"Carlson, what are you doing here!?" Mia asked in a cold tone. "What is the meaning of this!?"
"There is no special meaning, Mia." Earl Riea spoke up in an indifferent tone. "I'm just bringing the four of you back to the mansion."
"Heh." A cold smile appeared on Mia's face. "So that is the reason you brought all these men here, huh. To force us to return."
The earl did not answer. Instead, he moved his gaze in my direction.
"Nice to meet you again, Prince."
"Same here, father-in-law." I smiled politely as though the black-dressed men around us weren't there. "How is the family doing? Oh right, I forgot they are here with me."
The earl wrinkled his brows, but despite his rage, he did his best to keep a calm look.
"Stop with the jokes, Prince. Now, I hope you can leave my family go, otherwise, I don't mind using force.
I curved my lips up in a smirk. "Oh? Do you truly dare to attack a prince, Earl?"
"Well, you kidnapped my family first, so I'm confident everything will be alright if I'm careful about not injuring you too much."
I chuckled. What a great excuse.
Some people, though, were not as calm as me.
Especially Mia. When she heard the Earl's words, her expression fell.
"… Sorry, Prince Claus. This is my fault."
"Please don't worry, mother-in-law. There is no problem."
The situation seemed rather bad, though. The earl had intercepted us when we were pretty far from the institute, so I could not expect reinforcements from that side.
Moreover, all the men Earl Riea brought were elite, the weakest at the seventh layer. They were truly a strong force.
Lastly, there is someone with a powerful pressure hiding in someplace nearby.
… A thirteenth-layer practitioner.
How unexpected. So the earl still has someone like that, huh.
I killed three of the Riea family beyond-twelfth-layer practitioners in the forest of wolves, and one more when we destroyed the Blood Night's Gang. In other words, this thirteenth-layer practitioner would be the fifth super powerhouse of the Riea family.
As expected of one of the three greatest families of the empire. Such deep foundations.
But even for the Riea family, five beyond-twelfth-layer practitioners should be close to their limit. I'm pretty sure they have only one or two more.
Plus, the fact that the earl brought a thirteenth-layer practitioner for this situation means he is wary of something.
… Probably my fictional teacher. He is supposed to be a beyond twelfth-layer powerhouse after all.
Mia looked at the number of men around us and sighed. "It looks like we will be unable to leave with you this time, prince," She said. "But I hope you keep your promise."
I smiled without answering.
You are too naïve mother-in-law, you are not the true reason the earl is here.
You are just an excuse he is using.
And just as I expected, the earl spoke up at that moment.
"It's great that you understand the situation, Mia. But that is not enough."
"Huh?"
"Prince, I hope you can give the document my wife signed."
I grinned. As expected, this is your true goal.
"Carlson, how do you know about that!?" Mia was furious, but then, her son took a step forward.
With a gloating expression, Al left our group and walked towards his father.
"I told him," Al said. "You were not expecting this, right mother? I brought a communication with me and told father everything that you and he discussed. Do you think I was going to let you do such a thing?"
"You…" Mia glared at her son enraged. At the same time, Louise and Claire's expressions turned cold.
They were not expecting this kind of betrayal.
As for me? Of course I knew about this all along. Al's little tricks can not be hidden from me.
In fact, I allowed it intentionally.
On one hand, I could use this opportunity to get rid of Al. I don't need another man in my harem house.
And on the other hand, I could use this opportunity to truly sever Mia, Louise, and Claire's relationship with the earl.
"The document, Prince." The earl insisted coldly. "I don't want to be forced to hurt you."
"... Hehe, so that is the true reason you are here." Mia's expression was one of betrayal. "You came here for the document, huh? We were never important."
"Shut up, woman. Now is not the time for this."
"You are right. Now is not the time this. The 'interests' of the family are more important."
The earl frowned, but he said nothing and instead stared at me.
I watched this situation with an amused smile. Mm, I think now is the time to make my move.
Before I could, though, Ysnay stopped me.
"… Can I?"
I raised an eyebrow. What is this woman planning now?
Ysnay giggled. "You are supposed to have a secret master, right? Congratulations, from today onwards, I'm your master."
Then, Ysnay ignored my twitching expression and walked towards the earl.
"Mister, can you please leave? We are short on time."
"You are… The prince's servant? How dare a mere servant to talk like that to me?"
Ysnay grinned. Instantly, a powerful aura erupted from her body and attacked him.
The aura was incredibly overwhelming, far surpassing anything the earl had felt before. Even with his eleventh-layer cultivation, the earl felt like an ant.
Ysnay waved her hand, grabbing a thread-like sword from the void, and then, she looked around with a smile.
"You see mister. It's true I'm a servant. But you see, I have another identity… Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Ysnay Fate, and I'm Prince Claus's master."
When these words sounded, the earl's expression changed.
"You are... Careful!"
At the same time, Ysnay swung her sword.
"Stay your hand!" A voice came from behind the earl. The thirteenth-layer powerhouse suddenly appeared and charged towards Ysnay!
But it was already too late.
Before he finished speaking, a brilliant white light flashed.
When the light faded, Ysnay smiled and turned around, returning to my side and not caring about the black-dressed men or the thirteenth-layer practitioner.
One instant later, blood-red flowers bloomed from the black-dressed men's bodies.
Then, they together with the thirteenth-layer practitioner, collapsed.
Only Earl Riea and Al were left standing, unable to move a muscle due to fear.
"The Riea family. To think it has fallen this low. Claus, let's go back to the carriage. I already took care of the bugs in our way."
I smiled amused inwardly. Woman, you truly know how to pose as an unfathomable powerhouse.
I suppressed my laughter and called out at Mia, Louise, and Claire, who were looking at the scene with dumbfounded expressions.
"Let's go."
They stared at me and nodded before returning to the carriage in a daze. But when they looked at the smiling Ysnay again, they shivered.
I suppressed the urge to heave a tired sigh and shook my head.
As expected, dealing with this woman is tiresome.
...
P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels