The Traitor's Reckoning
Marcus clicked his tongue again and added, “Anyway, just remember this, you brat. Right now you’re full of youthful fantasies about the human world, but you’ll tire of it soon enough. She’s different from us. Living among humans, the food won’t suit her, she’ll miss home, and loneliness will weigh heavily. Watch her closely and manage her well. You’re the leader, after all. If even you ignore her, she’ll wilt and wither away in no time. And eventually she’ll have no choice but to return home. Even if races get along, there are things they can’t fill for each other. Culture and customs, for one. If you don’t want to lose a valuable member, take good care of her. No matter how many friends she has around, you never know what’s in her heart. Talk to her often.”
It sounded like good advice, so I nodded with a smile. “Advice from experience?”
“Of course. I’ve got the mileage.” Marcus shrugged. “You turned out well too. You looked completely hopeless when we first met.”
As night fell, a military meeting was held. It was modest, if anything. Attending were me, Adelia, Seira—the female leader of the Valkyria Mercenary Group—and two adjutants from the Lion Heart Unit.
“This is Seira, leader of the Valkyria Mercenary Group, who will be working with our Lion Heart Unit from now on.”
Before the meeting, Adelia introduced Seira to me. The female leader, clad in gleaming armor and exuding a pure, haughty beauty, had short blonde hair in a bang style. Her style looked quite chic. She glanced at me briefly before turning her gaze to Adelia, as if she had no interest in me. In that short moment, I could sense many things. ‘We’re a cut above you.’ ‘How dare a provincial mercenary group...’ ‘I don’t want to deal with underlings.’ ‘We’re a famous and skilled mercenary group. We’re your seniors, so show some respect.’ And so on... It wasn’t my imagination; it was written all over her eyes. She didn’t want to mingle with an unknown mercenary group.
After being introduced by Adelia, I extended my hand for a friendly handshake, but realizing her gaze wasn’t on me, I withdrew it. Well, anyway, now was the time to join forces. The meeting began.
The operation to capture the castle that Hyun-woo and Adelia had planned was set in motion immediately. While Adelia drew the enemy’s attention from the front by lowering their morale, the Kether Mercenary Group would infiltrate the castle secretly, rescue Sinclair, and disrupt the enemy from the rear. The disruption operation aimed to meet with Kutars, the commander of the Blue Arrow Unit, through Sinclair—who had secured some evidence of Nirgof’s identity and crimes—and reveal that everything was Nirgof’s doing.
Hyun-woo, along with Dana, Pasvachio, and Unia, headed to the loosely guarded castle walls and infiltrated the city with the help of Kelly’s younger brother, Flavio. Meanwhile, Adelia went to the firmly closed castle gates and shouted loudly.
“You scoundrels! This is your last chance! If you don’t open the gates immediately, I’ll brand you all as traitors and execute you!”
At the word “traitors,” the Blue Arrow Unit soldiers watching from the walls were struck with fear. Though they swallowed nervously, they couldn’t act rashly because Lord Roton and Nirgof were right in front of them.
“Get back, you demons! Scram!”
Lord Roton shouted in a hoarse voice, his trembling hands clutching a handful of garlic from a basket and throwing it at Adelia below. Standing beside him, Nirgof spoke confidently.
“His Lordship intends to formally report to the royal court all the disrespectful acts Adelia has committed so far. Including the commotion she’s causing in front of the gates right now. If you don’t want to make things worse, you should stop here and leave.”
“Shut up! You’re the ones being disrespectful!”
“Watch your words, Lady Adelia. Are you referring to His Lordship as ‘you scoundrels’?”
“This isn’t the time for wordplay! You traitorous scum!”
The resounding voice echoing through the night sky made the soldiers on the walls instinctively step back. Kutars, who had been watching Adelia’s figure along with the soldiers, felt uneasy. Was this really the right thing to do? The thought kept troubling his mind.
For some time now, Nirgof had been clinging to Lord Roton like a shadow. He had never liked that. Among the vassals, Nirgof had a poor reputation. Most rumors described him as sly, cunning, greedy, and despicable. Moreover, after Orlando’s death, Lord Roton consulted only with Nirgof on all matters of the territory, and this incident was no exception. The sudden order to expel the Lion Heart Unit from the castle had come like a bolt from the blue to most vassals, including himself. It was a decision no one could easily accept.
“Sir Kutars.”
At the sudden voice, he turned his head to see Sinclair, who should have been imprisoned, standing there. And beside her was Hyun-woo. The two persuaded Kutars. The current events were orchestrated by Nirgof in collusion with the bandits, and if they opened the gates and ceased their treasonous acts, the Blue Arrow Unit would face no severe punishment—only disbandment.
Kutars’ expression was grave. “What about His Lordship?”
Hyun-woo answered. “Unfortunately, due to Nirgof’s vile schemes, Lord Roton has developed a mental illness and no longer has the capacity to lead the territory. Out of respect for how well he has governed the territory so far, Lady Adelia plans to send him to a monastery for recuperation without any punishment.”
“Hmm... I see.”
Kutars, who prided himself as a loyal retainer of the Nobern family, thought that retiring from his post and following Lord Roton to the monastery was a good path. At least better than becoming a traitor to the kingdom. As long as Lord Roton lived, he wanted to stay with the Nobern family until the end. Having made up his mind, he drew his sword and issued a resounding command to the soldiers.
“Everyone, listen! Arrest Nirgof immediately—the man who has defiled Nobern territory!”
It was the moment the firmly closed castle gates finally opened. The Lion Heart Unit and the Valkyria Mercenary Group entered the city without bloodshed, weapons sheathed. Soon after, a summary trial was held in the inner castle. Nirgof and his conspirators were dragged out to the center of the square, bound, under the watchful eyes of many citizens. Nirgof maintained his groveling demeanor to the end.
“P-please spare me! I had no choice; it was all at His Lordship’s orders!”
“Silence!”
Adelia’s eyes widened as she shouted fiercely. “You have harmed the Lion Heart Unit, colluded with bandits to drive Lord Roton to madness, and brought great chaos to the territory! Therefore, to prevent such incidents from happening again, I, Adelia Lynn Hildegard, shall use the summary execution authority granted by His Majesty the King to punish you severely.”
Raising one hand high, Adelia pronounced the sentence. “I sentence Nirgof to death.”
As she lowered her arm, the executioner’s mace, already waiting, struck Nirgof’s head with full force.
Thud!
Originally, in the southern region, three grand lords above the lords had peacefully ruled by dividing the territory into three equal parts. However, as generations passed, the later grand lords invaded each other’s territories for expansion and fought fiercely, leading to a period of great chaos in the south. As the war dragged on, officials from each faction became corrupt, and finances deteriorated. Eventually, all three families that had claimed to be grand lords perished together. With the complete loss of control by the grand lords, the medium and small territories in the southern region that had belonged to the three factions broke away and gained independence. However, the lords suffered severe financial difficulties due to the aftermath of the war, and with weakened security, various crimes and bandits ran rampant, causing headaches. Ultimately, they requested help from the royal court to quickly resolve the post-war chaos. The royal court readily accepted. The royal court intended to use this opportunity to bring the southern lords under its influence. Thus, the nine units of the Wittenbach Knights were dispatched. If they successfully completed the bandit suppression mission, depending on the king’s mood, the nine knights could become the nine grand lords of the southern region. However, two had already met their deaths.