The Lord Just Wants to Have Fun

“The enemies are retreating!”

Thud.

At the soldiers’ shout, the tension drained from Philip’s body, and he let his gun fall to the ground as he collapsed onto his knees.

Before his eyes, a flurry of system messages appeared.

[You have repelled the attack of the followers of the Demon God Azra.]
[Eldir is pleased. You have received 9,000 points.]
[Valian acknowledges your combat prowess and grants you 2,000 points.]

Having overcome the crisis, fortune had followed.

Defeating the ambush had earned him a total of 11,000 points.

“But why Valian?”

Whatever the reason, gaining more points was never a bad thing.

As Philip took a deep breath, Terry approached him.

The knight was covered head to toe in blood after fighting on the front lines.

“My lord, are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine. What about casualties?”

Terry hesitated before replying.

“Five soldiers have fallen, and fourteen are wounded. Among them, Sir Andy and three others are in critical condition.”

“Damn it!”

They had won the battle, but the cost was steep.

Philip clenched his teeth and immediately reached for a healing potion, intending to save the most critical patients.

But Liberta stopped him.

“I can handle this much.”

She placed her hands over the wounds, and a soft light emanated from her palms.

In an instant, the grievous injuries of the wounded began to heal at an astonishing rate.

Even Andy, who had been on the brink of death from excessive blood loss, suddenly jolted upright.

Philip—and everyone else present—stared at Liberta in shock.

“…Who exactly are you? Were those bastards targeting you?”

Philip recalled the details of his sudden quest and questioned her sharply.

Liberta gave a bitter smile.

“I am nothing but a sinner.”

“Tch, are you going to keep dodging the question?”

Philip snapped, reaching for her collar in frustration.

But before he could grab her, Mau intervened.

“I don’t care! My men are dead!”

The five soldiers who had fallen were musketeers Philip had personally trained and nurtured.

He had guided them himself back in the territory, and through their journey to the capital, he had grown attached to them.

Losing them—seeing them wounded—was not something he could just accept.

Just as Philip was about to press Liberta further—

“My lord, this is not the time for this.”

Midas stepped in, his voice firm.

Philip shot him a fierce glare, silently warning him not to interfere, but Midas swallowed hard and continued.

“This is important! If we don’t act, we could be in even greater danger!”

“…Why?”

“A moment ago, Secretary Helen took down an enemy in the underground storeroom—he turned out to be none other than Viscount Beron.”

Philip’s eyes widened in shock.

“Are you certain?”

“We have the body. You can see for yourself.”

Without wasting a moment, Philip hurried down to the underground storeroom.

Upon seeing the corpse’s face, his expression darkened.

“That son of a bitch…!”

“Could it be that Duke Volzard sent these assassins?”

Terry, who had followed him, asked grimly.

Philip nodded.

“It’s not certain, but it’s highly likely.”

If the assassins had been sent by Duke Volzard or the eastern nobles, things would become extremely complicated.

Moreover, according to his system quest, these assassins were followers of the Demon God.

Had Duke Volzard allied himself with Demon God worshippers? Or were they operating within his forces without his knowledge?

If they were Demon God worshippers, then it made sense why they were after Liberta, who was most likely the Saintess.

And even though this attack had failed, they wouldn’t give up so easily.

Either way, even if the duke himself isn’t involved with the Demon God’s followers, this is still a mess. We’ve just killed one of his subordinates.

Duke Volzard’s faction was already under heavy political pressure due to the sacred relic theft scandal.

Would they admit that their subordinate attacked a high-ranking noble attending the king’s funeral? No.

Instead, they would spin this as an elaborate conspiracy and turn Baron Brandel’s house into a political enemy.

They might even try to eliminate him before another controversy could arise.

“My lord, we need to leave immediately!”

“If we stay here, we’re in serious danger!”

The retainers had reached the same conclusion and urged Philip to evacuate.

“Of course, we need to escape. But if we just flee like this, they’ll catch up to us.”

Currently, the royal capital was full of Duke Volzard’s and the eastern nobles’ soldiers.

Some were knights on swift warhorses, while others were trained cavalry. It was only a matter of time before they were hunted down.

“We need to make sure they can’t chase us.”

Philip pondered for a moment.

Then, a wicked grin spread across his face.

I’ve got it!

He quickly scribbled a letter and handed it to Andy.

“Sir Andy, can you move?”

“Of course.”

“Good. This is an important task—deliver this letter to Princess Amelia as secretly and quickly as possible.”

“Understood! Leave it to me!”

“We’ll head to a village south of the capital. Meet us there.”

After sending Andy off, Philip gathered his men and ordered them to hastily pack whatever they could before abandoning the inn.

******

In the Duke of Volzard’s mansion, furious shouts echoed through the halls.

“What the hell are you saying?! My knights and mages were suddenly killed?!”

Duke Volzard had leaped from his seat upon hearing Musette’s report.

“My apologies, Your Grace. The situation was urgent, so I deployed our forces immediately. I never expected failure.”

“Tell me exactly what happened!”

Musette had failed to assassinate Liberta.

But now, he intended to manipulate Duke Volzard into finishing the job for him.

This old fool still has plenty of useful soldiers.

Baron Brandel had an upper-rank Expert knight, a Tattooed Warrior, and strange weapons that could kill mages and even armored soldiers with ease.

