CHAPTER 89: THE FOX AND THE CLOWN

Reginald was confused as to why his father was covering his mouth. Not only that, but he was sweating a little.

’Why are you acting like this, Father?’ Reginald thought to himself as he suddenly felt his Father’s hand trembling ever so slightly. ’I see, so that’s it. Are you holding back your anger so much?’

Reginald, who misunderstood his Father’s true feelings, was now smiling. On the other hand, Kyle was thinking as fast as he could about what he could do in this situation.

’What is this?! This stupid, idiotic son of mine! How is that person a merchant?! What should I do? Should I bow my head?...’

Lucen walked toward them with a measured pace, his silver hair shining under the sunlight. It looked as if it was glowing. Lucen’s black long coat fluttered every so slightly from the passing wind.

The faint scuff of his boots on stone echoed with a strange finality in Kyle’s ears, like the ticking of a clock counting down. Each footstep felt louder, heavier, as if judgment itself was drawing near.

Kyle’s heart pounded in his chest like a drum of war. Sweat clung to the back of his neck, yet his expression remained unreadable, cold and stony.

’No, even if he is the Iron Duke’s heir, he’s still just an heir. I’m a Count, I should not have to bow to a boy that hasn’t been given a title.’

Lucen, alongside Robert and Sir Thalos, was now standing in front of Kyle. The third mantle knights felt pressure from Sir Thalos’s presence, but they could not back down with their lord standing beside them.

The two mages immediately knew who the person standing beside Lucen was. It was the genius mad alchemist Robert Duskwell. Seeing that person, they already knew that if a confrontation happened, they would not last a single second, and might be transmuted into mice.

’If I insult him, I offend the Iron Duke. If I show weakness, I lose face. What should I do in this situation?’

Seeing that Lucen was standing in front of him, Kyle understood that this child wasn’t the same as the nobles who surrounded him and his son.

’Come on, Father, teach this arrogant merchant a lesson. Show him the power of a true noble.’

Except for the ignorant Reginald Vermon, everyone else understood that they were outclassed by Lucen’s group.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Count Vermont. I heard that you wish to speak with me." Lucen did a knight’s salute.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you as well," Kyle spoke in a flat tone. His face continued to look stoic, but deep inside, he was screaming. "I came to talk to you about the misunderstanding you had with my son."

Reginald, who was finally released from his father’s hand, spoke.

"There was no misunderstanding, Father! This lowly-"

*Smack*

Kyle suddenly slapped his son in the face, making the other party fall to the ground due to the strength of the slap.

The sound of the slap echoed louder than a thunderclap. Reginald staggered, crashing to the stone floor, clutching his cheek with wide, disbelieving eyes.

Lucen was quite surprised by the sudden move, but he quickly regained his calm as he watched the play in front of him unfold.

"Shut up, you fool!"

"Why, Father?" Reginald could only ask that question, confused by the situation.

"If you don’t understand what’s happening, then keep your mouth shut."

Hearing Kyle reprimanding him made Reginald even more confused. Still, even he understood that this was not the time for him to say anything and kept quiet. Seeing his son finally doing something right, Kyle fixed his suit and looked at Lucen with confidence.

"Forgive me, Lucen. I raised a son who does not know when to hold his tongue. I apologize for his rudeness."

"There’s no need to apologize, I wasn’t offended. To me, he was quite fun, like a clown wanting to make me laugh."

The second Lucen said those words, both Reginald and Kyle were fuming with anger, but on the outside, it was only Reginald who was showing any such emotion, while Kyle remained rather stoic.

’I’ve lowered my head enough. This boy needs to learn that he is only an heir now and not one with a title.’

Kyle straightened his body and glanced at his subordinates. After which he then started to emit a kind of pressure. It was not something created from aura, mana, or even killing intent. It was a pressure of one’s presence.

’Hoh, even someone like this is a noble after all.’ Lucen thought to himself, as he dismissed the Vermont family as some third-rate villains, but it would seem that the son was very different from the father.

