Ch#97
"A-Aaagh-! B-Blood from my mouth!"
Reginald began screaming like a madman.
But it didn't last long.
"My teeth! How dare you...... Guh!"
Veil, now straddling the lord, mercilessly punched his other jaw.
"S-Stop......!"
Reginald flailed wildly, nearly vomiting blood, but Veil's eyes had already lost focus.
"What? Send a kid to the mines instead?"
"Guh!"
"Narrow, low tunnels are easier for kids to work in?"
"What are you all doing! Get this man off the lord!"
The knights, now regaining their senses, rushed in en masse.
But Veil shook off the knights and grabbed Reginald's collar again.
"......Scum like you deserve to die. You need to vanish from this world. Filthy bastard."
His eyes gleamed fiercely, like a beast eyeing its prey.
"Hurry and escort the lord!"
The knights charged at Veil once more.
As Veil faltered, a few knights lifted Reginald to his feet.
Blood streamed from his mouth; he had already passed out.
"What are you waiting for! Disarm him first!"
At the knight's command, those holding Veil's arms began stripping the weapons from his waist and dropping them.
But oddly, Veil stood motionless, staring straight ahead.
Only at the limp, unconscious Reginald.
As everyone froze in place.
"Drag him to the castle dungeon!"
At the captain's order, burly soldiers began hauling Veil toward the Lord's Castle.
Soon, they all vanished around the corner.
As the plaza fell eerily silent, Basto finally parted his tightly pressed lips in disbelief.
"What the. Hell......"
* * *
Raoul paced the inn room anxiously.
Enzo sat crouched by the door opposite, and beside him, Tie mirrored his posture, sighing deeply into the floor.
Raoul approached Basto by the window.
"Basto. What do we do?"
He still couldn't believe it, even though it had already happened.
"Veil was taken to the Lord's Castle."
Veil.
The very Veil whom Raoul admired and wanted to learn from had been captured by knights from a mere small village.
"Was he feeling unwell somewhere? Or did they strike a vital point without us seeing......"
"Nothing like that."
Basto had witnessed Veil knocking out Lord Reginald and being dragged away by his knights.
"Then why on earth......"
At that moment, Nordics rose from his seat.
"That's not the point right now. We can't just sit here."
Nordics looked anxious.
"What if they interrogate him? A background check would reveal he's an Agavert member in no time."
"......"
"The moment they raise an objection to the Imperial Family, we could all face expulsion from the Capital. All our plans so far would crumble. Shouldn't we do something before that?"
Basto let out a deep sigh instead of replying.
This was exactly what Basto had feared.
Mercenaries must never attack nobles without just, verified cause.
This was a rule dating back to the profession's origins, a long-standing condition the Imperial Family upheld to appease fearful, suspicious nobles.
"......Veil shouldn't have let the knights take him so easily."
Nordics clicked his tongue.
For ages, most nobles had viewed mercenaries with disdain.
They accepted their aid in besieging magic stones.
But they resented mercenaries taking money and power as payment.
This aversion had once been even more extreme.
Central Capital nobles had even issued statements banning mercenaries from entering the city to besiege stones.
This was partly why Holy Knights now primarily handled internal Capital stones.
"How about this? Brother and I contact Mother."
Enzo stepped forward.
"If the Wavebrill Marquis steps in to defend Veil, wouldn't the situation change? Reginald might report to the Imperial Family, but he's just a petty rural lord, while our family......"
"If that was the plan, he shouldn't have drawn blood from the man at least."
Nordics replied grimly.
Enzo was right.
Reginald was the lord of the remote mountain village Kaldbain-Ridge.
But he was still a Capital noble, qualified to send official petitions to the Imperial Family.
"Reginald is undeniably vile. His exploitation of his people is brutally unspeakable."
"......"
"But the moment an objection is raised, all that fades away. What happened earlier boils down to a mercenary committing physical violence against a Capital noble without cause. And that's precisely what the Emperor despises most."
"......"
"Commoners. Lowborn scum daring to challenge their superiors' authority."
Enzo's face darkened.
As a noble himself, he knew this all too well.
That violence by a mercenary—or commoner—against a noble was a grave crime.
Everything went black.
Looking back, Reginald had even lost two teeth.
His unconscious state suggested a broken nose or cheekbone too.
Enzo muttered in despair.
"If only he'd fled from there......"
The situation would have been far better.
They could have all left the village together, resolving it somewhat.
"Why did he let himself be taken so meekly? He could've shaken them off easily......"
"He went to kill him."
At that moment, a chilling voice came from the door crack.
As everyone froze, the half-open door creaked fully open.
Standing outside was the innkeeper Mihail, exuding the same eerie aura as when they first met.
"Don't your comrades realize? That man's eyes were exactly those of a hunter entering a beast's den."
Enzo eyed Mihail warily.
She entered without invitation and continued.
"He let himself be taken on purpose. To turn the Lord's Castle into Reginald's grave. Or maybe he just wanted to sever his head in a quiet spot."
"......I see."
But thinking about it, it did make sense.
He hadn't resisted the knights at all.
And those fierce eyes fixed on Reginald until the end.
Considering Veil's usual temperament too......
As Enzo swallowed hard, Mihail went on.
"But your comrade overlooked one thing."
The old woman's clouded eyes rolled slowly.
"Reginald's wife is a rather skilled mage."
Tie, listening, widened her eyes at the mention of another mage like herself.
"As long as she guards him, your comrade can't end Reginald. If it were easy, one of us would have punished him long ago. In short, your comrade could die."
"......"
"......I've seen plenty of fearless hunters start a beast hunt only to end up as bones."
Silence fell over the room.
But soon, Tie shakily rose and muttered.
"Veil bro dies......?"
The child's eyes brimmed with fear.
"Those knights earlier are gonna kill Veil bro......?"
Basto pressed his forehead.
Enzo and Raoul stared at Tie, at a loss for how to explain.
Tie looked around frantically at the members.
"Hurry and go save him! Right? Quick!"
But Basto gently grasped Tie's arms.
"Tie. This isn't that simple. I want to bring Veil back right now too, but......"
Lord Reginald's mage wife was a problem.
As was the unknown layout of the Lord's Castle and Veil's exact whereabouts.
There were too many unknowns still.
"Let's wait until sunset first. Above all, we don't even know precisely where Veil is......"
"I do."
But at that moment, yet another person entered the room.
Everyone froze upon seeing the face.
It was none other than Adelin.
