Chapter 20
The atmosphere inside the family head's office was cold and tense.
Suhyeok sat calmly in a chair while Vens nervously looked around, sweat running down his face.
Heil, Lean, and Kyle were kneeling on the floor in a row with their heads lowered.
“Ugh....”
Their clothes were a mess, and their hair was completely disheveled.
Their knees had gone numb, so they kept shifting their hips while glancing at one another.
Everyone groaned in pain.
Lean suddenly opened his eyes wide and glared at his younger brother, Kyle.
“Uugh....”
Kyle desperately avoided his gaze.
Unable to endure Lean's constant glare any longer, Kyle whispered in a tiny voice.
“W, what do you expect me to do...?! I don't want to get hit again! Y, you know what? You do it instead, Brother...!”
“Kugh...! How can you say that after seeing what happened to me?!”
The entire right side of Lean's face was badly swollen.
A single slap had done that to him.
“W, what about me?! Can't you see my face too...?!”
Kyle's face had been beaten just as badly as Lean's.
His facial features were almost impossible to distinguish.
With only his front teeth remaining, he truly resembled a rat.
Rustle.
“A, ahem....”
Their father, Heil, was completely unharmed.
It was because he had immediately lowered himself and surrendered.
Perhaps feeling uncomfortable under their gazes, Heil repeatedly cleared his throat.
Eventually, both sons turned their resentful eyes toward him.
The suffocating silence continued.
Lean swallowed hard and finally gathered enough courage to speak first.
“Um, well....”
Flinch.
Suhyeok's cold gaze made his body tremble for no reason.
Lean quickly looked away and continued.
“Ahem, just who exactly a, are you? No, I mean... w, who are you, sir...?”
Silence followed for a moment.
Everyone became nervous, wondering if he had asked something he should not have.
Suhyeok gave a faint, cold smile and looked down at Heil with chilling eyes.
“I told you from the beginning. I came to collect money.”
“......!”
Something about those words seemed to strike Heil.
His eyes shook violently.
He quickly lowered his head and began calculating inside his mind.
Gulp.
D, don't tell me... was he sent by the Duke's family?!
Heil had always wanted to become a great noble of the central region instead of remaining a noble on the frontier.
Naturally, doing so required giving countless gifts and building connections with powerful nobles.
For the past several years, Heil had handed over a considerable amount of the gold mined from his territory to nobles in the central region.
“Ahem, it isn't as if I helped you because I wanted something like this....”
“Hahaha! I don't know whether I should accept this, but I will gratefully take it, Count.”
No matter how much gold Heil gave away, it meant nothing if he failed to seize the opportunity created by those gifts.
“Please remember me favorably, hahaha....”
“...Well, I will think about it. Ahem. I'll be going now.”
The amount of gold had clearly decreased.
The noble frowned before turning away with a displeased expression.
It was because the amount of gold being mined had sharply fallen several years ago.
As rumors gradually spread, Heil's connections with the central nobles naturally began fading as well.
After suffering failure after failure, Heil had no choice but to become anxious.
They should know better than anyone that I don't have money to give them right now, so why...?
At that moment, a memory flashed through Heil's mind.
There had been one occasion when he secretly met Marquis Frieden, one of the main figures of the noble faction.
“I seem to owe you every time we meet. I feel as though I should repay you somehow.”
Heil believed that the Crown Prince would inherit the throne next.
There was no way he could let this opportunity escape.
He lowered himself even further.
“Oh, Marquis, how could I possibly expect anything in return? I simply gave it to you because I am grateful.”
“Haha! You truly are an amusing man. Since I have received so much kindness from you, I will arrange an opportunity for you to meet His Highness the Crown Prince one day.”
“R, really?!”
The answer he had wanted finally came.
The corners of Heil's lips nearly reached his ears.
Afraid that he might offend the Marquis, Heil desperately controlled his expression and pulled something from his clothes.
It was a lump of gold.
“Ahem, ahem. It isn't as if I was hoping for something like this... but if the Marquis is willing to do so, I would be deeply grateful.”
