Father.”

Suddenly, Kian shouted in an exaggerated tone like an actor in a melodrama.

“King Mollin, killed by the traitor Ian! Alas, I, Kian Del Chersi, tried to save my father, but ultimately failed! *sob sob*!”

His voice was full of sorrow, but a sinister smile hung on his lips.

“You should leave some kind of heartbreaking last words so I can get into character when I perform my crying act in front of the public tomorrow.”

Kian’s eyes were drenched in thick madness.

Was it because he was drunk on alcohol?

Or perhaps he was intoxicated with blood and power.

Maybe he had been hiding such madness from the beginning.

If not these, perhaps the Holy Empire of Gatren had made his son like this.

‘What does it matter now.’

King Mollin silently closed his eyes.

Kian, whose enthusiasm had leaked away, clicked his tongue.

“Tch. How boring. Well then, let’s meet again in hell, father.”

The sword swings.

Just before the king’s crown was split in two.

Suddenly, a large man appeared and grabbed the sword.

Kian frowned.

“Who are you?”

“I’m the one you framed as a pervert! You bastard!”

Along with the shout.

A heavy fist struck Kian’s face.

***

Choi Hyun-seok thought.

A party at the royal palace.

How should he handle the events that would unfold there as smoothly as possible?

The first thing he needed to do was get the king’s cooperation.

“I left a communication crystal for times like this.”

Just before leaving the palace after being framed as a molester.

Choi Hyun-seok secretly gave King Mollin a communication crystal he had bought from the Hero’s Shop.

It was to talk with him separately after leaving the palace.

-Lord Polkil!

No sooner did the communication crystal shine than King Mollin’s voice was heard.

It seemed he had been holding onto the communication crystal until contact was made.

-I am truly sorry about this incident. Once the situation calms down, I will again make Lord Polkil….

For a while, the king continued with his apologies and talk about the rosy future ahead.

-So next time you come, we can go to the bathhouse again and strengthen our brotherhood and discuss the future of the kingdom….

As the king’s story headed toward the bathhouse again, just before Choi Hyun-seok’s patience ran out.

The king finally realized he had been talking to himself.

-Ah, I apologize. I’ve been rambling on alone.

“Haha… It’s fine.”

-So, Lord Polkil! Why did you leave the communication crystal? It seems you have something specific to say.

Choi Hyun-seok composed himself and spoke.

“I have something to tell you.”

-I am ready to listen.

Perhaps sensing his sincerity, the king also responded with a serious attitude.

Choi Hyun-seok explained the situation in a calm voice.

That Ian Del Chersi was plotting something.

And given the circumstances, Kian Del Chersi and the Gatren Empire were also plotting something.

All these events would unfold at the party in a few days.

After hearing everything, King Mollin spoke in a gloomy voice.

-I cannot believe it.

“I’m just telling you what I’ve heard and concluded. Though most of it is speculation, I’m 100 percent certain.”

-But… My son… My daughter is plotting such things…

A party gathering the high nobles of the kingdom.

Though he didn’t know exactly what they were planning to do there, he could easily guess it wasn’t anything good.

There would likely be much bloodshed.

That’s why the king couldn’t accept Choi Hyun-seok’s words.

His daughter Ian, who had the gentlest disposition of all.

His son Kian, who never lost his smile despite being a bit foolish.

He couldn’t accept that these two, still young and pure, would plot such schemes.

“Then shall we make a bet?”

Choi Hyun-seok had to take drastic measures.

“I promise. If I’m wrong, I’ll pledge myself to the Kingdom of Chersi without argument.”

-If… Lord Polkil turns out to be right, what then…

“Then I’ll do as I please. That will naturally involve much bloodshed.”

Choi Hyun-seok thought.

How to completely shake off Gatren’s evil grasp.

In the end, the deeply rooted noble class in this kingdom.

Those who were no different from Gatren’s subordinates had to be eliminated.

In that sense, the upcoming party was also a perfect opportunity for Choi Hyun-seok to resolve this situation.

-I accept…

After making this agreement with the king.

On the day of the party.

Choi Hyun-seok had infiltrated the banquet hall with Sara Dunphy before the party began.

Time passed, and Ian bound the nobles with the royal knights.

Shortly after, a battle broke out between masked men and royal knights.

Eventually, the royal knights were defeated.

And the nobles’ deaths.

Having watched this entire process, he only moved now when the king was in danger.

“He’s not dead, right…?”

Choi Hyun-seok looked at Kian who had been sent flying by his fist.

He had already lost consciousness, lying there with his eyes rolled back.

The occasional twitching suggested he was still alive.

“Phew, that was close.”

He had put a bit of emotion into it, having gotten too angry at Kian’s words and actions.

Fortunately, the well-trained Kian endured without dying.

‘You can’t die yet.’

Kian must not die.

He needed to testify later about acting under the Holy Empire of Gatren’s instigation.

“I won the bet.”

Choi Hyun-seok said as he turned around.

King Mollin was staring into empty space with unfocused eyes.

