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41. Beggar Siblings – Commission

Summer quickly vacated her seat.

As the cool breeze brought in autumn, the Prince of Austin Kingdom arrived in Oberg.

Leading a grand procession flanked by hundreds of elite soldiers and attendants, the prince marched with an impressive presence.

Amidst the crowd gathered to see the extravagant parade were Lena and Leo.

“Lena! There he comes. It’s the prince!”

During this time, Leo had been caring for his younger sister every day and working for the family. Recently, he had even been deployed to actual combat twice, earning him recognition as a capable member of the Rauno Family.

[ Achievement: Killing Civilians – You have killed ‘2’ civilians. You will experience slight misfortune. ]

This was for the death of a merchant. It wasn’t surprising since he had seen this happen before when he killed Hans.

Slight misfortune, seeing this made Leo a bit anxious, but he soon forgot about it.

It didn’t cause any real changes in his life.

Occasionally, there were unfortunate events, like losing a beautiful hairpin he had saved to give to Lena or preparing to enjoy a warm bath only for Boss to call for him, and by the time he returned, the water was cold.

But these were just minor mishaps, nothing out of the ordinary for anyone.

On the other hand, Lena had been well-fed and rested, blooming with charming beauty.

She lived safely in the family mansion, received an education alongside peers, and regained the youthful life of a girl surrounded by love and affection from her family, enjoying each day.

And Leo, too, was eating well, gaining muscle, and growing taller.

Finally, he developed a physique that could support {Swordsmanship.2v}, and now, at least in the back alleys, there was no one who could threaten him.

Solid stability, that “slight misfortune” couldn’t disturb this peace. — Confident, Leo glared at a man who had been eyeing his sister.

When he tapped the scabbard hanging at his waist, the man quickly averted his gaze.

A Rauno Family tattoo was etched on Leo’s neck.

A tattoo of a poisonous dagger peeking out from behind a shield. Just seeing this made ordinary citizens wary.

‘How dare you look at my sister? Do you want to die?’

Leo chuckled lightly, shaking his head, while Lena, unaware that someone was looking at her, squealed with excitement.

“Wow! So amazing! It’s the prince!”

“Isn’t he cool?”

“Yeah! I’ve never seen someone like that before…? Hmm? Where have I seen something like that? Either way, he’s cool!”

Seeing his sister bounce with joy made Leo feel nostalgic.

Before, he had been too weak to bring Lena to see the prince’s procession.

“Lena, what do you think of that prince?”

“What about him?”

“Do you think he’s handsome?”

“Yeah! He’s handsome!”

For some reason, it felt like their definitions of “handsome” were diverging, so he asked again.

“Don’t you want to marry a prince like him?”

“Huh? How could I marry a prince? The prince should be with a princess.”

“Lena, you’re a princess.” ─ He wanted to say this but held back.

If he said that, his sister would surely mock him, calling him a foolish, clueless older brother.

“Just hypothetically. If you could marry him, would you?”

“Hmm~ I don’t know?”

Lena shrugged indifferently, just as the prince disappeared into the distance, ending the grand procession.

Trying to soothe the disappointed Lena on the way back, Leo pressed a little further.

“What do you think? Don’t you want to marry a prince like that?”

“I don’t know?”

“Is it not appealing?”

“No.”

“Then?”

Lena shot a glare at her brother, frowning as if something discontented her, but despite that, she looked stunningly beautiful. The way her narrowed brows formed soft creases was irresistibly cute.

“Do you want me to get married?”

“No, not really… But you’ll have to get married someday. I just wanted to know your taste in advance.”

“…I don’t want to get married.”

“Really? What did you say?”

“Oh! Enough! You’re an idiot!”

With that, Lena spun around and dashed into her room, clearly done with the conversation.

“Hey? Lena?”

“Go away! I won’t let you in!”

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“I’m going to sleep!”

“It’s still daytime!”

“…”

Lena emerged from her room only in the evening and acted as if nothing had happened, joining the family for dinner. Leo thought to himself that girls’ mood swings were hard to keep up with while trying to read her mood.

‘Is she going through a phase?’

He couldn’t understand her behavior.

*

Prince Anolf de Klaus of Austin Kingdom was, as usual, humiliated in this scenario.

The beloved of Belita Kingdom, Princess Chloe de Tatalia, kissed another man right in front of him. Not just any man, but Gilbert Forte, the son of the Swordmaster, Count Hermann Forte.

Caught off guard, the nobles were too intimidated to respond properly, and the prince left with a grim expression. He had traveled for months only to stay less than a week.

Afterward, Oberg was engulfed in the ominous winds of war as the prices of iron and weapons rose rapidly. This led to clashes between the Korolla Family and Berza Family over the illegal arms trade, who had never been on good terms.

Brawls broke out all over Oberg, and there were multiple instances of arson.

Leo was aware of these events.

Meanwhile, the Rauno Family, as always, kept a low profile. They were the family with the longest history in Oberg.

While many families had risen and fallen like shooting stars over the years, the Rauno Family remained steady. They protected their business interests, exchanged gifts with local merchants, and helped resolve grievances, even accepting contracts for killings when necessary.

Leo was deeply impressed by Joseph Rauno.

He wasn’t rushing things.

