Chapter 262

Chapter 263. You want to fight dirty? I’m fine with that (3)

“Brother! We’ve successfully kidnapped every single one of them, not a single one missed.”

Maknun, holding a transparent glass panel—a wizard board—nodded at his words.

“Pay the remaining balance, and let’s get going.”

“You all heard him, right? Pack your things. We’re heading back to Sephira.”

Maknun spoke to the party on my behalf. Catherine and Haribo, startled, turned to me with questions.

“Are we leaving without the Lord?”

“The royal palace is a maze, and they said we can’t just leave as we please, Prince.”

“Haribo might not know, but Catherine, you’re still doubting me, huh? Your Master has everything planned. If you don’t believe me, you can stay here.”

The slave has been treated like a person lately, so it seems the tension has eased. I left them to handle it and headed straight for the door leading to the corridor.

*Swoosh!*

Two knights stood in front of the door, crossing their swords to block my path.

“Prince Keter. Your eyes aren’t fully healed yet, where are you going? The royal palace is a maze. Without a guide, you’ll get lost. If you have a destination in mind, please make a formal request. We’ll send a guide.”

“It’s fine. I can go alone.”

“If something happens to you, Prince, it’s all our responsibility. For your safety, please return. If there’s anything you need, we’ll take care of it.”

Their tone was polite, but their swords were glowing with a sharp aura.

This was ridiculous. They stationed 5-star Masters as gatekeepers? Even if the royal palace is overflowing with Masters, this is excessive.

They’re planning to keep not just Hisop but all of us locked in the royal palace.

*Tap tap.*

I placed my hands on the shoulders of the two gatekeepers and whispered.

“You wanna try me?”

“Prince, no matter how prestigious your family is, this is the royal palace. If you don’t follow the palace’s rules, we have no choice.”

“Then I’ll just have to knock you two out and go.”

I pressed down on their shoulders with force. Immediately, these idiots swung their swords at my arms. They weren’t trying to kill me, but they were aiming to cut my arms.

*Thud!*

“Ugh!”

“Ack!”

A blade of aura, thrown by Maknun, flew between my armpits and stabbed into the gatekeepers’ chests. Their attention was entirely on me, and visually blocked, so they never saw it coming.

“Maknun, you’re not great at knocking people out.”

“How do you knock someone out with a blade? It’s hard enough not to kill them.”

“You do it like this.”

I grabbed the hilts of the daggers stuck in the gatekeepers’ chests and twisted them mercilessly. The writhing men let out a crackling sound and passed out.

“Most humans will faint if you inflict pain beyond their limits.”

“Ugh, there’s too much blood splatter. Should I learn that pressure point technique too?”

“You have the time for that, huh? Lucky you.”

“Isn’t finding time for yourself something you do even in the middle of a battlefield?”

We casually chatted as we walked down the corridor. Catherine and Haribo, though still dazed, followed us anyway.

After walking for a while, we arrived at a garden where the sky was visible.

“Six Hundred, open a portal to Sephira.”

“Yes.”

Portals are much more stable and convenient than teleportation gates, but they’re dozens of times more difficult to create.

Even Six Hundred can’t cast such high-level magic, and of course, neither can I. I’m not a mage.

‘But Maknun, who has learned Space-Time Magic, is different.’

Maknun, who learned the concept of Space-Time Magic from the Lord of the West, Krona, taught it to Six Hundred. Based on that experience and technique, he modified it to create a portal to Sephira anytime, anywhere.

Thanks to that, when Six Hundred focuses for a moment and spreads his arms, a portal large enough for a person to pass through appears.

*Whoosh!*

The scenery of Sephira is visible on the other side.

This is the difference from a teleportation gate. You can see the other side, so there’s no danger.

“Go ahead.”

Maknun pushed Catherine and Haribo first, and the two were almost forced into the portal.

Then Maknun entered as well. Now only Six Hundred and I are left to go… but we’re not going to Sephira.

As the portal began to close, the slave exclaimed in surprise.

“Young Master?! Aren’t you coming with us?!”

“I have somewhere else to go. Maknun, take care of the kids.”

“Yes, Brother. Have a safe trip.”

*Click!*

The portal closed completely, and now it’s my turn.

*Rumble!*

The royal palace shook as if an earthquake had struck.

It’s nothing serious, just the result of the magic I just used.

Since I used magic ignoring the royal palace’s divine barrier, the royal knights will arrive within a minute, judging it as an intrusion. Knowing this, I spoke to Six Hundred without much emotion.

As I told Maknun, I’m not going to Sephira. Even if I go there, all I’ll do is explain the family war and watch the old men make a fuss. What’s the fun in that?

I’ll leave that role to Maknun and find my own fun.

“Six Hundred, this time… let’s go.”

I leaped into the open portal, and just as the royal knights arrived, I gave them the middle finger as a farewell gesture.

* * *

“Keter has disappeared.”

*Whoosh!*

Second Prince Rakan, in the middle of swordsmanship training, stopped his sword at his subordinate’s words.

“Philip. Did I give you a difficult order? Was bringing Keter here that hard?”

“No.”

“Then why am I hearing this absurd report that Keter has disappeared? Ah, Keter has disappeared. How fascinating. Did you think I’d accept it like this?”

“No.”

“Then do you think this royal palace is some rural lord’s castle? A place where you can hide if you want and leave if you want?”

“No.”

“If you think not!”

