The Ten Righteous Outlaws and the Elf (3)
After a simple lunch at the castle, I patrolled the territory with Marhan. The main purpose of the patrol was to hear eyewitness accounts directly from the nobles who had suffered damages. The count's private soldiers had felt a distance from the nobles and failed to investigate properly in many areas, so I planned to do the legwork myself for a thorough inquiry.
"When the attack happened, you say? Hmm."
The noble currently being questioned by me was the first victim robbed by the Ten Righteous Outlaws. I'd heard that when the count's soldiers had visited his home for investigation before, the furious noble had snapped, "Do you intend to spread word across the heavens and earth that I was robbed by street thugs?!" forcing them to abandon the effort. I worried he'd give us the cold shoulder again for similar reasons, but arriving with Marhan—a lady knight of the Blue Flag Knights—and a few private soldiers had made him remarkably compliant. My role as regent probably helped soften his attitude as well.
"......It was when I entered the alley, taking the shortcut home."
The noble furrowed his brow, groaning softly as if recalling the moment.
"Masked thugs blocked both ends of the alley and charged in. The moment my slave panicked and drew his weapon, a dagger flew and pierced his shoulder. Then they strode over as if it were nothing and beat the slave mercilessly. With every intention of killing him."
They'd ignored the noble and only killed the slave. It was deliberate—they knew murdering a noble would blow the incident wide open. By timing the ambush when he entered the alley, sealing off escape routes, and slaughtering the slave as cruelly as possible, they'd instilled terror in the noble. If their first crime was this calculated, they weren't amateurs.
"I was trembling in fear, and they held out their hand to me. They threatened that if I handed over all my valuables and money, they'd let me live. With no choice, I gave them everything I had. That was it. I don't know anything more......"
"How exactly did they kill the slave? Did they only use blunt weapons?"
Marhan spoke up. It was the very question on my mind.
The noble stroked his chin thoughtfully, then shook his head.
"Thinking back now, there were a few sharp wounds. Something pointed at the tip...... probably a dagger honed to a fine edge. They could have killed him cleanly by stabbing the throat, but they didn't. It was as if they wanted him to bleed out slowly."
They'd hacked at him with daggers but deliberately avoided a quick death. To savor the final moments of the dying man. It was inhuman, no matter how you looked at it.
'No way.'
Three years ago. The brutality reminded me of the bastard who'd mercilessly murdered a woman's husband and burned her house. As I opened my mouth, recalling him—
"R-Regent, Your Excellency!"
A soldier burst through the door. Not one of mine. Had he run all the way from the castle?
I stared blankly, wondering what was up, and he caught his breath before continuing.
"Good news! The robbers have all surrendered!"
"What?"
More bewildering than joyful. Why on earth would they surrender now?
I glanced sideways with puzzlement, but Marhan looked just as baffled.
*
Riding back to the castle's inner courtyard, I saw the robbers just as the soldier described—hands bound with ropes. Their faces matched the sketches perfectly, and the weapons used in the crimes were preserved, confirming they were indeed the Ten Righteous Outlaws.
"Unbelievable."
"Tell me about it."
I dismounted, landing lightly on the ground, echoing Marhan's words. She followed suit, stepping down behind me.
"Regent, Your Excellency!"
A knight who had been directing the soldiers in the courtyard spotted me and approached, snapping a salute. His face was oddly elated.
"Congratulations on this triumph!"
"Triumph?"
"Ah. Apparently, these scum confessed out of fear of you, Your Excellency. They must have sensed the noose tightening. When the count learns you've captured all these headaches, he'll be overjoyed!"
Did that...... even make sense? I'd only been tracking them for two days at most. Thugs who'd hidden for a month surrendering in fear after just two days? It defied logic and left a nagging unease. But the knight pressed on brightly, unconcerned.
"Word is, they split into factions—one for surrender, one against—and had a massive brawl. The deputy leader and a subordinate died in the fight, and the survivors, led by the boss, came to turn themselves in."
"Two dead?"
"Yes. Young Master Fred left to inspect the scene and confirm the facts. In my view, their faces match the sketches, and they rattled off the methods without hesitation—these are the real culprits."
"I see. Who's the leader?"
"That one over there."
"Right."
I replied coolly and walked past the knight toward the bound leader.
The boss avoided my gaze, eyes dropping to the ground.
"You. State your name."
"......Mernon."
"Do you know Hariya? The woman who lost her husband and home three years ago."
"N-No way. I've never committed arson."
"Arson?"
I glared down at Mernon coldly.
"Strange. I never mentioned the house burning down."
"Th-That......"
