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Chapter 5: Don’t Mess with Henry, or Else (2)

“Agh!”

Kevin\'s eyes shot open in a cold sweat, as if waking from a nightmare. Madame Morris, who had been nursing him the whole time he was unconscious, cried out his name with tears in her eyes.

“Kevin!”

“Mother? W-what’s going on? Ouch…”

After getting his bearings, Kevin realized that his body was covered with all sorts of medicinal ointments. They did not do much to relieve the lingering, stinging pain all over his body—the aftermath of the duel that had occured that morning.

“N-no way… did I really?” He exclaimed in disbelief, but was hit with the harsh reality.

As he muttered to himself in self-pity, Madame Morris began to scold him fiercely.

“You brat! How in the world have you been training, to lose so helplessly to him of all people?! My goodness, how pathetic!"

Her words were harsh, but deep down she was only worried about her son’s future. Her worries were to be expected, considering that she had planned for Kevin to graduate from the academy to solidify him as the true family heir. But after his defeat, it seemed that it had all been in vain.

“It can’t be… there’s no way…”

Kevin clutched his wounds as he reflected upon the effort he had put into becoming a swordsman worthy of the academy. Although he had acted arrogantly, he had been faithful to his training and practiced every day without fail, unlike his lazy older brother.

Kevin searched for answers in his past, but nothing could explain Henry’s sudden strength. It felt like a wave had crashed over him.

“This can’t… never…”

A deep sense of anxiety swept over Kevin, who remained unable to accept reality.

* * *

“I’ll go and return these, Young Master.”

“There’s nothing missing, right? Don’t sell them off or something.”

“I won’t, I won’t!”

Having returned to the estate, Henry resumed his daily life as though nothing had happened. Most people paid him no mind, and very few had even noticed that he had left the estate in the first place.

Henry brought Jade back to the stable himself, since he had already sent Caughall away to return the items from the treasury.

“Welcome back, Young Master.”

The old stable keeper took off his hat, revealing his bald head, and greeted Henry with a short bow.

“I have come to return my horse, but I’m going to look around the stable for a moment.”

“Certainly.”

If it was an ordinary horse, Henry would not have cared what condition the stable was in. However, now that he had made Jade his companion horse, he decided that he should personally inspect the stable. He stepped inside and pointed to a horse that stood out to him.

“Whose horse is that?”

“That is the Lord’s horse. I am taking special care of it.”

“What about that one?”

“That is Young Master Kevin’s horse.”

Each horse was in excellent condition, as was standard for the horses of a Baronet and his family. The more Henry inspected, the more indignant he felt about the poor state his own horse had been in.

“Then where does this one stay?” he asked, patting Jade on the nose.

The stable keeper bowed his head in embarrassment as he pointed to a corner in the stable.

“That one… stays there.”

It was a damp, dark stall that had fewer piles of straw and was more humid than the other areas of the stable.

Henry furrowed his brow as he looked at Jade’s spot before turning back towards the stable keeper.

“This one’s now called Jade. I’ll consider this an honest mistake, and let it pass. But from now on, you must take better care of this stall, and this horse.”

“O-of course! I will take extra care in the future.”

The stable keeper looked down with his head deeply bowed.

At first, Henry had intended to punish the stable keeper, but he ultimately decided to give him another chance. Of course, it came with a few conditions attached.

“Ah, I almost forgot! This should go without saying, but you will have to take extra care of my father’s and Kevin’s horses, too. If the three of our horses are in poor condition the next time I’m here, then there will be consequences.”

“Certainly!”

With that, Henry approached Jade one last time and stroked his mane. Then, Henry muttered a few words under his breath and grinned before leaving the stable.

* * *

Night had fallen. Kevin had not shown himself in the dining hall. With an air of awkwardness, the meal began without him.

Tea was served after the meal. As Hans sipped on his tea, he spoke to Henry.

“Henry.”

“Yes, Father.”

“I would like to discuss what happened this morning. What are your thoughts?”

“I’m fine, actually. Madame Morris, what are your thoughts?”

Henry turned towards Madame Morris, who had been deliberately feigning ignorance. He could tell she was upset, and addressed her out of spite. Hans turned to look at her as well.

“Yes, what do you think, my dear?”

“My opinion isn’t important, is it? Please, continue your conversation. I’ll take my leave first.”

Madame Morris’s face was red as she stormed off, but Hans did not hold her back. As soon as she left, Hans looked at Henry with pride in his eyes that he had never shown before. Now that it was just the two of them, Hans spoke in a softer tone.

“Since when did you start learning swordsmanship? You’ve never shown this side of yourself before.”

Henry shrugged. “It was not so much a show of swordsmanship, it was more of a lesson for my spoiled little brother.”

“My boy, showing some humility… so, as you said in the morning, will you be the one to attend the swordsmanship academy?”

Hans’ eyes widened with anticipation. Who would have thought that the eldest son, whom he had once thought to be nothing but a useless freeloader, would have so much potential?

But knowing Hans’ intentions, Henry responded with a smirk.

“No. I have given it some more thought, and I think it’s only right for Kevin to go instead.”

“W-what? What is the meaning of this, all of a sudden?”

