Reborn Financier-Chapter 51: Fangs in the Alley

The sun had long begun its descent, casting a deep orange hue across the academy’s sprawling courtyards and looming towers. Students were returning to their dorms, the air filled with tired chatter and the occasional laughter. But amidst the shadows of the stone walls and quiet corridors, something darker was stirring.

Prince Raelius von Horsen, the fourth prince of the Horsen Empire, scowled as he sat beneath the arched window of his lavish private quarters in the C-Class dormitory. His fists were clenched, and his breath came out in short huffs of rage. Around him stood a handful of loyal followers—sons of nobles, eager sycophants clinging to his coattails for political favor.

Raelius was handsome in a cruel sort of way—shoulder-length silver hair, piercing crimson eyes, and the signature dark-blue robes of his royal house marked with gold trim. But for all his pride and power, his strength was... lacking. Unlike his elder siblings, whose martial prowess had earned them renown across the western continent, Raelius had struggled to even scrape into the martial department. And even then, he had only just managed to secure a spot in C-Class.

A humiliation he refused to accept.

"...B-Class," Raelius muttered, jaw tightening. "They placed me in C-Class, but a damn commoner from Everwood made it into B-Class?"

One of the boys standing by the window—the son of a border noble—shifted uncomfortably. "My prince, I’ve heard the rumors... they say that Kaidën defeated Meng Ji of the Grandmaster family. Maybe he’s—"

"Shut. Your. Mouth."

Raelius’s voice cracked like a whip. The noble boy flinched and immediately bowed his head.

"He’s a commoner. A peasant. A nobody who lucked out. I should be in B-Class, not him! He stole that spot. I deserve to be there!"

The others exchanged nervous glances.

Another follower, taller and stockier, stepped forward. "Your Highness... perhaps it would be better to wait until the interclass competition ban is lifted. Then you can challenge him in front of the academy."

Raelius sneered, eyes gleaming with arrogant disdain. "Why should I wait? That filth should be put in his place now. Do you really think the academy will expel me? I’m the fourth prince of Horsen. Let them try."

The room fell silent.

"...Gather the others," he finally said. "Tonight. We teach that Everwood scum what it means to disrespect nobility."

***********************************************

Kaidën had felt it since the moment classes ended.

It wasn’t the wind or the shadows—it was the silence. The kind that trails too close. He didn’t look over his shoulder. He didn’t need to. Years of training had made him sensitive to killing intent, even the kind half-hidden behind cowardice and posturing.

But he didn’t react.

Not yet.

As the sky darkened and fewer students remained on the main paths, Kaidën allowed his steps to slow. He turned a corner into one of the lesser-traveled alleys behind the library tower. A perfect place for an ambush. He walked straight in.

Then stopped.

Behind him, footsteps.

From the sides, rustling.

He sighed.

"So this is how it goes, huh?" he muttered.

From the shadows stepped ten boys, all dressed in academy uniforms, swords at their hips, their eyes gleaming with anticipation and fear. Most of them were around his age—maybe a year or so older. But none carried the presence of a real fighter.

Then came Raelius, swaggering like he owned the sky itself. He stood a head taller than Kaidën and smiled with venom on his lips.

"Well, well," Raelius drawled. "Look what we have here. The Everwood dog... cornered."

Kaidën tilted his head. "Prince Raelius of Horsen, I presume."

"Oh? You’ve heard of me?" Raelius grinned. "I’m flattered."

"You’re loud," Kaidën replied simply.

The others snickered, but Raelius’s face twitched.

"You think this is funny? You—you’re the reason I didn’t make it into B-Class. If it weren’t for you, I’d have been there."

Kaidën blinked slowly. "...You think I even know who you are?"

Raelius’s face turned red. "Don’t mock me!"

One of the boys stepped forward with rope in hand.

Raelius smirked. "Tie him up. Let’s see how smug he is after we put him through some discipline."

Kaidën tilted his head. "...Tie me up?"

His lips curled into a smile.

Then he began to laugh.

Softly at first, then louder—richer, echoing in the alley. His shoulders shook with it. The nobles hesitated, unnerved.

"He’s lost it," one whispered.

"What’s wrong with him?"

Then—

BANG.

In an instant, Kaidën vanished.

Before any of them could react, there was a dull crack as one of the noble boys screamed—then dropped, face-first into the ground, blood trickling from his forehead where Kaidën had slammed him.

Gasps erupted.

Raelius stumbled back. "W-What?!"

Kaidën stepped forward, calm and terrifying, brushing dust from his tunic.

"Right," he muttered, rolling his shoulders. "You’re one of those Horsen Empire brats, huh?"

The others began to draw their swords in panic.

"You’ve forgotten your manners," Kaidën continued. "Looks like I’ll have to teach you how to respect your elders."

***********************************************

The first attacker lunged—a clean horizontal slash aimed at Kaidën’s ribs.

Kaidën didn’t dodge. His hand shot up like lightning, gripping the boy’s wrist. With a single twist—CRACK—the bone snapped. The boy screamed, dropping the sword.

Kaidën shoved him back, sending him crashing into the wall.

Three more came at once.

He spun, low and fast, sweeping one of their legs out from under them. As the boy fell, Kaidën elbowed the second in the gut with explosive force, lifting him off the ground before sending him flying into a heap.

