LIGHT NOVEL Chapter 666
Chapter 666: Should I Start Getting a Grip on Magic?
The root cause of House Rax’s crisis was Baron Magrell’s greed, but what truly plunged them into trouble was the betrayal of the Chief Officer.
Because of that incident, Rio’s father collapsed from shock and lost all will to live.
Deneb tended to him momentarily with divine power, but due to his old age, he couldn’t fully regain his strength.
No matter how gentle Rio was, he couldn’t just overlook such a problem. A house couldn’t be properly led without dealing with a traitor.
Moreover, there were still remaining traitors in the merchant group. The only person who knew their identities was the Chief Officer.
The Chief Officer, staying at the Lord’s Castle, couldn’t escape and was captured because Ghislaine worked lightning-fast.
“P-please spare me! I was forced into this by the Lord’s threats!”
The Chief Officer entered, crying his eyes out and pleading before Rio.
He never imagined things would turn out this way, especially since he was familiar with House Rax.
However, everything went haywire due to suddenly appearing mercenaries.
Rio asked with a bitter expression, “Who are the remaining traitors in the merchant group?”
“I-I don’t know!”
“You didn’t manage the servants. The traitors who left with you were all your people.”
“Those are the only ones I know! I really don’t know if there are other betrayers inside!”
“Huh….”
The Chief Officer desperately tried to conceal the traitors’ identities, not out of loyalty, but because he thought, ‘I need at least one more ally!’
House Rax had consumed this territory. As a traitor, he was practically a dead man already.
But the Chief Officer had watched Rio grow up since childhood. To Rio, he was like an uncle. Knowing Rio’s character well, he believed that Rio would spare his life.
If that happened, other traitors would have no choice but to take care of him for self-preservation.
The Chief Officer had no other options. Even if he survived, it was clear he would end up as a slave or lose everything.
‘There are plenty of people entangled in this anyway! I can’t die alone!’
Some of the retainers actively assisted in this affair. No, they went beyond simply helping and were plotting to carve a piece of the merchant group for themselves.
So they were hoping that he would keep his mouth shut for now. They needed to back their own survival, at least for the moment.
While they might wish to kill him off to silence him internally, it was a different story.
‘Let’s think about the aftermath later. For now, I just need to survive!’
So the Chief Officer clung to Rio’s favor.
“My Lord, please, for the sake of our past, pardon me just this once. Even though I betrayed you, we have been together for 20 years!”
“…….”
“I am truly innocent! I only did it because the Lord commanded me. And I genuinely don’t know if there are more betrayers!”
Rio sighed. He wasn’t an idiot, and he thought it was impossible that the Chief Officer didn’t know anything.
There would probably be more people involved in this than he anticipated. As someone with a gentle nature, he didn’t have the confidence to uproot every single one of them.
‘What should I do?’
It was truly baffling. He had just become a Lord, and he still felt out of place in this position. He didn’t even know how to command.
No, he doubted if he even had the right to give commands at all.
Having lived without strength for so long, it’s no wonder he had no confidence.
Some observing retainers cautiously suggested, “Perhaps we should investigate further since it’s what the Lord ordered?”
“If he speaks carelessly, innocent people could suffer.”
“These matters need to be handled with caution. Please proceed slowly.”
As soon as conflicting opinions emerged, Rio panicked. Cold sweat streamed down his face.
He lacked confidence to persuade them or push through with force.
All the retainers were watching Ghislaine’s reaction. Had it not been for Ghislaine, they would have strongly pressured Rio to buckle.
They were just afraid of Ghislaine, so they were going along with it, but not everyone wholeheartedly accepted it deep down.
Ultimately, Rio turned to Ghislaine and said, “Brother, what should I do in this situation? Please grant me your wisdom.”
Ghislaine, who always solves problems easily, would surely provide him with some wise method.
Ghislaine nodded. He had already seen how the retainers were acting and couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I was once called the Sage King.”
That was a lie. Despite him holding many titles, not one of them included “Sage.”
But Ghislaine was confident he understood the truths of the world remarkably well, having been through so much.
He knelt in front of the Chief Officer and crouched down.
“Now that you’re a Lord, you need to learn. There are many ways to open up someone’s mouth. Among them, ’empathy’ is the best.”
“Empathy?”
“Yeah, when you empathize, there are no words that can stay hidden.”
Ghislaine reached toward his waist out of habit. Then he realized,
“Oh, wait, I don’t have my ‘empathy’ right now.”
Astion would never be carrying around an axe or anything. Ghislaine gestured to a knight nearby.
“Bring me an axe.”
“Huh? Yes!”
The knight hurriedly fetched an axe. Ghislaine took it, began twirling it around, and then suddenly struck the Chief Officer’s thigh.
Thwack!
“Aaaah!”
The Chief Officer screamed. He didn’t even see Ghislaine’s move coming, nor did he know who he was.
Thus, he never expected such brutality in front of a Lord.
“W-what are you doing! Wh-who are you…?”
Thwack!
“Gaaah!”
Ghislaine said nothing, just targeted non-lethal areas.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
“Aaaagh!”
The Chief Officer’s screams echoed through the main hall, and the faces of those watching turned pale.
No one could stop him. Everyone knew just how terrifying Ghislaine was.
The group of heroes had promised to obey Ghislaine in this affair.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Ghislaine continued the assault, seemingly unfazed by any dialogue.
Finally, the Chief Officer, realizing the situation, screamed while begging for mercy.
“Aaaagh! W-wait! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
Having lived comfortably in the merchant group, he had never experienced such suffering. He caved in under the sudden attack.
The sight turned the faces of some retainers pale. They were the ones who had helped him manipulate accounts and apply poison.
