FSTE 11

Chapter 11

Bang!

With a loud crash, a young guard collapsed to the ground.
His name was Pablo, the youngest among the guards stationed in the central courtyard.

“Who gave that slave kid a wooden sword without permission? Even if it’s for training, don’t you know it’s still a weapon?!”

Pablo, having fallen after getting hit in the face, wiped the blood from his split lip and glanced up at Pedro.

“Tsk. I’m sorry.”
“You call that an attitude of repentance?”

Pedro’s veins bulged across his face. He seemed ready to kick Pablo immediately, but other comrades quickly rushed over to restrain him.

“Enough, Pedro. You’re not the captain anymore, are you?”
“These bastards…”

A dozen rebellious eyes glared at Pedro.

“What’s with those eyes? I’ll remember all of you! When I get reinstated…!”
“Time to wake up. Your era is over.”
“What…?”

When Pedro had the favor of Isabel and played captain, everyone had to bow to him. But they were fed up with his arrogance, which had been backed by that single fact.

“Why all the noise? Planning a party in the middle of the night?”

The barracks door flung open, and a middle-aged man walked in steadily.

Ruben, the new captain replacing Pedro, wore a red scarf around his neck.

“Ruben… you.”
“What kind of tone is that toward your superior, Pedro? Since it’s come to this, planning to collect some punishment, are you?”
“…I’m sorry, Captain.”

Pedro lowered his head, humiliated.
Around him, quiet giggles could be heard. His fists clenched tightly as his shoulders trembled.

Although Lian had only recently come of age,
in a way, he had finally grown from boy to man.

“Hello, Pablo.”
“Hey, Lian. After all the chaos yesterday, you’re looking fine. Wait… you didn’t…”
“Shh. That’s my privacy.”
“You’ve really grown up, huh.”

Pablo grinned mischievously and tapped Lian’s shoulder with his fist.

“Ow! That hurts! I’m already bruised all over!”
“Oh! Sorry. But with that body of yours… wow, you’re young! Really young!”
“Pablo, you’re only four years older than me, yet…”

As expected, human relationships always begin with greetings.

After three months of consistently exchanging pleasantries,
Lian had naturally become close enough to engage in small talk with Pablo and a few other guards.

“Oh? What happened to your lips? They looked fine yesterday.”
“Ah, this? Pedro found out I gave you the wooden sword yesterday.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault…”
“Forget it, man. Don’t worry. But you should’ve seen his face yesterday… haha!”

Pablo relived yesterday’s memory like savoring a fine meal.

He knew Pedro wasn’t popular, but not to that extent. And yet, everything seemed to function normally outwardly, which was terrifying in a sense.

‘Even the Lapis Lazuli Trade Company… this mansion… are all just toys for Isabel.’

Was it right to aim for promotion from slave to Isabel’s “pillar husband”?
If he wasn’t careful, Pedro’s current state might become his own future.

At worst, it could even be worse.

“Well then, good work today.”
“You too, kid.”

Lian adjusted the necklace around his neck as he headed to work.
Leaving or staying here wasn’t a choice he could make freely.

It wasn’t impossible, but it was the lesser evil to avoid the worst.
Besides, he had already rooted himself here.
The soil here was far more fertile than in his days as a serf.
He had grown capable of things he couldn’t have imagined back then.

Even if he had to leave someday, he would never revert to the farm boy he once was.

“Good morning, Master Diego.”
“You’re late. Did you oversleep? Young ones these days… lazy. Tsk.”
“Must you greet me with such warmth at the crack of dawn?”
“Yes. This is a lousy morning. Come quickly and organize this ledger, kid.”

At least he was glad he had noticed Isabel’s twisted tendencies early.

If there were fruits beyond the web, one could simply bypass the web.
The problem is rushing forward without realizing the trap.

“By the way, Master. How long have you been working here? You seem to have been here for quite some time.”
“Why ask that all of a sudden?”
“Just curious. We’ve been seeing each other for over three months, but never shared personal stories.”
“You’re a light one… I’ve worked at the company for almost thirty years.”
“Wow! So you’ve been here since Isabel became the head? Impressive.”
“Look at this kid’s mouth!”

Better to root himself now, carefully avoiding Isabel’s traps.
After all, Diego had survived by her side for decades.

Flap—

A small flapping sound came through the open window.
Lian casually turned his head.

A large beetle was trapped in a spider web stretched across the branches.
The more it struggled, the more the web shook.
Sensing the vibrations of its prey, a predator slowly approached.

Yet the beetle continued to thrash, unaware that it was hastening its own death.

In the late afternoon, long shadows stretched across the central courtyard.
In a secluded corridor of the mansion, a maid was blocked by a massive shadow.

“Oh! You scared me! Pe-Pedro?”

Standing before her was no longer the captain, only a mere guard—Pedro.

“Come to the usual place tonight.”
“Eh?”

As if exchanging a secret code, Pedro turned and left after leaving that one short sentence.

“Sorry… I’m not feeling well today…”

But the maid’s next words made him pause.

“You little brat?”
“Eh…?!”

Her eyes widened madly.
Along with that, a rough hand grabbed her neck.

