"Keith." I gestured at him with my chin. Just like I would expect from someone who understood me more and more the more we exchanged our blades, Keith lowered his Zweihanded and walked over to my position to have Lily heal him. I, on the other hand, who had already had my surface injuries treated, went to check out the noise with Maria.
"Young master, I think you should stay in." Maria voiced her concern as the sounds of the mob grew louder. We passed through the Veranda and went back inside the mansion to leave through the front gate and then move to the entrance of the estate. I shook my hand and dismissed Maria's worries. At that point, Maria let out a short breath from her mouth.
She did this every time she smiled. It served well for someone like me who couldn't remember people's faces.
As we reached the entrance of the estate, the figures of about a dozen or so young men and women entered my sight. All of them had dirt in their hair and their clothes were torn down to rags, sewed up with great effort.
I knew the mansion of the Hall family was in a village that did not have any of our subordinate counts, earls, or barons looking after it, but I couldn't get much else from the teacher that came by in a carriage every second day to teach me about the geopolitics of the Kingdom of Schwarz. That said, there was no way that beggars would come up to this place and make a fuss.
"Open the doors!" One man on the outside screamed.
"Nobody is looking after our village! How long do you want us to go hungry?"
"You, white hair! Give us your food in an hour or we'll storm in! Our children are dying!"
I crossed my arms at their words and raised my brow. Look, at, this. They've got all the elements of an effective request down! Context, specificity, time frame, and subsequent consequences. I was impressed, to say the least. But they were still making a fuss at my door. How would that reflect on my track record as the to-be strongest in the world?
I walked closer to the entrance. Maria seemed to want to stop me but held herself back. With just the door keeping the mob away from me, their voices and threats grew louder.
"Damn nobles! Aren't you supposed to look after us?!"
"Bring the head! If we're going to die anyway, then we'll fight and die!"
Right then, I took over the control of the mana in the air surrounding the mob. This was the difference that made Ki and Mana opposing forces, while Ki came from within one's existence, Mana was ever-present. Immediately, the mana compressed the air around them and started pressing down on their bodies. The sudden concentration of hostile mana usurped the mana their bodies subconsciously claimed as their own and placed immense pressure on them.
"Gah!"
"Argh..."
A smile crept on my face as the mob fell to its knees. Men and women, old and young, none were spared from my presence. When they couldn't open their mouths from the pressure anymore, I spoke up.
"Fools."
I placed my hand on the door and pulled it open. The metal door creaked as the few people who could still hold themselves looked up in surprise.
"There, the door is open. What are you going to do now?" I walked out of the door and stopped right in front of the mob. With my hands behind my back, I stared them all down. "Go on, do what you wanted to. Barge in and take whatever you want."
As I spoke, I further increased the pressure I was putting down on them. The villagers stuck to the ground while groaning. I wondered, were they making hateful expressions, or were they scared? People had a habit of misunderstanding my actions by calling me rude, I didn't think these ones were any different.
A lesson was due either way.
"If you had attacked a baron or even a knight, something might have been alright. But do you know which place this is?" I modulated my voice and ended with a pause. Just as the tension in the place rose, I continued in a whisper. "It's the mansion of a Marquis, and I, am the son of a Marquis."
I could hear gasps coming out from the crowd, gasps that made my smile widen.
"Maria..." I called out without turning back.
"Yes, your highness?"
Perfect.
"What is the sentence for threatening a noble, much less a Marquis of the Kingdom of Schwarz?"
"It is a direct insult to the kingdom and the royalty on top of your esteemed highness. For such a crime... beheading would be considered too kind of a punishment."
I didn't have to say much, the trembling people down at my feet were sign enough. Still, I decided to drive the nail in.
"The door is open," I repeated in a very calm tone. "Go on, do what you want."
That was when I realized my mistake.
There was no point in pushing down the people who were already on the brink of death. I had underestimated the extent of their resolve and the depths of their hunger. Not just one or two, but almost a dozen of the people were clenching their teeth and fists and trying to stand up.
Pushing them further would only take the momentum away from me. I took in a deep breath.
It wasn't like I was going to leave them like this anyway.
People going hungry. Children dying. Their desperation to come at the doors of a noble and fight.
I wasn't punishing them for coming to threaten me, no. I was getting at them for forfeiting their lives by coming to attack a noble of this kingdom. Would it had been anyone else, all of their heads would have been rolling on the grounds. If they didn't know I was a noble then that was even worse. Ignorance and brashness were sins of mankind.
If they were dead, what would happen of their children? Of the ones left behind?
Anger was irrational. But before being irrational, it was selfish.
I despised it.
I called out to Keith who had come up to the entrance with Lily a while back.
"Keith, take Lily with you and bring out the food. Bring out everything except the bare minimum." At that moment, I relaxed some of the pressure I was putting down on them with my mana.
"Wh-what...?"
"Did he say food?"
"Lily knows where the food is—"
"—And you'll know better to bring out everything. Get going."
Keith didn't pose any objections, he only smirked and walked away with Lily following behind him. The gasps of the people who were on their knees were filled with shock and surprise, but the shock and surprise were magnitudes more pleasant than the one before.
"Maria..." I called to the one waiting behind me while ignoring the mob of people ahead.
"Yes, your highness."
I was definitely irked by the people of the village...
"Prepare the carriage, we'll be going to the village and see things for ourselves."
"Understood, please give me a moment."
... but the ones that let the village get to such a state irked me more.