The Loser Lord Who Kept Getting Sweet Revenge and Somehow Rose to the Top - Chapter 11: That Pathetic Apology, Face Red as a Tomato lol

Chapter 11: That Pathetic Apology, Face Red as a Tomato lol

And so, since Count Shakara couldn’t even clean up his own mess, everyone else had to step in and deal with his disaster for him.

He tried to dodge responsibility by insisting the pillaging was “just the knights acting on their own.” Yeah, nice try. No matter what excuse he made, the blame still landed squarely on him. And of course, after that, His Majesty’s punishment was waiting right around the corner for our little screw-up count.

As for the surge of powerful monsters, the army was mobilized to sweep Shakara’s lands clean. This time it wasn’t the Grand General—it was another old, war-hungry general who came charging in, scattering monsters left and right.

I’d crossed paths with him a few times back when I served in the army, and wow, he hadn’t changed one bit. Still brimming with energy, still the type to rush headfirst into enemy lines at the very front. Honestly, impressive.

Sure, he was a bit eccentric—always comparing battles and duels to fire or flames, acting on wild instincts like some kind of beast. But his strength was the real deal, and thanks to him, peace returned to Shakara’s territory.

…That said, by this point the count’s household knights—his main military force—were basically gone. Huge chunks of the population had fled too. The territory was unmanageable. So the royal court formally declared that while the Shakara family would keep the title of Count, their land would be split up.

Welp. Count Shakara was now a “count in name only.” No wealth, no power, no influence. Just another fallen noble. Rough times ahead, buddy. Good luck with that. Nah, scratch that—serves you right.

Sure, maybe I gave him the push that sent him tumbling down. But really, it was all rust of his own making. His downfall was self-inflicted. No sympathy from me.

After all the cleanup was finished and just before I left the count’s lands, the old general summoned me to witness something.

There stood Count Shakara—filthy, gaunt from malnutrition, looking nothing like the “handsome noble” he once bragged himself to be.

“This disaster was born of your incompetence. And it was Sean’s efforts that saved your territory from total ruin. It is only proper you give thanks.”

Urged by the old general, Shakara grimaced in humiliation and started to lower his head. But just then, one of the general’s officers stepped forward and stopped him.

With a scarred, battle-worn face, the man glared at Shakara, pointed to the ground, and declared:

“Dogeza. Kneel with both knees, press both palms to the dirt, and grind your forehead into the ground. The highest form of apology, said to come from ancient heroes. Do it.”

“W-What…?!”

The old general crossed his arms and nodded.

“Indeed. In this battle, even my soldiers suffered casualties. Since you forced others to clean up the mess born of your stupidity and folly, giving the sincerest of apologies is only natural. Do it.”

At that, Shakara’s face flushed beet red. His mouth opened and closed like a suffocating fish, gasping in silence. Of course he knew what Dogeza was—every noble did. But for someone with pride as bloated as his, it was the ultimate humiliation, an act that shredded his dignity. His body trembled violently, as though rejecting the very idea of bowing so low.

“Plant your knees firmly, rub your forehead into the dirt, and put your whole heart into it—Dogeza with sincerity.”

Shakara’s eyes darted around, desperate for an escape. But the old general stood there, arms crossed, radiating pressure like a mountain ready to crush him. The poor count even started dribbling a bit of piss. Understandable, really—the old general was terrifyingly strong, and if Shakara refused, you just knew he’d get smashed flat.

“Hey, hurry it up already. Get down on all fours.”

Since I was here, I couldn’t resist tossing in that extra jab. Shakara shot me a glare full of resentment, but it was laughable—this was a man who never set foot on a battlefield and was weaker than your average knight. His glare didn’t carry a shred of menace.

“U… Uwaaaaaaahhh!!”

Realizing there was no way out, Count Shakara screamed, slammed his knees down, and collapsed forward. With his face twisted red from shame and tears spilling from humiliation, he slowly pressed his palms to the ground… and finally rubbed his forehead against the dirt, trembling all the while.

“G-Guh! Guh… so—sor… sor-ry for the trou… ble—GAAAHHH!!”

He was trying—struggling desperately—to spit out the words: “I’m sorry for causing so much trouble.” But it came out garbled and pathetic. The old general just snorted in annoyance.

“What is this? Have you lost the ability to speak, boy? Say it again, clearly this time, so we can actually hear you.”

“T-This time! For causing so much trouble! I am deeply sorryyyyyyy!!!!”

Forced into Dogeza, Shakara’s shame went into overdrive. His face was beet red all the way to his ears, tears and snot running down in a pitiful mess as he sobbed from sheer humiliation. Yikes.

Apparently satisfied with the sight, the old general gave my shoulder a firm pat, flashed me a grin, and marched off with his troops. …Off to the next battlefield, no doubt.

Left behind, I gave one last glance at Shakara—still stuck in the Dogeza pose, trembling like a broken puppet—then silently mounted Comet and left his lands. What became of Count Shakara, his house, or Talia after this? Honestly, none of it mattered to me. I had no interest and no reason to care.

Some time later, after the whole Shakara mess was wrapped up, a familiar face returned to my domain.

“Brother Sean, long time no see!”

“…Oh! Gou!”

The young man, dressed in light, easy-to-move-in clothes, was Gou—Kiriko’s younger brother. His middle-parted hair matched his sister’s color, and his features clearly showed their sibling resemblance.

Unfortunately, he showed up just when Kiriko and Linna were out shopping in town, so I was the only one in the study to greet him. A shame, really, since those siblings got along so well.

Unlike Kiriko, Gou had left home once he came of age and now lived in the capital, working as a newspaper reporter or something along those lines.

As a kid, he used to claim he was reincarnated from another world, puff himself up with confidence, and act like a clown. But despite that, he had a charm you couldn’t ignore. To me, he was like a little brother I couldn’t help but be fond of.

“I came back today because there’s something I figured you should know, Sean.”

With that, Gou spread several interview notes and witness accounts across my desk. One look at them made me frown deeply.

“—Child organ trafficking…?!”

“Yeah. You’ve probably heard how the Empire’s been moving a lot lately. Well, right around the same time, it looks like they’ve been selling off orphans from our kingdom.”

“…That’s disgusting. There’s no way I can ignore something like that.”

According to Gou, he’d picked up intel about shady dealings happening in a monastery near the border with the Empire. But he didn’t have the means to raid it on his own, so he’d come asking for my help. Naturally, I agreed—there was no way I could let that slide. And besides, I remembered Nina and Alexander were supposed to be at a border monastery too. That worried me.

If I rode Comet, I could reach the border in less than a day. No sense wasting time—better to head out immediately.

“Still, charging into some sketchy facility is one thing… but Gou, will you be okay if things get rough?”

“Of course! Ever since I left this house, I’ve been training with my ‘cheat’ power. By now, I won’t even fall behind you, Sean!”

“…Is that so. Then—get ready for a sprint.”

His words sounded lighthearted, but the confidence behind them was real. And if things went bad, I could always handle it. With that in mind, Gou and I mounted Comet together and took off toward the border facility.