Chapter 269: How a Knight Deals with Beasts (5)

“...Hey, do you know where the head maid is?”

A servant was looking for the head maid, asking around among his colleagues, but they could only shrug.

“Now that you mention it, she’s nowhere to be seen.”

“Where could she have gone? I need to get something approved by her.”

“Hmm... Oh! Maybe she went to see the young miss again?”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

As expected, many minds were better than one—they quickly deduced where the head maid might be and nodded in agreement.

“The head maid’s got a nasty personality. I mean, does she really have to treat the young miss like that...?”

“Hey!”

“Mm!”

One of the servants scolded their colleague for speaking too freely, and the speaker immediately covered their mouth.

They had realized their mistake.

“Watch what you say. If you get punished alone, fine. But don’t drag the rest of us down with you.”

“...S-Sorry.”

That was how things were.

Two years ago, a servant had openly complained about the head maid.

And because of that, all the servants were punished together.

Would anyone believe that grown adults were beaten so hard with a cane that their calves were covered in bruises?

But no one dared to voice their dissatisfaction.

The one who had spoken out was fired before their wounds even healed.

It was no surprise.

The head maid had the backing of the Orod family, the most powerful of Mordred’s side branches.

Some even rumored that she was the Orod family head’s mistress.

‘The head maid is too much.’

The scolded servant silently cursed the woman.

She was too afraid to say it aloud, but she truly despised the head maid.

‘She doesn’t have to treat the young miss so cruelly. An adult shouldn’t act like that....’

No one in the castle was ignorant of Louise’s situation.

Because she had been born without Mordred’s Mystic Power, the side branches and vassal houses had deemed her disposable.

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They were simply waiting for her to either fall to her death or disappear without a trace.

They wanted her to vanish from the world.

It was a level of cruelty beyond words.

And the head maid, fully aware of this, was actively making her life even worse.

Some said it was because the head maid was born a commoner and harbored resentment toward nobles.

It was pure malice.

‘Ugh....’

The maid sighed to herself, deciding that she would secretly leave some cherries for the young miss tomorrow.

Because—

‘Louise loves cherries.’

That was the only small kindness a powerless maid like her could offer.

“Mira, do you know where Santa is?”

“Huh?”

“Santa. I need him for something, but I can’t find him anywhere.”

“Oh, Santa... Uhm, I don’t know? I haven’t seen him either.”

“Tch! Where the hell is that guy...?!”

“......”

A servant scowled as he searched for Santa.

‘Here we go again....’

His name was Tony, an experienced servant with several years under his belt.

But he was known for being violent and overbearing, making him unpopular among the others.

His short temper and aggressive nature had even prevented him from getting promoted, despite his years of service.

Of course, he was oblivious to this.

Perhaps because his peers had moved up while he remained stagnant, Tony took out his frustrations on new hires.

And if they happened to be handsome, he seemed to despise them even more.

‘Maybe he’s just jealous because he’s ugly?’

That was why, while most of the castle’s servants had a favorable impression of Santa Ihan, Tony was ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) the one exception.

‘Santa’s really unlucky to have caught his attention....’

Mira made a mental note to warn Santa to avoid Tony at all costs.

But before she could—

“Hey, you! You bastard!”

“...Ah.”

Too late.

Santa had appeared.

Mira instinctively smacked her forehead.

Terrible timing...!

‘Santa, run!’

She tried to signal him with her eyes and feet, urging him to flee immediately.

But—

“......”

He didn’t move.

Either he was clueless, or he simply didn’t care.

Mira was about to facepalm again, but before she could—

Tony stormed forward.

“You little shit! Where the hell have you been wasting time?! A new hire like you should be working, not slacking off!”

It was almost comical, considering that Tony himself was the one who slacked off the most.

Most of the servants simply exchanged tired looks.

But Santa—

“......”

He remained expressionless.

Which only infuriated Tony further.

“You rude little shit—!”

Grab!

“T-Tony! Calm down...!”

“Santa’s probably just frozen up from fear!”

“Tony, stop! If the head maid finds out, you’ll be in serious trouble!”

“Let go of him!”

Tony didn’t listen.

Like a rampaging boar, he had lost all reason.

And as if to prove it—

He raised his fist.

There was no hesitation.

His personality was so impulsive that he acted before anyone could even stop him.

