After the ball ended, Duke and his party returned to their carriage.
“Sir, be careful.”
Before parting with Duke, Hana warned him.
Duke responded with an answer that was somewhat out of context.
“I am one who finds beauty in the sound of colliding beliefs. Therefore, do not worry, and fulfill your role.”
Hana mulled over his meaningful line and then smiled in return.
“I thank you for your consideration, Sir.”
“Hmm. I look forward to meeting you again soon.”
Though Duke usually spoke familiarly with Hana, the change in his tone was something only the two of them understood.
Thus, Duke ended the dreamlike time with Hana and prepared to return to the inn.
However, dreams must inevitably come to an end.
Just as their carriage was about to arrive at the inn, the situation began to change drastically.
“Duke! Ari! The citizens! The citizens!!”
The citizens Rex had saved a few days ago were being attacked by knights.
When cornered, humans can do anything.
Humans are inherently far from rational, but humans with nothing left to lose can become even more despicable.
“Rex… you alone…! You alone…!!”
After the banquet, the old Count sat alone in his office, seething with anger.
The plan to kill Rex at the banquet and take his territory had failed spectacularly.
He hadn’t touched the poison from the start, and the arrival of the neighboring lord at the party made assassination impossible.
The Count had considered launching a straightforward assassination like a charging ram but decided against it.
‘They said that the maid defeated that monster.’
This meant Rex’s maid was a monstrous being of the fourth tier.
Considering the knight Duke and Rex as well, the Count could barely manage, even if he mobilized all the forces in this city.
‘And that woman.’
The biggest problem was Lady Sneria.
Though she was of the fourth tier, she was not someone to be underestimated.
If not, she would have invaded the woman’s territory long ago.
To the Count, Baroness Sneria was an incomprehensible oddity.
She pursued meaningless justice, valued decorum, and meticulously honored contracts that were no more than scraps of paper.
If she were to attack Rex in front of her eyes…
‘That woman will take his side too.’
Because inviting someone to a party and then attacking them would go against her sense of justice.
Thus, the Count abandoned the idea of assassination.
Considering her involvement, the Count had virtually no chance of success.
– Do I really need to obsess over him?
The last remaining shred of rationality in the Count’s mind halted the flow of thoughts.
But the Grim Reaper named “life span” chasing him from behind silenced his rationality once again.
‘I can’t die like this.’
As the trembling of his fingertips worsened, exceeding that of just a month ago, the Count’s heart began to beat faster.
Judging by the rapid progression of the symptoms, it seemed he didn’t have much time left.
“Time. I don’t have enough time.”
Had he obtained the heart of the dead demon, he wouldn’t have obsessed over Rex like this.
It was as simple as feeding the heart to another demon and then killing that demon.
But now, with the heart gone, all the Count’s thoughts were governed by emotions and anger.
He recalled Rex with a smile, as if unaware of anything, towards his maid.
“Very well, if you are going to act this way, then I will use that woman.”
The Count remembered the face of Baroness Sneria.
He didn’t know what Rex was up to, but that baroness was extremely displeased with the woman who had appeared at the party so thoughtlessly.
But, if you think about it differently, this was an opportunity for the Count.
‘That woman will honor the contract.’
The Count recalled the recent military alliance he had renewed with her.
This was a treaty stating that if one side was attacked, the other would provide support.
It was practically a one-sided protection treaty, as there was no estate in the vicinity able to invade his territory.
It had been a treaty made under false pretenses to acquire the luxury goods produced in her territory.
But at this moment, the useless piece of paper felt useful to the Count for the first time.
‘If Rex attacks me, that woman has no choice but to help.’
Regardless of Rex’s circumstances, Hana was, above all, a sovereign. She would undoubtedly side with the Count.
‘Then this is what must be done.’
The method to make Rex attack him came to mind immediately.
According to reports, Rex, despite being a superhuman, showed unusual compassion for insignificant things.
Then…
‘You broke my precious thing, so it’s only fair you, too, should feel that pain.’
The Count smirked.
Believing Rex would surely fall for this provocation.
“Duke! Ari! The citizens! The citizens!!”
Rex’s voice reached them suddenly.
What was so urgent that he shouted instead of sending a message as usual?
