There was a moment of heavy silence when Ian shouted from the gate of the training grounds. Alvin’s smirking face vanished; he turned serious and instantly retracted his aura.

​"YOU BASTARD, I’M GONNA KILL YOU! Sniff!" Dennis yelled, sobbing with eyes full of pure hatred for Alvin.

​He dashed toward Alvin with his rusted sword, but before he could even reach the platform, Trevor was already standing in front of him. Trevor blocked his path, a suffocating, terrifying killing intent spewing from his body and filling the yard.

​"Didn’t you hear the Young Master ask what is going on? Are you taking the words of the Young Master so lightly?" Trevor asked, glaring at Dennis with a deadly serious expression.

​What the hell is this killing intent...? But still... Dennis thought. His hands, gripping the worn-out sword, were shaking violently. He was absolutely terrified of the man standing in front of him.

​"He killed—"

​Before Dennis could even finish his words, Trevor cut him off. "It seems you are about to complain about your friend being killed by him. What we want to know right now is how this started."

​He is the guard that is always with the Young Master, the one who came a few months ago, David thought while slowly getting back to his feet. I see why he doesn’t get along with the Second-Stage Aura knights here. He is a Third-Stage Aura User himself!

​"If you will allow me, Young Master, I can tell you what happened," David said, looking past Trevor at Ian and the terrified Emily hiding behind him.

​Although Emily was usually cheerful and loud-mouthed, this was her first time seeing a real corpse—especially one so brutally dismembered. Her heart was beating so fast that she had instinctively hidden behind Ian’s back, her hands trembling as she gripped his uniform.

​"Go ahead," Ian commanded with a dark, serious expression.

​"Young Master, please let me explain first!" Alvin interrupted, immediately dropping to one knee in a fake show of respect.

​Heh. Nobles... if you act like you fear them and throw in some sweet words, they will turn a blind eye to anything, Alvin thought while kneeling. I just wanted to make some quick money off the deaths of these brats. When they eventually questioned why I killed them, I was simply going to claim I overheard them plotting to assassinate the Young Master. Since this family is so sensitive about assassins these days, I was sure the plan would work perfectly. I wouldn’t have been punished—I might have even gotten a reward! And there would be no way for anyone to know the truth since the brats would be dead. But my plan is ruined since the Young Master is actually here and the other brats are still breathing. I need to speak carefully.

​"And why should I let the bastard who reeks of alcohol be the first to talk?" Ian asked coldly, walking slowly toward the bloody platform.

​When Alvin heard this, his gut violently twisted. A creeping sense of dread washed over him—the exact feeling of being caught red-handed.

​"I can already guess the general situation. It is just my conscience that is forcing me to ask why a First-Stage Aura User murdered a trainee," Ian said. He reached down and grabbed a fine iron sword from a nearby weapon rack, staring daggers at Alvin. "And if you dare tell me it was a ’training mistake,’ I will kill you on the spot. Because the sick smile I saw on your face when you swung that blade was absolutely no mistake."

​While coming here, I thought I could just have a nice, friendly spar with the guards to test my strength. I thought everything would be fine, Ian thought, thoroughly disgusted. But this is just too much. The stench of alcohol is everywhere, and someone is literally still taking a nap! Ian glared at a guard who was snoring on a bench, completely oblivious to the murder that had just happened.

​"You. Go on," Ian ordered, giving David the go-ahead.

​David took a deep breath and began explaining everything that had happened since the passing of Ian’s father: the guards’ sheer laziness, their blatant disrespect, the gambling, and finally, the cruel setup that led to Sam’s death.

​As Ian listened, his expression darkened further and further, until he was left with absolutely no words to say. Even Emily, shivering behind him, felt so terrible for the orphaned trainees that hot tears began flowing silently down her cheeks.

​"Y-Young Master, this brat is slandering us!"

"Yeah, he is right!"

"They are the ones who started the fight with us!"

"We were just minding our own business!" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

​The drunk guards immediately started shouting from the benches, desperately trying to prove their innocence to save their own skin.

​Sigh... I always knew the guards hired here were scum. That is exactly why I didn’t want to associate with them, but this is just too much, Trevor thought, looking at the shouting guards in disgust. He glanced at the headless body of the kid on the floor, and finally looked back at the Young Master. What will you do about this, Young Master?

​Ian just stood there, staring at the blood-soaked floor in absolute, terrifying silence.