Ch.1313. Huh? Who Did I Ask to Bring?

“Pleased to meet you. I am Tras Cardrian.”

“Yes, I’m Selden Alphonse.”

A cold atmosphere settled heavily in the reception room.

I knew there would be trouble sooner or later since Elina was staying here instead of returning to her domain…

But to think Tras would come personally.

“I heard this is a place of exile.”

“Yes, it seems I’ve greatly displeased my father, Baron Byron.”

“Haha! It looks like we have more in common than I expected.”

His appearance was utterly ordinary except for a large, seemingly mischievous mole on his right cheek.

From what I’d heard through Riden’s intelligence, he was supposed to be a man of the people, but he seemed more like someone basking in his family’s glory.

Though he maintained formalities for our first meeting, there was an inherent cockiness in his demeanor.

He brought the teacup to his lips and continued leisurely.

“I’ve heard much about the Cardrian family. Rumors abound that you’re an emerging power in the Eastern Continent.”

“It seems our family has become quite famous if rumors have spread this far.”

Though this meeting was unexpected, thanks to the extensive information I’d gathered through Riden and my preparations, I felt at ease despite facing a character who hadn’t appeared in the original work.

It was as if I had Tras in the palm of my hand.

Besides.

When you think about it, I have absolutely no reason to fight with Tras.

Go to war with the Cardrian family to marry Elina?

Why would I bother?

Honestly, I admit she’s beautiful.

But is she worth more than my life?

Risking my life to cross into dangerous territories to kill monsters is something I do reluctantly to prevent future calamities.

The safety of villagers? Promoting trade?

Just pretty words.

I’m merely building my image while handling the situation anyway.

I don’t have even a shred of heroic psychology.

Tras surveyed the reception room and let out an exclamation.

“Indeed, the Alphonse family is quite impressive. Such luxuries in a place of exile… I’m envious.”

He seemed genuinely impressed rather than sarcastic.

The problem was that he said it to appear more intimate with me.

Weren’t there people like this in my previous life too?

Those dim-witted individuals who can’t even judge for themselves which words are appropriate.

Truly arrogant and inconsiderate.

“Haha! By the way, may I ask what brings you here?”

“Hmm, you know Elina Parseche, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“I heard you expressed your intention to break off the engagement with the Parseche family. May I ask why?”

“My reasons for breaking the engagement are personal. If I may ask, why are you inquiring…?”

Tras concealed his obviously flustered expression and laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! I was just wondering if rumors about the Parseche family’s financial troubles had spread this far.”

From our conversation, it seemed he didn’t know Elina was here.

I adjusted my posture and continued naturally.

“Honestly, isn’t it unfair to marry someone you’ve never even seen?”

“…That’s true, isn’t it?”

“If she were unattractive, I’d have to look at that person for the rest of my life… I couldn’t live like that.”

“Wow! You’re truly wise.”

“Of course, that’s not the only reason. As you know, I’m in exile, so I think I also had a strong rebellious feeling toward my father who put me in this situation.”

“Then what would you do if Elina asked you to withdraw the cancellation of the engagement?”

I leaned back in my chair with my arms crossed firmly.

Tras hadn’t come with just a butler like Elina had.

He had brought knights from the Cardrian family, perhaps to deliver a strong warning if he didn’t get the answer he wanted.

‘After checking with my Eye, I can confirm some of them are elite knights of the family.’

Since there was no need to create hostility, I shook my head.

“I don’t plan to change my mind.”

“I see.”

“But you seem quite interested in the Parseche family?”

“Ah… being neighboring families, I can’t help but be curious.”

Oh? So he’s going to hide his thoughts until the end?

Well, I suppose it would make him uncomfortable to admit he fell for Elina after seeing her face.

“I see. But I don’t think that’s why you came here…”

As I let my words trail off, Tras turned his head and gave his butler a look.

The butler then gently placed a small wooden box on the table.

“What is this?”

Tras gave me a meaningful smile in response to my question.

Then he carefully opened the box to show me.

“Please don’t be surprised.”

It was a dazzling, multicolored gem.

It emitted such a strong light that beams escaped from the box, sparkling throughout the reception room.

“What on earth is this?”

“This is a high-purity magic stone.”

This is a magic stone?

