Seeing Gino rolling on the ground, Michael couldn’t come to his senses. I couldn’t understand what was happening now.
Gino, who was on the strong side even in the Knights of the Golden Lion, was blown away by that drunkard?
‘Am I dreaming now?’
Even if I pulled the ball all the way, the only thing that came back was pain. He admitted it only after pulling it until he was about to get a scar on his cheek.
This nightmare was reality itself.
“A very honorable duel. Right, brother?”
Michael flinched at the words of Luke, who had come close to him. Only then did he recall the oath he had made before the duel.
‘What the f*ck…!’
If you swore in a place where only the parties could see, you wouldn’t know again. He even set up a notary named Sir Werner.
It was an oath that couldn’t be broken.
“Brother, there is no answer. Dongsaeng?”
“…”
Michael closed his mouth at the smirking voice. Damn it, what do I do? Should I just say nothing and hold on?
As if he had noticed that expectation, Luke whispered in his ear.
“I made an oath to call you big brother, so if I don’t call you even once, it’s a broken oath. Do you know what that means?”
Michael’s hands trembled. It was a lousy interpretation for him, but it couldn’t be said outright wrong.
Michael, who was rolling his head here and there, met eyes with Sir Werner, who stood firm.
And he opened his mouth in the most sorrowful voice.
“Sir Werner.”
“The oath is sacred, Master Michael. Do not try to find a way out.”
“…”
Attempts to ask for a favorable interpretation of the oath were shattered before they even began.
It was a board that would rather interpret it in favor of Luke if he said more.
Michael took a few deep breaths before opening his mouth.
“…Nieim.”
“hmm? What did you say just now?”
“Tongue… Unni… Lim!”
It felt like my intestines were breaking with every word I uttered. I barely heard my older brother and looked at Luke with a face asking if this was enough.
Luke opened his mouth in amazement.
“No, how do you know that?”
“…?”
I called it whatever I wanted, what kind of bullsh*t is this? As Michael tilted his head, Luke teased his mouth.
“Didn’t you just say tongue-tong? It is a vegetable that few people know. It has leaves resembling the tongue, and the fruit looks like a burdock, hence the name Tongue-Eongnip. It is a vegetable that few people know about because it only grows in certain southern regions.”
“…!”
“I grew up in the South, so you might know Sir Bruno. How is it?”
“Oh, I know. Tongue – butt. It is a very rare plant. By the way, I didn’t know that Master Michael was aware of Tongue-Asshole.”
“yes? What a surprise.”
You sons of b*tches! Seeing the master and servant nodding at each other, Michael’s eyes trembled. It sounds like bullsh*t, but the truth is obvious.
‘Tell me straight, it’s a baby. Don’t roll your tongue.’
After reading the silent pressure from the two, Michael took a deep breath. The moment I relaxed even a little, it seemed like I was going to swear or something.
After grinding his teeth, Michael spat out clearly for everyone to hear.
“older brother.”
“what? Tongue-f*ck?”
“older brother! Brother Luke!”
Because he exerted so much force, blood gushed out of his mouth. Seeing that, Luke nodded in satisfaction and spread his arms.
“okay! This is Luke’s older brother. That’s great, little brother!”
“…!”
Suppressing his anger, Michael turned his back on Luke and headed outside the gymnasium. I felt like I would vomit blood from a tantrum if I stayed here any longer.
Luke took his eyes off Michael, who was disappearing, and exchanged glances with Bruno.
‘Good job.’
‘It’s a piece of cake.’
The master and servant raised a thumbs up with a grin. Werner, who was watching this, opened his mouth blankly.
‘Does Master Luke have such an aspect?’
I thought it would only show the pure appearance of a hero, but I never thought he would use a trick and fall into a trap.
The image he had built up so far collapsed in an instant. Contrary to expectations, Luke is not a pure knight!
‘He must have had the heart of a lion and the cunning of a fox. A great monarch might be more suitable than a heroic knight.’
…The bean pods were interpreted as good in any way once written.
****
After the confrontation, Michael never looked for Luke. Even when the count tried to introduce himself, he desperately refused.
It was natural. An oath once made cannot be revoked.
If you have a conversation in any way, you have to call him hyungnim, so who would want to meet him? It’s right in front of my eyes, but I can’t keep my mouth shut forever.
However, no matter how much Michael was holding his breath, the situation around him did not let him go.
“Did you hear about Sir Bruno’s confrontation?”
“I heard that Master Michael’s knight was completely destroyed.”
“Tsk tsk. They say being ignorant is brave.”
Details, including the oath, were not spread, but the confrontation between Gino and Bruno and the result were known.
From noble mtl dot com
The other knights and servants laughed at Jino, seeing it as a fight out of friendly spirit.
He said he was a fool who started a fight without recognizing a skilled player. At that time, it seemed that Michael would turn around.
It was Michael who challenged Jino to a confrontation, so in fact, aren’t those all curses that Michael deserves to hear?
‘Shut up, shut up! Are you guys insulting me now!’
While shouting that, the urge to grab the servants by the collar came to mind dozens of times. However, if that happened, I would have to reveal the circumstances and even the oath.
As a bonus, it was obvious that he would be considered an idiot who didn’t even recognize the skills of the knights in the family, even though he was the deficit of the Bernstein family.
Inevitably, Michael had to close his ears and suppress his anger. The problem did not end there.
“I don’t think I can cure it.”
“What do you mean?”
