Chapter 22

### Chapter 22: Duke's Mansion (2)

After knocking down the squires, Damian immediately headed for the mansion.

To get to the mansion, he had to cross the garden in the middle.

‘Gardening was Mother’s only hobby.’

If the garden of the Count’s mansion was the size of a vegetable patch, the garden of the Duke’s mansion was vast and expansive, reminiscent of a forest.

Mother would have liked to hear about the Duke’s mansion garden.

However, Damian couldn’t leisurely admire the garden.

“Found you!”

“There you are!”

Knights emerged from various spots in the garden.

The aura they exuded was different from the squires he had just fought.

Low-Class.

These were the Duke’s official knights, who had stepped forward to stop Damian.

“Who knows where you came from, but attacking the Duke’s mansion!”

“We’ll cut your tendons and throw you in jail!”

The knights drew their swords simultaneously, and thick auras enveloped the blades.

Despite being threatened by so many Low-Class knights, Damian’s expression didn’t change much.

‘Killing isn’t hard… but the aftermath is.’

During his journey to the Duke’s mansion, Damian had gathered a considerable amount of mana using the Power Accumulation Technique.

To Damian, there was no significant difference between squires and Low-Class knights.

However, if he were to shed blood here, it would risk making an enemy of the Duke.

‘Is there any suitable object around?’

Damian looked around.

Fortunately, there were gardening tools nearby.

Damian picked up a spade and struck its head with the blade.

The blade of the spade broke off, leaving a stick of appropriate length.

Damian swung the stick. It felt good.

“Alright. Now come at me.”

Damian wiggled his fingers. The veins on the knights’ foreheads bulged.

“Do we look like a joke to you?”

“What kind of ridiculous provocation is this?”

“We’ll kill you right now!”

The knights charged, spewing anger.

The leading knight swung his sword, which drew a semicircle.

Damian tried to block the blade with his stick.

“Fool!”

The knight shouted. His sword was enveloped in aura. In contrast, Damian’s stick was just a stick.

If this continued, the aura-infused sword would cut through both the stick and Damian.

However, contrary to the knight’s expectations, the sword failed to cut the stick.

Instead, its trajectory twisted.

“...What?”

The sword, which had been drawing a horizontal line, suddenly shot upward.

Damian didn’t miss the opening and struck the knight’s head with the stick.

The knight collapsed weakly.

“Die!”

Another knight followed, swinging his sword.

Damian blocked the sword with his stick again.

The sword, which had been falling straight, veered sharply to the left.

“No...? Cough!”

Damian immediately struck the knight’s head. The knight screamed and fainted.

In the blink of an eye, two knights had been defeated.

The other knights were taken aback by this unbelievable scene.

Damian tapped his shoulder with the stick and said,

“What are you waiting for? Come at me.”

The knights exchanged glances. Then, one of them led the charge, followed by the others.

The sound of clashing weapons echoed continuously.

* * *

“...There’s only one intruder?”

The Duke asked, his face showing disbelief. The servant nodded vigorously.

“What about the knights? What are the knights doing?”

“Ten squires have already failed to stop the intruder!”

“Squires...?”

A squire alone is a formidable force. Ten of them failing?

“Not only that, but the Low-Class knights also failed to stop him!”

The Duke felt his head throb.

Is this really happening?

Could everyone be trying to deceive him?

“Don’t worry! A Mid-Class knight is on the move! He will subdue the intruder soon!”

The mention of Mid-Class calmed the Duke.

Upon reflection, there was no reason to be afraid.

This place had not only Low-Class but also Mid-Class and even High-Class knights.

The Duke looked at the old knight standing beside him. The old knight said with a fierce gaze,

“Your Excellency, don’t worry. I am by your side.”

Gao Heinrich.

One of the three High-Class knights in the Apple Kingdom.

The Goldfich Duke’s family possessed the highest military force.

“How many casualties have there been?”

“None, as far as I know.”

The Duke’s face showed confusion again.

“...What do you mean? No casualties? Then, any injuries?”

“Only minor injuries.”

“What...?”

In broad daylight, invading the Duke’s mansion and fighting with the knights without killing anyone.

“Hold on.”

A possibility dawned on the Duke.

“I need to meet this intruder myself.”

* * *

After knocking down all the Low-Class knights, Damian entered the mansion.

The Goldfich Duke’s family was known as the wealthiest in the Apple Kingdom.

The interior of the mansion, as proof of this reputation, was adorned with expensive artworks.

“Stop him! Stop the intruder!”

As soon as he entered the mansion, knights charged at him. They were all Low-Class knights.

Damian swung his stick wildly at the charging knights.

The knights fell like leaves in the wind. Damian trampled over them and advanced into the mansion.

He passed through the corridor and arrived at a spacious hall. There, he stopped.

A knight stood in the center of the hall.

“Finally, you’ve come this far. You bastard.”

