Chapter 89
Adolf’s death.
That death brought an end to the battle inside the inner castle.
‘The 5th Legion must have held out well.’
If they hadn’t, things would’ve already descended into chaos long ago.
Inside the inner castle.
The place where the succession ceremony had been held was now filled with corpses.
The high-ranking knights and Adolf left behind no bodies, but those of lower rank had.
Right now, the knights on Abel’s side were burning the corpses of the knights who had served under Adolf.
Rebels.
There was no need to show respect for their bodies.
So they were likely burning them without hesitation.
Of course, those who died on Abel’s side were being given very formal funerals.
In the meantime—
“Kyle!”
A voice called out to me.
It was Duke Seltarion.
Behind him, Seron and the members of the Sword Demon Unit were following.
Soon, Duke approached and said,
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
“Well, I’m a mage, after all. I can just stay in the back and comfortably cast spells. I’m not injured. What about you, Brother?”
“I’m in fairly good shape too.”
“That’s a relief. Seron, what’s the status of the Sword Demon Unit?”
“Some fled, and some died. Right now, about half remain.”
I see.
Looking at the numbers, they’d decreased from thirty to around fifteen.
“Who fled?”
At my question, Seron listed the names.
Two high-rankers and three mid-rankers.
According to the remaining gladiators, as soon as things started looking grim, those individuals immediately attempted to escape.
It was something I’d half-expected.
‘Well, they’ll probably live just fine.’
I had no intention of pursuing them.
This was already enough to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
“Then the other ten?”
“…They’re dead. Among the dead are… seven mid-rankers and three high-rankers.”
Most of the casualties were mid-rank gladiators.
In a chaotic battle, those with lesser skill are the first to fall.
“Did you gather the bodies?”
“…Yes.”
They had no hometowns, and no families.
Material compensation would likely be impossible.
Still—
“I’ll make a proposal to Father. At the very least, they should be honored properly.”
I intended to strongly push for them to be treated with the same respect as knights who died within the family’s ranks.
These were people who had practically given their lives for me.
So that was the very least I could do.
At my words, Seron bowed his head slightly.
“…Yes. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. It’s only right. Everyone, listen up for a moment.”
At that, the remaining members of the Sword Demon Unit looked at me.
“Today’s sudden incident must have left you all very shaken. I was no different. I didn’t expect my second brother to lead a rebellion.”
“……”
“Today, quite a few of our men have died. Ten of them. That’s about one-fifth. As time goes on, that number will only grow, not shrink.”
Since I wasn’t including the five who fled, it meant ten out of twenty-five had died.
At my words, the members of the Sword Demon Unit fell silent.
“You who remained here until the end, and the ten who died, stayed your ground even in the face of chaos. First of all, I want to say thank you. And I have no intention of showing my gratitude with just words. I plan to pass down the Seltarion Family’s swordsmanship and internal techniques to all of you.”
At that, Hans, the vice-captain of the Sword Demon Unit, widened his eyes.
“…Young Master! Are you serious?”
“Didn’t I say it before? I don’t expect loyalty without reward. It won’t take too long.”
Give and take.
A nice phrase is meant to be acted upon.
At my words, the twenty gladiators’ eyes lit up.
To them, it was like a golden lifeline had descended from the heavens.
They’d likely think it was more than worth risking their lives for this.
‘Two top-rankers, seven high-rankers, six mid-rankers.’
Including Seron, there were fifteen remaining in total.
I now planned to train them and raise them into a loyal guard unit.
“There’ll be good news soon, so look forward to it.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Then, carry on with your work.”
At that, the members of the Sword Demon Unit, clearly excited, began lifting the corpses with renewed vigor.
They must have seen countless corpses inside the illegal arena.
So, not a single one of them vomited or grimaced at the sight.
The same went for me.
Even if it was just a game world, I’d seen so many scenes like this. I’d long since passed the stage of having my mental state shaken by mere corpses.
And thus, the cleanup of the inner castle was complete.
“Kyle.”
When I turned at the voice calling me, I saw Abel.
“Yes, big brother.”
“…I don’t know if I should call this good news or not. Haa. They say the 5th Legion has been suppressed.”
He spoke with a bitter smile.
The 5th Legion.
If those guys were suppressed, it was definitely a win.
And yet, with that expression—
“Was the damage severe?”
“Yes… Even though they collapsed the enemy formation effectively using mana bombs, they say casualties exceeded five thousand. If the 1st and 2nd Legions hadn’t joined after hearing the commotion… we would’ve suffered critical damage. Apparently, the soldiers charged in like madmen…”
Over five thousand, huh.
If you combined the 3rd and 4th Legions, it was about twelve thousand.
That meant nearly half the soldiers had been wiped out.
Considering the 1st and 2nd Legions must’ve also taken some damage—
The overall losses were substantial.
‘It’s only natural, really.’
Soldiers driven by madness would’ve feared nothing, not even death.
So regardless of formation collapse, they must have charged in recklessly.
“Still, it’s a relief that they were suppressed.”
“…Yes. That’s the only saving grace. If those bastards had started rampaging inside the castle, countless more would’ve died.”
“What about the 1st and 2nd Legions? How bad was their damage?”
“…They say around four thousand soldiers died there as well. If we tally up the wounded too… the number of casualties will only rise.”
The 1st and 2nd Legions.
They were the Marquess’s personal forces.
