How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 39

Living as the Third Son of a Trash Novel – Chapter 39

* * *

How long had I been running?

Just when a metallic taste filled my mouth and stomach acid threatened to rise, I found a reasonably concealed cave.

“Young Master.”

Ilia was in no better shape than I was. She, too, collapsed onto the floor, half-dead.

“Ilia, you saw it too, right?”

“…Yes.”

She saw it clearly.

The aura emitted by the unidentified man, and the knights who were mercilessly torn apart by it.

It was especially shocking that Rices had died without much resistance.

‘He was an Expert, after all.’

What was a Sword Expert? A level that would command respect anywhere.

And yet, Rices had died in a single blow.

“Who could he be?”

“I don’t know. Judging by his skill, he seemed to be at least three or four levels ahead of Rices.”

“You mean he far surpasses Lord Livern… ?”

“There’s a possibility he’s a Master.”

Ilia’s face stiffened.

Sword Master.

A realm so glorious even the name was dazzling. An existence that could single-handedly crush an entire knight order, one of the very few superhumans who could be counted on the fingers of both hands even if you searched the entire continent.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Belatedly, Fleta regained consciousness.

Hastily getting up, she first looked around, then alternately at me and Ilia.

“What is going on…?”

Fleta, who initially felt betrayed, fell into deep thought after hearing the whole story.

“Lord Livern?”

“He’s dead.”

“You mean in a single blow, right?”

“Yes.”

“Lord Livern is not a knight who would be defeated so easily. The fact that he was means…”

Fleta was a woman who could quickly assess the situation.

“At least a top-tier Expert, or perhaps even a Master, I presume.”

“That’s right.”

“A skilled person of that caliber cannot be unknown, unless they’ve been training alone in the mountains for decades.”

“We didn’t see his face. If we had tried to, we would be in the afterlife by now.”

Thud, thud….

Outside the cave, the rain was still pouring down. Ilia, who had collected rainwater in a leather pouch, handed it to me.

“Thank you.”

“I will go out and scout the situation.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Ilia.”

“It’s nothing.”

With that, Ilia headed outside. After quenching my thirst with the water, I handed the pouch to Fleta.

“Any guesses who it could be?”

“There are many. If we’re just talking about Master-level fighters, there are quite a few. Isn’t your father a Master as well?”

“Why would my father do something crazy like that?”

“That’s true.”

“Let’s narrow it down. Let’s assume it was sent by a force hostile to the Bachelrun family.”

“Could it be that they were targeting you?”

“Me? Targeting me?”

I let out a burst of laughter, as if I couldn’t believe it, and Fleta nodded.

“Well, except for a very few, your image is still the same, so no one would care.”

She was right.

In the territory, Gilaine’s devoted explanation made the subjugation my achievement, but in other regions, I’m still thought to have stolen the credit.

Even if everyone acknowledged it as my achievement, would that be so threatening as to warrant an assassination attempt?

Absolutely not.

At best, I just took down an orc tribe that had been elusive all this time.

Outside the territory, my image is still that of a good-for-nothing far removed from the succession battle. There’s no reason to target me.

“So, in the end, they were targeting you.”

“But to attempt an assassination with a Master-level knight that anyone could recognize? That doesn’t make sense unless they’re willing to make the entire continent their enemy.”

She was right about that too.

In terms of skill alone, a Master-level knight is the ultimate assassin. Of course, it’s more like openly killing everyone rather than assassination.

Anyway, the reason why they aren’t used that way is simple.

A knight who has reached the level of Master would have immeasurable honor. Would such an existence do something that would throw all their honor into the gutter?

Moreover, such a method gives the opponent justification to use the same methods, which is also a problem.

It’s like a nuclear weapon.

It can certainly destroy the opponent, but at the same time, you will be retaliated against in the same way.

It’s a kind of mutually assured destruction strategy.

“Let’s assume that they had to kill you even if it meant making the entire continent their enemy, and then think about what the reason could be.”

Fleta pondered for a moment at my words, then shook her head.

“There isn’t one.”

“There isn’t?”

“I wouldn’t risk a Master’s honor and ruin relations with all forces just to take my life. What am I?”

“But you’re the eldest daughter of the Duke’s family, and you have the Duke’s full confidence.”

“That’s true. But my siblings are also talented individuals who will do their part admirably in the future. The Duke’s family will absolutely not decline just because I’m gone.”

Don’t burn down the house to catch a flea [don’t overreact to a minor problem].

That’s probably what she means.

