The Lord Just Wants to Have Fun

Thud, thud, thud!

Dozens of knights on horseback galloped through the royal capital. Clad in cloaks embroidered with black roses, they veered off the main roads without hesitation, cutting through alleys and bustling night markets.

“Ack! Watch out!”
“Damn it, I almost got trampled!”

Startled citizens hastily dodged out of the way, cursing at the knights disappearing into the distance.

“But why are they in such a hurry in the middle of the night? Did a war break out or something?”
“If that were the case, the Central Knights would be moving. Judging by their attire, they seem to be a noble family’s knight order.”
“What a disgraceful era. Back when His Majesty was alive, noble knights never rampaged through the capital like this…”

Having left chaos in their wake, the Black Rose Knights soon neared their destination.

“Commander, up ahead…!”
“Tsk! Those bastards!”

Hilda, the commander of the Black Rose Knights, frowned upon seeing the knights clad in red armor riding toward them from the opposite direction.

“Damn it, are we too late?”

Before setting out, she had received direct orders from her lord, Prince Gerard—to secure the sacred relic before Duke Volzard’s forces could reach it.

That was why she had deliberately taken the shortcut through alleys and the night market, yet she had failed to completely outpace her rivals.

“Well, well, who do we have here? If it isn’t the Wildcat of Vesvallen.”

A middle-aged knight wielding a halberd approached with a sly tone. His massive frame was clad in heavy armor befitting his stature, and his face bore a fierce expression—with one eye missing.

Hilda’s expression darkened further.

“The Butcher of Men—Baron Pelican.”

A man who had risen from mere mercenary to noble rank. A renowned figure in his own right, yet Hilda felt not even the slightest trace of respect for him.

Too many knights of Vesvallen had perished at Pelican’s hands—including her own comrades.

“What brings you here?”

Pelican spoke casually, as if he were addressing an old acquaintance. Hilda, however, coldly shot back:

“I have no obligation to answer you. Get out of my way.”

“Oh? Now that you put it that way, I feel even less inclined to move.”

The Red Scorpion Knights’ commander, Baron Pelican, narrowed his eye.

Despite his brutish appearance, he was sharp-witted.

He had been sent by Duke Volzard to retrieve the sacred relic, only to encounter the Black Rose Knights here.

What did that imply?

Either the Amelia faction was behind the theft, or the princess herself was trying to secure the relic first.

One thing was certain—there was no room for compromise.

Duke Volzard had undoubtedly anticipated this standoff when he dispatched his forces.

“Get lost while I’m still being nice, Wildcat.”

“Hah! So the butcher becomes a noble, and suddenly his mouth runs faster than his blade?”

Hilda wasn’t about to back down.

Her lord, Prince Gerard, had given a clear order—to secure the relic, even if it meant clashing with Duke Volzard’s forces.

Not that she needed his command. She had never intended to yield in the first place.

“Hah! Do you truly wish for your skull to be split by my halberd?”

“Big words! If you don’t step aside, my sword will make you regret it.”

Clank! Sching!

As Pelican and Hilda drew their weapons, their respective knights followed suit, assuming battle stances.

Each side numbered in the dozens, and many among them were expert-level knights.

The tension in the air grew thick, the atmosphere turning increasingly menacing.

“Are they seriously about to fight?”
“No way… This is the royal capital, Aras!”

The only ones concerned about the escalating situation were the nearby citizens, who watched anxiously.

But words like “prohibition of private disputes in the capital” or “illegal acts” meant nothing to the knights.

They already bore grudges from past battlefield encounters. If anything, they were eager for a confrontation.

“This is my final warning, Wildcat. I don’t ask three times.”

“Shut up and fight already. Tonight, I’ll take your other eye.”

There was no longer any need for words.

Seeing that his threats had no effect, Pelican decided to do what he did best—go berserk.

“Strike! Show them the terror of the Red Scorpion Knights!”

“Black Rose Knights, attack!”

The moment the two commanders clashed with their weapons, their knights spurred their horses forward and charged at their foes.

Clang! Shing! Clang!
Screeech! Crash!

The battle erupted with a violent symphony of clashing steel. Sparks flew whenever spears and swords struck shields, and small explosions burst forth as Aura clashed against Aura.

“Don’t falter! Show them the tenacity of the Red Scorpion Knights!”
“Slaughter those butcher’s lackeys!”

Neither side cared that they were fighting in the heart of Aras, the royal capital. Nor did they concern themselves with the law that strictly forbade private disputes involving weapons.

They were confident their respective lords would smooth things over.

Moreover, they believed their superior skills would allow them to swiftly subdue their opponents.

Yet, contrary to their expectations, the battle remained evenly matched.

“Hah?! Where did that arrow come from—?!”
“The roof! The Black Rose bastards climbed onto the market rooftops!”
“Damn it! We need to take them out too!”

The battle, which had initially erupted on the road leading to the inn where Philip’s party was staying, soon spread.

Fighting broke out inside nearby buildings, across rooftops, and even in the narrow alleys where horses couldn’t maneuver.

“What the hell is going on?!”
“Don’t tell me… Has the civil war already begun?”
“Where is the Central Army?! Why aren’t they stopping this?!”

The terrified citizens fled in panic, fearing they might be caught in the chaos.

But the knights of the Red Scorpions and Black Rose paid no heed.

“Kahaha! What happened? Didn’t you say you’d take my other eye?!”

“Tch! Shut up, you butcher!”

Pelican, his halberd swinging wildly, seized an opening and killed Hilda’s horse.

With that, the balance of the battle began to shift.

