The Gift of Life and Death
After that, Leona’s movements were swift.
She had taken Torgenberg Castle; a single breath of rest would have been enough for the remaining enemies to collapse on their own. Even so, Leona drove her entire army forward without delay and began mopping up the remnants.
She started with the Four Great Houses and every minor house that had supported the Setia family. By the time those people had been dealt with, exactly one month had passed.
Leona felt at ease. Everything had fallen into place exactly as she had planned.
At this pace, I’ll be able to deliver the gift right on schedule.
Thinking that, Leona allowed herself a satisfied smile.
When that full month had passed, Leona summoned Franz Meyer once more.
Guided by a retainer, Franz soon arrived—not at the audience chamber.
The underground… dungeon?
Leona had called him to the dungeon. From that moment Franz stepped inside already carrying a knot of unease. And the instant he entered the underground cells—
“Franz Meyer!”
“My lord.”
“It seems the words ‘my lord’ have finally taken root on your tongue. You’ve come well. Today I have a gift for you.”
Even then Franz could not guess what gift Leona intended to give him. A moment later she spoke to a subordinate.
“You there.”
“Yes, my lady!”
“Bring them.”
“Yes!”
Bring them? Only after hearing those words did Franz begin to form a vague idea of what Leona meant to present.
Surely this woman wouldn’t…
Part of him still hoped she would not go that far, yet another part knew that the Leona he understood was more than capable of it. In Franz’s mind she was a tyrant who did whatever she pleased.
Then the scene unfolded before him.
Dozens of people, wrists bound by a single continuous rope, were being forced to match step under the soldiers’ guidance as they shuffled forward.
Those are…
From a distance he had not recognized them, but once they drew near their identities became clear.
The Four Great Houses, the heirs of the Four Great Houses, Lando, Adel’s disciples… and finally…
Adel von Setia himself. Every principal figure who had ruined the Setia family was approaching with hands bound and eyes covered.
This woman…!
Only then did Franz understand Leona’s true intent. The grand gift she had promised was none other than his political enemies. She had gathered every person who had opposed him and offered them to him as a present.
This is insane…
It was bad—for him and for Leona alike.
“Halt.”
At the officer’s command Franz’s enemies stopped as one.
“Lady Leona, this is—”
“Did I not say I would give you a gift? This is it. All the countless enemies who have tormented you until now. I grant you the power of life and death over them. From Adel von Setia to his disciples, and even the heads of the Four Great Houses. Kill them if you wish. Humiliate them if you wish. Or do both! Well? Does it please you?”
Was she serious? If she meant every word, she was a madwoman; if this was all political theater, she was an even more spectacular madwoman. Franz studied her face for a moment, then abandoned the attempt to read her true motives. Trying to understand a madwoman’s heart was pointless.
“Your Highness, what in the world is this—”
“Sir Franz?”
The sudden voice belonged to Adel. Adel von Setia. Though his eyes were covered, his ears were free; he had recognized Franz’s voice even from a distance.
“What? Sir Franz?”
“Franz Meyer is here?”
“Sir Franz! Save us! Whatever troubles may have stood between us, we were once comrades who shared the same cause! Please! Save us!”
When had they ever shared a cause? The sudden nonsense left Franz nonplussed. Dozens of prisoners called out for Franz Meyer, begging for mercy. Some sobbed and pleaded for their lives. Among them Endia, once head of one of the Four Great Houses, shouted the loudest.
“Sir Franz, I once called you a kite with a broken string, but those words were never sincere! I have always held you in high regard and praised you in my heart! I beg you on my knees! Take my house, take my lands—take everything—only spare my life! Spare my life and I will vanish to some forgotten village and live quietly!”
When Endia cried out, Gisel followed.
“I—I am the same! Please spare me! I apologize for every discourtesy I ever showed you!”
“Sir Franz Meyer! I once called you pathetic at a banquet—I apologize for that, so please just let me live! No—please spare me, Lord Franz! I beg you like this!”
“…! I too beg you the same way!”
From every side voices rose, each pleading with Franz for forgiveness. They had all clearly heard Leona grant him the power of life and death over the prisoners. Leona had deliberately spoken loudly so that this very scene would unfold.
This moment—this exact moment—was what Leona had waited for. She stood deliberately near a brazier so that she could observe every flicker of expression that crossed Franz Meyer’s face. She watched him now. His flustered look was thoroughly entertaining.
“Well, Franz Meyer? Every person who has tormented you your entire life is gathered here. They cluster like insects, begging for their lives in the most wretched fashion! This is my gift. Is it not satisfying?”
If she asked whether it was satisfying, then yes—there was satisfaction. The sight of every enemy who had ever plagued him begging for life was a scene he had never once imagined. One word from him and they would all die. The thought brought a certain pleasure.
But…
Unlike the people before him who would soon be dead, he still had to live tomorrow—for Lucill, for the family, and above all so that he himself could return home.
“Franz Meyer. Time is plentiful. Do whatever you like. Why not start by killing just one of them as a test? The rest will invent even more creative pleas for their lives.”
