Chapter 320: Chapter 317: Raising the Stakes

“Kroel, what are you going to do tomorrow when you see His Majesty the King?”

In the room, the five people who had clashed with Ronin were gathered, discussing their next move.

Cross, who had his ribs broken, was feeling much better after being treated by the court physician, but he was still resting in bed and hadn’t gotten up.

“What’s there to be afraid of?”

He wasn’t worried in the least. “The rumors we spread about Ronin weren’t fabricated out of thin air. He can’t accuse us of slander. Besides, I’m His Majesty the King’s nephew. We all have the blood of the Oduin Clan in our veins. You think His Majesty would favor the scion of a fallen Marquis Clan over us?”

Facundo, who was standing to the side, rubbed his nose and chuckled awkwardly. “Well, members of the Fleming Clan don’t have Oduin blood in our veins.”

“Oh, what’s there to fear.”

The speaker was Sally, who had grown close with Facundo of Screaming Island.

“The Fleming Clan is a Magic Family, and your grandfather is a Great Mage. They’re much more powerful than the Wushan Clan.”

A Marquis is a high-ranking noble, but a lofty noble title doesn’t always command fear.

Take the Fleming Clan of Screaming Island, for example. Though they were an Earl Clan, their power was no less than that of Wushan Castle, so naturally, they had nothing to fear.

“You don’t need to worry either,”

Cross said, “I’ve already sent my knight outside the palace to contact my uncle, Hamande. He’ll join us tomorrow to see His Majesty. Heh, that Ronin injures me, and before I can even demand compensation, he has the gall to ask for Fifty Thousand Gold Coins. Where in the world does he think he is?”

They all thought His Majesty the King would summon them both tomorrow, but they didn’t expect that Bruno wouldn’t wait until then, not even delaying for a few hours.

「A little over half an hour later.」

Both parties were gathered in Oduin Hall.

At this moment, Tom and David, who were carried in on soft chairs, were filled with excitement.

On this trip with their Lord, not only had they witnessed the bustling Royal Capital and had the honor of entering the Golden Feather Palace, but now they were in Oduin Hall, a place ordinary people could never enter.

This was a glorious moment in their lives, even if they were here as injured parties.

“Alright, young ones, tell me your stories.”

His Majesty Bruno sat upon the throne, smiling as he surveyed the group below him. They were all very young.

His gaze fell upon Cross, who was also reclining on a soft chair.

“Cross, you may speak first.”

Cross gave a respectful Knight’s salute. “Your Majesty, what happened was very simple. My friends and I were merely making a few idle remarks about Ronin when his two attendants came forward to accuse and insult us. To protect our families’ honor, we acted to teach them a lesson. We never expected Ronin to then attack and injure my knight. He even broke two of my ribs!”

“Your… Your Majesty, they’re lying!!”

Tom and David grew anxious. Facing the King, they were so agitated that their voices trembled.

’Just as expected of ignorant people who have never seen the world,’ the young noble lords and ladies on the other side sneered inwardly at the display.

“Don’t rush. Speak slowly,” Ronin said.

His voice was like a shot of courage, calming their panic.

“Your Majesty, we happened to hear them insulting Lord Ronin, calling him a good-for-nothing and a disgrace to the nobility. We were just about to step forward and stop them when Cross and Facundo each kicked us, breaking our ribs!”

“That’s right, Your Majesty! We never even had a chance to accuse or insult these lords and ladies. For Cross, the eldest grandson of the Villa Duchy, to frame us like this… he’s truly bringing shame to the Villa Clan!”

“As if you’re even worthy of us framing you?”

The speaker was Milanie, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Ferrensburg. She was also Bruno’s niece and was in a marriage alliance with Cross.

“We are high nobles with the blood of the Oduin Royal Family in our veins, while you are lowly commoners. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t even deign to look at you, let alone frame you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I think these people are just here to stir up trouble.”

“Besides, we weren’t deliberately slandering Ronin. Everything we said were things he actually did.”

“He forced a noble lady into his bed, driving her to suicide! A person like that isn’t fit to be a noble!”

They spoke one after another, and the barrage of accusations and insults against Ronin began anew.

’Heh,’ Ronin thought. ’Nobles may seem polite and respectful on a normal day, but once you anger them, they sling insults with spittle flying everywhere, no different from commoners in the market.’

It was hard on Tom and David, though. As boys from the deep mountains who hadn’t seen much of the world, they were so incensed by the nobles’ barrage of insults and accusations that their faces turned beet red, yet they were too stunned to utter a single word in response.

The solemn Oduin Hall descended into utter chaos.

“Enough!”

After the argument had gone on for some time, Bruno finally spoke up, putting a stop to the farce.

He looked at Ronin. “Everyone has stated their opinion. What about you, Ronin? What do you have to say?”

’To be honest, if it were just these accusations, my approach would be to punish both sides equally,’ he thought. ’I wouldn’t help Cross, but I wouldn’t deliberately favor Ronin either.’

Ronin bowed to Bruno, then turned to Cross. “I have only four questions for you. First, who struck the first blow and injured my attendants? Second, who tried to deliver a killing blow when my attendants were already unable to fight back? Third, who attacked me first? And fourth, who, upon realizing they couldn’t win, called a group of people to mob me?”

With every question Ronin asked, an image surfaced in Cross’s mind.

And in every image, the person was him.

“So what if it was me every time?”

