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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 10
At the front of the group was an absurd sight: a goblin, not a human.
“Hurry up, you filthy little goblin.”
Wham!!
The goblin's back was kicked harshly as a young man, the heir of the Count's family, Leon Cascadia, strode forward.
“Leon, y-young master?!”
“Hmm? Oh, Hanson, it’s been a while.”
“My goodness, is it really you, young master?”
Relaxing his guard, Hanson ran toward him.
As he approached, the goblin’s condition became clear—it was so beaten up that there wasn’t a single part of its face that wasn’t swollen.
“Well… young master? Why are you at the northern gate…?”
“I came to rescue some kidnapped residents. Nothing unusual on the inside, I assume?”
“K-kidnapped… you can’t mean…”
A startled Hanson turned to look at the residents behind Leon.
“My goodness… so the rumors were true.”
If the rumors had spread enough to reach even these people, it was only a matter of time before they reached Melissa’s ears as well.
“Well, I’m sure the city guards have already been bought off by Tyvel Cascadia. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be overhauling the whole system soon anyway.”
“But… that goblin…”
Hanson cautiously asked, turning his gaze to the goblin.
Leon nodded lightly.
“Oh, right. This thing’s a monster.”
Leon gave a soft smile as he gently patted the goblin’s small, green head.
“Well done.”
Ki-iii…
The goblin looked up at him with bright, sparkling eyes, resembling a loyal pet looking at its trainer.
Does the young master have a hidden talent for taming monsters?
Hanson began to wonder.
But just as that thought crossed his mind…
Smash!!
Leon, who had been patting the goblin’s head, mercilessly crushed its skull with his hand.
“If you’re done with your job, go reunite with your friends. No reason for you to stick around.”
With those words, Leon casually kicked the lifeless goblin aside.
“Hanson, can I go in?”
“Y-yes, of course!”
“And who were the two guards on duty two hours ago?”
“Two hours ago, you say…?”
“Senior, it’s those two over there.”
Following the younger guard’s gesture, Leon turned his head to see two men approaching the gate, laughing and chatting.
Hanson recognized them as recent recruits who had some backing, allowing them to get away with harassing women and extorting money.
They were rotten to the core.
Leon, listening quietly to their conversation, nodded slightly.
“Judging by their voices, it’s definitely them. Mind if I borrow your knife?”
Leon pulled the dagger from Hanson’s belt as he spoke.
At the same time, the residents who had followed Leon tightly shut their eyes, as if they already knew what was about to happen.
Wham!! Thud!!
“Arghhh!!”
“Gaaah!!”
The dagger flew with precision, piercing the shoulders of the two men in an instant.
Leon spoke in a detached tone.
“They collaborated with human traffickers and smuggled out our people. Arrest them. If you let them go, I’ll personally come back and cut their heads off.”
“Y-young master!”
“Remember my words. Even if that old man Tyvel Cascadia shows up, don’t let them go.”
The idea that someone could leave through this gate without the guards noticing? Impossible. They simply chose to turn a blind eye.
Regardless of their motives, human trafficking was a grave crime, not only within the Count’s territory but across the entire kingdom.
While Melissa was unable to take action, Tyvel had already sunk his claws deep into the region.
“People are too soft; that’s why things like this go unpunished. Ugh, what a mess.”
Leon clicked his tongue.
Along with dealing with his uncle, it seemed like a full purge was in order.
How much damage this process would cause, he didn’t know, but letting a festering wound go untreated was a foolish decision.
* * *
At that moment, Melissa was meeting with Vishiri Cascadia, the son of her uncle and nemesis, Tyvel Cascadia.
Her resentment toward Tyvel, who didn’t even bother showing up in person, only deepened.
“Melissa, I won’t repeat myself. Hand over all your authority to my father.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Who do you think you are? This is the Countship my father protected. What right do you have to take it away?”
Melissa could barely contain her anger.
Her aura flared around her, but Vishiri Cascadia didn’t so much as flinch.
“You’re still young and don’t understand the ways of the world. Do you really think we’d look down on you if you entrusted everything to my father? You and Leon are family. Do you think I would just abandon you? Really?”
He offered his proposal in a conciliatory tone.
In reality, most of the power had already been taken away from Melissa.
The businesses that supported her were preparing to leave, and more than half of her military authorization had been stripped.
The Countship was running out of funds, leaving them unable to sustain their knights or soldiers.
The fight was already over.
Tyvel and Vishiri were refraining from using force, not out of mercy, but simply to avoid creating unnecessary trouble.
Melissa, an expert only at the beginner level, and Leon, who lacked any talent and couldn’t even hold a sword, posed no threat to Tyvel or Vishiri.
“The central nobles are already questioning your capabilities. If this continues, the entire family might collapse. Don’t you understand that?”
“It’s all your doing! The moment my father passed away, you disrupted our businesses, groveled to the central nobles, and abused your authority. Do you think taking power will make things any different? You’ll just end up as their puppet.”
Melissa’s sharp words made Vishiri shrug his shoulders.
“Even if you resist, it won’t change the tide. Most of the residents already want my father to take over the Countship. You need to learn to read the people.”
“Most of the residents, my foot. It’s all just your lackeys. Don’t think I don’t know that.”
Hearing this, Vishiri sighed quietly and spoke.
