Although he was under the shadow of General Cristov Lionheart back then, he was still able to get the favor of the king than any va.s.sal he had. And there was a reason for that - it was because he was the most loyal servant he had, and he will do only everything that will provide help and benefit for him.

But after the war, he had finally retired and made his way to become the princ.i.p.al of the Knights Academy while also having his own land as marquis to govern.

His life seems to have been peaceful for the past years... but that was only until his youngest son came back to him demanding to execute a man in public for humiliating their name - also -in public.

[ What is he doing now? ] he asks with his husky voice.

Francis, right now, is sitting on his table in his own office in the Knights Academy. There are only a few furniture inside the room: there are only a few pictures of the previous princ.i.p.als in the walls and a smaller chandelier in the ceiling. Compared to his room in his castle, this is much smaller, but he feels more comfortable here.

[ He's together with his brother... And they seem to be gathering mercenaries and some of our own soldiers... They're planning to attack a particular residence... ]

He was talking about Arthur.

Arthur is Francis's youngest son and like him, he started off as a soldier before he got his t.i.tle given to him by the king. And because he was his son, the king was in favor of him, in fact, the king had already planned to give his son the t.i.tle before even he gets the chance to earn it by himself.

Francis knows his son best more than anyone. In fact, he's sure that he got his short temper and bad bad att.i.tude from him, his father.

[ Those stupid kids...! ] he slammed his fist on the table as he hears the news his servant had told him.

[ It's not even been a week after his recovery and this is what he'll do? ]

As he said, Arthur was only able to recover just recently. The person who had treated him is still unknown to the n.o.bility, even to himself, but the fact that he was now able to recover, he will surely cause a ruckus.

[ I have no problem with what they're doing... But this is just ridiculous... They're planning to become enemy with a man that can kill him with one spell! If they failed and this goes out, the king's intention to have relations with that man will fail, and our family would be the one to be blamed for it! ] his face turns dark in anger as he shouted those words in desperation.

He had already heard about everything that had happened. He was not surprised at all about the fact that his son, again, had intended to duel someone in public to show what he's capable of, but what he was surprised about was the fact that someone other than his companions was able to beat him.

Francis has a history working with many strong individuals, his son would be a stronger fighter than he is when he was at his age, but the fact that a person was able to defeat him with one attack was unheard of. If a man capable of doing that really existed, he would either become a threat or a strong pillar of the military.

Right now, the king is walking the path where he will take this man as his va.s.sal and make him serve under the military, but it seems that his son is planning to mess around with that path.

[ Francis-sama, should I go and stop them...? ]

[ That should be obvious! Do everything you can to stop that kid! ]

[ O-Of course! ]

With his command, his servant immediately ran out of the room, leaving him alone again.

[ Haah... ] a large, empty sigh came out of his mouth.

Francis has his work in the Knights Academy and he just can't go back in his own land, abandoning his position. He will go there by himself to stop his son, but because of his current situation, he just can't.

[ That Arthur... ]

***

Two days had already pa.s.sed since Vlad had left his mansion.

Sarah, Lumi, and Nina, since they're the only ones who can fight, were asked by Vlad to guard the mansion while he's away.

For the past week, the three of them had been working in the guild as Vlad had asked them to do.

He had made the three of them raise their ranks in the guild, and now, the three of them are rank-b adventurers. In just a week, they became really famous and they're the fastest to ever raise their ranks. But now that he was away, they were now not allowed to go out of their way to the guild. And they are only to stay here, keeping guard of everyone in the mansion.

[ Haah... I wonder when will master will come back...? ] ask Lumi, who is sitting crossed-legs in front of the mansion. She looks far ahead to ahead hoping to see Vlad come back, like a dog waiting for its master, she wags her tail down.

[ Hmm... For these kinds of n.o.ble events... It usually takes three whole days to finish... And since master is planning to stay in the capital for a while... It may take a week... ] Sarah - who has experience being a n.o.ble - answered her question.

[ ThThat long!? ]

[ You shouldn't be surprised about it... ] as she whispered those words to her, she pauses for a while, and...

[ SSarah-san! ] though they were just beside each other, Lumi shouted her name.

[ What is it...? ]

[ WhWhat if! Vlad-sama comes back here... together with a bride!? ]

[ ...! ] as soon as she hears those words, her calm composure breaks, and like Lumi, she was put into shock, leading to deep thoughts.

[ That's right...! With Vlad-sama's popularity... It wouldn't be a shock to see him come back here with a bride or two! ]

[ What!? ]

[ [ ... ] ]

The two of them were left staring into nothingness, unblinking.

[ Oh! Sarah-nee! Lumi-nee! ] the voice of a kid called to them. It was Alice, the youngest servant in the house. She came from inside the mansion together with Nina.

[ Oh... It's Alice-chan... and Nina... Where are you two going? ]

[ Umm... Lisnee asked us to buy some materials... Since I don't have anything left to do, I volunteered myself to go outside and buy them... ]

[ Is that so? And Nina's coming, too? ]

[ Un, Alice-chan might get attack by some weirdos outside so I will come with her. ] she nods and answers.

Since they are still slaves with their collars on, it's not unusual for them to get attacked when they're not with their master. But since Nina is an adventurer - and a famous one at that - that possibility would be lessened.

[ Well... Just come back before the sun goes down... Master had set a curfew, and every one of us would only be allowed to go outside until night and only with a guard... ] whispers Lumi.

[ That's right. I don't think master has any enemies, but it's better to be safe than sorry... ]

[ Un, I'll take care of Alice-chan. ]

It's still noon and the sun is high in the sky.

Attackers usually only attack people at night, so they felt it would be safe to go outside at this time.

But if only that was the case...