This Bastard is Too Competent

"Heuk."

The Duke could only take a deep breath at the familiar man's face.

Although he had the appearance of a shabby beggar-like peddler with a scruffy face…

‘That guy…!'

Louis Kaistein.

That man was the third prince of the kingdom, and he was called a genius in many ways.

Among them, his swordsmanship skill stood out the most.

It was often said that he had royal knights following him.

Unlike the Second Prince, who put too much trust on his back, the Third Prince was a fearsome guy who began to seize power using his own strength.

‘Even though his power is still weaker than the others, he is not someone easy to deal with.’

He didn't stand out that much before his coming-of-age ceremony two years ago. After the ceremony, however, he had become increasingly more prominent.

And Ian couldn't understand what brought him here like this.

The Duke seemed unusually very anxious.

However, the Third Prince, the one who surprised the Duke, was calm.

“My Lord, will you give me a penny?”

He even smiled as if he knew he would get caught.

"You've beaten me up like this, you are not going to wash your hands of this, are you, oh the great Duke Garcia!”

Seeing the expression on the Third Prince's face as if he had caught his a weakness, the Duke's heart sank.

The Duke glanced around for a moment.

‘It seems like there are no escort knights.’

If the prince's escorts had been around here, Galon would have noticed it at once.

So, did he come out on his own without fear?

Considering the place and the timing, would it not be strange for him to get assassinated here?

The Duke even thought of getting rid of the Third Prince right here and now.

But.

‘No.'

It could have been his plan to appear like this in the first place.

The Third Prince was a guy who used his head properly, unlike the idiotic Second Prince. Rather, he might be enticing the Duke to attack him.

In the royal war, justification was the key to victory.

He must have come to find a justification to attack Duke Garcia.

‘The Third Prince is so elusive, so his face is not well known except by his close aides.’

Nathan, the second son of a great aristocratic family who should have known the faces of the royal family, didn't even recognize him.

Having made up his mind, the Duke shook his head as if he had no other choice.

‘There may be a spy the king placed observing this situation somewhere here.’

What if this situation itself was intentionally created in the first place?

‘We must avoid fighting even if we lose now.’

Finally, the Duke collected himself and slowly smiled. His face was as dignified as usual.

“Everyone, put your sword back. This is the Third Prince…”

But right at that moment.

“What are you all doing!”

“!”

Everyone turned their heads in surprise at the voice they heard from behind.

The one who shouted was none other than the Seventh Prince Ian. The Duke seemed particularly surprised, but Ian didn't care.

“That man is a con artist who tries to jump into a passing carriage and cause an accident, but as if that is not enough, he tries to extort money with fake injuries. Get rid of him right now!”

“!!!”

Then the surprised soldiers turned toward the Duke.

They looked as if asking if they could listen to the Seventh Prince's order instead of his.

But then.

“I will take your command.”

At Ian's command, Galon drew his sword.

The Third Prince screamed in shock at the unexpected turn of events.

“Uh… Huh?”

He didn't know Galon was going to attack him for real, so he looked at the Duke in a hurry.

“The carriage almost overturned, and my great benefactor, the Duke, almost suffered serious injuries!”

Hearing Ian's cry again, Galon aimed his sword at the Third Prince.

But Galon wasn't the only one moving.

“Yeah, I don’t know who he is! Let's get him first!"

Nathan dug into the Third Prince's side.

He was a little upset after losing the start to Galon.

Thus, the Third Prince was surrounded by two knights in no timean instant.

“He-hey! I am actually—!”

“Shut your trap!"

“Wait a minute!”

But the knights did not wait. Finally, as the knights’ swords flew and the Duke was at a loss of what to do.

“Gosh, really!”

The Third Prince had no choice but to draw his sword.

Clang!

And at that scene, Ian smiled as if he had expected it.

‘Well then.’

The Third Prince immediately parried the attacks of the two knights. And with his bizarre movements, he quickly dodged the knights' strikes.

The soldiers were surprised at the sight.

Even if the two knights didn't go all out, he could dodge them that well.

At the same time, the Third Prince shouted in frustration.

