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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Mercenary King
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I was staring blankly at the impressive entrance of the man in black armor when I belatedly came to my senses.
‘What is this man doing here?!’
The second male lead of . A man whose monstrous strength, honed by scattering the blood of his enemies on countless battlefields, had earned him the grand title of Mercenary King.
The leader of the Hess Mercenary Group, whom the most prominent figures of power were desperate to have under their command—Yugen Mont.
‘Why is Yugen here…?’
While mercenaries didn't exclusively roam battlefields, Yugen didn't belong on a street like this, one frequented by nobles.
“Isn't this yours?”
Yugen waved the hand holding the silk pouch.
“It's mine!”
Fearing he might take it back, I snatched the pouch from him.
“Thank you for finding it. You're the one who caught the pickpocket, aren't you?”
Yugen gave a slight nod.
Catching and then just flinging him away—what a ruthless way to catch a thief. How very like him.
“Young Lady, he's a suspicious character! Stay back!”
I stepped forward, raising an arm to stop George, who was making a fuss.
“You'd best sheathe your sword if you don't want to die.”
“Young Lady!”
“That is Lord Mont, the Margrave.”
“Lord Mont, you say…”
“He is also the leader of the Hess Mercenary Group.”
“The… the Mercenary King!”
George gasped, his face draining of all color.
Any man who wielded a sword had heard the stories ad nauseam—stories of the man whose monstrous strength was so coveted by the Emperor himself that he was granted the title of Margrave.
‘And the rumors have been exaggerated even further.’
The terrifying rumors, his origins among those the Empire called barbarians, the fact that he always concealed his face with a helmet—all these elements only amplified the fear surrounding Yugen.
It was no wonder parents scared their crying children by telling them the Mercenary King was coming to get them. Though in reality, Yugen was a man far from violent unless in special circumstances…
George sheathed his sword with a trembling hand.
“My, so you are Lord Mont. I have heard the rumors, of course, but I never expected to see you in a place like this. Please forgive my rudeness.”
He's scared stiff, but he's posturing, pretending to back down only because the other party is a noble.
“In any case, thank you for your help. I'll call the city guard immediately and hand this thief over.”
“Wait.”
“Why is that, Young Lady?”
“There's something I need to confirm before we hand him over.”
“It won't be a pleasant sight, so it might be best to resolve this before the young master arrives…”
“Do you outrank me?”
I spoke in a low voice for the first time in a while, and George's face hardened. A crease formed between his brows.
*How dare a common-born girl pull rank on you, a knight? Is that it?* Yes, well, you're still my subordinate.
George gritted his teeth as if he had no choice and bowed his head.
“…Do as you wish.”
“I was going to, whether you said so or not.”
I went over to the pickpocket, who was still lying face down, likely in considerable shock, and spoke softly.
“Who was your accomplice?”
The man, who had been half out of his wits, flinched—it was plain to see.
“W-What are you talking about? An accomplice?”
“Then how did you know I was carrying gold coins?”
“Well, you were dressed like a noble…”
“Plenty of nobles walk around without cash and pay on credit. And even if they do carry money, it's heavy, so they usually have a servant hold it.”
Besides, from the moment I left the shop, I'd been holding the pouch tightly under my coat so it wasn't visible. How could he have known there was money in it?
“I just had a feeling you'd have some!”
“Are you going to keep feigning ignorance?”
“I'm telling you, it's not like that!”
“Then why are you trembling? Are you afraid of George?”
The pickpocket's face filled with horror. George, likely standing behind me, probably looked much the same.
“Young Lady! What are you saying?!”
“George, you've been with me the whole time. You, of course, knew I had money on me.”
“Are you accusing me of being a thief based on that alone?”
“Then let me ask you this. You said you'd guard the front of the shop while I was shopping. Where did you go?”
“Th-That's…”
George stammered, likely thinking I was too distracted by shopping to notice. It had only been about ten minutes, after all.
“I apologize for leaving my post, but I simply had to use the privy. I'm being wrongly accused.”
“That's not all. As my escort, you should have prevented me from bumping into a passerby. Why did you let it happen?”
I fired off the questions like a volley of shots.
