Chapter 3 : The Hound of Hebron (3)
Chapter 3 : The Hound of Hebron (3)
Generally, that was the case.
In a situation where people were treated like objects, the right thing to say would be, "People are not objects."
The current situation was no different.
Given Agnes's words, "Give this to me," the morally correct response for Deltain would have been to defend his subordinate's personhood.
However, unfortunately, Deltain was a man far removed from moral etiquette.
"Do you think I'm holding it for you?"
Deltain said, frowning.
It was a remark that treated Kaltara like an object, just as Agnes had.
Kaltara, the person in question, just laughed heartily.
"That's how it is. Wench. I am the Boss's property, so I cannot be yours!"
"It's not 'wench,' it's Lady Levadein. Show some respect."
"Understood! Sorry, Lady Levadein Wench!"
Kaltara laughed so heartily that her gums were fully exposed.
Agnes, who had been staring at Deltain until then, only cast her gaze toward Kaltara a beat later and said.
"Then there's no problem, right?"
"Hm?"
"You said you can't be mine because you're Deltain's property."
Agnes's smile deepened.
"Then it's fine. Deltain is mine. If you're the property of my property, doesn't that mean you're mine too?"
It was Deltain who retorted to that.
"I've never been your property."
"You will be in the future."
"You're living in a delusion. That will never happen."
"It will absolutely happen. Just today, you came all the way to the Duchy because you wanted to see me, didn't you? Even though you had a schedule."
"I'll say it again...!"
Kaltara blinked her eyes.
She tilted her head as if puzzled by the sight of the two starting an argument, and only then did she make an 'Ah' sound and speak.
"Has the Boss promised to breed with this wench?"
Deltain's body stiffened.
His face had turned so red that Kaltara had never seen such a thing before.
The moment Deltain parted his lips to spit out some profanity, Kaltara continued a step faster than that.
"That's a bad idea. This wench is too frail. She'll die before she even gives birth to a child!"
A hearty smile still hung on her face.
She seemed like someone speaking about something truly obvious and common sense.
"Even if she does give birth, it's a problem. If it's the Boss's child, isn't that my next master? I have no intention of serving someone frail. If you want a breeding partner, find another wench!"
Deltain wiped his eyes with his hand.
"...Get lost."
"Hm! Where is Gerhart?"
"He's preparing a meal. Go to the dining room."
"Understood!"
Kaltara headed to the dining room with a thump, thump sound.
The men who had been standing blankly behind Kaltara until then bowed briefly to Deltain and followed her.
Only then did Deltain check Agnes's complexion.
Her smile had faded a little.
It was a look unlike her.
For some reason, Deltain didn't like that, so he clicked his tongue and said.
"...Don't take it to heart. She's always like that. Her muscles extend all the way to her brain, so she has a tendency to speak without thinking."
"Are you worried about me?"
"I'm apologizing for my subordinate's rudeness as her master. I'm just doing the obvious thing."
"You said that if apologies were enough to solve things, laws wouldn't be necessary."
Agnes raised her head.
"Compensate me."
Deltain felt both relief and annoyance at her demeanor.
In the end, what came out was a remark mixed with a dry laugh.
"You must have forgotten, but you were the one who was rude first."
"Didn't you say Kaltara doesn't care about things like that? But I'm narrow-minded, so I do care. I'm hurt and want to cry."
"Is being narrow-minded something to brag about?"
"Yes, especially as a woman, I think it's a great brag. They usually say you need to be tight to be a good lay, right?"
Deltain was rendered speechless.
Exactly three seconds.
That was the time it took for Deltain to understand her words.
Immediately after, Deltain said it with as much contempt as he could muster.
"...Crazy bitch."
"I want to cry even more because I just got cursed at."
Even as she said that, Agnes was making her smile deeper.
She stood up from her chair, stood straight, and looked up at Deltain as she spoke.
"Give me Kaltara as compensation."
"I can't."
"Why? Do you like her?"
"Don't judge me by your standards. I don't move for things like love. Kaltara is the most powerful weapon I have. The effort and resources I poured into making her were astronomical. If you really want compensation, bet on something else."
"Ah! So you did agree to compensate me?"
Agnes clapped her hands in delight.
Only then did Deltain realize his mistake and grind his teeth.
He had promised compensation he didn't need to give, all because he got caught up in Agnes's pace.
Having lost the most basic rule of negotiation, this was a very shameful mistake for Deltain.
Deltain's eyes blazed with fury.
Agnes blushed slightly at the face glaring at her, plastered with feelings of anger.
"It's embarrassing when you look at me like that."
"Thanks. Because of you, I've gained enthusiasm for getting rid of the Demon Flower. I will definitely make you perfectly fine. And then I'm going to punch you in the philtrum."
"Did you want a kiss mark? You're so devious while pretending not to be. Give me your hand, I'll just make one for you."
"Get lost."
Agnes burst into clear laughter.
"Hm, what should I get...."
Agnes knew that Deltain would not go back on this compensation.
It was only natural, as he was a man who took as much responsibility for his words as he had pride.
A moment of contemplation followed.
At the end of it, Agnes smiled and said.
"I'll keep it for now. I want to think about it a little more."
Saying that, she clung to Deltain.
"Carry me to the dining room. I can't walk."
It was a request made with the most lively demeanor she'd had in a while, which Deltain found quite detestable.