"Hey! Stop it! Do you know who I am?”

So frustrated, he tried to tear off the clothes he was wearing.

But Ian wasn't one to just watch.

“Are you going to let the enemy keep yapping!”

“!”

At those words, Nathan's eyes changed.

It was an unwritten rule not to use <Oath> to opponents other than fellow knights. Because no ordinary person could withstand the power of a superhuman.

However, there was no need to stick to the rules for the enemy or those who had a disquieting purpose like now.

In an instant, the light of <Oath> burst out of Nathan's body.

[I will fight every single moment of my life without shame.]

Nathan's body disappeared in an instant.

Ian’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘That’s Nathan’s Oath!’

It was a completely different type from Galon's <Oath>.

Unlike Galon's <Oath>, which was to never be pushed by external attacks, Nathan’s specialized in speed.

He literally disappeared like lightning and reappeared in front of the Third Prince.

The Third Prince did not even sense Nathan approaching.

"Shit!"

And then.

Slash!

Nathan's sword slashed the Third Prince’s leg without mercy. It wasn't a clean cut as Ian did to the Second Prince.

But it was enough to knock him down.

The Third Prince rolled on the ground.

“Ugh. No, I mean!”

As the beaten Third Prince was about to shout something in the end.

Chuck!

A sword came into his view.

It was Galon's sword. It was enshrouded by an intense killing intent that didn’t hesitate to cut off his head immediately if he talked any longer.

So, the Third Prince kept his mouth shut.

It was then.

"Stop! Hold your sword and step back!"

The Duke shouted in an urgent voice. His face was full of disbelief as if not expecting Galon and Nathan to go this far.

But Galon did not listen to his orders.

Instead, he looked at Ian without saying a word.

The Duke was angry, but he first asked Ian a favor.

“Seventh Prince, please tell them to put back their sword. You probably didn't know, but he is actually the Third Prince…"

"I know."

"Yes?"

Knowing what kind of expression the Duke was making, Ian burst into laughter.

And then he said.

“Take your sword back, Galon.”

“I will obey your orders.”

Ian walked directly to the front of the Third Prince.

"Nice to meet you, Big Brother. My name is Ian.”

The Third Prince let out a dumbfounded laugh.

“What the hell is this…”

He was going to hide his identity and come to surprise his little brother. Instead, all he got in return was suffering.

***

“We will arrive at the royal castle shortly.”

The soldier's words rang from outside the carriage. But Ian didn't even care about what he said outside.

It was only natural.

“Huh, I thought all my younger brothers were weird. You seem to be unique among them.”

It was because of the Third Prince Louis who was riding together in the carriage.

Karan had already moved to another carriage, probably out of awkwardness, so now only the two of them were in the carriage. However, Ian didn’t feel uncomfortable with the Third Prince.

‘He is the older brother who treated me like a human in the past. Well, that’s all.’

Anyway, even the Third Prince who was close with him eventually became Ian’s enemy.

He also tried to kill Ian by using a lethal method.

Ian didn't know why.

However, the Third Prince decisively placed Nathan at the forefront to make Garcia stumble.

He was that dangerous.

‘Anyway, to begin with, I couldn’t tell what’s on his mind, though.'

He must be pretending to be a beggar so that they killed him by mistake.

‘At any rate, it’s different from the case with the Second Prince.’

Unlike the Second Prince, who only received Lavaltor's support, the Third Prince was very popular in various places.

The justification to kill him was poor, and even if he was killed, Ian would be attacked by other nobles, and in return, at least Nathan and Galon’s heads would be sacrificed.

Of course, the biggest reason was something else.

‘If I kill him here, there will be no one to keep Duke Garcia or the other brothers in check.’

In the middle and second half of the succession war, various troubles would occur due to the situation in other countries.

It was still quiet now, especially with the Kingdom of Magicians.

That's why it was better for him to make use of his power for himself now.

Then the Third Prince showed interest in Ian.

“I heard that Second Brother went to your house. How is he doing?”

"Well, I don't know if he is okay because he doesn't have one arm."

"What?"

The Third Prince urged Ian to elaborate.