"Heir of the Duke of Stellhart, you may have the stronger household, but that does not mean you can insult my son like this."

Lucen, who had been in true life and death battles, was not that affected by the pressure Kyle was emitting and instead smiled.

"It would seem that I have spoken insensitively. Forgive me, Count Kyle, I have misspoke due to my youth."

Lucen did not back down and stepped forward.

"Still, there is the fact that your son once threatened me, and now you have come here alongside some of your men. So what did you want to talk to me about?" Lucen’s voice was calm, but his presence filled the space like an oncoming storm.

Lucen was now the one emitting a silent pressure. Sir Thalos and Robert were ready to strike. They were simply waiting for Lucen’s command.

Kyle could not back down at this point and stood his ground.

"I won’t lie to you, I did come here to see what kind of person had an argument with my son. I was simply going to verify their story with my son’s story."

"Hoh, is that so? What did your son tell you I did?"

"After learning it was you, I already understood that my son should have been lying."

"So if I were a simple merchant, you would have forced me to tell you my version. Then what will you do if told you that it was your son who was acting out, and I simply responded in kind."

"..."

Looking at Lucen’s eyes, Kyle fully comprehended that the person he was talking to right now wasn’t a simple noble child. This was a Thornehart in front of him, and he was a wolf waiting for his opponent to show weakness.

The two locked eyes at each other without saying a word. While the two were doing this, Reginald, who heard what his Father said, finally knew who he had messed with.

’The heir of the Iron Duke?! This f*cker is Lucen Thornehart!’

Even Reginald, who was clueless about a lot of things, knew who the Thorneharts were. Their family was one of the oldest allies of the royal family, alongside the Aeromont household.

He was also aware of who Lucen Thornehart was since he had become the talk of the city. The once sickly heir of the Iron Duke had a miraculous change and had even become the champion of the underground arena, where it was said that a powerful master was the former champion.

"Why aren’t you answering Count Kyle?" Lucen asked.

"A noble must uphold their honor. I was going to punish the merchant who insulted a noble son." Kyle answered as truthfully as he could.

"So you were going to punish the merchant despite your son being in the wrong? A noble isn’t just someone who inherits a title. They are also the ones who protect the people. They are the ones who uphold justice and honor. Are you truly a noble?"

"For a noble to be a noble, the commoners must learn their place."

"I guess, you and I have different definitions of what a noble should be," Lucen replied.

"That is true. Now that we have cleared up the misunderstanding, I will take my leave."

"Before you leave, can I give you some advice?"

Kyle, who had already turned around and was about ready to leave, stopped. He then turned his head to look behind him.

"What is it?"

"You should teach your son better, before he gets into real trouble."

"Hmph, I do not need advice from a child on how to raise my own."

Hearing Kyle’s response, Lucen shrugged his shoulders. Kyle started walking away. He looked at his son, who was on the ground, and clicked his tongue as he continued onward. The knights and mages followed their lord from behind, and Reginald, who got up, was about to walk away when Lucen spoke to him.

"Hey, Reginald."

Hearing Lucen talking to him, Reginald stopped in his tracks and gulped. He did not say anything and waited to hear what Lucen had to say.

"I would have forgotten about you after watching that wonderful play, but now I won’t ever forget who you are. Be careful on your way back home."

After listening to what Lucen had to say, Reginald gnashed his teeth. He hated how unlucky he was, as he followed his Father back home. Even now, he didn’t think he was in the wrong, but simply believed that Lucen was bullying him with his status.

Just as Reginald disappeared into the busy streets, Robert scratched his head, glancing in the direction Reginald had gone, and spoke to Lucen.

"That idiot noble’s going to cause trouble later. Not because he’s clever. Just because he’s too stupid to know when he’s lost."

"It doesn’t matter what he does. He’s not even a fox like his father, just a sad clown." Lucen replied while shrugging.