The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 28
Episode 28:
Buzz, buzz.
Even without having to go in, you could tell how many people were there.
However, Raoul did not stop walking at all and entered the hall confidently.
“….”
There was a brief moment of silence.
Most of them were nobles of the Ashton family, but none of them had ever seen Raoul’s face.
‘He’s really our blood relative with that face?’
‘With that face, I could turn the social world upside down without having to pick up a sword.’
‘But you can’t fool blood. He said he was 15 years old and he must be 180 cm tall.’
‘Are you saying that that little guy tricked Baron Xander?’
‘But is it true that I won the swordsmanship competition?’
After a moment of silence, a louder murmur came.
While they were evaluating Raoul, he crossed the hall and stood proudly on the podium.
“I got to stand in front of so many people unexpectedly. “Are you sure that all of you are here because of Baron Xander’s business?”
Perhaps they were embarrassed because it was so different from the way they imagined Raoul to be?
The crowd fell silent at the sight of Raoul speaking cheerfully without the slightest stutter.
But even for a moment.
“Yes. Your blood relatives who were angry at your senseless behavior were with you in this difficult situation. How do you feel? How about apologizing to adults and patching things up even now?”
Baron Xander spoke openly and asked Raoul.
But Raoul just asked back with a calm expression.
“Then can we say that Baron Xander, who is standing in front of you, represents you all?”
The people looked at each other for a moment and then nodded.
“great. “Then, as I promised, let’s try to sort out the good and the bad.”
“That’s funny. What is there to argue about right and wrong? To begin with, this mansion has been managed in turns by blood relatives residing in our capital for decades! “It’s not like a toy that can be handled carelessly by a young kid from the family who doesn’t even know anything about it!”
“okay! “Is our family ignoring us?”
“The Count is doing too much. “You’re giving authority to a child!”
Several nobles standing behind him responded to Baron Xander’s words.
And starting from that, many nobles continued to cry.
There was a lot of noise, ranging from Manet’s lack of support to saying that the mansion should be opened more or that the management method should be changed.
At this point, there seemed to be no time to talk about what Baron Xander had done and why he had been dismissed.
Raoul had been silent ever since he said his first words, and Baron Xander was enjoying the atmosphere as if it were natural.
But the reality was completely different.
This is because Raoul did not stand still to listen to them in the first place.
Although he didn’t notice because of the intense atmosphere, Raoul’s eyes had taken on a strange golden glow at some point and he was observing each and every person in the hall.
‘Things may be more complicated than I thought…’
As a result of looking through the analysis plan, there were as many as five factions gathered here.
The first, of course, are the blood relatives of the Earl of Ashton. They were people who simply participated without knowing anything.
The second are operatives belonging to the Imperial Hound, the Kranen Empire’s intelligence department.
Even though it was just the two of us, being here meant that there was some connection.
But it wasn’t particularly surprising. Haven’t you personally experienced the fact that the empire will be behind all the big and small conflicts that will occur across the continent?
Rather, the third category was surprising.
At the very back of the banquet hall.
On one side of where the guards were gathered, a group of knights were lined up.
On the outside, they looked like ordinary knights with different attire and different affiliations.
Among them, a driver in his 40s with knife marks all over his face and his hair shaved short caught my eye.
*Name: Graham (45 years old)
*Level: 88
*Occupation: Knight (Sword Expert Advanced)
*Affiliation: Baron Baron, Kingdom of Ruben // House of Delamian, Brennan Republic
*Title: Red Executioner
*Stats: Potential (Class A)
[Strength 82] [Dexterity 72] [Stamina 84] [Intelligence 62] [Mental Strength 68] [Magic Power 71] [Sense 76]
*Unique characteristics
Tireless body (A) Specialized in melee (B)
He was a Philip-level strongman.
Moreover, its real affiliation is the Delamian family, one of the five great families of the Brennan Republic.
I don’t know why a family much more powerful than the Earl of Ashton was flocking here, but honestly, it was a pain in the ass.
In addition, the dozen knights standing next to Graham were also knights of the Delamian family, and two of them seemed to have surpassed the Intermediate Expert level.
‘To travel all the way here from the next town… I guess my family has been looked down upon quite a bit.’
And where I turned my eyes, there they were.
An enemy who views the Ashton family as a thorn in their eyes. They were the knights of Count Randall.
Although there were only five, one was an expert level knight and the remaining four were also intermediate level.
The problem was their representation.
*Name: Haphael (26 years old)
*Level: 61
*Occupation: Knight (Sword Expert Beginner)
*Affiliation: Count Randall
*Title: 4th Prince of Count Randall
*Stats: Potential (Grade B)
[Strength 61] [Agility 65] [Stamina 58] [Intelligence 61] [Mental Strength 53] [Magic Power 60] [Sense 55]
*Unique
Traits: Bloodline of the Swordsman (B) Agility (C-)
There was nothing particularly notable about the skill, but the sign itself was a weapon.
Why on earth is the 4th Prince of the Randall family here?