‘Right. My goal is to overthrow the prince of Conrad Kingdom… but this is not something to be rushed into.’

If the careful behavior of a mere family was so prudent, then what he had to do was topple a kingdom.

Leo calmed his anxious heart and focused on gathering information about Conrad Kingdom. Thank goodness Lena was still young.

Of course, it wasn’t easy. Information about a foreign kingdom, especially at the highest levels, was as rare as a pebble on the road.

Unfortunately, the Rauno Family was well-versed in Oberg and Belita Kingdom but had little interest in other countries, so they were of no help.

In the end, Leo took it upon himself to seek out merchants from Conrad Kingdom.

Before him stood a dry merchant, clearing his throat awkwardly, trying to find the right words.

“Well, I’ve picked up a few things from my visits… but it’s not really significant or certain, so I’m hesitant to tell you…”

The merchant trailed off, clearly intimidated by Leo’s tattoo while still wanting to negotiate.

Leo decided to emphasize his point by slapping a silver coin on the table with a resounding sound, prompting the merchant to finally spill some useful information.

It didn’t turn out to be anything worthwhile.

*

As winter approached, the Rauno Family mansion was well-stocked with firewood.

Boss, calling for Leo after a long while, waited with his back to the hearth and spoke in a measured tone.

“We’ve got a big job.”

His expression was as usual, but his fingers crossed behind his back twitched nervously.

“It’s a request to kill a noble.”

“A noble? But taking down a noble will lead to severe repercussions…”

A commoner killing a noble would cause an uproar. In this world where the class system was strict, such an act was intolerable, resulting in the perpetrator facing execution without trial if caught.

If the culprit fled and wasn’t caught, their relatives would be slaughtered, and even their home village or acquaintances would suffer.

Joseph Rauno handed over a piece of paper he held.

“Right. Our family might be ruined, but the one who made the request is his father.”

Leo took the elegantly decorated letter. The seal at the bottom featured the insignia of Marquis Benard Tatian, the leader of the royal faction. The letter was beautifully penned, requesting the death of his son.

Joseph waited for Leo to finish reading the letter with a somber expression before continuing.

“The marquis’s spokesperson delivered this. He mentioned he’d give you the time to meet with the marquis if you wanted.”

He approached Leo and placed a hand on his shoulder. Leo’s height made it seem as if a father was comforting his son, and in fact, Joseph spoke with that trust in his voice.

“You should meet with the marquis.”

“Understood. But why has this request come in?”

“Looks like you haven’t heard yet. Our princess has gotten into trouble again.”

Joseph Rauno, seemingly forgetting, sat Leo down alongside him and offered him some incense. Leo didn’t refuse. Sharing incense with the boss felt remarkably respectful.

The smoke they exhaled drifted around the dimly lit boss’s room.

Joseph briefly recounted the incident from a few days prior.

The marquis’s son, Toton Tatian, and Princess Chloe were sticky at a banquet, quietly disappearing, and embarrassingly, the princess returned to the royal palace only by morning. The king did not reprimand the princess for staying out without permission.

He had tacitly condoned her indiscretions.

“You know the current political situation, right?”

“Yeah. The royal faction and the swordmaster faction are at odds with each other. Overall, the swordmaster faction seems to be dominating.”

“Right. And the person actually leading the royal faction is Marquis Tatian.”

Boss took a deep drag of the incense.

“The princess has indirectly meddled with the leaders of both factions now. It’s probably something the king ordered.”

Princess Chloe de Tatalia was famous for her proper conduct and decorum, so no one believed she would take such actions on her own volition.

Leo felt the same way.

“Why would the king instigate such a situation?”

“I can’t figure that out. The king hasn’t been involved in politics until now… Which is why your role is crucial.”

Joseph tossed aside his incense and leaned forward. Leo threw his unfinished incense into the hearth.

“Marquis Benard Tatian has requested his son’s death. Isn’t that strange? The king instigated this, yet the head of the royal faction is trying to settle the matter to avoid a conflict with the swordmaster faction.”

“…”

“It’s different from the swordmaster sending his son to the monks at the monastery church. Perhaps Marquis Tatian doesn’t trust the king. You should probe the marquis for his intentions.”

“Understood. But why me…?”

“I’ve thought a lot about it. But you’re young and have a strangely trustworthy vibe. Maybe the marquis would say an extra word to a trustworthy young man?”

[ Achievement: First Meeting with the Family Boss – The thugs trust your words. ]

This achievement seemed to lead to some misconceptions.

“If you accept this commission, it was always my intention to leave it to you. Your skills are the best. Since you’ll be doing it, I ask that you handle it from start to finish. The marquis’s commission will help determine whether our family gains something or keeps to the shadows.”

As he finished speaking, he handed over the letter envelope.

The envelope bore the marquis’s seal, likely used to secure the envelope itself.

The symbol of the Tatian family was a scale.

The scale’s emblem was boldly stamped on a heavily greenish-yellow wax seal, which already tilted to one side, despite nothing placed on the scale.

Leo felt a rush of excitement.

With this, he could meet a great noble at the center of the kingdom’s politics!

And perhaps…

Swallowing hard, Leo reached out, and the envelope was transferred to him in front of the blazing hearth.

The incense Leo tossed in lay smoldering on the edge of the hearth, unable to catch fire as it slowly burnt away.