Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Harvey looked at his mother clinging to him, his heart no longer filled with the worry and sorrow of the past. He gazed at her calmly, and after a long while, gave her an answer that was on the verge of breaking, "Yeah, I saw it."

Feier had initially worried that this simple-minded fool would listen to his family and turn against him, but the current situation didn’t seem to be heading that way.

Harvey’s mother met her son’s cold eyes, and her heart lurched. Something was wrong. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He had always been so protective of her—why wasn’t he immediately confronting that disabled man after hearing her words?

"Ha... Harvey, this man is bullying your father and brother! Hurry up and help us!" Harvey’s mother blurted out, but a sudden dread gripped her chest.

"I refuse." Harvey had thought saying these words would be difficult, but the moment he remembered Pa Bo, still waiting for him, it came surprisingly easy.

"You... you refuse? How dare you refuse! We’re your family!" Harvey’s mother felt her heart pounding violently. She gripped Harvey’s arm tightly, as if afraid he would run away.

"Family? I thought I was just a slave, a nuisance, a devil. Didn’t that kid just say it? I’m supposed to sacrifice myself for your sake." Harvey felt the pain in his arm—perhaps the woman’s nails were too long, and her grip had broken his skin. If Pa Bo saw this, he’d fuss over it for ages.

Thinking of Pa Bo’s worried expression, Harvey’s lips curled slightly. He then pried his mother’s fingers off his arm.

The sensation of forcefully separating tightly clenched fingers wasn’t pleasant. For a moment, Harvey’s mother thought her fingers had been broken by Harvey.

"H-How could you? That kid was spouting nonsense! How could we ever treat you like that? You’re my own flesh and blood—how could I not care about you?" Harvey’s mother trembled, not daring to grab his arm again, afraid he might really snap her fingers. But what had happened? Why had he suddenly changed like this?

If it was because of what the grandson had said—well, such things weren’t uncommon in the village. People had said similar things before, and Harvey had never reacted this strongly back then.

Harvey’s mother stared nervously at him, taking in his straight posture and relaxed expression. She realized things had slipped beyond her grasp.

This fool, who had always been easy to manipulate, had transformed somewhere they couldn’t see.

Listening to his mother’s empty justifications, Harvey pushed her away slightly and scrutinized her, as if reflecting on why he had believed such poor acting for so long.

"Am I an idiot? Well, the old me was pretty stupid—I believed everything you said. But that was because I wanted to. Understand? Now, I don’t want to anymore." Harvey didn’t mind mocking his past self. In fact, the harsher he was, the better he remembered those terrible lessons.

Seeing Harvey’s attitude, everyone present understood—he had finally seen through them and was cutting ties with his family.

After multiple attempts at soft words failed to sway him, Harvey’s mother grew furious. This son was just a tool for her to control—how dare he treat her like this?

"What, now that you’ve gotten famous and seen the glamorous world outside, you’re abandoning your poor family? I suffered for a day and night to give birth to you—is this how you repay me? They were right—you’re a heartless monster! I should’ve strangled you the moment you were born!"

Watching his previously "pitiful" mother now berate him with hands on her hips, Harvey didn’t feel sadness. Instead, a perverse satisfaction washed over him. Yes, this was their true face. The warmth he had once felt from them was all fake. He didn’t need to feel reluctant—this kind of performance of "love" wasn’t worth it.

Seeing the smile on Harvey’s face, the onlookers went still. What was going on? Had this fool gone mad from the scolding?

Harvey’s mother was also startled by his smile. Rubbing her throbbing fingers, she took a few steps back. Would this lunatic hit her?

"You gave birth to me, but you also killed me. The day you abandoned me on the mountain, you never expected me to come back alive, did you? I owe you nothing. And let’s not forget—after I came down, I did so much for you. Who built the house? Who worked the fields? Without me, you and your useless son would never have lived this comfortably."

Things like newspapers might be unaffordable for others in the village, but his family was just too stingy to spend the money.

At Harvey’s accusations, his mother pressed her pale lips tightly. What was this ungrateful wretch trying to do? Did he want to take everything back?

