I Ended My Engagement With The Woman Who Despised Me

✦  Chapter 16 — Hardly A Challenge  ✦

「Translator — Creator」

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Any group of a certain scale might share common ground, yet their nature cannot be definitively categorized.

'Just like how people who hang out together can have completely different professions, personalities, and places of residence.'

Among those sharing the common denominator of belonging to the Order, there existed the good, the evil, and even those who fell into neither category, remaining neutral. Thus, it was difficult to simply label the Order as either "trash" or "good."

...While this made it challenging to evaluate the Order as a whole,

in a world where threats loomed large and people began believing in gods — unrealistic beings whose existence was uncertain in reality — the real issue lay in how evil individuals weaponized this faith to commit cruel and wicked acts.

I let out a hollow laugh as I contemplated the Order, for a hypothesis had formed in my mind.

'Let's consider a hypothesis. If we assume the Order had formed some sort of arrangement with the dark mages...'

Just as a Hero exists only because there is a Demon Lord, and Light exists only because there is Darkness, there was a high probability they had secretly established a mutual cooperation agreement.

Though the exact details remained unclear, it likely followed the principle of a rigged card game, where both parties maintained a give-and-take relationship to maximize their respective benefits.

I suspected that when the Order and House Carsaril clashed over their interests, the Order sought to use this conflict to bring down the Carsaril family.

'And... if this assumption is correct...'

The Order would have an extremely high likelihood of attempting to frame the Carsaril family with black magic, deliberately causing chaos.

As these thoughts crystallized in my mind,

I narrowed my eyes, deciding it would be wise to gather more evidence and investigate deeper.

𓇗

Even if the Order was behind it, I couldn't easily touch them.

The Order was highly cohesive and placed great importance on their public image. Even with definitive proof of their crimes, they would attack any accusers regardless of the truth, all to maintain their public facade.

If the Order had been a minor organization, I might have ignored such concerns and proceeded.

However, as they were both the state religion and spiritual foundation of the nation, confronting them directly could result in severe backlash.

If possible, they needed to be dealt with 'secretly.'

Making this judgment, I decided to explore first, meticulously searching the city with the sun spirit.

However, despite searching the entire day,

I couldn't discover even a trace, let alone the main base of the dark mages.

This was likely because their network had gone into hiding after losing one of their members yesterday.

This also meant that the sun spirit alone wouldn't be enough to resolve everything, so I needed to find another solution.

'I need someone's help.'

Siren still needed time to grow,

And while Loraine might have other strengths, her information-gathering capabilities were lacking. I required someone who could provide crucial intel.

'Rianna might be the only option.'

In the original work, she was portrayed as the most capable person in this field, providing the protagonist's party with all necessary information and guidance.

Recruiting her would be incredibly beneficial.

The problem was, I had no idea where she was.

'According to the original work, the way to find her was to look for places where interesting rumors circulate, but...'

The issue was that 'interesting' was defined by Rianna's own standards.

She wouldn't show up for critically important rumors about potential world-ending plots, but might appear for bizarre stories like a statue that moves at midnight.

With this in mind, I decided to look for alternative methods to recruit her.

𓇗

Just as my thoughts were becoming complicated, Aiden Carsaril, Damian's older brother, approached me.

He strode over with a sunny smile, showering me with praise.

"Damian! I heard you cleared out some dark mages? How did you manage that?"

Brother Aiden seemed overjoyed about his younger brother's accomplishment, continuously smiling and shaking my hand. Then, with a gentle smile, he said —

"Before you went to the North, I was really worried because you only hung around with strange people. But seeing how wonderfully you've grown up, I realize my concerns were unnecessary."

Just as I was about to thank him, I noticed something odd in what Brother Aiden had said.

'Strange people?'

Realizing this might be connected to the dark mages, I immediately spoke up.

"Brother, do you know where those strange folks I used to hang out with before going to the North are now?"

"...Huh? Why?"

Though brother Aiden's eyes betrayed his concern that I might start associating with such people again, he seemed to decide to trust me. Quickly shaking off his hesitation, he told me—

"I'm not really sure. Maybe... the butler would know? After all, it was your personal butler who introduced those people to you."

"Do you know where that butler is?"

"Not sure about that either. The head butler might know though."

He still seemed uncertain about whether it was right to share this information with me.

I reassured him by saying 'I'm not planning to hang out with them' before turning my attention elsewhere.

‘If it involved my personal attendant, this scheme was likely planned far earlier than I imagined.’

As I walked away, I wondered if perhaps even the reason for Damian being sent to the North might be connected to all this.

𓇗

Head Butler Bern was not only the chief supervisor of all servants in House Carsaril but also an indispensable figure who managed finances, personnel, and the overall operation of the mansion.

Unlike most servants who feared me, he approached me with grandfatherly warmth rather than trepidation.

"Young Master, what brings you to this old man?"

"I need your help."

"Hoho, the Young Master using formal speech? You've changed quite a bit."

Oddly enough, though my speech and behavior were completely opposite to Damian's usual manner, he didn't show any sign of finding it strange. Perhaps he was making allowances after hearing about my year of hardship in the North and the broken engagement.

As I was thinking how these changes weren't entirely meaningless, Bern posed a question.

"So, how can this old man be of assistance?"

"Please tell me where my personal butler is."

I cut straight to the point. After a brief pause, he divulged—

"If you mean Ruston, he quit immediately after you departed for the North. Said he wanted to return to his hometown."

The timing — resigning immediately after my departure — only deepened my suspicion.

"Hometown?"

"A small village on the edge of Carsaril territory, he said… Though rumors among the servants suggest he frequented a gambling den on the city outskirts. More likely, that was his true destination.”

Loraine, who had been standing behind me, added in surprise:

"Ruston gambling? Wasn't he an extremely diligent person?"

"Indeed he was. A pity, whatever the reason.”

A gambling house…

The moment I heard that, I felt certain we’d uncover critical clues there. Without hesitation, I resolved to head straight for it.

𓇗

A shabby slum in the outskirts.

Whether they chose this location to avoid crackdowns or to have a disposable venue in case of raids was unclear. At first glance, it hardly looked like a gambling house, being far removed from any sense of luxury or decadence.

After warning Loraine to stay alert, I stepped toward the entrance — only for a hulking man to block my path, silent as a wall.

Bouncer, I assumed.

With a curt wave, I ordered —

"Move."

"............"

Despite my command, there was no response.

As I let out a hollow laugh at his blatant disregard and reached for my hammer, suddenly—

KWAAANG—!

Loraine beat me to it, sending the doorkeeper flying backward with a kick while saying:

"Shall we go in?"

I eyed her, halfway between amusement and disbelief. I was the one about to crack his skull open, yet here she was, justifying herself with an awkward grin — 

“I… really hate gambling. Plus, unlicensed dens are criminal. Thought we’d… clean up while we’re here?”

I nodded — no need for excuses — and stepped through the now-open door.

“The hell’re you?”

Dozens of eyes locked onto us, hands gripping weapons.

'Weapons in a gambling house...'

Conventional dens banned arms to keep patrons calm.

Yet here, blades and clubs hung openly, marking this place as anything but ordinary. A grin tugged my lips — we’d found the trail — when Loraine tapped my shoulder.

"Young Master, Ruston is over there."

Delight warmed my chest as I drew my hammer.

Ten-odd thugs glared back.

Hardly a challenge.

END of CHAPTER

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