His fist flew toward Santa’s face—

Thud!

“!!”

As expected, a loud impact echoed through the air.

The servants winced, instinctively squeezing their eyes shut.

They could already picture it—Santa’s beautiful face, bruised and bloodied beyond recognition.

It was a tragic loss, really.

“AAAAAARGH!!!”

There it was—the agonized scream of...

Wait.

“...Huh?”

“What the hell? Why is he the one screaming?”

“Tony?”

The servants, some of whom had turned away, hesitantly glanced back at the scene.

And what they saw—

Did not make sense.

“...T-Tony?”

“???”

The one writhing on the ground in pain was not Santa.

It was Tony.

“Gaaaah....”

Clutching his crippled hand, screaming in agony, Tony rolled across the floor like a worm.

Meanwhile—

“What a pain....”

The man who was supposed to be on the receiving end of the punch looked down at Tony with pure disgust.

The servants experienced a deep cognitive dissonance.

Because the kind, polite, hardworking Santa looked like a completely different person.

But Santa didn’t care whether they understood or not.

“You’re going to be crippled. Maybe for a while—maybe forever.”

His voice was cold, analytical.

“When you hit me, I severed your nerves. Not just your fist—your entire arm. You’ll never be able to use your left hand properly again.”

“Y-You...!”

“Hmm. At least you’re still glaring at me. That stubbornness is nice. Much better than that pathetic bastard Richard.”

But then—

CRACK!

Santa kicked Tony’s leg.

The servants flinched as they heard the unnatural snap.

For the first time in their lives, they realized—

A leg could bend in that direction.

...A fact they never wanted to know.

Tony’s bloodcurdling screams filled the air.

But Santa remained indifferent.

Or rather—

It would be more accurate to say he was ice-cold.

“Tony. Right, that was your name.”

Santa tilted his head.

“You’re the one who asked the young miss to vouch for you, aren’t you?”

“P-Please... spare... me....”

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.”

Santa smiled.

“Because that... would be too easy.”

“!!?”

A shiver ran through the crowd.

A deep, primal dread settled into their bones.

It wasn’t that cold, yet it felt like they had been thrown into a frozen wasteland, naked.

Their teeth clattered as they looked at Santa with fear.

‘That presence...?’

Mira, one of the few who could still think clearly, analyzed the situation.

As a child, she had once gone hunting with her grandfather.

That day, they had encountered a tiger in the mountains.

Her grandfather had hidden her behind his back and whispered—

"Don't move."

But even if he hadn’t said that—

She wouldn’t have been able to.

Because just seeing the beast before her had frozen her in place.

Back then, she had been lucky.

The tiger had simply walked away.

But she had never forgotten that fear.

And now—

Looking at Santa—

He looked exactly like that tiger.

No...

‘He looks even bigger and scarier.’

The servants held their breath, unable to even swallow.

Then, Santa finally spoke.

“The following people will step outside.”

His voice cut through the silence like a blade.

“Go out and tend to the young miss. Treat her with respect. I mean it. Respect.”

The servants froze.

“I’m calling your names now.”

“Mira. Viole. Anna. Erwin. Marcus. Elvin. Dona.

The seven of you—leave.”

“???”

“I’ll count to five.

One.

Two.

Three—”

“?!!”

There was no hesitation.

The seven chosen immediately rushed out.

Mira realized something—

She and the others who were allowed to move were the ones he had chosen to spare.

But the rest...

“P-Please... me... too...”

“U-Ugh... Uhh....”

“W-Wait... help....”

The ones left behind were frozen stiff.

Their faces were drained of color, their bodies paralyzed with fear.

They couldn’t even lift their hands to beg for help.

They could only scream silently.

As Mira stepped outside, she risked one last glance at him.

And she heard it.

Santa Ihan’s final words.

“Tch. Only this many are worth sparing?”

A chilling murmur.

Ten minutes later.

When he reappeared—

His clothes were soaked in blood.

And Mira knew.

It wasn’t his.

One Week Later.

Half of Mordred’s side branches and vassal families had been wiped out.

The remaining half had fallen to their knees before their new ruler.

“Cherries are so yummy!”

“Eat as much as you want, young miss.”

“Santa, you eat too!”

“Yes, yes.”

Her name—

Louise Aifera de Mordred.

At eight years old, she became the youngest ruler in the history of Wales.

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