The knight muttered quietly, his voice filled with malice.

“You’ve caused a lot of trouble in the Duke’s mansion. I will personally tear you apart and feed you to the rats.”

The knight pulled out the spear he had planted on the ground. A sharp aura filled the entire hall.

“Impressive.”

Damian briefly admired the knight’s aura.

“I am Damian Haksen. What’s your name?”

It would be a shame to fight without introducing themselves.

The knight scowled at Damian’s question, clearly reluctant to answer, but said,

“Ernst Howitz. Mid-Class.”

A formidable opponent had appeared.

* * *

To become a knight, one must go through the stages of trainee, squire, and official knight.

The official knight is further divided into four ranks.

Low-Class, Mid-Class, High-Class, and finally Master.

The gap between each rank grew larger as one progressed.

It was already a difficult feat for a squire to reach the Low-Class rank, but for a Low-Class knight to become a Mid-Class knight was even more challenging.

A Low-Class knight alone was already a formidable force.

Then, what about a Mid-Class knight, which was even harder to achieve?

They were treated as natural disasters that a human body could reach.

“This is going to be a headache.”

Damian tapped his shoulder with the stick.

“Headache?”

Ernst Howitz scowled, clearly irritated by the comment.

“Are you so scared that you’re talking nonsense? You should say you want to run away.”

Ernst Howitz raised his aura.

Cracks began to form on the floor where he stood.

The cracks spread throughout the room, even reaching the walls and ceiling.

“Destroying the building like this will make it hard to face the Duke.”

To be honest, Damian didn’t want to fight Ernst Howitz.

It had been less than a month since Damian’s regression, and he still lacked physical strength and mana.

He could fight, but it would be a tiring battle.

‘Most importantly, only Low-Class knights can participate in duels.’

To participate in a duel, he had to pretend to be a Low-Class knight.

However, if he fought Ernst Howitz, a Mid-Class knight, he might be suspected of not being a Low-Class knight.

“If you keep hesitating, I’ll start first!”

Ernst Howitz’s body slightly lowered, ready to charge.

Damian clicked his tongue.

Given the situation, it would be best to give a decent fight and then run away.

At that moment,

The door behind Ernst Howitz suddenly opened.

“Both of you, stop!”

A middle-aged man walked in and shouted. Ernst Howitz looked surprised.

“Your Excellency?”

“This man, you need to think about capturing the intruder. What if you destroy the entire building?”

The middle-aged man patted Ernst Howitz’s shoulder.

Ernst Howitz immediately bowed and said,

“I apologize. I was not careful enough.”

“It’s fine. We can always call the mages to repair it.”

After saying that, the Duke approached Damian.

“Your Excellency, it’s dangerous!”

“It’s fine.”

Despite Ernst Howitz’s warning, the Duke didn’t stop.

“Young man, what’s your name?”

Just a few steps away.

The Duke asked, standing at a distance where Damian could draw his sword and kill him.

Indeed, a man with the Duke’s title had the nerve to match.

Damian put down the stick he was holding and said,

“I am Damian Haksen, Your Excellency.”

“Damian Haksen? Could you be the troublemaker from the Haksen family?”

“I’m grateful that you recognize me.”

The Duke’s expression changed strangely.

“I thought the rumors were exaggerated or fake... I didn’t expect them to be true.”

“It’s a bit unfair. Because of that misunderstanding, everyone looks down on me.”

Damian’s words made the Duke burst into laughter.

“You’ve come this far without killing a single knight from the family. No knight has even suffered a fatal injury.”

“I had to give them a decent fight.”

“What? Decent? You’re a really interesting guy.”

A smile appeared on the Duke’s face.

“So, what do you want from me? You must have a reason for causing this commotion.”

Finally, the moment Damian had been waiting for arrived.

“I owe Your Excellency a debt.”

“A debt?”

The Duke looked puzzled, unable to guess what it could be.

“I borrowed money from the loan company Your Excellency runs. I need to pay back 30 gold, including interest.”

“Oh, I see. Did you come here for that?”

“I don’t have the money right now, so I want to pay back the debt in another way.”

The Duke nodded at Damian’s answer.

“Another way?”

“I will defeat Michael Ryanblum and offer the victory to you in place of the debt.”

The Duke’s eyes widened at the answer.

Michael Ryanblum.

Someone had appeared to solve that headache.

“...Interesting. Really interesting.”

The Duke stroked his chin, examining Damian.

He was probably comparing Damian to Michael Ryanblum in his mind.

“Michael Ryanblum is a monster, predicted to become a Master someday. Are you confident?”

“If I fail, you can take my head.”

Damian answered immediately without any hesitation.

The Duke burst into laughter, forgetting his dignity, and opened his mouth wide.

“Hahaha, I haven’t seen such a spirited young man.”

The Duke extended his hand and said,

“I’ll give you a chance.”

Damian shook his hand and said,

“You won’t regret it.”