Who’s the Real Brother Again?

When Ard was still some distance from the residence, the guard escorting him suddenly stopped. He pointed from afar. “That’s the place. Here’s the master’s token. You can go on ahead.”

With that, the guard shoved the token into Ard’s hand, turned on his heel, and fled as if escaping a plague.

“…” Ard rubbed his nose. It seemed no one expected him to return from this errand in one piece. They were all terrified of being implicated. He didn’t mind. In fact, with the guard gone, he had more freedom to act.

Ard strode toward the residence where Rhode and his group were staying. In terms of scale, it was only slightly smaller than the Baron’s own manor. The knights on guard duty spotted him, but in his current disguise, they didn’t recognize him as the man they had met in the village.

Ard greeted them like an old friend. “We meet again after only two days. I trust you’ve all been well?”

“Who are you again?” a knight asked, his brow furrowed.

Ard lowered his voice. “It’s me, Ard. I’m in disguise for certain reasons.” He then recounted the events at the village in detail, which finally convinced the gate guards of his identity.

The knight asked, his suspicion still lingering, “You’re here on an errand for someone?”

Ard produced the token from the Baron’s manor and handed it to the knight.

The guard naturally recognized the token. He frowned. “You’re working for Baron Quentin?”

Ard shrugged. “Temporarily. There’s more I’d like to discuss with your young master. May I pass?”

“Let him through.” The gate guard didn’t say much more. It wasn’t his place to question such matters.

And just like that, Ard walked straight in. The ease of his entry left the Baron’s guard, who was secretly watching from a distance, completely dumbfounded.

Inside the residence, a cute boy was sitting in a chair, pouting. Beside him stood a worried-looking Kelly. Across from them sat the young man Ard had met earlier.

“Little Richie,” the young man said with a weary sigh, “you could wait here until the end of time and it wouldn’t do any good. If that Baron Paunch were capable of listening to reason, his domain wouldn’t be in this state.”

Rhode—or rather, Richie—said angrily, “That’s no reason to just ignore it! Brother, aren’t you angry at all?!”

The young man looked like he had a headache. “We’re not ignoring it. We are handling it. We just lack a certain… opportunity. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it. Many things can’t be solved by simply throwing power around. If we were to take down that fat pig based on mere speculation, without any hard evidence, it would set off a lot of alarms. Sigh~”

“But we saw it with our own eyes!” Richie said, aggrieved.

His brother spread his hands. “Did you see the Baron himself holding a knife and killing someone? Or ordering his subordinates to disguise themselves as bandits? We need evidence, at the very least.”

“Reporting to the two young masters, Lord Ard is here to see you.”

A report suddenly came from outside. Richie was stunned for a moment, then said, “Why is he here? Let him in.”

The young man asked curiously, “Who is this man Ard?”

“He’s the man I met in that village!” Richie said excitedly. “He promised me he would save the village!”

“Oh?” The young man’s interest was piqued. “What’s his status? To be so confident, he must hold a high position.”

“He’s…”

Before Richie could answer, a voice from outside replied for him. “Just a common man, with no power or influence to speak of.”

Ard strode into the room. He was slightly surprised to see the young man, but he quickly recovered his composure and cupped his hands in a salute to Richie. “We meet again, Young Master.”

Richie asked, looking a bit lost, “And you are?”

“It’s me, Ard,” he said with a shrug. “I’m in disguise for certain reasons.”

Hearing the familiar voice but seeing the unfamiliar face, Richie still looked confused. Ard could only sigh and recount some of the details of their conversation in the village, which finally convinced him.

“It really is you, Big Brother Ard!” Richie said, his face lighting up. “Please, sit down! This is my second brother.”

Ard also saluted the man Richie called Second Brother.

The young man replied with a gracious smile. “There’s no need for such formality, my lord. Please, have a seat.”

The moment Ard sat down, Richie asked eagerly, “Big Brother, how is the village?”

Seeing Richie was still worried about them, Ard smiled. “The matter has been resolved. The villagers are all safe. It will be a long time before any bandits dare to trouble them again.”

Richie’s eyes sparkled. “Really?! How did you do it, Big Brother? You’re amazing! My second brother is always saying it’s ‘not the right time’. You’re so much more reliable!”

The young man: “…”

Has my own little brother just been stolen away right in front of me? He calls him ‘Big Brother’ and me ‘Second Brother’. The betrayal is too real. The man felt a pang of sorrow. It wasn’t that he was powerless, but after weighing the pros and cons, he didn’t think such a rash action would do any good. Their positions were different, and so were their considerations.

