Chapter 41
The Six Families' Treaty
“Thanks to Princess Liene, things will be easier. Just thinking about rummaging through those dark priests' robes… Ugh, it made me lose my appetite.”
Now that they had found a lead, it was time to move quickly. Princess Liene began preparations to convene the Grand Council, and Black decided to go to the temple with Fermos. The group to head to the temple was quickly assembled.
“Ah, there come the horses.”
Mercenaries led Fermos's horse to Masa's front yard.
“Hmm? But there seems to be only one horse?”
Black's horse hadn't arrived. Fermos wondered if the underlings had suddenly gone deaf, but that wasn't the case.
“You go alone. I have something to do.”
“Oh? Don't tell me you're going back to the princess to finish what you couldn't earlier…?”
Fermos asked in shock, but quickly straightened his face after seeing Black's expression.
“I misspoke, my lord.”
Fermos, after rolling his eyes once, quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, is Princess Liene alright? She must have been shocked this morning.”
“She says she's fine, but I intend to keep an eye on her.”
“That would be best. Even if there are no visible symptoms, all sorts of things can be dangerous in the early stages… Ah, but.”
As if something had occurred to him, Fermos grinned mischievously.
“Princess Liene is, well, how should I put it… isn't she too innocent? When it comes to that sort of thing, she sounds like she's eighteen, not twenty-five. Are you alright with that, my lord?”
“...Choose.”
“Pardon?”
“Where you want to be hit this time.”
“...Hah! I misspoke again, my lord.”
The mischievous grin vanished instantly. Black seemed unwilling to tolerate anyone saying anything about his woman.
“From now on, I will consider things several times over before mentioning the princess… Heeik!”
Fermos, thoroughly intimidated, mumbled while shrinking his shoulders, then suddenly screamed as Black yanked him by the back of the neck.
“No need to make a fuss.”
Black lowered his voice and spoke into Fermos's ear.
“There will be an elderly man in poor health near the temple. Find him first. Without anyone knowing.”
“...Without anyone knowing, you mean…”
“The princess sent a nanny.”
“You mean you want me to find him before that person does. I understand.”
Fermos nodded once and asked.
“May I know the reason?”
“He might have recognized me.”
“Pardon? Recognized you, my lord? Then…”
His clever mind worked quickly. From that one sentence, Fermos deduced quite a few facts. Someone who knew Black's past remained. Princess Liene knew of his existence and sent someone. Black was trying to hide that person in the middle. Black didn't want Princess Liene to find out about his past.
“What do you want me to do? Silence him?”
“...Not yet. Just hide him for now.”
“Understood.”
Black released Fermos. Fermos rubbed his sore neck and nodded.
“Then I'll be off, my lord.”
Black turned away and left without a glance. Fermos muttered with a sullen face.
“Was my lord always this vindictive…?”
In any case, he had to watch his words from now on. Soon after, Fermos headed to the temple with five mercenaries.
* * * Splish, splash. The sound of footsteps was different underground. The moisture clinging to the floor stuck to the soles of their feet, creating an unnecessarily eerie and heavy sound.
“Hah, you've arrived!”
All the guards of the underground prison had been replaced with Tiwakan's men. The existing Nauk guards were gradually being excluded from their original duties. Weroz's absence actually made these changes easier. A mercenary who found Black alone in the underground prison quickly straightened his back.
“I didn't receive any notice that you were coming. Are you here for an inspection?”
“Quietly.”
Black didn't seem to want his arrival to be known. The mercenary, quickly catching on, lowered his voice.
“Shall I show you the ones who came in today?”
Black simply nodded without replying.
“This way.”
Tiwakan's assessment was that the underground prison, at least, was useful. There weren't many people imprisoned now, but the fact that such a large-scale prison was designed with multiple layers of security symbolized the power the royal family once enjoyed.
“It's structured so that escape is impossible, but the adjutant told us not to let them rest easy, so we've tied them up.”
“Well done.”
“Thank you.”
The mercenary, unexpectedly praised, grinned. After passing through two doors that could be locked from the outside, the room where the prisoners were held was revealed.
“We put them in the same room. We're monitoring what they say.”
“Has there been any talk so far?”
“No. There hasn't been any talk since the adjutant left. Ah, here it is.”
Clang! The mercenary opened the door. Black entered the room. Two Kleinfelters, bound tightly with ropes to low wooden chairs, raised their heads.
“Close the door and leave.”
The door quietly closed behind him. With that, a space was created where no one would disturb Black. Tiwakan's mercenaries would even pretend that Black was never here if necessary. Lyndon Kleinfelter glared at Black with his piercing blue eyes.
“What do you intend to do with me?”
“I wonder…”
Black's slow tone sounded even more threatening to his enemies. It was the same now.
“You can't touch me. Nauk is not such an easy place to deal with. If my head were to be cut off…”
“You're noisy.”
Thwack! Black kicked the leg of the chair Lyndon Kleinfelter was sitting on. Thud!
“Ugh!”
Lyndon Kleinfelter fell to the floor. Black watched impassively as he writhed in agony before asking.
“What do you know?”
“What… are you talking about, out of the blue…? …Ugh!”
Black flipped Lyndon Kleinfelter over with his foot. When his hands, tied behind his back, were revealed, Black stomped on his wrist.
“Aaaaaagh!”
It was a desperate scream. Having stomped with his full weight, the wrist would be broken.