However, considering that her body was truly frail, she wasn't exactly lying.
She was a woman who utilized the cards she held with an infuriating level of skill.
*
The atmosphere in the dining room was bizarre.
Deltain continued his meal without saying a word, as if he were in a foul mood, and Agnes was moving her knife with a beaming face.
Kaltara, with her thick tendons, scooped up food with her bare hands regardless of the two's mood, but the others were different.
Gerhart felt the awkwardness.
So, while standing behind Deltain, he opened his mouth and said.
"Count-nim, shouldn't you introduce the knights to the Lady?"
Deltain frowned sharply.
He then pointed at them one by one with his fork and recited their names.
"Kaltara, Pobler, Galan, Jebis."
"I wouldn't know who's who just by that, would I?"
Agnes smiled sweetly.
Deltain retorted with a snort, "Hmph!"
"What do you mean you wouldn't know? If you just know their names, you'd be able to distinguish who they are, wouldn't you?"
"How cold."
Agnes didn't say anything more than that.
Because, as Deltain said, there were only four Hounds of Hebron, and if one knew their names, it was easy to distinguish them.
Agnes greeted the knights.
The man with black hair, whose face from below his nose to his chin was melted away by burns, bowed his head.
He was the necrophiliac, Galan.
"Nice to meet you."
A middle-aged man with brown hair and a stiff expression received the greeting.
He was the carnivore, Pobler.
The blue-haired boy who hung his head as if shy was the sex addict, Jebis.
And the muscular giant of a woman with grey hair, who was a head taller than Deltain and looked threatening, was....
"You're greeting me twice!"
It was the masochist, Kaltara.
"...I feel this every time, but everyone's nicknames are strange."
"Did I name them? The knights who saw these guys fight named them."
"You could have told them not to call them that."
"Why should I care about their nicknames?"
Deltain just continued his meal as if he really had no interest.
Agnes made a nasal sound, "Hmm," and then smiled slightly.
"Still, I think they're at least as strong as you claim. They all look incredibly strong."
"I am actually strong!"
"It looks that way. Even if they're barbarians, this is the first time I've seen someone with such a large build."
"Hm! This is also the first time I've seen a human as frail as the Lady Wench!"
Kaltara laughed as if it were amusing.
And then she continued.
"But I'm curious. Why does the wench want to have me?"
"Kaltara, I told you to show respect."
"Then I'll correct it to Lady Wench!"
Deltain clicked his tongue and turned his head away.
It was because he knew Kaltara would soon forget her own words.
He had shown enough courtesy, so for him, there was no reason to continue this unproductive conversation.
Agnes listened to the two's conversation as if it were interesting, then replied with a smile.
"Because I get envious when I see healthy people."
Even while speaking, her gaze was fixed on Deltain, or more precisely, on his eyes.
It was an attitude as if she were pointing that out specifically.
Kaltara didn't attach any deep meaning to that gaze.
She just answered the words delivered to her faithfully.
"I certainly wouldn't even want to think about a frail life. If it were me, I would have hanged myself!"
Clack-!
Deltain set down his cutlery with a loud noise.
A look of anger was clearly visible on his face.
"Kaltara. Don't cross the line."
"I'm fine. Because you're going to compensate me."
"That's why I'm saying it."
Deltain was angry.
It was an anger for which he couldn't even clearly identify the reason himself.
Kaltara's behavior like that wasn't a one- or two-day occurrence, and since he had never been angry at that behavior until now, he felt quite flustered.
Therefore, Deltain attached a reason to the thought that had come to mind.
"I'm the one who loses out from Kaltara's behavior. Since Kaltara doesn't have the intelligence to think about that, I have to step in."
Mana was boiling around his body.
This was a clear sign of intimidation.
Kaltara was still beaming.
"I can't understand why the Boss is angry!"
"Your words and actions are excessive. If you're not confident in showing respect, keep your mouth shut."
"I'll do as you say!"
Kaltara clamped her mouth shut.
Although the atmosphere was menacing, no one was reading the room.
The Hounds of Hebron were used to his irritable temperament, and Agnes loved that irritable side of him.
The tense meal ended just like that.
"Let's go."
Deltain put on his coat, came out, and said that to Agnes.
Agnes watched him approach with her back straight and said.
"Hm, it was bothersome when I came, so it's fine."
"What?"
"It was more fun than I thought. So I'm going to ride something else on the way back."
Deltain's brow furrowed.
Inside him, anxiety was rising, wondering, 'What is this strange woman thinking of now?'
Agnes reached out and pointed at Kaltara, saying.
"That one. It's sturdy, so I want to ride it."
"...I told you, I'm not giving her to you."
"I'm just saying I want to ride her."
Deltain looked at Kaltara.
She was shrugging her shoulders as if she didn't care at all.
"...She doesn't know how to control her strength."
"She'll be able to."
"What do you know, having met her for the first time today?"
"Kaltara hates weaklings, right? She wouldn't want to lose out because of that weakling. Right?"
Agnes asked while looking exactly at Kaltara.
Kaltara blinked, then burst into loud laughter and nodded.
"That's right! The Lady Wench is quite quick-witted!"
Agnes's smile deepened further.
"So, I'm counting on you?"
"Of course! I'll see you home safely!"
Kaltara picked up Agnes.
And before Deltain could say anything more, she opened the door and left.
Deltain felt his blood pressure rising.