I Am The Madman Of This Family

Chapter 15: Battle on a Bridge (1)

The Four Lords and Seven Gates: this term referred to the four lords and the seven noble master families representing the Lillian Kingdom. Originally, the master families referred exclusively to masters of some kind of swordsmanship, but the emergence of the Sefira family, the Masters of Archery, broke that tradition. Consequently, the conservative high nobles, who valued tradition over life itself, had found the existence of an archery family distasteful.

“How can archery be compared to swordsmanship? Even if they have made contributions in war, the ones who risk their lives on the front lines are the knights wielding swords!”

At the time when the Sefira family became known as the Masters of Archery, Queen Lillian favored them, and as such, no one dared to touch them. However, the situation had changed drastically now; the crisis of the Sefira family was the hottest topic among the nobility.

In the past, when large-scale wars between nations were frequent, the accomplishments of the Sefira family stood out. But in the current cold war era, where local skirmishes or honorable duels by knights were common, the Masters of Archery had become a burden.

Naturally, various nobles continuously exerted political pressure, arguing that the Sefira family was unfit for their status as a master family. They claimed that the kingdom would become much stronger if a swordsmanship family were in that position instead. This argument was reasonable and raised quite frequently, eventually reaching Queen Lillian. This put the Sefira family to the test—a trial to dispel the public’s distrust.

The Sefira family declared that they would participate in international battles and achieve military accomplishments. However, they had another major flaw: they were quiet. Being quiet meant they lacked social skills, and lacking social skills meant that they had no political power in the noble society.

This wasn’t a problem when large-scale wars were common, as they had Queen Lillian’s support due to their overwhelming military achievements. However, times changed and the affection of Queen Lillian, which seemed everlasting, had waned.

The Sefira family, which was inexperienced in politics, had neither noble allies nor factions to support them. In a situation like this, the Sefira family didn’t have an opportunity to intervene in battles. The swordsmanship families were managing and controlling the battles entirely, so they rejected the Sefira family’s participation for various reasons.

“Times have changed. Bows, the weapons of cowards, are only used by those who hide behind others. Do you think archery can defeat swordsmanship?”

The only reason the Sefira family managed to endure despite the worst circumstances was due to the overwhelming support from the people of the kingdom. The ancestors of the family were originally nomads who settled in the Lillian Kingdom with the great support of the native people. Since they were able to become a noble family through the blood and sweat of the people, they vowed to protect them.

For hundreds of years, the Sefira family had devoted everything to protect the people from foreign invasions and monster attacks.

Since the Sefira family never participated in social circles and only stepped up for the people, it was natural that they could not become close with other nobles. Nobles only aimed to rule and govern, not to get close to the people.

Obviously, there were limitations to maintaining a family solely on the love of the commoners. After all, the true power in the country lay with the nobles and the royal family.

The high nobles who wanted to become one of the master families eagerly sought to find faults and bring down the Sefira family. Among these nobles, there was one family that was most actively trying to bring down the Sefira family: the Bydent family that specialized in spearmanship.

The Bydent family recently received some intelligence, which Volus, the eldest son of the family, reported to his father, who was also the patriarch.

“Taragon suddenly started running around the field. It seems to just be some kind of training, but it’s suspicious because it began right after he met with Keter from Absinthe,” Volus said.

“We don’t need to be wary of someone as ordinary as Taragon. But Absinthe is a lawless city filled with all sorts of useless people, isn’t it? It’s strange that the Sefira family would bring someone from there. Could this Keter possibly have a false identity?”

Patra, the patriarch of the Bydent family, didn’t care about Taragon but showed caution toward Keter.

Seeing this, Volus grinned and said, “Father, there’s no need to worry at all.”

Volus ran a private organization made up of people from Absinthe, so he asked his subordinates if they knew about Keter.

“Keter is said to have a striking appearance. If he had a false identity, there would surely have been sightings or rumors about him in the past. The fact that he hasn’t been known suggests that he’s just a nobody in Absinthe,” he said.

“If that’s true, why did Besil bring Keter into the family?” Patra asked.

“I hear his eye color is the same as the Sefira family’s. There’s a possibility he could be an illegitimate child, but it seems unlikely Count Besil would make such a risky move, so it’s not certain.”

“Besil’s illegitimate child… from Absinthe? Something seems off.”

“Whatever the reason is, this is an opportunity. Count Besil has made a big mistake. Even if Keter really is his hidden son, how could someone raised in Absinthe be of any help to the family? A third-rate thug without any dignity can’t live a noble’s life. He’s bound to cause all sorts of trouble.”

“I know that much, too. Do you think Besil doesn’t know what you and I know? Idiot. Besil wouldn’t have taken Keter in without thinking. He must have had a reason, and that’s what I’m curious about!”

As Patra clicked his tongue, Volus’ face momentarily hardened and then returned to normal.

“In that case, I’ll send a letter to him, asking him to deal with Keter, the thorn in our eye,” Volus said.

“A simple but sure method. But I don’t know if he has the guts to kill Besil’s child. After all, isn’t he a respected elder of the Sefira family?”

Patra’s words were shocking.

An elder was the one of the crucial and central positions in the house; they were connected to the family by blood, and they could only be elected as elders if they had a good character recognized by all and the support of the patriarch. It was shocking to think that an elder of Sefira was colluding with the Bydent family.

There were a total of three elders in Sefira: Ricotta Sefira, Besil’s father and former patriarch; Panir Sefira, Besil’s uncle and former kingdom judge; and Reganon Drayton, the father of Olive, Besil’s late wife and former royal secretary. One of these three had betrayed the Sefira family.

Because this was Volus’ achievement, he spoke with confidence.