“You’re the one who blabbed to that slave kid, right? Didn’t you fall for his tricks too?!”
“Ugh! Ugh…!”
“You and that brat, daring to disrespect me? Am I that easy?!”
“Eek! Eek!”

The maid struggled against the wall.
Her arms, thicker than her neck, made it impossible to escape Pedro’s grip.

“What did you tell him? What did you rub your smelly body against him and say?!”
“…!!”

Pedro grabbed her chest roughly, pressing his attack further.
The maid’s face twisted in pain and terror, her color fading.

“You can barely breathe. What do you expect to hear? If you have questions, you could ask without choking her.”

A voice that grated on Pedro’s nerves.
His bloodshot eyes slowly turned behind him.

“…What are you doing here?”
“Eh? This is part of the mansion. Why shouldn’t I be here?”

This part of the mansion was never visited by anyone except the maids.
Yet that guy appeared there at the right moment?

“I see. All of these traps were set by you?”

Swish—thud!

The maid collapsed from exhaustion, freed from Pedro’s grip.

“Ah…! Cough! Cough!”
“Goodness, are you okay? Look at your neck… I’m a bit traumatized just looking at it.”

Pedro no longer cared about such maids.
The true culprit stood before him, wearing a vile smile.

Shhh—

Pedro stepped toward him, drawing his sword from his waist.

“Now I understand. Isabel was deceived by your cunning too.”
“Oh! Let’s put that down first, shall we? Seems you’ve forgotten the basics of conversation.”
“Draw yours. Pretending not to know swordsmanship while taunting me? How dare you lay such a vile trap!”
“Me?”

Lian shrugged and smiled wryly, looking unfairly accused.

At that moment, heavy footsteps approached from the opposite corridor.

“What are you doing, Pedro?! Put the sword down immediately!”
“Ruben…”

The new captain Ruben appeared with the guards, as if anticipating the situation.

“Ha! So you were in cahoots! You wanted the captain’s position so badly, you coward!”
“What? This guy… has completely lost it…”
“Lost it? No! He’s only just opened his eyes! Finally realizing the disaster hidden in this mansion!”

Pedro pointed his sword at Lian.

Swish—swish—

At the same time, Ruben and the guards drew their swords.

“Stop, Pedro. Stop acting like you own this mansion.”
“No! Kill that slave! He will ruin Isabel! His schemes will bring everyone to ruin!”
“Ridiculous. That’s just your story.”

The guards rushed to restrain Pedro.
But the distance between Pedro and Lian was closer.

“I’ll make you my companion instead! All for Isabel!”

There was only one chance.
Moreover, his opponent hadn’t drawn a sword yet.

But he overlooked something.

‘Five steps away. I haven’t drawn my sword yet. His first move will be…’

A bold thrust to the torso, with no worry of counterattack.
Lian lowered his body, dodging as if evading phantom pain in his solar plexus.

Pedro’s sword sliced through the air.

‘And the follow-up horizontal slash!’

A chilling scream came near the neck.
But before Pedro could move his sword, Lian had already acted.

With the sword hilt, he struck.

Shreek—

Lian, kneeling, cut Pedro’s knee as his sword passed by.

“Guh!”

At that moment, as Pedro lost his balance and fell, he saw the nape of Lian’s neck.
Even in pain, a victorious smile formed on his lips.

Exposing the back of one’s head to the enemy… a fatal lapse in the last moment.

Clang!

“…!!?”

Thud!

But Lian seemed to have eyes on the back of his head.
He didn’t allow Pedro’s final strike to succeed.

“So in the end, I had to draw this right in front of you, didn’t I?”

Lian smiled calmly as the victor, sword poised at the fallen Pedro.
As always, his calculations had never failed.

“A short lesson. I shall now descend, Master.”

It was a moment of complete triumph.

These days, the mansion front was rarely quiet.
And the reason?

“Let me in! I need to talk to Isabel!”
“Get lost, Pedro. How many times is this?”

Pedro came every day, causing trouble.

Having been fired for causing chaos during his punishment, Pedro was now a lifelong cripple, his tendons in his knees severed.

“Be grateful Isabel didn’t hand you to the constable.”
“No, Ruben! It’s not me, it’s that damn slave! He set all the traps!”
“Still spouting nonsense!”

Bang!

Pedro was kicked in the stomach by Ruben, rolling in the dirt.

“Don’t come here again. Next time, I really will hand you to the constable.”
“No… that’s not it…”

Pedro struggled to his feet with his staff and limped away, resigned.

Though his personality was awful, his skill was undeniable.

“Tch. Lian… such a talent wasted just to stay by Master Diego’s side.”

Ruben wasn’t saddened by Pedro’s fate, but regretted that Lian’s swordsmanship had caused it in just one move.

“Captain, he’ll probably come again tomorrow. Why not hand him over to the constable?”
“We’ve eaten from the same pot. If he comes again tomorrow, we’ll hand him over then. No rush.”

But Pedro didn’t come the next day. Nor the day after.

Three days later, he was found dead, tangled in a dock rope at dawn.
The constable concluded he fell while drunk.

Of course, few believed that story.