A Barbaric Proposal

Chapter 61 | Torn Attire

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Ellaroiden immediately shouted, trying to close the door.

Bang—!

But despite his best efforts, there was no point.

[Black] “Your voice is loud.”

The leader of the Tiwakan looked down at him, his voice languid and slow.

[Black] “But thanks to that, I could hear you clearly, even from outside.”

[Ellaroiden] “W, what….? What are you….!”

Without another word, Black delivered a quick blow to Ellaroiden’s chest, knocking him down.

Thwack—!

[Ellaroiden] “AGH—!”

As his long and pained scream echoed out into the air, Ellaroiden fell to the ground. He grabbed his chest, writhing on the floor, but Black looked all too calm as he watched him.

[Black] “It would be best if you didn’t move. I’m fairly sure I broke some of your ribs, so you might end up puncturing a lung if you’re not careful.”

[Ellaroiden] “…..!”

[Black] “It’s not a very comfortable death.”

[Ellaroiden] “. . .”

Those words were so terrifying, Ellaroiden couldn’t even scream. His entire body turned like stone as he lay on the floor, his eyes rolling back in his head.

[Butler] “M, master, maybe it would be best if we…..”

But the butler of the Rosadel estate was focused only on his master, so he didn’t wish to interfere. Instead, he tried to help his master stand, who was so frightened that he couldn’t even stand on his own two feet properly.

[Rosadel] “W, wha…what…what’re you….doing in my h, home….?”

As Rosadel staggered back, leaning against his butler, Black approached him.

[Rosadel] “D, don’t come any closer! Eeek!”

Pushing back, Rosadel tripped on his own feet, falling backwards. And while Rosadel sat, terrified on the floor, Black just casually crouched down in front of him.

[Rosadel] “Wh, why are you…….”

Now that he was seeing this man at eye level, Rosadel couldn’t take the chills running throughout his body any more. But he was far too scared to even move, making running away impossible.

Watching Rosadel panic in his seat, Black spoke slowly enough for him to understand.

[Black] “Two hundred and eleven soldiers……Sixteen…No, fifteen dead and one missing….. That makes one hundred and ninety-five.”

[Rosadel] “…..? What? Ah! How, how did you know that….!”

Rosadel let out a gasp.

Black had just said the number of soldiers enlisted in the Rosadel family’s private militia. But Rosadel couldn’t understand how the Tiwakan could know that exact number, down to the last digit!

But Black couldn’t believe how damn stupid they were to believe the Tiwakan wouldn’t know the military strength of the six families. Knowing the size of the enemy forces was the most basic thing when it came to warfare.

[Black] “Among those numbers, there are twenty that have enough skill to be called a knight. So in total, there should be around fifty soldiers here currently.”

[Rosadel] “H, how!?”

The more Black spoke, the more Rosadel’s expression twisted.

[Black] “Tell me. I know you can count. How many Tiwakan do you see here today?”

[Rosadel] “W, w…what?”

[Black] “Don’t ask. Just answer.”

[Rosadel] “Th, that’s….uh….”

Rosadel was so terrified that he couldn’t focus his mind. His faithful butler, calmer than he was, quickly counted the number for him.

[Butler] “There’s eight, master.”

[Rosadel] “E, eight.”

As Rosadel quietly echoed his butler’s words, Black asked him again.

[Black] “Then do the math. Any one of these eight men could easily handle sixteen of yours all on their own. So how long would it take for all of us to deal with the fifty in your home now?”

[Rosadel] “Th, that’s…..”

He couldn’t even imagine. All he could think about was how everyone in this home could lose their heads in a matter of seconds.

[Black] “Are you done thinking about it? Speak whenever you’re ready.”

[Rosadel] “N, no…..”

Rosadel helplessly shook his head.

Even if he were to bring in the private soldiers from the mansion, all of them would die, same as him. And even if he were to push them into the fray, leaving to flee on his own, the result would be the same.

Rather than openly trying to run away while they hunted him down, it would be better to just listen carefully to their demands.

[Rosadel] “W, what…..do you want from me……?”

[Black] “It’s simple. I want you to use common sense during the upcoming representative meeting.”

[Rosadel] “C, common sense…..?”

[Black] “It’s only natural to believe that those who bring harm to the royal family should be charged with treason, right?”

[Rosadel] “Uh……”

But Rosadel didn’t say anything back. He clenched his lips shut as if he had glue on them. As if he were expecting this, Black let out a long, drawn out sigh.

[Black] “You’re very lucky. I’m in a crazy good mood today.”

[Rosadel] “……?”

[Black] “So I won’t kill you needlessly if you answer quickly.”