They occasionally drop from monsters with rare probability.

I did get a few when I killed goblins earlier, but they didn’t shine like this.

I swallowed dryly before speaking.

“From which monster did this magic stone come?”

“It’s from a succubus. I purchased it at a high price at an auction. You know how difficult they are to obtain even with money, right?”

While a succubus isn’t an astonishingly powerful monster, they are quite tricky to catch.

They usually move in groups, so there are many of them, and they have exceptional combat coordination.

That’s why they’re very rare and consequently expensive.

“I know. But may I ask why you’re giving this to me?”

“Consider it a gesture of goodwill. And with a magic stone of this caliber, your return to your family might be quicker than expected.”

“I suppose so. If it’s a gesture of goodwill, I’ll accept it without hesitation.”

Tras’s visit ended more simply than I expected.

Perhaps because he had already gotten the answer he wanted?

After exchanging a few more words, Tras headed back to his family.

He seemed unaware that Elina was here until the end.

When I returned to the study, my informant Riden greeted me with a visibly tired face, having waited quite a while.

“You’re back, sir?”

“When did you arrive?”

“Not long ago. I’ve gathered all the people you asked me to capture in front of the training ground. Lord Rio is currently overseeing them.”

“Huh? Who did I ask you to capture?”

Riden blinked his eyes with a “what’s wrong with this guy?” expression before sighing.

“Didn’t you order me to round up the trash from the village?”

Ah… that?

I originally ordered it to satisfy Luna Brillhart’s murderous urges since she transforms into a killer…

But I guess it doesn’t matter?

The village needed cleaning up anyway.

“The list?”

“Here it is.”

“Let me see.”

I roughly scanned the list as I headed toward the training ground.

When I arrived, there were about ten people.

I tilted my head at the smaller-than-expected number.

“Why so few?”

“There weren’t as many scum in the domain as we thought, and many of the worst criminals had already fled beyond our borders when they heard we were rounding them up.”

“Ah, so the names with circles next to them are the ones you caught?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The list detailed names, ages, and crimes.

It included everything from theft to violence, and even murder.

‘Well then…’

I went down from the platform and asked the name of the most insolent-looking one while making eye contact.

“Name.”

“W-what?”

“I asked for your name.”

“It’s Jane, why?”

Despite being captured, Jane maintained a defiant attitude with her chin up.

No, she’s a criminal who killed three people.

*Swish!*

I drew my sword from its scabbard and separated the criminal’s head from her body.

It happened so suddenly that her head rolled to the floor with eyes still open.

“Thank you for acting up. I really wanted to kill someone.”

It was an immediate establishment of fear.

As expected, the expressions of the remaining captives turned ashen.

‘The rogue of the Alphonse family.’

It’s quite a fitting title at times like this.

The remaining criminals weren’t deserving of death like the one I just executed.

Just to be sure, I scanned the list again.

“There’s even a con artist?”

I let out a short sigh, and a man immediately knelt down and burst into tears.

“I-I’m truly innocent!”

“All criminals claim innocence in their own way.”

“Young master, I really am innocent.”

He sobbed with tiny tears, his shoulders shaking.

If this was an act, he would have been a top actor in my world.

I turned my gaze to Riden.

“What kind of scam did he pull?”

“It’s about the succubus magic stone, sir.”

Succubus magic stone?

Why is that suddenly coming up here?

“Go on.”

“He gathered wealthy villagers, promising to bring them succubus magic stones, then disappeared. He was on our list, and we happened to catch him today.”

The kneeling man raised his voice and passionately defended himself.

“It’s true the auction was delayed, but when I was returning to the village, I was robbed by thugs!!”

“Thugs?”

“On my way back, I hired a carriage that was going to my destination, but it turned out to be robbers disguised as nobles. They changed completely when they saw the magic stone!”

“Disguised nobles?”

“Yes!! The only reason I survived was because of my quick feet… If I really intended to scam people, why would I return to the village!?”

A terrible thought occurred to me.

No matter how notorious I was as a rogue, would someone steal from people of another domain?

“Was there anything distinctive about their appearance?”

“There was a large mole on the right cheek. Young master, I’m truly innocent. Please believe me.”

Sigh…

Tras, you bastard?

You steal something and then give it as a gift?