Justinian turned back to the manor, shaking his head.
'No, I can check that out later... I need to take care of things one at a time first.'
He moved quickly, heading towards the wrought iron gates of the manor, kicking them open with obvious dramatic flair.
He wanted to be seen as an efficient ruler by the crowd, one who wouldn't waste time.
BANG.
The gates loudly opened, snow billowing from the ground from the impact.
Despite the body's lack of exercise or action, it stayed physically strong, an advantage from being a novel character with a special appearance.
He was just genetically superior to most.
And as for the reason, he told Javier to wait; he wanted to show everyone he could handle things on his own.
His reputation was already bad enough; he couldn't rely on Javier for this one, it would only make him look weak, especially with his crimson hair and eyes.
His appearance was enough to make people expect him to be a powerful warrior, and not one to rely on naive young knights.
If things go south? Well... he was smart enough to handle the rest. He might be a historian, but this body made him feel like a warrior.
Memories of the young Justinian learning how to swordfight were already on his mind, making him a decent fighter, not a great one, only decent.
As Justinian reached the manor's doors.
He reached for the knob, and surprisingly enough, it was unlocked.
"What...?"
Justinian began to think that, with the crowd he had behind him, there was a chance Perval already knew about him approaching.
Likely evacuating in a rush, forgetting to lock the door, or just being careless enough not to care, since he would be gone anyway.
Either way, both will yield the same results.
As Justinian entered the manor's foyer, he was met with complete silence; the huge manor that should have been filled with servants was empty of life.
'This kind of feels like a haunted mansion...'
Justinian looked at one of the walls, spotting a display of two swords and a shield hanging within a frame.
He immediately grabbed one, a sword on his left and a shield on his other, preparing himself for the worst.
"Can't be too careful."
As he roamed the first floor, from the kitchen to the guest room, nothing seemed to be out of place or harboring any evidence.
Justinian bit his bottom lip. If he had miscalculated and Perval had removed all evidence of corruption, then he was screwed.
"Bastard!"
A sudden voice rang out from behind him.
And when he turned, the only thing he saw was a dagger aimed straight for his eyes.
CLANG.
Justinian blocked it with his shield, even if he wasn't an expert; a shield is still a shield, even if a commoner could use it.
"You're still here!?"
The person who attacked him was no other than Perval himself, sweating gallons, as if he ran a marathon.
"I expected you to be gone."
"You dare mock me!? You planned this, didn't you!? All routes were blocked."
Justinian raised a brow at Perval's words.
He never ordered anyone to block the routes.
In fact, in the novel, the ones who were guarding the routes were Rhyne's men, stationed all around to prevent Justinian from fleeing the capital.
But Perval was in a rush when he heard a mob was being led to his manor by Justinian, even just the sight of guards by the borders made him think it was Justinian's plan.
Even if it wasn't.
This entire meeting was a full-on coincidence.
'I'm not sure if I should laugh or be worried.'
Justinian thought that, while Perval's current situation was definitely over the top, the fact that his entire capital was already in lockdown by traitors was concerning.
'I'll take care of that after I take him down.'
"HMPH!"
Justinian suddenly charged, shield raised as he rammed straight into Perval like a battering ram, sending them both across the room and into a bookshelf, causing it to break.
THUD.
"GAH-!"
Perval grunted, feeling the wood splintering across his back as he collapsed onto the ground and into the bookshelves' rubble.
"You... bastard!"
Perval yelled out.
What Justinian just did was the most cowardly move possible; instead of fighting with actual swordplay like a noble should, he just used his shield to ram him and end the fight immediately.
A complete violation of chivalric honor.
Justinian only laughed it off, pointing his sword straight at Perval's neck while he was still lying on the ground.
"I suggest you talk..."
"And why would I!? You can't do this without proof!"
Justinian tilted his head, looking briefly away as if in thought, before snapping back immediately.
"I'll just lie about it."
Perval's face paled at his answer; he wasn't talking to a noble, he was talking to a commoner with a noble's face painted on top of it.
"But talk... then I might spare you..."