Extra 13 - The Bastard of the Frausen Family (1)

In a cell within a mansion surrounded by somber gray bricks.

On the damp floor of that place, Kihano was sitting, tied up with ropes, his gaze vacant.

"K-Kihano, sir."

"Yes."

The treatment he had received while being dragged there had been rough enough that his appearance was disheveled.

But that disheveled appearance was preferable compared to the situation of the boy who called to him with a weak voice.

"But why am I the only one hanging upside down?"

"Well… that's because it's a tradition of the Turrek family, isn't it?"

"Then why are you perfectly fine?"

"That's… because I'm a noble."

The boy was wrapped in ropes as if he were a cocoon. 

Even so, despite the boy's voice, Kihano only stared at the ground in worry, biting his nails.

"C-Could you at least lift me up for a moment? The blood is rushing to my head."

"Oh no, this is a problem. This time, I don't think I'll get out of this unscathed."

"Just for a moment. Really, I'm going to faint."

"If my brothers find out about this, I doubt they'll let me die peacefully."

"Sir Kihano! Sir Kihano?"

Despite the boy's desperate calls, Kihano did not raise his head easily.

In fact, his anxiety was so intense that he was now standing, pacing back and forth.

"Old man, don't you have a solution? You're a mage, right?"

"…"

Although there were only two people in the cell, Kihano began to speak as if there were someone else there.

"Haven't you recharged yet? If you have, let's break the cell wall and get out of here."

He spoke toward an empty corner of the cell.

He seemed to be completely out of his mind, but fortunately, there was a voice that responded to Kihano.

"Tsk! That's why knights are such a problem. Do you think magic is as easy to use as drawing a sword?"

An old voice emerged from the empty corner of the cell.

Along with it, a small figure leapt out from the shadows with tiny hops.

"Why the hell did you get involved with the baron's daughter? I told you not to do it!"

It was a frog.

A frog smaller than the palm of a child's hand.

Green on its back and white on its belly, it wore a tiny wizard's hat and hopped toward them while clicking its tongue.

"No wonder they say the Frausen lose their heads over women."

"This is really unfair. It was a mutual agreement!"

"…Um, could either of you please lower me down?"

A tall man with brown hair.

A freckled boy tied up with ropes, begging to be lowered.

And a small frog with a wizard's hat and a pipe in its mouth.

"In any case, we need to get out of here before my brothers find out."

"Sir K-Kihano."

"Hurry up and recharge! Let's get out of here with a *boom*!"

"…What's that boom?"

"That thing you showed me last time, that swoosh followed by a slash."

"Sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about. You're definitely a Frausen, explaining everything so badly."

Though there were three in the cell, none seemed to understand the others.

Each one said whatever came to mind.

However, the boy, seeing this absurd situation, finally couldn't hold back and shouted with all his strength.

"They're here! I don't know who, but someone's here!"

"Huh?"

Hearing the boy's screams, Kihano finally turned around.

And there, outside the bars, stood a man he didn't recognize, looking at him with a stern expression as he slowly removed his hood.

"…Brother?"

The man was tall, with his hair slicked back and glistening from the oil he wore.

He was the epitome of noble elegance.

But what stood out the most was his sharp, penetrating gaze.

"…Damn libertine."

It was the fifth son of the Frausen family, Perez Frausen.

Now, with his left eye narrowed, he looked at his younger brother, known as the greatest libertine in the family's history.

"Brother, brother! Don't use that! I can explain everything!"

With one eye closed, he saw his own world; with the other, he saw the world where he stood.

A skill available only to knights who had reached a high level.

"Don't bother explaining. Just prepare to die."

"There's no need to use aura! Don't you feel sorry for your little brother who can't even use aura?"

"I feel more sorry for myself for having a brother like you."

Creak—

Perez turned the key handed to him by the jailer and slowly opened the cell door.

Perez's presence filled the space, making Kihano prepare nervously.

But Perez Frausen only looked coldly at his brother's desperate attempts.

"Should I leave you half-dead first?"

Crash!

Before he finished smiling, a deafening sound shook the entire cell, as if a wall were collapsing.

The man's scream echoed alongside the crash.

Even the jailers froze, confused by the dust falling from the ceiling, but they remembered their orders and held their positions.

"Huh… Gentlemen? Are you really going to leave me hanging here?"

The cell trembled with each of Perez's blows.

The boy, dangling like a cocoon, flailed wildly.

But in the middle of all that, no one had the time to respond to his plea.

***

"Ughhh…"

If you took rice cakes and threw them, would they look like this?

