This Bastard is Too Competent

Ian found himself alone for the first time in a while after sending Galon away, but he didn’t mind.

‘I have the Blue Wolf by my side now.’

As knights under the direct control of the Duke and recognized by the country, they would have no trouble escorting the two individuals to the royal palace.

With this in mind, Ian set off immediately.

“Escort those two.”

“Understood!”

Marquis Adelas and the Cardinal walked ahead with serious expressions, while Ian kept a watchful eye on them from behind.

Hite, the leader of the Blue Wolf, approached Ian from the side, temporarily taking over Fiosen’s duties.

“Your Highness, may I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Are you perhaps lying about your age?

“What do you mean?”

“I mean those guys,” Hite explained. “They’re not simple individuals, yet you handle them with ease.”

Ian was taken aback briefly before a smile formed on his face. “It was just luck.”

“Luck?” Hite seemed unconvinced.

“One was shocked because of the collapsing mansion, and the other was shocked because he believed he had lost a saintess.”

However, Hite didn’t seem to take Ian’s words at face value.

On the contrary, his eyes showed a sense of certainty.

“Luck, you say. But that can’t be the only reason, can it?”

He pointed to a shovel leaning against a corner.

“That shovel,” Hite said, “You threw it to prevent them from gathering their thoughts, didn’t you? To avoid giving them a chance to think.”

Ian realized that Hite had seen through his actions.

Hite approached Ian closely, speaking in a low voice.

Among the nobility, Ian had gained a reputation as the prince who had boldly insulted the two individuals with a shovel, and it was all thanks to the shovel’s effectiveness.

Hite looked at Ian with fervent eyes.

‘This prince is indeed special.’

However, it wasn’t just because Ian was the husband of Lavaltor’s only daughter, their lady.

“I’m asking seriously. Do you happen to possess any prophetic abilities like the saintess? Perhaps you were baptized or…” Hite asked.

Ian was amused but secretly surprised by the absurd question.

It was for a different reason.

‘I thought he was clueless while staying silent. He’s quite good at assessing the situation.’

Ian decided to let him know if he liked it.

“To be honest, the reason I threw the shovel wasn’t just because of that.”

“Indeed, there must have been another reason.”

“I simply didn’t like them.”

“Pardon?” Hite tilted his head, unable to comprehend.

But soon, Hite found himself frozen in place, chilled by Ian’s smile.

“If those bastards hadn’t grabbed the shovel… I would have deemed them genuine murderers and executed them on the spot.”

“What…!”

It was only natural.

The chill in Ian’s voice was enough to send shivers down his spine.

But he was sincere.

While he had the intention of tormenting them, there was a separate and more important reason.

‘They have my mother.’

Ian needed to divert attention to himself as much as possible.

If he could eliminate them, perhaps their focus on his mother would shift to him.

However, his provocation failed as they didn’t take the bait.

‘They must have seen through my intentions… How disappointing.’

No matter how angry he was, Ian couldn’t simply kill them without justification in a place crowded with people.

Unfortunately, those two individuals were sharp enough to be called political sharks.

He had no choice but to wait for the next opportunity.

‘But there is still a chance.’

Especially before meeting the king, there would be at least one more opportunity.

So Ian looked at them with a hint of disappointment.

“I hope you run away if you get the chance.”

Chill.

Adelas and Cesare seemed to have felt Ian’s ominous gaze and started walking a little faster.

It was as if they thought they would be safe once they reached the palace.

But that was a big misconception.

Ian’s mouth twisted into a cold smile.

‘Because that place will be your grave.’

He had to do it, even if it meant saving his mother.

And seeing Ian in that determined state, Hite swallowed his saliva.

Gulp.

It seemed as if he was being pressured by Ian’s momentum, which was difficult to approach.

He shook his head.

‘He truly is… a terrifying prince…’

However, soon finding it amusing, Hite decided to follow Ian from behind.

***

Marquis Adelas was genuinely perplexed.

He had suddenly been designated as the murderer of the saintess and was forced to walk to the royal palace as a criminal.

Of course, that wasn’t the biggest issue.

‘Surely the king will not miss this opportunity.’

Adelas was well aware of the king’s desire to consolidate his authority and eliminate him and his family.

Moreover, he knew the historical downfall of the Adria duchy of [Intellect], which made the situation even more troubling. However, there was still a chance.

If he presented himself as the victim who had lost his beloved mansion, it might be enough. Besides, the knight and the soldier were found dead.

‘It’s enough to claim that it’s someone else’s conspiracy.’

The Marquis happened to catch sight of the Seventh Prince, who was leading the escort.

The more he thought about it after the initial shock subsided, the more suspicious the Seventh Prince’s presence appeared.

It felt like a culprit who had set up a bomb had arrived at the scene belatedly.

Why would the Seventh Prince be there in the first place?

‘He must be the culprit.’

That’s why Adelas needed to reach the royal palace as quickly as possible and negotiate with King Eloin.

Even the King would want to suppress the growth of the Seventh Prince at least once.

There was just one concern.

‘I have to meet the king before all the other nobles gather.’

Before the other nobles vying for Adelas’ position made their moves.

He had to conclude the negotiations with the king before that happened.

Thus, the Marquis sent a significant gaze to Cesare.

‘Hurry up. We must reach the royal palace as quickly as possible.’

Cesare nodded, albeit with difficulty.

It was the same thought as Marquis Adelas, with just one difference.

‘The saintess has disappeared. We must find her somehow.’

