The Regressed Demon Lord is Kind
Chapter 1
‘Ah, damn it.’
In a children’s storybook that Zich read when he was little, there was a passage that described a great hero’s fall. According to the passage, even the heavens filled with grief at the sight of the dying hero, and rain began to pour down from the sky. He didn’t know exactly why, but even after many years passed, this passage remained stuck inside his mind.
‘As expected, the heavens don’t seem to love me.’
Looking at the bright sun without a cloud in sight, Zich was sure that the heavens must have despised him instead, let alone love a person like him.
‘Well, it’s pretty understandable why.’
Zich couldn’t even count the number of people who cried because of him or remember how many people he had killed. People called him the Demon Lord, who had brought chaos and despair into this world. He didn’t particularly like to dine on blood or flesh, but he also didn’t refuse it when they were offered; and he had lived a kind of life where he used whatever means to achieve a goal.
If the heavens really loved him, they would’ve slapped Zich across the face and told him to change his ways.
“Is it over?”
Zich heard a voice. It was such a heroic and noble voice that it was irritating. He lowered his gaze from the sky and looked forward. A man wearing shiny armor looked down at Zich with a haughty look on his face. He was the man called ‘Hero Among Heroes’.
With a cringy, almost disgusting, title called ‘The Sun Warrior’, he was the human named Glen Zenard.
‘So handsome.’
Zich wished he could spit on a face like that at least once.
‘Should I give it a try?’
Zich considered the angle, his left-over stamina, the guy’s evasion speed, and so on—even in his dazed state, he was able to calculate these kinds of things fast.
‘No, I shouldn’t.’
This was his end. Zich didn’t want to lose his cool at the last moment to something like this. He still had some pride, since the people in this world called him the Demon Lord.
‘Ah, but wait. When did I have pride in something like that?’
Zich was moving his mouth to fire a spit right at the tip of Glen’s perfectly-shaped, sculpted nose when Glen suddenly exclaimed—
“Your evil deeds will come to an end now, Demon Lord Zich Moore!”
‘What a cheesy line to say.’
It was uncreative. Really uncreative. As if he was really a hero from a storybook, Glen reiterated lines that only characters from a moldy, third-rate hero novel would say.
‘Shouldn’t he have stopped reading children’s storybooks by now?’
However, Zich didn’t even have the strength to respond to him. He could only blink at the glorious hero before him and stare.
“Quickly finish him! Our opponent is the ‘Demon Lord of Strength’. We don’t know when he will regain his powers!”
“Yes! That’s right!”
‘No, I don’t have any powers left. My body hurts, and I don’t want to move.’
Zich wanted to explain this to the hero’s companions, who were telling the hero to finish him off. But it was tiring to even open his mouth. Furthermore, he wondered if there was any purpose in explaining this to them.
‘They can be on their guard if they wish.’
He thought it was a bit funny to see them fuss over his dying body.
Yet, it also made him feel a bit pleased. Didn’t their words mean that he posed a huge threat?
“No, he no longer has the power to harm us.”
Zich’s enjoyment suddenly evaporated with Glen’s words.
‘This guy is really not fun.’
‘I should’ve tried to destroy him first instead of spending my time doing useless things.’
Zich wasn’t thinking along the lines of, ‘If only I had gotten ridden of this guy, I…!’
He just purely wanted to tear this annoying guy’s face apart.
Slam!
The hero lifted his sword and pushed it up against Zich. The holy sword’s edges looked sharp enough to rip even a soul in half.
“Listen, Zich Moore! Before you die, I will recite every evil deed you have committed!”
‘What kind of bullshit is this?’
The hero began to spout nonsense, and Zich looked at the companions around him.
‘To think that they hung around a guy like him. Indeed, they are very impressive guys.’
Compared to the giant fireballs that they shot at him, the shields that blocked his attacks, the arrows aimed at his vulnerable spots, or the miracles that had maxed out their companions’ skill stats or instantly healed their companies’ injuries, staying around a guy like this seemed more impressive to Zich than anything else.
‘Well, it can’t be helped. I guess I have to listen to this.’
Even if his opponents had formed a party to fight him, Zich couldn’t deny that he, who was called the ‘Demon Lord of Strength’, was defeated.
‘What can a loser do but let the winner do as he pleases?’
Zich strained to pry his eyes open and stared at the hero. As if he was completely immersed in his role, Glen spat out words without even looking at Zich.
‘Did he come here prepared with everything memorized?’
If that was the case, Zich thought he should applaud Glen for his efforts.
‘No, wait. If I think about it, isn’t this something that should hurt my pride? He must have only thought of beating me.’
For a moment, emotions began to erupt in Zich, but he repressed them.
‘Forget it. It’s true that I lost.’
If he won, it would’ve been different, but to get angry about something like this after losing would only make him seem like a sore loser. It was only appropriate that he should act like a loser if he lost. Thus, he lay down lifelessly and listened to his ‘evil deeds’.
‘Oh, that’s right, something like that happened. Oh yeah, that too. This is making me reminisce. He must have done a lot of research.’
Like an old man trapped his past memories, Zich listened to all of the things he had done. They described a bloody path which befitted his nickname, ‘Demon Lord’.
“…With all of these sins in mind, I lay down my judgment of justice to the Demon Lord, Zich Moore!”
‘What? It’s already over?’
Zich woke up from his pool of memories and nostalgia that the hero’s speech reinvigorated. He licked his lips in pity.
‘Well, I received quite a good gift on my way out.’
This was really his end. Zich carefully scanned the figures around him again. The young magician was glaring at him with contempt, the swordsman was on guard to protect the hero if an emergency arose, and the archer was also still on high alert with a cold-hearted face. The female saint was crying and praying for even a complete stranger like Zich. And finally, the hero was confidently holding his sword.
The hero’s sword slowly rose above Zich, and he would die the moment it fell. Zich knew that he couldn’t escape his end. He didn’t even think about struggling to survive.
‘But.’
He began to gather up the last remaining amount of power he had.
‘Since I am called the Demon Lord, I can’t just die.’
Like the other demon lords in storybooks, he cast a curse on the hero.
Among the magic tools that he had collected while traveling the world, there was an item that had a similar effect to that of a curse.
‘They definitely said it was called ‘The Key that Distorts Destiny’.’
It was the name of the small blade that he had inserted inside his index finger. It had been very troublesome for him to stick the thing inside his finger while not experiencing discomfort in his daily life. But thanks to that, he now had the opportunity to give the last blow to his annoying opponent—making the trouble worth it.
‘It won’t be enough to kill him.’
This item wasn’t for something like that, but for someone like Zich, who loved to fuck his opponents over, it really fitted him.
‘It’s a small blade that can change the future of someone whose destiny has changed. I don’t know how his future will change though.’
But it didn’t matter. All the other demon lords were already dead. It wasn’t hard to imagine that Glen Zenard, who had finally killed the last Demon Lord, Zich, would be guaranteed a heroic future. Even if Glen’s future changed for the better, it just meant that his already heroic future would shine a bit brighter. But if his future changed for the worse…
‘Let’s take a test, hero. If you continue to walk a heroic path even if you get hit by this, it’s your win. But if the destiny you are about to face is full of darkness, it will be more miserable than anyone else’s.’
Zich really hoped for Glen to meet the latter. The only regrettable thing was that there was no way for him to see this happen.
“If you are born again, I hope that you will be someone who does good!”
Like a judge giving his final judgement, Glen yelled while swinging his sword down.
Zich, who had been lying down lifelessly suddenly got up.
“If I get the chance, I will!”
“But not now!”
Push!
Glen’s sword sliced across Zich’s body from his left shoulder.
Even as his body was getting sliced, Zich focused all of his attention onto his index finger. Then, a sharp, gold piece steadily popped out.
Glen looked surprised, and his companions moved in a hurry.
‘But I’m faster!’
Push!
It wasn’t a critical hit. Zich was in bad condition, and Glen’s magic barrier was too strong for him to land a critical hit.
But due to Glen’s carelessness, the tiny blade that he had poured all of his power into was able to slide through the barrier and leave a small scratch.