“What is it, Master?”
Ari responded with urgent surprise.
However, Duke remained calm as always.
Rex glanced at the helmet obscurely, then refocused on the interface in front of his eyes.
“The citizens are under attack!”
Ari immediately understood which citizens Rex was talking about.
They were the ones they had rescued from that city ruled by demons and who were staying in a nearby village.
“Who is it?”
Ari reacted dramatically, feeling just as much responsibility toward those citizens as Rex did.
In contrast, Duke remained quiet.
In the end, the conversation was carried out only by Ari and Rex.
“I’m not sure! They seem like bandits, but I’m not certain.”
Since none of the citizens had a proper contract, the location was only displayed as a dot.
Rex and Ari could only infer the situation from the green dots surrounded by red dots displayed on the minimap shared with her.
Ari similarly revealed her impatience through the firefly spirits’ revelry displayed before her eyes.
“What do we do? Even if we ride now, it’s three days away!”
“Need a faster way to get there…”
At Rex’s muttering, both of them unconsciously turned their gaze to Duke.
“To go faster…”
“Need a way to…”
Could it be because of this that he looked so unusually relaxed until now?
Both of them looked at Duke with anticipation.
“To go faster…”
“To find a way…”
Finally, responding to their looks, Duke opened his mouth.
“We can go.”
“Of course!”
“Sir!”
“But we won’t.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
Duke found their reactions amusing enough to tease them more, but stopped when he felt he might get hit.
He headed towards the nearby stable instead of explaining.
“Let’s go. I’ll explain.”
*
Three days passed.
The group held a now almost routine fan meeting with the thieves and peacefully reached the village at the end of their journey.
There, Rex encountered familiar faces he hadn’t expected.
“We have been waiting for you, Your Excellency! Master!”
Around 300 knights saluted Rex, a magnificent sight.
“Urgh…”
Though Rex twisted under the public title, it was indeed a welcome sight.
The Knights of Yormungand.
The knights who had once scattered throughout the estate for Rex’s sake had reunited in this village.
“Greetings for the first time, Mr. Rex.”
And for some reason, there were unidentified groups added as well.
Amidst the dizziness that overwhelmed Rex, he demanded an explanation from them.
[How did this… happen… exactly?]
The squad leaders proudly began listing their accomplishments in response to Rex’s question.
“We have rescued those who were unjustly enslaved in this estate.”
“Over the past several months, we have preached the greatness of Mr. Rex to them.”
“Successfully brainwashed them—no, educated them.”
Rex’s jaw dropped.
For some reason, the people he’d left behind had increased from 300 to a thousand.
Rex looked to Duke for an explanation with his eyes.
Duke understood Rex’s sentiment but maintained ignorance and replied proudly.
“Master. I believe it is appropriate to congratulate the efforts of your subordinates at such a time.”
You crazy bastard.
Rex’s eyes seemed to send that message.
Naturally, Duke ignored it consistently.
‘Ah, maybe I should have mentioned the slave market search.’
A self-proclaimed protagonist who left command to another person and only focused on adventures deserved to suffer consequences properly.
The karma of handing over message command to Duke and not checking it had manifested into this enormous scale.
Though Rex’s thoughts were somewhat different.
‘Damn skill!’
=======
Duke Erwick
[Skill]——
<Rex Carnifex>
– Also affects vassals!
=======
Rex felt like even the status window was mocking him.
Afterward, Rex signed contracts with the additional 700 people.
He didn’t want to witness a thousand-person group execution show.
Thus, after enduring that awkward moment, Rex returned to the main topic.
[But, why are all of you here?]
In response to Rex’s question, the Dark Elf who had now become a battalion commander instead of a squad leader replied.
“You ordered us to, sir. There were thugs daring to harm the subjects resting under your protection, so we came to greet them first.”
Both Rex and Ari’s gazes turned towards Duke’s helmet.
‘Hmm, how do you feel? I’m pretty cool.’
Duke positioned himself where they could see him well, adjusting his stance slightly against the sun.
This was why Duke had appeared so relaxed all along.
Duke had already known the Count’s next move and gathered the Knight Order to this village before the ball even started.
When Rex arrived at this village, naturally, there was no sight of the mysterious red dots attacking the citizens.
