Ch.88. Oh, I’m a Scoundrel Too?

*Ding! ♪*

*Ding! ♪*

┗+1 Health has increased.

┗+1 Agility has increased.

「 Health　30

Agility 26　

Endurance　11

Wisdom　15

Mana　0 」

Major Skills

━None.

“Huff!!”

I wiped the sweat soaking my clothes with my sleeve while catching my breath.

It’s been a week since I asked Riden to gather information.

And it’s been almost two months since I possessed this body.

‘Are these stats good enough?’

Honestly, I don’t know how much stronger I get as my stats increase.

That’s why I’ve been focusing solely on training without leaving the mansion.

If I went out showing off and encountered assassins or monsters, it would be a pathetic death.

“Hey, Dick Wilson!”

“….At your service.”

“Are you Dick Wilson?”

“I’m Jawill Wilson.”

“Then why did you answer to Dick Wilson?”

Ever since that day, whenever we met at the training grounds, I greeted him first to avoid awkwardness, and Jawill Wilson responded with a face flushing between red and blue.

“I’ve told you repeatedly, but you keep calling me by a different name, Young Master.”

“Do you know who you’re supposed to protect here?”

“Of course, I must protect you, Young Master.”

“Do you think I can entrust my life to a knight who can’t even protect his own name?”

“I’ll correct myself.”

“Let me ask again, George Wilson.”

Jawill Wilson straightens his back and shouts.

“It’s Jawill Wilson!!”

“Good. I swore to the family that there would be no retaliation. So if you have any lingering resentment toward me, I hope you’ll let it go.”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

“Now, putting the past behind us, how skilled are you among the knights?”

“A bit below average.”

“A bit?”

“….Quite a bit.”

My health and agility have nearly doubled since I fought Jawill Wilson, but I still can’t let my guard down.

Why am I so cautious?

It’s not that—I’m trying to solve what I found most incomprehensible when reading novels as a reader.

Protagonists who face death multiple times and grow stronger.

Even in life-threatening situations, they charge at enemies without hesitation as if driven by a hero complex.

But why should I do that?

If my stats increase just by beating training dummies safely, why would I jump into danger?

That would be nothing short of madness.

There’s a reason they say “haste makes waste.”

By the way.

Though he let his guard down and got beaten by me last time, Jawill Wilson’s muscles are quite well-balanced.

Well, he’s probably been training hard since that shock.

‘For the future, everyone needs to get stronger, not just me.’

I gripped the wooden sword tightly again and pointed it at Jawill Wilson.

Then I gave a faint smile.

“George Wilson, I’ll bring your skills up to average within a month.”

*

“Riden, who was caught last time, has brought one of our mansion servants. He said you would know what it’s about…”

“Yeah, tell him to come in.”

Rio immediately went outside the study.

Shortly after, the study door opened again.

“I’ve brought him.”

The man being dragged by Riden was trembling like an aspen leaf.

He must have resisted quite violently, as his face was covered in wounds.

“Y-Young Master, what have I done wrong to be captured like this?”

As soon as he entered the study, he knelt down and lamented his fate, which made me chuckle.

“Why do all the captured ones say the exact same lines?”

Riden, perhaps remembering when Rio caught him a few days ago, cleared his throat with a reddened face.

“He’s already confessed, so I don’t understand why he’s acting like this.”

“He probably wants to claim he gave false testimony out of fear.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve already secured the ledger from the corrupt business owner.”

I recognized his face from occasionally seeing him around the mansion.

As I received the ledger from Riden, the man buried his face on the floor and raised his voice.

“I’ve committed a mortal sin.”

“Really? I almost died because you leaked information to that corrupt businessman.”

“I did it because I was struggling to make ends meet. Please show mercy.”

There was nothing more to hear, so I nodded at Rio.

“Rio.”

“Should I tie him to a scarecrow like the previous assassin?”

“Why?”

“Well, from what we just heard, he was recruited by the corrupt businessman, right? Haha! I’m quite good at reading between the lines.”

I couldn’t help but sigh at Rio, who winked with one eye.

This reinforced my belief that I needed to become stronger rather than rely on someone like him.

“Why would we advertise that we caught someone working for a corrupt businessman?”