“You bastaaaaaard!”
Glen’s stone-like face crumpled.
‘Hahahahaha!’
In contrast to Glen, Zich wanted to burst into laughter. But like a marionette that had lost all of its strings, he couldn’t move his body and face.
Swing!
Glen’s body moved once again and sliced Zich’s neck off. Zich’s vision became dark. But before he completely lost consciousness, he thought he saw something shining.
“What! This…is…not pos…finally. Here…this time…perfect…!”
Glen was murmuring some things in terror, but Zich’s consciousness faded into darkness.
* * *
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
“What…”
It was noisy outside. Zich scowled and turned around.
“Ah, damn it! I can’t sleep with this noise…!”
After murmuring in annoyance, he stopped.
He quickly got up. While surveying his surroundings with a stupid look on his face, the fearsome ‘Demon Lord of Strength’ was nowhere to be found. He actually looked like a blockhead.
He began to touch his body all over. The wound that had been severe enough to cut him into two was entirely gone. There was not even a scratch; his skin that was rough from battle now felt soft and smooth.
Then he touched his neck. It had been completely severed; no one could’ve reversed it unless they were a god. But unbelievably, his head was still attached to his body.
‘What in the world!’
Although he had experienced the world to its fullest and went through all kinds of experiences to the point that he earned the title of the Demon Lord; he had never gone through anything like this. He wondered for a moment if his stats disappeared and tried to calm himself to figure out the situation for now.
‘At least I am alive.’
He couldn’t believe it yet, but that was the important part. The future that had been closed off for him had opened again. Although he had reluctantly accepted his death, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be happy to be alive again. Zich felt better after he rechecked himself.
Flap!
He took off the thing covering him.
‘It’s a blanket.’
It was a soft, throw blanket of high quality.
Then, he looked around his surroundings. He was lying on top of a bed in some kind of room. There were many luxurious and high-quality furniture in the wide room. It didn’t seem like a typical family room.
‘It somehow feels pretty familiar.’
Zich got off his bed and began to explore the room. He passed by a mirror that was hanging on a wall.
“Huh?”
Zich marched towards the mirror.
‘This!’
It was definitely Zich’s face, but also not at the same time. He rubbed his cheeks and scratched a pimple that had claimed a visible spot on his face.
“I became younger?”
As Zich screamed, the face in the mirror, which copied the shape of his mouth, was that of his younger self.
Chapter 2
‘This is so strange.’
After taking his top off, Zich scanned his entire body. Toned muscles outlined and shaped his entire form, but they weren’t even close to the muscles he had gained as the Demon Lord — during those days, he had pushed his body to its utmost limits. Even the huge scar on his back that was as big as the world map was gone.
Zich sat on the bed and organized his thoughts.
‘I’m sure that after I fought that jerk, Glen Zenard, I also lost to his companions and was on the verge of death.’
No, it was funny to even say that he had been on the ‘verge of death.’ His body had been split into two while his neck was sliced off, so it was more accurate to say that he had died.
‘But I am alive and well.’
Moreover, as if he had actually gone back in time, he was younger too.
‘It’s not a dream.’
He had checked multiple times already. His cheeks still stung from slapping himself so many times. Zich tried to recall what happened right before his death.
‘After losing to Glen and his companions, I had to listen to that jerk’s rambling. Then…’
As if he had realized something, his eyes shone.
‘I pierced that guy, Glen, with the ‘Key that Distorts Destiny.’ Is it because of that?’
He thought that it was a magical tool that only changed the future of the person it pierced, but looking at his situation right now, it was the only thing he could think of.
‘Where did I get that?’
Zich’s expression hardened.
‘I don’t remember.’
It wasn’t only the location. He didn’t remember the time or place he found the item, nor did he remember when he had placed the object into his index finger. There wasn’t any information about the ‘Key that Distorts Destiny’ in his brain. He was only aware that the magical tool was stuck in his finger before he realized it.
‘No, let’s calm down, Zich Moore. Maybe I just forgot.’
Zich forgot small details easily. Maybe that was why he couldn’t recall anything about the item.
‘But what if someone altered my memories?’
Zich stared at his index finger which used to hold the ‘Key that Distorts Destiny.’
‘For now, I should find out more about this key.’
He had a goal now.
And with this decision, his seriousness completely disappeared.
‘Hm, what should I do from now on? I can’t live the rest of my life searching for information about a magical tool.’
Zich didn’t want to put all of his efforts into finding traces of an item without any clues. He needed another goal. He liked the idea of following a bloody path as the Demon Lord like before, but he also liked the idea of living a completely different life. After all, wasn’t this an unexpected second chance at life?
‘It will be my loss if I don’t enjoy this.’
Zich thought hard. He felt that he needed to figure out what period he was in first.
‘Let me see. If I think about my surroundings, it seems like I haven’t left my family yet.’
In contrast to his wild nature, Zich was surprisingly from an aristocratic family, and a pretty noble one at that. Moore was the last name that he had given to himself, and his original family name was Steelwall. Matching their name, the Steelwall family had protected the kingdom like an impregnable fortress for a long time.
‘Since I am the eldest son, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to inherit the family’s name.’
In the past, he left his family to wander around the world. Furthermore, he only pursued power to the extent that he gained the title: ‘Demon Lord of Strength,’ but this time, Zich thought it wouldn’t be so bad to succeed as the next heir of his family and act like a noble.
‘What was my reason for leaving?’
It was at that moment.
Crick!
The door opened without a knock. Disturbed from his thoughts, Zich scowled and stared at the person who came in.
‘Can they just barge into the room of the eldest son of a noble family like this?’
Although Zich had abandoned all noble manners and etiquette since he left his family, he knew at least this much.
‘Is it my parent or sibling?’
He was surprised to see that the man who had barged into his room looked like a servant.
‘He must be a servant, right?’
Zich thought he might have been mistaken, but the man was definitely wearing servant clothing. The servant stared at Zich. Surprisingly, the servant scowled at him, and Zich became speechless.
A servant had scowled while looking at a noble.
“You were still in your room, sir?”
‘Thankfully, he still uses honorifics.’
Because he was so rude, Zich thought that the servant would also speak to him informally. Zich also wondered if he should be thankful for something like this.
“You are usually out early in the morning. Have you given up on that now too? I don’t think you are in the position to be lazy.”
‘…Is he mocking me? There can’t be any hidden meanings behind his words, right?’
The situation was so ridiculous that Zich started thinking about all kinds of things.
“Ha!”
Zich let out a forced laugh, and he beckoned the servant to come forward with his finger. The servant’s expression worsened, but Zich continued to gesture while smiling. Thus, the servant unwittingly walked to his side.
“What is it?”
The servant acted like he had walked up to Zich out of pity even though he didn’t have to, but Zich’s smile grew wider.
Then, he got out of bed with much care.
It was as if a mountain was rising — that was how enormous his physique was. Zich was a head and a half taller than the servant, and even though a normal servant would’ve been intimidated by the difference in their physiques, the servant continued to glare at Zich.
Zich didn’t say anything for a while and looked down at the servant.
“You called me. Why aren’t you saying anything…?”
The servant was complaining when—
Punch!
Zich’s fist flew out. The moment it contacted the servant’s cheek, a loud sound rang out.
“Ugh!”
Clatter!
Like a paper doll flying in the wind, the servant’s body flew out and collided against a small, luxurious-looking shelf. He made a loud cry as the shelf fell, and the servant toppled over like a garbage bag.
“Ahhhhh!”
The servant squirmed on the ground in pain. Along with a few perfectly white teeth, blood dripped out his mouth, and his cheeks instantly swelled up.
“Waw-Wawth are yaw….!”
With tears flowing out of his eyes, the servant glared at Zich and struggled to speak. It seemed like he was trying to say, ‘What are you doing?’ but because his pronunciation was off, it was hard to tell.
Zich approached the fallen servant. With this movement, the servant, who had been glaring at Zich with a childish rage, backed off for a moment. The smile on Zich’s face was gone. It was replaced by a murderous intent that was colder than the Northern winter winds.
