Laderios Family (3)

'This is—!'

The sense of dissonance Gregory felt was because of the ambush. The sudden trace of mana he sensed from behind. But Gregory had experienced more than a few such sneak attacks in his previous life.

'The more threatening one is... behind!'

His judgment was swift. He twisted his body forcibly in midair.

Saaaak—!

He couldn't completely dodge the attack from the front, and his cheek was cut, but he was able to counter the fiercely approaching shadow sword from behind.

Kaaaang—!

The sound of sword clashing against sword exploded everywhere. Landing on the ground, Gregory quickly pulled himself together.

'Tch.'

Fortunately, his quick reaction had gotten him out of danger.

Gregory touched the wound that had appeared on his cheek. It had been a while since he'd seen his own blood, but this much was nothing to him.

"An ambush, really. I wonder where that so-called glorious honor of the Stria group went."

"Puhahaha! Things like that don't matter when it comes to winning or losing a fight anyway."

At Gregory's words, the head of the Laderios family burst out laughing boisterously.

"Did my Laderios Family look so easy to you? Did I, Jorhen, look that easy to you?!"

Of course, his eyes were chillingly cold as he said it. His tone was jovial, but the skill Gregory displayed was more than enough to keep his wariness up.

"You're right."

Gregory nodded nonchalantly, but his next remark poked at the family head's and guardian knight's pride.

"But what I actually worry about isn't that. If two of you try to ambush just me and end up getting killed by me alone, wouldn't that be truly humiliating?"

He gestured with a cocky flick of his hand, provoking them.

"What are you waiting for? Come on."

"You arrogant brat...."

Though he said that, Jorhen did not rush in recklessly. The more his anger flared, the more cautiously he coordinated with the guardian knight.

Pretending to loosen up, Gregory thought to himself.

'Even this level of provocation isn't working.'

He wasn't just trying to rile them up. What he wanted was an opening born of anger—to make the fight as easy as possible.

But his opponents were wily veterans. When Gregory deliberately acted relaxed and his stance loosened a little—

"Die!!"

Jorhen and the guardian knight stomped the ground in unison. Blades came at him from the front, back, and both sides.

Their similar swordsmanship intertwined in a cunning pattern, aiming to choke him off. But to Gregory, the openings in this seemingly perfect combination were all too clear.

'I haven't had this much fun with opponents in a while, but...'

Gregory kicked off the ground and leapt high. Jorhen sneered at what seemed like Gregory's foolish choice—opting to be airborne against such a combination—but soon was shocked by what Gregory did next.

Though it looked like nowhere was safe, Gregory's body spun in midair like a top, twisting his way through the gaps like an eel. And it didn't end there. Simultaneously, the tip of Gregory's spinning sword aimed for the guardian knight's exposed nape.

Pukak—!

Blood sprayed in the air. Gregory's reaction was dry and plain.

'How empty.'

He should have known his place after the initial ambush failed.

But it was already too late.

Gregory infused red mana into Durandal and stepped forward with long strides.

Seeing his guardian knight's rolling head and Gregory approaching, Jorhen lost all will to fight and started backing away, sitting on the ground.

"Are you trying to run? Do you want to die miserably to the last?"

Now, to Jorhen, Gregory no longer looked like a person. The way he marched closer, muttering, seemed more like an unidentifiable monster.

Pook—!

Even with a sword stabbed through his leg, Jorhen did not scream. His once-proud words turned humble.

"D, did you come from Estia Group? P-please spare me! I'll give you anything you want!"

Gregory looked at Jorhen skeptically. Estia Group was the group trying to stop Stria group.

At first, he thought maybe Jorhen was rambling from pain, but it made no sense to say such things on the verge of death unless he meant it.

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Gregory asked again.

"You think I'm from Estia Group? Why?"

At Gregory's glare, Jorhen didn't dare move. He thought his head could go flying at any moment.

So he glanced quickly at his son lying nearby and then looked anxiously back at Gregory.

Suddenly, Jorhen thrust his head to the ground in supplication, gasping desperately in despair.

"My child knows nothing. I'll tell you everything—please, just spare my son."

Gregory hesitated at Jorhen's plea. Seeing Jorhen willing to die to save his son, Gregory couldn't help but feel a bit of compassion.

So, out of humanity, he decided not to ask anything about the inside of Stria group.

