My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 30

30. Elanndur’s Thug…?

The noisy restaurant fell into a chilling silence.

The movements of the diners stopped abruptly.

Hands that were bringing forks and knives to mouths froze in mid-air.

If it weren’t for the food falling in between,
one might have even been mistaken that time had stopped.

Soon, everyone’s gaze turned to one place.

Shock, surprise, curiosity.

Gazes mixed with various emotions all pointed in the same direction.

And right there, where those gazes were directed.

Thud.

A man was taking a step.

Thud.

The man strode forward without hesitation.

As if only the man was a being allowed to move in this frozen time.

The man’s footsteps cut through the silence that had settled.

Right then.

“You bastard!!!”

“Do you know whose body you just laid your hands on!”

An angry shout erupted in front of the man.

Soon, a group of knights blocked Xian’s path.

Knights belonging to the Crowd County [a region or territory, likely with a ruling Count].

At the same time, they were the escort knights of Remington, who had just been sent flying.

Clang! Clang!

They drew their swords without hesitation.

And then pointed them at the man.

A fierce aura erupted.

A sharp aura full of the will to cut him down unless he prostrated himself immediately.

However.

“Move.”

The man merely muttered quietly.

And the aura felt from the man.

The knights flinched without realizing it at the eerie feeling that dominated the area.

“Y-you son of a bitch!”

“Do you think you’ll be safe after daring to touch the Crowd County!”

At the same time, the atmosphere of the quiet restaurant began to stir.

“C-Crowd County?”

“Did he just mess with the Crowd County?”

Crowd County.

The Crowd County, located in the southern part of the empire, was a family that possessed the empire’s largest granary.

A giant family responsible for 15% of the grain流通되는 [流通되는 is likely a typo and meant to be ‘circulating’] in the empire.

Crowd, with its powerful capital, was a prestigious family that no one in the empire could treat carelessly.

But he messed with such a family?

This was a super-sized accident among major accidents.

So, he should be prostrating himself and begging for mercy, but instead.

“So what.”

The man was rather spouting words close to provocation.

“W-what did you say?”

“I messed with the Crowd County, so what.”

“You son of a─!”

The man cut off the shouting knight and said.

“Do you even know who you’re pointing your swords at right now?”

And at the same time.

Flinch.

The Crowd’s knights flinched.

At the sight of those knights, people tilted their heads.

People turned their gazes back to look at the man’s face.

And only then could they properly confirm the man’s identity.

Xian Elanndur.

The youngest of the Elanndur family, one of the two pillars supporting the empire.

It was then.

“Y-you… you son of a bitch…”

A voice full of anger was heard from one side.

Looking there, Remington was getting up from the shattered debris.

A face covered in blood.

One had to wonder if he should be praised for not passing out.

“What are you doing! Kill him!”

Remington shouted, enraged.

But somehow his voice was quite slurred….

It couldn’t be helped.

Xian had dislocated his jaw.

To be exact, he had shattered his jaw joint while slapping him across the face.

“Kill him quickly!”

Remington continued to shout.

But the knights did not move easily.

They couldn’t move.

Xian Elanndur.

There was no one in the empire who could ignore the name of Elanndur.

The knights were just looking at each other.

Was Remington frustrated with the knights’ 모습 [Korean word meaning ‘appearance’ or ‘state’]?

“What are you afraid of from that abandoned bastard!”

Remington snatched the knights’ swords.

Then he rushed towards Xian and swung his sword without hesitation.

Swish!

A strike filled with clear murderous intent.

And had he learned systematic swordsmanship?

The posture of thrusting was also quite well-formed.

However.

In Xian’s eyes, it just looked endlessly 허접 [Korean word meaning ‘sloppy’ or ‘poor’].

If it were the old Xian, maybe,
but not now.

Currently, Xian was learning the swordsmanship of Kyle, the strongest Arnaise,
and the beings Xian had been facing in Ruben were 魔獸 [East Asian term for ‘magical beasts’ or ‘demonic beasts’].

Evil beings dwelling in the dark forest, seeking only instinct.

When they saw humans, they would burst with emotions like hatred, joy, and elation.

Creatures covered in pitch-black hatred and madness, beasts forged with blind murderous intent.

From the screams that resonated as if in 공명 [Korean word meaning ‘resonance’], they were the kind of guys who would burst out madness as if squeezing it out of every blood vessel.

But now, Remington’s sword being swung.

Swish!

Just… it was just so-so.

It contained murderous intent, but it was just to kill him. That was all.

He seemed to think he had put in a terrible murderous intent….

Compared to the blunt weapon wielded by a black orc, it was endlessly weak.