Zich raised his foot.
‘Maw-Mawdam wan’t aproof…!”
Crunch!
“Urggggggh!”
Zich began to step on the servant relentlessly. The servant seemed like he was trying to say something along the lines of, ‘Madam won’t approve!’ but this didn’t matter to Zich. He continued to step on the servant without mercy.
The servant, who had been busy shouting as if he had someone strong backing him, was now filled with terror before Zich, who was like an expressionless machine with the sole purpose of stepping on the servant. Even the thought, ‘He won’t really kill me, right?’ had changed into ‘He will really kill me at this rate!’
“S-Sowry…!”
With swollen lips, the servant begged for forgiveness.
Drop!
Zich stopped his kicking.
As if he saw a rope fall down from the sky while the world was ending, the servant hurriedly bowed to the ground. He was so low to the ground that it seemed like he was stuck to the floor.
“S-Sowry! I was w-wrang!”
He urgently begged for forgiveness as tears and snot ran down his face. Zich let down the raised foot.
“Have you figured out your place?”
The servant nodded senselessly, and Zich laughed in satisfaction.
‘Since today is a good day and I got younger, I should stop here.’
Zich thought he should forgive the servant at this point but—
Slam!
“What happened?!”
The person who slammed the door open completely changed Zich’s mind.
Zich saw a man with a uniform and a sword hanging at his waist.
‘A knight.’
The man seemed like he would at least be a bodyguard for the family. Since he looked quite young, Zich predicted the man must have been called a genius a couple of times in his life.
‘Did he come because of the screaming?’
The knight darted his eyes back and forth from Zich to the servant and frowned.
“Kniwght B-Bwyner!”
As if Byner was his savior, the servant crawled towards him.
“What happened?”
Byner asked the servant attached to his leg.
“T-thawt guy…!”
‘That guy?’
Zich’s eyebrows twitched. The servant was begging for mercy like a bug just a moment ago, but now that he had somebody to lean on, he was cocky again. Zich made his way towards the servant once more.
“Eccck!”
The servant hurriedly hid behind the knight.
Chuck!
Byner’s hands blocked Zich from moving forward.
“What are you doing?”
‘What? The way this bastard talks…’
He was definitely the family’s knight, but he showed no respect for the family’s eldest son. Instead, he even showed a slight contempt for Zich.
“Move.”
“I asked what you are doing.”
“Are you asking me what I am doing? Didn’t you hear that bastard say ‘that guy’ to me? Isn’t the way he talks too cheeky for a lowly servant addressing the family’s eldest son?” Zich’s reason was clear. A bad-tempered noble would have cut off the servant’s tongue already.
Byner should have known this as well, but he still didn’t move from his spot.
“I will take care of this.”
“No need. I will educate him personally.”
“I said, I will take care of it.”
Zich stared at the knight and saw the servant rise behind him. Even while he was in pain, the servant was smiling. It was as if he was taunting Zich, ‘What are you going to do now?’
“I thought of this before, but you are cheeky as well.”
Byner smirked and said, “What are you going to do about that? Are you going to beat me up too?”
“Nothing is stopping me. A bastard who fails to recognize his own master will submit if you beat him enough times.”
Byner looked at Zich with scorn and thought, ‘Since he seemed like he knew his place and stayed quiet, I was lenient on him. Did he decide to just do whatever he wants now? And where did he learn to talk so vulgarly? He really isn’t fit to be the next heir.’
“Then, go ahead.” Byner stepped forward as if he was encouraging Zich to take the first punch.
Whish!
Zich flung out his fist.
Byner flinched. He didn’t think that Zich would actually hit him. But he had also not become a knight by pure luck. Byner bent his back and avoided Zich’s punch.
‘That was pretty good.’
Byner knew that Zich regularly kept his body in shape, but even with that, Zich’s punches were too fierce.
‘But it’s not enough.’
Zich wasn’t strong enough to beat a knight like him yet.
‘I should use this chance to put him in his place.’
When Zich put his fist out, Byner used that chance to aim for Zich’s stomach, but Zich twisted his feet and escaped Byner’s attack.
Bam!
After rolling in a circle, Zich lifted his body up next to the bed.
The distance between them widened, but Byner had no intention to end this scuffle easily. He swung his fist at Zich, who had now been trying to get up. Byner planned to end this fight with a light smack on Zich’s face.
Flap!
Byner’s view became covered in white. ‘What!’
It was a blanket. With his hands, Byner swiftly flicked the blanket that was about to cover him, but by the time his view was clear, there was nobody in front of him.
“Sir Byner, behind…!”
With the servant’s urgent voice, Byner quickly turned his back.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
Byner felt a great shock on the back of his head.
Thud!
Byner fell to the floor. Beautiful flowers, water, and vase shards scattered around his bleeding head.
“Skills aren’t everything, you bastard.”
After planting a vase on top of Byner’s head, Zich spouted insults at him.
The younger the opponent was, the weaker they were to irregular attacks.
‘Dickhead. Did you think I was crazy enough to fight you fair and square?’
Even if he had been once called the ‘Demon Lord of Strength,’ in his current situation, there was no way he could fight a knight head on. He wasn’t even used to his current body yet. But still, the memories and experiences he had gained as the ‘Demon Lord of Strength’ were still inside of him. After overcoming countless battles and experiences, it was easy for Zich to knock down a young knight who hadn’t even pulled out his sword yet.
‘Since he is unconscious, I should step on him later.’
Zich shifted his attention back to the servant. The servant’s swollen face was full of fear.
“Weren’t you happy when your guardian angel showed up? But what are you going to do now that he looks like that?”
“H-Have mewrcy…!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.”
Zich raised his feet again. Then, suddenly, he remembered what Glen Zenard had said to him.
[If you are born again, I pray that you will be someone who does good!]
‘Ok, I will do that starting from tomorrow.’
And for a long while after that, a servant’s screams filled up Zich’s entire room until another knight finally came running into the room after hearing the commotion.
Chapter 3
Zich walked on a thickly carpeted hallway.
As expected of a noble family, there were luxurious decorations on both sides of the wall. However, they didn’t quite match the status of a Count. It looked as if the owner had kept the number of decorations to a minimum to match their status, and all of these things hinted at the character of the castle’s master.
However, Zich didn’t care for the decorations around him and was lost deep in thought.
‘Is it my father?’
His father was someone whom he had forgotten after leaving the family.
‘He probably wants to talk to me about how I beat up that servant and knight.’
Considering the order of events, Zich was not at fault. He did injure them a bit more than necessary, but if his family considered the way the servant and knight had disrespected him, Zich was not at fault. This was especially true for the servant; he deserved to have his neck cut off.
‘That would have been the normal thing to do.’
Unfortunately, his family would not show the bare minimum of what was ‘normal’ to him. In the past, this was the reason why Zich left his family.
Halt!
Zich stopped before a door with an engraving of a wolf’s fierce-looking face. Next to the door, soldiers stood by with their swords.
Zich tilted his head at them.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
One of the soldiers knocked on the door.
“My Lord, Sir Zich has arrived.”
“Let him come in.”
A low and grave voice seeped out through the door.
“Please go inside, sir.”
The soldier went back to his original spot, and Zich stared at the door for a moment.
‘I remember I used to have a hard time going through this door.’
Zich couldn’t remember his past well. He was basically a different person now, and he didn’t have even the slightest bit of fear as he pushed the door open.
The first figure Zich saw was an old man with a wire-like silver beard, sitting on a big chair. The man’s large eyes and stubborn-looking lips stood out to him, and Zich knew that this man was his father and the castle’s master, Count Steelwall.
The Count wasn’t the only person in the room. Knight Byner and the servant were also standing beside the Count, and they were completely healed and fine, as if they had been healed with an expensive potion or treated by a rare healer.
‘And…’
There were other people.
‘It’s my mother and younger brother.’
Even with the faint lines around her eyes and mouth, his mother, Florelle Steelwall, was a beauty; and holding his mother’s arms was his younger brother, Greig Steelwall, with his reddish-brown hair and smooth face. It was because of them that even a servant treated Zich poorly.
