"What a disgrace for someone who was once the Chief Administrator of Rehinar to be lying on the street like this."
"Kane… Young Master!?"
The old man, Daniel Lindemann, widened his eyes.
The Grand Prince, who rarely appeared in the territory, had shown up in person.
"Is it really you… Young Master?"
"Is there another Kane Rehinar besides me?"
Daniel looked dazed.
The Kane he knew had never appeared so confident.
He was always a timid man, always wary of others' opinions.
"Aren't you going to show me any respect?"
At Kane's voice, Daniel raised his aching body.
"Daniel Lindemann, at your service, Young Master of Rehinar."
It was a greeting full of respect for Rehinar.
Kane nodded and turned his head.
"Aren't you all subjects of Rehinar?"
The subjects exchanged looks at the sudden question.
They seemed bewildered by the unfamiliar attitude of the Young Master.
Unable to watch any longer, Daniel Lindemann stepped forward.
"Show your respect at once. This is Kane Rehinar, the Young Master of Rehinar."
Only then did the people around bow their heads.
"We greet the Young Master of Rehinar."
Some of them kept their heads stiffly raised.
Kane spoke to those who held their heads high.
"Who are these bastards? Are they from another territory?"
At Kane's words, a middle-aged man stepped forward.
"We are subjects of Rehinar."
"Then why are you raising your heads?"
"You think your clan's status is enough to show off?"
Some people burst into laughter at the middle-aged man's blatant sarcasm.
Kane, maintaining a blank expression, spoke again.
"Keep going."
"Do you realize that your time as nobles is almost over?"
"I do."
The middle-aged man's allies snickered.
"It seems you've lost your mind, no wonder you're about to be devoured by the Dyer Family."
"Or maybe the mana from the demon forest has paralyzed your brain. Haha."
"Our Young Master might cry, let's stop."
They were openly mocking him.
Since they were relying on Dyer Family, it seemed they didn't care about Rehinar at all.
'They're following the script planned by Hatzfeld. Stupid bastards.'
The agitators were diligently doing their job.
All the while, unaware whether Rivan was dead or alive in the Forest of Deadly Poison.
"These people!"
"Camilla, stay out of this."
"But—"
As Camilla hesitated at Kane's restraint, Daniel stepped forward.
"What kind of nonsense is this!?"
"Old man, you stay out of this too."
"Enough!"
"Did you not hear me?"
Kane fixed his gaze on Daniel, who trembled as if an arrow had pierced his heart.
'Is that… really the Young Master, the look in his eyes is making me feel as if I'm looking at an ancient beast?'
Daniel looked at Kane in disbelief. Kane ignored Daniel's gaze and turned his attention back to the middle-aged man.
"You mentioned earlier that Rehinar's days with their noble status are numbered, right?"
"That's right."
The middle-aged man, still oblivious to the gravity of the situation, smirked.
"But that's not us. It's Dyer Family that's about going down."
"What?"
Kane raised his hand with his fingers spread wide towards the middle-aged man.
"And let me tell you one more thing. The punishment for insulting Rehinar is something even your precious Dyer Family can never comprehend."
[Blue Tiger's Breath has been activated.]
[Skill "Void of Water" has been used]
As he finished speaking, a groan came from somewhere.
"Ugh!"
One of those who had insulted Kane clutched their chest and collapsed.
"Dain! What's wrong?"
"Hey, snap out of it."
"Oh my God! Dain's skin is shriveling up!"
Everyone was terrified.
The moisture in the man's body was being drawn out into the air.
Four streams of water converged in mid-air, forming a large droplet the size of a head.
"Argh."
The man let out a brief death cry.
He died as all the moisture was sucked from his body, leaving him almost skeletal.
"The Young Master killed Dain…."
"The Young Master killed someone!"
"A-AGGGGHHHHHH!"
The middle-aged man's comrades yelled, still trying to undermine Kane even in this chaos.
These people, thoroughly consumed by Dyer Family, had no value left to save.
No, he never intended to spare them in the first place.
One by one, the middle-aged man's remaining comrades began to groan in pain.
[You have gained experience points.]
[You have gained experience points.]
"Ugh!"
"P-Please, spare me…"
They might have thought he would stop killing people, but…
Kane showed no mercy.
'When you start to kill, see through it to the end.'
He killed even more brutally than the first time.
Snap!
Crunch—
[You have gained experience points.]
[You have gained experience points.]
Joints got twisted and eyeballs bursted.
The brains that spilled out floated in the air, forming three droplets that hovered over the middle-aged man's head.
"Ugh…"
Kane looked at the middle-aged man and spoke.
"My father gave everything for your sake, but I'm not like that. Benevolence? It has nothing to do with me. If anything, I'm a fucking tyrant."
This was a warning to the middle-aged man and all the subjects who had turned to the Dyer Family.
* * *
[The trait Pure-Blooded (UR) has been activated.]
[Notification! Skill acquisition failed due to unmet conditions.]
[Notification! Condition for skill acquisition: High-Tier 3rd Class Knight]
'Still, I can mimic it. Normally, you need to be a High-tier 3rd class to use it.'
It was thanks to the exceptional trait "Pure-Blooded".
No matter how talented you are.
No matter how much experience you have through past lives.
Learning higher-level skills is extremely difficult.
Overcoming this was the benefit of having the UR-level trait "Pure-Blooded".
Kane looked down at the middle-aged man and spoke.
"Do you know why I haven't killed you?"
"I-I don't know."
With all his comrades dead, the middle-aged man was terrified.
"You should know."
