Chapter 6. A Justified Fight
“Argh…!”
A scream burst out from Cardine Yuterus’s mouth.
His teeth fell out one by one, his face drenched in blood.
“Wha, what is this…!?”
Smack!
He delivered another slap in the opposite direction.
Cardine, spitting blood, rolled on the floor.
Looking down at the barely conscious Cardine, Sirius coldly lashed out.
“What audacity to show your face like that?”
“Wha, what….”
“If you show your face, expect nothing but a slap. Isn’t that so?”
Approaching Cardine as if to strike him again.
As Cardine recoiled, screaming, “You mad bastard…!”
“You’re the mad one, Cardine Yuterus.”
Watching Cardine flee to the corner of the reception room, Sirius sneered.
“Trying to get your hands on a woman not even half your age, and plotting to kill her husband on their wedding day? Did you think you could get away with such acts?”
“Ugh….”
“The feeble son of a scholarly family, so frail that one day he might just drop dead, you probably thought there would be no consequences.”
Cardine, with a face covered in blood, trembled.
He was particularly taken aback by the stark change in Sirius’s demeanor since the wedding.
“But now, consequences have caught up. How will you fix this mess?”
“Sirius…!”
In a fit of rage, Cardine shouted and raised his right hand.
Though his palm faced forward, it wasn’t a gesture to stop Sirius.
Then, the space around them trembled.
“You bastard…!”
Whoosh!
In an instant, flames erupted from Cardine’s ‘magic formula.’
It was a powerful fire reminiscent of the Yeoakhwangong (炎獄火王功) of the Flame Demon Yoma, which had faced the Heavenly Master Bai Murang before.
Knowing that even a Level 5 Circle Mage could produce such intense flames, one shouldn’t underestimate the magic of this world.
“Die…!”
Crash!
The intense flames swept through the reception room.
Such was its strength that even the walls crumbled.
Amidst the roaring flames, as Cardine opened his eyes to find the charred body, a moment passed.
“Argh…!”
Thud!
Cardine’s right hand fell to the floor.
It was severed by Sirius’s blade that had dashed from the corner.
In the world of martial arts, a sorcerer without military skills would never be able to stand against the Dark Shadow Decapitation Sword Technique, the top secret technique of the Nanggyo-in (狼咬刃).
“You, where did you get that sword from…?”
“When you entered the reception room, didn’t you see it? It was hanging on the wall.”
…!
Originally, this long sword was a decoration in the reception room.
It was taken out from the warehouse and used by Sirius, but yesterday, he asked a maid to redecorate it back in the reception room.
Avoiding Cardain’s flame magic, Sirius took up the sword, closing the distance and severing Cardain’s wrist with a single stroke.
It was only possible due to his training in spells, divine arts, and martial arts during a short period.
“What is going on here?”
At that moment, as the reception room door opened, Yustia rushed in.
She widened her eyes at the sight of Cardain losing his wrist.
“C-Cardain, how did this happen…?”
“Yustia…!”
Cardain urgently exclaimed.
“Your husband did this to me! Suddenly striking my cheek and then cutting off my right hand, as if it were a sorcerer’s life…!”
…!
Yustia, shocked, looked at Sirius’s face.
“S-Sirius, what in the world…?”
“Yustia, look around carefully.”
“What?”
Sirius scanned the still fiery reception room and said, “I heard that when a sorcerer loses the hand they usually use, it becomes difficult to cast spells. So, rather than me severing Cardain’s right hand, Cardain used flame magic here first.”
…!
“As a man who should protect the people of the Regal family as the Chief of Security, he cast flame magic at the youngest daughter of the Regal family.”
That’s right.
That’s why Sirius let Cardain use magic.
“Moreover, this place is where Yustia, the youngest daughter of the Regal family, was. To use flame magic in such a place… Was he okay with Yustia burning to death?”
“N-No!”
Cardain denied with a flustered expression.
“That’s not it! I never had any intention of harming Yustia…!”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Sirius said in a casual tone.
“Because you wanted to kill me and make Yustia your woman.”
…!
A stir arose.
Even the maids standing behind Yustia widened their eyes in astonishment.
“Listen up, everyone.”
To make sure everyone present could hear, he spoke clearly.
“Chief of Security, Cardain Yuterus, was attempting to kill me, Sirius Canisroot, and take Yustia Regal, the youngest daughter of the Regal family, as his own. Today, the dangerous flame magic used here, and even the incident at the wedding banquet where I was made to drink poisonous wine, all of it… is because of this.”
“I couldn’t just leave this audacious man alone. It’s not because he aimed for my life…”
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In front of the breathless audience, Sirius spoke forcefully.
To clarify that this was not a personal dispute, but a fight with legitimate grounds.
“It’s because he coveted my wife, Justia Rigel.”
“…!”