“Fine. I knew you wouldn’t give up easily.”
He then pulled out a document from his pocket and presented it to her.
"Sign it. It's a document transferring all your authority to my father."
"Are you insane? Do you really think I'd sign that?"
"Ha. Why are you so foolish, Melissa? You already know, don't you? Where Leon is."
At those words, Melissa's fists clenched tightly.
"Vishiri Cascadia!!"
"Shouldn't you at least save your brother? If you keep being stubborn, only Leon will suffer."
"..."
"Sign it while I'm speaking kindly. If you do, I'll spare Leon's life."
Although his tone was calm, this man had barged in after it became known that Leon had been kidnapped.
No, he was likely the mastermind behind Leon's abduction.
Using Leon's situation to threaten her, no doubt.
"..."
"Melissa, let me give you some advice as someone older. If you want to achieve your goals, you must be prepared to do whatever it takes. Not foolishly trying to hold onto everything like you are."
"You piece of garbage..."
"If you feel wronged, you should've built your strength. If you were a Sword Master like your father, who would dare look down on you? Hah."
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Vishiri curled his sharp eyes into an infuriating smirk.
Then, placing a hand on Melissa's shoulder, he spoke.
"You should make the right choice, shouldn't you? Your brother must be crying out to be saved..."
"You bastard..."
Tears dripped down Melissa's face as she glared at him.
An uncle who sought to rob her of her family's name and position in a single day.
It was utterly revolting.
Yes.
People like him should have been dealt with long ago.
But her father, with his overly kind nature, had left such scum alone simply because they were relatives.
And this was the result.
If she lost her family and estate while her father's fate was still unknown... What if he returned only to find everything in ruins?
Though she harbored deep resentment toward her father for allowing things to deteriorate this far, she still couldn't abandon the faint hope that her parents and youngest sister might still be alive.
As Melissa remained silent, gesturing toward the seal on her finger, Vishiri struck her cheek like a thunderbolt.
"You insolent girl, sign it already!!!"
He shouted at her with fury.
"Do I need to tear Leon's limbs apart right in front of you to make you come to your senses...?"
BANG!!!
Suddenly, the doors to the reception room burst open with a deafening crash, and the figure of someone stepping in came into view.
"Pardon the intrusion, sister. And Vishiri Cascadia, didn't I promise we'd meet again soon?"
At the unexpected entrance, both Vishiri Cascadia and Melissa's eyes widened in shock.
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Brother?! Why are you here?!"
My arrival threw the entire room into chaos.
"You're all giving me so much attention; it's almost embarrassing."
"You... How did you...?"
Melissa looked at me with disbelief, her mouth opening and closing as if struggling to find the words.
Though I considered giving a brief explanation of what had happened in the forest, there was something more pressing to address.
"Vishiri Cascadia."
I called him softly, and his expression twisted into a scowl.
"Do you have no respect for your elders, you insolent little—!"
Thwack!!
Before he could finish, I moved faster than he could react.
In a single step, I closed the gap and slammed my foot into his stomach, sending him stumbling backward.
"Ugh?!"
His face contorted with pain and disbelief as he reeled from the unexpected blow.
"You bastard. Who gave you permission to hit my sister?"
Only I have the right to tease or scold my younger sister.
Sching!
The sound of blades being unsheathed filled the room as Vishiri’s knights drew their swords and pointed them at me.
"Drawing your swords without the head of the house's permission? I'll let it slide once, but not twice."
Brushing aside a blade pointed at my neck with a single finger, I casually sat down on a chair positioned between Melissa and Vishiri Cascadia.
"You... you insolent brat!!"
"Could you lower your weapons? We need to talk."
At my smirk, Vishiri gritted his teeth audibly, but eventually motioned to his knights.
Though they didn't sheath their swords entirely, their threatening stance diminished slightly.
As expected, Vishiri’s entire body radiated an oppressive aura, his fury evident after being struck.
Vishiri Cascadia was a mid-tier Sword Expert, just like his father.
His knights were also at the entry level of Sword Experts.
Naturally, their strength was far beyond that of Melissa, a sixteen-year-old girl who had just begun reaching the level of a Sword Expert herself.
So where was her protection now?
It was simple.
They had all been sent out to search for me without thinking ahead.
The remaining essential personnel would be guarding the family manor.
Currently, the household was suffering from a shortage of manpower, with so many people having left.
As Vishiri's oppressive aura began to press down on the room, Melissa's face turned pale, and she began to sway unsteadily.
The difference in level between them was slight, but Vishiri Cascadia, with his years of experience, was a wily fox.
His aura grew heavier, causing Melissa to tremble more and more.
However, his intimidation had no effect on me.
The oppressive force he emitted dissolved before reaching me, as if it were a tiny insect swallowed up by the ocean.
"You're getting too worked up over something trivial."
"You arrogant little—!"
As his anger reached its peak and he prepared to attack, Melissa kicked up the sword lying on the floor, catching it in her hand, and pointed it at him menacingly.
"If you take one more threatening step, this will become a real war."
"You dare speak of war, you insolent girl?!"
"You're the one who started this."
"How dare you?! You don't know your place!!"
As Vishiri seethed with rage, Melissa stood her ground, glaring at him with unwavering determination.
Watching the tense standoff, I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair, amused by the spectacle unfolding before me.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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