I. Where the Frost Lingers (11)
I. Where the Frost Lingers (11)
A short while before Keldric entered Hilmer's bedroom.
As Keldric continued down the corridor, he soon reached the vicinity of Hilmer's bedchamber.
A room with its door open caught Keldric's eye.
It was the room where Yakov should have been sleeping.
But the scene Keldric glimpsed inside was utterly different from what he had expected.
"Ugh..."
Yakov, who should have been asleep in bed, lay facedown on the floor clutching his stomach. Three masked men, their faces covered below the eyes with strips of cloth, clustered before the door to Hilmer's bedroom.
"...?"
Unable to process the scene for a moment, Keldric stood blankly before his face twisted into a scowl.
The fact that they were picking the lock to Hilmer's bedroom was none of Keldric's concern.
But Yakov, collapsed on the floor, was a different matter.
From where he lay sprawled on the floor, Yakov's gaze met Keldric's.
The life still remaining in Yakov's eyes flared briefly before pain clouded them again.
Hot blood pulsed from beneath the hand clamped over Yakov's stomach, as though he had been stabbed.
Wordlessly, Keldric turned his head toward the masked men.
At that moment, the men finally noticed Keldric and froze in surprise.
He was splattered head to toe in blood, dressed in a knight's armor, with a sword resting over his shoulder.
The masked men froze for an instant at the sight.
To them, Keldric looked terrifying.
That single moment of hesitation inevitably led to their defeat.
Thud! Thud!
Despite his massive frame, Keldric moved swiftly as he charged.
Keldric reached the wide-eyed men and swung his sword without hesitation.
One assailant finally came to his senses and frantically raised a dagger to block the blow.
Of course, it was utterly futile.
Keldric's sword came down like a thunderbolt and knocked the dagger far away.
The sword lost none of its momentum and buried itself in the man's shoulder.
"Gugh!"
The grisly sound of flesh and bone splitting rang out.
Though enraged by Yakov's condition, Keldric was also rather startled.
'Like cutting through tofu...'
The assailant was wearing a gambeson.
A gambeson was not supposed to let a blade pass through so easily.
It was made from layer upon layer of quilted cotton and cloth. A sword should not have sunk into it without resistance.
He felt a slight catch when the blade split the bone, but even that resistance was weak.
Even through his surprise, Keldric methodically continued the fight.
"Grrgh...!"
Keldric's sword split the man's upper body diagonally, and Keldric released the hilt.
"Die!"
Immediately afterward, an iron-tipped club whooshed through the space where Keldric's head had been.
It was a good surprise attack. Under ordinary circumstances, it would have caved in his skull.
But his opponent was Keldric.
Keldric ducked quickly and grabbed the club one-handed as it cut through the air.
"Wh-what...!"
The man's eyes flew wide the moment Keldric caught his club, and then his body was yanked forward.
Keldric had pulled on the club.
As the man stumbled toward him, Keldric released the club and seized his wrist in a crushing grip.
"Aaaagh!!"
A sickening crack rang out.
Almost at the same instant, a fist appeared before the screaming man's eyes.
Bam! Bam! Crash!
"Ugh! Guh! Hrrgh!"
Keldric's iron-clad fist hammered the man's face three times in rapid succession.
The man let out a dying gasp with every blow.
The first two punches shattered his nose and front teeth. With the third, Keldric released his wrist.
"Urrgh..."
The man flew backward from Keldric and trembled like a leaf.
He was still breathing.
Seeing that he was still alive, Keldric strode toward him. The man braced his hands against the floor and desperately tried to scramble away.
"S-spare me! Please!"
His broken front teeth gave him a slight lisp.
This time, Keldric's kick flew toward the man's mouth.
It was a full-force kick driven by a leg as thick as a log.
Bam!
"Ghk—!"
The man's face caved in at once, and his eyes bulged slightly.
The convulsing man's body went completely limp.
Keldric turned his gaze elsewhere. The last remaining man was slumped in front of the door to Hilmer's bedchamber.
The last man had been staring blankly at Keldric. When he noticed the murderous gaze turn toward him, he screamed in terror.
"W-wait! Keldric! Hear me out first! I'll explain every—Aaaagh!!"