That’s true. Unlike the future Fleta, in the current situation, she’s just a young, magically talented, and intelligent successor candidate, just that.

‘Wait.’

That’s when it happened. Something flashed through my mind.

Clearly, there was no one who would target me or Fleta while taking on such a risk.

But the situation had occurred.

That meant the premise was wrong.

Let’s put aside the family and position and look at it simply.

Could there be another reason why they had to chase me or Fleta?

…There is.

There was something I could guess.

Leaving Fleta behind, I headed for the bag. Rummaging through the bag, I felt a larger oval stone among the many mana stones I had brought.

It was a magic stone that had been drained of its magic by Apen.

When I took it out, the seal engraved on it caught my eye.

A red chimera [a fire-breathing monster in Greek mythology] with six severed heads.

‘Is it because of this?’

Considering the timing, it roughly fits.

I found the magic stone in the cave and took it out. After that, the story about the subjugation of the Blade Tribe gradually spread throughout the region.

Could it be that an ominous group related to that magic stone confirmed the truth and is targeting me to prevent information from leaking?

‘If that’s the case, then I can’t be the only target.’

Gilaine and Ruth, and the Rangers.

Are all those who participated in the subjugation in danger?

No.

If it’s a group that possesses such a monstrous knight, they must have excellent intelligence.

Even if I don’t know, they could easily find out the list of spoils from the subjugation. They might have captured a few Rangers and extracted the information.

Above all, it was me and Ruth, the search party, who first found the cave. That means the target was narrowed down from the beginning.

‘They must have already decided it was either me or Ruth.’

But Ruth had already left on a secret mission at my request, so it would have been difficult to catch her.

So instead, they’re trying to catch me and subject me to all sorts of torture to find out the truth.

If that’s the case, then the reason why they targeted us now, while we’re with Fleta, becomes clear.

They’re planning to blame this attack on the events happening in the West, to deceive people into thinking it was done by the nobles who started the uprising, not them.

“What are you doing?”

I shook off my thoughts at Fleta’s words.

“Anyway, it seems certain that someone is targeting us.”

“Then we should get out of here first.”

“Yeah. By now, they’ve probably confirmed that your and my bodies are missing. They’ll come after us right away. For them, they haven’t caught their target.”

“Can we escape through the mountains?”

The situation wasn’t good. They probably already knew that we had escaped into the mountains, which made it even worse.

“They don’t seem like amateurs. They’ve probably formed a solid encirclement.”

“…We can’t just stay here, can we?”

“So let’s use our heads.”

Clatter!

I unfolded the map and roughly identified our current location.

The map made it even more bleak. It wasn’t a very high mountain, and the ridges were connected, so we couldn’t cross over to another place.

A rat in a trap.

That was the perfect description of my current situation. At this rate, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before we were caught.

“What about magic?”

“What about magic?”

“Is a spell like Fly impossible?”

“You need to be at least a 5th Circle mage to even imitate that spell. On the other hand, I’ve just entered the 4th Circle.”

“Can’t you do something anyway?”

“Even if I were a 5th Circle mage, I could barely manage to take care of myself, let alone three people. That’s why they’re slowly closing in, isn’t it?”

“What about Phantom Steed?”

Didn’t she summon it when she met me before?

I remember it floating in the sky.

“…That was summoned as a kind of intimidation tactic. I used up all my mana just by floating, which is why you defeated me afterwards.”

“I guess so.”

Fleta, who lost the duel because she used up all her mana just by floating. Crossing the canyon would be impossible.

“What a pity.”

Well, Fleta’s skills are known to everyone. They must know that too, and that’s why they’re slowly closing in.

I clicked my tongue and looked down at the map again.

A river flowed through the canyon next to the mountain.

If we could somehow get down there, we could erase our tracks with the water and escape.

But it wasn’t a terrain where we could attempt rock climbing. The steepness was tremendous.

‘Wait.’

Come to think of it, it wasn’t like there was no way.

There was definitely a way. It felt a bit reckless, though.

* * *

Several hours later.

Ilia, who had gone out scouting, returned and shook off the water on her body.

“How is it?”

“The distance from the pursuers has decreased a lot.”

“Really? Can’t we break through?”

“I don’t see any gaps. Each pursuing group had an archer. They seem determined to shoot signal flares as soon as they see us.”

“They’re definitely not ordinary guys.”

Even though we kept moving without rest, the encirclement was definitely narrowing, from a day’s distance to half a day, and from half a day to several hours.

“Shouldn’t we make a decision soon?”

