Reincarnated as the third son of the Duke

Just as he did, William spoke again.

"Well, that was quick, but not bad. You reacted well, even though you were clearly terrified."

"…!"

"But you did collapse the moment a sword touched your neck." William sighed, shaking his head. "A bit embarrassing, don't you think? Especially for a candidate for the next family head."

Joshua's hands curled into trembling fists.

The heat in his face burned brighter than ever.

This was all wrong.

By now, William should have been the one humiliated.

Yet somehow, the tables had completely turned.

Before William could continue his mockery, Joshua shot to his feet.

"The duel is over. I'm leaving."

"Take your sword with you."

"Keep it. I have no use for it."

Joshua didn't dare look back as he turned sharply on his heel.

His only goal was to get away as quickly as possible.

But even as he strode off, William's voice followed him.

"Don't be too discouraged! A duel's a duel—losing happens!"

Joshua bit his tongue, willing himself not to react.

"And are you sure you don't want this sword? I was thinking of hanging it up as a trophy! A memento of my victory over my dear brother!"

That insufferable bastard!

Joshua stormed away, his entire body shaking with rage.

One thing was certain—this wasn't over.

Not by a long shot.

Joshua quickened his steps, forcing himself to suppress the fury boiling within him. Staying here any longer would only invite more of his opponent's jeers, and he had no intention of giving William that satisfaction.

Enjoy it while you can. Joshua seethed inwardly. Do you think winning changes anything? Aside from basking in temporary glory, this victory will be utterly meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

Humiliation stung, but only four people had witnessed his disgrace—himself, his servant, the Swordmaster Aizen, and, of course, William. Aizen, a man of honor, would not waste time spreading such trivial gossip. His own servant wouldn't dare speak a word. That left only William himself.

Even so, Joshua wasn't particularly worried.

Let him talk if he wants. Does he think rumors spread that easily? Controlling information is one of a noble's many skills, fool.

Among aristocrats, spreading malicious rumors to manipulate public opinion was commonplace. Just as important was the ability to suppress those rumors and control the narrative. While Joshua wasn't a master of this game, he had enough experience to manage the situation.

If William were skilled in information warfare, things might have been different. But William was nothing more than a half-wit. By the time he managed to spread the story, Joshua would have already buried it.

"Keep an eye on him," Joshua ordered, his voice cold. "If he tries to spread rumors about today—"

"We'll handle it," his servant interrupted confidently. "You have nothing to worry about, my lord."

Joshua gave a sharp nod. His servant might be incompetent in many ways, but when it came to cleaning up after incidents like this, he was efficient.

Or so Joshua had thought.

A single day passed before the entire estate was buzzing with rumors.

—"The Fourth Prince challenged the Third Prince to a duel and was utterly crushed!"

—"They say he even collapsed in sheer exhaustion afterward!"

—"And when the Third Prince demanded his sword as a trophy, he handed it over without resistance!"

A vein throbbed in Joshua's temple.

What in the world—?!

Crash!

The room quaked as he overturned a table, sending furniture and documents flying in his fury.

Cleaning up after incidents, my ass!

Not only had he failed to contain the rumor, but the story had twisted into something even more humiliating. A voluntary offer of an unnecessary sword had somehow become a terrified surrender.

His servant trembled at his feet, forehead pressed against the floor.

"P-please, my lord! Have mercy!"

"Shut up! Stop spouting nonsense and explain how this happened before I actually kill you!"

"T-the thing is…"

The explanation left Joshua speechless.

"…So, you're telling me the lower-ranked servants refused to obey orders?"

"More precisely, it was the new ones—the thugs William recently brought in. No matter how much we bribed or threatened them, they wouldn't say a word. Not even when we put a blade to their throats."

Joshua clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

That damn William and his gang of street rats.

It was no secret that William had filled his ranks with commoners from the slums. Unlike typical servants, these men were fiercely loyal to him, even when threatened by higher-ranking nobles.

But why? William had no foundation, no resources to promise them wealth or security. So what, exactly, had he given them in return for their undying loyalty?

"Let me get this straight." Joshua exhaled slowly, his voice trembling with restrained fury. "You couldn't bribe them, you couldn't intimidate them, and now you're telling me you failed to silence them?"

"We… we tried using force," the servant stammered.

Joshua narrowed his eyes. "And?"

"The ones we sent after them… they all came back with broken bones. That Hugo, their leader, isn't an ordinary man—"

Joshua pressed a hand against his forehead, feeling a headache creeping in.

So not only did I lose the duel, but now my men are being beaten into submission by William's thugs?

On top of that, the rumors had not only failed to be contained, but had been twisted into an even more humiliating version.

Joshua sucked in a sharp breath, forcing himself to stay calm.

Breathe. Stay composed. If I let this anger consume me now, I might actually collapse.

But fate was not done testing him yet.

His servant hesitated before speaking again.

"And… there's one more thing…"

Joshua's eyes twitched.

"You really have a death wish, don't you?"

Joshua's servant barely managed to get a word out before his master's glare silenced him.

"I haven't even said anything yet, my lord!" the servant stammered.

Joshua scoffed. "I don't need to hear it. Let me guess—William again? At this point, it would be less painful to simply sew your mouth shut."

"No, my lord! I swear, this is merely a status report! There is no new incident involving the Third Prince, so please, I beg you to remain calm!"

Joshua gritted his teeth but motioned for him to continue. As much as he despised listening to bad news, he could not afford to be ignorant. Even bitter truths needed to be acknowledged.