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Chapter – 36
I couldn’t even ask why you were here. The situation I’d been thrown into was so suffocating that, instead, I was glad to see him—so much so that my eyes stung as if tears might spill. Still, the situation itself was far from good.
“Hey! Get a physician! Call a physician! That lunatic cut me!”
“You’re exaggerating.”
Only then did I tear my gaze away from the emperor and look toward the one making a scene—Rabiel’s father. The Count of Avalon was clutching his hand frantically. Blood was dripping steadily from the arm he was holding.
“That crazy bastard!”
“Exactly. Who gave you permission to lay a hand on Rabiel?”
Was what I was seeing really happening?
“Don’t tell me… you cut off his hand?”
“Yeah.”
“Why…?”
“Why? Are you worried because he’s family?”
“No. I’m not worried, but…”
“You crazy bitch! Your father’s in this state and you’re not worried? Hey! Why isn’t the physician here yet?!”
It didn’t look like anyone had gone to fetch one. From the start, they’d planned to kidnap me, so they’d stationed mercenaries and knights to block anyone from approaching. There was no chance a passerby would help. And the mercenaries, seeing the emperor holding a real blade, were at a loss—busy exchanging looks instead of acting.
“So then—what should we do with you?”
He pulled me closer and turned his gaze to the forty-four-year-old butter-faced man sprawled on the ground.
A man who swung his sword without a hint of hesitation. Perhaps realizing it was best not to draw the ire of someone like that, the man trembled, wriggling in a posture that looked like groveling.
But the emperor swung his blade again, pinning the man’s trailing clothes to the floor.
“Like a bug.”
Realizing no amount of struggling would free him, the forty-four-year-old butter-faced man twisted his body and looked up at the emperor with a wronged expression.
“I’ve done nothing wrong!”
“Forcing someone who said no—wouldn’t that be wrong?”
“That’s… I—I just did what he told me to! He said he had a young daughter and that he’d hand her over if I did this. But no matter how well I treated her, it didn’t work, so… today he told me to kidnap her and just take her. He said he’d spend money at the mercenary office to drive Rabiel out, so I should just kidnap her and bring her—”
The Count of Avalon shouted, furiously denying it.
“When did I ever order that?! We discussed it together and carried it out, and now you’re pinning it all on me?! You think there’s no evidence and you can get away with this?!”
Apparently, it wasn’t entirely untrue. The butter-faced man, who’d been brazen just moments ago, now avoided eye contact.
“When is the physician coming?!”
At last, one of the mercenaries quietly slipped away, seemingly to fetch one. But as soon as one left, the others began to make excuses and disappear one by one, watching each other nervously.
“You bastards! Do you know how much money I paid you? You’re just going to run?! Hey! You assholes!”
People who move for money value their own lives above all else. At first, they’d thought only the emperor was here—but at some point, about ten of his knights had appeared as well. They weren’t wearing armor emblazoned with the imperial crest, nor had they said anything particularly conspicuous, but the pressure they exuded was overwhelming.
“Those sons of—!”
“I should’ve cut off his tongue instead of his arm. It’d be quieter. Right? Shut up for a bit. I’m not done talking with this one yet.”
Considering the Marquis of Avalon’s temperament, he should’ve snapped back immediately—but now he just curled his lips in the most pitiful expression imaginable.
“I’m dying… I’m really dying…”
He was still making a fuss about the pain, of course. The emperor seemed satisfied with that and turned his gaze back to the forty-four-year-old butter-faced man.
“So, what should we do with you?”
“What exactly did I do wrong? I just paid money and with Rabiel—”
“If that mouth of yours says the name ‘Rabiel’ one more time, I’ll cut off your tongue.”
“Does that make any sense?! No matter how much of an emperor you are, you can’t threaten people like this!”
Mentioning the word emperor right in front of him.
So this is what it feels like to have someone powerful on your side.
I’d never experienced it before. Thanks to that solid backing, my shoulders straightened on their own.
This is nice…? No. Get a grip. What’s nice about this?
I steadied myself and looked up at the emperor. He was still staring coldly at the butter-faced man. Lips pressed tight, eyes unwavering. Seeing him like this—being so helpful—made him look even more handsome.
“So? What about it?”
“What about it… I—I’ll make this public.”
“Do whatever you want. That’s later. Right now, I want to give you a fitting punishment for harassing Rabiel.”
“And who are you to decide on punishment?! I was just exercising my rightful claim in exchange for what I paid! What’s wrong with paying money and taking goods?!”
The emperor’s expression hardened further.
“So if you pay money, you can do anything?”
“That’s right!”
“Then if I pay money, I can kill you, right?”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant—”
“Who are you to treat a person like an object? Fine, then. I’ll play along with your values. If people are no different from objects, then you’re an object too, right? I’ll buy you. And after I do, I’ll kill you. Let’s see if you can say the same thing then.”
The emperor turned his gaze to a nearby knight. The knight promptly dropped a heavy pouch in front of the butter-faced man.
It hit the ground with a solid thud—clearly stuffed with an enormous amount of money. At the sight of it, the man’s face went beyond pale, turning ashen.
“Th-this is…!”
“Money. The thing you love so much. There—I’ve paid. Shall I kill you now?”
“N-no… This doesn’t make any sense—”
“From this moment on, I decide what makes sense.”
“All this over touching one woman?”
“One woman? It seems you didn’t hear what the Count of Avalon said.”
He’d been twitching little by little, and at last the butter-faced man managed to pull his clothes free from the sword stuck in the floor.
“W-what did he say…? Don’t tell me… she’s your lover?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
“What? Then why—”
“She’s someone I need.”
“Just for that, you’d create a situation like this?!”
The forty-four-year-old butter-faced man shouted.
“I hate sharing what’s mine. And yet some bug dares to call my possession by name, all friendly-like, and even tries to kidnap her. Wouldn’t that make anyone snap? I just followed my temper. Is that really something worth calling ‘a situation’?”
For a moment, I bristled at him calling me his, but since he’d saved me in this mess, I wisely stayed quiet.
“Hah… hah…”
“So you should die.”
Only then did he seem to recognize the mad gleam in the emperor’s eyes. He hurriedly dropped to his knees.
“I—I’m sorry! I only did what the Count of Avalon told me! He said his daughter wouldn’t listen and needed some discipline… I was lonely, and I fell completely for the offer. The only thing I did wrong was trusting the Count of Avalon too much. So… so please, just spare my life. I swear I’ll never tell anyone about this.”
“You won’t tell anyone?”
“I’ll never report that you attacked the Count of Avalon or tried to kill me. Never, ever. So please, just let me live.”
With every word the man spoke, the emperor seemed more amused.
“I don’t care. Go ahead and tell everyone.”
“…What?”
“Ah, that actually sounds fun. I’ve decided. I’ll let you go.”
“Huh…?”
“But you must make sure to report me.”
Completely unable to grasp what was happening, the man just blinked.
“Why aren’t you leaving? Do you want to die here? Well, I suppose if you’re that old and still unmarried—if you’re a piece of trash who drools over young girls and treats people like objects—you might want to die. Fine. If that’s your wish.”
“No! Th-thank you!”
Instantly bright-eyed, he crawled away on all fours like a true bug, trying to flee. But—
“Oh. But it’d be boring if you just left, wouldn’t it?”
“…What?”
“Since you’re crawling like a bug, this seems fitting.”
Wearing a razor-sharp smile, the emperor grabbed his sword and swung it at the forty-four-year-old butter-faced man. The blade traced a clean arc and sliced into the man’s ankle. With his posture as it was, he had no means to defend himself and took the blow head-on.
“Aaaagh!”