“…”
Franz Meyer drew the sword from his belt. Leona’s eyes lit up. Whom would he kill first? How would he kill them? What words would Franz Meyer speak, what expression would he wear after slaying his enemies? Would he weep? Would he laugh? Every curiosity she possessed fixed itself upon Franz Meyer alone. Then Franz stepped toward Endia, who was still begging for his life.
“…”
“Sir Franz! Are you there? Is that you? I understand perfectly how you must feel! But think of the future! If you forgive me—”
In that instant—
Shunk!
Franz Meyer’s blade pierced Endia’s chest with perfect precision. Endia crumpled.
“Aaaaaaaagh!!!”
Blood from Endia’s body soaked the floor. Gisel recoiled in horror at the wet sensation and the reek of blood. As Gisel thrashed, the dozens of people whose wrists were bound to the same rope lurched and swayed together. Franz walked to Gisel next and drove the sword into his chest as well.
Gisel went limp. One after another, then another. With the blank face and emotionless motions of a machine on a factory line, Franz Meyer began killing his enemies one by one.
Why… why that expression?
Leona was baffled. Why did Franz kill his enemies with such a blank face? Was there no satisfaction in destroying those who had tormented him? How could his movements be so utterly devoid of feeling? She could not understand Franz acting as though he were simply performing a prescribed task, like a machine.
Soon dozens of enemies lay fallen—nothing more than limp corpses. The great quantity of blood soaking the floor and the vibrating stench of it made Adel wet himself, though no one noticed; the blood of dozens already covered everything.
At last Franz Meyer stood before Adel.
“Lord Adel.”
“S-Sir Franz…”
Adel called his name in a voice that sounded ready to give out. Franz quietly approached until he stood right in front of Adel’s covered eyes. The closer Franz came, the more Adel scrambled backward on all fours from where he had fallen. Adel was terrified. The unseen space before him, the vibrating blood, the screams of dozens—never before had the Franz he had always considered reliable seemed so frightening.
“Sir Franz, please…”
Adel began begging without restraint. Franz simply took hold of his shoulders and steadied him.
“Calm yourself.”
“Sir Franz…! I was wrong about everything! I was wrong, so just let me live!”
“Why would I kill you, Lord Adel?”
“But you killed them all—every last one of them!”
“That is because they were wicked men. Lord Adel, calm yourself. I will untie the knot covering your eyes.”
At that moment Leona’s face twisted. Franz Meyer was the most loyal of retainers—yet he would spare even the incompetent lord who had ruined his own house? Had it been her, that man would have been the one she could least forgive.
Franz loosened the knot that blindfolded Adel. Vision slowly returned. Because they were deep in the dark dungeon, the light did not hurt his eyes too badly. The moment Adel saw Franz’s face he burst into tears.
“Sir Franz!”
Adel threw himself against Franz. Franz slowly patted his back. Leona’s mood soured at the unexpected turn. In her imagination Franz should have killed the prisoners while weeping under the guilt of slaughtering so many, while laughing at the satisfaction of destroying his enemies—feeling a storm of emotions.
Yet Franz had neither wept nor laughed. He had simply killed them with the blank efficiency of a machine performing its assigned work.
And now, with the last one, he was trying to spare Adel. Common sense said Adel was the one who had ruined the house. Shouldn’t Adel be the one he hated most? The complaint rose in her, yet she had fully entrusted the power of life and death to Franz; she was in no position to object to his decision.
Then, the next instant—
Thuk.
Franz, who had stepped behind Adel to free his wrists, drove the blade deep into him from behind. Adel’s face filled with bewilderment as he collapsed.
“Huh?”
Adel fell, a fatal wound in his chest. He would never rise again.
“Why?”
Had he not been about to spare him only moments ago? Why kill him?
“Lord Adel was a pure soul unsuited to politics. I wanted to send him off with as little pain as possible. That is why I briefly pretended I would spare him.”
“So why, then?”
If he cared that much for his former lord, why kill him?
“As long as Lord Adel lives, the Setia factions will try to rally around him again. Then Torgenberg will forever live under the threat of rebellion.”
“…”
It was a correct assessment. Leona herself simply did not fear rebellion in the slightest, so she had not particularly cared whether Adel lived or died.
But Franz Meyer had killed him—as though he would not tolerate even the smallest threat.
“Lady Leona von Kruzenstein. If you are to be my lord, remember only two things.”
Franz Meyer flicked the blood from his blade once and slid it back into its scabbard.
“First. The world is full of amusements. This sort of game is of no help whatsoever, so stop it from now on.”
“…”
Leona could not answer; her mouth opened and closed uselessly. What was she supposed to say? She was so flustered that no proper reply would come.
“Second. Do not underestimate even the smallest spark. What do you think would have happened if I had insisted on sparing every one of them? An cancer would have taken root in the County of Torgenberg—a vast, tenacious cancer called the old regime.”
“…”
Leona had entrusted him with their lives and deaths because she was confident she could crush any rebellion they might raise. Yet rationally speaking, Franz’s words were also correct. There was no need to leave the embers of rebellion deliberately smoldering.
“Do you understand?”
“…”
“Do you not understand?”
“I—I understand.”
In that moment Leona thought: one of her amusements had just disappeared. At the same time another thought rose. Perhaps Franz was exactly the talent she had needed all along.