Honestly, there was no need to compare it to a black orc.

The madness that a goblin dwelling in the dark forest burst out was much fiercer.

Whoosh!

Xian lightly dodged Remington’s strike.

And even more lightly, he grabbed Remington’s hair.

And then.

Crack!

He smashed Remington’s face with his knee.

The time it took for all these series of processes to occur was truly fleeting.

A speed difficult to capture with the eyes.

“······!”

“······!”

The eyes of the people watching the scene widened.

Even Remington’s escort knights couldn’t hide their surprise.

Silence descended again.

“Kuhuk!”

In between, Remington burst out a scream full of pain.

“Young Master!”

“You bastard!”

Only then did the escort knights rush towards Xian in a hurry.

Xian held up Remington’s hair that he was holding.

“Don’t move. If you move even one step, I don’t know what will happen to this bastard.”

Stop.

Then the movements of the escort knights who were rushing in stopped abruptly.

Xian confirmed the 모습 [Korean word meaning ‘appearance’ or ‘state’] of those knights and lifted Remington’s hair.

“Kuk…!”

Remington’s face was truly 惨 [East Asian term meaning ‘miserable’ or ‘wretched’].

His jaw joint was shattered by a slap to the face,
and his nose bone was completely crushed by the knee kick just now.

At this point, he should have grasped the situation.

“Y-you… you son of a bitch…! Do you think you’ll be safe after this!”

Remington did not stop cursing Xian.

“What are you saying? Are you saying you’ll be safe after this?”

“Dare…! Dare to 모굑 [Likely a typo, meant to be ‘모욕’] me!”

“목욕 [Korean word meaning ‘bath’]?”

No, what is he really saying?

“모욕 [Korean word meaning ‘insult’]!”

“Ah, 모욕 [Korean word meaning ‘insult’].”

Xian could nod at Remington’s words that followed.

“But didn’t you 모욕 [Korean word meaning ‘insult’] me first?”

Of course, that was true,
but that didn’t mean that Xian’s response was appropriate now.

That’s because, according to imperial customary law,
disputes between nobles should be resolved by formally applying for a duel.

Especially quarrels related to 모욕 [Korean word meaning ‘insult’].

But now Xian’s actions were to strike first without warning.

This was no different from what street thugs would do.

An act of 모욕 [Korean word meaning ‘insult’] among 모욕 [Korean word meaning ‘insult’] in the eyes of those noble aristocrats.

But what could he do?

‘Grandpa Teacher taught me this.’

He still didn’t know who he was, but.

Anyway.

Xian did strike first,
but he still had to say the right thing, didn’t he?

It seemed that his intelligence had been shattered along with his jaw joint just now.

“You…! You… Do you know who I am!”

“You’re the second son of the Crowd County, right? Or not?”

“Even so, you’re doing this…! Kuk…!”

“So what are you going to do? Are you saying we should have a duel right now?”

Flinch!

Then Remington trembled greatly for a moment.

Perhaps because he had experienced Xian’s movements just now.

He seemed to think he couldn’t win.

Fortunately, his intelligence didn’t seem to be completely shattered….

Come to think of it, there was a rule called the Great Duel between nobles.

A Great Duel where you could send a knight to represent your honor instead.

There were many escort knights next to him.

He just had to point out anyone and send them out.

Xian was a figure known for his incompetence even in Elanndur.

He should have thought that he could win by sending out anyone.

But looking at him being so scared.

Thinking about it again.

It seemed that his intelligence was shattered.

“You…! Our Crowd family will not forgive this…”

“Why do you keep bringing up family stories from earlier without answering the question─.”

Xian suddenly shut his mouth.

And then, as if he had realized something.

“Ah!”

Xian shouted and said.

“So, you mean we should do this as a family fight?”

“······”

And at Xian’s words, Remington was momentarily speechless.

In the empire, everyone would give way to the Crowd family.

Even families that were considered prestigious were no match for the Crowd family.

But….

Elanndur was not.

There was almost no family in the empire that could be compared to Elanndur.

There were only two such families.

Rothschild, the family that supported the empire along with Elanndur.

And only the imperial family, the heart of the empire.

The Crowd County, which possessed the empire’s best granary.

But in front of Elanndur, they were just farmers with wide lands.

Therefore, they should never go to a family fight.

“Y-you abandoned thug!”

Of course, Xian was an abandoned being in Elanndur.

Therefore, Elanndur, Isabel, would not come forward to protect Xian.

Remington knew that, so he acted like that earlier.

But if this officially turned into a family matter, the story was different.

No matter how much Xian was an abandoned thug,
the fact that Xian was the youngest of Elanndur did not change.