“He will do it. He asked to be appointed as the next head of the family, so he absolutely cannot refuse my request.”

“Very well. I’ll leave this one to you, Volus.”

Patra nodded, showing his satisfaction.

The matter was handled swiftly. A letter containing Bydent’s orders was delivered to one of the elders of Sefira using magic—it was an order to kill Keter.

* * *

It was four o’clock in the afternoon, with the sun looking like it was about to set. Soldiers who were on guard duty at the fortress of the Sefira territory’s main gate flinched. They hadn’t seen anything, but they heard a sound—the sound of carriage wheels rolling.

The two soldiers standing at the entrance stared ahead at the road where the sound came from. In the distance, they first saw the roof of the carriage, followed by a fluttering flag. The flag bore a symbol depicting a loaded bow aimed at the sun—it was the symbol of an elder of the Sefira family.

The senior soldier squinted to confirm the flag’s symbol, then let out a nervous breath.

The junior soldier, also startled, said in a trembling voice, “That carriage… It can’t be, right? According to the schedule, he shouldn’t be returning for another week.”

The senior soldier let out a deep sigh with a nervous face and replied, “Straighten up. That is undoubtedly Elder Panir’s carriage.”

“Ugh…”

The two soldiers, who had already been on high alert, quickly brushed the dust from their armor and stood up straighter to welcome the approaching carriage. Finally, the carriage stopped in front of the gate. When the driver opened the carriage door, the soldiers felt a chill run down their spines.

His white hair was neatly combed back without a single strand out of place, a fierce gaze that could subdue someone, a demeanor that was restrained yet sharp, and a strong physique that was difficult to see in a man in his seventies. It was Panir El Sefira, an elder of Sefira who was more famously known as a judge in the high court of the Lillian Kingdom.

As Panir stepped out of the carriage, the two soldiers shouted loudly, “All clear!”

Panir’s already fierce eyes narrowed even further.

“Everything’s clear? You have no sense of urgency, just like a commoner!” Panir shouted, slamming down on the carriage with his fist. “You saw the emblem on the carriage and assumed it was me, so you didn’t remain alert. Have you considered what would have happened if an attacker was in this carriage instead of me? Both of you would be dead, and this fortress would have fallen without a fight!”

“We’re sorry! We’ll fix it!”

Despite the soldier’s remorse, Panir clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“I can’t count how many times I’ve heard you say you’ll fix it. Are you planning to fix it only after our entire house has burned to the ground?”

Panir climbed onto the carriage as if he didn’t want to hear any more excuses. The senior soldier hurriedly opened the gate. Even after the carriage passed through, the two guards remained tense, fearing that Panir might be watching them.

The carriage passed through the gate and stopped in front of the main mansion where the patriarch resided. Panir’s personal butler, who had been waiting, opened the carriage door for him.

As soon as Panir got out of the carriage, he said curtly, “Why is the house so disorganized at this hour?”

Prosciutto, Panir’s personal butler, handed him a wet towel and replied, “It’s because Lord Taragon is running on the training field.”

Panir stared at Prosciutto as he wiped his hands on the towel.

“It’s almost sunset, and he’s running on the training field? When did he start this kind of training?”

“Today is the first time,” Prosciutto said.

“He’s always been prone to odd behaviors… but this time it’s bothering me a little.”

“I brought him some water and asked him why, but he seemed reluctant to explain.”

“Hm… Enough about Taragon. What is that guy doing?” Panir asked.

When Panir mentioned him, Prosciutto took the hand towel and said, “Keter caused some trouble as soon as he arrived and is now at the Second Shooting Range.”

“That guy arrived just this morning but already caused trouble? And who gave him permission to use the shooting range?”

Panir’s voice grew louder.

Prosciutto gestured to the servants, who were glancing over in fear, to return to their duties and said, “It’s a long story. I will explain in detail in your quarters.”

Prosciutto had been observing Keter closely from start to finish and reported everything that happened: his meeting and sparring with Anis, having lunch and playing drinking games with Jacques, meeting Volkanus at the forge, and walking out with Amaranth.

All of this happened in just one day, or rather, half a day.

After hearing everything, Panir’s face was as cold as ice. He quietly rose from his seat, and took his bow and arrows hanging on the wall.

“I tried to tolerate Besil ignoring my advice and taking that guy in, but it seems Keter, that reckless brat, finds our Sefira family ridiculous.”

“Are you planning to go there yourself, my lord?”

“I wanted him to disappear quietly from the beginning. I can’t kill him since he’s already been brought into the family, but I will make sure he understands his place.”

When Besil mentioned Keter’s existence, Panir was the one who suggested killing Keter before he was revealed to make it go away.

Prosciutto thought for a moment, then blocked Panir’s path.

“Blocking my way? What are you trying to do?”

Panir was as hot-tempered as his fierce appearance suggested. Even if Prosciutto was his exclusive butler, he didn’t forgive disrespect.

However, as Prosciutto had served Panir for nearly twenty years, he calmly said, “There’s no need to use a dragon-slaying bow to catch a goblin, is there?”

“Hm? I guess not…”

“Besides, you spent half the year tirelessly persuading the nobles, my lord. You must be tired, so there’s no need for you to personally take care of such trivial matters. Why don’t you leave the affairs of lowly beings to me?”

Panir seemed to become more relaxed when Prosciutto offered to handle the issue himself while trying to improve his mood.

“You’re right. It seems like you already have someone in mind. Who is it?” Panir asked calmly.

“I’d like to send Katherine.”

“Katherine?”

There were hundreds of knights in the Sefira family, but Katherine was the only female knight.

Panir looked at Prosciutto, requiring an explanation of why he chose Katherine out of all the other knights.