Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Secret Deal (3)
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What if I dragged this bastard in front of her and spilled all the facts?
Tolisso would be utterly discarded by the princess.
"No, you can't do that!"
The merchant finally started showing his true colors.
He forced a smile and whispered to me in a trembling voice.
"Isn't there some other way you could show mercy?"
"Mercy?"
Mercy, my ass.
I looked down at him with utter disdain.
"The truth is, I'm a merchant who supplies arms to Princess Lea. If you let me off this time, I'll make sure to repay the favor through her."
Cornered, the bastard was now selling out the princess.
But I knew better.
The perfectionist princess was infamous for it—if she learned of his dirty secrets, she would never help Tolisso.
He knew her personality all too well.
So he sure as hell wouldn't report this incident to her.
He'd try to cover it up at his level, scheming up even more filthy tricks.
"Is that true?"
"Absolutely! Play your cards right, and you might even end up as one of her guards."
He answered that part with real confidence, like it was the gospel truth.
But his sweet offer only made me scoff.
Her guard?
*I've had enough of that shit, you prick.*
I strolled casually to the center.
Then clapped my hands lightly and addressed everyone.
"Well, both sides seem remorseful enough. So, for everyone's sake, I'll render an on-the-spot judgment for this incident."
In the tense moment,
both Irina and Tolisso hung on my every word.
"It'll be the most convenient resolution for all. Everyone agrees, right?"
I placed my hand on the cart.
And covered the illegal protective stones back up with the silk cloth.
"We'll settle this by fully refunding the protective stones the lady purchased."
At the word "refund," Tolisso's eyes flashed—he thought he'd bought me off, after all.
His face twisted in panic as he shouted desperately.
"R-Refund? Knight, what the hell are you talking about?"
I just shrugged at him.
Then flashed a grin at the stunned Irina.
"What else? She bought the goods, but the contents are defective. Isn't a refund the obvious fix?"
The merchant thrust out both hands wildly, pleading his case.
He was pissed enough that his thick fingers shook violently.
"Everything here is custom-ordered! If you refund it, I can't sell it to anyone else!"
Well, he had a point.
Custom jobs aren't resellable to others in the first place.
"Sure. Of course we'd pay for the 'proper' goods."
I nodded in agreement as I approached Irina.
Then bowed as politely as I could and made my request.
"I'm sorry, my lady. You'll need to pay for the amount you ordered."
"Ah... Understood. How much?"
Was it the tension?
Her voice trembled as she mumbled.
To the nervous lady, I held up five fingers and kindly showed her the number 5.
Then, with the most regretful expression, I said,
"Unfortunately, it'll have to be a whopping '5 gold'."
But the moment she heard it,
her blue eyes went wide as a rabbit's.
"5 gold...? That's really all?"
"Yes, exactly. No less, no more—just that amount."
That was the price of 100 baguettes I'd bought that morning.
What a fortune!
"What the hell are you saying? 5 gold...?"
Tolisso's jaw dropped.
He couldn't believe it as he shuffled toward us.
"She only received one protective stone out of her order, so she pays for one. Simple."
"That's ridiculous! They're replicas—they're all the same product, what's the difference...?"
The merchant trailed off mid-rant, choking on his own words.
As if he'd just remembered his scam.
*That's right, you've fallen into your own trap.*
One sample protective stone provided.
Irina had ordered only "exact replicas" of that one.
But the delivered replicas varied wildly in effect.
So technically, they weren't the same products at all—no issue with refunds.
"The replicas don't match the sample's composition, right?"
"Yeah, some had zero effect!"
Irina chimed in, backing me up.
"So you can't call all 200 the same protective stone. Hell, they're not even proper replicas."
I approached Tolisso slowly.
And personally tucked the 5 gold I'd gotten from the princess into his breast pocket.
"There—the price for your sample. We're square now, right?"
"...."
His taut skin wrinkled up.
His face contorted as he glared at me.
I grabbed his shoulder.
Patted it, and quietly warned him.
"Now get the fuck out with your shitty knockoffs."
I could hear his patience snap.
Unable to hold back his rage, he grabbed my jacket.
"Hey, can you handle this?"
The merchant pressed down hard on my shoulder.
Spit flying as he snarled his threat.
"You think a lowly defense knight can mess with me?!"
His spit splattered my face, making it slick.
I memorized the gross sensation, counting each drop.
"Three times... no, four?"
He ground his teeth in disgust.
"What the fuck are you blabbering about?"
I showed him my palm.
Formed the number 5.
"Five times total."
He furrowed his brow at the sudden number.
"What do you mean, five...?"
"The number of times a mere foreign merchant has laid hands on an imperial knight."
Tolisso snorted.
Shrugged his shoulders and mocked me.
"Ha, grabbing your shoulder once—what's that, five?"