“I wish I could throw away this last name. But what can I do if I can’t? I wonder why they don’t sell these 성폭행 [Likely a typo, context suggests it should be ‘pesky’ or ‘troublesome’] weapons.”

Even if he didn’t want to, Xian had the name of Elanndur,
and Isabel was Xian’s mother, even if only nominally.

Of course, if that happened, Xian’s position would not be good.

It was clear that Isabel would see Xian even more negatively.

But what did he really care?

Isabel was already trying to kill Xian.

Even if she saw him more negatively here, it would only lead to her trying to tear him apart.

“So what are we going to do? Are we going to fight as a family, or are we just going to fight? Decide for sure.”

“······”

Remington couldn’t open his mouth.

Either way….

He had no confidence in winning.

“If you don’t like either, then bow your head.”

Xian grabbed Remington’s hair and pulled him.

Then he dragged him in front of Amelia, who had been at a loss since earlier.

Thud.

Remington fell powerlessly under Amelia’s feet.

“Ah, right. Don’t forget to compensate for what you broke over there.”

Of course, it wasn’t Remington who broke it,
but Remington didn’t have many options.

#

Xian and Amelia came out of the restaurant.

When they were far enough away.

“You’re crazy! You’re crazy! What are you going to do!”

Amelia expressed the emotions she had been pretending not to have.

That’s because Remington, whom Xian had destroyed,
was the second son of the Crowd family and a son whom the Crowd Count cherished very much.

If the Crowd Count were to learn of this fact, he would not stand still.

No matter how much it was Xian, it was not easy to withstand the pressure of the Crowd Count.

No, he wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

So, it was a problem that she could have just endured and moved on.

“What do you mean, what am I going to do? That guy was the one who started it first.”

Xian didn’t seem to think so.

“It was because of me. I could have just endured and moved on….”

“I told you, you’re my 영지민 [Korean word meaning ‘territory resident’ or ‘subject’]. Are you saying I should just stand still while my 영지민 [Korean word meaning ‘territory resident’ or ‘subject’] is being insulted in front of me? And that bastard. He clearly insulted me too, right?”

Xian continued, as if it was a great regret that he hadn’t messed with him a little more.

“If we had a duel, I would have destroyed him even more.”

“What if it really turns into a family fight?”

“Then it’s even better. You know what my last name is, right?”

She knew it well.

That’s why.

“······”

Amelia couldn’t nod easily.

She knew what kind of treatment Xian received in Elanndur.

That’s why Xian came forward.

Whether it was a sacrifice for Xian himself.

And how much it was for Amelia, herself.

Unless she was a fool, she knew.

That’s why she felt even more sorry.

That’s why she felt even more grateful.

Amelia had nothing to say.

At the same time, Amelia could be sure that those words were sincere.

Xian’s words that he would protect her no matter what.

In fact, this was the first time Amelia had walked around alone without Lucas.

So, honestly, she was a little scared.

But not anymore.

“Lord.”

“Huh?”

“…Thank you.”

Xian chuckled.

Then he waved his hand and opened his mouth.

“It’s okay. More than that, I’m even hungrier after having a fight. Is there a better restaurant than that one?”

“Let’s go. I know a better place.”

“A better place…? Not a more expensive place?”

Amelia smiled instead of answering.

#

Elanndur’s thug finally did something!

The incident that happened in Lucia spread like wildfire in an instant.

And almost all of those who watched the scene were nobles.

The nobles’ social circles were buzzing with Xian’s story.

“How can you make a person like that? Especially the son of the Crowd family.”

“There’s a reason why he’s the Marquis family’s thug.”

“Elanndur must be quite troubled too.”

And most of them reacted as expected.

“I heard that the Crowd side insulted him first. And the degree was quite severe.”

“My friend was there, and he said that it was a relief that he didn’t kill him.”

Of course, those who knew the details defended Xian.

However.

“Still, how can you do such a thing like a street thug….”

“It would have been better if he had a formal duel.”

After all, is a thug still a thug?

Nevertheless, the view of Xian was mainly negative.

And the news naturally reached Isabel’s ears.

“He crushed the son of the Crowd family….”

Isabel put down the teacup she was holding at the report of the chief manager, Lerit.

So that’s why it was so noisy outside the door.

The noise that had been buzzing outside the door since earlier.

Isabel could understand the commotion only then.

“What should we do?”

Lerit’s question followed.

Isabel slowly opened her mouth.

“Tell them to come in.”

Lerit left the door without saying anything.

After a little time, he came back with a man.

A man who looked like he had some clout at first glance.

The head of the Crowd family, the Crowd Count, who possessed the empire’s largest granary.

“How…! How can this be!”