‘But I can’t only blame them—’
Zich focused his gaze on the Count again.
‘Since all of this wouldn’t have happened without his approval.’
The master dictated how his family operated, meaning that Zich’s poor treatment was what his father also wanted.
The Count’s piercing eyes stared at Zich. If it had been the original Zich, he would have lowered his gaze and given a polite greeting. But Zich was different now. He stood up straight and continued to meet the Count’s eyes.
Twitch!
The Count’s eyebrows moved.
“…Did you even forget how to say a basic greeting?”
The Count’s voice was quiet but filled with rage. If it were Zich as the ‘Demon Lord of Strength,’ he would’ve laughed at the Count’s rage and smashed the Count’s head on the desk, but surprisingly, Zich bowed his head—however, even that was just a slight tilt.
The Count moved his eyebrows even further.
‘He must be annoyed.’
Zich stopped moving. He thought about messing up everything like he would have done as the Demon Lord, but he decided against it. It was impossible to do that with the body he had right now. For hundreds of years, the Steelwalls were a distinguished family that protected the kingdom from foreign attacks. Their force was one of the greatest in the kingdom.
Besides, Zich still needed to decide how to live his new life. He didn’t want to screw things up from the beginning. Of course, Zich’s standards for ‘screwing up’ differed from the norm, but still.
“Look at him, my lord. This child hasn’t changed his ways. Haven’t I told you? He won’t even show basic etiquette anymore. This child has always disrespected his mother and brother, and he is now disrespecting his own father! How far will his audacity go?!”
‘Wow. Look at her go.’
Watching his mother—no, his stepmother drip crocodile tears, Zich laughed inside his head.
Greig added in his comments, “Father and Mother. Brother must be a bit tired. I’m sure he doesn’t truly have any ill intentions.”
‘Like peas in a pod.’
Zich felt like bursting into laughter at his brother’s pretentious reply. Zich’s family was complicated, but could be explained simply in some ways. The current Countess had entered the family after his mother’s death, and his half-brother was born afterwards. In short, the Countess wished for her own son to become the next heir instead of the eldest son.
‘Even a cheap, third-rate novel wouldn’t be this cliché.’
But this was reality for Zich.
“What do you have to say to that?”
The Count’s voice became rougher, possibly as a result of Greig’s words. However, Zich had no intention of calming his father’s rage.
“What do you want me to say?”
Zich didn’t even attempt to hide his rebellious tone. Everyone, including the Count, was surprised. They always thought that Zich Steelwall was a timid person who was especially obedient to the Count, but that had actually been Zich’s way of crying for attention and help from his father in his abandoned state.
‘But that doesn’t matter to me anymore.’
Bang!
The Count slammed the table with his fist. Everyone in the room flinched at the Count’s rage, but Zich remained calm.
“Your manners were the only thing satisfactory about you, but now you are throwing away your one saving grace?! How are you going to inherit the family’s name with that kind of rotten mindset!”
“Are you even planning on making me the heir?”
“What!”
The Count became speechless after hearing Zich’s unexpected response. Bystanders stared at the exchange in shock.
“Of course! You are the oldest after all! It is only natural for me to appoint you as the heir, but of course, as long as you have no flaws!”
Zich could feel discontentment in the Count’s voice, even though the Count sounded like he was siding with Zich. He even added the part about no flaws.
‘And he will choose what kind of flaw that is.’
With exaggerated movements, Zich bent his back.
“To think that our respectful father was so fair in his thoughts. Hearing this, your lacking son feels like he is flying in the heavens.”
Extreme praise was equivalent to sarcasm, and the Count’s face reddened. But it wasn’t the Count who reacted first.
“How can you show such impudence toward your father! Apologize to him immediately!”
The Countess shrieked.
“How did I act rudely to my father, whom I admire with all my heart? There must have been a misunderstanding.”
To top it off, Zich added another word.
“Mother.”
The Countess, who was about to continue, shut her mouth. With wide eyes, she moved her eyes from side to side.
“Mother? Is that what you just said?”
“Yes, Father. I always used the term ‘Countess,’ but doesn’t that sound too distant? Don’t you also think so, Mother?”
The Countess’s expression completely fell. It looked as if there was a disgusting bug in front of her, but Zich continued, “Mother, you look pale. Mother, are you hurting anywhere? Mother, should I call the physician?”
The Countess flinched every time Zich called her ‘Mother.’ As if she was eating a bitter fruit, her cheeks kept twitching, but Zich found amusement in this and continued to include Mother in every line. The Countess knew that it was on purpose, but she couldn’t say anything. After all, he was also supposed to be her son; there was no way she could stop him from calling her Mother.
“I-I am fine. I am not hurting anywhere.”
“Dear Mother, I’m relieved that you are fine. But Mother, just in case, please get an examination by a physician. I don’t think I will be at peace until then, Mother.”
Cough!
As if something was stuck in her throat, the Countess began to look pale. Then, the Count made a fake cough and ended Zich’s teasing.
“…Do you know why I called you here today?”
The Count scanned Zich’s expression. Zich seemed different from his usual self.
“It probably has something to do with those two, right?”
Zich pointed at the servant and the knight.
“Yes. About what you did to—!”
“I sincerely apologize, Father.”
Zich bowed his head. His polite apology completely contrasted his rebellious attitude from a moment ago. The Count was left speechless at Zich’s sudden change in attitude—what Zich did afterward surprised him even more.
“I’m sorry for bothering you because I didn’t clean up my mess properly. From now on, I will take care of matters like this more properly.”
Zich began to move, and everyone stared at him. He was heading towards the corner of the room where a decorative sword was hanging with an X marked on top of it.
Swing!
As expected of a military family, even the edge of a decorative sword was sharp. Zich turned around while holding the sword.
Clang! Clang!
Byner and Greig positioned themselves in front of the Count and the Countess with their swords raised.
“What are you doing!”
As he screamed, the Count’s face was as red as a tomato.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m going to clean up my mess.”
“What do you mean, mess?!”
After tilting his sword toward the ground, Zich pointed at the servant with his free hand.
“Isn’t it obvious? I have to slice off the neck of a servant who dares to insult a noble.”
“What!”
The Count’s eyes were bloodshot, but Zich confidently tilted his head.
“Huh? Isn’t that why you called me? I thought you called me to finish off the guys who dared to insult the great Steelwall’s—Legitimate. Blood. Heir.”
Zich included Byner, who was now looking at him in disbelief.
“I already dealt with them personally, so I didn’t want to make this situation any bigger, but I guess it can’t be helped if you are not satisfied. Now that I think about it, my punishment was way too light. I mean, aren’t they the ones who dared to insult the great Steelwall’s Legitimate. Blood. Heir? Father, please don’t worry. I will neatly slice their heads off and hang them in front of the castle walls. ”
Chapter 4
Zich walked towards the servant, step by step.
There was no hesitation in his movements, and each of his footsteps carried murderous intent. Only then did everyone realize that Zich’s words and actions were not meant to be rebellious or metaphorical—he literally meant to kill the servant.
“Ma-Madam!”
At the servant’s plea, the Countess broke out from her trance.
“S-Stop! Didn’t I tell you to stop! How dare you draw blood in front of your parents! Where did you learn to behave so rudely!”
“Dear Mother, how could I dare to draw blood in front of my parents? Mother, I was going to drag the servant to a suitable place and finish him off. Mother, even though my heart is broken, how can I let an insult towards me, the—Legitimate. Blood. Heir.—of our great Steelwall family slide?”
Zich replied slyly to the Countess’s outcry.
“How could Hans have insulted you?! This child would never do such a thing!”
‘Ah, no wonder the servant acted so cockily. He was one of the Countess’s people.’
There was a high possibility that Hans was the child or some relative of one of the servants that the Countess had initially brought with her.
“Y-yes! How could I dare to insult a noble family!”
Hans began to grovel on the floor. Sweat trickled down his back—nothing was going according to plan.
