Revenge Of The Reborn Northern Duke

3.

Theodore’s guards filed out, shutting the doors of the Corvoda family’s capital mansion one by one. Upon hearing the thunderous boom of the heavy doors slamming shut, the guests who had just emerged were overcome with a lingering sense of having narrowly escaped a disaster.

They all knew that a massive upheaval was coming to this mansion, and indeed, to the entire capital.

Inside the mansion, Theodore strode forward with his back straight. His footsteps echoed heavily, shattering the silence of the magnificent east wing corridor. He was flanked by Kael, the giant captain of the Northern Region’s Iron Blood Guard.

Right at the end of the corridor, blocking the gold-inlaid mahogany door leading to Theodore’s private chambers, a woman in a maid’s uniform stood haughtily. She was Martha, Lily’s personal maid, who for the past three years had always looked down on Theodore.

Upon seeing the room’s owner approach, rather than bowing respectfully, Martha instead planted her hands on her hips. Her chin was held high, mirroring her mistress’s arrogance to a tee.

“Stop right there, Young Master Theodore!” she snapped loudly, her shrill voice cutting through the corridor without the slightest hint of deference.

“Have you gone deaf? Miss Lily and Young Master Gerald must not be disturbed! They are attending to very important business inside. As a man of self-respect, you ought to wait outside until they call for you!”

In his previous life, Theodore might have swallowed the insults from this lowly maid with a wry smile, suppressing his pride to spare Lily’s feelings.

But at this very moment, Theodore’s pair of jet-black eyes merely regarded Martha as though she were a filthy piece of rubbish blocking his path.

“Kael,” Theodore called. His tone was flat, yet utterly icy.

“At your service, Young Master.”

“Eliminate her.”

Martha’s eyes widened. Her mouth had just opened to hurl another curse when a silver flash sliced through the air, cutting off her line of sight.

CRAAASH!

The greatsword in Kael’s hand sliced through the servant’s neck with lightning speed, long before Martha even had time to scream or realise what was happening.

Her head was severed from her shoulders, flung into the air before landing with a sickening *‘thud’* on the velvet carpet. Fresh blood gushed forth like a fountain, painting the mahogany door behind her a deep crimson.

Theodore didn’t even blink. He raised his foot, channelling the pure mana surging through his blood, then kicked the massive door with all his might.

BAM!

The steel hinges, each the size of a fist, shattered into pieces. The thick mahogany door was flung into the room, creating a thunderous crash that shook every pillar in the chamber.

Inside, a revolting scene unfolded in all its glory. Upon the bespoke silk bed that was meant to be Theodore’s wedding bed, Lily and Gerald stood facing each other. Even more outrageous, a hired priest—clearly brought in to compound this humiliation—was reciting some sort of fake wedding vows for the pair of them in the homeowner’s own bedroom.

Dust from the shattered door slowly swept across the floor. The hired priest turned his head and instantly his face turned as pale as a corpse. A murderous aura emanated from Theodore and Kael, like bloodthirsty demons ready to tear the room to shreds. Paying no heed to his f*e or courtly etiquette, the priest flung aside his holy book, screamed in terror, and fled in a panic, leaping out of the balcony window.

However, the pair of traitors in the middle of the room were still unaware of the depth of the abyss that threatened them. Gerald merely clicked his tongue in annoyance, whilst Lily rolled her eyes with an expression full of arrogance.

“Theodore! Have you gone mad?!” screamed Lily, crossing her arms over her chest. Her beautiful face was contorted with disgust. “Didn’t my servant outside warn you?! I’ve told you, I’m sick of seeing your face! You’re ruining my mood and Gerald’s!”

Beside her, Gerald smiled dismissively, straightening his slightly rumpled jacket. “You really have no manners, Theodore. Are you that desperate to watch us, hm?”

Theodore stepped through the shattered doorway without saying a word. His boots trampled through the pool of Martha’s blood, which was beginning to seep into the room.

“Your maid?” Theodore finally spoke, his tone so calm it sounded terrifying. He tilted his head slightly, gesturing towards the blade of Kael’s sword, which was still dripping with fresh, steaming blood.

“If you’re referring to the bitching dog that was barking at my door… she’s already become one with the earth.”

A suffocating silence suddenly descended upon the room.

Lily’s eyes slowly drifted down to the floor outside, where the headless body of her beloved servant lay stiff in a pool of red blood. The illegitimate princess’s arrogant expression instantly faded, replaced by utter shock.

“Y-you… you killed her?!” Lily screamed hysterically, her voice trembling violently. “You dare to shed blood in front of me?! Have you gone mad, Theodore?!”

Gerald, who had been relaxed at first, now narrowed his eyes. A chill crept down the nape of his neck. “Theodore! You’ve crossed the line! How dare you act so barbarically towards our people!”

“The line?” Theodore chuckled softly. The laugh sounded hoarse, filled with the bitterness of the past and the brutality of the future. “In the Northern Territories, I am the line.”

A force within Theodore’s body erupted violently, creating a shockwave that caused every windowpane in the room to crack and shatter simultaneously.

“Kael. Make him kneel.”

Hearing that absolute command, the giant darted forward like a ghostly shadow. Gerald, who actually possessed knight-level martial arts skills, tried to react by summoning his silver aura. However, in the face of a battle-hardened monster from the Northern battlefields, the Young Master from the Capital was no more than a toddler just learning to walk.

THUD! CRACK!

“ARGHHH!”

A single, devastating blow from the flat of Kael’s sword struck Gerald’s chest, shattering his ribs in an instant. Gerald spat out fresh blood, hurled into the air, before Kael’s giant hand clamped around his neck and slammed him onto the marble floor.

*BAM!*

The floor cracked. Gerald thrashed about, his eyes wide, trying to gasp for oxygen that seemed to have vanished from his lungs. Before he could fight back, Kael kicked him in the back of the knee, forcing the arrogant man to his knees roughly, right beneath the tip of Theodore’s boot.

“Let him go! Let him go!” Lily screamed in panic, running towards them but stopping short when she met Kael’s demonic gaze. “Theodore, you’ve gone mad! He’s the Prime Minister’s son! The King’s Right-Hand Man! If my father finds out you’ve done this, your entire Northern family will be destroyed!”

Theodore stared at Lily, who was trembling with fear, then looked down at Gerald, who was now coughing up blood, utterly unable to utter a single word.

“The Prime Minister’s son?” Theodore repeated the title with a bone-chillingly scornful tone.

He stepped forward, gripping Lily’s jaw with one hand, forcing her to look into his black eyes, which were like the abyss of death.

“And I am the sole heir to the Ruler of the North. The military lineage that protects this continent.”

Theodore brought his face closer. “And you? You are nothing but a bastard, a piece of trash disowned by the court, whom I plucked from the mire of disgrace. And you dare to bring another man into my chamber, commit adultery, and humiliate me in public on my wedding day?”

Theodore roughly shoved Lily’s face away, sending her tumbling to the floor, weeping in terror at the sight of the monster she had always regarded as a tame dog.

“You said you adored his manhood, Lily?” Theodore turned to face Gerald, who remained kneeling, helpless. A thin, cruel smile—the smile of a true tyrant—formed on Theodore’s lips. “You said he was a real man who could protect you?”

Theodore took a step back, folding his arms behind his back as he issued a command that would change the kingdom’s history that very day.

“Kael.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

“Since this slut is so fond of his manhood… castrate this man, this very instant.”