[Rosadel] “T, then…..”

[Black] “I know you spoke with him. But I’ll let myself be fooled into thinking the Kleinfelders did everything on their own.”

[Rosadel] “……Ah!”

Rosadel finally understood what Black was saying. He was telling him that only the Kleinfelders would be punished if the council went through.

Little did he know how lucky he was to have come to that realization first and quickly spoke out.

[Rosadel] “Yes, I understand! I will!”

[Ellaroiden] “Lord Rosadel!”

But as Rosadel quickly nodded his head, easily crumbling under the suggestion, Ellaroiden shouted out in horror. However, his screams quickly turned into pained groans as his body shifted, his tongue sticking out at the pain as he gasped for air—feeling a deep pain in his ribs.

[Black] “Good.”

Black nodded once, and then he reached out to Rosadel—as if offering a handshake to solidify their agreement.

[Rosadel] “……?”

But it was his left hand. Rosadel pulled back for a moment, but he eventually took Black’s hand, merely assuming the leader of the Tiwakan was left-handed.

However, the moment he took his hand, before he even realized it, his wrist was snapped backwards.

[Rosadel] “…AGH!”

It was a clean break.

[Black] “I left your right wrist untouched because I still need you to sign something later. If, at any point you refuse, I want you to think deeply about why your hand is still attached.”

It was a not so subtle threat. One that meant, if Rosadel did not sign whatever it was that he needed, his right wrist would follow suit.

[Rosadel] “Agh……ah…..ugh….”

[Butler] “Oh, master…..”

As Rosadel sobbed, grabbing at his broken wrist, Black turned around to face Ellaroiden.

[Black] “I broke three of your bones.”

Black got closer, causing Ellaroiden to harshly swallow the lump in his throat.

[Black] “I made sure to be careful. Any more than that, and it would be harder for it to heal.”

[Ellaroiden] “. . .”

[Black] “That sounds a little ridiculous coming from me, but what can I say…? I feel really good right now.”

Ellaroiden wanted to argue with how strange that sounded. About how no human that was in a good mood could still say that after breaking other people’s ribs and wrists, but he bit that back.

His ribs hurt too much.

[Black] “I’ll leave you with your right hand.”

[Ellaroiden] “…..? Ah, no!”

Grabbing his left hand, Ellaroiden shook his head at those threatening words.

But Black didn’t mean that to suggest he would break his left wrist. Black turned his head, gesturing to one of his men who was carrying a battle axe.

[Black] “Go for the ankle. Either one is fine. Just make sure it can heal.”

[Mercenary] “Yes, sir.”

[Ellaroiden] “A, ankle!? What are you doing!!? No!”

But it was too late to fight back.

With a professional attitude, the Tiwakan mercenary listened very carefully to the orders of his lord, taking his axe with a firm grip and striking down towards Ellaroiden’s ankle.

[Ellaroiden] “AHH! AGH, UGH!”

And as Ellaroiden screamed out in pain, saliva escaped from his open mouth, pouring down the side. Still, the blow wasn’t enough to take off his ankle or completely cripple him, but that only made Ellaroiden even more terrified.

The Tiwakan mercenary could’ve easily taken his leg off, but he didn’t. Apparently, it was because the leader of the Tiwakan was in an exceptionally good mood today.

Ellaroiden had no idea how to deal with such an unpredictable man. But for Black, handling someone like Ellaroiden was easy, especially after spending ten years on a battlefield, securing victory after victory against fiercer opponents than this.

And in the eyes of the Tiwakan mercenaries, Black had a strangely merciful and gentle expression on his face today. But others could not see that, his expression only inspiring fear in their hearts as they looked upon him.

[Black] “Until the day I need your signatures, remember this well. There are plenty of other useless body parts I can cut off to remind you.”

[Ellaroiden] “……!”

[Rosadel] “Ek….!”

Black’s method was very effective.

Even if he asked Rosadel to sign a slave certificate and pushed him into a cart to take him off to a slave merchant, he was all too ready to do what was told of him.

[Black] “Spread the word to the other three families.”

[Rosadel] “. . .”

[Ellaroiden] “. . .”

No one said a word back, but the silence sufficed as an answer.

^—

And after finishing up his light errand, Black turned around and left the Rosadel estate. Traveling along that path back to the castle, he felt so good, it was almost scary.

Because, waiting for him, Rienne would be there.

_^*

* * *

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[Mrs. Flambard] “This way, Princess.”

Mrs. Flambard clamored in excitement, pulling on Rienne’s arm.

[Mrs. Flambard] “I put it up and it looks absolutely stunning. You must see it for yourself.”