Ignoring him, Keldric closed the distance and struck him hard across the cheek.
Blood and bits of flesh flew. The cloth slipped away, revealing a face Keldric knew.
'Fritz?'
It was hardly surprising. He had known for some time that Fritz was conspiring with Joseph.
Even after recognizing him, Keldric's expression did not change as his fist drove into Fritz's stomach.
A strangled 'Ghk!' escaped him along with his breath and a little blood, but Keldric paid it no mind.
Keldric thought only of inflicting the same pain on Fritz that Yakov had suffered.
Bam!
The same single kick as before.
But there was something Keldric had overlooked: the door of Hilmer's bedchamber, against which Fritz was leaning, was not sturdy enough to withstand Keldric's kick.
Keldric felt five or six ribs snap beneath his foot at the same moment Hilmer's bedroom door splintered.
Keldric did not care. If anything, he wanted to kick him again.
And so, Keldric did.
Crash!
"Gugh!"
The shattered door finally flew across the room with Fritz lying limp on top of it.
His blood ran hot, but Keldric's demeanor was icy as he slowly entered the bedroom.
"Wh-who are you?! If you're a knight, name yourself and fight with honor!"
Hilmer stood there with a bewildered expression.
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After hearing Keldric's summary, Hilmer groaned and nodded.
Whatever the reasons, Fritz lay before him twitching in a bloody mess, while Keldric looked utterly murderous.
For now, Hilmer felt he had no choice but to believe Keldric.
"R-right. I understand that Fritz attacked me and that the mercenaries broke in."
Even after understanding that, Hilmer still had one unanswered question.
"Did you not see Yakov? I thought I heard his voice outside."
"...Ah."
At Hilmer's words, Keldric shot to his feet.
He had been so focused on dealing with the bastards who stabbed Yakov that he had completely forgotten Yakov's condition.
"I will check on him immediately."
"Uh, wait... No, hold on. I will come too."
Hilmer scrambled to his feet and followed Keldric out of the bedroom.
Yakov's room outside the bedroom was a horrific sight.
Blood soaked the floor. The man whose upper body had been split more than halfway through, broken teeth, and other grisly remains lay scattered everywhere.
Keldric and Hilmer followed the trail of blood across the floor.
"M-Master Keldric... Lord Hilmer..."
Yakov lay there with dim, unfocused eyes.
Keldric rushed to Yakov's side and clasped his hand.
He was still warm, but already beginning to feel cold. His pulse was fading too.
"Someone! Bring clean linen! Hurry!"
His face pale, Keldric shouted into the corridor.
Several servants came running at the shout. The moment they saw Yakov, they went ghostly white and raced off to find linen.
Fortunately, not much time had passed since Yakov was stabbed.
But blood still streamed from the wound in his abdomen.
Yakov's complexion was worsening, but fortunately, the linen for bandages arrived before he deteriorated further.
Keldric silently watched as the servants treated Yakov and carried him away.
Hilmer stood beside him, watching Yakov with a heavy expression.
Yakov was so dear to Keldric that he regarded him as a second father, and he had also shown Hilmer and Fritz considerable affection when they were children.
Moreover, Yakov had resisted to the very end to protect Hilmer.
Yakov had cared for him since childhood and remained loyal to the family even in mortal danger. His actions left Hilmer's chest tight with emotion.
Hilmer was no ungrateful bastard like the one lying in his bedroom.
"Brother."
"Y-yes. Keldric. I'm listening."
"Let us go back inside. The servants will handle the rest."
"Ugh... All right."
Then it was time to settle accounts.
Keldric strode into Hilmer's bedchamber.
Though somewhat intimidated, Hilmer was no less angry and followed him.
Men of the North repaid grudges tenfold.
Keldric was the exception.
When it came to grudges, he repaid them a hundredfold.
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"Wh-what... Aaaagh!!"
Fritz had escaped the pain by passing out, only to wake when fresh agony struck.
"Urrgh, hrrgh...!"
There was exactly one reason.
Fritz's middle finger was bent in a direction it should never have gone, pointing at the ceiling.
Keldric was the one gripping that finger.
"Did you sleep well, Brother Fritz?"
"Y-you bastard...! How dare you—!"
