Chapter 271: A Perfect Night


    Riezel had no idea that, in the eyes of Serena and the others, he had already be Yuri''s admirer.


    He directly returned to the Frenzel residence, waiting for news from Serena while making a few preparations.


    Luckily, she didn''t keep him waiting for long.


    The very next day, themunication magic crystal, which had been sitting unused, suddenly emitted a faint glow and a series of pleasant sounds.


    Riezel picked up the magic crystal and channeled his magical energy into it as per the instructions, and soon enough, Serena''s voice came through.


    "Can you hear me, Sir Riezel?"


    Serena''s voice, crisp and clear like a nightingale, resonated from the crystal.


    "Loud and clear." Riezel responded calmly before getting straight to the point. "So? What''s the news? Did you find anything?"


    "Yes!" Serena replied, sounding pretty happy to hear his voice. "We''ve already tracked down the people that mad dog sent out. They really did bring back Baron Carfield and the others, and are currently holed up in an abandoned mansion near the royal capital''s wall."Following this, she quickly ryed the exact location to him.


    Riezel pulled out a map of Yeluvia and pinpointed the spot she had described.


    It was in a rtively remote, deste area that had originally been the residence of a high-ranking court noble, but after he left the royal court to be a territory lord, the ce had been left to decay, untouched for years.


    "Normally, a noble''s property, especially one of such high rank, would be sold off for a hefty sum if they weren''t using it, but strangely, there''s never been any word of this ce going up for sale, so it just gradually fell into ruin..." Serena exined the ce''s situation. "I thought maybe this noble had some personal reason for not selling it, but now it seems like he probably handed it over to that mad dog, or maybe even gifted it to him."


    ording to her, the noble had been a traditional royalist, always currying favor with several royal family members while he was still in the royal capital—in particr, he was rumored to have had a very close rtionship with Sorren.


    In other words, it wasn''t far-fetched to think that when the noble left the royal capital, he might have given his property as a gift to Sorren.


    "If we''re right, that ce could very well be where that mad dog hides his private troops." Serena added.


    "Private troops?"


    Serena''s words took Riezel aback.


    "He has his own troops?"


    "He does." Serena confirmed confidently. "Even though it''s technically not allowed, do you really think a guy like him cares about that?"


    Jinas had strictws, one of which was that no one outside the nobility was allowed to have a private force, such as a knightly order or anything simr.


    Even nobles faced strict limits on the size of their knightly orders.


    Under a duke''s governance, a knightly order could have no more than a thousand members.


    For a marquis, the limit was seven hundred, with only special cases like Yuri allowed to exceed this and expand her knightly order to eight hundred.


    For a count, the limit was five hundred.


    For a viscount, it was three hundred.


    For a baron, it was one hundred.


    Such were Jinas''s strict regtions, and even a duke could face punishment if they exceeded this limit. Anyone outside of the nobility who dared raise their own forces would be subject to the kingdom''s wrath.


    Of course, this was how thew was written, but in practice, there were plenty of loopholes to exploit.


    For example, some wealthy merchants, for safety reasons, had to hire a bunch of guards to protect themselves and their property. Otherwise, they could get robbed at any moment.


    Simrly, some noble children who hadn''t yet earned a noble title always needed guards or attendants with them when traveling, or else they could be maliciously attacked at any time.


    As a result, many people hired or employed guards and attendants under various pretenses, and some even bought ves withbat abilities to protect themselves.


    Unfortunately, the kingdom couldn''t ban this practice, as it would cause significant chaos and make governing thend much more difficult. As long as they didn''t recruitbatants under the guise of forming a private force or exceeding a certain limit on the number ofbatants, the kingdom usually turned a blind eye to it.


    Needless to say, this led many opportunists to exploit the situation.


    On the surface, they would hire guards or attendants, or buy ves for their protection, but secretly, they would train them asbatants, turning them into their own soldiers. With enough effort and discretion, they could privately train a sizable force with considerablebat power.


    Such an approach was essentially walking a fine line with thew.


    In this regard, what about Sorren?


    Knowing his personality, he clearly wouldn''t hesitate to dance on this line like a madman, testing everyone''s limits.


    In his eyes, he was, after all, a prince, royalty, so even if he got caught, would the kingdom really execute him?


    As long as he didn''t push too far, he would keep testing the limits, which was why people called him the Mad Dog Prince.


    Regardless, in Riezel''s eyes, even if someone wasn''t royalty but had that kind of privilege, they would act just as recklessly.