“Quiet.”
The foot that had stomped on his wrist now stomped on the back of his head. As his face was pressed into the floor, a terrified Lyndon Kleinfelter stifled his screams.
“What are you doing! Stop it!”
Laffite, who had been silent all along, shouted. He tried to drag the chair he was tied to towards them.
“Don't move.”
Instead of stopping Laffite, Black pointedly put more force into the foot stomping on the back of Lyndon Kleinfelter's head.
“There are two mouths.”
“……”
Laffite turned pale and stopped moving. As if he knew he would, Black turned his head back and slightly lifted his foot.
“I'll ask again. What is Princess Liene unaware of?”
“Me, that, …hic….”
“What do you think is the reason I want Nauk?”
“That, anyone can see… it's obvious, …cough!”
“Think about it and say it again. It's not difficult to break a neck.”
“Hah…!”
Lyndon Kleinfelter gasped. His mind raced frantically, trying to gauge whether Black was just threatening or if he was serious. The fact that there were two mouths made it difficult to bluff. It sounded like he was saying that even if he broke his neck, there would be someone else to open their mouth, so it was okay.
“That… that kid doesn't know… Keuh, anything.”
So killing him would gain nothing. But that meant that Lyndon Kleinfelter knew something. That was what Black wanted.
“Then you can tell me.”
“That, that's…”
Lyndon Kleinfelter rolled his eyes, finally realizing his mistake. But it was too late anyway.
“There’s also a way to break a neck so they can still talk.”
“……Liene is as good as blind.”
Lyndon Kleinfelter muttered, as if resigned.
“Continue.”
“She doesn’t even know how her father became King. How the Lisebery Treaty was made.”
“So.”
“The Kleinfelters played the biggest role in the Arsak Family acting as royalty! To disregard that favor now is absurd… Keuk!”
Kleinfelter was forced to shut his mouth again as the back of his head was stomped on.
“Favor, you say.”
Black’s lips twisted mockingly.
“For something like that, the Princess’s life isn’t exactly glorious.”
“A life where she would have been born as the eldest daughter of an insignificant family and sold off for a suitable price is now called a Princess. If that’s not glorious, then what is… Ugh!”
Black kicked the back of his head as if he had been waiting for it.
“Correct your speech. Show respect. To your Monarch.”
“I… will… certainly…”
Lyndon Kleinfelter trembled with rage.
“Is that all? What else doesn’t the Princess know?”
“……That’s right.”
“You’re lying.”
Black tapped Lyndon Kleinfelter’s head playfully.
“That alone isn’t enough reason for me to take the Princess’s head. What reason do I have to do such a thing to get Nauk?”
“…….”
“Answer.”
Lyndon Kleinfelter spat out curses through his teeth.
“Damn it…! You should know! Why are you asking me what you’re doing!”
“I only proposed, but you’re the one saying it’s not that.”
“Don’t be ridiculous… You only proposed? What nonsense is that that even dogs wouldn’t believe! Of course, you’re doing this because you’re after something!”
“So, what am I after?”
“Well, Nauk…”
“What’s in Nauk?”
“……Well, it’s an easy place. Where else can a savage who rolled around on the battlefield be treated like royalty?”
It was only for a moment, but Black didn’t miss Kleinfelter’s eyes shaking violently.
“If I kill the Princess, that won’t happen.”
“Th, that’s why you marry her to gain ruling power and then…”
“The ruling power of Arsak passes to Arsak blood. If I kill the Princess, someone with even a little bit of Arsak blood must become King, not me. You must know that.”
“……There’s no way a barbarian like you would follow the rules of the royal family. You’d just do whatever you want.”
“Are you going to hide it?”
“…….”
Lyndon Kleinfelter swallowed instead of answering. He could tell that to make him open his mouth, he needed more elaborate and cruel torture, not just trampling on his pride.
“Well, whatever.”
Black stepped away at that point.
“I’ve learned what I needed to know. I’ll stop here for today.”
“……?”
Lyndon Kleinfelter looked rather flustered. But Black turned around readily as he said.
“……Oh.”
Then he paused for a moment.
“It was the left.”
It was a small mutter, but Lyndon Kleinfelter could hear it clearly.
“What’s the left…”
Black bent down and untied the ropes binding Lyndon Kleinfelter. No one would interpret that as kindness. Especially Lyndon Kleinfelter, whose left hand had just been broken.
“Why are you doing this! Don’t touch my body… Ugh!”
As expected, Black twisted Lyndon Kleinfelter’s right wrist. Liene’s wrist, which had Lyndon Kleinfelter’s handprint on it, was also on the right.
“Ugh! Aah!”
A warning descended upon Lyndon Kleinfelter, who was screaming and rolling on the floor, forgetting his dignity due to the pain.
“Princess Liene will be the only reason Tiwakan fights from now on. Keep that in mind.”
“Don’t be ridiculous… Don’t be ridiculous!”
Lyndon Kleinfelter shouted even as he squeezed out tears and snot.
“The Princess is pregnant… with another man’s child! You’re doing this to get such a woman? How am I supposed to believe that!”
Black’s gaze swept over Laffite, who was tightly shutting his mouth.
“That’s none of your business.”
“……!”
“And it’s my child. If I hear anything else, your tongues must be the problem, so I’ll pull them both out.”
“…….”
Bang! Black left the prison, closing the door behind him, leaving a chilling warning.