“As promised. From now on, I must do what needs to be done.”

Mollin said nothing.

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t seem to need a response either and turned away.

“Sister. Please.”

At Choi Hyun-seok’s words, Sara Dunphy appeared from behind.

“Don’t worry. No one will escape this banquet hall.”

Choi Hyun-seok had come here with Sara Dunphy in case of an emergency.

The Holy Empire might send an overwhelmingly strong enemy.

Even if not, they couldn’t leave any witnesses.

Only King Mollin, his daughter Ian, and Kian who would testify about Gatren’s secret activities would survive here.

“Save Prince Kian.”

“Kill him!”

The masked men charged forward.

Choi Hyun-seok kicked off the ground and rushed to meet them.

Swoosh-!

Swords flew at him from three directions at once.

These were guys used to coordinate attacks.

They might have been quite troublesome before, but not now.

Clang!

The enemy’s swords couldn’t pierce Choi Hyun-seok’s skin.

More precisely, they were blocked by the mana surrounding his body.

“Th-this…!”

“How disappointing. To think they’d send such weaklings.”

The assailants were weak.

Though sufficient for resolving the Kingdom of Chersi’s situation, they were utterly inadequate against Choi Hyun-seok, who had already reached legendary status.

Crack! Crunch!

With each swing of his fist, an assailant flew away.

There wasn’t even a need to use fighting spirit.

Choi Hyun-seok crushed his enemies through overwhelming superiority.

He crushed and tore apart whatever he got his hands on.

“Wh-what is he!?”

“We need to escape! We have to get out of here!”

The surviving nobles noticed something was wrong.

These were all nobles who supported Prince Kian and had ties to Gatren.

They thought the situation would end safely under Gatren’s protection.

But with Choi Hyun-seok’s sudden appearance, the tide turned in an instant.

“What are you doing!? Hurry and get out!”

“I want to, but I can’t move forward!”

They rushed desperately to the banquet hall entrance, but it was already blocked by a barrier.

The place was completely cut off from the outside by Sara Dunphy’s barrier.

“It’s already too late. Die gracefully.”

A low voice came from behind.

The nobles trembled.

“Wh-when…”

The hundred or so assailants had all fallen without anyone noticing.

Choi Hyun-seok, drenched in blood, looked at the nobles.

“I have no personal grudge.”

He took one step closer.

“I’m just doing what needs to be done for my purpose. Just as you have done.”

Choi Hyun-seok drew closer and closer.

The nobles were gradually backed into a corner.

“Stop now! I don’t know who you are, but you’re dealing with the Holy Empire! If you do this, you won’t be safe eith—”

A fist struck like lightning into the shouting noble’s head.

Bang!

The noble’s head flew off.

The speed was so fast that the body remained standing as if nothing had happened.

Thud-

Finally, the headless noble collapsed like a crumbling structure.

People were shocked.

Some vomited from nausea.

Crack! Thud-!

Choi Hyun-seok mechanically disposed of the remaining nobles.

There was no hesitation in his movements.

He had already become all too familiar with death.

‘Yes. I’ve become too accustomed to it.’

Despite the sudden bitterness, Choi Hyun-seok could only smile.

***

Ian Del Chersi stared into space with unfocused eyes.

“Save me! Please! If it’s money, I can give you as much as… Kuk!”

Nobles were still dying in the banquet hall.

About ten remained.

Soon they too would all die.

The only survivors in the banquet hall would be herself and her father, King Mollin.

‘How did it come to this…’

Ian lowered her head.

A pool of blood on the floor.

Her clothes were also soaked in red blood.

It was the first time in her life she had seen so much blood.

The fishy smell made her dizzy.

“This isn’t what I wanted…”

She hadn’t wanted this slaughter.

She had tried to use the least violent methods possible.

She had tried to resolve things peacefully.

“Everything was for the kingdom… For Chersi… So why…”

Why did the royal knights who shared her cause have to die?

Why did so many nobles have to die?

Ian Del Chersi couldn’t understand where it had all gone wrong.

Tap- Tap-

Then footsteps were heard from behind.

The steps, walking carelessly through the pools of blood, stopped right beside Ian.

It was Sara Dunphy.

“Are you sad? Or are you regretting it?”

Ian neither answered nor looked back.

She just silently stared at the floor with unfocused eyes.

“Your brother. Kian was his name, I believe. He was a pathetic fellow, but his words alone were right.”

Kian Del Chersi lay unconscious on one side of the banquet hall.

Sara Dunphy glanced at him and said.

“A king must be strong. In any situation.”

“…”

“If you cannot command respect as a ruler, then rule by force. Dominate. Make them tremble in fear. If you cannot be a wise ruler, become a tyrant. Only then can a king exist as a king.”

Ian raised her head.

Meeting her eyes, Sara Dunphy said.

“Remember. If a king cannot exist as a king, it’s worse than not existing at all.”

By then, Choi Hyun-seok had finished dealing with the last noble.

Having achieved their purpose, Choi Hyun-seok and Sara Dunphy left the banquet hall like the wind.

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