    Why else were so many noble children acting so arrogantly and overbearingly?


    It was because, no matter what trouble they caused, no one dared to touch them. Furthermore, knowing there were no real consequences, they naturally acted even more unrestrained.


    Sorren was just one of them.


    "I understand..."


    Riezel expressed his understanding to Serena.


    "In that case, I''ll be here waiting for good news from you, Sir Riezel."


    After the conversation ended, Serena didn''t ask Riezel how he nned to proceed but simply giggled and left him with this remark.


    "Alright."


    Riezelplied and then disconnected the magical energy link, dimming the light on themunication magic crystal.


    Shortly afterward, he turned his head and nced out the window.


    He saw the sky gradually darkening, signaling that night was approaching.


    However, since there appeared to be few clouds, it seemed that tonight would bring a beautiful moon.


    "Not bad..."


    Riezel''s voice slowly echoed.


    "What a perfect night for murder and arson..."


    <strong>===</strong>


    Night gradually enveloped the entire royal capital, Yeluvia.


    Despite this, the royal capital was still brightly lit everywhere, with the glow of magicmps spilling out from every household window and illuminating the streets.


    In an era simr to medieval times in Riezel''s original world, turning an entire medieval city into a modern, sleepless metropolis like this was truly a testament to the convenience of magic.


    Magicmps, created from just a thumb-sized piece of magic crystal, had given humanity the ability to move freely even at night, especially in the royal pce, where countless magicmps lit the ce, even deep into the night.


    Under the moonlight, the royal pce looked like a grand, chalk-white castle, standing like a mighty general guarding the royal capital and overlooking its vastndscape.


    At thiste hour, however, a carriage quietly rolled out of the royal pce.


    Seeing the carriage, two knights on duty intended to stop it, but upon seeing the crest engraved on it, they immediately acted as though they hadn''t seen anything.


    And just like that, the carriage traveled out of the royal pce unhindered, following a secluded path and eventually stopping in front of an abandoned mansion near the royal capital''s wall.


    Soon, Sorren stepped down from the carriage.


    At this moment, the renowned Mad Dog Prince, who should have been grounded, had snuck out of the royal pce, tantly defying the king''s orders.


    "Your Highness."


    Several figures silently emerged from the mansion,nding in front of Sorren and kneeling on one knee.


    "Where are they?" Sorren asked coldly.


    "Inside."


    With head bowed, one of the kneeling figures replied in a low voice.


    "Take me to them." Sorren didn''t waste any time, giving a direct order.


    "Yes."


    Without dy, the figures hurriedly stood up and led Sorren toward the abandoned mansion.


    Upon closer inspection, hidden in the shadows around the mansion, several figures dressed in ck kept watch.


    When Sorren entered the mansion, the interior was far from the rundown state it appeared to be in from the outside, surprisingly well-maintained, showing no signs of abandonment.


    Sorren made his way to a spacious room that had been cleared of all furniture.


    In the room, not only were there many fully armed knights, but a few people had been thrown onto the floor, trembling in fear.


    ""Your Highness!""


    As soon as they saw Sorren, the surrounding knights immediately dropped to one knee, bowing their heads to him.


    At the same time, the people on the floor began trembling even more, hurriedly kneeling in the same manner as the knights.


    "Your Highness!"


    One of the trembling figures on the floor, a middle-aged man dressed noticeably differently from the others, crawled toward Sorren.


    "Don''t kill me! Please! Don''t kill me, Your Highness!"


    Shouting fearfully, the middle-aged man was clearly a noble.


    He sported a pair of little mustaches, had a big belly, and dressed luxuriously, giving off a nouveau riche vibe.


    "Don''t kill us!"


    "Spare us!"


    "I don''t want to die!"


    A few others, dressed in tattered clothes like peasants, desperately knelt and begged for mercy.


    There were three of them in total—an old man and a middle-aged couple.


    By their looks and features, it was easy to tell they were family.


    Sorren looked at the three like they were something filthy, then turned his gaze toward the noble in front of him.


    "Are you Baron Carfield?" Sorren asked coldly.


    "Y-Yes, that''s me, Your Highness!" Baron Carfield quickly shed a ttering smile.


    "Good, that''s what I thought." Sorren smiled as well, butsomething was menacing about his smile.


    <em>*BANG!*</em>


    In the next second, Sorren suddenly kicked Baron Carfield in the chest, sending him flying.


    "KEOK—!"


    Baron Carfield hit the ground hard, coughing up blood.