Surviving as the Mad Son of the Ducal House

Chapter.14

Silence flowed through the dining hall.

The baron, clutching his reddened cheek, shouted in a resentful voice.

"Young Duke!"

"Hey! A bug!"

Ian's voice, which sounded somewhat cheerful, was heard.

Thwack!

Ian, with all his might, kicked the unsuspecting baron in the solar plexus.

"Keok! Y-Young Duke, please……."

"Sorry, sorry, there was a bug on your clothes. I'm just so scared of bugs."

At the sight of Ian shuddering as if he were disgusted, the baron's face crumpled.

"There's no way there are bugs in the dining hall……."

"Hey!"

"Hic!"

Bang!

At the threatening sound, he instinctively curled his body to protect his solar plexus.

Of course, just because he was protecting his solar plexus didn't mean he couldn't be hit elsewhere.

Ian's foot kicked the baron's empty side.

"Ack! Ouch!"

Ian, who had raised his foot high above the face of the baron who had rolled several times on the floor and collapsed, shouted.

"Just trust me, Baron!"

He didn't even know what he was supposed to trust.

What was certain was that this madman was planning to stomp on his face.

The baron quickly rolled to create distance, then jumped up and shook his body as if having a seizure.

"Oh my! Young Duke, this damn bug! This bastard! This bastard!"

A cold sweat trickled down the baron's back at the thought that he was in deep trouble.

It was difficult to even breathe properly due to the pain in his solar plexus and side.

"I-I'll catch it. Don't you worry."

At the voice that sounded half-crying and half-begging, Ian withdrew his foot, looked down at the bowed man, and spoke in a low voice.

"Baron."

"Yes, yes. Young Duke"

"Thanks to your efforts for me, my illness is all cured."

‘Look at your own state! You madman!’

He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs right away, but thinking that it would be more beneficial to increase the dosage of the drug from tomorrow rather than dealing with a madman, he bowed his head deeply and answered as politely as possible.

"Yes, yes. Young Duke, congratulations on your complete recovery."

"Ahem! Ahem!"

At the baron's words, the displeased regent's cough could be heard.

‘He should try getting kicked himself!’

The baron had absolutely no desire to be kicked again, so he fixed his gaze on the floor and maintained his silence.

No one but a madman would believe the young duke who claimed to be fully cured.

* * *

Taking his eyes off the trembling baron, Ian looked around at the vassals in the dining hall.

"Well now, it seems I've ruined the meeting again."

Despite Ian's playful words, no one opened their mouths.

"Sorry, sorry. The dining hall is so full of mosquitoes and bugs that I felt like I was suffocating."

In that instant, Markberg frowned.

There was no way there were bugs or mosquitoes in the ducal family's dining hall, so those words were clearly referring to himself and the other vassals.

"Didn't you see it too? Goodness, to think that bugs have crawled all the way into the dining hall, just how have you been managing the domain……."

"Young Duke, you must have mistaken it for dust."

"Dust?"

"Yes. As the baron said, there is no way there are bugs and mosquitoes in the dining hall, so you must have seen it wrong."

"Hmm… do you really think so?"

Ian raised his voice as he looked at the regent.

"The management of the domain has been eating away at its people, so it's no different from bugs, and the merchants have been sucking the blood of the domain's people, so they're no different from a swarm of mosquitoes. And yet, the regent, both here and in the land you are supposed to manage, seems to be quite unable to see the beings that are eating away at you."

"What is that supposed to……."

The regent crumpled his face and tried to protest, but Ian's words were faster.

"Even though there was such a major incident in the domain that you were supposed to have nurtured by royal command, you did not exercise self-restraint and are blaming me, whom you are supposed to assist, for being blind and deaf to what you could not see or hear."

The regent glared at Ian as if he would kill him, but Ian did not flinch.

"The regent seems to know no shame."

In that instant, the dining hall fell into silence.

Markberg looked at the sneering Ian and clenched his fists until they threatened to break.

"I only said that what is not there, is not there."

"Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there."

Ian, who said this while sneering at the bowed Markberg, looked around at the vassals and said.

"Therefore, I will convene a lord's council."

"What……!"

At Ian's sudden declaration, the regent flared up and stepped forward, but Ian calmly pointed at the baron and continued.

"Didn't my personal physician also say that I am fully cured? I think I've been too indifferent to the affairs of the domain because of my illness all this time. Since I haven't learned a single thing from you for that long time."

Ian's gaze towards the regent sharpened.

"Isn't that right, Count? Since I haven't been taught anything, and haven't learned anything, I have no choice but to move on my own."

At Ian's sudden words, the vassals began to murmur.

The lord's council was a meeting attended by all the vassals within the domain.

Its weight was different, as even the powerful figures of the military, who rarely responded to the regent's calls, had to attend.

"It's not that… it's just so sudden. Since you have just recovered from your illness, how about taking a sufficient rest period first?"

"Getting out of my sickbed was my lifelong wish, so now it's time to fulfill my next wish. As the lord, I must protect the domain."

A chilly voice echoed above the bowed regent's head.

"Since there are so many damn bugs in the domain."

* * *

"How dare that fool!"

Bang! Crash!

The desk broke under Markberg's fist.

The count vented his anger by continuously throwing whatever he could get his hands on.

"Seven years, seven years! It's already been seven years since I came to this damn domain and worked day and night!"

How dedicated had he been to save the declining domain, no matter how hard he tried?

He had cut down on his sleep and meal times and devoted himself solely to the domain.

And was this kind of treatment all he got in return?

"How dare that ungrateful scoundrel treat me like a bug?!"

Bang!

The chair of the first duke, which was in one corner of the office, broke under the count's mana.

It was a chair as old as the lord's castle's history, but the enraged count's gaze only lingered on it for a moment.