Ard recounted his plan to them. The process was actually quite simple: lure the enemy into a pre-set trap. But in Ard’s telling, it became a grand, fairy-tale-like adventure, and Richie listened with rapt attention.

“Big Brother, you’re amazing!”

Richie didn’t see the exasperated look on his real brother’s face. The man had also carefully considered Ard’s plan. It was a good plan, but the risks involved were enough to make one break out in a cold sweat. The simpler the plan, the more loopholes it had. First, there was the bait. If the bait had broken under interrogation and revealed the plan, it would have been a complete disaster. Then there was the trap itself. The young man could well imagine what kind of trap a group of dirt-poor farmers could set. It was likely just for show. If the bandits hadn’t been intimidated and had just charged through, Ard and the others would have been finished. Not to mention all the other small details.

However, a thoughtful look appeared in the man’s eyes as he looked at Ard. The reason this crude plan had succeeded so flawlessly was largely due to Ard’s masterful manipulation of human nature. First, he had used their hatred to ignite the fighting spirit of the demoralized farmers, smoothly gaining leadership over the entire village. Then, he had used the bait’s deep-seated grudge against the bandits to ensure the reliability of that crucial step. Finally, he had exploited the bandits’ carelessness and their panic in a desperate situation.

It was a chain of interlocking events that had turned the bandits into bulls in a ring, with all their strength, they could only be played with by the matador.

The young man looked at Richie’s adoring face and shook his head gently. Could he have done such a thing? Of course. But there was no need. Ard’s gambler-like actions seemed brilliant, but how many could truly understand the precariousness of walking on a tightrope? It was precisely because he had no other resources that he had to use a plan that gambled with lives. If it had failed, he would have lost everything.

But Richie was different. He had a noble status, a power he had not yet learned to wield, and his brother and father as his safety net. He had a wealth of resources to solve this problem in a much safer, more perfect way. He just didn’t know it yet. This kind of gambling was not suitable for Richie, because it was unnecessary.

The young man was about to perform his brotherly duty and warn Richie not to be infatuated with such reckless behavior, but before he could speak, Ard said, “But while I could do this, there is no need for you to, Rhode. It’s not worth it.”

Richie was confused. “Why?”

Ard said, his voice earnest, “My plan may seem simple, but it was a chain of interconnected events. If any single link had broken, the whole thing would have failed, and lives would have been lost. But I had no choice, because I have nothing. You, on the other hand, are different. You have such powerful guards protecting you, which proves your noble birth. You have enough resources to achieve the same goal in a much safer, more successful, and less consequential way. Remember, taking a risky path should only be a last resort. The king’s path, to crush the enemy with overwhelming force, is always the correct way.”

Richie said, dejected, “But I’m not as amazing as you say, Big Brother Ard. I couldn’t do anything for that village. I can’t even get an audience with a Baron.”

Ard couldn’t help but pat the kind-hearted boy on the head. “That’s only because you’re still young. You have many tools at your disposal that you don’t yet know how to use. I believe that if you are willing to learn, you can do much better than me.”

Richie felt his confidence return. He pumped his fist. “Big Brother, I’ll work hard!”

Richie’s second brother: “…”

CRACK. That was the sound of his heart breaking. He had just witnessed his own little brother being stolen away right in front of his face. Those were words he, the real brother, should have said.

“By the way, Big Brother,” Richie finally remembered to ask, “how did you know I was here?”

“The owner of this token told me.” Ard took out the token from Baron Quentin and handed it to Richie.

“This is… Baron Quentin’s token? How did you get it?”

“Because he’s the one who sent me to find you. You’ve been bothering him all day. It’s only natural he’d want to find a way to get rid of you.”

Richie said angrily, “He’s a lord, but he doesn’t even fulfill his duties! Shouldn’t he change his way?”

Ard said coldly, “Of course he should. But your method is wrong. That Baron Paunch is incapable of listening to reason.”

“That’s the same thing my second brother said.”

Richie finally remembered he had a second brother. His brother’s eyes filled with tears of gratitude. He had finally been remembered by his own flesh and blood.

Richie looked at Ard with hopeful eyes. “But my second brother is so pessimistic, always saying it’s ‘not the right time’ and so on. Big Brother, you must have a way to deal with that Baron, right?”

Richie’s second brother: Cries.

This little brother of his was a lost cause while he had doted on him so much when they were young. The rebellious phase of a child is truly a mystery.

Ard fulfilled Richie’s wish. “The purpose of my visit this time is to completely remove this tumor. But for this plan, I hope you will help me.”

Kelly and the young man frowned simultaneously. They did not want the young prince to stay here any longer.