Chapter 89

Leiden Zighart smiled broadly as soon as he arrived at the annex. Thanks to Sylvia and the maids of the annex, the path and surroundings were completely covered in mud from tidying up the garden.

'Perfect for starting a quarrel.'

The butler, Merkin, must have gone ahead and mentioned the letter that was never sent.

Even though he, the direct line, had come, there were countless ways to start a quarrel since the place was still in disarray.

'Until that guy comes out.'

He had come to this narrow, dirty place to humiliate Laon Zighart and make him kneel. He intended to provoke him until he started a fight.

Sylvia approached him. Even though she knew he had come to cause trouble, her eyes remained calm.

Leiden sneered at her, who would have been his aunt if he had stayed in the family, and provoked her.

However, her reaction was indifferent. Even when he spoke rudely, spat, and trampled on the well-tended flowers with his dirty shoes, she did not fall for his provocation.

Sylvia's patience was stronger than he thought, and her expression was frighteningly calm.

'Damn...'

Leiden twisted his lips. No matter how much he tried, provoking Sylvia directly could be dangerous.

'I can't just let this go.'

As he pondered what to do, he saw Sylvia and the maids cleaning up the mud. Their expressions were calm, but they couldn't hide the trembling in their hands.

'That's it!'

He had an idea on how to provoke them. Unlike Sylvia, they couldn't control their emotions.

Kahak!

Leiden grinned and spat on Sylvia's hand as she was cleaning the floor. The oldest maid's eyes widened in shock.

"How dare you! No matter how direct you are, if you start a quarrel so openly, the main house won't just stand by!"

As expected, she fell for the provocation and said what she shouldn't have.

Crack!

Leiden pushed Sylvia aside and approached the maid, slapping her across the face.

As the maid said, the law enforcement would definitely come, but he was from the direct line. The punishment would be nothing more than a few days of confinement.

"You really don't know your place. You're just the dregs of this family."

As he laughed and was about to step on the trembling maid, a loud noise came from the annex.

A boy appeared, with features so harmonious they were almost perfect.

'That kid is Laon Zighart...'

Seeing his annoyingly handsome face made his stomach churn even more.

Swoosh.

Laon drew his sword.

'He fought a Green-Ear Demon and a Blood Demon without properly controlling his aura? Ridiculous.'

Laon stopped right in front of him. Despite seeing him draw his sword, Leiden only sneered. If the kid had any sense, he wouldn't dare swing it.

"Surely you're not going to swing that scary thing? I'm from the direct line, you know?"

Looking into the kid's eyes, he seemed to still have his wits about him. Just as he was about to provoke him further, Laon spoke.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Before the words even reached his ears, a flash of red appeared in his vision.

"Ah!"

He tried to step back in shock, but it was too late. The kid's sword was already charging towards his neck.

Zing!

Panicking, he closed his eyes tightly. A loud impact sounded right in front of him.

When he opened his eyes, the butler Merkin was standing in front of him.

But Laon didn't stop. Seizing the opportunity when Merkin couldn't fully deflect the sword, he punched him.

Thud!

Merkin, hit squarely on the temple, fell back, trembling.

"You, you lunatic!"

Leiden gritted his teeth and drew his sword.

"Do you know who you're swinging your sword at?!"

"I know."

Laon's voice didn't waver. It was clear he intended to kill him.

"You're just a burglar invading my territory."

"What nonsense! I'm the true master of this house!"

"This isn't your house."

The kid muttered something crazy and swung his sword again.

"Fine! I was going to play with you, but I'll rip your head off!"

Leiden swung his sword, intending to deflect Laon's and stab him in the neck.

But the strange rotation from Laon's sword began to push his own back.

"What the—"

He stepped back and twisted his sword, barely deflecting Laon's.

Whoosh!

Laon, as if he knew this would happen, fearlessly approached and drew a diagonal line with his sword.

"Ugh!"

Leiden groaned. His hand, blocking Laon's sword, trembled. Once he started losing ground, it was hard to regain the upper hand.

"To think you'd swing your sword at someone from the direct line. You and your mother will lose your heads!"

"Before that, I'll take your head."

As he said this, a chilling sword strike grazed his shoulder.

Zing!

He barely blocked the kid's sword, aimed at his neck.

"Ugh!"

What a guy!

Laon's sword attacks came in waves, leaving no openings. He had clearly fallen for the provocation, but his hands were the ones getting confused.

'Damn it!'

He wanted to draw his aura from his dantian to counterattack, but the kid didn't give him the time. From start to finish, he could only defend.

'Just give me some time. Just some time!'

If he had the time to move his aura, he could kill this guy in one go. The kid knew this and wouldn't give him the time.

Grinding his teeth, Leiden decided he had no choice.

