Chapter 50 : Chapter 50

Chapter 50. It Seems This Won’t End Quietly (3)

After Patrick left.

Her personal maid, Emily, cautiously approached Marianne, who was left alone in the room.

“Um, my lady…”

“Emily, did you hear?”

“Yes, I did. It can’t be helped…”

“He loves me.”

“……”

She wanted to ask, ‘When did he say that?’, but seeing Marianne shyly saying it while cupping her blushing cheeks with both hands, she couldn't bring herself to open her mouth.

And Marianne said.

“Saying he can’t stay here because he’s afraid of being misunderstood by my father means he doesn’t dislike me, right?”

“Yes. That’s true.”

“And not disliking me means he loves me, right?”

“That’s a bit of an extreme jump.”

“No. He’s just shy and couldn't express himself actively. It’s practically the same as him saying it.”

“……”

‘Haa… here we go again.’

The Marianne that Emily knew had a somewhat arrogant tendency but was always a wise, sharp, and competent young lady.

But once she got fixated on something, she wouldn't listen to what anyone around her said.

To put it nicely, she had great drive; to put it badly, she was thoroughly single-minded.

When she decided to enroll in the academy, she had fought with the Count, who opposed her leaving home, for three days and three nights, and eventually succeeded in taking the entrance exam.

It seemed that this time, she had set her sights on a man named Patrick Schneider.

She twirled her hair with her finger and said.

“He loves me, but he’s backing away because he’s worried about my father. That means he cares for and loves me that much, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. Well…”

“Your answer isn’t very enthusiastic.”

“There is no man in this East who dislikes you, my lady.”

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Well… generally.”

She didn't bother to add, ‘Though there can sometimes be exceptions.’

As her personal maid who had served her since she was learning to walk, she knew.

That once Marianne was convinced of her own opinion, persuasion was impossible.

“Hahaha. Right. So that’s how it is.”

“……”

“He’s backing away because he’s scared of my dad. Hmph, that’s kind of cute.”

“……”

“If he likes me that much, well, what can I do? I can’t tell him to die when he says he can’t live without me, can I?”

“……”

“Come to think of it, rather than meeting a great man from the start, it seems more like me to catch a promising man in advance and raise him to my taste. Don’t you think so, Emily?”

“Do as you wish, my lady.”

You won't listen even if I try to stop you, will you?

“Thank you for your support.”

“……”

“Hahaha. Then, how shall I dote on my cute little thing?”

Seeing her speak with a full smile on her face, Emily thought to herself.

‘That poor young master Schneider.’

* * *

Pilseu Mountain.

This mountain, located in the center of the eastern region, was high and had rugged terrain, so people rarely went in to live there.

As a result, those who had committed crimes in their fiefdoms or had been kicked out for not paying taxes gradually entered, settled down, and lived by slash-and-burn farming.

Up to this point, it was a minor matter.

But as the number of people in such a place gradually increased, the slash-and-burn farmers eventually began to turn into bandits.

The scale was unknown, but recently, their range of activity had extended beyond Pilseu Mountain, to the nearby roads, attacking merchants and even ordinary residents of the fiefdoms.

To subjugate such bandits, Count Parmas had gathered a punitive force, and its number exceeded 5,000.

This was an excessive number to subjugate a single band of bandits. Was it because of that?

“Don’t fall behind! The vanguard is the duty of our Preis fiefdom!”

“We must be the first to ascend. All troops, advance at a quick march!”

“The vanguard belongs to us, the Haspirs!”

The three families leading the charge up Pilseu Mountain were climbing the mountain competitively.

Watching them competitively push forward, not even minding if their ranks were somewhat disordered, Baron Schneider sighed.

“I don’t think competition is what’s important.”

And he said to his son next to him.

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

“About the three families leading the vanguard.”

“It’s a mess, isn’t it.”

“…They bravely volunteered for the vanguard. Is it right to insult them?”

“Yes. A brave mess.”

“……”

From Patrick’s perspective, this was apparently not even an insult.

Right now, the Schneider family was in the rear guard, located slightly behind the vanguard.

Behind them, Count Parmas was positioned in the center, and the other lords were supporting him from behind.

And Patrick had been wearing a displeased expression for a while now.

“Is this how you subjugate bandits? This is why amateurs are…”

“Isn’t this your first time subjugating bandits too?”

“Why would it be my first time? I’ve…”

“You have?”

“It is my first time. But I’ve done it a lot.”

“What nonsense is that?”

“Agh, this is so frustrating.”

He couldn't tell the truth, and even if he did, they wouldn't believe him. Patrick could only suffer in silence.

The Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon of his past life was truly an expert in bandit subjugation.

「Is the security of your village unstable because of bandits?

Is your merchant business difficult because of bandits?

Rest assured now. The Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon of the Twin Dragon Sect will solve it for you in one stroke for a cheap price.

P.S. - The request fee is determined after consultation, and the price may be subject to change.」

It was not a joke.

He had really made flyers with that exact content and distributed them all over the Jianghu.

Other sects had laughed at him for making money off of heroic deeds, but what could he do?

He had to do something to make a living.

In any case, more than a hundred mountain fortresses had disappeared under the blade of the Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon.

Patrick was that experienced in bandit subjugation.

And from the perspective of such a Patrick, what they were doing now was the work of complete and utter amateurs.

“Incompetent. Incompetent.”

Seeing his constantly grumbling son, Baron Schneider said.

“What on earth is the problem?”

“Father. Let’s switch perspectives. Let’s imagine you are a bandit who has settled on this mountain.”

