A Barbaric Proposal Chapter 41

※The Treaty of the Six Families※

[Fermos] "Things will work out easily thanks to the Princess. The mere thought of lifting the hems of those gloomy priests’ robes... Ugh, it was enough to kill my appetite entirely."

Since they had found a clue, it was time to move swiftly.

Liene began preparations to convene the Grand Council, while Black decided to go to the Temple with Fermos. A group was quickly organized to head there immediately.

[Fermos] "Ah, here comes the horse."

Mercenaries brought a horse for Fermos to the stable courtyard.

[Fermos] "Hmm? But it seems there is only one horse?"

Black’s horse had not been brought out. Fermos wondered if the subordinates had suddenly gone deaf, but that wasn't the case.

[Black] "You go alone. I have business to attend to."

[Fermos] "Oh my? Surely you aren't going back to the Princess to finish what you couldn't... earlier?"

Fermos asked in mock horror, but upon seeing Black’s expression, he immediately wiped the smile off his face.

[Fermos] "I misspoke, my Lord."

Fermos rolled his eyes once and quickly changed the subject.

[Fermos] "By the way, is the Princess alright? She must have been shocked this morning."

[Black] "She says she is fine, but I intend to keep an eye on her."

[Fermos] "That would be best. Even if there are no visible symptoms, everything is dangerous in the early stages... Ah, but."

As if a thought had just occurred to him, Fermos grinned mischievously.

[Fermos] "Isn't the Princess, well, how should I put this... a bit too innocent? In that regard, she speaks less like a twenty-five-year-old and more like an eighteen-year-old. Are you alright with that, my Lord?"

[Black] "Pick a spot."

[Fermos] "Pardon?"

[Black] "Pick where you want me to hit you this time."

[Fermos] "...Huk! I have misspoken again, my Lord."

The mischievous grin vanished in an instant.

Black seemed to have zero tolerance for anyone else discussing his woman.

[Fermos] "In the future, when I speak of the Princess, I will think it over several times before... Eek!"

Fermos, thoroughly cowed, was muttering with his shoulders hunched when he suddenly shrieked as Black yanked him back by the scruff of his neck.

[Black] "No need to make a fuss."

Black leaned in and spoke low into Fermos' ear.

[Black] "There will be an infirm old man near the Temple. Find him first. Without anyone knowing."

[Fermos] "Without anyone knowing meant..."

[Black] "The Princess sent her nanny."

[Fermos] "You mean I must find him before she does. Understood."

Fermos nodded once and asked.

[Fermos] "May I ask the reason?"

[Black] "He might have recognized me."

[Fermos] "What? You, my Lord? Then..."

His clever mind spun into action.

From that single sentence, Fermos deduced a significant amount of information.

Someone who knew Black’s past was still alive.

Princess Liene knew of this person’s existence and had sent someone. Black was trying to intercept that person to hide him.

This meant Black did not want Princess Liene to discover his past.

[Fermos] "What do you wish for me to do? Silence him?"

[Black] "Not yet. Just hide him for now."

[Fermos] "Understood."

Black released Fermos.

Fermos rubbed his throbbing neck and nodded.

[Fermos] "Then I shall be off, my Lord."

Black turned and walked away without so much as a glance back.

Fermos muttered with a sullen face.

[Fermos] "Was my Lord always this prone to holding grudges..."

Anyway, he would have to watch his mouth from now on.

A moment later, Fermos headed for the Temple with five mercenaries.

---

Squelch, squelch.

The sound of footsteps was different underground. The dampness crouching on the floor clung to the soles of his boots, creating a sinister, heavy sound.

[Mercenary] "You’ve come, my Lord!"

The guards of the underground dungeon had all been replaced by the Tiwakan.

Nauk’s existing guards were gradually being excluded from their original duties. Weroz’s absence actually served to make this transition easier.

Upon spotting Black visiting the dungeon alone, the mercenary quickly straightened his back.

[Mercenary] "We received no message of your arrival. Are you here for an inspection?"

[Black] "Quietly."

Black seemed unwilling to announce his presence. The quick-witted mercenary lowered his voice.