The third managed a strike—but Kaidën ducked under it, rose up, and delivered a brutal uppercut to the chin.

Blood flew. Teeth followed.

It was no longer a fight.

It was a massacre.

Steel clanged and screams echoed. One tried to escape, but Kaidën grabbed him by the collar and hurled him back into the alley like a ragdoll. Another tried to hide—Kaidën yanked him out by the hair and slammed him face-first into the dirt.

Within minutes, the alley was filled with groaning bodies, broken swords, and the smell of fear.

Only Raelius remained, standing frozen in horror.

"You... You monster..." he breathed.

Kaidën stepped toward him slowly.

Raelius backed into the wall.

"M-My father will hear of this! I’m the prince of—!"

Kaidën reached down and plucked Raelius up by the collar with one hand.

He didn’t punch him.

He just looked into his eyes.

A look that made Raelius’s blood run cold.

"You thought I was an easy target," Kaidën said, voice low and calm. "Because I look small. Because I wear cheap clothes. Because I don’t talk much. Because I’m from Everwood."

Raelius whimpered.

"You were wrong."

Then Kaidën dropped him.

Raelius collapsed to his knees, shaking.

Kaidën turned and looked at the wreckage—nine boys unconscious or writhing, one prince broken in spirit. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

He dusted his sleeves and muttered:

"...Next time, don’t pick fights you weren’t born to finish."

Then he walked away, vanishing into the night.

***********************************************

The moon hung high above the Academy skies, casting long, broken shadows across the stone pavements. With hands in his pockets and his cloak gently fluttering behind him, Kaidën walked out of the bloodless battlefield like a ghost—calm, unharmed, and entirely unsuspicious.

His footsteps echoed softly, the only sound in the stillness of the night. The fight hadn’t even disrupted his breath. If anything, he looked slightly annoyed... as if someone had interrupted his walk.

But just as he reached a shaded archway between two dormitory buildings, a figure peeled out from the darkness. She had been leaning against the wall as if she’d known exactly where he’d pass.

"Not bad," came a voice—rough and cool, like gravel wrapped in velvet.

Kaiden didn’t stop, but his steps slowed. His eyes flicked sideways. There she was.

The barbarian girl from earlier that day. The Northern Tribeswoman. Easily over six feet tall, broad-shouldered, with long tawny hair tied into wild braids. Her beast-hide mantle shifted over toned muscles and tribal tattoos as she pushed away from the wall. Her axe wasn’t with her, but she didn’t need it to radiate intimidation.

Her piercing, wolf-like eyes followed him with amusement.

"As expected from someone who managed to draw with Meng Ji..." she said, stepping forward and blocking part of the path, "...Looks like the rumors are fake after all. You’re not a parachute. You’ve just been holding back. Aren’t you, Kaidën?"

Kaidën froze.

Not from shock.

Not from fear.

But from decision.

It was the kind of pause that could make the air tense—like a sword halfway out of its sheath. The breeze seemed to hush.

He’d noticed her earlier, of course. Her presence during the ambush hadn’t gone undetected. In fact, she was one of the reasons he had decided not to hold back.

Without saying a word, Kaidën tilted his head slightly, then resumed walking. He didn’t spare her even a glance.

The girl’s brow twitched.

He just walked past her, like she was a harmless bystander.

"...Tch." Her fingers twitched slightly, a subtle sign of restraint. "Ignoring me, huh?"

She watched his back retreat into the moonlight with narrowed eyes. Her pride bristled, but unlike most hot-headed warriors, she was not one to act blindly.

"Interesting," she muttered under her breath. "Very interesting..."

***********************************************

Elsewhere, in a shattered storeroom near the far edge of the Academy grounds, another figure knelt in the dust—his hands trembling, his expensive robe stained by dirt and shame.

The 4th prince of the Horsen Empire, Raelius, stared at the ground, teeth clenched, eyes wide with disbelief.

He had run. No, fled—a member of the Empire’s royal family, fleeing from a commoner.

"My pride... my face... my dignity..." he whispered, clenching his fists until his nails dug into his palms.

"He humiliated me in front of my men..."

"I will kill him."

His voice was low, but it cracked with pure, boiling rage.

"I’ll kill him. I’ll tear him limb from limb. That bastard... KAIDËN!"

He smashed a nearby box with a furious kick. His aura flared weakly—a pitiful flicker compared to what he had faced tonight.

"I don’t care what class he’s in. I’ll ruin him. Even if I have to—"

"Even if you have to give up everything?"

Raelius froze.

A voice—not loud, but deep. Cold. Ancient. It echoed not through the air... but inside his bones.

Then came the footsteps.

From the corner of the darkened room, a figure emerged.

Cloaked in a pitch-black robe that drank in the moonlight, faceless beneath a hood that rippled like ink, the presence radiated a wrongness so absolute that the room itself felt colder.

Raelius stumbled back. "W-Who are you?! This is Academy property, you—!"

"Do you want power?"

The question cut through all resistance.

Raelius blinked, breathing fast. His lips trembled.

"...What?"

"Do you want strength... enough to crush anyone who humiliated you? To kill that boy... and make the world kneel beneath your feet?"

The shadow stepped closer. With every step, Raelius felt something ancient curling into his soul.

"I... I do."

A slow, horrible smile curved from within the shadow.

"Then let us make a contract."

To be Continued...