Riezel had no idea that, in the eyes of Serena and the others, he had already become Yuri's admirer.
He directly returned to the Frenzel residence, waiting for news from Serena while making a few preparations.
Luckily, she didn't keep him waiting for long.
The very next day, the communication magic crystal, which had been sitting unused, suddenly emitted a faint glow and a series of pleasant sounds.
Riezel picked up the magic crystal and channeled his magical energy into it as per the instructions, and soon enough, Serena's voice came through.
"Can you hear me, Sir Riezel?"
Serena's voice, crisp and clear like a nightingale, resonated from the crystal.
"Loud and clear." Riezel responded calmly before getting straight to the point. "So? What's the news? Did you find anything?"
"Yes!" Serena replied, sounding pretty happy to hear his voice. "We've already tracked down the people that mad dog sent out. They really did bring back Baron Carfield and the others, and are currently holed up in an abandoned mansion near the royal capital's wall."
Riezel pulled out a map of Yeluvia and pinpointed the spot she had described.
It was in a relatively remote, desolate area that had originally been the residence of a high-ranking court noble, but after he left the royal court to become a territory lord, the place had been left to decay, untouched for years.
"Normally, a noble's property, especially one of such high rank, would be sold off for a hefty sum if they weren't using it, but strangely, there's never been any word of this place going up for sale, so it just gradually fell into ruin..." Serena explained the place's situation. "I thought maybe this noble had some personal reason for not selling it, but now it seems like he probably handed it over to that mad dog, or maybe even gifted it to him."
According to her, the noble had been a traditional royalist, always currying favor with several royal family members while he was still in the royal capital—in particular, he was rumored to have had a very close relationship with Sorren.
In other words, it wasn't far-fetched to think that when the noble left the royal capital, he might have given his property as a gift to Sorren.
"If we're right, that place could very well be where that mad dog hides his private troops." Serena added.
"Private troops?"
Serena's words took Riezel aback.
"He has his own troops?"
"He does." Serena confirmed confidently. "Even though it's technically not allowed, do you really think a guy like him cares about that?"
Jinas had strict laws, one of which was that no one outside the nobility was allowed to have a private force, such as a knightly order or anything similar.
Even nobles faced strict limits on the size of their knightly orders.
Under a duke's governance, a knightly order could have no more than a thousand members.
For a marquis, the limit was seven hundred, with only special cases like Yuri allowed to exceed this and expand her knightly order to eight hundred.
For a count, the limit was five hundred.
For a viscount, it was three hundred.
For a baron, it was one hundred.
Such were Jinas's strict regulations, and even a duke could face punishment if they exceeded this limit. Anyone outside of the nobility who dared raise their own forces would be subject to the kingdom's wrath.
Of course, this was how the law was written, but in practice, there were plenty of loopholes to exploit.
For example, some wealthy merchants, for safety reasons, had to hire a bunch of guards to protect themselves and their property. Otherwise, they could get robbed at any moment.
Similarly, some noble children who hadn't yet earned a noble title always needed guards or attendants with them when traveling, or else they could be maliciously attacked at any time.
As a result, many people hired or employed guards and attendants under various pretenses, and some even bought slaves with combat abilities to protect themselves.
Unfortunately, the kingdom couldn't ban this practice, as it would cause significant chaos and make governing the land much more difficult. As long as they didn't recruit combatants under the guise of forming a private force or exceeding a certain limit on the number of combatants, the kingdom usually turned a blind eye to it.
Needless to say, this led many opportunists to exploit the situation.
On the surface, they would hire guards or attendants, or buy slaves for their protection, but secretly, they would train them as combatants, turning them into their own soldiers. With enough effort and discretion, they could privately train a sizable force with considerable combat power.
Such an approach was essentially walking a fine line with the law.
In this regard, what about Sorren?
Knowing his personality, he clearly wouldn't hesitate to dance on this line like a madman, testing everyone's limits.
In his eyes, he was, after all, a prince, royalty, so even if he got caught, would the kingdom really execute him?
As long as he didn't push too far, he would keep testing the limits, which was why people called him the Mad Dog Prince.
Regardless, in Riezel's eyes, even if someone wasn't royalty but had that kind of privilege, they would act just as recklessly.
