The Dragon Chose This House

“Are you Baron Borus?”

On the first night of Daisy and Viola’s journey, the agricultural town in the southern wilderness had already descended into panic because of the unwelcome visitors who arrived under cover of darkness.

At the center of town, the lord’s manor—neither particularly grand nor especially large—had been completely surrounded by over a thousand unidentified soldiers carrying torches.

Every possible route of escape had been sealed off.

Inside the manor, the few loyal male servants and gatekeepers who stayed behind instead of fleeing had all been beaten down.

Some suffered broken bones.

Others had already fainted.

And now, the invading soldiers stood in rigid formation with steel armor and drawn weapons as their mounted leader rode forward to negotiate with the man who stepped out bravely before the manor entrance despite the danger.

He was a middle-aged nobleman with curled golden beard, modest clothing, and no extravagant jewelry.

Baron Borus.

“It is indeed I…”

Baron Borus forced himself to remain calm.

In reality, even his curled beard trembled faintly from fear.

Yet for the sake of his family and servants, he chose not to flee alone and instead stepped forward to face the danger personally.

“May I ask… who exactly are you people?”

“And what business brings you to my humble residence tonight?”

“Baron Borus…”

Across from him, the armored cavalry leader riding a feathered horse smiled mockingly.

“You still don’t understand who sent us here?”

“We are members of the guard force serving the honorable Viscount Clyde—your esteemed friend.”

“As for this nonsense about soldiers chasing bandits…”

“That’s merely the official excuse.”

“In truth, we only came here to deliver a message on behalf of Viscount Clyde.”

“Viscount… Clyde…?”

The moment Borus heard that name, it was as though his worst premonition had come true.

His already pale complexion immediately turned ghostly white.

“Is… Is the Viscount doing well…?”

Barons were essentially the lowest-ranking nobles in the Kingdom of Mirandel.

Their territories usually consisted of little more than a single town and several surrounding villages.

Unless they squeezed their peasants and serfs dry, it was difficult for them to accumulate meaningful wealth.

Viscounts, however, occupied a far more comfortable position.

Their territories could encompass multiple towns, villages, and even smaller cities.

On the surface, they could afford to pretend to be benevolent rulers while secretly profiting through s*ave trafficking, narcotics, illegal weapons, and countless other vile businesses.

With the protection afforded by a viscount’s status, the kingdom generally turned a blind eye to such crimes.

Just like the s*ave market in Gran City.

Viscount Clyde was precisely that sort of noble.

He ruled the neighboring Ruby City region adjacent to Borus’s territory and frequently interacted with him.

Outwardly polite.

Inwardly rotten.

He imposed heavy taxes and engaged in far darker methods of making money.

The problem was that Baron Borus was an exceedingly rare kind of noble across all human nations.

He genuinely believed exploiting his people was wrong.

Sometimes, during times of hardship, he even personally distributed food and money to support his citizens wholeheartedly.

As a result, his own family lived only slightly above subsistence level.

Naturally, Viscount Clyde could never profit from someone like Borus, who refused corruption and possessed neither wealth nor political alliances.

Thus, Clyde constantly targeted and harassed him without restraint.

“You still dare ask about our lord’s wellbeing?!”

The cavalry leader suddenly raised his voice furiously.

He wore an expression of utterly righteous indignation, as though all justice in the world belonged solely to his side.

With a sharp metallic hiss, he drew the sword at his waist and pointed it directly at the increasingly panicked Baron Borus.

“Didn’t you hear about what happened in Gran City a few days ago?”

“Something happened at the market warehouse back then!”

“Our lord and all the distinguished buyers fled in terror, yet somehow rumors still spread everywhere!”

“Our lord suffered emotional trauma because of it, understand?!”

“This time, our lord invited you to the market warehouse, yet you refused!”

“If you had gone, at least you could’ve shared the hardship alongside him!”

“It must’ve been your bad luck that caused our lord’s misfortune!”

“Coming here to find you tonight was absolutely the right decision!”

Calling it twisted logic was generous.

The man had abandoned logic entirely.

Anyone present could tell this was nothing more than Viscount Clyde venting his anger irrationally.

It was the uniquely arrogant madness of corrupt nobles.

The bigger the chaos they caused without punishment, the more powerful they felt.

“R-Respected sir! Please allow me to explain—”

Baron Borus stepped forward nervously, sweating heavily while attempting to plead his case.

But the cavalry leader immediately thrust his sword forward, forcing Borus to retreat half a step.

“There’s nothing to explain!”

The soldier’s face darkened as he stared at Borus like livestock awaiting slaughter.

“Our lord asked me to deliver a message.”

‘You useless old fool should just die already.’

‘Next time, we won’t invite you to have fun with us anymore.’

Within the Kingdom of Mirandel—one of the stronger nations upon the human continent—centuries of stability and comfort for the ruling class had bred a bloated aristocratic system filled with corruption, political factions, collusion with criminal organizations, exploitation of civilians, and endless internal power struggles.

It was a perfect example of decay born from prosperity.

In this chaotic nation where class divisions ran deep and corruption thrived beneath the surface, even lower nobles could never truly guarantee their safety.

At any moment, they could be framed, assassinated, or directly attacked by nobles with greater authority.

And the kingdom’s upper echelons, rotten and interconnected, would simply look away.

No one had any interest in justice.

At the same time, inside the brightly lit manor surrounded by soldiers, a beautiful young girl stood anxiously by a second-floor corridor window.

She wore an elegant dress and possessed wavy flaxen hair and emerald-green eyes.

Below her stood countless vicious-looking invaders.

