Unia's Escape
Olmati wore a worried expression. It seemed as though such a monumental event was unfolding far too lightly, and that clearly troubled him. In short, he still didn’t fully trust me. He was probably wondering whether this greenhorn lord was simply charging ahead on pure bravado.
“It’s obvious they framed Unia, our special envoy, as a criminal and locked her away just to mock me,” I said, laying the groundwork before continuing. “I intend to use this incident to show the entire world that the Richard family does not fear war. Once the fighting ends, no one will dare lay a hand on anyone from our house again.”
Kelly added politely, “Our lord has been wading through battles as casually as eating meals ever since his bandit-subjugation days, so he is well-versed in both sieges and field combat.”
Olmati’s face brightened at once. “With the lord’s wealth of experience, ample war funds, and our own vassal territories, victory is all but assured. Hehe.”
The Triwood family had set up camp outside Harmel Castle. The moment the family head, Barklang, learned his younger sister had been murdered, he hired thirty mercenaries as escorts and raced to the castle. Yet because he could not trust Lord Cain, he refused to stay inside the walls and instead pitched his tents beyond them. That decision also made it clear he suspected his sister’s husband, Lord Cain, of being one of the killers.
After Cain’s trial produced no results, Barklang asked to “borrow” Unia for a day. His plan was to drag her back to the campsite and interrogate her personally.
By the time they left the castle, night had already fallen. Torches lit their way as Barklang led Unia to a deserted hill some distance from the camp. At his order the mercenaries drove stakes into the ground with sledgehammers and lashed the ropes binding her to them.
“Do you know who I am?” Barklang demanded.
Unia, her upper body trussed tight, nodded. “I heard you’re Lady Ronda’s older brother.”
“Then you know what I want to ask.”
“You want the truth about your sister’s death. Sadly, everything I have to say is exactly what I already told the court.”
“Can you swear to that?”
“If I’m lying, then let me spend the rest of my life as a slave to House Triwood.”
Unia gave a low chuckle.
Barklang simply stared at her for a long moment. Then he spoke again. “You still look plenty lively.”
“I’ve always been the energetic type. No matter how old I get, this reckless personality of mine never seems to mellow.”
When Unia chuckled again, Barklang’s face hardened. “Why are you laughing? Did I say something funny?”
“No. I just felt like it.”
“There’s an old saying: ‘If you want the truth, make the person suffer.’”
“I’ll pass on the torture, thanks. The words out of my mouth won’t change, so I’d rather not waste anyone’s time.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Unia smirked. “The most suspicious person in your sister’s murder is Lord Cain himself, yet you don’t dare utter a peep in front of him. Instead a whole pack of men cowardly gangs up on one woman. Pathetic.”
“This is only the beginning,” Barklang replied coldly, eyes locked on hers. “Once I’ve pushed the prime suspect—you—to the absolute limit and dug all the way to the bottom without finding anything, the next target will be Cain. So don’t worry. And remember this: we’ve only just met, and I have no reason to believe a single word you say. Besides, my rage is burning so hot I want to set all of Harmel Castle ablaze.”
This guy’s crazy too! Unia thought, feeling goosebumps crawl across her skin. On the surface Barklang looked composed, but his eyes were blinded by fury. He seemed like the sort who would commit any atrocity if it meant uncovering the truth behind his sister’s death.
“I hope you stay sane even after those men are done trampling you. Only then will you understand how hopeless your situation is and finally spit out the truth.”
Barklang left Unia with three mercenaries and walked away. He had given them a single order: Rape her until she tells the truth.
The ragged mercenaries bared their yellow teeth and lunged like wild beasts. Even with her upper body bound, Unia fought back with terrifying strength, but three men eventually overpowered her. Two of them pinned her face-down to the ground while the third cackled and yanked her pants down.
“Kyaaaak! Kyaaak! Kyaaaak!”
Unia screamed in pure terror. The louder she cried, the harder the men laughed, as if her shrieks were the sweetest music.
“I’m taking her mouth.”
“I’ll play with those fat tits.”
“Hehe, look at that ass sticking up. This is gonna feel good! I’m already rock-hard!”
The moment one of them hooked his fingers into her underwear to rip it down, a heavy impact struck the top of his skull with a dull thud. He crumpled unconscious. Before the other two could react, stones larger than fists slammed into their heads one after another, and they too collapsed.
“W-who’s there?” Unia looked up, face pale with fear.
To her astonishment, Eidan stood above her holding a rock, smiling gently.
“Are you unharmed, my lady?”
“How… what happened?”
“I came to rescue you. I thought you would be at the campsite, but I heard screams and followed them. Looks like fortune smiled on us.”
Eidan drew a dagger from his coat, quickly cut her ropes, and pressed the weapon into her hand.
“I pray you reach Lanchester safely.”
“You’re really letting me go?”
“Yes. You are free now.”
Unia pulled her pants back up to her waist and tucked the dagger into her belt.
“Is this going to be okay? If your brother finds out, won’t you be executed?”
“Do not concern yourself with me. Even if this is discovered, my brother will not treat me—his only blood relative—too harshly. If he loses the one person who actually handles the lord’s duties, he alone will suffer the consequences.”
Unia nodded, visibly relieved. “So you want to stop this war from happening, huh?”
“You see right through me,” Eidan said with a wry smile. “When you return to Lanchester, please explain the situation here in detail to Lord Richard. Be sure to tell him that Eidan of House Cluiston is doing everything in his power to preserve peace between our two families.”
“I’m confident I can persuade our lord, but can you actually sway your brother?”
“As you saw in the courtroom today, most of the vassals are opposed to war. If the moderates rally opinion around them, even my brother will have no choice but to yield.”
“Good. That’s a relief.” Unia offered him a small smile. “Next time we meet, I hope you’re the one sitting in the lord’s seat.”
With those parting words she vanished into the night. Eidan watched her go with a bittersweet smile, standing silently until the darkness swallowed her completely.
Then something suddenly seized his ankle.
“Wha—?!”
Eidan toppled backward. One of the mercenaries he had knocked out had regained consciousness. The man dragged him down and beat him savagely before racing off to inform Barklang that Unia had escaped.
Furious, Barklang grabbed Eidan by the collar and stormed back to Harmel Castle.
“Your brother freed that woman! What the hell is the meaning of this?!”
Lord Cain regarded Eidan with icy eyes. The younger man’s face was swollen, lip split and bruised from the beating.
“You’ve done something utterly foolish.”
“I’m not the only one who’s done something foolish,” Eidan replied, smiling weakly yet without a trace of fear.
Seeing that smile, Barklang flew into a rage and reached for his sword, but Ludmila stopped him.
“Drawing a blade before the lord is treason. Mind your manners.”
“That bastard let the woman go! My sister’s murder will remain a mystery forever!”
“Enough!” Cain bellowed, then turned back to Eidan. “That’s enough out of you, Eidan. War is inevitable.”
“If only you would abandon that filthy greed of yours—the desire to violate Lord Richard’s wife—war could still be avoided.”
Slap!
Cain’s backhand sent Eidan staggering to the floor.
“Throw this wretch into solitary confinement.” Cain’s voice was as sharp as a blade.
After the soldiers dragged Eidan away and the still-fuming Barklang had left, Cain and Ludmila were alone. The mad lord narrowed his eyes.
“Ludmila, bring that woman back at once. To win this war we need a hostage. She must not be allowed to escape.”
“As you wish.” Ludmila’s eyes glowed crimson. “Rest assured. With my magic I will find her quickly. Huhu.”