Gerard laughed loudly, thinking they were just putting on airs.

“As expected, you still can’t grasp the situation due to your empty heads. Bring that fellow before me at once!”

“Wait!”

In the midst of the rapidly unfolding situation, Baron Lancaster bravely stood up.

“Isn’t this a different matter? Even if you obtain the title of Count by force, it’s useless without the approval of the council. Why are you doing this when you know better than anyone?”

“Haha, it doesn’t matter if no one knows this happened.”

“You’re noisy.”

Beluce rose from his seat. He calmly drew his sword. The knights behind Gerard tensed up, raising their swords.

“It’s bothersome to deal with you one by one, so come at me all at once.”

Beluce lowered his sword and tilted his chin. There was blatant disrespect in his gesture. They looked at each other and then three of them came forward at once.

“Hyah!”

“Ugh!”

“Next.”

In the blink of an eye, two men were lying on the floor.

Although Beluce was clearly larger and much taller than Gerard’s knights, he wielded his sword so swiftly that it was almost invisible.

Faced with such overwhelming skill, the remaining knights hesitated to advance. Noticing their hesitation, Gerard shouted.

“What are you doing! Kill those bastards right now!”

“Yaaah!”

The knight who seemed to be the leader charged forward with a battle cry. Encouraged, the other knights rushed at Beluce all at once.

Unsurprisingly, the fight ended embarrassingly quickly. It seemed like he had only swung his sword a few times, but the knights were sprawled on the floor, groaning.

Some had lost limbs, and blood was splattered everywhere. The young page standing in the back finally couldn’t hold back and ran to a corner to vomit.

Helena and Arnold’s faces turned ashen as they watched the entire scene.

“You, you weak fools. Just, wait, don’t come near. I said don’t come near!”

Beluce approached with his bloodied sword, grinning, which made him look very bizarre. Gerard screamed and flailed his hands in the air.

“What should we do, Master? Shall I slice him thinly and hang him on the castle gate?”

“Eeek!”

“Or should I impale his body on a spear and display him as an example?”

Beluce chattered excitedly like a child who had received a new toy.

Just by Beluce pressing the sword gently against his neck, Gerard lost all will to fight. He trembled and fell to his knees.

“I, I was wrong. It was a foolish thought. The title of Count is yours. So please, just spare my life. Please, just my life.”

Gerard looked towards where Leonard was sitting and begged for forgiveness with all his might. At that moment, Helena, who had been watching the situation, quickly changed her stance and approached Leonard, whispering.

“Craig. Quickly, have that vicious scoundrel killed. He dared to covet the title of Count, so who knows what danger might remain if he’s left alive.”

“Hmm. You’re right. Beluce.”

“Yes.”

“Take care of this woman too.”

“Craig!”

Beluce turned and grabbed Helena’s head, throwing her to the floor. Lily screamed and ran to Helena, wailing.

“Mother! Craig, what are you, how could you do this to Mother.”

“Didn’t you see your mother just now trying to set a trap to kill me?”

“That’s, that’s because she was deceived by that Gerard fellow. You know how much Mother cherishes and loves you, right?”

“What an insincere excuse. Don’t you have anything more creative?”

“In my opinion, there’s no room for repentance. Should we just kill them all here?”

Beluce raised his sword, glancing at Leonard. If Leonard had moved his chin even slightly, the sword would have come down immediately.

“Ah!”

At that moment, Arnold stumbled and fell with a short scream. A dagger thrown by Beluce was deeply embedded in his thigh.

“Where do you think you’re scurrying off to like a rat?”

“C-Craig. Please, forgive us just this once. Mother and Uncle were really deceived. All because of that fellow!”

“If you lie one more time, I’ll rip out your mother’s tongue.”

Lily’s face turned pale at Leonard’s threat. She trembled and looked around.

Then she happened to notice the only person maintaining composure in this bloody situation. Lily shouted towards her.

“Cordelia!”

“Yes?”

Arnold was clutching his bleeding thigh and gasping for breath, while Gerard was half out of his mind, subdued by Beluce. Helena was also bleeding from her head after being thrown down. Baron Lancaster kept looking around, holding his breath.

But Cordelia was different. She continued eating as if she were having a formal dinner alone.

“Can you talk to Craig? Please?”

“About what?”

“Craig is trying to kill Mother! How can you swallow potatoes so calmly in this situation?”

“The potatoes are particularly delicious today.”