As Hilda struggled after falling from her horse, her knights lost formation trying to protect her. One by one, the Black Rose Knights began to falter under the Red Scorpion Knights’ relentless assault.

“Hahaha! Did you really think a bunch of lapdogs trailing after the princess could best us?!”

Pelican roared in triumph, his momentum surging.

Hilda gritted her teeth in frustration.

The battlefield was littered with casualties, but retreat was not an option.

If she fled now, her reputation would be utterly destroyed.

She would rather die than run away or surrender.

‘And I still have a hidden card to play! If I can just hold out a little longer…!’

Waaaaaahhh!

Just as she clung to hope, a new battle cry erupted from the distance.

An entire squad of knights and soldiers charged in.

They were Princess Amelia’s private forces.

“Reinforcements!”
“Our lord has sent support! Push them back!”

With the hundred-strong reinforcements joining the fray, the tide of battle swiftly turned.

Now it was the Black Rose Knights who had the upper hand, relentlessly driving the Red Scorpion Knights back.

Pelican scowled as he saw his subordinates struggling to hold their ground.

At that moment, his lieutenant rushed up with an urgent report.

“Big Boss—no, Commander! There’s more enemies coming from the rear!”

“Goddamn it!”

Cursing, Pelican barked new orders.

“Shit! Call for our reinforcements too! And burn down everything behind us to stop them from flanking us!”

At Pelican’s command, his men set fire to everything in sight.

They torched wagons, carts, nearby houses, and even shops.

The sudden arson shocked Hilda and her knights.

“Are they out of their damn minds?!”

“Ignore them! Burning the capital down will ruin Duke Volzard’s reputation!”

“Forget that—look at the flames! We need to regroup before we all get caught in this inferno!”

The battle had consumed them so completely that they had momentarily forgotten why they were even here.

And in that moment of distraction—

The inn where Philip had been staying was engulfed by the spreading flames.

******

A Village Near the Southern Outskirts of the Royal Capital

Philip had taken refuge in a nearby village, waiting for Andy to arrive.

“Why the hell is he taking so long?”

At Mau’s words, Philip nearly jumped in panic.

“Shut up! Don’t jinx it!”

If Andy had been caught, things would get extremely complicated.

Not only would Philip be wrongfully accused of stealing the sacred relic, but his entire scheme to incite conflict between the two factions would be exposed.

“And if that happens, I’ll definitely lose my head to the guillotine.”

“Damn it, that’s even worse!”

Guillotines were invented in France to ensure a quick, painless execution.

In contrast, an axe execution often took multiple blows, subjecting the condemned to unspeakable agony before they finally died.

Just the thought made Philip shudder.

“My lord, Andy has arrived.”

“Oh, finally!”

At Terry’s report, Philip rushed outside.

Andy appeared completely unscathed, without a single injury.

“Why the hell are you so late? Were you being followed? Did you have to shake off pursuers?”

“No, my lord. I stayed back to observe the situation.”

After delivering the letter, Andy had taken the time to assess the battlefield.

He had witnessed the Black Rose Knights’ deployment and saw them clashing with Duke Volzard’s Red Scorpion Knights near the inn where they had stayed.

“The Black Rose and the Red Scorpion Knights?”

“They are the principal knight orders serving Princess Amelia and Duke Volzard, respectively. It seems neither side could afford to lose here, so they both sent reinforcements.”

What had started as a skirmish between a few dozen knights had escalated into a full-scale battle involving over a thousand troops.

And as the fighting intensified, so did the destruction.

“Were there many casualties?”

“That’s part of it… but the collateral damage to the citizens was significant.”

Most of the residents had managed to flee in time, preventing large-scale civilian casualties.

However, the Red Scorpion Knights’ arson had burned down dozens of houses and shops.

“They committed arson in the royal capital? They’ve completely lost their minds!”

“I did think the capital seemed unusually bright… turns out it was on fire.”

Philip’s retainers, listening nearby, wore expressions of sheer disbelief.

At that moment, Siria turned to Philip with a grave expression.

“My lord, isn’t this going to spark a civil war? This is beyond just a minor skirmish.”

“No, if they really intended to start a war, fighting would have broken out in the inner city as well. It would be more advantageous to eliminate key leaders quickly.”

“Ah… that makes sense.”

“However, this could serve as a prelude to war. Neither side would want to back down here. And with the sacred relic from the Great Temple becoming a political issue, both factions are desperate to claim it first.”

“Well, if they keep tearing each other apart, that’s even better for us. They’ll be too busy cleaning up the mess to focus on us.”

At Siria’s words, Philip’s retainers nodded in admiration.

“My lord… did you plan all of this when you sent that letter?”

“Wow, this is brilliant!”

“Honestly, when you suddenly decided to write to the princess, I thought you were trying to join her faction!”

Philip grinned smugly.

Truthfully, he hadn’t expected the battle to escalate this much.

His original goal was simply to use the princess’s faction to prevent Duke Volzard from pursuing them, while also manipulating events to cause losses on both sides—all to avenge his fallen subordinates.

But this…

This was turning into something much bigger than he had anticipated.

“Oh, right—my lord, there’s one more thing to report.”

Andy, as if just remembering something, added new intel.

“On my way back, I heard that the Royal Guard Knights and the private forces of the central nobility have also been deployed.”

“Huh….”

Of course.

Prince Karl wasn’t stupid.

If he saw an opportunity to reap the benefits without taking risks, he would take it.

‘This is about to get even bigger.’

Would this turn in his favor—or spiral into a disaster?