Episode 72: Dream in the game becomes reality

21. Saint Contest (3)

He is handsome enough to impress anyone, regardless of gender.

Looking at Adrian's youthful, youthful appearance, it was hard to believe that he was a high-ranking nobleman with the rank of marquis.

But his status cannot be questioned.

At least among the people of the Kingdom of Reinharts, there was no one who did not know Marquis Adrian Lawrence.

Isn't he the most famous and hot person in the world right now?

He is an archmage who killed his enemy half-brother and his mother, exploded the Margrave's main army, destroyed four lords' families, and even defeated an Auror Master-level Vanguard.

All of this happened in just two months, so I could never ignore it just because I was young.

No, rather, it can be said that he is the most fearsome nobleman who should never be hated.

"Woah, my lord?"

Ivril, her parents, and relatives looked dumbfounded as they had never thought that such a person would come directly to such an insignificant place.

"I see you, my lord."

Starting with Ivril, who came to her senses belatedly, all of the family members bowed their heads.

"That's it."

However, when Adrian flicked his hand as if he was annoyed, everyone was forced to stand up as if their bodies were being pulled.

None of the relatives who had been acting proud until now could look at Adrian directly.

The person in front of me had a status that I could not even dare to look at, and killing a commoner with a single word was not an easy task.

Moreover, the lines he spoke when he appeared contained criticism towards them, so they had to keep their mouths shut.

However, Adrian seemed very interested in Ivril's relatives.

"Do you know what is good about becoming a great nobleman?"

Adrian approached Ivril's uncle and asked an unexpected question.

Ivril's uncle rolled his eyes eagerly and quickly knelt down on the floor.

"So, I'm sorry. "How can an insignificant being know the will of the High One?"

It was a servile appearance that contrasted with the stiff force being applied to the neck just a moment ago.

But unfortunately, such flattery did not work on Adrian.

"It means I can dispose of trash like you as I please."

"Oops!"

And Adrian grabbed his uncle by the collar.

A power that was unbelievable for a wizard was felt in Adrian's grasp, and his uncle was lifted up in the air helplessly.

Ivril's uncle was finally able to look at Adrian face to face, and his terrifying eyes, which even felt like madness, pierced through his whole body.

The gaze of a predator seeing it for the first time.

My uncle was so frightened that he fell down like an aspen tree.

Adrian threw him like he was throwing away trash, and his uncle, caught up in the force, was blown away and landed on one wall.

"You there, come here."

"Yes, me?"

"uh."

Ivril's uncle, named after his uncle.

He slowly approached Adrian, looking frightened.

-Quaaang!

"Oops!"

I was thrown into the seat next to my uncle.

He threw it so hard that one wall of the old house cracked ugly.

When the two people who were pressuring Ivril's family fell to the floor and moaned, the relatives all knelt down and asked for forgiveness.

"Do you know what you did wrong and ask for forgiveness?"

"They are blinded by money and have made their lives difficult… … ."

But their answer was not satisfactory.

"No, that's not your fault."

"yes?"

"How dare you harm my people. "Isn't this a declaration of war against me?"

A declaration of war against the Marquis Adrian Lawrence?

Ivril's relatives, who had never thought that their actions would be interpreted in this way, became thoughtful.

"How dare lowly people like us dare?"

However, Adrian said there was nothing to listen to and gave instructions to Ivril's guards.

"Arrest them all."

"yes! "My lord!"

And as if he didn't want to hear anything, he blocked the mouths of his relatives with silent magic and expelled them from Ivril's house.

"I heard it all against my will. "We will make sure that the debt they owe to Ms. Ivril's family is repaid through forced labor, compensation for psychological damage, and even interest."

"Okay, thank you."

Ivril's parents stiffened and looked apologetic at the appearance of the great nobleman they had only seen on TV.

Adrian smiled kindly and personally helped the two people up.

"You two, please come into the castle. "Why not enjoy the luxury of having a good daughter?"

"yes? but… … ."

"That is for Miss Ivril."

"If the lord says so."

As Ivril's relatives were tied up like sausages and dragged away, there was no longer any discomfort in this space.

Adrian smiled at Ivril and extended his thumbs, and she, who was looking at him with a blank expression, turned bright red and lowered her head.

"I can't believe the lord would stop by such a shabby place… … ."

"Ah, I have some business to attend to."

Adrian's appearance as he looked around while saying that seemed stiff for some reason.

But that serious look only made the adolescent girl look even cooler.

Not only did it change his life, but it also neatly resolved a problem that had been bothering his family for a long time.

Adrian was her benefactor and guide in life, so it was natural for her to have feelings for her.

And her fondness for him awakened a small change in Ivril's heart.

I want to become someone who can be more helpful to Adrian.

Even if she, a minor, expressed interest in Adrian, who has a strong personality, she would be embarrassed, saying it would be difficult to do so.

However, it would be possible to help him as a helper.

What if we give and receive help like that for 5 or 10 years?

'good.'

It was a moment when Ivril, who had only been following the flow until now, gained motivation.

* * *

[be careful. The movements of Duke Francis are unusual.]That was a message delivered by Olivia, Duke of Riverdale, the highest noble of the Kingdom of Lucias.