At the priest’s words, Michael’s eyes shook mercilessly. I called in to treat Jino’s arm, but was it impossible to cure it?
“With treatment, you can recover to a level where you do not have problems in your daily life. But you won’t be able to wield a sword on the battlefield.”
“…!”
At least Michael almost collapsed on the spot. Where the hell would a knight who couldn’t fight on the battlefield be used?
Even more unfortunate was the fact that he had already signed a lifetime contract with Gino. A lifetime contract is literally a contract for life.
It was the master’s duty to take care of the knight until the end, even if he was crippled on the battlefield or retired due to old age, instead of giving his life to be loyal.
“Lord, Lord. I have given my allegiance to my lord.”
“I know, so shut up!”
Michael felt his blood gushing backwards and yelled at Gino.
He was kicked out of the Knights from the beginning for causing accidents such as killing fellow knights with whom he had a bad relationship, or raping a maid on the spot while drunk.
At least, I recruited him after seeing one with good skills, but he couldn’t even use it and ended up wasting money.
‘I’d rather die, why am I still alive and crippled!’
I couldn’t bear to say it, so I shot Jino. After reading Michael’s gaze, Gino quickly averted his gaze and kept his mouth shut.
In any case, as long as the contract is signed, if you hold your breath, your old age is guaranteed. As Michael gnashed his teeth, he remembered the culprit behind this situation.
‘This is all because of him!’
Michael clenched his fists and thought of Luke. It couldn’t have ended without being unilaterally beaten by him like this.
There was a long-term word that was perfect for writing at a time like this. Michael ordered the servant next to him.
“Call the warehouse keeper Max.”
****
After a while, a middle-aged servant entered Michael’s room. He was a normal-looking man, except that he had a limp in one leg.
“Did you call, young master?”
“Yes, Max. I was supposed to come home and find you first, but I was busy and couldn’t.”
“Oh, what are you saying? Thank you for not forgetting.”
Max rubbed his hands together and lowered his head as if he were about to touch the floor. When Michael called Max, it was usually when he had something to do.
It would have been dissatisfying if it was simply done, but the extra income that followed in return was savory.
“I have something to do for you.”
“Just tell me.”
I knew it. As expected, Max smiled and moved closer. I want to have fun in the brothel under the estate like before, so I need to prepare an escape route.
Or is it that the necessary items are properly stowed away from the warehouse so that they are not visible?
“Are you sure your former job was an assassin?”
“Yes, yes.”
I shuddered at the sudden story of my ex. It’s been a while since I’ve washed my hands, but thanks to what I learned then, I’m quite confident in my behind-the-scenes work.
It was thanks to the skills he had learned then that he was able to earn pocket money while cleaning up for Michael.
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden…?”
“I’m going to use your skills on that bastard.”
“Do, young boy!”
Max sighed and sat down. To kill a bastard who is not just a noble, but is favored by the count?
Anyway, isn’t this what it is!
“Yeah, I can’t do that. Please look at me, Bocchan.”
“Why is the Assassin so cowardly?”
“Even assassins are afraid of nobles!”
When commoners think of assassins, they all think of similar images. Two eyes twinkling in the dark, movements like ghosts, cold-blooded without blood or tears.
Fool the escorts swarming around, kill the entourage knights nearby, and then decapitate the target.
And the existence of darkness that slowly disappears with the shadows. That’s an assassin! It wasn’t even funny from Max’s point of view.
‘Sitpal, what kind of superhuman is an assassin? If that’s possible, a vampire or a goblin.’
In reality, the assassination was a bit messier and louder. First of all, getting close to the target without being noticed is a challenge in itself.
At best, it was almost impossible to kill unnoticed, even if you got close.
Therefore, in most assassinations, the point was to approach the target, kill it somehow, and run away with all your might before being caught.
‘And which mad assassin is targeting a nobleman? As long as it’s not that I’m crazy because I want to die.’
Assassination of aristocrats was a huge problem in itself. It sets a precedent that the entire aristocratic class can be assassinated the moment they condone an assassination.
Therefore, when an assassination of an aristocratic target occurred, all the surrounding territories united and culled the individual assassin or organization without leaving a bone.
In the midst of this, there were no assassins who survived, even if there were many innocent victims, because I killed them if I wanted to raise suspicion.
Naturally, the main customers and targets of assassins were wealthy merchants or mercenary captains, not nobles. The only exception is assassination by resentment.
“Anyway, I can’t. I’d rather kill you.”
“noisy. Who told you to assassinate you? Listen to the end.”
“yes? If it’s not an assassination, then what…?”
Looking at the bewildered Max, Michael smiled coldly.
“Simple. All you have to do is harass the bastard a little bit. Specifically, I can make it impossible to sleep.”
“Does it make you sleepless?”
“You can pretend to be a ghost. Or you can make a lot of noise, and you can make it look like you’re being targeted by a real assassin.”
“ah!”
Only then did Max understand what he was saying and patted his knee. In short, make Luke nervous in some way.
Certainly, the risk was low if that was the case. It was enough for me to make enough noise so that I couldn’t sleep at night and run away repeatedly.
“Ha, but if you get caught, won’t you be accused of being a real assassin?”
“Let’s sell our worries. Did you even have a weapon? Besides, how many years have you been working at the mansion? In addition, I will defend you, so what’s the problem?”
“That’s right, but…”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you about your pay this time. This is an advance payment.”
A money bag fell in front of Max. Max’s eyes widened as he looked at the pockets full of bright red gold coins.