“How did you know about it?”
In response to Ari’s question, Duke finally explained everything that had happened so far.
The mysterious group present at the body of the Great Chief in the demon city,
Private investigations of the Count’s circumstances,
And the regular reports received from the squad leaders every evening.
All these were combined to deduce the Count’s purpose.
“Once you know the purpose, the move isn’t that hard to read.”
Of course, this was also from the original story knowledge. But Duke was originally a man who had left behind conscience 200 years ago, so he didn’t care.
‘I can’t let them harm even the rescued citizens.’
It was Duke who was planning a thorough victory against the Count this time.
He had to completely refute that old man in the end.
After explaining everything that had occurred so far, Duke observed Rex’s reaction.
The response that eventually came back was largely as Duke had expected.
“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”
“Before this attack, I wasn’t sure.”
In fact, Duke’s words were very reasonable.
The crucial evidence that this attack on the village was carried out by the knights of another city under the Count’s orders was what confirmed the facts.
Previously, most of the evidence was only circumstantial, insufficient to suspect the Count as the mastermind.
Duke’s explanation made sense, and Rex nodded his head.
“Indeed…”
Reasonable argument.
Rex began to ponder again.
Duke and the knights waited until Rex opened his mouth again.
Duke, especially, waited for the reply from Rex’s mouth.
‘Alright, how will Rex respond now?’
Rex from the original story underwent numerous sufferings and grew into a ruler.
In this village attack incident, he resolves to be a lord.
‘The original plot would involve planning to assassinate the lord.’
Rex realized the knights he had first commanded in the research city were victims of “human cleansing” here in the estate.
He also realized Ari, whom he cherished, was among the victims, and finally, the citizens he had saved were attacked.
Eventually, the boy who once wanted to stay in the city resolved to be a lord upon witnessing the deaths of those who placed their hopes in him.
So that such occurrences wouldn’t happen again around him.
But this world is different.
Most of the growing pains Rex had to endure in the original story have been preemptively prevented.
Then, what kind of person will this young man become?
This was also a gamble for Duke.
It might completely deviate from the original story if things go wrong.
But he didn’t want this poor friend to suffer misfortune for the sake of growth if he could avoid it.
‘What kind of person will Rex become in this world?’
Finally, Rex concluded his thoughts and opened his mouth.
“I… am not that kind of great person.”
“But, for the sake of those who followed me, I think it’s necessary if needed.”
“Let’s depose the lord. So that no more innocent blood flows in this land.”
At Rex’s words, the corner of Duke’s lips turned upward.
‘As expected.’
People may change, worlds may change, but Rex’s sense of responsibility remains the same.
Rex is one who is unaware of the insults he has suffered personally but will take responsibility till the end for those who believed in him.
Duke defined this as the quality of a ruler.
“Though it may be shameless, I ask for your help. I would appreciate it if you would assist me.”
The resolved Rex requested aid from the knights without trembling.
The Rex from the original story only had adventuring friends and Ari to ask for help.
But here, there were many soldiers who followed him.
Facing the requesting master, Duke knelt before him.
“Master, please don’t ask. Simply give us our orders.”
Behind Duke, the knights also knelt.
“Order us!!”
Soon, Rex declared with resolute determination.
“I declare here! I will ensure no more innocent blood is spilled on this land! Those willing to pledge their lives to me, swear!”
As if waiting for it, the knights stood one by one.
“Commander of the 1st Battalion, Hedoineus. I swear upon my heart to establish your will in this land.”
“Commander of the 2nd Battalion, Ginaria Sages. I swear upon my blood. I will instill true ethical governance in this land.”
“Commander of the 3rd Battalion, Remesis. I hereby swear by my name. I will bring your warmth to this barren land.”
With the proclamation of these three battalion commanders, Duke finally stood, placing his hand on his chest.
“Commander of the Yormungand Royal Guard, Duke Erwick. I hereby swear upon this field. Not a single enemy of my master shall set foot on this land.”
As he proclaimed, Duke’s status window lit up.
But Rex, captivated by the scene before him, failed to notice it.
– <Rex Carnifex> ON
‘Bitcoin entering the market.’
Though the direction of loyalty was slightly different, it was loyalty nonetheless.
