This Bastard is Too Competent

Chapter 5: The Lion Cub

Chapter 5: The Lion Cub

***

"Ro, royal family?"

Shock was evident on Johnson's quivering face. He couldn’t believe it.

The Lord’s entire body trembled heavily as well, and he could not open his mouth properly.

“That… It can’t be. That brat… he must be a serf… His mother is also a lowly…"

"Lowly?"

The Lord flinched at Ian's voice. It was because of Ian's eyes, staring straight at him.

Seeing his eyes, Nathan also flinched. 

He never had any plan to kneel with reverence.

He just knelt with the intention of insulting the soldiers and teasing the Lord and the supervisor who didn't know the situation. 

‘What kind of gaze is that?’

Nathan suddenly remembered the ideology of the Republican Army, which claimed that there was no discrimination for the Crown Prince selection.

It was stated that there was no difference in whether one came from a royalty or a commoner background.

T/N : Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic with an emphasis on liberty and the civic virtue practiced by citizens.

‘I guess he isn’t called royal blood for no reason.’

Yes, he was just a child.

Even so, Nathan felt a sense of intimidation in those quiet and calm eyes.

However, Nathan quickly denied it. 

‘Yeah. We will see.’

He might have mistaken for a moment because of the rare eye color that the First King had.

There were a lot of incompetent people who had received royal classes, but what did a little boy who must have spent his entire life working as a lowly serf know about the spirit of the crown prince? It was an outrageous thought. 

And at that very moment, Ian was actually wary of Nathan's presence.

‘This person is definitely…’

Ian remembered him because of Nathan’s striking blue hair. 

Above all, among the knights who came to pick him up, he was outright dissapointing.

And…

‘Unlike Galon, is he the second son of a noble family?’

The skill he had was enough to make his name resonate throughout the kingdom in the future.

But.

‘Later, he will leave the Duke’s side and become the knight of the Third Prince.’

And became an extremely dangerous enemy.

Thanks to that man, not only the Duke but also Ian almost lost their life.

If the Duke had not personally dug a trap and attracted that man, his camp might have lost the succession war.

It was to the point that the Duke always complained at every drinking party.

‘At some point, the Duke was a person who didn't say anything that didn't pay off.’

But Nathan was one of the few people who heard the story.

So, as soon as Ian saw him, he almost stepped back by instinct.

But then he thought it was a mistake. This was because he had not yet gone to the damn Third Prince’s side.

Ian furrowed his brows.

‘Anyway, if they are both on the Duke’s side, they would be formidable…’

Galon was the Duke’s most trusted knight. Nathan was someone with such a sharp mind that he was capable of catching the Duke off guard. 

‘However, if possible, I would like to make these two my own people.’

Not only would the Duke's power decrease, but he could also easily win the succession war afterwards.

Ian's eyes shone at the thought.

However, such thoughts only briefly passed through his mind. 

"Prince, what should we do with them?"

Nathan, with a rather frivolous tone, asked with a sharp gaze.

It was the question of whether he would overlook those who dared not lower their swords in front of the knights and the royal family as well.

‘Well, even if I ask for his will, I'm sure this kid is more familiar with being the one getting ordered rather than the one ordering.’

Moreover, he was still a child. 

Nathan was sure he would be dumbfounded when asked to make such a major decision.

There's no way Galon didn’t notice that, though.

‘If it's only a little teasing, Galon won't say anything.'

But Ian unexpectedly raised his finger. 

"Capture the sinners."

“!”

What Ian's fingertips accurately pointed to was none other than the Lord and Johnson.

The Lord got angry when Ian, who still had the low serfs' clothes on, pointed at him.

“I… What a rude bastard! How dare a mere serf like you put your finger on your lord! I don't know how you deceived them, but I myself can put my finger on you…"

But his anger didn't last long.

"I'll take your order."

Nathan stood up from his kneeling position and unsheathed the sword with pleasure.

The Lord freaked out at the sight.

He couldn’t believe that the knights, famous for their arrogance, listened to none other than a mere serf.

"No… You're kidding, right? Are you really listening to that lowly kid?"

He tried to assert his authority somehow, but the situation was not in his favor.

If it stayed like this, he felt the knight was going to cut his throat all at once.