“As a son-in-law of the Rigel family, I couldn’t tolerate Cardine Yuterus, who dared to cross the youngest daughter of the Rigel family.”
The maids gasped.
Even Justia was wide-eyed, unable to speak.
Of course, this is merely a superficial justification.
Sirius and Justia are nothing more than a formal contractual relationship.
Even if Cardine coveted Justia, there is no real reason to be angry.
Nevertheless, Sirius is acting this way because it’s a perfect pretext to use.
“No, that’s not it! Justia, he was the one who started it… Ugh!”
Sirius once again struck Cardine’s face.
Even the remaining teeth would have been shattered.
“Sto-op…”
Cardine could no longer speak and only groaned.
Sirius reached out and grabbed his throat.
“I’ll take care of him, so I hope you all extinguish the fire.”
“Yes…!”
The maids moved belatedly.
If left unchecked, not only the reception room but the entire annex could go up in flames, so the fire needed to be put out quickly.
After assigning the maids to handle the fire, Sirius began dragging Cardine away.
Left alone, Justia stared with a speechless expression.
“Sirius…”
Originally, Justia knew Cardine was targeting her, but she was unaware that Cardine was trying to kill Sirius.
Moreover, she never expected Sirius to retaliate and take down Cardine… not at all.
“Seriously, how…?”
How did he subdue Cardine, a 5th Circle wizard?
And how will he handle this situation?
Justia was asking herself.
“Don’t worry, Justia.”
“…!”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Leaving the wide-eyed Justia behind, Sirius dragged Cardine outside.
“Ugh!”
As he threw him to the cold ground, Cardine screamed.
Looking down at him, Sirius delivered another blow.
“Stop exaggerating. It’s not a fatal injury.”
“Ugh, ugh…”
“Ah, I forgot.”
Reaching out, she grabbed Carden’s hair.
“Carden, what drug did you give me at the banquet?”
“Oh, I didn’t give you any… Eek!”
As she raised her other hand, Carden screamed.
He was afraid he might get hit again.
“I, I don’t know! I really don’t!”
“Are you going to keep playing dumb?”
“Seriously! I just mixed the powder your lord gave me into the drink! I don’t know what kind of drug it is!”
“…”
It didn’t seem like he was lying.
Powdered medicine… What on earth could it be?
“Then, I guess we need to take care of your lord to resolve everything.”
“W-What!?”
Just capturing Carden wouldn’t solve the problem.
They needed to settle things with the Yuterus Family behind him.
“Sirius, are you… truly out of your mind?”
Trembling, Carden spoke.
“Hey, from the start, do you think you can cause such trouble and get away with it?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you directly confront the Yuterus Family, do you think a small family like the Rigel Family can survive even a day? But you dare…!”
“Such a thing will not happen, don’t worry.”
“W-What did you say?”
“You can understand by observing the actions of your Yuterus Family.”
Looking down at Carden, she spoke.
“What the Yuterus Family wants is to peacefully absorb the Rigel Family. They cannot annihilate the Rigel Family by force.”
“…!”
The Rigel Family is one of the top five noble families on the continent.
The Yuterus Family, with a short history, aims to elevate its status by absorbing the Rigel Family.
After seizing control of the Rigel Family internally, they plan to unite the two families through marriage.
“The reason you haven’t coerced the Rigel Family into submission by force so far is that such methods won’t gain recognition from other families. To secure your noble status, you have no choice but to peacefully absorb the Rigel Family.”
“Ugh…”
The Yuterus Family has made many efforts to control the Rigel Family.
It’s not like all those efforts will go to waste just because Carden got caught.
“Still, you can’t just let this slide, right?”
“W-Well, at least not with you…”
The best course of action the Yuterus Family can take in the current situation is to target Sirius alone.
By killing Sirius, they can shift all the blame onto him.
Carden is innocent, it was Sirius who mistakenly attacked him with a knife.
Then, they can politely protest to the Rigel Family, receive an apology, and solidify the superior-inferior relationship even further.
Place Yustia here, and the Uterus family can accept the Rigel family.
“Just like you, definitely…”
“Yeah, you must want revenge too.”
Sirius grabbed Cardine by the hair and dragged him along.
In front of the annex, the horse Cardine rode was waiting.
“Go to the lord and plead. Tell them that Sirius Canisroot must be killed.”
“Ugh…”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Putting Cardine on the horse, he smacked its rear to start the journey.
Now, Cardine would return to the Uterus main house, explain what had happened, and ask for revenge.
If the Uterus family moves to kill Sirius… a new justification arises.
It would create a reason to sweep away the Uterus family.
“Sirius, just wait a little.”
Watching Cardine ride off on the horse, he muttered to himself.
“The ones who tried to kill you will soon pay for their sins.”
As if responding to his soliloquy, his heart beat faster.