"How dare that young punk who knows nothing!"

A cry mixed with indignation burst out.

He really couldn't help it.

The regent couldn't move the army.

He had to coordinate their differences through meetings and make the army move on its own, but that too was impossible as they didn't even show their faces at the meetings.

-The fangs of the House of Moner have been pulled.

The surrounding domains, which had been watching the House of Moner, quickly changed their attitude when not only the duke disappeared, but the young duke also began to suffer from madness.

They began to charge increasingly higher prices for the food they sold to the House of Moner, and started to deliver it mixed with bran and sand.

And yet, he could not punish the Merchants’ Association.

If even they were gone, where on earth would he get food from?

He had to let their corruption slide even though he knew about it, and that was the best he could do.

"A bastard who doesn't even know his place!"

A bastard who had lived as a scoundrel his whole life would not know.

What a great weight it meant to sit in this seat.

"Hoo… still, that fool has dug his own grave."

The count, who had been venting his anger by destroying furniture for a long time, caught his breath, sat down on the broken chair, and organized his thoughts.

The foolish young duke had given the order to convene a lord's council and then returned to his room, saying he had something to do, without even listening to the other vassals.

"This is an opportunity. I might be able to take complete control of the domain with this."

He would finally be able to see the counts who had not moved even after being called hundreds of times.

"The lord's council will be the last place where you can run around like a scoundrel."

The money the young duke had taken about two weeks ago.

He had already heard the news that the bastard had used that money to buy a large amount of all sorts of poisonous and medicinal herbs.

At the time, he had felt like his blood was boiling backwards at the news that he had spent such precious money on such things, but as they say, heaven helps those who help themselves.

If he were to question the bastard in a place where all the vassals were gathered, not only the factions that supported him, but also the military, would have no choice but to abandon the young duke.

"Hehehe… tell them in a place where everyone is gathered. What you did while the soldiers were chewing on sand-mixed bread."

The regent's eyes shone with anticipation at the thought of finally being able to completely drive out the young duke with this opportunity.

* * *

Ian, who had returned to his room, hurriedly headed to the Golden Goblin Merchant Guild with Reina.

"Young Master, is this really……?"

"Yes. It's the Golden Goblin, which will become the best merchant guild on the continent."

Reina raised her head and looked at the building that seemed on the verge of collapsing.

Could this really be called a merchant guild?

It looked more like an illegal street stall, and she was so flustered that when she looked back at Ian, she saw a boy running from a distance.

"Oh my, Young Duke! It's been a while!"

Rick, who greeted him brightly, quickly whispered a warning to Reina in a low voice.

"He may not look like it, but he's the young duke. I don't know how you met him, but I'll draw his attention, so you run away now. Shoo, shoo!"

Of course, no matter how low he lowered his voice, there was no way Ian, who was right next to him, couldn't hear.

At the sight of Rick trying to send Reina away with gestures, Ian burst out laughing in disbelief.

"Hahaha! You're always the same."

"Yes, my boss also says that's my charm. By the way, what brings you here today?"

Even while dealing with Ian, he continued to send signals to Reina with obvious hand and foot gestures, but she just stood there blankly, looking at Ian.

"I came because I thought you would be ready by now. Is the guild master inside?"

"Yes, she's been at the guild for the past few days, saying the young duke would be coming. As if she has the ability of prophecy or something, if she's so curious, she should have just asked……."

Leaving behind the constantly grumbling Rick, Ian entered the building with Reina to meet Rylae, and a noisy scene caught his eye.

"Can I, can I work too?"

"Of course. First, you will have an interview, and the decision will be made after that. When the interview starts, I will send a messenger, so please don't be late."

"Really? Then today, that……."

"Ah, you can get your compensation by talking to the man in front of the building."

More than a dozen women were gathered in the small building, lining up to meet Rylae.

"You seem to be busy."

"Of course. I've been spreading rumors among the market women ever since the young duke came here last time."

"You've clearly conveyed the terms of the contract, right?"

"Yes, yes. I said we are recruiting servants directly under the young duke. I also said that they would have to learn their work directly from the young duke. I clearly warned them that there would be times when they would have to handle weapons, so I conveyed everything you told me to without hiding anything."

Ian looked around.

He had thought he could gather five or six people at most, but on this day alone, far more people had gathered.

"Far more have come than I thought."

"These days, everyone's life is tough. Besides, being a servant directly under the young duke is like being a quasi-noble, isn't it? So I think families with daughters are forcing them to come to reduce the number of mouths to feed. And it seems there are also people who are coming because of the rumor that they'll get a little compensation just for applying."

At Rick's answer, Ian's face hardened.

No matter how nicely you put it, a parent's heart couldn't be at ease sending their daughter to a scoundrel.

‘And yet, the situation is so bad that they’ve decided to part with their child… tsk.’

A sigh escaped him at the frustrating situation of the domain, which was worse than he had thought.

"By the way, I told you to recruit men first since I plan to train them as soldiers."

At Ian's words, Rick scratched the back of his head and answered.

"What crazy bastard would work under you, Young Duke? I'd rather go to the Forest of Demonic Beasts and sell orc hides."

A vein popped on his head, but Ian asked Rick again with a smile.

"So you're saying it's better to catch an orc than to work with me?"

"Of course! Gosh, you should have heard the rumors spreading in the market, Young Duke. I asked the butcher's son if he was interested in working, and he broke off our friendship, asking how I could say such a thing. He said he'd rather live under an ogre."

To think he would lose to an ogre.

As he naturally reached out and struck the back of Rick's head, Rick shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Ack! The young duke is killing me! Boss!"

At the sound, Rylae, who had spotted Ian and Rick, covered her face with both hands and shouted.

"Rick!"