Cross sneered. “If your attendants hadn’t started it, none of this would have happened.”

’Ronin knew it too. This kind of back-and-forth accusation was a troublesome affair. After all, there were no cameras or recording pens.’

’He needed to escalate this conflict, preferably by dragging the King, who was acting as the judge, into the fray.’

“Your Majesty, I wish to duel Cross. But not just for myself and the Wushan Clan—it is also for you, Your Majesty, and for the late King Klinsmann.”

Bruno was taken aback. ’How did a minor squabble suddenly involve me?’

’It was one thing to involve me, but how did Ronin drag my dead father into it? When Klinsmann died, the oldest of these kids was only four or five.’

“Ronin, those are not words to be spoken lightly.”

Ronin explained, “Cross said that the Wushan Clan was able to become a Marquis Clan only because King Klinsmann was moved by the grief of losing his son and being seriously injured by my grandfather, and thus charitably bestowed the Noble Title of Marquis upon us. By saying this, they are questioning the fairness of the Oduin Royal Family. After all, every Professional Knight knows that the only way to become a noble is through unwavering loyalty and abundant military merit.”

“More importantly, their tone at the time revealed disdain and doubt toward His Majesty Klinsmann.”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Cross roared angrily.

The people beside him also grew anxious, not expecting Ronin to say such a thing.

Heaven knows, they had never shown any disdain or doubt toward His Majesty Klinsmann.

“Cross, just tell us, did you say those words or not?”

Ronin said lightly, “Oh, that’s right. I remember it was Lord Facundo of Screaming Island who said the latter part, but you stood up for him afterward.”

Bruno frowned and looked at Facundo. “Is that what you truly believe?”

Facundo’s hackles rose like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He hurriedly dropped to one knee. “Your Majesty, I…”

He was about to deny it, but he seemed to recall actually saying it, and he couldn’t be sure if any outsiders had been present at the time.

’If I insist now that I didn’t say it, and am later exposed, that would be deceiving His Majesty the King—a far more serious matter than slandering Ronin’s two attendants.’

“Your Majesty, I did say those words, but I never showed any disdain or doubt toward His Majesty Klinsmann. This is Ronin’s slander!”

Ronin followed up, “Your Majesty, there are many suspicious points regarding my past, such as Selena’s suicide. I was drunk and unconscious that night. And as you know, for a man who is dead drunk, that… thing… is useless.”

Bruno shot him a glare, indicating that he did not, in fact, know.

Blanche, sitting beside him, also understood. Though a little embarrassed, she was very concerned about this matter. After all, if the rumor were true, she would harbor some regret and resentment.

“In my opinion, it’s more likely that certain people wanted to use her death to solidify my reputation as a good-for-nothing, and through a series of machinations, strip me of my right of succession as the eldest grandson.”

Blanche tilted her head in thought. It seemed this possibility was quite high, and the regret and resentment in her heart faded considerably.

Bruno nodded inwardly, but said aloud, “Ronin, we are discussing the conflict, not your private affairs.”

’It’s not exactly a glamorous private matter. Dredging it up repeatedly isn’t a good thing.’

“The two matters are connected.”

Ronin explained, “The more the rumors about me spread, the more people will believe I am that kind of person, and they will no longer seek the truth. Similarly, if Facundo’s words get out and spread widely, the Knights and nobles of the Kingdom, great and small, might also come to believe that they can obtain a Noble Title simply by playing the victim to gain His Majesty the King’s sympathy.”

“Once this mentality spreads, how many Knights and nobles will lose their will to be loyal to Your Majesty? Once everyone thinks this way, the Oduin Kingdom will lose a great number of battle-hardened Knights and gain a great many professional victims and performers. When that time comes, how will we face our powerful enemy, the Tricia Kingdom?”

As he spoke, he looked at His Majesty the King. “Don’t think they are merely slandering the Wushan Clan. In truth, they are endangering Your Majesty’s rule and the very foundation of the Kingdom!”

Ronin took a deep breath and said solemnly, “Therefore, for you, and for the Oduin Kingdom, I must draw my sword against them to stop the spread of such talk!”

Cross was left speechless, and Facundo was drenched in a cold sweat.

’Could a single careless sentence they spoke really have such a great impact?’

Ronin’s words were a bit of a stretch, and the impact wasn’t as severe as he described.

But upon closer analysis, there seemed to be some truth to it.

Bruno wore a thoughtful expression.

’The one thing he wanted most in his life was to destroy the Tricia Kingdom and establish the Oduin Empire.’

’Therefore, he needed many Knights to serve him and fight for him.’

’Although Ronin’s words were exaggerated and seemed intended to drag others into his mess, as long as there was even a slight possibility of them being true, he had to take them seriously.’

’Besides, he had intended to favor Ronin in this conflict from the start; he had just lacked a reasonable justification.’

’Now, a reasonable justification had arrived.’

Bruno looked to the Minister of Justice at his side. “Texas, how do you think this matter should be handled?”

The summoned Minister of Justice was in a difficult position. They were still in the stage of mutual accusations. While it seemed Ronin had the upper hand, it was difficult for him to pass judgment on the children of several great clans based on this alone.

“Your Majesty, this conflict…”

“No, I’m not talking about this conflict.”

Bruno cut him off. “I’m talking about the matter of them questioning the legitimacy of the former king’s decision to name the Wushan Clan as a Marquis Clan, and of them spreading false information.”

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