“Ah…”

“Just lock him in the basement.”

“Understood.”

After Rio took the spy away, Riden naturally stepped forward and spoke.

“I’ve also brought information about the Parseche family.”

Oh ho, look at this guy!

I thought he was quick to catch the rat, but he completed two tasks at once?

I adjusted my posture with an interested expression.

“Yeah, tell me in detail.”

“Currently, the Parseche family is in financial difficulty.”

“I already know that.”

“On the surface, there’s talk of them being ‘cast-offs from a family with weak credit,’ but in truth, it’s due to pressure from the Cardrian family.”

“Why?”

“I heard that the eldest son, Tras, proposed to Lady Elina and harbored resentment after being rejected.”

The Cardrian family was one I’d never heard of, just like the Parseche family.

I continued the conversation while piecing together the puzzle in my head.

“When was the proposal rejected?”

“A year ago.”

Well, look at that!

So they wanted to marry me because of pressure from the Cardrian family?

No wonder they kept clinging to me despite my intention to break off the engagement…

“How powerful is the Cardrian family?”

“I couldn’t determine exactly, but they’re an emerging power in the region with considerable military strength. Their financial power goes without saying. But…”

“What else?”

“One thing that puzzles me is why Tras is so obsessed with Lady Elina.”

Obviously, this Tras must have seen Elina’s face.

That’s why he’s using his family’s power to pressure her even after being rejected.

Now the puzzle fits together.

Rumors must have already spread among families near the Parseche.

They chose our family because we’re relatively distant, being at the eastern end of the continent, and thus lacking information.

Plus, with my reputation as a good-for-nothing making it hard for me to marry, it was perfect for them.

But.

Why did she reject him?

If they were desperate enough to arrange a marriage with me, a rumored good-for-nothing, because of the Cardrian family’s pressure, why didn’t she just accept Tras’s proposal in the first place?

“Do you know why Elina rejected Tras’s proposal?”

“Probably because of his character. I heard he’s been notorious for being a good-for-nothing since childhood.”

“Well, I’m a good-for-nothing too, aren’t I?”

“Pfft!”

“Are you laughing?”

“I-I’m sorry. Perhaps… it’s because you’re more handsome than Tras, Young Master?”

The sweet flattery sounded nice, but that couldn’t be it.

Elina had never seen my face until recently.

‘I’ll have to ask her directly about that.’

*Slide-!*

I opened the drawer and took out a gold bar I had prepared in advance. Riden’s mouth watered even though it wasn’t food.

“Good work. I’m counting on you in the future too.”

“I’ll do my utmost for any task you assign me!”

Just as Riden received the gold bar and pledged his loyalty with sparkling eyes, Padericks opened the study door without knocking.

“Y-Young Master!”

“Ha! What is it now?”

“It’s… Luna has been kidnapped.”

“What?”

“According to the servants who went shopping with her outside the village, two men kidnapped Luna in an instant.”

I stood up abruptly, veins bulging in my neck.

“How long ago?”

“Less than an hour.”

Shit!

I strengthened security to prevent Luna’s parents from being kidnapped, and now this happens…

What if Luna awakens after being kidnapped?

Fortunately, since her parents are still alive, she won’t target me after dealing with the corrupt businessman like in the original story, but it’s like carrying a psychopathic killer bomb for life.

No joke, it might be better if she died before awakening.

‘First, I need to prevent her awakening.’

Luna was probably taken to the assassins’ hideout.

I was planning to clean that place up after catching the rat anyway.

Leaving behind Riden, who was fidgeting nervously about what to do in this sudden situation, I quickly turned my head.

There was a sword hanging prominently on the study wall.

I heard it was the sword that Baron Byron Alphonse, this body’s father, used when he was young.

*Shing-!*

Despite the passage of time, the sword emitted a blue light.

The Alphonse family crest was prominently embedded on it, giving off an inexplicably dark aura.

“Padericks.”

“At your service.”

“Have all knights stand by.”

“I’ll see to it.”

For the sake of my comfortable future life, I’ll deal with all of them—be they assassins or corrupt businessmen.

So.

‘You crazy girl, please don’t awaken and just wait.’