"I don’t care! You owe us! You’re my son—you exist to serve me!" Harvey’s mother dug in her heels. She shot a glance at the clan leader, urging him to step in and suppress Harvey. After all, the whole village had benefited from exploiting Harvey. If he really broke free, many advantages would be lost.

The clan leader, catching her signal, coughed and prepared to speak—but Harvey’s murderous look silenced him.

"You old relic, shut your mouth. Otherwise, I might not be able to control my urge to hit you. At least they’re my family—what are you? I haven’t even demanded repayment for all these years of exploitation, so you should be counting your blessings. Stop acting like some dignified clan leader—I don’t buy it."

The beast that had been caged in his heart was now unleashed through crude words. Though its fangs had been filed and claws blunted, its innate defiance and madness were awakening.

The clan leader, scolded like this, nearly had an apoplexy. His face flushed red as he pointed at Harvey and rebuked, "Y-You dare speak to me like this? Have you taken leave of your senses! I told you—you shouldn’t have been allowed to stay! Why are you all just standing there? Will you tolerate this brute's insults?"

With the clan leader speaking up, though still shocked by Harvey's drastic change in attitude, the crowd instinctively surged forward to teach him a lesson. To think that this big oaf, whom they had always bossed around and deceived, dared to defy them—this was total defiance!

Seeing them move against him, Harvey wasn’t the least bit afraid. Remember, this was a man who had once killed wild boars with his bare hands—why would he fear a bunch of villagers?

Even if a hero couldn’t withstand a pack of wolves, were these villagers even wolves? Besides, even if he couldn’t take them all on at once, handling the worst of his bullies was no problem at all.

People lunged at him—and just as quickly, they were sent flying. Watching their companions sprawled on the ground, puking blood or writhing in pain, those who hadn’t yet charged forward froze in fear.

Hell, if someone swung a stick at him, Harvey would just take the blows head-on. Only when blades were involved would he bother dodging the vital spots.

If Harvey had merely defended himself, they wouldn’t have been so terrified. But once he fixed on someone, no one around could stop him.

Afraid of becoming his next target, some of them were already considering fleeing. No matter how strong Harvey was, he was still just one man—he couldn’t possibly chase them all down and beat them up, right?

"You—you’re assaulting people on purpose! I’ll report you to the town, have the knights arrest you!"

"That’s right! So what if you’re strong? You think you can take on trained soldiers?"

The clan leader, furious at the scene, yanked at his beard hard enough to pull hairs loose. Not daring to risk himself, he resorted to threats.

The very skills they had once admired in Harvey now filled them with hatred. With him around, their village’s "best men" looked utterly pathetic.

The old Harvey might have panicked at the clan leader’s threats, but now, after he’d actually read up on the new laws, he wiped the blood from his knuckles onto his clothes and shot the man a disdainful look.

"All of you ganged up on me, armed with weapons—so what if I killed one of you in self-defense? Would the knights arrest me? No. This counts as self-defense. Think about it—I’ve only ever killed beasts, never a person. So if any of you still have a problem with me, come at me again. Let’s see how men and animals stack up when it comes to dying."

Harvey had no real intention of murdering anyone. He was about to start a good life—why let these losers drag him down? He was just messing with them. If they could mess with him all these years, couldn’t he mess with them a little in return?

Seeing how confidently Harvey spoke, the clan leader’s throat went dry. When the new laws were issued, he’d only skimmed them—never studied the details—but self-defense did sound familiar. If that was really the case, they couldn’t afford to act recklessly.

And with Harvey looking this unhinged, if he went down swinging and took them with him, they’d be the ones losing out.

"If—if you hate us so much, then why did you even come back?!" Harvey’s mother had already given up on getting anything from her ungrateful brute—she just didn’t want him taking back what they already had.

Wiping sweat from his face, Harvey smirked, amused by the fear in his mother’s eyes. "I came to transfer my household registration. Oh, and since we clearly despise each other, let’s sign a family severance agreement too. I’m getting married soon, and I don’t want my partner burdened with trash like you for in-laws."

"No, that’s not—" His mother instinctively tried to refuse. If Harvey transferred his registration and signed that agreement, she’d lose even the legally mandated support payments. But her protests meant nothing to Harvey—before she could finish, his next move shut her up real quick.