*Whoosh!*

The Second Prince’s black sword stopped right in front of Philip’s eyes. His hair, untouched, was cut and scattered, but he didn’t even blink.

“Why couldn’t you bring Keter?”

“…I apologize.”

It wasn’t Philip’s fault that he couldn’t bring Keter. But Philip knelt down and tilted his head back.

“Disrespect towards Lord Rakan. I will atone with my death.”

Just as Philip was about to slam his forehead into the ground to die, Rakan snapped.

“Cut it out! Who do you think I’m angry at to test your loyalty? How on earth could Keter disappear? Explain it to me!”

Philip, with his forehead just above the ground, spoke in that position.

“It seems he escaped the royal palace through a portal.”

“A portal? A portal?”

Rakan couldn’t understand.

A portal is a 7th-circle high-level magic. The idea that the Sephira party, who are archers, could cast it is absurd, but even if they could, isn’t this the royal palace protected by a divine barrier?

“Even if there’s a 7th-class mage in Sephira’s party, it would take considerable time to cast magic through the divine barrier. Did the royal knights just watch?”

“We arrived at the scene where magic traces were detected in 47 seconds, but the portal had already closed by then. According to the knights who arrived at the scene…”

Philip hesitated. When Rakan urged him, he finally confessed.

“…they only saw a middle finger.”

“A middle finger?”

“Like this.”

The straightforward Philip raised his middle finger. It was an ‘insult’ even the noble-born Prince Rakan recognized.

“Keter!”

Rakan, who kicked the innocent Philip, had veins popping on his forehead.

“The rumors of him being a lunatic were an understatement. He’s a madman, no, a traitor. How dare he insult and humiliate me, a royal? Immediately…!”

Rakan wanted to immediately charge Sephira with treason, but he couldn’t. The plan for him was already in motion.

“Huu…”

Taking a deep breath, Rakan calmed his excitement and took a proper stance with his sword.

“How amusing. Have I ever been this excited before? Keter, you’re truly a fearsome one.”

Rakan, despite his rough exterior, isn’t the type to get excited. Getting excited means emotions are disturbed, and that makes rational judgment difficult.

But for some reason, thinking about Keter made him furious, and it was hard to control that emotion.

‘It must be because of Lilie. I lost Lilie because of him.’

Anyway, Sephira will fall. And Sephira’s fall is Keter’s fall.

“Him escaping is a variable… but it’s already too late.”

What Rakan trusted was Baydant.

The Baydant family had been preparing for this day for a year. On the other hand, Sephira didn’t even know about the family war until today.

Baydant has already applied for a family war against Sephira, and soon official documents will be distributed to each family. Baydant has applied for a family war against Sephira.

“Heh heh heh, Keter. No matter how much you struggle, you can’t win the family war.”

Even if Keter’s realm is generously estimated at 6-star Grandmaster, considering his age, it’s an absurd level. But still, he’s alone. Sephira has no Grandmasters. It’s not an exaggeration to say it’s just Keter alone.

On the other hand, the Baydant family has three Grandmasters. It’s a shame there’s no Prime, but it doesn’t matter.

After all, Sephira will face a family war against a family five times their size.

“They’ll pay the price for ignoring the royal family.”

Rakan thought it would take at most a week. Until Hisop begs to be let out of here, and Keter’s arrogance turns into despair.

* * *

“Lord! This is a portrait painted by the first Lord. Are we selling this too?”

“Doesn’t matter. Even if it’s a relic of the first Lord’s great-grandfather, sell all the artworks!”

Jordic was extremely busy.

Not because of the strategy briefing for the family war against Sephira, but to rescue the kidnapped executives and defend against the forced collection by the Infinite Bank’s collectors.

He was focused on gathering as much money as possible.

“This is worth 4,730 gold.”

“What? This is an archaeologically valuable artwork! This portrait is no less than a treasure of the Baydant family, and you’re offering less than 5,000 gold for it?!”

“If you’re unhappy with my valuation, you can refuse to sell. But remember, you still need to pay 1.81 million gold. You have one day left, or forced collection will begin.”

The amount forcibly collected from Baydant’s Infinite Bank account was a whopping 920,000 gold. And yet, nearly double that amount remained.

“Damn it!”

The collector from the Infinite Bank was ruthless. A diamond ore bought for 1,000 gold was slashed to half its value.

Since the price would drop by half again once forced collection began, Jordic had no choice but to sell off everything valuable in the family.

“Damn it, damn it! How can less than 100,000 gold balloon to 2.73 million gold? The contract definitely didn’t have this! This is fraud! Keter must have scammed me!”

Jordic was on the verge of madness, having to play the role of a peddler during this crucial time when he should be preparing for the family war.

“You’re only realizing this now?”

“Is that Keter’s voice? Heh heh, I must be going mad. Hearing voices now.”

Jordic thought he had finally lost his mind when he heard Keter’s voice from behind.

But then, wasn’t something poking his back?

“What lunatic…!”

Who dares to poke the Lord of Baydant? Already irritated, Jordic turned around with a murderous aura.

And then—

*Poke!*

Keter’s finger poked Jordic’s cheek.

“Ke, Keter?!”

The Keter he thought was a hallucination was right in front of him. Even playfully poking his cheek with a finger.

Keter waved at Jordic and greeted him formally.

“Hey, it’s me.”

The place Keter arrived at after escaping the royal palace was none other than the enemy’s stronghold—the Baydant family.