NOVEL NEXT Episode 3: Noble Brats
Episode 3: Noble Brats
Sigh… Why do troublesome things always come my way?
“You! How dare you! Do you even know who this person is!?”
This happened when I was touring the capital with Miss Liela and Seira. We were harassed by some noble brats and their lackeys in the commercial district near the noble district. Mr. Fenfield, instead of just grinning, could you please lend a hand? Isn’t that your duty?
“I don’t know… Do you know Mr. Fenfield?”
“No, I have no idea.”
“….”
“”…Exciting””
“….”
“”…Exciting.””
“…Does Liela-chan know?”
“Nah, I don’t.”
“…How about Seira?”
“Don’t know him.”
“That’s right.”
“Hey! Are you mocking us!?”
By the way, Alt-kun is back at the mansion, cramming for the entrance exam. He seemed eager to follow us, though.
And those little girls coming over all excited, saying “Listen, listen!” are adorable.
“So, may I ask who you gentlemen are and where you come from?”
“You! Do you know who I am!? I’m the second son of Count Febris, Lord Hamil!”
“Febris…? That sounds familiar…?”
“Hmph! Do you even know who you’re talking to, you lowborn—”
“Ah! Isn’t this Sean’s place! Wait, is this guy his older brother?”
“””What!? Him!?”””
Well, they started this confrontation themselves. They tried to pick a fight, but I avoided it. Technically, they tried to bump into me, but still. This kind of tactic exists in this world too, huh? And they’ve been following us since we left the noble district, what’s up with that?
By the way, Mr. Fenfield, the head of the baron’s family, is of higher status than these noble brats. Apparently, his treatment will change once he’s named the heir, but for now, he’s equivalent to the head of a knightly house. Well, I’m still holding onto the proof of knighthood given by the border count, so technically, I’m equivalent to the head of a knightly house too. But since I’m just a commoner with knighthood, I don’t have a family name or a crest. You need those when you become a nobleman.
Speaking of which, why are they flaunting their family status at me?…Wait, am I from a marquis family? I was exiled, though.
“Hey! What’s all this noise!”
Thanks to these brats, even the guards showed up. How bothersome.
“Oh, guards! You came at the right time. Arrest these ruffians immediately! They’re—”
“Huh? Excuse me, but are you Lord Wayne Fenfield?”
“Yeah, but… um, who are you?”
“Hey! Guards, what are you doing! Arrest these—”
“…Hey, I’m the one talking here. Can you be quiet for a moment?”
“””What!?”””
“Hey, isn’t it rude for a guard to—
“I’m from a marquis family, got a problem with that?”
“””Eek!”””
Oh, me too, me too. I was exiled though.
And these guards, they seem rough. With their short, purple hair, they look more like thugs. And they’re matching their family’s status blow for blow. Well, that’s the most effective way to deal with these kinds of people.
But a Fenfield using polite speech with these thugs… Could it be?
“Mr. Fenfield, were you a troublemaker in the past?”
“Why would you think that?”
“”Troublemaker?””
“Both Miss and Seira. No, that’s not it! And you are?”
“I’m Nevil Belgard, who fought against Mr. Fenfield in the martial arts tournament five years ago.”
“Five years ago…? Oh, the swordsman from that time!”
“Yes! Thank you very much for the advice you gave me back then.”
“Nah, it was nothing. Oh, and I heard about you? You did quite well in last year’s turmoil with your father, didn’t you?”
In this country, there’s a tournament every four years to determine the strongest knight. Mr. Fenfield participated in the tournament five years ago and made it to the quarterfinals. He claimed it was just luck, but he was being modest. Apparently, he fought against this guy, Nevil Belgard, in the second round. They exchanged a bit of advice after the match.
And during that recent turmoil, he stormed into the church with the marquis. …So he’s one of the main culprits behind my little prank turning into a big incident.
“Well then, I’ll go with Nevil-kun and take these guys to the detention center with you. We need to hear why they bothered us so much.”
“Understood. I’ll go back with these two first.”
“Ah, I see. Thanks. Miss, we’ll tour another time. Sorry, Seira-chan.”
“”No problem!””
“…”
“…Well then, Nevil-kun, shall we?”
“…Ah, yes!”
“”Goodbye!””
The noble brats were left with Mr. Fenfield and Mr. Nevil. Meanwhile, I head towards the border count’s mansion with the two girls in tow. Honestly… thanks to them, our sightseeing in the capital got ruined. Oh well, just to be safe.
“Sorry, could you guys keep an eye on those guys from earlier?”
[[Ee-]]
[[So annoying]]
“…Is that a no?”
[[Leave it to us!]]
Seira looked up at the “spirits” with a tilted head, shamelessly cute. Big brother is worried about your future, you know? And these “spirits” are as cheeky as ever. Well, when she asks like that, both Mine-kun and I can’t refuse.
