Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world

"What do you mean we can't enter?!" a young man with dirty blond hair and a sharp jawline exclaimed, his expression a mix of disbelief and fury. 

This young man had once been draped in fine clothes that signaled his high social standing and wealth, but now those garments were tattered, covered in mud, and stained with dried blood. 

"What part of 'you can't enter' don't you understand?" a guard at the Eidross city gates retorted in an irritated tone. 

"Listen here, you little shit, you have no idea who we are or what we've been through to get to this damned city. So I suggest you step aside and let us pass before you regret it," another young man with relatively decent clothes interjected, stepping forward. 

This new young man was none other than Charles Drickon, the youngest child of Earl Darwin Drickon, the wealthiest earl in the entire Fiore Empire. 

Just like the other men and women behind him, Charles had once been kidnapped by the Night Group and was rescued by a man calling himself Mr. Smoke.

While the other abducted nobles felt grateful that this man had rescued them, it wasn't the case for Charles, as he felt it was only natural that someone rescue him from that horrible place.

Anyway, after they had been set free, they immediately went to find the baron in whose territory the Night base was situated.

However, to their surprise, the baron in question refused to meet them and even refused to at least send letters to their respective families so that they could send people to retrieve them.

Unfortunately, all of them had their spatial rings stolen by the goons of the Night, so they were unable to personally inform their families that they were now free. Truly, the people of the Night Group were despicable!

As if things weren't bad enough, just a few hours after arriving at the baron's mansion, they were chased away by the baron's guards as if they were beggars!

Fortunately, the baron's men had given each of them a mount, a few supplies, and a map of the empire. But even then, this gesture did not erase the humiliation those young nobles felt, and most, if not all, of them swore they would get back at the baron no matter what.

When it came time to leave the baron's territory, the group faced a harsh realization: none of their territories were close to their current location.

The Night members weren't idiots; they wouldn't kidnap noble children only to hide them near the territories their fathers ruled or oversaw.

When the group of young nobles realized this, a profound sense of despair and frustration took hold of them.

Just as some of them were beginning to feel desperate, Edward Jones, the young man Charles had instructed to move, remembered something crucial: the Drazen annual auction would take place in a few weeks. It was highly likely that most, if not all, of their families would attend or send representatives in their place. In either case, this was a fortunate opportunity for them.

Studying the map, they realized that the territory where this year's auction would be held—Baron Drisidd's estate—was closer than any of their own territories.

Left with no other viable options, they set out towards the Drazen family auction. This decision marked the beginning of a series of misadventures and hardships that would follow in the coming weeks.

Just a few days into their journey, their group was attacked by bandits. Despite their fatigue and malnutrition, the young nobles were still several levels stronger than the mere bandits physically wise. After all, most of them, except a few noblewomen, had been trained to defend themselves from a young age. Additionally, their general mana levels were higher than those of the bandits, making it relatively easy to repel the attackers, who fled with their tails between their legs.

However, like the despicable people they were, the bandits didn't forget to kill a few of their mounts before fleeing. This action forced some nobles to share the same mount, while others, like Charles, who had a higher social standing, remained alone on their mount.

Rid of the nuisance, the group resumed their journey once more. But to their greatest misfortune, they were attacked by the same horde of bandits they had defeated previously. However, this time, the bandits were much more numerous and powerful than before.

Nonetheless, the group of nobles triumphed over their opponents, who once again fled when they realized they couldn't win. However, like before, the bandits killed the horses the nobles were using as mounts, this time eradicating every last one.

Deprived of their mounts, the group of nobles had to continue their journey on foot, which greatly upset them, as none of them were accustomed to walking for extended periods.

As the days passed and their supplies of food and water rapidly dwindled, their situation became exceedingly difficult. To make matters worse, they discovered they had to cross a desert to reach Baron Drisidd's territory—a desert that wasn't marked on the map they had been given!

Swearing and thinking that they would definitely get back at that fucking baron, they resumed their journey. It was then that they were attacked for the third time by the previous group of bandits who were apparently following them. As before, they were much more numerous and powerful than the last time.

What Charles and his companions didn't know was that the men constantly on their trail were underlings of one of the most powerful figures in the underworld, the mafia equivalent of the Fiore Empire.

The Night organization wasn't the only group involved in kidnapping, nor were they the first to start this kind of business. However, contrary to the Night group, which specialized only in kidnapping nobles—an information Charles and his companions had discovered to be false—the underworld did not discriminate. They kidnapped and resold anyone who caught the attention of their godfather, and this group of nobles had definitely achieved that.

Fortunately for them, they managed to repel this third wave as well, but this time they didn't come away unscathed. Many of them were wounded, and two of them even lost their arms.

After that bloody battle, they were so greatly relieved to finally see the outline of a city that they rushed towards it without even bothering to look at the sign displaying the city's name. Well,even if they had seen that the city they were running to was Eidross, it still wouldn't have deterred them. The sight of any city meant safety, respite, and a chance to recover from their grueling ordeal. 

Now, after enduring all of that, they were being told they couldn't enter because they were nobles?! At that moment, not just Charles, but everyone in their group was seething with rage!

"Was that a threat?" the guard asked Charles with sharp eyes after the latter finished speaking.

"You can take it as whatever you want," Charles replied with an equally sharp expression. "All I know is that you dog will get out of my way, now!"

As the son of an Earl and someone who had been pampered all his life, Charles had a particularly twisted view of people. Everyone who wasn't at least of Earl rank was considered good for nothing, and those even lower than that—meaning ordinary people—were just dogs who should be ready to follow every one of their orders. So when one of those ordinary people was clearly stopping him from doing what he wanted, he immediately saw red.

"I would like to see you make me move," the guard replied as he drew his sword and infused it with his Aura.

Without bothering to utter another word to this underclass guard, Charles activated his ability, and a spear of incandescent fire appeared in his hand.

At that moment, a young noblewoman with cyan-colored hair, sensing that things would end badly if the situation continued to escalate, tentatively called out to Charles to make him stop. On the other side, another guard also attempted to prevent his fellow guard from acting.

Unfortunately, they were both a step too late. By the time they had opened their mouths to speak, the two men had already taken action.

The guard brandishing his Aura-infused sword charged forward, while Charles, wielding his fire spear, did the same. 

In an instant, and before anyone could react, the two were upon each other, their weapons poised for a clash.

However, just as their attacks were about to collide, a figure in a smoke mantle abruptly appeared between them and with a mere flick of his hand, he effortlessly neutralized both of their strikes.

"I think that's enough you two."