“Why am I a bandit?”

“Just try to think like one for a moment. Don’t they say you have to know the enemy and know yourself to win?”

“Who says that?”

“…I’m going to lose my mind. Really.”

Patrick wanted to just give up on everything, but he continued speaking with patience.

“If you were a bandit and a large army of over 5,000 was coming for you, what would you do?”

“Well… I’d probably run away?”

For bandits, an army of 5,000 was too overwhelming a force to handle.

A noble who knew honor might choose death over retreat and fight to the last, but there was no way bandits had such honor.

“Yes. That’s right. They wouldn’t run away immediately, but they would definitely not engage in a direct confrontation.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“In that case, what should we do to prevent the bandits from escaping?”

“……”

Watching Baron Schneider think deeply, Patrick waited with patience.

Right, finding the answer slowly is not a problem.

If only he could think for himself and find the right answer….

“I don’t really know.”

“……”

Oh, Father.

My innocent father.

Patrick felt the thought, ‘If only he weren’t my father, I’d knock some sense into him.’

Anyway, this pushover was only a good person; his abilities were completely incompetent….

“Hmph, it’s alright not to know. Then what would you do?”

“I’d set the mountain on fire.”

“What?”

“After deploying troops at the main escape routes, just set the mountain on fire. Then the bandits will come out on their own, so we can catch and kill them one by one…”

“Wait, wait…”

Baron Schneider pressed his brow and then said.

“If you do that, wouldn't the whole mountain burn down?”

“You have to set it skillfully.”

“How do you skillfully set a mountain on fire? What if it turns into a huge wildfire?”

“People come first.”

“……”

There are people in the world who don’t care about the means to achieve their goal.

Baron Schneider knew that much.

‘But I didn't know it would be my own son.’

Receiving his father’s ‘Are you even human?’ gaze, Patrick said sullenly.

“What’s important in war is to use a move the opponent doesn’t expect. Or a move they predict but pray you won’t use.”

“Hmm…”

Hearing it like that, it seemed to make sense.

And Patrick’s words continued.

“But right now, our army isn’t thinking about the bandits’ position at all and is just doing whatever we want.”

“Are you saying we need to think from the enemy’s perspective?”

“That’s right. Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“To be honest, I don’t think a high level of strategy is needed for something like bandit subjugation.”

“Oh, Father… My father who knows nothing about the world.”

What? Why, my son? Why are you sighing and beating your chest in frustration like that?

Patrick let out a deep sigh and said.

“Father, the bandits have brains too, and they think in their own way.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“But right now, our army is treating the bandits as if they’re just ignorant and foolish scarecrows and fighting without any thought.”

“……”

“We might be able to win this way. We might, but if we win like this, it’s not because we were good, but because the enemy was incompetent.”

“Hmm, you’re right about that.”

“Of course, I’m right. My words are always right.”

“That’s not true.”

“Ahem, on top of that, aren’t there even black mages behind these bandits? Who knows what they’ll do, and yet we’re being so reckless…”

Just as Patrick was clicking his tongue….

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

“It’s a trap!”

As if on cue, screams from the front were heard, along with the cries of the soldiers.

“I knew it.”

Patrick put his hand to his forehead and sighed.

Just as Patrick had said, the bandits are neither foolish nor thoughtless.

Every human desperately uses their head to survive, so was there any way the bandits, with a punitive force right before them, would just foolishly wait in their hideout?

The closer they got to the bandits’ hideout, the more traps prepared by them were waiting.

“Cowardly bastards! Did you think you could stop us with such despicable traps?”

Actually, they were being stopped right now.

It was a classic trap of digging a hole in the ground and setting up sharpened wooden spears at the bottom, but nearly ten soldiers had fallen victim to it, so they couldn't just charge in recklessly….

“A trap is nothing! All troops, advance!”

Ah, just think for a moment…

“The bandits’ hideout is right there. All troops, advance.”

“Show them that they cannot stop us with such traps. Knights, take the lead and clear the way!”

“Yes, my lord.”

The three families in the vanguard, despite suffering losses from the traps, considered them minor damages and continued to maintain their pace of advance. As a result….

“Uwaaaah!”

“Dodgeee!”

“Rocks are falling.”

The traps set by the bandits were crude, but there were many of them.

Rocks fell, snares were waiting, and logs came flying from the side.

But the three families, blinded by their competition to be at the forefront, did not slow their advance and continued to increase their speed.

Even though soldiers were falling into traps, they shouted ‘Advance, advance,’ as if some casualties were unavoidable.

“These hopeless bastards…”

Patrick was displeased.

He had a bad feeling.

Watching from behind, he had a very strong bad feeling.

‘They’re screwed. If I leave these bastards alone like this, they’re screwed.’

This was troublesome.

If he just stood back and watched the guys who were clearly heading for disaster, it would be difficult to just appropriately hold his position.

If it becomes difficult to do it appropriately, he would have to do it diligently.

Doing it diligently meant a world of pain.

A world of pain would twist his life and hurt his heart.

If his heart hurts, he would have to take it out on those around him.

And if Patrick started taking it out on those around him, that lashing out would lead to more lashing out, and eventually, violence would run rampant in the world, and in the end….

“The world will be destroyed.”

“…What will?”

“To prevent the destruction of the world, I must do something about this moment, right now.”

“…So what will?”

“I’ll be right back after going up ahead for a moment.”

And watching Patrick ride his horse to the front, Baron Schneider thought.

The more he goes on, the harder he is to understand.

“Is it puberty?”

If only it were that simple.

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