In other words, the most elite troops of the Seltarion Family.
Even those elite units had suffered considerable losses.
The 5th Legion was wiped out in an instant.
And now, the remaining four legions had lost half their strength.
This battle had brought immense damage to the Seltarion Family’s forces.
‘Adolf, you bastard.’
Even in death, you managed to leave behind a splendid pile of crap.
I steadied my heart and looked at Abel.
“…Still, it’s fortunate, isn’t it? If we hadn’t found out in advance that they were going to move, the damage would’ve been horrifying.”
“…You’re right. Thank you, Kyle. You saved the Seltarion Family.”
“I only did what was necessary. This is my family, after all.”
“…Right. Oh, I heard you’ve reached the 2nd Circle. Congratulations.”
The 2nd-circle magic I had used during the suppression of the rebellion.
There were hundreds who had witnessed those spells.
News of me reaching the 2nd Circle would spread quickly.
‘Well, if that’s all it cost, it’s not a bad trade.’
I’d saved the family, so revealing my circle wasn’t a loss.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll handle the aftermath. You must be exhausted, so get some rest.”
“Will you really?”
At those words, Abel nodded.
Dark circles were deeply set under his eyes.
He seemed already drained at the thought of the mountain of work waiting to be done.
I did want to help him, but—
‘No need for that.’
It was better to let him handle it alone.
Abel.
This was the first major crisis he faced after being named the formal successor.
The Marquess still held the position of head of the family, but the shock of having to kill his own son wouldn’t be easy to shake off.
There was a high chance the post-battle process would be entrusted to Abel.
This was both a crisis and an opportunity for Abel.
How cleanly he handled this situation, having been officially named the next head today, would determine how much loyalty he could command moving forward.
‘If he does well, even the three veteran knights might recognize him.’
So there was no reason for me to interfere.
The faster the power gathered around one person, the smoother the restoration of the family’s strength would be.
“Then, I’ll head in first. Big Brother.”
“Alright. I think the meeting will be held tomorrow morning… I’ll summon you then.”
“Yes. Sounds good.”
I also said goodbye to the Duke and entered the annex with my group.
Inside the annex.
The attendants there looked utterly terrified.
“Y-Young Master?”
“What exactly happened?”
Facing the attendants who asked with trembling eyes, I slowly explained the situation.
Upon hearing that the rebellion had been suppressed, they seemed to relax and nodded in relief.
“Then… it’s safe now?”
“Yes. So just go about things as usual. Nothing much will change. Oh, and everyone’s going to rest for now, so please try to move quietly.”
Seeing the attendants nod, I gave a faint smile.
Those lowlifes who had talents related to espionage.
All of them had vanished.
They were likely called away to be used during the rebellion.
By now, realizing that the rebellion had failed, they were probably fleeing desperately, or if not that—
‘They’re dead.’
They would’ve met their end on the cold ground.
After that thought, I looked at my companions.
“You’ve all worked hard. Get some rest. Leonhardt, you too. You really pushed yourself.”
“It’s nothing, Young Master.”
“Just rest. We already wiped out all the related factions, didn’t we? Nothing will happen, so this is the time to rest.”
It was around midnight.
By tomorrow morning, the post-battle meeting would probably begin.
Leonhardt’s face clearly showed signs of fatigue.
The opponents he had fought were not easy enemies.
It must have taken quite a toll on him.
So I should let him rest for a while.
“That’s an order.”
At my words, he quietly nodded in the end.
Like that, my escort knight and the rest of the group went into their rooms.
Soon, silence fell over the annex like death.
Everyone must have been sleeping soundly.
Me included.
As soon as I laid my head on the soft pillow, my eyes shut on their own.
***
Knock knock.
At the sound of knocking, I forced my heavy eyelids open.
“Young Master. You’ve been summoned to the meeting.”
Leonhardt.
I opened the door to his voice.
Outside stood my escort knight, and next to him, Seron.
“Yaaawn. Just a moment.”
After a quick wash,
I looked at the two of them.
They looked refreshed, as if their fatigue had been washed away.
“Did you both sleep well?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
And so the three of us headed toward the inner castle.
The sky was already bright.
Since I had gone to bed at midnight, I had gotten about six hours of sleep.
When we entered the conference room in the inner castle, Abel and his retainers were already there.
The three old knights were also present.
The knights who had joined the meeting—
Their faces were filled with exhaustion.
They must’ve stayed up all night cleaning up the mess Adolf left behind.
‘I guess I should help them a little.’
Mental Cleaning.
The spell that shot out from my hand began to flow toward Abel and the retainers.
As the spell settled in, the retainers’ eyes sparkled brightly.
Abel was the same.
“…Thank you, Kyle.”
“It’s nothing, Big Brother.”
“Come, sit here.”
The seat Abel offered was right next to his own.
A seat beside the next head of the family—
That was essentially the position of the second-in-command.
Was he planning to treat me this highly?
It seemed Abel truly was grateful to me.
Perhaps because of my contributions, the retainers were quietly nodding.
Thanks to this recent success, I had clearly earned their recognition.
No one would treat me like a wild troublemaker anymore.
It was a very satisfying result.
As I sat down, Abel spoke.
“…Since Father has entrusted me with full authority, I’ll be leading today’s meeting. Let’s begin.”
Post-battle processing.
It was time to discuss how to clean up the aftermath.
—
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