Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Linbelle
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The commotion—the shouting between the woman and the soldiers—brought passersby near the tavern to a halt.
Allen blended into the crowd and watched them.
‘Defying the soldiers now won't end well for her.’
“You took all that money, and now you’re doing this…?”
“Just shut up!”
“Telling me to shut up when you have nothing to say. Ha. I saw it all earlier. You ate without paying and ignored someone who said their things were stolen! If you have any conscience left, you’ll…!”
“This damned bitch…”
Just as Allen had predicted. The soldiers, apparently having no intention of tolerating her insults any longer, rose to their feet.
As the other soldiers who had been watching idly also stood, the woman’s face turned pale with fear. Yet, she refused to close her mouth.
“It’s because you didn’t keep your promise! My… my mother is outside! Bring her back! Bring her back right now!”
Instead, she shrieked, her voice laced with fear.
But none of the soldiers took her words seriously. A soldier next to the squad leader glanced around furtively and whispered.
“Sir, if we let her go on like this and word gets to the higher-ups…”
“I know.”
The squad leader scanned the area with a displeased look. Her ruckus was beginning to draw the attention of people on the street.
“We’ve already collected plenty of money. And I heard a young noble lord has just arrived. Maybe it’s time we pulled out…”
The squad leader considered this for a moment, then nodded.
Indeed, if they got greedy and were caught, it would all be over.
The bribes they had to pay the garrison commander who was backing them were growing too large to handle.
It was about time to wrap things up.
“Then, take care of it. You know how to clean up afterward, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
After their conversation, he gestured to the other soldiers, who expertly shooed away the onlookers. Then, they blocked her escape route.
“W-what! What are you trying to do? I said earn the money you took…!”
The soldier blocking her path from behind gave a signal.
-*Nod*.
At the signal, the soldier in front of her moved, grabbing her arm.
“L-let go of me!”
She struggled against the soldier's rough grip, but his next words made her freeze.
“Right, you want us to bring your mother back?”
*Flinch*.
Her body trembled. But she gritted her teeth and spat out in a sharp voice.
“Y-yes. You took our entire fortune, so why are you leaving my mother outside!”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s all well and good.”
The soldier’s hand slid up her arm to her shoulder. He smiled grimly and whispered in her ear.
“But I think the price was a little short. If you cooperate a bit, though, I think it might be enough…”
Having seen enough, Allen moved.
“Depending on what you do…”
“Enough.”
A cold voice echoed through the tavern. Instantly, all eyes turned to him.
Allen hadn't intended to intervene directly.
He could have resolved this just by mobilizing his escort. Was there really a reason to step in himself?
And yet, the reason he did was simple.
‘That woman…’
At first, he hadn't recognized her.
But beneath the filth covering her hair, he saw the characteristic black hair and violet eyes. When combined with the fierce, ghost-like face from his memories—lips pressed tight in a glare—he was certain.
‘It's her.’
The very person who had been weighing on his mind.
The girl who lost her mother before his regression because he had argued with Julius, delaying the dispatch of soldiers.
The knight who slaughtered monsters to the brink of death in exchange for pledging loyalty to Julius, all for the sake of revenge.
The woman who, if the past changed, might live a peaceful future without ever awakening to her talent.
The moment he confirmed it was her, Allen moved without a second thought.
-*Clomp, clomp*.
The distinct sound of footsteps echoed across the wooden floor of the tavern.
“Who the hell are you? Shit, what kind of day is this…?”
The soldier, spouting whatever he pleased, glanced between Allen's fine clothes and the guards standing behind him, then let out a sneer.
“Look, my lord. Seems you stumbled in here on some little outing. Mind your own business if you don't want to be thrown in a cell.”
Allen frowned.
He should have seen the family crest. Was he relying on the baron's backing? Or did he truly not recognize the seal of a count's family?
A dry laugh escaped him at the thought that it might actually be true.
“Do you still not know who I am?”
“I don’t know who you are, my lord, so just be on your way. Don’t you know we’re in a state of war? Before you lose what little dignity you have left…”
Just then, the face of another soldier watching from the back went deathly pale. He immediately rushed to the squad leader and whispered in his ear.
-Sir! We’re… we’re screwed. That man, that crest… isn’t he the young noble lord who came as reinforcements today?
-What?
Having activated his perception just in case, he was able to overhear their entire conversation.
The squad leader, who had been watching the situation with a detached expression, suddenly widened his eyes. He confirmed the count’s family crest on Allen’s clothes. His face went white as a sheet as he clamped a hand over the mouth of the soldier who had been spouting insults.
“…off… Mmph.”
“My apologies, my lord! This man is drunk and spouting nonsense. Please, grant us mercy just this once.”
“Mercy…? After hearing such insults?”
Even the soldier whose mouth was being held shut, realizing things had taken a strange turn, became as quiet as a lamb.
Allen, too, found the situation absurd.
‘That baron may have changed, but his subordinates are still the same.’
Allen felt a mix of relief that only the baron had changed from what he remembered, and humiliation at the soldiers' reaction, which seemed to speak volumes about his family's current standing.
Even if this city wasn't directly ruled by the count's family, how could a resident of the count's territory not recognize the family crest?
“Yes, mercy. Mercy is good.”