Their power was unexpected, but if Duke Volzard mobilized his full forces, they could easily wipe them out.

However, to do that, Musette needed the duke’s permission to deploy real military forces.

Confident in his silver tongue, Musette wove an elaborate lie.

“Two hours ago, our spies in the royal capital sent an urgent report. They found the stolen sacred relic from the Water Sanctuary. And the thieves are planning to escape the capital soon!”

“What? They found the ones who stole the relic?”

Duke Volzard clenched his fists.

He had already been vilified over the sacred relic’s disappearance.

But if he could retrieve it…

He could clear his name, regain his reputation, and control High Priest Paolo, securing the full support of the Water and Healing Church for his claim to the throne.

“Before they could escape, we had to act. So I selected a group of our best and launched a raid without informing Your Grace.”

“And you failed to capture them?”

“Yes. They are no ordinary thieves. If we are to retrieve the relic, we need a full military response.”

Duke Volzard narrowed his eyes.

“…Are you certain it’s the Water Sanctuary’s sacred relic?”

“The priests who accompanied us confirmed it.”

Musette’s lie had worked.

Duke Volzard no longer cared about the knights and mages lost in battle.

He had plenty of replacements.

But the sacred relic—if he secured it, he would silence his critics and solidify his power.

“…Send the Red Scorpion Knights.”

“What? The Red Scorpions, my lord?”

“Yes. We’ll need a knight order led by an upper-rank Expert to ensure the safe retrieval of the relic.”

The Red Scorpion Knights were one of the elite orders under Duke Volzard’s command.

Their combat prowess was said to rival that of the Central Army’s knight orders, and a few years ago, they had gained a notorious reputation for their ruthless methods during a border conflict in the east.

“This time, failure is not an option. And there’s a chance Princess Amelia’s faction is behind these thieves. Capture at least one alive for interrogation.”

“Understood, Your Grace!”

After bowing deeply to Duke Volzard, Viscount Musette left the study.

Hehehe, if the Red Scorpion Knights are mobilized, Baron Brandel is finished.

With a twisted smile, Musette headed straight for the Red Scorpion Knights’ encampment.

******

“A letter? For me?”

Princess Amelia raised an eyebrow as her head maid handed her a sealed envelope.

“Did you verify the sender?”

“Well… The officer who received it said the messenger only urged them to deliver it as quickly as possible before vanishing.”

The messenger had worn a hood, concealing their face.

Moreover, the letter contained no name or noble insignia.

“Judging by the quality of the paper and the handwriting, it seems to be from a noble household, but the contents are rather concerning.”

Frowning, Amelia unfolded the letter and read:

[To Her Highness, Princess Amelia,
The relic stolen from the Water Sanctuary is in our possession.
If you wish to retrieve it and use it to strengthen your political standing, come to the address below.
We will not wait long.]

“What? They have the relic?”

The Arkina Relic had become the hottest political issue in the royal capital.

Amelia’s faction had been using the scandal to damage Duke Volzard’s reputation.

And now, the thieves themselves had sent her a letter?

“Madam, if this is true, shouldn’t we go retrieve it immediately?”

Amelia’s husband, Prince Gerard of Vesvallen, asked excitedly.

However, the mature princess remained composed.

“I don’t know… The credibility is too low. Is it even worth investigating?”

“But look at the postscript. They claim to have sent the same letter to Duke Volzard. If the duke retrieves the relic first….”

That would flip the political landscape entirely.

Instead of being condemned as the man who angered the goddess, Duke Volzard would become the noble hero who recovered the sacred relic.

With that, he would gain the full support of the Water and Healing Church.

And if that happened, the crown would be his.

“Then why not send someone to check the address?”

“There’s no need. If they were serious about negotiating, they would have provided proof.”

Judging the letter to be a scam, Amelia tore it apart.

But just then, a knight rushed in with urgent news.

“Your Highness! Duke Volzard has dispatched the Red Scorpion Knights!”

“…What?”

Both Amelia and Gerard’s eyes narrowed.

The Vesvallen Embassy and Duke Volzard’s estate were both located within the inner city, where Amelia had spies monitoring Volzard’s every move.

“Is my uncle preparing to attack us?”

“No, Your Highness. The Red Scorpions have been deployed to the outer city.”

“The outer city?”

Why were they heading there?

Then, Amelia and Gerard remembered the letter’s postscript.

The thieves had sent the same letter to Volzard.

“Duke Volzard wouldn’t deploy the Red Scorpions without confirming the information first.”

“Which means the letter was telling the truth… We can’t sit idle.”

“We’ll send the Black Rose Knights.”

The Black Rose Knights had been founded after Amelia and Gerard’s marriage, composed of elite mercenaries from Vesvallen and Arteria.

Their commander was Hilda, a former captain of the Vesvallen Royal Guard, now an upper-rank Expert and one of the strongest female knights in the kingdom.

“We might have to fight for the relic. The Black Rose Knights are the perfect match for the Red Scorpions.”

“Thank you, Gerard.”

“Haha, don’t mention it. Once you become queen, I’ll be ruling this country with you.”

After kissing Amelia’s cheek, Prince Gerard immediately issued orders for the Black Rose Knights to mobilize.