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Chapter 29
The two men waiting in the back stood by until they received a signal from the front.
And yet, the longer they watched, the stranger things seemed to get.
“Lady Maytal must be having a hard time.”
“She’ll handle it herself.”
Though Felix said that, he actually trusted his subordinate.
He might have been a bit frivolous at times, but when it came to judgment, he was just like his father.
There was a reason he had remained Felix’s direct aide for over ten years —
even Wistons himself acknowledged the man’s capability.
But there was one thing Felix was worried about.
“Lord Felix! Behind you!”
An unexpected variable — just like that.
“Kghk?!”
Two assassins who had aimed for his back were knocked to the ground in an instant.
The sword, drawn in a long diagonal arc, trembled faintly.
Felix wiped the liquid splattered on his face with the back of his hand and sighed.
“Gilbert.”
And when he lifted his head to look forward—
“Let’s just take the protest and be done with it.”
They were already surrounded.
* * *
So, to sum up the situation roughly—
The Black Cat bastards had used their heads, forcing them to change the plan mid-operation.
But that revised plan was, well…
“…a complete mess.”
Maytal let out a deep sigh.
Knights—no, assassins—were piled up along one corner of the hallway, groaning in pain.
Seeing them, Maytal shook his head.
“I told you to go easy.”
Even if it was an emergency, still—
If they were going to make this much noise, they should’ve just come in sword drawn from the start instead of sneaking around.
He threw down his now-ruined weapon and grabbed another sword from nearby.
Then, ducking quickly—
‘Well, it’s already a disaster anyway.’
He twisted his body and swung.
“Kgh…?!”
With a single stroke, he cut down the assassin. Maytal groaned faintly.
Honestly, wielding a pen suited him better than a sword.
If Felix were here, he’d probably scold him, saying he was being too reckless—
‘But he’s not here now.’
Felix was currently chasing the Black Cat’s leader along with Gilbert.
Considering how noisy things had gotten, it was a miracle the man hadn’t already fled.
‘Well, I can’t blame him. It’s not like we left him many options.’
Who would’ve thought the enemy would rearrange their personnel so quickly?
Pulling off something like that in such a short time—yeah, the guy wasn’t ordinary.
But it had definitely put them in a tight spot.
“W-What is this!”
At that moment, the noble guests who’d been locked up burst out in panic.
Maytal clicked his tongue when he saw them.
Raymond’s guild members had surely explained the situation briefly.
But apparently, their precious lordships couldn’t even handle that much.
‘Sigh… this won’t be something we can smooth over easily.’
Let’s see—one, two… fourteen, twenty nobles.
‘Guess I’m working overtime tonight.’
Maytal quietly accepted his fate.
What could possibly appease that many noble brats?
He was seriously pondering when one noble stepped forward.
“You, you bastard! Do you even know what kind of auction this is?!”
Of course I do.
He even knew that man had come here with government backing.
Maytal almost scoffed but coughed instead.
“My apologies. Today’s incident occurred under the authority of House Kazliden—”
“Damn it! Who the hell cares about some damned Kazliden! You’re just a fallen noble! Do you even know who I am? His Imperial Majesty himself—!”
‘Thank goodness the young master isn’t here.’
If Felix had heard that, he’d have gone on a killing spree.
Relieved, Maytal placed a hand on his chest.
Well, he was experienced enough now.
After dealing with countless nobles like this, he’d built up a certain level of immunity.
“House Kazliden will take full responsibility for today’s incident.
You’ll be compensated generously, so let’s just end this peacefully, shall we?”
At that, a woman — still a little drunk — grabbed the noble’s arm.
Though her words sounded gentle, it was practically a threat.
The Kazliden family was notorious for its ruthlessness.
“Dear, let’s just calm down and see how things play out—”
“Play out my ass!”
Smack!
He shoved her hand away and stomped toward Maytal, fuming.
The surrounding nobles exchanged glances but none dared stop him.
“Why the hell should we suffer because your people can’t maintain order?
If you’re gonna do your job, do it right, damn it!”
He raised his hand threateningly, but Maytal only smiled pleasantly.
“Excessive drinking only leads to regretful memories, sir.
You should get some rest before you make one.”
“What, what did you say?”
The noble glared, biting his lip, clenching his raised hand into a fist.
‘Can I cut him? …No, better not.’
Maybe he should just let himself get punched once.
Maytal sighed and leaned forward obediently, thinking he’d take the hit and demand compensation later—
“Kazliden, what?”
Huh?
He froze and dropped his sword reflexively.
Startled, he turned around — and the noble who had been about to punch him also stopped cold, staring at the man approaching from the other side.
“The quality of the Proud faction has really declined. I’ll have to clean it up soon.”
The current Duke of Kazliden.
The pillar of the Proud faction.
“Y-Your Grace…?”
The man who had been missing — Wistons Kazliden — had returned.
* * *
“Damn it, damn it!”
He’d thought everything had gone according to plan!
Belgot bit his lip hard and clutched the pouch of potions to his chest.
He’d reassigned the guards and tightened security — that much was fine.
He’d even mixed his men among the knights of other noble houses so no one could move hastily.
That way, even if things went wrong, he’d have time to escape.
Satisfied with the setup, Belgot had relaxed, focusing on preparing for the auction.
But then—
“This way! Over here, Master!”
Before he knew it, everything had gone to hell.
“Out of my way!”
He shoved aside a subordinate standing in front of the carriage and scrambled inside.
“Go!”
“Yes, sir!”
The coachman snapped the reins, and the horses’ hooves struck the ground hard.
The carriage gradually picked up speed and raced off.
“Phew.”
Only when the auction house was far behind did Belgot let out a shaky sigh.
Finally, he could breathe a little.
He looked down at the pouch he’d been holding so carefully.
“Monsters… absolute monsters.”
He’d known they were strong, but witnessing the power of those two with his own eyes — it was beyond anything he’d imagined.
One of them didn’t even have mana, and yet he’d overwhelmed mages using swordsmanship alone?
Insanity. Pure insanity.
‘Damn it. I didn’t think they’d catch up this fast.’
His chamber had been located at the deepest part of the auction house, for security reasons.
He’d even prepared an escape route, just in case.
But Raymond and the young lord had closed in on him so swiftly it was as if they were mocking all his preparations.
‘I really almost died back there.’
