Chapter 81: The Choice is Yours
The problem was quickly resolved. We faced the attackers head-on, and fortunately, the mercenaries were subdued swiftly. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“I’m sure they said there’s no magician…”
I tilted my head at him. “Can’t you tell when you see one?”
Isaac murmured behind me, “Because you don’t have mana stones.”
Oh, right, I didn’t. magicians in mercenary corps typically carried large mana stones. It wasn’t just for show; they were essential for using magic. Ordinary magicians almost always carried mana stones, so seeing some of these mercenaries with them made it clear they were magicians. In my case, I didn’t need them, so I didn’t carry them around as they would just get in the way.
I looked at one of the kneeling mercenaries and then mimicked Abel, who often enjoyed threatening people.
“Who hired you?”
The mercenary flinched and tightly closed his mouth.
I stomped on his thigh, hoping my heel would be effective here.
“Ugh…”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. You attacked a noble; you’ll be punished anyway.”
At that moment, the mercenary spoke up. “We didn’t know you were a noble. We were just ordered to kidnap a rich girl…”
“What were you going to do after the kidnapping?”
“Well, we were just trying to scare you a little…”
What a stupid lie this was. It was obvious, especially given the context of kidnapping a young lady. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Who is the client?”
“I… I don’t know.”
I kicked the mercenary’s waist. Since they had aimed at me first, I felt no need to show mercy.
“Alright, let’s see how many fingers you’ll have left by the time you tell me who’s behind this.”
“We… we really don’t know!”
“Well…”
The mercenaries had a dim, unfortunate look.
I wondered who the hostile noble was behind this scheme. The method to make me “afraid” was too absurd. But they had actually gone through with it. In the first place, these mercenaries were not loyal enough to protect their clients when their own lives were at risk. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Did they pay well?”
“Well, compared to other requests…”
I clicked my tongue. Then I asked more questions about which guild they were from.
“What a fool. You should have considered whether the order was gold or just garbage.”
With that, I turned around. I heard a mercenary sigh in relief behind me, thinking I might let them go.
‘Not a chance.’
There had already been a death here. If I had been weaker earlier, I might have been beaten by them.
I whispered to Isaac and Liander, sensing that there was nothing more to gain from the scoundrels.
“Take care of them, but do it moderately.”
As always, I didn’t feel the need to show mercy when someone threatened me first. Besides, I was currently responsible for the entire Heilon Mansion. The risk factor couldn’t be ignored.
If you were weak at heart, you would suffer; if you were weak overall, you would die.
That was a fact I had understood fully through years of experience. For me, if someone wanted to be treated with kindness, there should be no hostility between us.
“Yes, we understand.”
The two knights nodded as if it were the most natural thing. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
***
It would be my loss to drag out this kind of problem.
If the opponent was from the mercenary side, the countermeasure was simple. After the attack, I immediately went into action. After gathering a few more soldiers, I went straight to the guild where those mercenaries had been commissioned.
Among the nobles, the Duke of Heilon was a family with close ties to mercenaries. As such, the mercenary guild obviously didn’t want to turn Heilon into their enemy. Even so, I was attacked.
BANG!
A knight kicked open the door of the mercenary guild building. I relished this. Everything was in perfect harmony. I truly felt like a boorish noble. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘Well, I’m here to be a bully.’
The inside of the mercenary guild was like a tavern.
“What’s this?”
The mercenaries, who had been drinking and chatting since daytime, jumped up from their seats.
I smiled.
“Where is the guild leader?”
Several people rushed to approach me but were stopped by the knights—more precisely, they were knocked down.
DUG! BANG!
The sounds echoed through the guild for a moment.
“….”
Most of them were still looking at me, having realized that my presence was no ordinary matter.
I spoke again, “Guild leader.”
A mercenary with a tired expression on his face pointed upward. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Oh, they were upstairs.
It would have been better if they had grasped the situation more quickly.
I smiled approvingly.
“There was a lot of rudeness.”
“….”
Isaac, standing next to me, muttered quietly, “Miss, speaking formally doesn’t change anything…” He really did say something like that.
I ignored him and went upstairs. The knights faithfully executed my wishes without needing further instructions.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The knights smashed the doors menacingly, kicking them open until they found the guild leader’s room. As expected, these were indeed people who had been with Abel for a long time. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Miss, here he is,” said Liander.
I turned to see the office behind the broken door. A middle-aged man, who appeared to be the guild leader, looked at me with a puzzled expression.
I started with a common greeting, since this was our first meeting. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Hello?”
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