He just wanted to get back at Zich for hurting him and simultaneously harm Zich’s reputation to further support Greig’s succession as heir. If things were like normal, Zich would have been busy making excuses with his head hung low; and no matter how many excuses he gave, the Count would have used the knight and Hans’s words as evidence against Zich to scold him.
However, the situation had completely flipped because of Zich’s brazen-faced attitude.
Hans couldn’t believe that Zich dared to wield a sword in front of the Count, and as a consequence, the situation was now leaning in Zich’s favor.
Like Zich said, what Hans did really deserved a death sentence. Due to Zich’s shy nature and his weak position in the family, Hans had gotten away with his behaviors so far, but what if Zich really intended to kill him now? And what if the Countess failed to defend him because the situation was now leaning towards Zich’s favor?
‘If I speak wrongly, I really might die!’
Hans finally began to realize the gravity of the situation.
“I can confidently say that I have never said a rude word or acted impudently to the young master!”
“Then, are you saying that I’m lying?”
“T-that…!”
Hans wanted to shout, ‘Of course!’, but Zich’s cold gaze made him speechless. And it was at this moment that another voice came out from a distance and replied for Hans.
“Yes, that’s true! The young master is lying!”
The voice sounded desperate. People turned around to see the speaker, and Hans looked back as if a savior had come to save him from hell.
‘It’s that, what’s his name—Knight Byner.’
The speaker was Byner, whom Zich had also beaten up.
When Zich had entered the room, Byner glared at him with intense fury, but now that the situation was leaning towards Zich’s side, his glare was losing its fierceness.
Zich looked at Byner with delight.
‘Aren’t you two getting desperate? You probably want to teach me a lesson for using crude tricks against you, but things are not going according to plan, eh?’
As of right now, Hans’s actions were the main focus of interest, but according to Zich’s words, Byner was also culpable for insulting a noble.
Since knights were considered mid-nobility, his neck wouldn’t be cut off like a servant. However, Byner had tried to harm Zich directly. Of course, Byner didn’t intend to cause serious damage to Zich, and his actions were within the limits that the Count and Countess could easily cover up.
No, if Zich were like his usual self, he wouldn’t have been able to even protest in front of the Count. But contrary to Byner’s expectations, the situation had turned strange, and now, the servant that Zich hit was groveling and shivering on the floor. What if the servant was condemned for his crimes? And what if this led to a sentence for Byner?
‘Even I might not be able to escape punishment.’
Insecurity began to grow and flourish in Byner’s heart. It might have been because he was still an inexperienced, young knight.
“Is that true, Sir Byner?”
With an expectant face, the Countess urged Byner on. A knight’s words carried much more weight than a servant’s words.
“Yes, my lady! As Hans and I have stated, Zich one-sidedly assaulted us.”
“Funny to hear that a knight was one-sidedly assaulted. Have the standards of Steelwall’s knights gone downhill?”
With Zich’s mockery, Byner’s face puffed up as if it was going to explode. Even the Count grumbled at Zich’s words with an annoyed look.
“T-that was because you unfairly…”
“Hahahahah! Unfairly—and this is from a Steelwall knight! Are you going to bring up fairness on a battlefield? I can’t believe that a Steelwall knight is making the same excuses as the weaklings from the capital!”
Zich made an exaggerated laugh so that everyone could hear him. Byner’s face began to puff up even more. When Zich compared him to the knights from the capital, Byner was so embarrassed that his whole body started shaking.
The knights from Steelwall were prideful about their experiences compared to the knights from the capital who had no actual battle experience. Using this knowledge, Zich was directly attacking Byner’s pride as a Steelwall knight.
“No matter what you say, the truth does not change that you one-sidedly assaulted us!”
Byner was now vehemently spitting out his words.
“What do you have to say to that?”
“Father, isn’t it obvious that he is lying? He is afraid of punishment, so he is shamelessly making excuses.”
“No, this is not true! It is the young master who is lying!”
Two opposite sides were fiercely arguing against each other. Even though Byner’s words were filled with embarrassment and shame, his lies did carry some weight as a knight.
“Father, don’t you also think that Sir Byner’s words are more reliable? Since he is a knight, I’m sure he won’t dare lie in front of you.”
Greig, who had been silent so far, suddenly intervened.
‘Yeah, it would be weird for you not to join in.’
Whenever Zich was in a dilemma, Greig was the main leader who made Zich’s situation even worse. This was the image Zich remembered about his brother.
“Y-Yes, that is right!”
With Greig’s support, Byner’s expression became brighter. From across a distance, Zich and Greig’s eyes met. Greig smiled. His smile was impudent and sly, but to Zich, who had regressed, Greig’s provocation now only seemed childish and ridiculous.
Zich returned his smile with complete confidence, and Greig’s expression froze in shock. Whenever Greig made life difficult for him, Zich used to always make an embarrassed face and hang his head low.
But that was in the past. Zich no longer placed any importance on Greig.
‘Well, this is how it has been.’
No one was ever on his side in the first place. People were just momentarily shaken up by Zich’s sudden change.
Realizing that the atmosphere was slowly changing against his favor again, Zich decided to end the matter.
‘For starters, I wasn’t really planning to cut off the servant’s neck or bring down a knight.’
Of course, not for now.
Zich began to move towards Byner. The mood immediately became tense and stiff as both Zich and Byner had their swords drawn. A sword fight could break out at any moment.
“What are you planning to do!”
As expected, the Count shouted to stop Zich. However, Zich stood in front of Byner as if he couldn’t hear the Count. With sharp but puzzled eyes, Byner followed Zich with his eyes and readied his sword.
“Hey.”
“W-what?”
Seeing that Zich showed no signs of raising his sword, Byner replied with a relieved heart, “You’re not planning to admit your wrongs, right?”
“I swear I have not spoken a lie!”
“Yes, of course. A shitty knight who sold his honor won’t tell the truth anyway.”
Once again, Byner’s face began to redden.
‘Seeing his reaction, he must not be that trashy.’
If it were Zich, he wouldn’t have shown such an obvious reaction from a soft lie like this.
‘What an innocent punk.’
His innocence was kind of cute. However, it didn’t excuse him for his crimes.
‘It also doesn’t change the fact that he tried to screw me over.’
Zich, who had an awful personality, could never forgive those who tried to screw him over.
“Let’s stop arguing about who’s right with just words. Isn’t there a better way for us to settle this matter?”
Zich raised his sword and softly tapped on Byner’s sword.
“…Are you saying that we should settle this conflict with a duel?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Byner was the youngest among the knights. Despite his limited experience, this also meant that he was a genius to be appointed knighthood at such a young age. Even if Zich doubted everything else, Byner was definitely a skilled fighter. Moreover, due to the Countess’s underhanded ploys, Zich never had the opportunity to properly learn sword fighting.
Despite all of this, Zich dared to challenge a knight to a duel.
“How can you say I’m out of my mind? Didn’t you recently get knocked out by a hit to the back of your neck? How can you be so confident to spout such nonsense?”
Byner’s expression turned sour. His comrades humiliated and mocked him because of that incident.
“Alright! Let’s duel!”
Zich shrugged and looked back towards the Count.
“Father, as you can see, we have reached an agreement. Please find a suitable time and place for us to duel.”
“Are you serious?”
“Man, why do you and this punk look down on me so much? I only suggested this duel because I thought I could win. I slammed the back of this wimp’s head so hard that he fainted.”
“…Alright. Then let’s proceed with the duel.”
The Count did not try to stop them.
‘Zich is underestimating Byner too much.’
Even the Count heard about how Zich was able to beat up Byner with his carelessness.
It was a lowly way to fight, but the Count nodded in approval while listening to the fight’s details. As the Steelwall Count, he was known as the metal fortress that protected the Kingdom, and as the leader of his clan and a fighter who had spent all his life fending off intruders from getting into the Kingdom, there were no such things as cowardly or dirty fights. For that reason alone, the Count readily accepted Zich’s victory over Byner.
‘But that’s all there is to it.’
Zich couldn’t win against a knight in a fair fight. The Count thought Zich fell victim to his own arrogance.
‘I guess it will be a good lesson for him.’