As Allen stared at him with an unmistakable sneer, the squad leader felt like he was going to lose his mind.
Honestly, he had assumed Allen was just the son of some merchant and had let his subordinate run his mouth.
‘One wrong move, and my head will roll.’
If he were the son of a wealthy merchant, it would have been easy to smooth things over. But they had to go and provoke the wrong person. He couldn't help but resent his subordinate.
“Then what about you?”
Allen turned to the girl, who was standing awkwardly to the side, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events.
“Y-yes?”
“I stepped in because of you, did I not? So I am asking you.”
She stammered, flustered by his question. When he asked again, she glared at the soldiers.
“I… If it were up to me, I’d tear them apart from the waist down, but…”
At her answer, the soldiers' faces darkened.
“I’ll let it go. No, I will let it go. I’m upset, but… nothing has actually happened yet. Right, sir?”
He frowned at her strange manner of speech and said.
“If speaking formally is difficult, you may speak comfortably.”
“That’s…”
As she hesitated, wasting time, Allen sighed and urged her on.
“Go on.”
“Ugh… Th-then… Since nothing has happened yet, I’m fine.”
The soldiers breathed a sigh of relief at her answer. But Allen had no intention of letting it end there.
“One.”
“Yes?”
“An eye or a tongue. Choose one.”
“But that’s not what she said…”
“Ha.”
Allen’s expression turned frigid. Did these fools not understand the meaning of their words to a noble—to the future lord of this land, no less?
“When did I say I would follow her wishes? I merely asked for her opinion.”
“Th-that’s too unreasonable…”
“You.”
The ring near his heart hummed, and an intangible aura swelled around him. As Allen took a step forward, an immense pressure crushed the surroundings.
As if pinning them down with a great weight.
“You don't seem to grasp the meaning of insulting me.”
He had to laugh.
Was this the reality of the count's family now? That the people of their domain would fail to recognize their lord and act with such disrespect.
“If it were any other noble, you would have lost your head. I am being merciful by giving you a choice. So choose. The eye or the tongue?”
-*Shing*.
The guards standing behind him drew their swords in unison. The meaning was simple.
Would you give your life, or would you give up one of the two?
Faced with a level of discipline and presence entirely different from their own, the drunken soldiers were powerless to respond.
“Aaaargh!”
“My, my eye…!”
“Aaaaaaah!”
For a short while, horrific screams echoed through the tavern in the late evening.
* * *
Before him stood the girl, looking slightly different from how he remembered.
Her speech, her actions, her expressions—everything about her was different.
Allen found this change somewhat welcome.
It seemed to signify that the future could still be changed.
“Um… Should I call you Young Lord?”
“Yes.”
When Allen replied, she hesitated, glancing at him nervously.
“What is it?”
Unable to watch her any longer, Allen asked. She, perhaps nervous in the presence of a noble, spoke cautiously.
“Um, well… Why did you bring me here…?”
As she spoke, she discreetly pulled her collar tighter.
Seeing this, Allen let out a dry chuckle. *What a bold one.*
It had been early evening when he stopped by the tavern, so it was safe to say it was now the middle of the night. It was only natural for her to be worried, being alone in a room with him at such a late hour.
Not that he had any such intentions.
“Rest assured, I have no intention of taking you for myself, so you can relax.”
“…Hehe, of course. Right?”
She laughed awkwardly, but didn't let down her guard.
Now that she was clean, her round violet eyes, black hair that flowed down to her waist, and the pale skin that had been hidden by filth all shimmered in the moonlight.
‘I was right.’
Confirming it was her, Allen felt more curiosity than joy.
Why was she in such a predicament? Did the same thing happen before his regression? Or was this a butterfly effect?
While she was washing, he had consulted the black book and dredged up his past memories, but nothing came to mind. And the matter of her mother, which he had overheard during the conversation with the soldiers, also weighed on him.
After all, wasn't the reason she had become the person he remembered related to her mother?
Her mother's death.
That was what had changed her.
As he watched her, lost in thought, he suddenly realized he didn't even know her name.
“Your name?”
“Eek! M-my body isn’t that great. So please don’t pounce on… Huh?”
Her pale skin flushed red. *This cheeky kid.*
“What are you imagining?”
“W-well…”
“I prefer older women. A kid like you…”
Allen’s lips curled into a smirk as he scanned her body.
Each time his gaze landed on her, she flinched and let out a small hiss.
“...doesn’t quite fit my ideal type.”
He leaned back intentionally, and she seemed to relax a little, letting out a sigh of relief.
Then she protested quietly.
“…Linbelle. I’m not a kid. I’m fifteen now…”
“Right, a young lady then.”
When Allen replied with a dismissive agreement, her lips jutted out in a pout, though she herself didn't seem to notice.
“So, Linbelle. You…”
Seeing that she had relaxed somewhat, Allen slowly began to speak.
“What was the cause of your dispute with the soldiers?”
“That’s…”
She shivered nervously, opening and closing her mouth, hesitant to speak.
“From what I overheard, it seems to be related to your mother…”
As Allen coaxed her with a gentle smile, she slowly began to speak.
She fidgeted with her hands as she spoke.
“…It’s because the soldiers didn’t keep their promise.”
“A promise?”
“Yes.”
As Allen waited for her to continue, she slowly began to unravel her story.