BXBX NOVEL Chapter 38: Lion's Child
"B-but the prince… ."
"You piece of trash!"
puck!
"Ahh!"
While the soldiers who opened the castle gate were being beaten mercilessly, the nobles of Hilfin Castle, including Maldin,
were shouting in the banquet hall where they thought they had tricked Carl and were contemplating what to do next.
"If the prince dies, it\'s over! We must send relief troops immediately!"
"Salvation? gibberish! Then who will guard the castle?"
"Isn\'t now the time to discuss such things?"
Your Majesty the Emperor will never sit idly by and ignore this matter!"
"Is it possible to be saved in the first place? huh? If that were possible, the territory wouldn\'t have been polluted by gnolls!"
While the nobles are clamoring, it is revealed to the world that they know everything about the situation in the Barony of Hilfin.
"Isn\'t this bad news caused by neglecting to watch over the prince in the first place?"
"If you think about it that way, it\'s not your fault for being deceived at the banquet! And then they opened the castle gate right away when they told me to open it! How the military discipline has collapsed!"
In the end, it was time to shift responsibility to each other. Guard Captain Bordeaux, who was targeted, opens his mouth with a cold face.
"There are not many soldiers left in the castle. Those who opened the gates were just farmers. Wasn\'t it you who suggested that things that had never held a spear be given armor to make them look more attractive? Think of the hard work of soldiers who have to do a lot of work with a small number of people. Shouldn\'t they rest too?"
Although this is true in every detail, it does not change the fact that in the end, the gate was entrusted to a single farmer.
Even if there was no manpower, the responsibility would not be avoided.
In the midst of all the shouting, Maldin, sober from alcohol, was silent, only rubbing his forehead.
" Stop! What kind of disgrace is this!"
In the end, it was only when Fardin, who couldn\'t hear anything, stood up and shouted, that the commotion finally subsided.
"Isn\'t it time to talk about responsibility? There\'s still a chance! Right Now… !"
"…Yes, that is correct."
In response to Fardin\'s impassioned speech, Maldin, who had been silent, finally opened his mouth.
"father."
Fardin looks back at Maldin.
But at the next words, his face is distorted in despair.
"It was all over anyway. If the prince dies, the emperor will draw his sword. If the prince survives, he will tell everything to the emperor. In the end, the emperor will draw his sword."
"What on earth… ."
Fardin glared at his father. Maldin slowly stands up and speaks heavily.
"I\'m going to Valturan. Hurry up and pack your bags."
"father!"
Fardin, shocked by Maldin\'s words, screams and grabs his father\'s shoulder. However, Maldin shook off his son\'s hand with his massive shoulders that were not appropriate for his age and spoke firmly.
"It\'s already late. It\'s the same for all of you. The emperor will not hold people accountable regardless of right or wrong. If you want to live, you have to come with me. do not worry. Even if they were Marquis Gasto and Valturan, they wouldn\'t be able to refuse the huge amount of money pouring in.
It\'s not a problem to go to Valturan and settle down."
"Are you out of your mind! To leave like this, leaving behind the people of the territory... !"
"Fardin!"
Maldin grabbed Fardin, who was screaming in anger, by the collar with his large hands and roared like thunder.
"I say this for everyone! For everyone here! And for you, my son!"
"… ."
The \'everyone\' that Maldin refers to does not include the commoners who make up the majority of the territory\'s residents.
Fardin looked blankly at Maldin with a shocked face.
"… Go ahead and pack your bags. hurry!"
At Maldin\'s words, the nobles stood up with pale faces and quickly dispersed.
Maldin huffed as he looked at Fardin, who was mesmerized, and whispered in a heavy voice.
"… I did it all for you. every. For you, my only son."
Then, to give Fardin time to collect his thoughts, Maldin strode away, leaving him behind.
Fardin looked at the back of his only family, his father Maldin, and lowered his head.
I don\'t know what to do.
"Can we talk for a moment?"
At that time, an unfamiliar voice is addressed to Fardin. Fardin, startled, turns around to see a pale-faced Harman quietly looking at him.
\'That Basterd!\'
Contrary to his calm expression, Harman once again shouted the curse he had uttered over a hundred times towards Carl.
Harmon is not stupid. He already knew why Carl left him at Hilfin Castle.
If Harman stays like this, he will be killed by Hilfin nobles before the gnolls. Because they have to silence him.
However, even if he is lucky enough to survive, if Carl dies, he will be held responsible and punished, and his family will not be able to avoid the emperor\'s sword.
In other words, Harman must somehow find a way out of Hilfin Castle as Carl intended, save Carl, and complete the mission of subduing the monster!
"Fardin, the future of Hilfin, and the future of the innocent people of the territory, depend on your decision. They have already turned around, and without you, we cannot calm this terrible situation."
Harmon whispered thoughtfully, recalling the contents of the meeting he observed quietly in the dark.
"Fardin, please make a decision for the people of the territory who trust and follow you. To the extent that you have enjoyed your rights as a noble, please fulfill your responsibilities as a noble."
"…What can I do?"
Harman realized from Fardin\'s confused words that he had already crossed over.
For Harman, the imperial servant, looking into the inner thoughts of a nobleman from a rural estate was nothing.
… Even Harman was fooled by Carl.
"Fardin, aren\'t there any knights and soldiers left in the castle? And supplies."
"But they won\'t obey me. My father, the lord... ."
"Your father? Aren\'t you the lord? Baron Hilfin."
"… "
Fardin\'s mouth fell silent when Harman called him \'Baron Hilfin\'.
"Those ruthless people who turn their backs on the scales of the empire are no longer the nobles of the empire. Now there is only one legitimate Hilfin bloodline."
When it seemed that Fardeen had almost crossed over but did not, Harman secretly spit out poison hidden under his tongue to drive the wedge in.
"Master Carl was paying attention to you. To you who suffered alone in the banquet hall."
"Ahhhh..."
As an imperial noble, Harman is a man with a wide perspective and good sense.
He was helping Carl, who was pretending to be drunk at the banquet, and looking around the banquet hall, which was too small and shabby compared to the imperial palace.
And truly exquisitely, Fardin did not forget that Carl, who must have been drunk, looked at him with clear eyes.
Looking at Fardin\'s face changing every moment, Harman muttered to himself.
\'You\'re being completely fooled.\'
Those were words directed at Fardin, who was distracted by his words, but at the same time, they were self-deprecating for having no choice but to act according to Carol\'s intentions.
Harman thought he was sick and stupid, but he couldn\'t even look into 4th Prince Carl\'s heart.
Indeed, the lion\'s child was a lion.