[Mercenary] "Shall I show you the ones who came in today?"

Black simply nodded without a word.

[Mercenary] "This way."

Regardless of anything else, the Tiwakan acknowledged that the dungeon was useful.

Although there were few prisoners currently locked up, the fact that such a massive prison was designed with multiple layers of security symbolized the power the royal family must have once enjoyed.

[Mercenary] "The structure makes escape impossible, but since the Deputy Commander ordered us not to let them be comfortable, we tied them up."

[Black] "Well done."

[Mercenary] "Thank you."

The mercenary grinned at the unexpected praise.

After passing through two doors designed to be locked from the outside, the cell holding the prisoners was revealed.

[Mercenary] "We put them in one room. We are monitoring what they say to each other."

[Black] "And have they said anything so far?"

[Mercenary] "No. They haven't said much since the Deputy Commander left. Ah, it is here."

Clank!

The mercenary opened the door.

Black stepped into the cell.

Two Kleinfelters, bound tightly with ropes to low wooden chairs, looked up.

[Black] "Close the door, and leave."

The door closed quietly behind him.

With that, a space was created where no one would disturb him. If necessary, the Tiwakan mercenaries would pretend that the fact that he was even here never happened.

Black glared at Lyndon with icy blue eyes.

[Lyndon] "What do you intend to do to me?"

[Black] "Well..."

Black’s sluggish tone sounded even more threatening to his enemies. It was the same now.

[Lyndon] "You cannot touch me. Nauk is not such an easy place. If by chance my head were to be cut off..."

[Black] "You're noisy."

Thud!

Black kicked the leg of the chair Lyndon was sitting on.

Crash!

[Lyndon] "Ugh!"

Lyndon toppled to the floor.

Black watched him struggle, grimacing in pain, with an impassive gaze before asking.

[Black] "What do you know?"

[Lyndon] "What... nonsense is this, out of nowhere—Ack!"

Black flipped Lyndon over with his foot.

As his hands, bound behind his back, were exposed, Black stomped on his wrist.

[Lyndon] "Aaaargh!"

It was a wretched scream. Since he had stomped with his full weight, the wrist was likely broken.

[Black] "Quietly."

The foot that had crushed the wrist now stepped on the back of his head. As his face was mashed into the floor, a terrified Lyndon swallowed his screams into choked whimpers.

[Laffit] "What are you doing! Stop it!"

Laffit, who had been staying still, shouted. He tried to drag the chair he was tied to toward them.

[Black] "Don't move."

Instead of stopping Laffit, Black applied deliberate pressure to the foot stepping on Lyndon's head.

[Laffit] "......."

[Black] "There are two mouths."

Laffit went pale and froze.

As if he expected that, Black turned his head back and lifted his foot slightly.

[Black] "I will ask again. What is it that Princess Liene does not know?"

[Lyndon] "Me... that... Gasp..."

[Black] "Why do I want Nauk?"

[Lyndon] "That, anyone can see... It's obvious... Ugh!"

[Black] "Think carefully before you speak again. It isn't difficult to snap a neck."

[Lyndon] "Huk..."

Lyndon sucked in a breath.

His mind raced frantically, trying to gauge if Black was merely threatening him or if he was serious.

The remark about there being two mouths prevented him from acting boldly.

It sounded like an assurance that even if Black snapped his neck, there was another person left to open their mouth, so it didn't matter.

[Lyndon] "That... that boy knows nothing... Huk, nothing."

It meant there was nothing to gain by killing him.

But conversely, it meant that Lyndon did know something. That was what Black wanted to confirm.

[Black] "Then you can speak."

[Lyndon] "Th-that is..."

Realizing his mistake too late, Lyndon rolled his eyes anxiously.

But it was already too late.

[Black] "There is also a method of breaking the neck while leaving the ability to speak intact."

[Lyndon] "...Liene is practically blind to the truth."

Lyndon muttered, as if in resignation.

[Black] "Continue."

[Lyndon] "She knows nothing of how her father became King. Or how the Risebury Treaty came to be."

[Black] "So."

