"Is something wrong, sir?" Bradley peeped into the room.
"N-no. I… seemed to have just recalled something." Marcus cleared his throat.
Why was he given another Redo point?
Marcus hadn't done anything but write for the past few hours. Was it because of the things he wrote?
Or because he asked Bradley to call the Stone Masons.
Either way, none of these points were solid reasons, at least not to Marcus.
His first redo point came when he pardoned Lamile, and since then, nothing he had done had increased it.
It's not that he was worried – he was uncertain. And this uncertainty is dangerous.
He needed to know how to increase his redo points.
If his life is going to be controlled by the choices the system gives him, he needs a lot of chances to undo his mistakes.
Not long after Bradley left, Brown came to his office. "Lord Viscount,"
"Come in,"
"Sir, Mercidin and Floki were called back and substituted with Oner and Cage to guard the iron mine. Currently, everyone who received the items in the box you prepared for us has broken through to the Tidal Wave rank."
Marcus felt some of his worries in his heart drop a bit.
Ten knights of the Tidal Wave rank, this could as well make him one of the most powerful forces in Agard.
Though when one factors in the number of personnel, this ranking of his would drop significantly.
Nonetheless, a single Tidal Wave Knight couldn't be brought down by a dozen Flowing Knights.
Moreover, his knights had special abilities, making them even stronger than the average Tidal Wave Knight.
Could this be the reason why I received a Redo point?
Immediately this thought crossed his mind, Marcus began weighing its possibility.
It was highly likely so.
But why?
What was similar between what had happened to Lamile and his knights?
Is it tied to influence or something else?
This, for now, Marcus couldn't figure out.
"Good." Marcus smiled. "I will be handing out your salaries after dusk. You will keep Oner and Cage's coins with you until they come to get them."
"Thank you, sir." Brown bowed.
But he remained in the office.
"Is there something else you'd like to say, Knight Brown?"
Brown hesitated, worried that he might overstep his boundaries. "Milord… It's about Lesley and Chase. They're both down emotionally and this could affect their mental stability… have they done anything wrong, Milord?"
Does he think… Am I that petty? Besides, only my siblings have been at the other end of my pettiness. Only them!
Marcus didn't know whether to laugh or be annoyed. It was true that he had a petty personality when he was younger, however, that was a long time ago.
Under Marcus's gaze and expressionless face, Brown clenched his fists, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
There was an indescribable aura coming from the young lord that made him feel that way.
Whether because the young lord was a mage, or because he had shown them a new way today, Brown was uncertain.
At the same time, Marcus was in the process of activating his [Inspect] skill, wanting to confirm something.
Unlike before where he had barely used double digits of mana to activate this skill on his knights, now, it was taking a lot more than before.
He felt his mana drain faster before some pressure built over his eyes.
[Ability: Bloodlust, the more blood he draws from an opponent, the stronger his stamina.
Sub abilities: Blood Poisoning. Blood healing.
Weakness: when used for a long time at a go, there's a high chance of succumbing to the poison in his blood.]
Isn't this too much?
Marcus thought. He knew he had made his knights powerful, but he didn't think it was to this point.
If Brown's ability was this, what would Joshua's be like?
Almost a minute had gone by with no answer from the young lord. And finally, he sighed.
"I'm not the same petty son of my father..."
I beg to differ. A voice replied in Brown's mind.
"... Moreover, they haven't done anything wrong. For now, I truly have no way to help them. But there should be in the future."
With just the little he had from the system, he had created knights like Brown.
When he has gotten more from it, he would probably be able to facilitate their own growth too.
"I see…" Brown bowed and left the room. Not because he didn't have anything to say, but because he had started to feel a weird type of pressure coming from Marcus.
…
Eastern District.
In a luxurious mansion filled with faceless bronze statues.
The walls were a mix of cream and brown, with crystals lining the edges of the ceilings.
Egar Savani took a sip of the wine before him before staring at the calm man seated opposite him.
"Sir Maney, isn't there anything we can do?" Egar asked.
"Why are you so pressed, Baron Egar? Must you raise the axe of vengeance now?" Maney shook his head, a bit uncomfortable by Egar's urge. "You know that we can't possibly do anything to the young governor now. Agard would be flooded with Inspectors from the Imperial Capital if we dared to."
"We don't have to touch him now," Egar said.
Since the day he paid for his son's ransom… or release, every time he tried to fall asleep, Marcus's infuriating face would appear in his mind.
It was so annoying because it reminded him of the humiliation he faced before the young lord.
Without getting back at him, Egar would find it hard to rest.
Maney raised a questioning brow as he folded a leg over another. "What do you suggest we do then?"
"I heard that he has purchased a good quantity of food supplies that he's using to feed the peasants."
"I am also aware of that. The money he seized from you seems to be put to good use." Maney uttered and it felt like an insult to Egar, but he ignored it.
He was here to seek help, not antagonize another person.
"Let's set it on fire. Destroy everything he's planning to do and force him to start over. Even better, let's set his mansion on fire." Egar spoke with a heavy tone.
The imagination of these words filled his heart with great joy, but this joy soon vanished as it was all but an imagination for now.
Maney stared at the Baron for a few seconds before speaking. "You must have gone mad with anger, Baron Savani. Didn't you just hear me say that we can't harm the viscount?"
"I didn't speak of harming him, just his endeavors."
"Think of something else. I… we cannot support you if this is all you have in mind." Maney dismissed Egar's initial advice.
"Well… what about his guards?" The Baron suggested.
"What about them?"
"They are all he has for now. If we kill half of them, it will harm his mansion and ability to move all so freely. Moreover, it will make him know that he's not the only one with weight around here."
Egar said and Maney sighed.
"Must blood be drawn? Fine, let's target his guards. However, you will have to find everything, including paying the men who will do the job, extra, as well as the weapons that will be used. The majority of the men must come from your side and I will chip in a few." Maney replied.
After thinking about it for a while, Baron Savani agreed. The two men spoke a bit more about the details of how the operation would go, and how they would make it look like it was done by a foreign power.
"Let the operation begin at midnight," Egar suggested.
Quite impatient.
"If you can get your side to be ready, then we can do it at midnight."
"They are already ready. They've been for a while."
With that, Egar left Maney's residence.
As the sun began to set in the sky, a shadow appeared behind the chair Maney was seated in.
"Is there any point to this operation sir? Egar desires revenge without thinking about the consequences. He's likely to breach the terms you made with him." The shadow said.
Maney chuckled.
"It is exactly because of this desire that I agreed to it. I am also hoping that he breaches the terms of the operation. That way, whatever happens, even if it wasn't done by him, Egar would be the one to take the blame. Even if Inspectors from the capital arrive here."
"You mean to say, sir…"
"The blood of a Sirdi descendant. A noble descendant. Who knows what powerful secret is hidden in his blood essence?"
"I understand." The shadow said.
"Have three warriors accompany them. Their target, Viscount Marcus."
The shadow said nothing, vanishing as the crystals on the ceilings began lighting up, clearing the darkness of the night.
Maney smiled and looked out the window. "The Faceless one be praised."