Chapter 0.1

Craig Bauer, Head Knight of The House of Rodvelia’s guards, had grimaced at the seriousness of the situation that had suddenly fallen upon him.

He moved silently down the hallway, enduring the grating pain in his stomach caused by a certain report that he received from his subordinate. It wasn’t a laughing matter because he felt like a prisoner on his way to the gallows, and in fact, that expression wasn’t entirely wrong. If he were to move according to his instincts, he would turn on his heel at once and walk away from this place, never to return.

The wrinkles between his eyebrows deepened as he reminded himself that it was an unacceptable position to be in.

(How could that man, of all people, fall down the stairs and such when I was not at his side?)

‘If only I were there, then none of this would…’, he lamented helplessly. He sounded as if he was a servant with fervent loyalty, but he didn’t have such intentions at all. If the lord of this estate, who is said to have missed his step on the stairs and is currently unconscious, were to wake up… He would accuse his guards of not doing their utmost best to protect him and execute them without hesitation. If he tried to stand up for them, he would be told with haughty sarcastic remarks, ‘Oh, come to think of it, you are the head knight, aren’t you?’ and would also be held accountable as the one in charge. That alone doesn’t excuse the negligence of the guards, in other words: they will all be hanged. Craig was serving such a man who could erase a life or two without batting an eye.

But most of all, he had other masters whom he truly serves.

This nation… Amadease was rotten.

The current King Eberhardt, an elitist as well as a warped and selfish man, ascended the throne upon the sudden death of the former King Albert.

Above all, he was the only one that is “Royalty”, having executed his mother, grandparents and siblings; all his immediate family members, one after the other. Then, he showed favoritism to some of the nobles and feudal lords, uniting them for a short period of time before immediately raising the taxes to three times the previous amount, disregarding whether citizens were able to afford it or not.

Naturally, there were nobles and citizens who opposed this absurd amendment, but those who were vocal about their opinions were seized by the national army and publicly hanged as a warning for others: those who oppose will meet the same fate. The people who had become accustomed to the peaceful reign of the former king were horrified by the tragedy they had suddenly witnessed. Amidst the confusion, laws were already being revised and an oppressive regime was laid down in no time.

Eight years later.

The people lived in evergrowing fear of each passing day, as their rulers grew to be even more ruthless; showing the disparity of those who have power and those who do not.

This land that had closed its borders and is rife with viciousness had been completely reduced to a hellish dictatorship, but at the same time, the number of people who opposed the dictatorship and seeking to restore peace and order steadily increased from the shadows. In fact, Craig was also one of them.

—However.

Duke Heinreid von Rodvelia. The one who had Craig in his pocket, and the current king’s favorite. Rumor had it that he had been directly involved with the king’s accession to the throne and the one who had instigated this whole inferno.

He had no shortage of bizarre nicknames such as: villainous noble from birth, the demon of Amadease or the nation’s deadliest poison, but he was cruel and inhumane to the extent that all of those felt names paled in comparison to his cruelty.

He had made it this far as a pawn of such a wicked man that he wanted to cough up blood, and yet would all his efforts come to nothing in this place?

He suddenly glanced sideways at the window. The sprawling garden was beautifully landscaped with plants, flowers and hedges without an inch of disarray. The lord rarely strolled around the garden or around the estate, however the gardener continued to diligently maintain the landscape: In this household, you would never know what might cause you to lose your head. The image of the lord who smirked and laughed saying, ‘So even fear can produce art,’ was still stuck in his mind.

(What a brute.)

He mentally cursed him at the repulsive memory.

He had swallowed up all his complaints and had been serving as his lord’s puppet Head Knight, but that may also end today.

He was terribly sorry to his actual masters who would soon put an act of rebellion, but… once his life was about to end.

(I’m going to take one of your arms and legs.)

As he slightly felt despair, even thought of what his final words would be when on the brink of death, just like that, there was suddenly a scream from a grief-stricken man.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!”

The servants who were cleaning in the hallway all jumped and shook their shoulders in unison, and Craig raised his head as if he had been struck too. That said, he had just turned to the direction he was going to.

The voice came from the lord’s room.

(…It seems that he’s already awake. Whose scream was it?!)

The guards who were previously stationed nearby had already been relieved of their duty. If that was the case, he might have taken it out on one of the servants.

“Shit!”

He had not even come up with a decent excuse for his mismanagement, but he couldn’t involve anyone who had nothing to do with it.

Craig felt as if he was on a suicide mission and ran off in the direction of the scream.