Alfred was an A-rank Mage.
But he preferred to fight with martial arts.
Ever since the first time he defeated an enemy with martial arts, he had fallen in love with that feeling of every punch landing solidly on flesh.
Of course, he had never abandoned his magical training.
It was just that the direction of his efforts had gone slightly astray.
Normal Mages all worked hard to increase their mana and raise the power of their spells.
Alfred, however, was different.
What he excelled at most was Body Enhancement Magic.
He enhanced the strength and speed of both his fists and legs.
That allowed him to defeat enemies with greater force and at far higher speed.
That style of fighting made him feel incredibly invigorated.
It was just that, after becoming the family head, he had very few chances to make a move.
After so many years without fighting, even his martial arts skills had grown somewhat rusty.
Fortunately, Ryan’s arrival had allowed Alfred to recall the way he used to fight.
While guiding Ryan in martial arts training, Alfred had also revived his own past experiences.
All that could be said was that Hermann and Otto had chosen a remarkably unfortunate time.
It would have been much better for them if they had acted earlier, before Alfred remembered his martial arts, or later, after he had once again forgotten that fighting style.
But the reality was that Alfred had already regained the combat experience of his youth from years past.
It could be said that Alfred’s current strength was terrifyingly powerful.
He alone could deal with the five hundred men Hermann and Otto had brought.
The reason he had brought his own subordinates along was merely as a precaution.
Possibly.
Perhaps.
Maybe.
There was also the faintest little bit of wanting to show off in front of his men.
After all, he was still young.
Men, after all, remained boys until the day they died.
Hermann and Otto had grown up under Alfred’s shadow.
Their father had always talked in front of them about how outstanding Alfred was, again and again.
Because of that, Hermann and Otto had hated Alfred since childhood.
And after their father handed the position of family head to Alfred, that hatred reached its peak.
At that moment, as Hermann watched Alfred standing there like a lone man holding back ten thousand, his teeth ground together.
He neither wanted nor could afford to fail!
This was an opportunity unlike any he had ever had before.
Alfred’s daughter was a worthless girl with only D-rank magic talent.
And Alfred did not even have a son.
Sooner or later, Isabella would be married off into another family as part of a political alliance.
But Hermann was different.
He had a son, and that son’s magic talent had reached B-rank.
Even for the sake of the future, the elders and clansmen of the family would support him, Hermann, in becoming the family head.
Earlier, he had already secretly reached an understanding with most of the elders.
He did not need their help.
He only needed them not to oppose his succession as family head.
In a great family like this, most people considered only their own interests.
Faced with the struggle between Hermann and Alfred, the elders all chose to remain neutral.
They only intended to step in at the final moment and preserve the life of the losing side.
“Attack! Attack! Get up there! Whoever defeats him will be rewarded with one thousand Gold Coins!”
Hermann roared.
Great rewards always produced brave men.
Driven by the lure of Hermann’s mountain of gold, the more than three hundred subordinates who remained began charging forward one after another without fear for their lives.
Alfred had thought Hermann had some hidden trump card.
But from the look of it, Hermann only knew how to send his subordinates forward as cannon fodder.
And in the most brainless way possible, relying on sheer numbers to crush the enemy.
But that kind of tactic was useless against Alfred.
He would not be defeated by a human wave!
That was the confidence he had developed over so many years as an A-rank Mage.
Still, as the number of enemies dwindled, a faint trace of doubt rose in Alfred’s heart.
Why had Hermann chosen this moment to declare war?
A declaration of war ought to come only when one was certain of victory.
Hermann should not have declared war without any preparations at all.
But the current situation did not allow Alfred to think too deeply about it.
A vast mass of people was surging toward him.
Even if he wanted to question Hermann, he would have to wait until he had dealt with all the enemies before him.
Bang!
Crack!
Every punch Alfred threw sent one man flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.
The number of subordinates Hermann and Otto had brought was shrinking at an astonishing rate.
At the rear of the crowd, Hermann watched Alfred cutting down all opposition.
On the surface, he still looked furious, roaring wildly.
But no one noticed the vicious glint that flashed through his eyes.
Kill.
Go on, kill.
The more you kill, the better.
The moment your strength is completely spent will be the moment you are defeated!
My foolish little brother!
Hermann screamed in his heart.
Time passed quickly.
Of the men Hermann and Otto had brought, fewer than fifty remained.
Alfred saw the panic and alarm on his two brothers’ faces.
He thought victory was already within reach.
Yet in the next instant, a shocking change erupted!
“Ugh—ah!!”
A woman’s scream rang out from behind Alfred.
“Greta!!!”
Alfred spun around.
His wife had been seized!
Greta had come outside the castle with Alfred.
She possessed a certain degree of strength herself.
Ordinary people could not get near her at all.
