The Wolf Is Coming! Is the Wolf Really Here?

"What do we do now?"

After seeing Hansel off, Paul, who had been imposing just moments ago, suddenly began to panic. He stood up and paced back and forth around his chair.

"He seemed really angry just now. He won't go tattling to the King about us, will he? What if the royal family sends a huge army to punish us? Ahhh... I should've spoken more gently!"

He bitterly regretted letting his blood rush to his head.

Everyone was helpless. Weren't you acting all impressive just now? Why are you panicking like this already?

"My Lord, calm down! Calm down!"

Chief Steward Ford consoled him. "What you did just now was right. Forgive my disrespect, but for a remote family like ours, the King might not even remember we exist unless an official from the Heraldry Institute looked us up. He wouldn't expect some isolated territory like ours to provide much in the way of troops. Besides, Her Highness the Grand Princess personally permitted us not to Aid the King. Baron Abbott is probably just eager to earn merit, which is why he came to demand soldiers from us. Even if he takes this matter to Your Majesty, His Majesty the King won't make a huge fuss over something like this."

"Er... all right." Even so, that was a truth both reassuring and awkward. Was he really nothing more than an ant? Not even capable of making an elephant angry?

"So, we only need to leave Baron Abbott with nothing to say."

"Leave him with nothing to say? Fine, then let's go even further!"

"Further? You wouldn't be planning to..." Old Ford was startled. As he spoke, he made a throat-slitting gesture. "Absolutely not! That would truly be slapping the King in the face!"

"Oh, where did your mind go? I mean to put on a show for him, so he knows we truly can't spare any troops right now."

"A mere country noble actually dared speak to me like that!"

After returning to his quarters and shutting the door tightly, Hansel could no longer hold himself back.

"Who am I? I am His Majesty the King's representative. My words are His Majesty the King's decree, and my dignity is His Majesty the King's dignity. How outrageous! How outrageous! Ahhh... composure, composure. I must maintain my composure. I can't lower myself to the level of an immature child."

He paced back and forth, considering what to do next.

Before Greiman returned, he had investigated the town. Although this pirate invasion had pushed farther inland than before, it was still far from Lakeheart Town and posed no real threat to his rule. Once the pirates withdrew, he could simply resume collecting taxes. Wasn't that what all nobles did? Could it be that this family alone still stubbornly clung to the noble obligations established by Rodney I? Oh, Lord of Light, have mercy on him. If word got out, they would be laughed to death.

"If force won't work, perhaps I can try a softer approach? Aren't children always fascinated by tales of knights and heroes? Perhaps I can start there." Hansel stroked his chin and continued pondering.

"Sigh, I wonder how everyone else is doing. If someone gets the credit before me, that would be bad."

As he thought, the fat face of his old classmate Matthew surfaced in his mind again. That fellow had been kept in the army for assignment. Truly... truly...

"I'm definitely not jealous!" he silently reminded himself. I'm merely worried that he'll neglect his duty or slander me before Her Highness the Grand Princess. Though that fellow will most likely never even get a chance to see Her Highness.

After thinking this and that over, Hansel was about to go to bed when he suddenly heard a commotion outside. Looking out through the window, he saw scattered points of firelight outside and heard people shouting from time to time. He quickly summoned a servant and ordered him to find out what was happening.

A few minutes later, Toman returned and said in a panic, "Young Master, this is bad! The patrol discovered signs of pirates outside the town. Lord has personally led the troops out to resist them, and the guards are notifying residents throughout the streets to prepare to defend themselves."

"What pirates are bold enough to attack the residence of a Lord?" Hansel found it utterly unbelievable.

As he was thinking, someone suddenly burst in carrying a knife.

Damn it, this useless Lord actually let enemies storm his doorstep! "Don't kill me! That Lord's room is on the second floor! I have nothing to do with him!" Hansel screamed in terror and was about to crawl under the bed.

"Baron, I'm a guard from Lord's Manor." The newcomer fought back a laugh. "The pirates are attacking. Earl said we might not be able to hold them off, so I've come to take you to hide in the basement."

Hansel cursed inwardly, immediately straightened up, and resumed his arrogant expression. "Hmph, people from small places truly have no manners. You don't even know how to knock. Even a shit collector in Crystal Radiance has better manners than you."

The soldier did not dare talk back and could only say, "Baron, please hurry and come with me to the safe room in the basement."

"Wait!" Hansel snorted, then called Toman over to arrange his clothes and hair.

Only after quite a while did Hansel finally put on an unhurried air and say leisurely, "If time were not so pressing, I really ought to teach you properly on your Lord's behalf about etiquette! Forget it. Why should I bother arguing with a common soldier? Lead the way."

After ten thousand alpacas stampeded through his mind, the guard turned to open the door. Suddenly, the room door slammed open again.

"The Baron hasn't left yet? Hurry up!" Another guard barged in.

The first guard turned around and urged, "Baron, hurry. I'll take you—hm? Where is he?"

He looked questioningly at Hansel's servant. Toman could only awkwardly point at the bed. Following his gesture, the guard discovered that the edge of the bedsheet near the floor was trembling nonstop...

At the edge of town, Paul directed a company of soldiers to put on a convincing show. Once he received word that Hansel had hidden in the basement, he ordered the soldiers to stop and take a short rest.

"Heh heh, that damn commissioner must be scared out of his wits by now!" Everything had gone according to plan, and he could not help secretly congratulating himself on his "brilliant" scheme.

Turning to Bryce, he complained, "Bah! Who does he think he is, throwing his weight around just because he has a little authority? If it weren't for that batch of armor and spears, I wouldn't even bother with him. I'd leave him hanging for at least ten days or half a month."

Just as he was preparing to lead the troops back to camp, a soldier came running over from the distance, waving a torch and shouting frantically.

"Bad news, bad news... My Lord, Battalion Commander Bryce, the pirates are attacking! The pirates are attacking!"

Paul could not help laughing. "Haha, all right, all right. That foolish Baron is already scared out of his wits. No need to keep shouting."

"N-no!" The soldier was so frightened he could barely speak. "I'm one of the soldiers on night patrol tonight. Pirates! Real pirates! They're coming this way."

After speaking, he pointed his torch toward the lake. Everyone looked over and saw countless specks of light on the water, rapidly drawing nearer from afar.

"Wha... wha... what???"

Now it was Paul's turn, and he even blurted out a strange phrase no one could understand.