Why did a butcher’s son suddenly appear?
"How many people were involved when you hit the Prince?"
Lann looked helplessly at the nervous Alia.
"That wasn’t my fault! Geoffrey was too much!"
"I’m friends with Mika, and we were playing with sticks by the river. Then he came over and for some reason demanded Mika duel him. He had a real sword! Mika was so scared he froze and begged him to take back his order, but Geoffrey said refusing would be disrespecting the Prince. He even slashed Mika’s face with the sword."
"If I didn’t hit him, Mika might’ve been killed on the spot!"
Alia had quite a knack for storytelling, vividly portraying a prince who was arrogant to the point of insanity.
Lann listened with his eyes twitching.
A duel demanding bloodshed between a prince with a real sword and a commoner with a stick?
Is there something wrong with that Prince? Is he a sadist?
Steza’s actions at least had some profit logic, but this Prince Geoffrey... does mistreating commoners bring prestige?
And... so the three of you escaped in different directions, only to reunite here?!
Under Lann’s gaze, Alia lowered her head, while Nymelia tilted her head like a curious dog.
In any case, since the cheering crowd isn’t far, he should take Alia to check it out.
In public view with the Duke of Northern Territory’s daughter, these people, even if they’re at odds with the Starks, shouldn’t dare harm Alia.
Lann nodded to Alia, and the little girl immediately understood his meaning.
With a small cheer, she tugged at Nymelia’s wolf ear and stood up.
The Ice Wolf, like a well-trained hound, vigilantly stayed by Alia’s side, serving as a guard.
The two and the wolf moved forward quickly, as Lann was leading the way, making any shrubs or branches along the path insignificant obstacles, quickly reaching the cheering crowd.
A red-haired boy with freckles in rough burlap clothes was sitting terrified, slumped against a tree root.
He looked as if he wished he could shrink to the size of an ant.
Around him were five soldiers holding torches and wearing longswords on their waists.
They watched the boy like hungry mice eyeing a piece of cheese.
Lann noticed that the leather armors on these soldiers’ chests had a lion emblem.
The five soldiers approached the boy with delighted and brutal smiles, beating him so that he fell to the ground like a puddle of mud.
Lann held down Alia’s intention to step out.
Although Lann still lacked understanding of this world, through Alia’s description and the scene, he could confirm that the family of this little girl beside him was definitely involved in a power struggle.
The scale of this power struggle was still unclear, as top nobles inevitably encounter such situations.
And this butcher’s son, if caught up, most likely wouldn’t survive.
If taking a beating here could pull him out of this mess, Lann thought this beating was quite worth it.
Once the ’Hound’ who seems to be in charge arrives, he would take Alia directly away, diverting people’s attention naturally from Mika, who has little value.
Seeing him beaten now, the consequence would likely be at most a reprimand.
After all, he’s just a butcher’s son, why persist?
Lann contemplated the possible developments from a normal person’s perspective.
But he forgot one thing—
There are many abnormal people in this world.
"The ’Hound’ is here!"
The small circle of five opened a path, and a gigantic figure at least two meters tall walked through the woods holding a torch.
He was a knight equipped with fine black armor, with a helmet shaped like a hound.
He took heavy steps towards Mika.
And the boy, who was already beaten so badly he couldn’t even turn over, whimpered and desperately crawled backward as the man approached.
Lann felt something was off at this point.
If he was merely here to apprehend, a beating would suffice; why was Mika so fearful?
Immediately, Lann narrowed his eyes slightly, reaching his hand to the sword hilt, preparing to lead Alia and her Ice Wolf towards the crowd.
Sure enough, amidst the sound of metal scraping, the Hound Knight drew his appropriately sized sword from his waist.
His dark longsword, without hesitation, aimed to stab at Mika lying on the ground!
The five soldiers encircling initially wore expressions of enjoyment, but suddenly... the rushing sound of wind came from behind.
Something was charging furiously!
Their expressions shifted from ’enjoying the show’ to ’surprised and puzzled,’ which was quite amusing.
They widened their eyes, attempting to turn around.
But as the two in the middle were halfway through their turning actions, a tall and massive figure directly crashed through the gap between them!
The two soldiers felt as if they’d been rammed by a raging bull!
Lann merely brushed past, yet directly knocked them over.
A brilliant sword gleam suddenly appeared the moment before the Hound Knight’s sword could pierce Mika.
With a clang, it intercepted the opponent’s broad sword edge.
Lann’s slightly narrowed eyes opened slightly at this moment, and he could see through the slits in the hound helmet the opponent’s sudden furrowed brow and surprised gaze.
This was the first time, after implanting the genetic seed, he felt slightly strenuous in a contest with a human.
Despite the opponent being nearly forty centimeters taller, this strength must have been honed on a foundation of exceptional talent.
This was a formidable knight.
Lann didn’t expect to encounter a renowned knight or warrior in this magical world but to first meet such a skilled person in an ordinary alternate world.
Strength-testing sword collisions were unwise stances in sword dueling, so the Hound Knight and Lann mutually withdrew their swords.
Setting up their stances, they fell into a confrontation posture.
"I don’t know who you are, but this is an escaped criminal who injured the Prince. Don’t interfere, kid."
A hoarse, low voice came from inside the hound helmet.
Though the other five soldiers also surrounded him, Lann’s expression remained quite relaxed.
"He’s a fugitive? But I heard the Stark girl hit the Prince with a stick. Killing a butcher’s son to settle scores... isn’t right, is it?"
"Huh." A mocking sneer came from beneath the hound helmet. "Fine, if you want to die, no one can stop you."
Sounds of longswords being drawn echoed around as the five soldiers prepared to join the fight.
Their expressions held confidence, not because of their own fighting prowess, but because they were fighting together with the Hound Knight against a single enemy.
In their eyes, though this young man who suddenly appeared was intriguingly handsome and skilled, how could he possibly defeat the Hound and them?
This would be unearned credit.
But just as tensions heightened, Lann instead lowered his guard and sword stance, his expression playful.
"Tsk, I thought you were someone who’d fight fair."
"You’re just a nobody." The Hound Knight’s tone remained antagonistic, as if everyone owed him money. "Fair dueling with you won’t bring me any benefit."
Leading the five soldiers, he cautiously closed in on Lann.
"Maybe I’ll be famous tomorrow?" Lann tilted his head with a smile, as if not seeing their movements.
"Alia, come out. The Duke of Northern Territory will surely reward the one who retrieves his daughter with fame."