"Now you'll wait here… I need to inform the clan to accept your presence."
Brad blinked for a moment before continuing.
"I'll come back soon."
…
Hector sighed as he looked around the grand hall of the head house, where all the knights of the Jenkins Clan stood guard.
Bits of memories from this body began to surface in his mind, but most of them were nothing short of a miserable childhood. Everyone had mocked and bullied him, even low-ranking knights.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA, ASSHOLE… It's been a while since I last saw you. I didn't expect you'd dare come back here after being expelled by clan."
An insolent voice rang out from behind Hector.
Hector simply blinked and turned toward the speaker. It was a tall, handsome young man, with blue hair just like his.
Hector wasn't surprised. That man was his brother—the son of the clan leader's second wife.
Meanwhile, Hector was the son of the third wife, the one everyone hated. All because of a single reason: Hector was the main reason behind third wife of leader clan mysterous sickness after he was born.
"Greetings, my big brother. What brings you here?" Hector grinned.
Well, he knew that guy clearly. Bell had always bullied him. That explained why he felt a slight shiver when he saw that bastard. Still, he knew exactly why Bell hated him so much.
It was because Hector was the only one among the children who had been engaged to Violet. Thus, Bell had always been jealous.
Bell frowned when Hector showed no fear toward him. It was strange. Normally, Hector would always bow his head when facing Bell, not even daring to speak in front of him.
But that didn't matter now. He needed confirmation from Hector—right now. And he needed to do something about it.
"You kissed Violet, right? Then I need to cut your lips… I need to punish you for that disgusting thing you did."
Suddenly, Hector burst out laughing when he heard that.
That laughter made the veins on Bell's face bulge. He even prepared a knife, ready to attack at any moment.
"I think you'll need to do more," Hector chuckled as he stared sharply at his brother.
"You should cut my tongue and carve my eyes out."
He added in a mocking tone.
"How pathetic you are."
Bell's face twisted with fury and jealousy as he thought about what Hector had done to Violet. The irritation burned down to his core
"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Bell screamed in rage. Without hesitation, he lunged at Hector.
However, he had lost his control and caution after Hector's provocation.
Bang!
With just a single punch, Hector sent Bell skidding across the floor before slamming into the wall of the grand hall.
"Four mana cores can only do that? Too weak!"
In truth, Hector could never defeat someone with four mana cores. But he had provoked Bell, disrupting his concentration.
A fighter who lost focus could easily be killed.
But Hector's brother was no ordinary man. He slowly stepped out of the cloud of dust, his face bruised and swollen, no longer handsome as before.
Clang!
Hector lifted his eyelids in amusement as he watched a tooth fall from Bell's mouth.
"Oh, you lost a tooth… Sorry. I should've treated my big brother more gently instead of being that brutal."
Bell's expression twisted with rage and contempt.
How dare that little shit do this to him?
He wanted to kill that bastard right now.
But from now on, he would stay calm and focus on the fight. Once he did, Hector would be nothing more than useless trash.
"Trash. You'll die here today. I swear it."
"Because you're no longer a member of our Clan, things are going to be easy," he smiled in darkness as thinking about his plan. Then he shouted, issuing commands to the knights.
"By the authority of the second son of the Clan Head, I order the guards of the Clan to execute this bastard for attacking a member of the great Clan."
A dozen knights began to gather in the grand hall, all of them turning their hostile gazes toward Hector, waiting for Bell's command.
"Finally, I can kill this trash!" one knight said.
"We'll torture him first, then hang his head on the clan's front wall—to show what happens to anyone who dares go against our clan."
…
"Tch. Alright, you're not as stupid as I thought… but it's still not enough."
Hector shrugged, as if he had known that from the beginning. Well, it didn't really matter. He knew Brad would step in. That guy had been standing there for a long time.
It seemed Brad had hoped Bell would torment Hector, but he didn't expect things to go this far. He needed Hector alive to meet the clan leader's third wife.
"STOP!"
Out of nowhere, Brad landed in the center of the grand hall. He glared at the guards, warning them.
"Commander of the guards?" Bell scowled, then said,
"What the fuck are you doing? Why stop? We have to kill that bastard."
His question was understandable. Everyone here knew how much the commander hated Hector.
Brad simply sighed and shot Hector a sharp look before turning to Bell.
"I've received an order. He has permission from the clan leader to stay here for a week to attend the clan's founding anniversary."
"NO! I MUST KILL THAT BASTARD RIGHT NOW! NO ONE CAN STOP ME!" Bell screamed in rage.
Brad narrowed his eyes and released his mana, suppressing everyone in the hall.
The air turned heavy. Everyone froze in silence.
It felt like death had arrived.
Their hearts felt like they had stopped beating.
"W-What a power…"
Instinctively, Hector stepped back and glanced at his hand. It was trembling, soaked in sweat. Even his blood felt like it was freezing in his veins under Brad's pressure.
"The clan head's order is absolute. Even his own son can't defy it. You should know how brutal and merciless your father is."
Brad shot Bell a cold glance, then turned to Hector, gesturing for him to follow.
Hector shrugged and walked toward Brad. At the same time, he flashed Bell a mocking smile and mouthed a single word—just enough for Bell to understand.
"Stupid."
Hearing that, Bell clenched his fists and ground his teeth in rage. Everyone shivered in dread. His head felt like it was about to burst, burning with the urge to kill that bastard.
But he was powerless.
"I swear you'll die by my hand."
He bit his lip until blood flowed, staring at Hector—who had gone too far.