The Count had always disliked Zich. He didn’t feel bad about the humiliation Zich would probably have to go through if he lost the duel. Moreover, with Zich’s defeat, it would be easier for Greig to gain legitimacy over Zich as the next heir.
‘Zich’s reputation will be ruined if it gets out that he tried to cover up his misdeeds by challenging a knight in a duel that he had no chance in and losing.’
The Count initially planned to severely scold Zich for hitting Byner and the servant, but he thought this was not a bad outcome as well. If Zich lost, Byner’s statements would be true, and the Count could always punish Zich later.
“I will find a suitable time and place.”
“Then I will leave it in your hands.”
Zich placed the sword back in its original location. There was not a trace of meekness or humility in his movements, and people’s gazes naturally followed him wherever he went.
“…You have changed,” the Count softly muttered. Zich, who was heading towards the exit, turned his head back.
“It’s because I realized that there was nothing for me to gain by staying the way I am. There’s no reason for me to waste my energy in pleasing others and making a fool of myself.”
Thinking back to their previous conversation, the Count asked with sharp discomfort, “There’s nothing for you to gain? Are you talking about your succession as the heir?”
Zich let out a sly smile.
“Even you, who is called the warlord of steel, is blinded by prejudice, and you are unable to make a clear judgment regarding your familial affairs.”
“What?”
“Dear Father, nothing that I say will reach you right now. I hope that you will keep thinking however you want.”
And with an exaggerated bow, Zich made his exit.
Chapter 4
Zich walked towards the servant, step by step.
There was no hesitation in his movements, and each of his footsteps carried murderous intent. Only then did everyone realize that Zich’s words and actions were not meant to be rebellious or metaphorical—he literally meant to kill the servant.
“Ma-Madam!”
At the servant’s plea, the Countess broke out from her trance.
“S-Stop! Didn’t I tell you to stop! How dare you draw blood in front of your parents! Where did you learn to behave so rudely!”
“Dear Mother, how could I dare to draw blood in front of my parents? Mother, I was going to drag the servant to a suitable place and finish him off. Mother, even though my heart is broken, how can I let an insult towards me, the—Legitimate. Blood. Heir.—of our great Steelwall family slide?”
Zich replied slyly to the Countess’s outcry.
“How could Hans have insulted you?! This child would never do such a thing!”
‘Ah, no wonder the servant acted so cockily. He was one of the Countess’s people.’
There was a high possibility that Hans was the child or some relative of one of the servants that the Countess had initially brought with her.
“Y-yes! How could I dare to insult a noble family!”
Hans began to grovel on the floor. Sweat trickled down his back—nothing was going according to plan.
He just wanted to get back at Zich for hurting him and simultaneously harm Zich’s reputation to further support Greig’s succession as heir. If things were like normal, Zich would have been busy making excuses with his head hung low; and no matter how many excuses he gave, the Count would have used the knight and Hans’s words as evidence against Zich to scold him.
However, the situation had completely flipped because of Zich’s brazen-faced attitude.
Hans couldn’t believe that Zich dared to wield a sword in front of the Count, and as a consequence, the situation was now leaning in Zich’s favor.
Like Zich said, what Hans did really deserved a death sentence. Due to Zich’s shy nature and his weak position in the family, Hans had gotten away with his behaviors so far, but what if Zich really intended to kill him now? And what if the Countess failed to defend him because the situation was now leaning towards Zich’s favor?
‘If I speak wrongly, I really might die!’
Hans finally began to realize the gravity of the situation.
“I can confidently say that I have never said a rude word or acted impudently to the young master!”
“Then, are you saying that I’m lying?”
“T-that…!”
Hans wanted to shout, ‘Of course!’, but Zich’s cold gaze made him speechless. And it was at this moment that another voice came out from a distance and replied for Hans.
“Yes, that’s true! The young master is lying!”
The voice sounded desperate. People turned around to see the speaker, and Hans looked back as if a savior had come to save him from hell.
‘It’s that, what’s his name—Knight Byner.’
The speaker was Byner, whom Zich had also beaten up.
When Zich had entered the room, Byner glared at him with intense fury, but now that the situation was leaning towards Zich’s side, his glare was losing its fierceness.
Zich looked at Byner with delight.
‘Aren’t you two getting desperate? You probably want to teach me a lesson for using crude tricks against you, but things are not going according to plan, eh?’
As of right now, Hans’s actions were the main focus of interest, but according to Zich’s words, Byner was also culpable for insulting a noble.
Since knights were considered mid-nobility, his neck wouldn’t be cut off like a servant. However, Byner had tried to harm Zich directly. Of course, Byner didn’t intend to cause serious damage to Zich, and his actions were within the limits that the Count and Countess could easily cover up.
No, if Zich were like his usual self, he wouldn’t have been able to even protest in front of the Count. But contrary to Byner’s expectations, the situation had turned strange, and now, the servant that Zich hit was groveling and shivering on the floor. What if the servant was condemned for his crimes? And what if this led to a sentence for Byner?
‘Even I might not be able to escape punishment.’
Insecurity began to grow and flourish in Byner’s heart. It might have been because he was still an inexperienced, young knight.
“Is that true, Sir Byner?”
With an expectant face, the Countess urged Byner on. A knight’s words carried much more weight than a servant’s words.
“Yes, my lady! As Hans and I have stated, Zich one-sidedly assaulted us.”
“Funny to hear that a knight was one-sidedly assaulted. Have the standards of Steelwall’s knights gone downhill?”
With Zich’s mockery, Byner’s face puffed up as if it was going to explode. Even the Count grumbled at Zich’s words with an annoyed look.
“T-that was because you unfairly…”
“Hahahahah! Unfairly—and this is from a Steelwall knight! Are you going to bring up fairness on a battlefield? I can’t believe that a Steelwall knight is making the same excuses as the weaklings from the capital!”
Zich made an exaggerated laugh so that everyone could hear him. Byner’s face began to puff up even more. When Zich compared him to the knights from the capital, Byner was so embarrassed that his whole body started shaking.
The knights from Steelwall were prideful about their experiences compared to the knights from the capital who had no actual battle experience. Using this knowledge, Zich was directly attacking Byner’s pride as a Steelwall knight.
“No matter what you say, the truth does not change that you one-sidedly assaulted us!”
Byner was now vehemently spitting out his words.
“What do you have to say to that?”
“Father, isn’t it obvious that he is lying? He is afraid of punishment, so he is shamelessly making excuses.”
“No, this is not true! It is the young master who is lying!”
Two opposite sides were fiercely arguing against each other. Even though Byner’s words were filled with embarrassment and shame, his lies did carry some weight as a knight.
“Father, don’t you also think that Sir Byner’s words are more reliable? Since he is a knight, I’m sure he won’t dare lie in front of you.”
Greig, who had been silent so far, suddenly intervened.
‘Yeah, it would be weird for you not to join in.’
Whenever Zich was in a dilemma, Greig was the main leader who made Zich’s situation even worse. This was the image Zich remembered about his brother.
“Y-Yes, that is right!”
With Greig’s support, Byner’s expression became brighter. From across a distance, Zich and Greig’s eyes met. Greig smiled. His smile was impudent and sly, but to Zich, who had regressed, Greig’s provocation now only seemed childish and ridiculous.
Zich returned his smile with complete confidence, and Greig’s expression froze in shock. Whenever Greig made life difficult for him, Zich used to always make an embarrassed face and hang his head low.
But that was in the past. Zich no longer placed any importance on Greig.
‘Well, this is how it has been.’
No one was ever on his side in the first place. People were just momentarily shaken up by Zich’s sudden change.
Realizing that the atmosphere was slowly changing against his favor again, Zich decided to end the matter.
‘For starters, I wasn’t really planning to cut off the servant’s neck or bring down a knight.’
Of course, not for now.
Zich began to move towards Byner. The mood immediately became tense and stiff as both Zich and Byner had their swords drawn. A sword fight could break out at any moment.
“What are you planning to do!”
As expected, the Count shouted to stop Zich. However, Zich stood in front of Byner as if he couldn’t hear the Count. With sharp but puzzled eyes, Byner followed Zich with his eyes and readied his sword.