Mernon's eyes trembled as he forced an awkward smile and looked up—then spotted something behind me and dropped to his knees in panic.
"Y-Yes! Three years ago, I—I killed that bitch's husband and burned the house! F-Forgive me!"
He shook like he'd seen a demon. Bizarre for a bandit leader. Wondering what was going on, I turned—and there stood the Elf in her maid outfit, impeccably dressed, staring blankly from in front of the stable. Our eyes met, and her expression shifted to sorrowful murmuring. Too far to hear, but reading her lips, it was something like 'I deserve punishment, Master.'
'Just as I suspected......'
Now it made sense. The Elf had tracked them down and persuaded them to confess—somehow. No other way a bandit boss would cower at the sight of an elf slave.
Should I be pleased or not? As I sighed, the knight strode over and kicked Mernon. A dull thud echoed as he rolled across the dirt.
"Kek, kuh......!"
"How dare you contradict the Regent to his face, you worthless criminal scum!"
The knight clicked his tongue and turned to me.
"Your Excellency. How shall we deal with them? Public execution in the square?"
I wanted to, but I couldn't.
"Imprison them. It's not urgent—punishment will be decided after the count returns."
"Ah, yes! We'll do that. You heard him—move it, scum!"
The knight bellowed at the lounging soldiers and crossed the courtyard. Grumbling, they hauled the criminals to their feet. Watching briefly, I glanced at the Elf, then tapped Marhan's plate armor.
She turned with a quizzical look.
"Why do you ask?"
"Marhan. I'm about to give you a very special mission. One that mustn't leak outside. Can you swear on your house and your honor as a knight to keep silent about the orders I give?"
Doubt deepened on her face. Fair enough—why assign a critical task right after the case closed? Even I'd tilt my head in confusion. But to me, this was critical. It tied directly to my survival and my house's future. No more dodging with excuses about paperwork......
"Hm."
After much deliberation, Marhan nodded carefully.
"Understood. My liege is the count, but given the circumstances, Viscount Theorad performing the regency can be seen as my liege as well. As long as it doesn't contradict the count's will, I swear on my house and knightly honor to keep it secret."
"Thank you."
Marhan seemed trustworthy. Clearing my throat, I whispered cautiously.
"By any chance, are there torture tools left in the castle basement? Something that could double as...... sexual tools would be ideal......"
At that point, disgust toward me crept into Marhan's expression.
"No, it's not what you think......"
Frustrating and humiliating. But no time to explain.
*
In the basement tavern of the Black Wheat, Fred descended the stairs with two men cloaked in robes. Blood reeked beyond the shattered door. Pinching his nose instinctively, Fred frowned and pressed on.
Not far off lay two corpses.
'......Heads blown clean off.'
No other damage to the bodies. Smashed remotely, from the inside out—not external pressure, but internal explosion. It was like puppeteering another's body.
'Magic...... black magic, perhaps.'
He'd heard rumors of attack spells from Magic Realm black mages that overloaded the body, sometimes fatally. But exploding a head whole? Unheard of. He couldn't fathom the mastery required.
'An assassin Theorad hired to solve the case?'
No. Hiring such a high-level mage to kill mere bandits? Absurd—overkill. A mage at this level would command insane fees. He doubted Theorad would pay that just to impress his father.
'Then what......'
Why help Theorad? As Fred pondered, a thought struck him, drawing a hollow chuckle.
'A contract, obviously.'
The mage had pledged loyalty through some deal, and Theorad wielded her like a limb.
'Pledged her soul as collateral?'
In the shadows like the Magic Realm, post-death essences served as contract mediums. If Theorad had bound her that way, this scene made sense. But that naive fool scheming in the dark? Shocking, whatever his goal.
'I thought he was just innocently pure.'
Peering inside, he was a bigger underworld titan than himself. Still, Fred wouldn't spread rumors. He had his own shady deeds— no need to draw eyes to the county. Besides, from what he'd seen, Theorad's affection for Esilly seemed genuine. As long as it didn't harm his sister, whatever he did behind the scenes was fine.
Decision made, Fred nodded at the corpses.
"Brothers. No good if these bodies come to light—let's clean them up ourselves."
"Got it."
The two men rolled up their robe sleeves as they advanced. Black scorpion tattoos marked their wrists.
"I'll head out. Bloodstink's still too much for me."
Forcing a bitter smile, Fred turned and climbed the stairs, suspicions about Theorad lingering.
'I don't know his aims, but as long as we don't clash professionally......'
A guy neck-deep in shadows yet radiating goodwill up front. If he ever became an enemy...... Fred doubted he could win.