‘Damn it. If it happens, there's nothing I can do.’

He had no choice but to send over a signal to ask for help.

So it was when he was trying to give Johnson a hint to make some time.

"No! That can't be true! This is all a dream!"

“!!”

Johnson screamed and started to run away.

The Lord was embarrassed when his trusted subordinate ran away first.

"This… Hey! Johnson! Damn it!"

He couldn't help it now that this had happened.

The Lord began to run after Johnson.

The direction was the Lord's castle!

He was sure Johnson was trying to send a signal for help.

Nathan burst into laughter at their pathetic appearance.

"It’s really different. It's very fun."

It was because the Lord was determined to run away in front of the knights. They could run faster than horses if they wanted to. 

But they're going to abandon their people and soldiers to run away from the knights?

It was the moment when Nathan was about to use his oath to go after them.

Boo! Woo!

The sound of heavy horns rang out. At the same time, soldiers and mercenaries jumped out and surrounded the plaza.

"Siege!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Nathan put out his oath. Now their troops had arrived.

The fleeing Lord and Johnson were caught at once. 

Clank clank!

"Stop where you are. If not…"

"Ugh… Damn it."

A blue spear crept into their necks.

The centurion walked out from among the soldiers.

"I apologize for being late, Sir Galon and Sir Nathan."

"Great job, Centurion."

"I sent the signal to the lord of this village just in case. Oh, he's here, right?”

The Lord trembled at the centurion's sneering gaze.

The Lord and Johnson tried to shake off the soldiers who grabbed them with gritted teeth.

"Let me go! Do you know who I am? I'm the lord of this place! Don’t touch me with your disgusting—"

"Everyone is being fooled! How can you call a lowly serf a royalty like that! Moreover, his mother is just a filthy—"

But it was then.

Slam!

A scabbard suddenly flew across Johnson's face.

It was such a strong impact that his teeth were shattered in an instant.

The owner of the sword was the knight Galon.

Surprised by the action, Nathan narrowed his brows and shouted to the soldiers.

"What are you all doing? Are you going to let the sinners keep blabbering?”

"We apologize, Sir!"

The soldiers got the Lord and Johnson to their knees and gagged their mouths.

But in the meantime, the Duke's soldiers, led by the centurion, stole a glance at Ian.

It was because Ian wasn’t his usual dirty appearance.

"Is that the person we're going to escort?"

"Didn't they say he is a serf kid? Doesn’t he look too good for that?”

The centurion's gaze was also strangely directed at Ian.

Regardless of the order issued by the Duke, depending on the situation, they might have to serve him as their young master. 

‘Even though he is a member of the royal family, I heard that he lived without knowing that he was one.’

In addition, the mother, who should have told him about her origin, died early. They heard that there was no one to tell him where his blood came from.

Or so it was supposed to be.

‘This is different from the contents of the mission.’

While the centurion was having that thought.

"Prince, I have brought the sinners."

Nathan asked Ian, pressing a sword into the necks of Johnson and the Lord.

"How would you like to punish them?"

Taken aback by his actions, the centurion frowned and tilted his head.

‘Originally, the punishment of a person who makes a mistake against the royal family is set by the law decided by the royal family itself.’

It was one of the sacred rights that no one could replace.

But that child was only a serf. 

Why would he give a choice to a child who didn’t even know about that right?

‘What kind of punishment would such a child give? It would be nice if he didn't just ask to forgive them.'

They could handle most of the problems that might occur to the prince on their own.

In fact, the Duke also instructed them to do so regarding the treatment of Ian, who still held the status of a serf. 

‘I don't know. But I’m sure the position of the bastard will only get worse.’

It was then.

Ian stood up from his seat.

"What is the punishment for those who raise their sword to the royal family?"

"Regardless of status, the punishment is summary execution."

"Even though one is the lord?"

"They said he is an appointed official, not a lord with a title. I don't know if he has a title. You don't have to worry about low-ranking officials who don't even have titles, Prince."

If so, the answer was decided.

"Then do it."

"Pardon?"

It wasn't Nathan but the centurion and the soldiers who asked the question.

And their expressions were quite worth seeing.

They didn't expect him to bring that up.

