Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

“Marquess, Zishan… that kid somehow came back to the capital,” a butler of the Marquess House said after entering the office of Marquess Walker. “Shall I dispose of him, sir?”

Mario Walker did not answer.

He was standing in front of the window of his office, looking at the large courtyard below where the youngsters of the Walker Family were training. Several were exchanging Skills while some of the older ones sparred with swords and other types of weapons. In another part of the courtyard, an instructor was demonstrating something to a group of children who had recently started learning how to use Mana.

Mario watched them for a while.

“Are you sure you want to do that? To dispose of him?” he eventually asked.

The butler raised his head.

Mario remained facing the window. “Can you handle the wrath of the Holmes Family? Moreover, that brat is somehow staying with that prodigy from the military, Elinox Holmes. If you’re certain you can defeat that beast, don’t bother asking me. Just do it. Regardless, you could’ve done it way better than you handled it. We wouldn’t be in this situation if you did your job well.”

The butler’s face stiffened.

“Even I find it hard to defeat her. It was said that only Ernest Holmes could defeat her in a fight.” Mario finally glanced at him. “Would you risk it? Or are you stupid enough that you didn’t see the consequences of doing that?”

The butler trembled under his gaze.

“N-No, My Lord. I apologize for that.” He lowered his head again, though the problem that brought him here had not disappeared. “However, what shall we do with this, My Lord? If word of it comes out, your reputation might go down the drain. The entire Walker Family will become bad in the eyes of the people…”

Mario frowned.

That part was more troublesome.

Zishan had been declared dead years ago, and as far as most of the Walker Family was concerned, the matter had ended there. If the brat had remained somewhere on the battlefield, perhaps there would have been a way to keep it quiet.

Instead, he had somehow returned to the capital. And of all people, he was staying with Elinox Holmes.

Mario turned away from the courtyard. “Where’s the person you hired to kill that brat?”

The butler looked at him, hesitant to answer. “My Lord… I…”

Mario finally faced him with a sharp gaze. “Tell me where the person is.”

“H-He’s dead, My Lord.”

Mario’s eyes widened. “What do you mean he’s dead? Are you serious about that? You could die if you lie to me, Jones.”

“I-I am telling the truth, My Lord. He really is dead.” Butler Jones swallowed as Mario continued staring at him. “He was found dead right before he went out of the capital. We found his body in a nearby lake.”

Mario’s expression changed.

‘Before leaving the capital?’

“The killer… might have done it on purpose, My Lord,” Butler Jones continued. “He wanted us to know that the person we hired was killed and wouldn’t be able to fulfill his duty to kill Zishan.”

Mario remained quiet, so Jones continued explaining.

“My Lord, I initially speculated that it might be Zishan who killed him, but how could that boy kill that person? He’s one of the most experienced assassins in the Kingdom.” Butler Jones paused before reaching inside his clothes. “Moreover… I found a letter on that body, My Lord.”

“What did it say?” Mario asked.

Butler Jones did not answer right away.

When Mario saw him shaking, his gaze drilled into him. “Tell me the truth.”

The butler timidly nodded. “M-My Lord… it wasn’t a letter exactly. It was more like a note. It said…”

“What?”

Butler Jones took another breath. “If you dare try to touch him again, I will destroy that Kingdom.”

Mario’s brows slowly furrowed.

“And I will start with the Walker Family…”

BANG!

Mario punched the table so hard it split in half, sending several of the documents on top sliding to the floor.

Butler Jones’ body shook even more as he stared at the Marquess.

“Insolence!” Mario yelled.

Mana leaked from his body for a few seconds before he pulled it back. However, after the first burst of anger passed, Mario found himself thinking about what Butler Jones had told him.

The person they hired had never even left the capital.

Whoever killed him knew why he had been hired, and instead of hiding the body, that person had left a note specifically for House Walker.

Mario thought of those words again. “However… if that person has the confidence to destroy a Kingdom…”

He did not know if whoever wrote the note could actually do it.

Someone capable of killing the assassin they hired without the Walker Family knowing anything about it was already enough reason not to make another careless move.

Mario looked at his butler. “Jones, you have to be careful from now on. Moreover, if we move against that brat, we must do it discreetly until we confirm who that person was.”

Butler Jones nodded several times. “Yes, My Lord.”

Mario returned his gaze toward the window. “I don’t recall anyone connected to that brat when I picked him up somewhere…”

He tried remembering those years again.

Zishan had been alone when he found him.

Mario had never seen anyone searching for the boy afterward either. If there had truly been someone powerful enough to threaten an entire Kingdom protecting Zishan, he could not understand why that person had allowed the boy to remain with the Walker Family in the first place.

“Yes, My Lord. We will not move until we’re certain.” Butler Jones paused for a moment. “However, My Lord, what shall we do with this case? For sure, people will talk about this in the capital…”

“No matter. I’ll handle this problem myself, since I was the one who ordered it anyway,” Mario said.

There was little point in involving more people before he knew exactly how much information had already spread.

“However, did you find some intel on what happened in that Eastern Battlefield?”

“I did, My Lord,” Butler Jones replied. “Commander Holtz reported to me that Zishan was supposed to be dead already, according to him, but somehow resurrected.”

Mario turned toward him again.

Butler Jones continued, “Moreover, the Commander said that the kid said when he woke up in the middle of the battlefield, he lost his memories and that…”

The butler stopped.

Mario waited for several seconds. “What? Don’t make me wait!”

“Yes, My Lord,” Butler Jones said and continued, “When he woke up in the middle of the battlefield, according to the Commander, he woke up with someone directing him toward the enemy Kingdom’s direction. Toward the enemy’s camp.”

Mario frowned.

“Someone who was wearing a mask…”

See Synopsis for the Goals!