Chapter 14

Chapter 14

* * *

“Now, make your choice.”

I blinked and looked up to see that both the soldiers and the mercenaries were still shocked.

“Bullsh*t! Why should we suffer such injustice?” cried one of the mercenaries.

“This is why you shouldn’t get involved with northerners. Savages, they are... If it weren’t for mercenaries like us, they’d all be eaten by demonic beasts!” yelled another.

The townspeople gathered in the square began to murmur among themselves, listening to the mercenaries insult the people of the north.

I responded with a quiet voice. “Might I remind you that Heylon compensates you for all the risks you take?”

Which was true. There was a reason why many mercenaries, adventurers, and even merchants gathered in the dangerous north. As ruthless as he may be, Abel was fair. He paid people handsomely for taking out demonic beasts. There was financial opportunity in harvesting different materials from the bodies of the beasts as well. Selling these materials could earn even more money.

Every once in a while, someone would find something truly invaluable and earn a huge fortune. Some groups of merchants came to the north for this purpose alone. In other words, everyone gathered in this place was here for their own gain. Heylon needed people to protect the land and the mercenaries needed money.

“Hah! You clueless brat, who do you think would fight for the north if you mistreat mercenaries like this?” the criminals demanded.

“We’re not mistreating the mercenaries. We’re simply making you pay for what you’ve done,” I said with a patience they didn’t deserve. “You will pay your dues for your crimes.”

I was only following through with the customs of the north, customs these mercenaries had been aware of when they decided to dwell here.

“If you refuse to choose, I shall choose for you,” I said.

The mercenaries began struggling against the soldiers with greater fury.

“Damn it! Let me go!” they yelled.

Their protests fell on deaf ears. Both punishments were appealing to me, so I wanted to divide them up randomly. Unfortunately, five was an odd number. A perfect split would have been satisfying, but perhaps I could divide them into groups of two and three. Well, I’d better get this going for the sake of the people gathered in the square. The weather was so cold, and it wouldn’t do them much good to keep standing out here.

I was beginning to feel quite cold as well. Once again the crowd fell silent. Strangely, the temperature also seemed to suddenly drop by several degrees. This was when a cold voice asked from behind me, “What do you mean you shall choose?”

I clicked my tongue lightly at the familiar voice, beginning to see why I suddenly felt cold. What was he doing here when he had delegated the task to me? Couldn’t he just trust me to do the job well?

I turned around to find Abel with his arms crossed threateningly across his body. It was as if the frigid air, responsible for the sudden drop in temperature, was emanating from his body.

Geez, that was the protagonist’s mentor for you. He could change the whole atmosphere just by stepping into the scene.

“What are you doing here, Your Grace?” I asked.

The townspeople watched Abel with both fear and awe in their eyes. Jeron stood behind his liege, looking at me sympathetically.

“Do I need a reason to walk around my own land?”

If he’d always planned to come himself, why had he bothered to assign me this task in the first place? Unfortunately, I could not rebel against the frightening duke. My life was in his hands, so I merely smiled.

“I see,” I said.

Well, this was life. Anyway, the duke’s charisma was something else, because even the most obstinate mercenaries fell silent in his presence. Abel began walking toward me.

“So what kind of choice did you give them?” he asked, picking me up snuggly in his arms.

“I’m curious... How much did you hear, sir?”

The corners of his mouth curled up, but the smile did not reach his eyes. I could tell he was not pleased. “From the part about savage northerners.”

Geez... those guys were done for. They could have walked away with their lives, but their loose tongues had earned them certain deaths. Wiggling in Abel’s arms to find a more comfortable position, I said, “I told them to make a choice between leaving the wall unarmed and cutting off their... reproductive organs.”

“I like both,” said Abel as he stroked his chin. “But why did you give them a choice?”

“Because... it seemed cruel to subject them to both. I was trying to be considerate.”

I was here as Abel’s proxy. If I went too far, he could lose his reputation.

“That won’t be necessary.” He gave a cruel smile, a smile that would make anyone slink away. “Didn’t I tell you, Fiona?” Abel said, as he approached some of the mercenaries lying on the ground with me in his arms. They grew paler with each step. “I have no need… for scum who dare lay their hands on my people.”

Abel then crushed the man’s hand viciously with his foot.

“Aargh!” the mercenary screamed.

Though I couldn’t see the duke’s face, I could feel the intensity of his anger—cold, steadfast, and cruel. I nearly began shaking from fear, even though I knew I wasn’t the target of his anger. Abel looked down at the mercenaries with disdain clearly evident in his eyes.

“Since you called my land savage, I’d better live up to your expectations,” he said. He then turned around, his thick cape billowing behind him. “Enact both of the punishments. Cut off the parts they offended with and cast them out of the wall.”

“U-understood!” the soldiers replied.

Abel looked furious. “This is how what you called the savage north punishes wrongdoers.” Then he turned to the soldiers. “Carry on.”

“Yes, sir!”

Abel walked out of the square with me in my arms, preventing me from seeing the fate of the mercenaries who had harassed Siegren and the townspeople.

Amidst the pressing circumstances, I racked my brains. I felt as though I was being dragged into the lair of a dangerous animal. If Abel was an animal, I was sure he’d be a tiger with fur as white as snow.

“Fiona,” he called.

I replied a second too late, lost in my thoughts. “Yes, sir...?”

“You need not be unnecessarily considerate next time,” Abel said.

Unable to respond with words, I let out hollow laughter. I see. So my worries have been for nothing. Even though I had literally held someone’s life in my hand... Well, I’d get straight to the point next time. Anyway, if he was planning on executing the punishments himself, he really didn’t need to send me.

Unfortunately, as powerless as I was, I had no choice but to obey his authority.

“Understood, sir,” I said.

Then I silently told myself that I should never turn Abel against me in this world. This guy was clearly more dangerous than anyone else, even the protagonist.

So why did this terrible guy come all the way here anyway?

* * *

“He was worried about you, of course,” Jeron said.

Abel had returned to the castle, leaving Jeron to keep us company. Once I had finished my gruesome assignment, I had begun building a snowman with Siegren, as he had promised. Jeron was in the midst of explaining why his liege had come.

I couldn’t believe his words.

“Worried? I’d rather believe that the world was ending tomorrow,” I said as I rolled the snowman’s head on the ground.

Jeron paused. “Well...” I admit His Grace can be a bit twisted at times.”

Wow. He didn’t hold back his tongue, did he? But I was more than glad to gossip about Abel.

“I know, right? To be honest... he’s not very nice,” I said.

“He’s quite awful,” Jeron agreed. “And he has a strange way of expressing his feelings. So that makes it harder for you to interpret his actions. But it is true that he was worried. To be honest, I don’t think he meant for you to execute the punishments from the beginning.”

“Really? So he didn’t come just to keep an eye on me?”

Jeron smiled. “His Grace would never leave a job to anyone he does not trust.”

“If he cannot trust them, he would behead them. But I’m not saying that His Grace has done anything right. How could he leave such a task to a little girl? It’s steel, not blood, that runs through his body.”

Honestly, it had been a good thing for me when Abel showed up. He had taken over the hard part for me.

“I-I see...” I said.

“In any case, Lady Fiona, you should be more proud of yourself. Even though we can’t fully know what His Grace is thinking...” said Jeron as he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

“We’ll find out soon enough…”