And among them was her father desperately trying to protect the entire family.

“Lady Pelinda! Please come with us already!”

“If we don’t escape now, it’ll be too late!”

Beside the flax-haired girl, a blonde maid in servant attire whispered frantically while trying not to alert the soldiers below.

“I’m not leaving!”

The noble girl named Pelinda shouted stubbornly by the window, determination gleaming within her jewel-like green eyes.

“You all should take Mother and escape first!”

“I can’t abandon Father and run away alone!”

“Lady Pelinda! Do you even understand the situation right now?!”

The maid nearly sounded hysterical with panic.

She didn’t even dare look directly at the armored soldiers assembled below.

“Those crude soldiers…”

“Those disgusting men…”

“If they break in and catch us, they’ll definitely…”

“They’ll definitely…”

“Ahhh! Lady Pelinda! For the love of the gods, please run with me!”

Down below in the courtyard, Baron Borus finally understood why Viscount Clyde had sent men here tonight.

And he also understood what was about to happen next.

His face turned utterly bloodless.

His legs weakened so badly he could barely stand.

Meanwhile, the cavalry leader proudly turned his horse around and rode sideways before his troops while shouting to raise morale before the assault.

“Men! Do you want gold and silver?!”

“YESSSSSSSSS!!!”

“Do you want to see nobles bow beneath commoners like us?!”

“YESSSSSSSSS!!!”

“Do you want noblewomen and noble maids?!”

“YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!”

“Once we start, take all the gold you want!”

“Do whatever you want to the women and children you capture!”

“Who cares if they’re nobles?! Just take them!”

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

The cavalry leader shouted the most effective kind of speech for stirring up violent soldiers.

And the crude troops answered him with savage howls.

Even excluding the forces surrounding the town, there were still three to four hundred infantry and cavalry gathered within the courtyard alone.

Their armored bodies raised torches wildly while screaming excitedly.

The sea of firelight resembled a monstrous serpent of disaster preparing to devour helpless prey.

“Oh right…”

At the end of his speech, the cavalry leader suddenly remembered something and instantly switched back to his fake civilized demeanor.

“Everyone remember this carefully.”

“Tonight, a group of vicious bandits broke into poor Baron Borus’s manor.”

“They looted, murdered, and committed every evil imaginable.”

“And we—the loyal and righteous guards of Viscount Clyde—rushed here heroically to save everyone.”

“But by the time we arrived… it was already too late.”

“The bandits slaughtered everyone inside, fled the scene, and burned the manor to the ground.”

“No evidence remained behind…”

“Ooooh…”

This time, most soldiers seemed confused by the indirect explanation and responded weakly.

The cavalry leader sighed helplessly.

“What I mean is—after we finish here, burn the manor down.”

“Leave no evidence.”

“And don’t run your mouths afterward, got it?”

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Now the soldiers fully understood and roared enthusiastically once more.

“Good!”

“Prepare yourselves—”

The cavalry leader turned his horse around again and raised his sword to give the order—

Only to suddenly notice Baron Borus kneeling upon the ground before him with tears streaming down his face.

For proud soldiers accustomed to despising nobles, seeing a noble kneel before commoners like them came as a genuine shock.

“P-Please…”

“Please don’t do this…”

“For the love of the gods…”

Baron Borus abandoned all dignity and noble pride.

At this moment, he was merely a powerless father trying desperately to protect his wife, daughters, servants, and family.

“I-I’ll give you anything…”

“Please spare my family…”

“You can kill me however you like…”

“Even if only my wife and children survive… please…”

“You senile old fool.”

The cavalry leader sneered mercilessly.

“With your pathetic self-righteousness, you never even gathered enough wealth to tempt us.”

“And you still dare beg?”

Without hesitation, he flung a deadly throwing knife straight toward Borus.

The sharp blade reflected torchlight as it spun rapidly toward the helpless old nobleman’s forehead.

It was only centimeters away from piercing his skull—

When suddenly, a hand caught it cleanly out of midair by the handle.

“What…?!”

The cavalry leader froze in shock.

Before anyone noticed, a tall figure dressed in black had somehow appeared before Borus.

Long black hair fluttered softly.

Gray eyes cold as moonlight.

And in her hand rested the throwing knife that should have killed Baron Borus.

“Who the hell are you?!”

“When did you appear?!”

“…”

Standing beside the kneeling Borus, Viola merely glanced coldly toward the cavalry leader while holding the knife.

She looked utterly unwilling to even speak with someone as disgusting as him.

The cavalry leader instinctively sensed danger from the mysterious woman.

Immediately, he yanked his horse backward into the steel wall formed by his troops and shouted an order:

“That woman’s dangerous!”

“Don’t lower your guard!”

“Spears ready!”

The three to four hundred armored soldiers quickly raised their spears into formation.

Each soldier wore a magic stone ring upon their hand.

As they activated the rings, glowing magical energy surged into the spearheads.

From afar, the entire formation resembled a monstrous beast covered in iron scales and countless glowing spikes.

It looked even more terrifying than a dragon itself.

“This environment isn’t bad.”

“If we’re going to learn the fake social behavior humans use with one another, then a noble household really is the most suitable choice.”

“With the entire family here, they won’t be able to run away.”

“They should also keep our secrets for us.”

Viola didn’t even spare the massive spear formation before her a single glance.

Instead, she calmly surveyed the manor’s quiet surroundings before finally turning toward the stunned Baron Borus beside her.

Her voice remained cold and calm.

“I’ve decided.”

“We’ll use this place as our temporary residence.”