Ian was forced to tell him that the Second Prince had his arm cut off and that he was probably being treated in the Garcia duchy.

At those words, the Third Prince burst into laughter.

“That guy only trusted Lavaltor and ran wildly without a second thought. I never knew that day would come.”

In fact, from the perspective of the Third Prince, it was reasonable for him to have those thoughts.

The Second and Third Prince were half-brothers, and the Second Prince persecuted him because of his mother’s identity.

‘Even if she is a concubine, she is still a noble lady. At least it's much better than the status of my mother, who was a servant…'

On the other hand, the Second Prince was the son of the official queen.

Well, everyone thought it was strange that the Second Prince was not immediately raised to the throne.

Anyway, it was said that he had been bullied by the Second Prince until Ian came.

"So I started learning swordsmanship. I wanted to give him a punch in the face."

“Is that so? So, why did you refuse to be the disciple of Duke Lavaltor?”

“I don’t like Lavaltor very much, that’s why.”

Ian stared at the Third Prince strangely due to information he had never known before in the past.

But the Third Prince smiled as if it was no big deal.

“Alright then, now it’s your turn.”

“What are you talking about?”

“How the hell did you recognize me?”

Of course, there was also the question of why Ian he played such a prank even after recognizing him.

Ian laughed as if it was nothing.

“Your eye color is the same as mine. Didn’t people say that it is a color that has been passed down only to Kaistein royals from generation to generation?”

Then the Third Prince stared at Ian as if to check his words.

‘Same color?’

No, it was totally different.

It looked gold, but Ian’s was bright and pure golden. The other brothers were more reddish, greenish, or multicolored with different shades of gold.

Of course, the Third Prince himself was pretty close to golden, that was why the Second Prince often bothered him a lot.

‘Rather, this guy’s eyes are quite similar to Father's.'

The Third Prince couldn't help but laugh while frowning.

‘Did you even have the time to see the color of my eyes in that urgent situation?’

Well, his visual acuity seemed to be good. He could tell that Ian trusted the knights that much, yet he did not easily lose his composure.

The Third Prince smiled as if he liked it and said to Ian.

“By the way, your knights are very useful.”

“!”

Ian's eyes changed instantly at the mention of the knights.

The Third Prince was famous for his greed for collecting knights, which aristocrats wouldn’t even think of doing.

Especially if he had a history of roping Nathan in.

Just as expected.

“Was it Nathan and Galon? I'll give you something precious in exchange, maybe…"

“Not my knights.”

“!”

At Ian's fierce eyes, the Third Prince laughed sheepishly. Anyway, he had no intention of giving up.

“Even if it’s not me, others will try to snatch them away like ghosts. Galon, in particular, is a knight that even the king has his eye on. Who knows how knights had been in the past, but these days they are all selfish people who only value themselves, so don't believe them too much… Oh, we're already here."

The Third Prince looked out of the carriage and threw something at Ian.

It was a pendant studded with small jewels.

“There will be things you need to do. Everyone is clamoring for your arrival.”

Seeing that pendant, Ian's face hardened in an instant.

There was a reason for it.

‘A silver material, a green gem?’

Realizing the meaning, Ian was about to call out the Third Prince in a hurry.

Rattle.

The Third Prince opened the door of the running carriage.

“Good luck with the ceremony.”

“!”

“Well, I don’t know if you can get through ‘that’ first.”

He immediately got off, leaving behind words that Ian didn’t understand.

Ian furrowed his brows.

‘That?'

He was and had always been an incomprehensible older brother.

But Ian didn't have time to be lost in thought.

“Congratulations on your arrival to the royal castle, Your Highness the Seventh Prince.”

Ian finally arrived at the royal castle.

From this moment on, his role as a prince and an heir to the throne would begin in earnest.

Ian immediately followed the guidance of the chamberlain and headed to the room assigned to him.

“This is where the prince will stay from now on.”

The room was so much better than he could have imagined in the past.

When Ian entered the room assigned to him.

“!”

There was a letter in the room.

[Eloin Kaistein]

A letter from the king along with two items.