The saintess had been one of the cardinal’s greatest strengths and the reason for his upbringing.

Cesare believed that the saintess, who could foresee the future, had hidden herself.

But he wasn’t worried.

‘It seems like I’ll have to bring her mother along.’

No matter how much she was called the saintess, she was still her parents’ child.

If he tortured such a woman cruelly, there was no way the saintess wouldn’t appear.

No, she would see it through prophecy and suffer.

‘How dare you try to escape from me, I will never forgive you.’

The young servant, who had already taken his ring, would have contacted the people guarding her mother.

And, as usual, they would cruelly torture her.

Eventually, the saintess would have no choice but to come find him.

‘You will regret running away from me, Saintess.’

It was when they were heading to the great hall secretly to negotiate with the king, avoiding the nobles.

“Marquis! What on earth is happening?”

“Cardinal Cesare! What on earth happened to the saintess?”

“Is it true that the saintess has gone missing from Marquis Adelas’ mansion? How are you going to take responsibility for this?”

As they arrived at the great hall, they were met with an enormous crowd.

They were the ministers leading this country.

Marquis Adelas could only stare in disbelief at the sight of all the gathered nobles, his mouth hanging open.

No, he desperately looked at Ian.

‘Could it be you, Seventh Prince?’

But Ian was actually tilting his head.

His demeanor left the Marquis bewildered.

‘Is this the prince’s doing? Then who else could it be?’

But he couldn’t dwell on that thought for long.

It was because of the nobles surrounding him, as if pressuring him.

***

Ian was astonished at the sight of the nobles.

He hadn’t contacted any of them, yet all the ministers of the country had gathered.

‘How on earth did this happen?’

Of course, Ian tried to gather nobles to destroy the Marquis Adelas and Cesare. f𝗿𝐞ewebno𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝐨m

But now, before he even calls.

It was natural for Ian to tilt his head.

‘Did the Duke of Lavaltor move?’

Currently, the only one with such power in the capital is the duke.

While Duke Garcia is under arrest, only Duke Lavator is capable of such actions.

But even with their formidable power, they are knights.

They have never paid attention to politics.

‘He wouldn’t budge, no matter how many times I asked him to.’

It was at that moment.

“Have you come?”

At the familiar voice, Ian’s head turned.

Standing there was a woman.

She was none other than Fionia Lavator, wearing the blue knight’s armor of the Lavator Duke instead of a luxurious dress.

“Why are you here, lady?”

“I thought the prince might need help.”

Fionia smiled brightly.

It was different from Duke Lavator and Fiosen, who were indifferent to politics.

“It’s enough to be taken advantage of once.”

She looked like she was going to take politics seriously from now on.

Ian recognized that determination in her eyes.

He realized who had mobilized the nobles and brought them to this location.

The person who did what he needed the most.

“Could it be that it was you?”

“I thought it was something you needed.”

“How did you know?”

“Didn’t you tell my father that you would destroy Marquis Adelas? I thought it was something necessary for that.”

A wise knight. No, she was a woman.

To think that she had foreseen bringing Marquis Adelas here and causing his downfall in front of everyone.

“It’s all thanks to you, Prince.”

“What do you mean?”

“My father changed his mind because of you. So, I want to help you, Prince.”

Duke Lavaltor had told Fionia clearly.

“He has allowed me to live as I please from now on. So I want to help you, Prince.”

Ian couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Such a capable woman remained in the shadow of the Second Prince?’

He couldn’t understand why that fool hadn’t utilized someone as clever as Fionia.

Despite that, Ian felt a strange sense of comfort in Fionia’s smile directed towards him.

But that wasn’t the most important thing right now.

The nobles deliberately left only Cardinal Cesare behind. Only the Marquis Adelas was being taken to a corner.

And perhaps thinking Ian didn’t hear, they began to whisper quietly.

“The atmosphere is not good.”

“His Majesty is extremely furious since the envoy, the saintess, has disappeared.”

“Someone must take responsibility, for sure.”

Marquis Adelas understood their words clearly.

“Are you suggesting that we abandon the cardinal?”

“We have no other option, do we? It’s crucial for the survival of the Marquis and ourselves.”

As the marquis pondered, the nobles whispered to him.

“After all, what we serve is God. It’s not the cardinal, who is merely a servant of God.”

“That’s right. Once we survive, we can even change the state religion of this country. Think about it carefully.”

“Haha…”

What the nobles said was not wrong.

They had not received any significant benefits from Cesare thus far.

‘Rather, if this incident becomes properly known, Cesare may lose not only his position as a candidate for the Pope but also his position as a cardinal.’

The Marquis Adelas, a historically significant figure, and his faction comprised important ministers of the country.

It would have been much easier to maintain their positions if Cesare was sacrificed.

“Well, I suppose there’s no choice. I understand.”

“You’ve thought well.”

“I knew the Marquis would follow justice.”

Of course, there was someone who smirked while witnessing this scene.

That’s Ian.

He told this to Cesare, who was left alone.

“It seems the Marquis has turned his back on you.”

“What…?”

“The Marquis has abandoned the Cardinal and is trying to survive on his own.”

At those words, Cardinal Cesare’s eyes changed as he looked at the Marquis Adelas.

‘How dare you plan on throwing me away? If so, you will regret it. Marquis Adelas.’

And at that very moment.

Grin.

Ian smiled as he correctly set the two against each other.

‘Now, kill each other.’

And whoever is left, he will take care of them.

Ian’s eyes gleamed fiercely.