“How is it that a knight like you was slower than a common criminal? Do you have some plausible reason why escorting me, a duty you held in such low regard, suddenly became so important while you were chasing the thief? Especially after you abandoned me just moments ago to go to the privy without a word?”
“Ugh… You're being truly unfair!”
Instead of refuting each point logically, George chose to appeal to emotion.
“How many years have I dedicated in loyal service to the Marquisate, yet you accuse me of being a thief without any solid proof? Are you allowed to tarnish a knight's honor like this? What will you do if you're wrong?”
“Then I'll be wrong.”
“W-What did you say?”
“Fine. The truth will come out once we interrogate that thief.”
“Do as you please.”
Oh? He seems confident the pickpocket will keep his mouth shut. But a timid-looking man like that will break if you just scare him a little…
“That's right! George put me up to it!”
He's singing already?
“That guy used to live next door to me when we were kids. He always acted like the boss just 'cause he was a bit stronger. We ran into each other out here today, and he said he had a good score for me…”
“Shut up, you bastard!”
A panicked George yelled at him, but the man was facing something far more terrifying at that moment: the black blade of a sword pointed right under his chin.
‘Of course. The Mercenary King is a hundred times scarier than a mere knight of a marquisate.’
The pickpocket glared at George.
“I told you I didn't want to, but you forced me, saying it would be fine!”
“Forced? You're the one who demanded more than half—”
Realizing his slip of the tongue, George snapped his mouth shut, but it was too late. I, Yugen, and even the passersby who had gathered to watch the commotion had already heard him.
“No, that's not it! That man is framing me with lies…!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, yes, Young Lady! Please believe me!”
I gave a sweet smile to George, who was looking at me as if I were his only hope.
“Then we'll just have to conduct a formal investigation. To see if there's some long-standing acquaintance between a thief and the victim's escort.”
“Young Lady…!”
“Surely such an absurd coincidence couldn't exist, right?”
George's face crumpled mercilessly.
“Ah, what a noisy day it's been.”
That evening, having finished my preparations for bed, I sprawled out on my bed.
In the end, George was handed over to the city guard. He insisted on his innocence to the very end, but a simple investigation revealed that he and the culprit were childhood neighbors and still associated from time to time.
Marquis Lindsi flew into a rage, declaring that the Lindsi name had been tarnished and that he would restore discipline among the members of his household.
The Marchioness gave me a generous special allowance, telling me to go shopping to my heart's content later to make up for the ruined outing. The special allowance, along with the gold coins from the silk pouch, went into my emergency fund box.
Just then, a maid's voice came from outside the door.
“Young Lady, is there anything else you require?”
“No. You may leave.”
“Yes, my lady. Rest well, and please ring the bell if you need anything during the night.”
Her attitude was markedly more respectful. With the Marquis announcing a major staff overhaul based on work performance, the servants were all treading carefully.
‘It's because George underestimated me and ended up like that.’
Normally, George wouldn't have escaped reprimand for failing to stop a single pickpocket, but when the person he was escorting was Charlotte, the situation was different.
If I were the real Charlotte, I would have been furious about being robbed and probably beaten George up. Then, before any fault could be assigned, he would have just earned sympathy votes.
Both the Marquis and Marchioness tended to be generous with the servants, who had to put up with Charlotte on a daily basis.
“Just thinking about it is annoying. If I hadn't realized there was an accomplice, things would have gone just his way.”
Seeing George's suspicious behavior earlier today had reminded me of my past life. The time I was pickpocketed before my transmigration, there had been two culprits as well.
One of them distracted me by asking for directions while the other swiped my wallet. The local police later told me that it was quite common for pickpockets to have accomplices.
Once the thought ‘What if?’ crossed my mind, George became the most suspicious person. I became certain when he tried so strangely to stop me from questioning the pickpocket.
“What if he hadn't been the accomplice?”
Then he wasn't. It's not like Charlotte's reputation could get any worse anyway…
“Huh?”
I was sure I was alone in the room. A chill ran down my spine, and I managed to creakily turn my head.
“Earlier today… you saw, right?”
A man was sitting perched on the railing, visible through the open terrace doors I'd left ajar for ventilation.
The man who had caught the pickpocket. The man who had vanished without a trace after the city guard arrived, before I could thank him again.
“Hello.”
The Mercenary King, Yugen Mont, greeted me.