“So, they were hindering the work to sabotage Sean’s upcoming ennoblement? Unbelievable…”
After listening to Mr. Fenfield, who returned after a while, it seems that’s the case. Sean seems to be quite competent and is soon to be ennobled as a baron, entrusted with a territory. So, the jealous second son used his entourage to threaten and injure workers.
“Isn’t the project related to the academy under the king’s patronage? It would be problematic to hinder that, wouldn’t it?”
“It would. However, His Majesty wouldn’t want to escalate the situation. So, this time, it might just be a gentle warning to the Febris family.”
“So, is he going to get away with it?”
“I doubt it. The Febris family will have to impose appropriate punishment to maintain their reputation. It could be imprisonment or exile until death.”
Imprisonment, exile… Those words sound familiar, don’t they?
But seriously, jealousy can only go so far. I wonder if someone instigated him?
“That’s it. It seems he was influenced by someone who filled his head with nonsense.”
“I see… So, do you know who it is?”
“No, I only know he met someone in the pleasure district. But I couldn’t interrogate a nobleman properly.”
“Such a hassle.”
“Indeed.”
As expected, there seems to be someone behind the scenes. Whether they’re warmongers, members of the Miltia cult, or just greedy members of the commercial guild, they should keep quiet.
The next day, when I arrived for work, Sean was waiting for me at the main gate, bowing deeply.
“I’m sorry about my brother!”
“N-no, it’s…”
He knew about the sabotage, but he didn’t expect it to be his own brother. Well, that’s understandable. If things had gone a little differently, his family could’ve been ruined.
Furthermore, it seems information leaked from somewhere, so they couldn’t act too aggressively.
“Oh, I see.”
“Huh?”
“Probably, he’s a spy.”
“What!?”
I pointed to a worker at the edge of the training ground. He had been watching other workers during work and clearly slacking off. I don’t know if he’s the second son’s spy or someone else’s.
Ah, he’s running away. Definitely suspicious. Good luck catching him?
“They won’t get away with this!”
“Now, now, let’s calm down and think of the next plan.”
The ‘Spirits’ took me to a room of a certain shop in the pleasure district, the exiled second son of the Febris family was raging inside. And there’s a man calming him down. He sounds around fifty? He seems to be the one who incited the second son.
“But we can’t rely on the Febris family anymore. They’ve distanced themselves. Damn ungrateful people!”
“Hamil-sama. In times like these, there are plenty of people who can be bought with money. You can use them to attack those who plotted against you.”
“B-but…”
“Why are you being so timid! Hamil-sama has the support of that person, don’t you? If you can be of service to that person, you’ll surely be recognized someday, won’t you?”
“W-well, if it’s Golddor…”
“Hamil-sama!”
“S-sorry.”
Golddor, huh… I don’t recall hearing that name, so it seems he’s not a character from the original work. Well, I can ask the border count for details later. Oh, but before that…
“Nevil-san, they’re attacking nobles, aren’t they? That’s illegal, right?”
“Y-you noticed?”
“Well, yeah. So, is there anything I can help you with?”
“I want to talk a bit about the ‘spirits’. Oh, and you can do whatever you want with those guys.”
“…Ah, sorry, I’m in the middle of something now, and I’ll be busy later, so can we reschedule?”
“Ah, no problem. Thank you.”
“Understood. Oh, by the way, it seems like this shop will collapse soon, but it’s just an accident.”
“…You’ve got a good personality. Fine, I’ll consider it an accident.”
“Thank you. See you again soon.”
“Yeah.”
Yeah, it’s good that Mr. Nevil is understanding. Though he seemed exasperated for some reason. Can’t figure it out.
But anyway, I’ve heard that the Belgard family is called the “House Blessed by the Spirits,” but with that vibe, Mr. Nevil probably has the ability of [Spirit Sense] too. Why would someone with such a rare skill be working as a guard? Well, can’t help it. Let’s move on.
Returning to the border count’s mansion with the unconscious second son and the merchant-looking man in tow. From here on out, it’s up to the border count and Mr. Fenfield to handle everything else.
“Here, please take care of this.”
“You work fast. Wayne, take care of it.”
“Yes.”
Ah, it seems that shop from earlier has collapsed. Physically. Along with the scary guys inside. Unfortunate accident, indeed. Mm, mm.
I kept the details about Mr. Nevil to myself. We need to be careful with anything related to the ‘spirits’.
“Thank you, you saved us.”
[[No problem]]
[The enemy of our mistress is our enemy too!]
[[[That’s right, that’s right.]]]
Well, the ‘spirits’ are truly something. They usually think about retaliation in situations like this. I didn’t expect them to go straight to the one who instigated them. Thanks to that, we saved some trouble.
Well, another troublesome matter has come up. Well, I don’t think they’ll immediately become hostile. But still, it’s troubling how much information to disclose.
“What should we do, huh?”