“Hey.”
“W-what?”
Seeing that Zich showed no signs of raising his sword, Byner replied with a relieved heart, “You’re not planning to admit your wrongs, right?”
“I swear I have not spoken a lie!”
“Yes, of course. A shitty knight who sold his honor won’t tell the truth anyway.”
Once again, Byner’s face began to redden.
‘Seeing his reaction, he must not be that trashy.’
If it were Zich, he wouldn’t have shown such an obvious reaction from a soft lie like this.
‘What an innocent punk.’
His innocence was kind of cute. However, it didn’t excuse him for his crimes.
‘It also doesn’t change the fact that he tried to screw me over.’
Zich, who had an awful personality, could never forgive those who tried to screw him over.
“Let’s stop arguing about who’s right with just words. Isn’t there a better way for us to settle this matter?”
Zich raised his sword and softly tapped on Byner’s sword.
“…Are you saying that we should settle this conflict with a duel?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Byner was the youngest among the knights. Despite his limited experience, this also meant that he was a genius to be appointed knighthood at such a young age. Even if Zich doubted everything else, Byner was definitely a skilled fighter. Moreover, due to the Countess’s underhanded ploys, Zich never had the opportunity to properly learn sword fighting.
Despite all of this, Zich dared to challenge a knight to a duel.
“How can you say I’m out of my mind? Didn’t you recently get knocked out by a hit to the back of your neck? How can you be so confident to spout such nonsense?”
Byner’s expression turned sour. His comrades humiliated and mocked him because of that incident.
“Alright! Let’s duel!”
Zich shrugged and looked back towards the Count.
“Father, as you can see, we have reached an agreement. Please find a suitable time and place for us to duel.”
“Are you serious?”
“Man, why do you and this punk look down on me so much? I only suggested this duel because I thought I could win. I slammed the back of this wimp’s head so hard that he fainted.”
“…Alright. Then let’s proceed with the duel.”
The Count did not try to stop them.
‘Zich is underestimating Byner too much.’
Even the Count heard about how Zich was able to beat up Byner with his carelessness.
It was a lowly way to fight, but the Count nodded in approval while listening to the fight’s details. As the Steelwall Count, he was known as the metal fortress that protected the Kingdom, and as the leader of his clan and a fighter who had spent all his life fending off intruders from getting into the Kingdom, there were no such things as cowardly or dirty fights. For that reason alone, the Count readily accepted Zich’s victory over Byner.
‘But that’s all there is to it.’
Zich couldn’t win against a knight in a fair fight. The Count thought Zich fell victim to his own arrogance.
‘I guess it will be a good lesson for him.’
The Count had always disliked Zich. He didn’t feel bad about the humiliation Zich would probably have to go through if he lost the duel. Moreover, with Zich’s defeat, it would be easier for Greig to gain legitimacy over Zich as the next heir.
‘Zich’s reputation will be ruined if it gets out that he tried to cover up his misdeeds by challenging a knight in a duel that he had no chance in and losing.’
The Count initially planned to severely scold Zich for hitting Byner and the servant, but he thought this was not a bad outcome as well. If Zich lost, Byner’s statements would be true, and the Count could always punish Zich later.
“I will find a suitable time and place.”
“Then I will leave it in your hands.”
Zich placed the sword back in its original location. There was not a trace of meekness or humility in his movements, and people’s gazes naturally followed him wherever he went.
“…You have changed,” the Count softly muttered. Zich, who was heading towards the exit, turned his head back.
“It’s because I realized that there was nothing for me to gain by staying the way I am. There’s no reason for me to waste my energy in pleasing others and making a fool of myself.”
Thinking back to their previous conversation, the Count asked with sharp discomfort, “There’s nothing for you to gain? Are you talking about your succession as the heir?”
Zich let out a sly smile.
“Even you, who is called the warlord of steel, is blinded by prejudice, and you are unable to make a clear judgment regarding your familial affairs.”
“What?”
“Dear Father, nothing that I say will reach you right now. I hope that you will keep thinking however you want.”
And with an exaggerated bow, Zich made his exit.
Chapter 5
A day had passed by since Zich caused an uproar by challenging a knight. At the crack of dawn, Zich headed towards the back garden where there wasn’t a single person in sight.
“Whoosh!”
Zich took in a deep breath and gripped his sword. The fresh morning air filled up his lungs.
Grip.
He tightly held onto his sword. He heaved a few breaths in and out and warmed up for a bit.
Slash!
The sharp sword cut the air in front of him, and the morning dew shivered in surprise at his quick movements.
Swish!
He moved his foot with natural ease, and the unfettered dirt let out a stream of dust.
Thud!
Then, he placed some weight on his moving feet and spun himself. The force from the spin was transferred onto his shoulders, arms, and to the very tip of his sword.
Slashhh!
His movements were beautiful yet menacing. The sunlight seeped in through the tree leaves and shattered on the sword in a multitude of lights.
Swish! Swish! Swishh!
Zich used a different type of sword movement. Before, his movement was sharp as glass, but now, it was heavy as a bludgeon. His sword style kept changing. It became slow and then fast, sharp and then soft.
Zich gradually lost track of time.
“Puff!”
He stopped moving his sword around and calmed his breathing. His whole body was covered in sweat.
‘My condition is better than I thought.’
He clenched his fist and opened it. His hands were rough but pale, representative of a nineteen-year-old body.
At nineteen years old, Zich hadn’t learned sword fighting, but he had completed the basics to hone his body. Of course, it was incomparable to the days when he was called the ‘Demon Lord of Strength.’. Considering his age, however, it was in good shape.
‘It’s actually better that I didn’t learn any sword fighting.’
Zich’s current body was like a raw, untouched stone. It was a body that had fundamental strength but no basic structure. If he poured in his experience and expertise from his days as the ‘Demon Lord of Strength,’ he would be able to progress at an exponential rate.
‘I feel a bit bitter thinking about the reason why I received no basic training though.’
No matter how much the Count did not want to pass down his sword fighting techniques to Zich, his family was called the metal fortress. There should have always been a way for him to learn sword fighting.
‘I was so desperate for my father’s approval that I wasn’t even willing to glance at sword fighting techniques other than the special ones passed down in this family.’
It was not that Zich was desperate to succeed as heir or learn sword fighting—he merely wanted to gain his father’s attention and approval.
‘Reflecting back, I really was innocent.’
If people realized that the ‘Demon Lord of Strength, Zich Moore’ used to be a weak and vulnerable boy in his youth, they would all be paralyzed in shock.
‘Well, I did suffer a lot after I left the family.’
Before Zich was able to earn the title of ‘Demon Lord of Strength,’ he went through a series of enormous suffering and trials. It was almost strange how these trials and problems kept happening one after another.
‘It was to the extent where it felt planned.’
Zich laughed. It was pointless to think like this. When the Count had expelled him, he had no power, wealth, or background, and many people tried to take advantage of him.
‘If I wasn’t so talented, I would have died over a hundred times.’
He stopped thinking pointless thoughts and began practicing with his sword again.
‘I like how my body is in shape, but it will be difficult to win this duel.’
His opponent was the genius knight Byner, who was only in his early twenties. There was no way Zich could catch up to him in physical strength by the time of the duel.
Byner’s skills were also superior at this point in time. Even though he had his knowledge of skills as ‘Zich Moore,’ his body was still untrained.
‘I’m gonna have to practice like mad to instill the skills into my body. That’s the only possible way for me to use them like second nature.’
And as mentioned before, Zich’s body was not trained to that extent.
But most importantly—
“Whoosh!”
Zich took in a deep breath once again and relaxed his body. It was different from when he tried to relax right before spurting. Zich closed his eyes and tried to feel his internal body.
The soft breeze tickled his foot, and the ground felt firm under his feet. He ignored these outside sensations and tried to deepen his focus. He felt the blood vessels beating and the blood flowing inside his body.
Then, he went deeper inside. He began to feel something—an enormous matter that was immobilized by various substances intertwining with each other. It carried such great strength that a major city would be decimated in a second if he let it all out.