“What do you think?”

At my question, Ilia made a determined expression.

“I think we should break through before the pursuers get any closer.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Because we’re being cornered into increasingly narrow places as time goes on.”

“Okay, let’s break through. But you know that if we delay even a little, we’ll be caught right away, right?”

“Yes. So we need to plan carefully and quickly…”

“So Ilia, I want you to take on the role of bait.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Honestly, you know the chances are slim. So I was wondering if you could be the bait to divert their attention.”

At my question, Ilia pursed her lips.

Her pupils began to shake. She fidgeted with the fingers on the hilt of her sword and bit her lip.

Her answer was delayed. Understandably so. It was like a death sentence.

“Yes.”

But soon, as if she had made up her mind, Ilia nodded.

“If it means that Young Master can escape safely, I will gladly be the bait.”

“Are you serious?”

“Because that is my duty and my proper course.”

Her wavering eyes turned firm.

Not just empty words, but a loyalty that could throw away her life like trash even in extreme situations.

I could feel that from Ilia.

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“Forget it. You’re too weak to be bait.”

“What do you mean…”

Ilia stretched her eyes to the fullest, then quickly narrowed them again. She must have realized that I was teasing her.

“Y-Young Master!”

“It was a joke. Wasn’t it funny?”

“You’re too much.”

“But we will escape. It’s true that sitting here won’t solve anything.”

“…”

“Let’s eat all the remaining food, even though there’s not much left, because we’re going to escape tonight.”

“Tonight, you say?”

“Yeah.”

As I got up, Ilia, who was watching, tilted her head.

“But what are these?”

Rolling around at my feet were oval stones, all scratched.

Ilia looked puzzled at the stones.

I chuckled and shrugged.

“Food.”

“Excuse me? You mean food…”

“Should I say it’s feed instead of food? Anyway, there’s something like that. By the way, Ilia.”

At my call, Ilia looked at me.

Can I trust her?

Well, after testing her for a while, it seems like she’s definitely loyal to me.

“There’s something I need you to do.”

“Yes?”

* * *

It was a deep night.

Under the moonlight, which provided a decent view, I was heading forward without hesitation, with Ilia and Fleta behind me.

“…Are you sure this is the right way?”

“Just follow me for now.”

Dismissing Fleta’s doubts, I kept moving, recalling the terrain I had memorized.

Eventually, we arrived at a cliff.

Below the cliff was a deep canyon. There must be a river flowing below.

Having arrived at the place I had in mind, I took a breath and turned around. Fleta, who had belatedly followed, gritted her teeth as she looked at the cliff in front of her.

“What are you doing, Third Young Master?”

“What?”

“This is a cliff!”

“Yeah.”

“Weren’t we trying to break through the encirclement?”

“That’s right.”

Fleta finally exploded in anger at the riddle-like conversation.

“What are you trying to do! Are you saying we should all jump off here together?”

“Isn’t it better than being caught and tortured to death?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I’ll go alone. I was stupid to trust you! If you want to throw yourself, throw yourself alon…”

Fleta frowned and turned around.

That’s when I gave the signal and Ilia reached out.

Thwack!

“Kuh-heung…”

Fleta made a strange deflating sound and collapsed. It was the second time. I felt a little sorry.

“I don’t know if this is okay.”

“It can’t be helped. You have to deceive your allies to deceive the enemy.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Ilia nodded firmly and then took out a rope and began to tie her body and Fleta tightly together.

After finishing the work, Ilia took a deep breath and sat down, back to back with Fleta.

In this way, it looked like they were both captured and tied up.

“It wouldn’t matter if you heard or saw as long as you kept the secret, but do we really have to go this far?”

“My acting skills are lacking… I think it’s better to just fall asleep.”

Ilia’s words made sense.

We had to look completely captured.

“Really? Then there’s no choice.”

“Above all, I trust Young Master.”

“Well, thanks for trusting me.”

Ilia, who sent a trustworthy gaze, took out sleeping herbs from her bosom and chewed them.

Feeling that trust, I nodded slightly and confirmed that Ilia was slowly falling asleep.

How much time had passed?

I heard rustling sounds nearby, as if they had followed me after seeing my torch.

Pwee-!

A signal flare soared high into the sky.

Following that, a dozen figures holding torches emerged from the bushes like shadows.

In the midst of the darkness being cleared away, one figure began to walk forward.

A slender figure and a unique gesture of bringing both hands together at the waist.

It was a familiar figure.

“Got you. You little rat.”