Chapter 121 (2/2)

“Do you still have the same dream we had?”

“I swear it.”

“That’s fine. I leave my daughters to you. Make sure Sir Isaac keeps his promise.”

“… What?”

Smack!

Pount turned with great surprise, but Wolfgang’s hand was quicker in striking the back of Pount’s neck, incapacitating him. Isaac pouted as he complained.

“Wow! I see that a society based on credit and trust is still in the distance. You don’t believe me?”

“In human terms, credit and lies mean the same thing.”

Isaac nodded in agreement to Wolfgang and snickered. Count Wolfgang stood up and shouted at his men.

“Now ! Raise your swords! This is our last battle! We will become the foundation that holds up the Dukedom of Wolfgang!”

“Uwooooh!”

Wolfgang’s soldiers and knights roared along with Wolfgang. Isaac ordered to have the fainted Pount removed from the area and spoke to Rivelia and his agents.

“They are people who live and die by the sword just like you. Why don’t you give them a proper farewell for their last moments.”

Rivelia and Isaac’s agents began taking off their hoods and cape, and even their defensive coats. Isaac frowned.

“… What are you doing?”

“We are giving them a proper farewell, just as you ordered.”

Kainen replied. Isaac smirked and left them to do what they wanted. He picked up a cigarette and sat next to Laila, striking a conversation with her.

“I swear everyone wants to look cool. Brat, this is my first lesson. Look over there. Does it look cool? It’s all useless. It’s much more efficient to finish the job quickly and rest at home than prattle on and try to look good.”

“But you’re the one who spoke the most here.”

Isaac’s mouth stopped. His eyes gleamed as he stared deeply into Laia before smiling.

“Ha. You’re definitely something alright. I thought you might have been a decent piece of insurance, but I think I hit the jackpot.”

Isaac mumbled to himself as Wolfgang and Rivelia’s swords clashed, signalling the start of the battle between the Count and Isaac’s agents. Though the Count’s men were elites moulded by experience in battle, Central’s agents were savants that had undergone rigorous selection processes.

Though the battle was fierce, only men of Count Wolfgang fell to the ground. After some time, the Banquet Hall was quiet, save for the sounds of Wolfgang and Rivelia’s duel.

The agents circled around them, forming a stage. They hit the tip of their swords onto the ground on a rhythm. Within the strange echoes of the arena, Wolfgang and Rivelia’s swords danced.

They cut, parry, stabbed, and swung, measuring each other’s strength. Their swords would sometimes intertwine, only to separate in an instant—when all of a sudden, Wolfgang’s sword flashed and struck at Rivelia’s heart like lightning.

The sword’s tip was only a handspan away from Rivelia, when she suddenly spun and parried Wolfgang’s sword towards the ceiling. Rivelia immediately followed with a cut at Wolfgang’s chest.

“Dad!”

Laila’s scream momentarily slowed Rivelia’s swing, but it was too late. Blood poured from Wolfgang’s open chest, and he knelt onto the ground.

Rivelia hesitated to give the finis.h.i.+ng blow, when Count Wolfgang raised his hand, stopping her.

“Stop. I have lost. You are indeed a Sword Master. It was an honour to fight you.”

“I will ease your pain.”

Rivelia’s voice quivered, but Wolfgang refused Rivelia’s offer.

“You are not the person who will kill me.”

Wolfgang struggled to catch his breath. He looked at Elena, Julia and smiled at Laila, albeit weakly. His eyes then turned to Isaac.

“Come, Sir Isaac. It is you who will kill me.”

“Your body won’t be in a pretty state if you die to me you know? You sure you want to see your kid off as a b.l.o.o.d.y mess?”

“Even better.”

Isaac’s eyes opened wide at Wolfgang’s delighted response while Isaac’s agents mumbled amongst one another. They had been first-hand witness to the shotgun’s ability to ravage the human body into a ragged jumble of meat.

Isaac exchanged looks with Wolfgang for a moment, then shook his head as if he’d lost and stood up.

“Man. You’re a great man. You really are. Is this what a n.o.ble is?”

“Think of this as a parent’s determination, to become stern for the future of his children.”

Isaac’s face stiffened, listening to Wolfgang’s mumbling.

“… What do you mean?”

Wolfgang formed an inexplicable smile, and then he spoke.

“Thank you. And I am sorry.”

“… Whatever. It was outside my calculations, but what’s the problem with having one more. It makes no difference. But I still don’t understand why Central didn’t recruit you. You were the only person who figured it out here. Just from the information you heard in this room alone.”

“Let’s just say that I wanted it to be this way.”

“… It’ll be as you wish. Any last words?”

Isaac asked as he drew his shotgun. Wolfgang’s eyes went towards his family once more.

“Laila, listen well. It is Sir Isaac who killed me. If you want vengeance, it must be at Sir Isaac. Remember it well.”

With that, Wolfgang looked at Isaac with a refreshed look.

“You… You really are something. This is the first time I’ve thought that it was a waste to kill someone.”

“I thank you again. And I apologise.”

“Same to you too. It’s fine. You should thank your friends. It was them who asked first.”

“Really? Huhu. They were great friends.”

Wolfgang smiled and laughed at himself, and Isaac pulled the trigger. With a ‘bang!,’ a shower of pellets exploded in Wolfgang’s chest, which caved in completely.

“… Mum.”

“I’ll leave Julia with you. There’s only two of you left now. So make sure you two play nice and help one another.”

Elena approached Count Wolfgang’s body. Rivelia spoke out with a sorry look.

“You don’t have to do this. I swear on my family’s name…”

“Lady Rivelia.”

Rivelia’s body stiffened in the face of a determined woman’s eyes.

“Yes?”

“There’s no need for it.”

“But…”

“My child will become the d.u.c.h.ess.”

Lady Elena’s stern, determined gaze rendered Rivelia at a loss for words.

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