Zich began to slowly feel around this matter. As if it was indifferent to all outside stimulation, it didn’t respond to Zich at all.
Sweat began to trickle down Zich’s forehead. He maintained extreme focus to make the matter react.
Twitch!
The matter finally gave a small response, and Zich’s focus shattered at once.
Thud!
Zich’s body shook from the shock, and he collapsed onto the ground. At first, his knees landed on the ground, and soon after, he landed on his butt.
“Argh, damn it! This bastard is still so tricky to control!”
Zich placed his hand near his heart. The enormous and destructive matter that resided inside Zich was his mana.
‘Even though I concentrated so much, only a fraction of it awoke.’
He felt dejected for a moment. Exhausted, he laid flat on the ground.
‘It can’t be helped. In regards to the amount of mana I have, I really am talented.’
Each person had a limit to the amount of mana they had. And Zich’s amount of mana was incomparably large to the average person’s.
‘Well, an elf compared the amount of mana I had to a now-extinct dragon.’
One of the reasons why Zich became the Demon Lord of Strength was because of this dragon-like amount of mana. However, as of right now, Zich’s current mana was the same as having no mana at all. There was no way he could control such a large amount of mana in his current state.
‘It’s almost too much mana.’
Zich gained complete control of his mana long after he left the family. For that reason, there were rumors that Zich, heir to Steelwall, had no mana at all. It was another obstacle that prevented him from succeeding as the Count of Steelwall.
However, this was Zich’s second chance at life. He obviously wouldn’t be able to fully utilize his mana right now, but he could take the first steps to master it.
As evidence of this statement, a sliver of mana floated on top of his hand.
‘With this, my chances at victory have increased.’
But his chances were still lacking—even with all his experience as the Demon Lord and his ability to control mana somewhat, it would be a challenging task to beat a knight.
‘Our basic skills are on totally different levels right now.’
But all of this didn’t matter to Zich. In the first place, Zich knew all of this information and still challenged a duel with the knight.
‘There is nothing for me to lose either.’
Zich already decided that he was going to leave the Steelwall family anyways.
‘I’m glad I got another chance to start over, but that doesn’t mean I want to succeed as heir. If I do, I’m going to feel frustrated to death.’
Just thinking about how he had to get each and one of his brother’s supporters on his side gave him a headache.
‘I will be so frustrated that I may die young. It will be a miracle if I don’t turn over the whole family before I actually succeed as the Count.’
There was a high possibility that it might turn out exactly like how Zich pictured it to be—no, it was certain. Rather than go through all these frustrations, it would be much better for him to leave Steelwall.
“You finally awakened your mana?”
A sudden voice interrupted Zich’s thoughts.
Zich grimaced in displeasure and did not even turn around as he said, “What’s up with you? If you are spying on me, just go away and don’t bother me.”
“You knew I was here?”
“What kind of nonsense are you spitting out when you move so noisily? You sounded like a moving ogre.”
Annoyed, Greig scowled in response to Zich’s words.
‘I tried somewhat to silence my movements.’
Greig didn’t erase his whole presence like an assassin, but he also had been careful to stay still. The Zich he knew did not have such keen senses to notice an unmoving intruder.
‘Also, his speech and actions are still weird.’
So far, the Count and Countess had not given much thought or reaction to Zich’s sudden change in behavior; that was how much this couple was indifferent to their “son.”
But unlike them, Greig felt suspicious about Zich’s change.
Without saying anything, Greig stared at Zich.
“What? If you have something you need from me, quickly say it, and if you don’t, fuck off.”
“…Do you really think it is possible?”
“What do you mean? Can’t you speak straight-forwardly?”
“I mean about the duel with Sir Byner. And also the succession.”
Greig’s speech began to become a bit rough. “I don’t know why you suddenly decided to change your behavior, but you know it’s all fruitless, right? You should get what you can and leave. If you know your place, I might prepare a farewell present on your way out.”
‘Ha! This twit.’
Even though Zich had no desire to become a count, hearing Greig’s taunting annoyed him.
Zich quickly got up and walked towards Greig. Even as he moved, Greig did not move back a single inch.
“Are you afraid that I might succeed as the Count of Steelwall?”
“Why should I be afraid? If I can’t even triumph over someone like you, I should just give up on becoming the heir.”
His smile was mocking, as if he really thought there was no possible way Zich could succeed as the heir. But instead of getting angry at his mockery, Zich made a soft smile.
“Really? If my dear brother says so, that must be right. Are we not brothers after all?”
Zich tapped Greig’s shoulders a few times, and Greig’s face completely distorted at this movement. Feeling pleased with Greig’s change in expression, Zich spoke again, “But I still have my advantage as the firstborn. So why don’t we do it like this?”
“Like how?”
“We are a family of fighters. Unlike other families, we put significantly more importance on personal strength and one’s ability to fight.”
“Wait, are you asking for a duel? A duel for the succession?”
“Of course. What else can I possibly mean?”
Greig looked at Zich with suspicion.
“Are you seriously challenging me to a duel? And the matter with Sir Byner too…are you really out of your mind?”
“What, you afraid?”
Greig’s eyebrows twitched. He bit his lips and glared at Zich.
“…Alright. There’s no reason for me to refuse.”
‘I knew you would say that.’
If his memory served right, Greig would have made significant progress in his fighting prowess around this time. There was no reason for Greig not to accept a duel against Zich who had not even learned the basics of sword fighting and just recently awakened his mana.
“However, even if I accept your duel, it can’t be related to the succession. Our father won’t allow it.”
Even though individual fighting prowess was indeed important, it was not the only necessary component for being the heir.
Moreover, even if everyone in the family was united against expelling Zich, a single duel could not determine a significant matter like succession. As the firstborn, Zich had the advantage of traditional legitimacy.
“Duh, you idiot. But if we duel, father will spread a rumor that I challenged you to a duel with the succession on the line. Think about what will happen to me if I lose. Even though our duel would be informal in nature, I will no longer be able to openly declare my right to succession. Even though Father seems like the type of person to fix all of his problems by strength, he is a noble after all. It will be a piece of cake for him to accomplish a small scheme like this.”
Greig stroked his chin. There were a lot of things he could gain by accepting this duel.
“Then a major obstacle to my succession will largely disappear.”
“Yeah. But of course, all of this is in the case that you actually beat me. You have more things to lose than me. If I win, you will be losing to someone who hasn’t even learned the basics of sword fighting and doesn’t even know how to control mana properly. No matter how much Father backs you up as his heir, there will be great resistance among the people in Steelwall. Because even though we are nobles, we are a military family after all.”
Greig sneered, “Me, losing to you?”
“Are you that confident?”
“I’m still wondering if you have become insane.”
“Isn’t it better for you if I am insane? Even if I am the first son, you can’t make a crazy person the heir.”
“That is also true. Alright, I’m going to go talk to Father right now.”
“Wait a moment.”
Zich stopped Greig who was about to leave.
“If you are so confident, can you give me an advantage?”
“…What are you scheming?”
With suspicious eyes, Greig stared at Zich.
“You don’t have to be so suspicious. I just want to decide when the duel will take place.”
Greig thought about Zich’s words for a brief moment and then slowly nodded. No matter what devious tricks Zich had up his sleeves, such a request wouldn’t impact his chances in winning.
“Deal. But, I also have a condition. I want to have the duel at least within the next half a year from now.”
“Deal.”
“Don’t forget—half a year. You can’t make any excuses like how you need to recover from Byner’s duel or things like that.”
In such a short amount of time, Greig had thought that far.
“Don’t worry. I also don’t have any intentions to drag it out for that long.”
Pleased by Zich’s words, Greig turned around and left. Watching his younger brother walk away, Zich held his sword tightly once more.
‘That little punk looks down on me so much. I’m going to make sure to leave him a big present right before I leave.’
Swish!
As if he was slashing towards Greig, Zich’s sword sharply cut through the air. After a few days passed, the date of Zich’s duel with Byner arrived.
Edited and proofread by audiowuxia.
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