Cordelia replied nonchalantly as she put a mouthful of mashed potatoes in her mouth. She was sincere. Today, the potatoes went down her throat surprisingly smoothly.

Unable to control her temper, Lily shouted loudly.

“Hey! Don’t you understand the situation? Craig, your husband!”

“Lily. Don’t you get it yet?”

“Get what?”

“This isn’t the time to be yelling at me, but to be on your knees begging.”

“…”

“If it hurts your pride, you don’t have to do it. It means you’re not that desperate.”

“You, you!”

Cordelia spoke in a gentle tone. Then she turned her attention back to her plate.

Meanwhile, Beluce grabbed one of Arnold’s legs at the door and dragged him like a sack of luggage, placing him next to Helena.

“Aaargh!”

It was clearly intentional to grab the leg that had been stabbed by the sword. Arnold screamed that he was going to die.

Of course, Beluce didn’t care at all, just grinning. He tapped Gerard’s head with the tip of his sword and asked his master.

“Shall I kill them?”

“Hmm. Should we?”

“Count Abrams. P-please forgive me just this once. I must have been blinded by greed. If you spare me, I’ll leave this territory and never return. So please, please.”

Among them, Gerard was the quickest to read the situation. He immediately acknowledged Leonard as the Count, kneeling and begging for his life.

“Craig, Craig. The one who instigated the knights to kill you was this man. All of this was planned by Gerard Abrams! He was blinded by the desire for the Count’s title!”

“Shut up, will you? You’re the one who said you’d invite Count Abrams to today’s banquet!”

Arnold and Gerard bickered, trying to shift the blame onto each other. After watching this tiresome dispute, Leonard asked.

“What do you think, Cordelia?”

“About what?”

“These people here. Should we kill them all?”

“Not a bad idea.”

“Cordelia!”

Helena, who had been silent until now, raised her voice for the first time. She glared at Cordelia with eyes full of betrayal. It seems she had expected Cordelia to intervene.

“How can such a shameless wench, ungrateful for the kindness shown to her! Instead of stopping this, you’re encouraging it from behind?”

“Encouraging? I’m just highly appreciating the Dowager Countess’s nobility.”

“You, you!”

Like mother, like daughter – their exclamations when angry were the same.

Arnold, who was next to her, urgently pulled Helena’s shoulder.

“Sister. We might really die at this rate.”

“So what? Even if I die, I will never bow my head to that thing!”

“The Dowager Countess is right. It’s better to die cleanly. We can’t beg for our lives by bowing our heads to a bought Vasquez.”

“W-wait!”

“Craig. The Dowager Countess’s thoughts are so noble, let’s kill them all. I think we’re actually dishonoring these people by acting like this.”

When Cordelia spoke without even blinking, Leonard couldn’t hold back his laughter and let out a deflating sound.

He had expected her to at least say “What are you talking about?” and try to stop him out of courtesy, but as always, her answer was unexpected.

“Oh really? Then let’s do that. I’ll do whatever the Countess wants.”

For some reason, Leonard suddenly turned the decision over to Cordelia. At those words, Arnold and Lily became even more desperate.

“No, no, Mother! What are you saying right now?”

“Sister. If you want to die, die alone. I can’t do that.”

Arnold seemed to have a tremendous will to live. He limped over to Cordelia with the dagger still in his leg and immediately knelt down.

“It’s all my fault. Everything is my sin.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes. If you let this pass just once, I’ll live the rest of my life atoning.”

“But your words are a bit short. Is that why? You don’t seem very desperate either.”

Cordelia leaned down slightly and spoke to Viscount Arnold on the floor.

Arnold frowned but soon prostrated himself flat on the ground. He knows better than anyone that a moment’s pride doesn’t guarantee one’s life.

“I’m sorry, Countess. I’m originally poorly educated, so I lack the proper way to address superiors.”

“Hmm. I see. Knowing one’s own shortcomings is more important than learning. What do you two think?”

At Arnold’s seemingly traitorous surrender, Lily and Helena looked at each other’s faces. Lily was the first to speak.

“I, I think so too.”

“I?”

“…I think so too. The Abrams title rightfully belongs to Craig, but Mother and Uncle were blinded by greed and…”

“Lily!”

“Dowager Countess. Lily is speaking. How uncultured of you to interrupt.”

Cordelia reprimanded Helena in a calm tone. Helena’s face turned bright red.