But she had never expected to be ambushed.
With a single strike, she had been captured.
And the one who had captured her was someone she knew all too well.
It was none other than the castle’s butler—Marcus!
“M-Marcus, why?”
Greta looked at Marcus, whose hand was clamped around her throat, and asked in disbelief.
Marcus looked at Greta coldly and gave no reply.
That gaze was icy to the extreme. It was absolutely not the Marcus she knew.
Greta had long since treated everyone in the castle as family.
But the look in Marcus’s eyes just now was definitely not the look one gave family.
That gaze was more like the look one would give a mortal enemy.
“Don’t move!”
Marcus raised his head to look at Alfred, his eyes cold as ice.
When Alfred saw that scene, he stopped.
With Greta being held hostage, he could no longer fight freely.
“Hahahahahaha...”
At the same time, excited laughter rang out from Hermann.
“My foolish little brother, you never saw this coming, did you? Your own butler betrayed you!”
“Hmph. Big Brother, you’re despicable!”
“Heh, my foolish little brother, methods do not matter, whether good or bad. So long as they achieve the goal, they are good enough. Look, hasn’t my goal already been achieved?”
Hermann’s face was full of smug satisfaction.
“Big Brother, what do you want?”
Alfred said coldly.
“Do not worry, Alfred. I only want the position of family head. As long as you hand it over to me, I guarantee Greta will remain safe and sound.”
“Big Brother, you can give up that thought. I will never hand the position of family head over to you. If I gave it to you, you would only lead the Jurgen Family to destruction!”
“Y-You do not care whether Greta lives or dies?”
Hermann flew into a rage.
He had never expected that even after taking Greta hostage, Alfred still would not give him the position of family head.
“Big Brother, you had better pray that Greta has not been hurt. Otherwise...”
Alfred’s expression remained calm as he spoke words that made Hermann’s blood run cold. “I will make you regret ever being born into this world.”
“Ugh...”
For a moment, Hermann was shaken by Alfred’s ruthless threat.
But a moment later, he came back to his senses.
Something was wrong.
The situation was clearly in his favor.
Alfred was only bluffing.
That was right.
He was bluffing.
Hermann narrowed his eyes.
“Hmph. Alfred, you had better stand where you are and not move. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee Greta’s safety!”
Alfred: “...”
When Hermann saw Alfred lower his head, an immense sense of satisfaction filled his heart.
At last.
At long last, he had finally defeated Alfred once.
Never mind what method he had used.
A win was a win!
In the world of adults, no one bothered looking for reasons or examining the process. Everything was judged by the final result.
“It has now been confirmed that Alfred Jurgen, the current family head of the Jurgen Family, colluded with members of another family and sold out the interests of the Jurgen Family!”
“In the name of Hermann Jurgen, I propose that Alfred Jurgen be stripped of his position as family head!”
“When the family council is convened afterward, that proposal will be passed.”
“Alfred, you have been expelled from the Jurgen Family. Without my permission, you are not permitted to appear within the territory of the Jurgen Family again!”
Hermann said coldly.
“When you are determined to condemn someone, you will never lack an excuse.”
Alfred replied calmly.
He knew Hermann was using this method to force him to leave.
But at present, he had no other choice.
If he wanted to protect Greta, then he had to leave the Jurgen Family.
As long as he was still alive, the people within the family would not dare make things difficult for Greta.
“Alfred, the winner is king and the loser is a bandit. For the sake of our brotherhood, I will let you go. Leave.”
Hermann walked up to Alfred and spoke smugly.
“Remember this well. If Greta loses even a single hair, I will hold you personally accountable!”
After saying that, Alfred turned to look at Greta.
Then his gaze fixed tightly on Marcus.
This butler who had served in his castle for more than ten years.
If you lost, then you had to accept it.
He had misjudged a person, and he had to swallow the bitter consequences himself.
Without saying anything further, Alfred turned and left.
“Hahahaha! I won! I won!”
Hermann stared at Alfred’s departing back. Only after he disappeared from sight did Hermann finally burst into excited laughter.
“Congratulations, Big Brother. Once Alfred is gone, the position of family head can belong to no one but you!”
Otto stepped forward to offer his congratulations.
“Hm? What did you just call me?”
Hermann frowned.
He was somewhat displeased with the way Otto addressed him.
Before, when you called me Big Brother, I said nothing.
But now, if you are still calling me Big Brother, I do not like it at all.
“Ah??”
Otto was stunned by Hermann’s expression, but in the next instant, he understood.
“Congratulations, Family Head!”
“Yes, that is my good little brother.”
Hermann nodded in satisfaction.
“Let’s go. Take Greta back and have her treated. Whatever else she may be, she is still the former Lady of the House, so she ought to receive treatment.”
Hermann said indifferently.