Kane's eyes glinted with a sticky, menacing aura.
The middle-aged man, seized with fear, began to babble.
"B-because I insulted you, my Lord."
"Wrong."
"Please tell me the reason, and I will fix it with all my might!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes!"
The middle-aged man nodded vigorously, thinking he might survive.
Kane looked down at him with a sinister smile.
"Tell me about those who have ties with the Dyer Family."
"What!? What do you mean by that…?"
"Do you want to die?"
"No!"
"Talk while I'm still being lenient."
"I really don't know…"
Kane cut off the middle-aged man's protest.
"The "Petition". Are you still going to pretend you don't know?"
Many people in the room turned pale. They all shared the same emotion: the fear of being exposed.
"If you want to die peacefully, stop wasting my time and talk."
"Yes, yes! I understand."
"Old man, paper and pen."
"Here you go."
The middle-aged man wrote down names on the paper without hesitation. There were quite a few names.
People with considerable wealth in the territory.
Moneylenders.
Merchants.
Mercenary corps.
Tenant farmers, and others.
Daniel, seeing this, was furious.
"Ingrates!"
"Among those listed here, who received support from Rehinar?"
"Almost all of them."
"And those who took the benefits but kept silent?"
"Most of them as well."
"My father made a foolish mistake."
It was like entrusting a cat with a fish and expecting it to not eat it.
They were traitors who only filled their own bellies.
"Is this all?"
"This is all I know."
"Are you sure?"
"Why would I lie when my life is at stake?"
A cold smile appeared on Kane's lips.
'Peter Shade's name isn't here. That fucking rat. He left no trace. I'll have to make him come out on his own.'
Peter Shade was always the one sabotaging the Blue Merchant Guild's business.
The bandits who robbed their goods were all under Peter Shade's command.
"Summon all the people listed here. We need to reclaim everything they've taken."
"They won't comply."
"I just created the perfect example for them to witness, will they really not comply?"
Kane looked pointedly at the middle-aged man.
"Do you know what to do, if you want to survive?"
"I'll return all the land granted to me by the head of the family."
"Draw up a contract of relinquishment."
The middle-aged man drafted a document transferring his land to Kane.
'Just wait until I get out of here. I won't let this slide.'
Even in this situation, the middle-aged man dreamt of revenge.
For now, survival was his priority.
He thought he could gather those who pledged loyalty to Dyer Family and overthrow Kane.
But this was a futile thought.
"H-here it is."
"You signed it?"
"Yes… Arghhhh!"
Kane snapped the middle-aged man's neck without hesitation.
[You have gained experience points.]
[You have completed the quest 'Eliminate all the traitors!']
[You can now utilize the Blue Merchant Guild.]
[Daniel Lindemann's favorability has increased as a reward.]
Contrary to the message indicating an increase in favorability, Daniel was horrified.
"Young Master!"
"He betrayed Rehinar. He wasn't worth keeping alive."
"How have you changed so?"
"What do you mean?"
"You used to value even the smallest ant."
"The Kane you knew is dead, old man."
"Stop this. Please return to the family."
"This is just the beginning."
"Are you going to hunt down and kill all of them?"
"That's the plan."
"The head of the family values benevolence above all. If you kill these people, he will be furious."
Daniel opposed firmly.
Kane's actions were directly against the principles of the Rehinar family head.
"I have been entrusted with full authority by my father. So don't question me. This is your last warning."
Daniel was stunned into silence.
He could only stare at Kane with trembling eyes.
"..."
Daniel, like Duke Carl, was a benevolent stubborn man.
It could be argued that he and the Duke were responsible for Rehinar's downfall.
Daniel was still as obstinate as ever.
"Old man, follow me inside."
Kane entered the guild building.
Daniel couldn't move from his spot.
Just before Kane went inside, they locked eyes for a moment.
His gaze was filled with murderous intent.
It reeked of blood.
'What on earth happened…?'
Those eyes were crazed with revenge.
It wasn't an emotion that a timid and dull person should possess.
* * *
Kane, having entered, placed two heavy bundles on the table.
Thud.
When Daniel opened the bundles, a radiant light shone out.
"Mana stones?"
"I'd like you to sell these."
"It's been a long time since I've seen so many."
"There's even a 2-star one."
"Holy shit! The value of a 2-star water mana stone is immense…"
"You can sell them, right?"
Daniel hesitated.
Kane could easily guess what he was thinking.
So he waited.
After a moment of silence, Daniel spoke.
"In Rehinar, you won't get the right price. But in Philaec, you'll get a high price."
Philaec was a trade hub.
A place with well-developed transportation and trade routes.
It was one of the richest territories in the empire.
It was also a place managed by Dyer Family.
"Organize the guild and head to Philaec."
"The journey is tough and will take time."
"Don't go through the monster-infested areas. Pass through the family's eastern gate. It should only take a few days."
Dyer Family was located east of Rehinar.
However, the usual trade route used by the guild involved exiting through the southern gate and passing through demon-infested areas.
This roundabout path took quite a while.
On the other hand, passing through the Rehinar family's territory would shorten the travel time significantly.
"Is that really okay?"
"As the acting head of the family, I permit it. Go without worry."
"I will assemble a convoy and depart immediately."
"No, don't assemble anything. Go as fast as you can."
"If we encounter bandits or get attacked by traitors…"
"That's exactly why I said not to assemble any guards. Move with the Blue Merchant Guild's current force."
The convoy was merely bait; Kane's true objective was different.
The eradication of the traitors.
Kane intended to capture and kill them all in one fell swoop.