Why else were so many noble children acting so arrogantly and overbearingly?
It was because, no matter what trouble they caused, no one dared to touch them. Furthermore, knowing there were no real consequences, they naturally acted even more unrestrained.
Sorren was just one of them.
"I understand..."
Riezel expressed his understanding to Serena.
"In that case, I'll be here waiting for good news from you, Sir Riezel."
After the conversation ended, Serena didn't ask Riezel how he planned to proceed but simply giggled and left him with this remark.
"Alright."
Riezel complied and then disconnected the magical energy link, dimming the light on the communication magic crystal.
Shortly afterward, he turned his head and glanced out the window.
He saw the sky gradually darkening, signaling that night was approaching.
However, since there appeared to be few clouds, it seemed that tonight would bring a beautiful moon.
"Not bad..."
Riezel's voice slowly echoed.
"What a perfect night for murder and arson..."
===
Night gradually enveloped the entire royal capital, Yeluvia.
Despite this, the royal capital was still brightly lit everywhere, with the glow of magic lamps spilling out from every household window and illuminating the streets.
In an era similar to medieval times in Riezel's original world, turning an entire medieval city into a modern, sleepless metropolis like this was truly a testament to the convenience of magic.
Magic lamps, created from just a thumb-sized piece of magic crystal, had given humanity the ability to move freely even at night, especially in the royal palace, where countless magic lamps lit the place, even deep into the night.
Under the moonlight, the royal palace looked like a grand, chalk-white castle, standing like a mighty general guarding the royal capital and overlooking its vast landscape.
At this late hour, however, a carriage quietly rolled out of the royal palace.
Seeing the carriage, two knights on duty intended to stop it, but upon seeing the crest engraved on it, they immediately acted as though they hadn't seen anything.
And just like that, the carriage traveled out of the royal palace unhindered, following a secluded path and eventually stopping in front of an abandoned mansion near the royal capital's wall.
Soon, Sorren stepped down from the carriage.
At this moment, the renowned Mad Dog Prince, who should have been grounded, had snuck out of the royal palace, blatantly defying the king's orders.
"Your Highness."
Several figures silently emerged from the mansion, landing in front of Sorren and kneeling on one knee.
"Where are they?" Sorren asked coldly.
"Inside."
With head bowed, one of the kneeling figures replied in a low voice.
"Take me to them." Sorren didn't waste any time, giving a direct order.
"Yes."
Without delay, the figures hurriedly stood up and led Sorren toward the abandoned mansion.
Upon closer inspection, hidden in the shadows around the mansion, several figures dressed in black kept watch.
When Sorren entered the mansion, the interior was far from the rundown state it appeared to be in from the outside, surprisingly well-maintained, showing no signs of abandonment.
Sorren made his way to a spacious room that had been cleared of all furniture.
In the room, not only were there many fully armed knights, but a few people had been thrown onto the floor, trembling in fear.
""Your Highness!""
As soon as they saw Sorren, the surrounding knights immediately dropped to one knee, bowing their heads to him.
At the same time, the people on the floor began trembling even more, hurriedly kneeling in the same manner as the knights.
"Your Highness!"
One of the trembling figures on the floor, a middle-aged man dressed noticeably differently from the others, crawled toward Sorren.
"Don't kill me! Please! Don't kill me, Your Highness!"
Shouting fearfully, the middle-aged man was clearly a noble.
He sported a pair of little mustaches, had a big belly, and dressed luxuriously, giving off a nouveau riche vibe.
"Don't kill us!"
"Spare us!"
"I don't want to die!"
A few others, dressed in tattered clothes like peasants, desperately knelt and begged for mercy.
There were three of them in total—an old man and a middle-aged couple.
By their looks and features, it was easy to tell they were family.
Sorren looked at the three like they were something filthy, then turned his gaze toward the noble in front of him.
"Are you Baron Carfield?" Sorren asked coldly.
"Y-Yes, that's me, Your Highness!" Baron Carfield quickly flashed a flattering smile.
"Good, that's what I thought." Sorren smiled as well, but something was menacing about his smile.
*BANG!*
In the next second, Sorren suddenly kicked Baron Carfield in the chest, sending him flying.
"KEOK—!"
Baron Carfield hit the ground hard, coughing up blood.