“Haha! Of course. More importantly, I am also quite interested in that gold vein you mentioned. I will send someone separately later.”
Remembering the Marquis's final words, Heil slowly looked up at Suhyeok with a startled expression.
I, if he really was sent by the Marquis... then this might actually be an opportunity.
Soon, the gold vein extending into Ahern Territory would fall into his hands.
Heil clenched the fist resting on his knee and silently smiled.
If I impress him, entering the central region will be easy... Hehehe!
Normally, he would have been more suspicious.
But Heil had already been blinded by greed.
Such thoughts had disappeared from his mind long ago.
“Ahem, hmm! By any chance... were you sent by the Marquis?”
Suhyeok simply took advantage of the misunderstanding Heil had created on his own.
“You figured it out quickly.”
“......!”
Hearing the answer he wanted, Heil's expression brightened immediately.
He slowly began rising from the floor.
“To think I failed to recognize such an honored guest, hahaha.... I sincerely apologize....”
Lean and Kyle looked completely confused by what was happening.
“F, Father, what exactly is...”
“Shh!”
Heil cut Kyle off and widened his eyes, signaling him to stay quiet.
Both brothers flinched.
They exchanged awkward glances.
Only then did they begin lowering themselves as well.
“H, hahaha! I knew from the beginning that you had such a noble appearance...!”
“Y, yes, exactly. Please forgive our disrespect just this once....”
Seeing them tuck their tails between their legs, Vens looked as though he could hardly believe his eyes.
There was a reason for that.
To Vens, his older brothers had always been terrifying.
Gulp.
These are the same brothers who slapped me every time I stuttered, yet they're acting like this just because of one reaction from him....
Feeling secretly satisfied, Vens clenched his fist.
Afraid someone might notice, he quickly hid his expression.
Suhyeok curled one finger toward Heil.
“Ah, yes!”
The moment Heil stood, Suhyeok's expression hardened.
Heil's eyes trembled in confusion.
He had no idea what he had done wrong.
D, don't tell me....
Putting his humiliation aside for the moment, Heil took a short breath and placed both hands on the floor.
“F, Father...!”
He crawled across the floor like a dog.
Before long, he reached Suhyeok.
Suhyeok looked down at him without interest and spoke in a cold voice.
“Now our eye levels finally match. Don't you agree?”
“H, hahaha.... Yes, they do.”
He forced out an awkward laugh.
But Heil's hands trembled against the floor from humiliation.
“It seems we've settled the situation well enough. Then shall we finally begin the real discussion?”
Some time passed.
The atmosphere had become quiet.
Heil revealed every detail about the current condition of the territory.
“...Is that everything?”
“Ah, yes, that's everything. I, is there some problem...?”
Heil looked up at him with a confused expression.
Suhyeok had already heard most of it from Vens.
Aside from a few details, almost everything Heil said was useless.
I had not expected much in the first place.
There was no way someone who only cared about luxury would possess much valuable information.
“Hik!”
The same applied to the two behind him.
Whenever our eyes met, they quickly looked away, terrified that I might do something to them.
[ Puhahang! Lee Suhyeok, I turned off the messages and sponsorship window like you told me. When should I turn them back on, nya? ]
Leon was floating through the air while lying on his back.
I had no idea where he had found them, but he was wearing 3D glasses and holding popcorn in both paws.
I quietly blinked.
The windows that had been hidden appeared before my eyes.
[ 'Ruler of the Battlefield' has sponsored 1,500 Coins. ]
[ 'One-Eyed White-Haired Elder' has sponsored 3,000 Coins. ]
[ 'God of Mischief' has sponsored 1,500 Coins.... ]
, To think nobles would fall into their own trap. What a pathetic sight!
, Indeed. Watching them crawl like dogs is quite satisfying.
, Ah, but this feels a little disappointing. I wish he'd torment those bastards a little more.
, Do more! Do more!
, More! More!
[ Number of Constellations: 339 ]
There were more of them than before.
That meant word about the broadcast had spread among the Constellations.
Both the number of sponsorships and the reactions had become much stronger.