[Lyndon] "The Kleinfelters played the biggest role in allowing the Arsak family to play pretend as royalty! To ignore that grace now is absurd... Cough!"

Kleinfelter, whose head was stomped on again, was forced to shut his mouth.

[Black] "Grace, you say."

Black’s lips twisted in a sneer.

[Black] "For that, the Princess' life didn't seem particularly glorious."

[Lyndon] "She was born the eldest daughter of a trivial family, a life destined to be sold off for a decent price, yet she came to be called a Princess. If that isn't glory, what is... Ugh!"

Black kicked the back of his head as if he had been waiting for that excuse.

[Black] "Fix your habit of speech. Show respect. To your Sovereign."

[Lyndon] "You will surely..."

Lyndon trembled, unable to control his rage.

[Black] "Is that all? What the Princess doesn't know?"

[Lyndon] "...It is."

[Black] "You are lying."

Black tapped the back of Lyndon’s head with his foot, almost playfully.

[Black] "That alone isn't a reason for me to take the Princess' head. Why would I need to do such a thing to obtain Nauk?"

[Lyndon] "......"

[Black] "Answer me."

Lyndon spat out a curse through his teeth.

[Lyndon] "Damn it...! You should know that! Why ask me about what you are doing!"

[Black] "I merely proposed marriage; you are the one claiming otherwise."

[Lyndon] "Don't be ridiculous... You merely proposed? Who would believe such nonsense! Obviously, you are doing this because you have an objective!"

[Black] "So, I am asking, what is my objective?"

[Lyndon] "Obviously, Nauk..."

[Black] "What is in Nauk?"

[Lyndon] "...Obviously, because it is an easy target. Where else would a savage who rolled around on battlefields be treated like royalty?"

It was brief, but Black did not miss the violent trembling in Lyndon’s eyes.

[Black] "Killing the Princess wouldn't achieve that."

[Lyndon] "Th-that's why, after marrying and gaining the right to rule..."

[Black] "The right to rule regarding Arsak is passed down through Arsak. If I kill the Princess, someone who shares even a drop of Arsak blood must become King. Not me. Surely you aren't unaware of that."

[Lyndon] "...A savage like you wouldn't follow royal rules. You'd just do whatever you pleased."

[Black] "Do you intend to hide it?"

[Lyndon] "......"

Lyndon swallowed hard instead of answering.

He realized that to make him open his mouth, Black would need not just to kick his pride, but to employ more precise and cruel torture.

[Black] "Well, enough."

At that point, Black removed his foot.

[Black] "I learned what I needed to know. That is enough for today."

[Lyndon] ".......?"

Lyndon looked rather confused.

However, Black turned away readily, just as he said.

[Black] "...Oh, my."

Then he paused.

[Black] "It was the left."

It was a small mutter to himself, but Lyndon could hear it clearly.

[Lyndon] "What do you mean, left..."

Black bent down and untied the ropes binding Lyndon.

No one would interpret that action as kindness.

Especially not Lyndon, whose left hand had just been broken.

[Lyndon] "Why are you doing this! Don't touch my bo— Aaaaargh!"

As expected, Black violently twisted Lyndon’s right wrist. The wrist on which his handprint remained on Liene was also the right one.

[Lyndon] "Aaaargh! Argh!"

A warning descended upon Lyndon, who was rolling on the floor screaming, forgetting all dignity in his pain.

[Black] "From this moment forth, Princess Liene will be the sole reason Tiwakan fights. Burn that into your memory."

[Lyndon] "Don't... Don't be ridiculous!"

Lyndon shouted even as he was sniveling with tears and snot.

[Lyndon] "The Princess is pregnant... She carries another man's child! Are you doing all this to obtain such a woman? How do you expect anyone to believe that!"

Black’s gaze swept once over Laffit, who kept his mouth shut tight.

[Black] "That is none of your concern."

[Lyndon] ".......!"

[Black] "And it is my child. If I hear any rumors suggesting otherwise, the problem will be your tongues, so I will pull out both of them."

[Lyndon] "......."

Bang!

Leaving behind that chilling warning, Black closed the door and exited the prison.

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