When the woman came to tell Rienne that Black’s wedding attire was completed, she couldn’t contain her joy. Like Rienne once said, she was very happy to finally be working with such a gorgeous piece.

[Mrs. Flambard] “You can’t see it for what it’s worth just by holding it in your hand. It would be best to see him try it on, but that would be a bit difficult right now, so I settled for hanging it up.”

It was really funny and cute, seeing the woman so filled with elation that she couldn’t slow down her steps for even a moment.

There was once a time when she disliked that man more than Rienne did, but apparently not anymore. Now, she looked like she was anticipating the wedding more than anyone else.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Here, Princess. I was so anxious to show you this.”

With a smile on her face, the woman quickly opened the door to her room.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Ah…..!”

And then she screamed.

In her room, which should be empty, there was a person.

Someone small and pale, so skinny they look like they could disappear like a ghost.

And the reason why Mrs. Flambard screamed was because this strange person was holding a pair of scissors in her hand. The same scissors Mrs. Flambard used in her sewing kit.

Snip.

Ignoring the scream, the strange woman put the blade of the scissors against the fabric.

Snip.

And she kept cutting it.

It was the same wedding attire that Mrs. Flambard had put her heart and soul into altering and preparing, so happy to finally have it done. She was so stunned, she didn’t know what to do.

[Mrs. Flambard] “No! What do you think you’re doing!?”

Coming to her senses too late, Mrs. Flambard rushed over to stop the ghostly woman.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Do you know what this clothing is for? Who are you!? How could you do this!?”

But even as Mrs. Flambard tried to stop her, the woman kept trying to cut at the fabric. And the more shocked Mrs. Flambard became, the more intense their scuffle became.

[Rienne] “Stop this! It’s dangerous!”

But clothing aside, Rienne was more worried that Mrs. Flambard would get hurt. She calmly approached them, grabbing onto the ghostly woman’s wrist.

[Woman] “Let go!”

The woman struggled, shouting out.

[Rienne] “Let go of the scissors. Quickly.”

However, Rienne was able to maintain her grip on her wrist. As Mrs. Flambard pushed away from the woman, she finally loosened the hand she had around the scissors, dropping them to the floor.

Clink.

The moment the scissors hit the ground, so too did the woman fall to her knees.

[Woman] “…..Ah!”

A suppressed sob burst out from the woman’s mouth.

Compared to her pitiful and small appearance, her crying was very loud. Mrs. Flambard clicked her tongue, shaking her head.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Why are you crying? I should be the one crying right now!”

Mrs. Flambard looked very upset, and looked as though she was moments away from tearing the strange woman’s hair out, so Rienne quickly intervened.

[Rienne] “You.”

This was very odd.

She couldn’t believe that the wedding attire had gotten completely ruined. It all felt like a dream. She had no sense of reality, her senses dulled yet bottomless, like the moment before you fall asleep.

[Rienne] “Who are you? And how did you enter the castle?”

[Woman] “. . .”

[Rienne] “Why did you do this? Do you know what these clothes are for?”

[Woman] “. . .”

[Rienne] “Answer me. I’m the one who must mete out your punishment.”

[Woman] “…..ll….m..e.”

Finally, through trembling lips, the woman barely eked out a sound.

[Rienne] “What did you say?”

[Woman] “Kill me.”

The woman lifted up her head, looking Rienne dead in the eyes.

[Woman] “Kill me. I no longer have anything left to fear now. I want to end this life of wanting to die but never being able to.”

[Rienne] “……?”

Exasperated and finished with this situation, Mrs. Flambard stomped her feet as she stood behind Rienne.

[Mrs. Flambard] “We have no idea where such a crazy woman has come from, Princess. Don’t bother with her. I’ll call the guards and have them drag her out.”

[Rienne] “I want to know……Why don’t you have anything to fear?”

Rienne whispered quietly as she spoke towards the woman, but she didn’t say anything back. She stayed perfectly quiet as she glared up at Rienne.

Mrs. Flambard was absolutely flabbergasted at the audacity and rudeness, but Rienne somehow understood the look in the woman’s eyes.

…..They look alike.

It was really strange, but they looked very much alike.

This woman looked like Klimah. Her large brown eyes that looked gentle yet fragile, and which carried a sense of ruin inside them. They looked so similar.

[Rienne] “If you have nothing left to fear now, then that means you feared something before. What was so frightful?”

But the woman didn’t seem willing to answer. So instead of waiting for her, Rienne decided to answer her own question.

[Rienne] “Is it the Kleinfelders? Or were you afraid because your son might be ruined beyond repair?”

[Woman] “……? What….. did you say?”

With that, her silence was broken as the woman muttered blankly.