“I thought hard about my decision after the duel. The swordsmanship academy is a place to learn swordsmanship. So shouldn’t Kevin be the one to go instead, since he is the one who lacks the ability?”

“That’s different from what you said this morning. Weren’t you the one who said that Kevin shouldn’t go because he lacked the ability?”

“I wasn’t thinking straight back then. Ah! Of course, we cannot just send him there. There are conditions.”

“Conditions?”

“Yes. Although I am willingly giving up the academy for him, I don’t want to just waste this opportunity.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I just want to test the kid a bit. So, should Kevin come complaining to you, Father, can you send him to me?”

“I truly don’t understand you.” Hans sighed under his breath. “Alright, I’ll do that.”

“Thank you. Ah, I almost forgot! I have heard some rumors that the bandits along the trade route have all been slaughtered.”

Henry intentionally changed the topic to the bandits, to divert Hans’ attention.

“What?! The bandits?”

“Yes. Apparently, someone saw their horribly mangled corpses being picked apart by wild animals along the trade route.”

“Hmm, I’ll have to send someone to confirm this tomorrow, as soon as day breaks.”

“Sure. Then, if there’s nothing more to discuss, I’ll take my leave.”

As Henry left the dining hall, he thought to himself, ‘that bastard, there’s no way he’s going to give up on the academy like this, is he?’

Any observer could tell that Kevin was someone full of greed, just by looking at his face. Henry secretly hoped that Kevin would quickly go to complain to Hans.

* * *

Knock knock.

“Who is it?”

It was the middle of night, but Henry granted permission for the visitor to enter.

Creak.

The visitor was none other than Kevin Morris.

“Big brother…”

Kevin bowed his head and spoke in a low and sheepish voice, no louder than a mosquito.

Henry nearly burst out laughing when he saw Kevin, but he somehow maintained his blank demeanor and responded coldly.

“What is it?”

“I, that is…”

It was obvious why Kevin had come. Despite this, Henry wanted to give Kevin a hard time.

“I, that… Father told me to come here… Regarding the academy…”

“I can’t hear what you’re trying to say. Were you always such a bumbling coward?”

“N-no!”

At Henry’s rebuke, Kevin quickly collected himself like a well-disciplined soldier.

“Now, say it again. What did Father say?” Henry spoke firmly with a cold, determined look on his face.

Kevin had never seen such an expression on his older brother’s face before, and couldn’t help but grow nervous at the sight of it. To avoid prolonging the matter, Kevin decided to cut to the chase.

“I was wrong, big brother.”

“What do you mean?”

“All the times I’ve been rude to you, and all the times I’ve shown disrespect to you.”

Kevin was still in intense pain from the beating he had received from his older brother, but he dared not show any sign of weakness.

‘Seems like he’s finally come to his senses.’

Henry felt that his lost dignity had finally been restored, and decided to stop toying with Kevin. The truth was, he had an important reason for having Kevin sent over to him under the guise of testing him.

“Good. I don’t know if you heard, but I have decided to give up on the academy.”

Kevin’s eyes flashed in surprise.

“But just because I’ve given up doesn’t mean that you will take my place by default. After all, the only reason why both of us aren’t able to attend the academy is because of the high tuition fees.”

Henry’s words were true. If the family was richer, there would be no need to debate over which son attended the academy.

“Since I know you still wish to go, I want to give you a chance. But there are conditions.”

“Please tell me! I will do anything you ask!”

“No need to be so dramatic… have you ever heard of an estate run by the Burnhams?”

“Burnham… are you referring to the Burnham Estate to the north?”

Burnham Estate. It was a small estate owned by another Baronet, quite far away from the Morris Estate. A journey there would take three nights on horseback.

“So, you know about it. There are some matters at the Burnham Estate I must attend to, but I was hoping you may be able to go in my stead.”

“By ‘matters’, you mean…”

“One of Burnham’s specialities is the green crowflower. They are usually brought here through traders, but there are rumors that they are having difficulty bringing it in due to the recent rise in bandit attacks. That’s why I want you to pay them a visit.”

If Henry had more time to spare, he would have been able to retrieve the green crowflower himself. But his anger towards the emperor was too great to afford such a luxury. He wanted to kill the emperor and the Nobles as soon as possible.

‘Besides, it’s too far away.’

The journey to the Burnham Estate would take a physical toll on Henry that he would not have been able to withstand in his current state.

“Can you do it?”

Henry knew that nobody was more reliable and committed than a desperate man, which is why he decided Kevin should go instead.

Kevin was eager to prove himself and did not consider it for very long. All he had to do was brush up on his horseback riding.

“Absolutely! Of course, I can do that!”

“Wait, wait! I’m not finished.”

“S-sorry?”

Of course, Henry was not done. It was not just a simple errand, but also another punishment for Kevin.

“I’ll give you six days. You have to return by then.”

“S-six days…”

It was only possible to achieve this by riding constantly during his waking hours.

Cold sweat began to trickle down Kevin’s back.

“If it’s too difficult for you, then forget it.”

“No, no! I can do it!”

“Really?” Henry said as he patted Kevin on the shoulder, as if to praise him for his lively response.

That night, the incident happened.