After all, with Stria group's seal, Jorhen couldn't speak about their inner workings anyway, so he figured he'd just extract whatever information he could.

"Your son, huh.... Fine, I'll magnanimously grant you mercy and spare him."

Jorhen, convinced he could never beat Gregory, resolved to trade what he knew for his son's life. For that reason, he recounted every detail he could remember.

To sum up his information: Estia Group opposes Stria group, doing everything possible to thwart them.

Since Estia Group, like Stria group, operated covertly, they were obsessed with hiding their identity. But he said there was something in common with Gregory.

"What is that common point?"

Gregory pressed Durandal close against Jorhen's neck as he growled. Cowed, Jorhen blurted everything he knew.

"I-it's... that you use swordsmanship and red mana."

Jorhen looked up at Gregory with pleading eyes.

"That's it?"

"I-I'll continue."

Listening to Jorhen's added explanation, Gregory's doubts deepened. He'd always thought the swordsmanship he used had been polished and accumulated over many years.

But it seemed that judgment might be wrong.

Currently, it was about ten years before the Gregory from his previous life was born. Based on Jorhen's information, it suggested that the foundation of the swordsmanship Gregory used had originated in Estia Group.

That must be why Jorhen suspected Gregory was from Estia Group after seeing his technique.

'Wait... in that case....'

Gregory recalled that everything he'd learned had been passed down from his master in his previous life.

'Was my master related to Estia Group? If so, why didn't he tell me that?'

Questions begetting more questions in an endless chain.

Though the situation was confused, Gregory kept up a threatening air outwardly to project authority.

"So this swordsmanship is Stria group's long-cherished goal? Is it that you know of it because you're hostile to Estia Group?"

Jorhen, trembling but not affirming, made Gregory suspect that he couldn't speak due to Stria group's seal. And even after hearing him out, the confusion remained.

"Do you have something you're relying on? Are you trying to trick me?"

"N-no... I've told you everything I know."

Gregory probed lightly, but it didn't seem to be a lie at all.

So he squatted, bracing himself on his sword, and scrutinized Jorhen.

"It's true... I don't even know who you are—how could I dare to lie?"

Jorhen definitely explained that the red mana was connected to Estia Group.

'Hmm... So that's how it is.'

Gregory had always thought the origin of the red mana he used was simply the Forbidden Grimoire kept in Blandi's royal palace. In his previous life, he had been unable to use red mana at all.

Yet if someone from Estia Group authored a grimoire about red mana—

The credibility of Jorhen's information suddenly soared.

Gregory stood silently without replying.

Jorhen sensed instinctively that his death was at hand. So, before dying, he wanted to resolve at least this one curiosity.

Thus, Jorhen questioned Gregory's true intent.

"Why go this far...? Saving Radian could just end up shattering the temporary peace with Arme...."

Gregory replied with steadfast eyes.

"Why? Because rotten pus must be cut out before it corrodes the healthy flesh. I'll wipe out Stria group first."

Jorhen bowed his head in resignation. In truth, he too had become part of Stria group under threat. For some reason, he felt Gregory might truly bring peace to Blandi and did not deny his words.

"I see...."

Once more, Gregory lifted his sword and raised it high. Then, with a regretful tone, he muttered,

"It's not like I wanted things to end up like this, either. In this turbulent nation, I have no choice if I want to survive. With no pillar left in Blandi, these sorts of things will just keep happening."

Gregory, though he was now of Arme, found himself intensely immersed in remembering all the efforts he'd made to pursue them in the past.

Chak—!

After killing Jorhen, Gregory used a memory from his past life to draw the Stria group emblem in blood—a frame-up exactly as they habitually did it themselves.

Ssh, ssh—

Because it was a covert mark, and considering their personalities, the chance it had been discovered so far was almost zero, so Gregory didn't hesitate.

Leaving a small trail of evidence, and deciding how to use it, was entirely his own choice.

'There's still more to be done....'

But before leaving, Gregory killed everyone who knew or might have seen him enter this family.

If Jorhen's son survived, and there were minor heads following him—

Laderios Family might endure. It was an unavoidable measure to prevent that.

Next to the corpses, he elegantly wrote in the language used by Blandi's nobles, 'Traitors will only be purged.' Then he left the mansion unhurriedly.

For a while, there would be an uproar inside Stria group over suspicions of a spy.

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