The Crowd Count looked very angry.

After all, he couldn’t help but be angry when his son was like that.

He heard that he was completely destroyed.

His nose bone was crushed and unrecognizable,
and it seemed that he had lost some teeth.

“How can you do this to our Crowd…!”

Above all, the jaw joint that was shattered beyond repair.

He heard that even if he received treatment from a priest, he would not be able to fix his slurred pronunciation.

“I hereby demand appropriate compensation and an apology from Elanndur!”

The Crowd Count’s expression was 울그락불그락 [Korean expression for being red-faced and angry], as if he was about to explode.

Isabel did not give her gaze to such a Crowd Count.

She just held up her teacup with a calm expression.

And for a moment.

“Crowd Count.”

Isabel, who was sipping her teacup, opened her mouth.

Soon, Isabel’s gaze turned to the Crowd Count.

Each gesture, each action.

And dignity flowed from each glance.

Isabel slowly opened her mouth.

“Since when did Crowd raise his voice in front of Elanndur.”

A cold chill flowed.

It was just a word, but it contained a terrifying murderous intent.

The Crowd Count could realize where he was only then.

The Elanndur Marquis family.

It could not be fully expressed with the word 명문 [East Asian term for ‘distinguished family’ or ‘noble lineage’].

Even the imperial family of the empire could not 함부로 [Korean word meaning ‘recklessly’ or ‘carelessly’].

The aristocrat of aristocrats.

Cold sweat flowed down the Crowd Count’s cheeks.

Isabel slowly put down her teacup and opened her mouth again.

“And the one who insulted him first was the Crowd Count. I believe it was your son.”

Isabel’s words followed.

“Did you think you would be safe after insulting Elanndur?”

The Crowd Count’s face turned white.

In fact, there was a reason why Crowd came to Elanndur with such boldness.

The person who caused the incident.

The target was none other than Xian.

The Marquis family’s thug.

A bastard who should not have existed.

Xian was an abandoned being in Elanndur.

Therefore, he thought that Elanndur would not care much about Xian.

But if Xian was also Elanndur and they argued about this.

He thought there would be something to gain.

He thought that Elanndur, who would be troubled by Xian, would appease Crowd and send him away.

If he could create Elanndur’s debt in this way,
Crowd Count thought it would be good.

But it wasn’t.

That was a clear delusion of Crowd.

Just because Elanndur treated Xian like that.

It didn’t mean that others could treat him like that too.

The line that Elanndur had drawn.

Crowd had crossed that line now.

The Crowd Count’s face turned pale, so pale that it turned blue.

A family that possessed the empire’s largest granary?

It was a funny story.

In front of Elanndur, Crowd was just a farmer with wide lands.

Hadn’t he seen the 명문 [East Asian term for ‘distinguished family’ or ‘noble lineage’] families who ruled the empire disappear in front of the name of Elanndur?

“I-I’m sorry!”

The Crowd Count bowed his head as if 박듯이 [Korean word meaning ‘slamming’] it on the ground.

Isabel had no words.

She just looked down at the teacup with an indifferent face.

“I-I dared to act without knowing my place! Please… Please, if you show me mercy just once, I will never forget this grace for the rest of my life!”

The Crowd Count desperately continued to speak.

“I will formally compensate Xian! I will thoroughly educate my son! No, I will break his legs so that he will never 얼쩡거리지 [Korean word meaning ‘hang around’ or ‘loiter’] in front of Elanndur again!”

Isabel calmly sipped her teacup.

And Isabel’s answer was heard.

“I’ll be watching.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

The Crowd Count was afraid that Isabel’s mind would change.

He hurriedly disappeared out of the door.

Isabel gently put down her teacup.

Isabel’s gaze looking at the air.

“He didn’t die in Ruben….”

“Shall we send someone even now?”

At Lerit’s words, Isabel frowned slightly.

She couldn’t do that.

According to the report, Xian was currently invited to the founding day event.

Moreover, after receiving an invitation personally written by the Crown Prince.

She didn’t know why the Crown Prince did that,
but the weight was not something to be taken lightly.

In short, a guest personally invited by the Crown Prince.

Such a guest is mysteriously murdered at the founding day event?

“Do you think the Crown Prince will stand still?”

Would the Crown Prince just watch that?

No matter how much it was Elanndur,
they had no choice but to give way in front of the imperial family, the heart of the empire.

Especially if the target was the Crown Prince.

“…I was short-sighted.”

Lerit bowed his head deeply.

Isabel turned her gaze away from such Lerit.

In the end.

She had to face Xian’s face at the founding day event.

A face that had always maintained calmness.

Clench!

Isabel’s face was distorted.