I seized his head.
Flashed a smile and said,
"Spit droplets on my face count too."
Then smashed his skull.
**THWACK—!!**
His face crumpled.
White teeth spilled from his thick lips.
But I didn't stop there.
Maybe it was all the times he'd strutted around relying on Princess Lea's name.
I followed up with a brutal kick to his gut.
He crashed into a rotting cart abandoned in the alley.
Birds on nearby roofs scattered in fright.
All but one, which stood tall, watching the scene.
"Ugh, you bastard... A mere defense knight... Have you lost your mind?"
Tolisso dragged himself up from between the carts.
His rage-filled eyes signaled his mercenaries.
"You'll find out who's crazy after a beating."
I extended my hand leisurely.
Then spoke flatly to the Ekina mercenaries.
"Come at me if you want—numbers don't matter. But..."
In my outstretched hand, my knight's insignia gleamed.
They flinched at the golden lion emblem.
"The moment you fight me here, you're enemies of the Empire. Got it?"
I exploited their fear immediately.
"You know what happens to the Empire's enemies, right? We'll hunt you to the ends of the continent, no matter where you run."
The mercenaries were ex-Ekina soldiers, defeated by the Empire.
They knew the terror of imperial pursuit squads all too well.
"What are you doing, you idiots! You took my money—earn it!"
Despite the merchant's bellows, the mercenaries didn't attack.
They backed away even further.
"We're just hired escorts. Fighting an imperial knight is... a bit much."
"I told you! I'm the princess's supplier! She'll cover for me, for sure!"
I sauntered up to the whining bastard.
Grabbed his thick lips and said,
"You think doing business with the princess makes you hot shit?"
Just a lowly merchant, Tolisso.
Unlike the mercenaries who'd fought the Empire firsthand, he knew nothing about us knights.
"Don't get it twisted. To her, you're less than a bug."
With even mercenaries unmoved, Tolisso's body began to tremble.
As if he'd finally grasped his situation.
But it was far too late.
He'd danced right on the line.
**SMACK—!!**
The one-sided beatdown began.
Dasha covered Irina's eyes with her palm at the sight.
"Get up. I still owe you for those five spits."
Tolisso's face was a bloody pulp.
He finally sensed he'd picked the wrong fight.
"I'm sorry..."
He mumbled in a pitiful whimper.
But I didn't care.
I'd bottled up too much watching his bullshit.
"Speak up."
I raised my blood-smeared fist high.
Reflexively, he clutched my ankle and begged.
"I'll do anything. Please, just forgive me this once..."
Only then did I halt my fist at his hoarse plea.
Grabbed his tattered collar and hoisted him up.
"Anything?"
"Yes, anything..."
Satisfied with his response, I dragged him by the scruff.
And dumped him at Irina's feet.
"Start by apologizing to the lady."
Disguised or not.
Power or not.
She was an imperial princess.
Time to show this defeated nation's peddler scum exactly what that meant.
"Please forgive my rudeness. It won't happen again..."
Tolisso crawled to Irina's feet like a beast.
His once-pristine silk robes were filthy with boot prints, his body black-and-blue.
Irina stared at me, dumbfounded.
I bowed deeply, letting her do as she pleased.
"...."
Thanks to that, Irina turned cold-faced, just like at the ceremony.
Arms crossed, she glared down sharply at the merchant.
"You've insulted my limbs. Mocked dealings with nobility. Punishment is due."
Her words rang out, every bit the great emperor's blood.
I watched the scene with quiet pride.
"But seeing you now, your remorse seems genuine enough."
Irina glanced at Dasha.
Beckoned her over.
Bewildered, Dasha obeyed the command.
The princess positioned her squarely before Tolisso and declared firmly.
"Apologize to my maid. Then we'll call the deal off and end this."
The white skirt right in front of him.
Tolisso jerked his head up.
"Yes...? To the maid?!"
Not the princess or knight, but a mere servant?
The merchant glared up at Irina with resentful eyes.
"What's so hard about it?"
Irina shot back with a frosty glare.
Caught off-guard, Tolisso coughed and averted his gaze.
Then, suddenly,
our eyes met.
*'Don't wanna?'*
I mouthed it at him.
His hair stood on end like he'd been shocked.
Learned fear.
In the end, he scrambled to Dasha and slammed his forehead down.
"I'm sorry... for my rudeness..."
He kept bowing until she accepted.
But no forgiveness came, no matter how long he waited.
Wondering, Tolisso peeked up.
And in that instant, his eyes twitched beneath.
"Miss, we need to head to the next schedule soon."
Dasha treated the merchant like he didn't exist.
"We still haven't bought ingredients for today's meal."
I stifled a laugh at the sight.
As expected from an ex-intel agent—she knew exactly what humiliated a man most.