As the Chief Officer agreed to speak, Ghislaine put the axe down. However, the Chief Officer couldn’t endure the pain and immediately fainted.
“What’s with him? Why is he so weak?”
Ghislaine picked up the axe again, thinking of waking him with shock therapy.
“W-wait, brother. Just a moment.”
Rio, who had turned pale after seeing blood, stopped him.
“Hmm.”
Ghislaine looked at Rio and stood up.
In fact, it was about time to stop. For the sake of the Lord’s authority, it was ultimately Rio who needed to conclude the matter.
Instead, he had created an atmosphere in which no one could question him.
Ghislaine moved to stand behind Rio. He then grabbed Rio’s shoulders gently and quietly spoke.
“You are now the Lord who governs this place. So, treat those who have certainly sinned with decisiveness. That way, innocent people won’t suffer in the future.”
“Y-yes…”
“Listening to the opinions of the retainers is of course important. But right now, the situation is already clear, isn’t it?”
“S-sure.”
“So don’t be swayed by the retainers. It’s fine. From now on, you can learn this step by step. To start with… take that guy and make him confess everything by the end of today.”
Rio looked at the appointed interim Knight Commander and said, “Let’s take him and….”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
“…make him confess everything.”
“If you let today pass, you will take the punishment instead.”
“O-If it passes today, I’ll take the punishment instead.”
“That’s it, good job.”
Rio’s back was soaked with cold sweat. It felt like a demon was whispering in his ear.
Regardless, once the order was given, the Knight Commander straightened his posture and replied.
“A-Understood!”
He was already terrified from witnessing Ghislaine’s display of power.
Other retainers, too, couldn’t voice their opinions anymore. They were all holding their breath in fear.
As the knight attempted to drag the fainted Chief Officer away, Ghislaine whispered to Rio again.
“Additionally, give Baron Magrell’s family a small mansion and ensure they can’t leave the territory for five years. Their treatment will be reviewed based on the territory’s conditions after five years.”
“Additionally, for Baron Magrell’s family…”
“Lastly, imprison all of Baron Magrell’s retainers. Their treatment will also be decided after investigating their individual offenses.”
“Lastly, for Baron Magrell’s retainers…”
Rio echoed Ghislaine’s words like a parrot.
“Ah, good job.”
With each of Rio’s repetitions, Ghislaine continued to praise him.
The Knight Commander even placed his hand on his chest and answered briskly.
“Understood!”
He didn’t even dare express doubt or thoughts of rebellion. The image of Ghislaine piercing the Lord’s head was still fresh in everyone’s minds.
The fear of Ghislaine was so great that it made them afraid of Rio as well.
Thus, even the retainers who had slyly played innocent were all dragged away.
With the aftermath wrapped up in an instant, a flustered Rio blinked blankly while Ghislaine clicked his tongue and said.
“Now you get it, right?”
“Y-yes? Yes?”
“A Lord is not a position of luxury. It’s a position of responsibility for the entire territory. Therefore, you must make judgments quickly and accurately, and decide firmly.”
“I understand.”
“Going forward, just issue commands for matters like this. The Lord is the one who decides the direction for the territory. Other professionals will handle the work. So don’t think too hard about it since this is now your territory. You’ll get used to it as you go.”
“Y-yes… I understand.”
Rio trembled slightly. He still felt uncomfortable in this role. He just didn’t have the confidence to be as decisive as Ghislaine.
‘I feel like I’m not even fit to be a Lord…’
He could only be satisfied with having overcome the crisis. He couldn’t understand why Ghislaine put him in such a position.
Ghislaine deliberately intimidated the Chief Officer in public. Through that display, everyone was too afraid to rebel or think otherwise.
Ghislaine constantly ingrained the notion that he stood behind Rio. Because of that, people began to mistake Ghislaine and Rio as one and the same.
Shortly after, the guard captain was brought in, utterly bewildered.
“Huh? Huh? What in the world is happening…?”
He still couldn’t comprehend the situation properly. House Rax had won the conflict and seized control of the territory? Wasn’t it already decided who would win?
But all of the territory’s knights and main forces had shifted to House Rax. As the guard captain, it made little sense to him.
Ghislaine smirked and rolled his shoulders.
“I told you I wouldn’t let you go, didn’t I?”
“Uh, uh? Huh?”
“It doesn’t look good here, so let’s go somewhere else and talk quietly.”
He didn’t intend to kill him. The guard captain’s insults could be overlooked as mere playful banter. But misdeeds were still misdeeds, so he thought it wise to teach him a lesson.
Before long, the screams of the guard captain were heard from outside.
“Kyaaaah! I’m sorry! I’ll never speak carelessly again!”
The people remaining in the main hall were drenched in cold sweat.
The true master of this territory was elsewhere. It felt as if a dragon had claimed the land for fun and set a deputy in place.
After going through a similar process, all officials and troops pledged allegiance and came under House Rax’s rule. This news spread widely, and the territory’s residents accepted it joyfully.
Since House Rax didn’t seize the territory through warfare, the stabilization process was relatively smooth.
Ghislaine asked the still awkward Rio, “What will you do now?”
“I-I don’t know…”
“Is there anything you’ve always wanted to do now that you’re a Lord?”
Such thoughts had never crossed his mind. Becoming a Lord felt impossible from the start.
“I…”
He had been wronged in many ways. If the Yulien Mercenary Group hadn’t helped, he would have lost everything, even his life.
This time, Rio learned many lessons. The most significant one was that those with power must use it rightly.
And, while it was still faint, he now had power as well.
As he thought about it, an idea surfaced. It was to make this territory a better place to live.
Taking a deep breath, Rio slowly opened his mouth.