It seemed that the nobles of the Earl of Ashton had not yet noticed his existence.
‘I probably didn’t come with good intentions anyway, but I’m sure you didn’t come because of what happened at Mira, right?’
I wasn’t worried, but honestly, they probably wouldn’t be able to make a big move either.
No matter how much they said there was a family fight, I didn’t want to think that the Earl of Ashton’s blood relatives were foolish enough to split up in the face of an external enemy.
Finally, the long-awaited fifth category.
They were the culprits behind all this commotion, and they were family traitors who would definitely be at the forefront if something real happened.
And the actual representative was not Baron Xander, who was making fun of his snout in front. Even though he was disguised as an escort knight, he could not avoid Raoul’s analysis plan.
*Name: Titus (27 years old)
*Level: 65
*Occupation: Knight (Sword Expert Intermediate)
*Affiliation: Viscount Jaden, Kingdom of Ruben // Jaden Family, Brennan Republic
*Stats: Potential (Class A)
[Strength 70] [Dexterity 64 ] [Stamina 68] [Intellect 62] [Mental Strength 65] [Magic Power 63] [Sense 58]
*Unique characteristics
Bloodline of a prestigious swordsman (A) Straight-forward instinct (A-) Crooked fighting spirit (B)
‘Bingo!’
Titus.
He was the eldest son of Viscount Jayden, Raoul’s uncle, and Raoul’s cousin!
* * *
Raoul’s father, Count Melvin de Ashton, had two brothers.
They were the eldest brother, Jayden, and the younger brother, Austin.
All three brothers were talented in swordsmanship, but Melvin was the one who shined the most.
However, succeeding to the count’s family was not determined simply by swordsmanship skills.
Even in the Kingdom of Ruben, the ‘principle of primogeniture’ was observed, and unless there were special reasons, the next earl would be Jaden.
What was problematic was Jayden’s personality.
He was very arrogant and had great pride.
Convinced that he would become a count, his actions were extremely violent and unstoppable.
If there was someone who offended them, they used violence and even killed them.
Then one day.
Melvin surpassed Jayden by reaching the level of Intermediate Expert, and he became a strong candidate for the next Count.
While Jayden was jealous of his younger brother, he felt a great sense of crisis and ended up crossing a line.
He attempted to assassinate his younger brother Melvin by sending an assassin.
However, the assassination ended up being an attempt, and when the full story of the incident was revealed, Jayden was stripped of his qualifications as successor.
As time passed, Melvin rose to the rank of earl, and his eldest brother, Jayden, was given the title of viscount and a large estate at the level of a viscounty.
However, Jayden, who lost the throne to his younger brother, seemed to have difficulty accepting that fact.
Ridiculously, he sold the territory he had inherited to the Marquess of McNeil, a rival to the Earl of Ashton, and left the Kingdom of Leuven with his followers.
That was 15 years ago. It happened the year Raoul was born.
* * *
The fact that the son of his uncle, Viscount Jayden, appeared at this event gave us a good idea of who Baron Xander was lining up for.
Anyway, those who stayed in the capital did not suffer much loss from the incident 15 years ago, so they had no special feelings towards Viscount Jayden.
Rather, they probably thought that if they did well, they could push out the main family and become lords themselves.
And in fact, in their previous life, the County of Ashton was split into dozens and the Earldom was extinct, so they may have made a wise choice.
‘But that was when I wasn’t around, and this time it makes me realize in my bones that that choice was wrong.’
After identifying the five forces present at this event, I was able to get a rough picture of how the game was going.
Raoul, who thought it was time to move now that he had obtained the necessary information, gave a signal to Philip.
Bang bang bang!
Philip tapped his shield and attracted the attention of the noisy nobles.
After a moment of silence, Raoul slowly spoke.
“I have heard enough of your opinions, so I will tell you a few things. “Give it to Bernard.”
Following Raoul’s instructions, Bernard and the servants delivered a small booklet of nearly 30 pages to each nobleman.
The nobles who received the booklet widened their eyes and asked in surprised voices.
“What is this?”
“It’s exactly what it says in the title.”
The cover of the booklet they were holding had large letters engraved on it.
– Temporary audit report on the management status and fund operation status of the Earl of Ashton’s mansion in the capital –
(Attachment of evidence and investigation materials on embezzlement and breach of trust by Baron Gender)
.
The sound of paper turning was heard.
And I noticed that the faces of some people looking at the contents turned pale.
In particular, Baron Xander’s face changed dramatically like a chameleon every time he turned over each page of paper.
Raoul quietly and calmly admired their expressions.
Wow! Wow!
“This is a hoax! “It’s fake!”
Baron Xander shouted, tearing the booklet into pieces and throwing it on the floor.
And several nobles also quietly closed the booklet and spoke.
“It sounds plausible, but it’s hard to believe.”
“You arrived yesterday and researched this in one day? “It doesn’t make sense.”
But contrary to what they said, their hands holding the booklet were trembling.
Raoul said, slightly raising the corners of his mouth.
“Now then, shall we talk properly?”
(Continued in the next part)