Unlike Nawan, whose intelligence department had not yet taken root in Korea, she had very strong intelligence power as the owner of a world-class magic tower.

The reason she handed over information about the Duke Francis family was because we were currently in a temporary alliance for the saintess contest.

In other words, the movements of the Duke Francis family are related to the sainthood contest.

It can be seen that Duke Prince Francis has begun an operation to make his third daughter, Evelyn Francis, a saint.

The problem is that we cannot know how those with great power will respond.

'What is an effective blow that can be given to us in the current situation?'

In a larger context, three cases can be considered.

1. Severing my connection with the Dukes of Riverdale.

2. Attacking me

3. Attacking Everil

Of these, I think the simplest yet most effective means is to attack Ivril.

He could tarnish Ivril's reputation by creating a scandal, he could threaten her family, or he could launch a direct attack on her.

These are all cases that cannot be ignored, but without a doubt, this is the one that has the greatest impact.

'Direct attack on Ivril.'

To be more precise, it should be seen as her assassination.

So I worked hard to prevent variables.

The number of security personnel in the castle was doubled, and the work system of employees was changed to two-person teams, as well as strict surveillance by security guards to ensure that no one could leave their assigned work location.

In addition, transformation magic detection artifacts were placed throughout the castle and six sky fortresses were placed around the castle to effectively defend against intruders.

Above all, I had a secret that no one else had... … .

[Titos Barnett]Affiliation: Commoner of the Roctail Barony, Kingdom of Reinharts / Servant of Francis Intelligence Department

[Loka Atman]Affiliation: Commoner of the Marquis of Lawrence, Rheinharts Kingdom / Servant of Francis' Intelligence Department

That is the existence of Mangyeong.

While secretly escorting Ivril, I realized that her uncle and uncle were underlings of Francis's intelligence department and looked around carefully.

But was the purpose simply exploration?

I couldn't find anyone else related to Duke Francis around.

I'd have to drag them in and ask for more details, but there was one thing I could harvest.

That was when we learned for sure that Duke Francis' target was Ivril.

'I don't know how they'll attack, but you picked the wrong opponent.'

I am probably the most difficult person to manipulate in the entire world.

Because of this, I became more curious.

What kind of tricks would a person like the duke of a great empire be capable of?

* * *

[It looks like the war between the Brigham Empire and the Prius Republic is back on track.] [At 1 PM today, the first collision between the two armies occurred on the sea of ​​​​ice. Initially, the Republic of Prius showed confidence in opposing the Bringham Empire, but when the war began, it was unilaterally pushed back and eventually allowed the landing of the Bringham Empire.] [In this war, the Bringham Empire deployed a new weapon called Trident for the first time. . Trident is a combination of three sky fortresses... … .]There are usually three types of service for knights who guard the castle of a nobleman.

One is guard duty, chasing down nobles and providing close security.

The other is guard duty, where you work while standing at a designated work location.

The last one was a standby shift where drivers could be dispatched at any time.

The standby team usually consists of 20 people working in 12-hour shifts, and although they have to stand by armed, they have quite a bit of leeway compared to the previous two types of security because they only have to be dispatched in time when a problem occurs.

Some people watched broadcasts, while others played games on terminals.

Some people were even seen taking a nap while fully armed. Even though there seemed to be no tension, this was tolerated generously as long as no major mistakes were made.

-Emergency dispatch waiting room of the Marquis of Lawrence's castle

"Hey, I heard Marquis Lawrence's standby duty is comfortable."

"Of course, if the lord is strong, there is more room for guard duty."

"That's right. Even if an assassin breaks in, he would have to be an Auror Master to inflict damage, so who would come in?"

The Marquis of Lawrence has been strengthening security duties in recent years, but Adrian has taken the approach of deploying more manpower rather than squeezing the existing number of workers, so the burden on the knights was not that severe.

"The lord of the barony I previously worked for was a loan shark, and there were so many enemies that the on-call work was very difficult. Compared to that, this place is heaven. "Everything is new, and the lord is young, so we can communicate well."

"You definitely have a different way of thinking than other nobles. "If other nobles set the goal of strengthening security, they would increase working hours and deploy knights, but our lord only increases the number of troops deployed and strictly adheres to the working hours specified in the contract."

"that's right. After all, not everyone is self-made."

Although Adrian was a person who valued principles, he had a very high reputation among his subordinates.

The reason is because I felt that he cared for his subordinates down to every little detail.

Compared to working under people who thought, 'I pay money, so it's natural for my subordinates to follow orders,' the satisfaction was definitely higher.

"The other day, Sir Damian was so moved that he cried while eating."

"that's right. "The food here is really good."

"Hey, Sir Damian. Do you still cry while eating these days?"

"ha ha ha! "Sir Damian, you've been made fun of for the rest of your life."

When everyone took the time to praise Adrian.

Despite repeated calls from his colleagues, the driver, Damian, kept his head down and did not move a muscle.

I thought my colleagues were like that because they were embarrassed.

"Was this prank too bad? Sir Damian? "Are you offended?"

A knight approaches him and places his hand on his shoulder.

"Oh sorry. "Did Lord Damian mean me?"

Knight Damian raised his head and said something unintelligible.