Kihano, hunched and stuck to the floor of the cell, looked exactly like that.

Perez, seeing him, exhaled a sigh of resignation.

"Remember what our father told you when you left."

Chiiik—

The match struck by Perez produced a flame that lit his cigarette, and the scent of tobacco began to spread through the air.

"…"

"He told you to keep quiet, to stay as unnoticed as possible."

As he inhaled deeply, the tip of the cigarette glowed red.

In the dark cell, it was the only light visible in the deep night.

"You're twenty years old now. You should understand why our father sent you away from the family."

"I don't know… damn it."

Perez frowned slightly at seeing his younger brother still lying on the floor, unmoving from resentment.

But he understood his defiance.

For as cold as he seemed, even he could imagine how his brother felt crashing into an impossible wall.

"I understand you want to vent, but don't forget that the Dragulia family's anger hasn't subsided."

"…"

At the mention of Dragulia, Kihano began to stir slightly.

But Perez pretended not to notice and continued speaking.

"So go farther away. Until they forget you."

Thud—

With those words, Perez stood up and tossed a small bag toward Kihano, who was still lying on the floor.

The bag fell with a familiar clinking sound.

It was unmistakably the sound of coins.

"I don't need this…"

"Take it. It's from our mother."

After throwing the bag of gold, Perez tucked a small piece of paper into the ropes binding the boy hanging from the ceiling.

"Agreement or not, you caused trouble for the Turrek family. So handle this."

The boy, exhausted, had fallen asleep and didn't even wake when Perez untied him and gently laid him on the floor. 

Without another word, Perez left the cell.

Kihano, still lying powerless on the floor, slowly began to rise as he watched his brother's back disappear.

***

"It must be difficult for you, Sir Perez Frausen."

"…"

Perez, who had planned to leave silently, was stopped by an unexpected voice.

"Clearly, as a member of the Frausen family, the problems he causes are of great magnitude."

The man's bald head gleamed under the moonlight.

Smiling maliciously, the man approached. He was the knight of the Turrek family who had brought Kihano here.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing in particular… There is just an outstanding debt with Señor Kihano."

Feigning politeness, the man extended his hand toward Perez.

"As I said before, it must be the Frausen blood that makes the problems they cause so large. Your brother owes me a considerable amount of money."

Upon hearing this, Perez's brow furrowed slightly.

"How much?"

"About 20 gold coins."

"…20 gold coins?"

His brother's reputation as the libertine of the Frausen family was well known.

But Perez, who had watched him for a long time, knew that Kihano would not borrow 20 gold coins without a good reason.

"Well… The boy who accompanies your brother, right? His name is Yan."

The man was embellishing his story, but the situation was simple.

There was a boy who worked alone on a farm.

His parents had left him with a huge debt before they died.

And coincidentally, the owner of the farm was the creditor of that debt.

It was a situation that, by coincidence or not, often occurred in this world.

"So my brother paid 20 gold coins to buy the boy's freedom?"

"Exactly. And I lent him that money."

Perez smiled slightly, understanding why there was a boy hanging in the cell.

He calmly approached the man.

"Then, the 20 gold coins must be paid."

The Frausen family always paid their debts justly.

Rewarding kindness and repaying grudges was an unbreakable rule of their family.

"Sir Perez?"

However, instead of handing over coins, Perez grabbed the man's outstretched hand.

He squeezed it so tightly that the bald knight's eyes widened, unable to utter a sound.

"From what I saw on the way here, it seems you treated my younger brother quite harshly."

"…!!"

Instead of coins, the man now felt the crushing grip of Perez on his hand.

The bald knight's eyes were wide open, unable to scream, while Perez's grip threatened to crush his bones.

"Let's see how much your life is worth."

"Aghhh… Ughh."

Even though Kihano was considered a libertine, he was still a Frausen.

Not even the Turrek family could touch a family that shone among humans, even in the world of dragons.

"Surely, it's worth more than 20 gold coins."

"Gwaaaah!"

To defend the honor of his younger brother, whom no one acknowledged, Perez squeezed the man's hand forcefully.

Meanwhile, his younger brother had been beaten mercilessly.

***

"…Consuegra." (1)

Even in the dark cell, the moon shone brightly that night.

On the white paper illuminated by the moonlight, the name of a city was written.

A city at the edge of Baron Turrek's territory. Consuegra.

From Kihano's cracked lips, the name of his next destination slipped out softly.

T/N: 

The translation to this is literally in Spanish in case you think it was mistranslated.