To escape this situation, even if it meant taking internal injuries, he had to force his aura from his dantian.

Ku-gu-gu!

The pain of his mana circuits burning was intense, but a powerful aura enveloped his body.

"It's over! You lunatic!"

He expanded the muscles in his lower and upper body and released his aura onto his sword, intending to split Laon and his sword in one strike.

But just before the powerful sword strike landed, Laon disappeared from in front of him.

"Ah!"

It was a ghost-like movement. He couldn't even determine where he went.

"You're the one who's finished."

The sound of Laon's voice from behind sent shivers down his spine. He quickly turned, but the kid's fist was already on his abdomen.

Thud!

The intense impact bent Leiden's waist.

"You."

"It's not over yet."

Laon's sword shot towards his heart.

"Ugh!"

Terrified by the blade flying like a bolt of lightning, Leiden closed his eyes and screamed.

* * *

Laon didn't stab Leiden's heart. He stopped the blade just before it reached his chest.

There were two reasons for this.

The first was Sylvia's voice telling him to stop, and the second was...

Two direct subordinates of the family head, the Thousand Sword Guard, stood in front of Leiden.

"You just stood by when Helen was attacked and now you show up?"

Despite Laon's cold voice, the Thousand Sword Guard didn't react.

"Step back."

They lowered their stances, forming a solid wall to protect Leiden.

"Ugh!"

Realizing he was still alive, Leiden fell back, spitting and pointing at Laon.

"K, kill him! Kill that lunatic!"

"..."

"What are you doing? I, from the direct line, was attacked by that brat!"

The Thousand Sword Guard didn't move, even at Leiden's command. They remained statue-like.

"Move."

"Step back."

"Huh..."

Laon exhaled, drawing his aura. The Thousand Sword Guard was different from Merkin. He couldn't win with a surprise attack.

"Laon. Stop!"

"Master..."

Just as he was about to use the Ten Swords Technique, Sylvia and Helen grabbed his arms. Seeing their trembling eyes, the anger that had filled his heart and mind melted away like spring snow.

"Who do you think I am?"

Leiden, gritting his teeth, stood up.

"I'm the son of the head of the martial hall! Kill that kid! No, I'll kill him! Move!"

"Master Leiden. Step back."

The Thousand Sword Guard on the right turned and blocked Leiden, separating him from Laon.

"We only follow the family head's orders. Both of you, step back."

"Ugh, you guard dogs! I was attacked!"

Leiden, grinding his teeth, raised his sword, intending to use his aura to attack the Thousand Sword Guard. Just as he was about to do so, the unconscious butler Merkin ran up behind him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Master. You can't!"

"Shut up!"

His wild behavior was like a mad dog.

"Master. This is actually..."

Merkin whispered in Leiden's ear, and his flailing limbs slowly subsided.

"Let go."

Leiden pushed Merkin away and met Laon's eyes as he passed the Thousand Sword Guard.

"Laon Zighart."

His eyes gleamed like a beast's.

"I'll engrave a humiliation and pain worse than death on you! Wait for it."

"Same here."

Laon's eyes flashed with a blood-red light.

"I won't forget what you did here. You never know when your head will roll, so it's best to stop being scared and keep your eyes open."

"Ugh! You scum! If it weren't for the surprise, you'd already be buried in this mud!"

Leiden, burning with madness, tried to charge, but was held back by Merkin, flailing his arms and legs.

"Master! We need to leave now!"

"I won't forgive this! I'll destroy this annex!"

"Master!"

Merkin forcibly dragged Leiden away from the annex.

The Thousand Sword Guard, after waiting for Leiden and Merkin to disappear, relaxed their defensive stance and approached Laon.

"This incident will be reported to the family head. You should prepare your explanation."

"Is that advice? I thought you only cared about the direct line."

"Laon. Stop."

Sylvia's grip on his right arm tightened. Laon clicked his tongue and sheathed his sword.

"..."

The Thousand Sword Guard bowed and disappeared without a word.

"Lady. Master. I'm sorry. I couldn't control myself. I didn't act my age..."

Helen knelt in front of Laon and Sylvia.

"No. I didn't realize how brave you were when you stepped forward."

Sylvia, though tired, smiled and helped Helen up.

"Helen did nothing wrong."

Laon nodded. There was no need for someone who did nothing wrong to apologize when the culprit was right there.

"Laon."

Sylvia embraced Laon from behind.

"You've become so strong. How solid you were when you stood in front of your mother."

Her voice was filled with both laughter and tears.

"Don't worry about this. I'll take care of it."

"No, I—"

He tried to turn and speak, but Sylvia held his shoulder tightly, preventing him from speaking.

"It's okay. Just trust your mother."

Saying this, Sylvia began to clean the dirty floor and the uprooted flowers and shrubs. The maids, who had been