So at first, the centurion thought it was simply the evil of a child. 

‘No. There’s no way he has that kind of idea.’ 

But his thought proved to be wrong.

"I told you to do it."

Ian's cold, still eyes were looking past the two criminals, or precisely, to the centurion.

"You may exclude the soldiers."

“…!!”

Eyes that know exactly who directs whom.

‘This kid.’

The centurion felt goosebumps for a moment.

Then Nathan beckoned to the centurion. It looked like he was going to obey the prince's orders no matter what.

The centurion flinched and eventually signaled the soldiers.

The Lord and Johnson, recognizing the gesture, began to cry for mercy.

"Pl-please save me!"

“We were wrong!”

The expressions of the Lord and Johnson were truly spectacular.

The pain of the amputated arm was also a problem, but when death was just around the corner, Johnson didn’t care even if his face was smeared with tears and snot.

"I…I was wrong. Save me, Ian! No, prince! Please have mercy!"

Johnson thought that still wasn't enough.

Bang!

He banged his head to the ground.

It looked like he was desperate to live somehow.

Galon, Nathan, and the others looked to see if Ian's decision would change.

"What are you doing? Go ahead and execute them."

Ian's eyes were still icy cold.

And never turned away from them.

Ttak.

Then the signal finally dropped. The gesture of a hand with the thumb down. It was the signal of summary execution.

The soldiers did not delay any longer. 

At the execution order, the long swords fell over the heads of the two sinners. 

"Sa-Save me!"

It was the moment the sword was about to cut their heads.

"Stop!"

At one word from Ian, the soldiers' swords halted.

It stopped just above the necks of the Lord and Supervisor Johnson.

Nathan was surprised and called Ian.

"Prince?"

He wondered why the prince suddenly changed his mind.

But Ian answered calmly.

“That was enough. We will leave the rest to the formal trial.”

This punishment was sufficient.

The Lord and the supervisor with their necks on the sword were enough as evidence to all currently present.

The Lord could feel his stomach twisted in fraught.

He was stunned by the fear of death. He was so frightened that some yellow liquid soaked the front of his pants. It was only to set an example.

Of course, this didn’t mean Ian forgave them.

‘I can't forgive the bad deeds they have done in the past.’

Those two were people who had committed various evils to him, the other serfs, and the villagers. Ian wouldn't kill them so nicely.

It's just not in this place.

‘There's a place that suits you better than that.’

It seemed like the Lord had something he could rip off of him, though.

As such, the two would regret that they didn’t die today.

And above all, the biggest reason was the Duke. 

It would be better if the Duke saw him as a child who was still easy to handle. 

‘That way, it becomes easier to spend the first day in the Duke's castle.’

So Ian said in an indifferent voice.

"Take them away."

The centurion was startled by that, then smiled and replied, “As you wish, Prince.” 

Of course, he was puzzled by a glimpse of Ian's eyes he saw for a brief moment. 

‘As expected, a child is still a child. It must be scary to see a person die.'

He wiped out a cold sweat, mumbling that he saw it wrong. In fact, the prince’s order was the same as saying that he didn’t like seeing people dying.

"On it, Sir. Hey, what are you all doing! Didn’t you hear the prince's order? Prince, let's go to the carriage first."

"Alright."

The soldiers dragged the two sinners and all who had participated in the ruckus. 

Ian glanced at Galon and Nathan as he headed to the carriage.

"What are you two doing? You are not going?"

Galon and Nathan bowed their heads and guided Ian. Others might not understand Ian's intentions, but that wasn’t the case with them. 

On the surface, he might look afraid of a person dying in front of his eyes and so handed it over to the trial, but the two knights had read Ian's eyes and intentions.

Even if they were to be put on trial anyway, they would be executed eventually. 

No, being handed over to the trial in the first place was much more painful than immediate execution. And they would rather try to dedicate the valuable things on this land to Ian in order to live. 

Except for the final decision, it was all up to Ian.

The two knights recalled a characteristic of the royal family—they did not stain their hands with blood and instead took other benefits they could reap.

‘The Duke said he is a country boy who doesn’t know anything? No, he is a lion cub.’

They understood his intention the moment they saw his gaze. And they felt shivers crawling up their backs.