Forgetting his position, Fritz jerked upright. He had not been tied down.
With his hands free, Fritz lunged toward Keldric, but never reached him.
A sudden bolt of agony in his chest sent him face-first to the floor.
Five or six of his ribs had snapped. There was no way he could rise and struggle normally.
With his pain-twisted face pressed to the floor, Fritz glared up at Keldric.
Keldric's expression as he met that gaze was impassive.
'Had that not been enough?'
Keldric wondered if Fritz simply had not been beaten enough yet.
So Keldric seized Fritz's arm roughly. Sensing what was coming, Fritz began to thrash wildly.
"Let go of me! You damn son of a bitch!"
"You need to cool your head."
Crack!
With a crisp crack, Fritz's left arm bent beyond the limits of normal human anatomy.
Feeling the change firsthand, Fritz opened his mouth like a baby bird waiting for food and screamed soundlessly.
But to Keldric, something still seemed lacking.
This time, Keldric lightly swung his fist.
"Urrrgh...!"
Fritz's face flushed bright red after the blow to his solar plexus.
It was light only by Keldric's standards. To Fritz, receiving it was sheer agony.
Fritz's bloodshot gaze landed on Hilmer, whose face had gone rigid with shock at the brutality.
"You... fuuucking bastard...!"
Meanwhile, Keldric marveled with genuine admiration.
'He could still move?'
Fritz's toughness, honed through martial training, exceeded Keldric's expectations.
Fritz had also learned swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat directly from Sir Volfen, so his body was at least as strong as an ordinary squire's.
Seeing that Fritz still had plenty of fight left, Keldric continued methodically.
He hauled Fritz upright from the floor, seated him, and gently took hold of his right arm.
Fritz's terror-stricken eyes met Keldric's.
Keldric looked at Fritz as though he were an insect.
"Brother. Why did you do it?"
"Urgh, wait..."
"Why did you try to kill our eldest brother?"
"It's my seat...! You bastard! I should be the one sitting in it! I'm the one truly worthy of being a knight!"
Greedy and thoughtless, Fritz said exactly what Keldric had expected.
Fritz coveted Hilmer's position as head of House Bellaf. That was why he had devised this idiotic plan.
Keldric regarded Fritz with disdain.
Spent from shouting, Fritz was already panting in exhaustion.
Keldric was a busy man. There were still too many things demanding his attention.
Keldric would have loved nothing more than to have a long talk with Fritz, but he could not afford to dawdle any longer.
"Then what about the two outside? Weren't there only ten mercenaries?"
"How should I know—Aaaagh!!"
Naturally, Fritz did not answer readily.
As a result, Fritz's right arm, the one that had still been intact, bent into a geometric pattern.
"Who are those men?"
"Servants! They are household servants! I bought them off!"
Keldric's eyes darkened.
He had considered the possibility of a traitor among the servants, but had not expected it to be true.
"Brother Hilmer. You should summon Morris and Peter. Malcolm is in the armory."
"Uh... Right."
Morris, Peter, and Malcolm were House Bellaf's only three soldiers.
With traitors among the servants, they had to secure Hilmer's and Lady Bellaf's safety.
"Now that I've told you..."
Crack—!
"Gaaargh!"
Keldric broke one of Fritz's fingers. His anger over Yakov's stabbing had not subsided.
"Brother. I'll ask just one more thing. Is there a signal to summon the cavalrymen you have waiting?"
This time, Keldric's rough hand seized Fritz's left ankle.
Breathless, Fritz could only make strangled sounds and could not answer.
Keldric knew nothing about interrogation or anything of that kind.
The only thing he trusted was sheer force.
"This time, it's your ankle."
"A torch! Raise it high and swing it in a circle!"
In the end, Fritz surrendered to the pain.
"Brother."
"Y-yes?"
Hilmer answered Keldric's call with a stammer.
Hilmer's eyes trembled after witnessing the limits of the human body firsthand.
"I intend to go outside for a while."
"Outside? Why?"
"Joseph brought cavalrymen. I must stop them before they notice anything."
Even as he spoke, Keldric stole a glance at Fritz's reaction.
It was the right move.
Fritz flinched at the mention of the cavalrymen.
"It may take a while."
"R-right. Be careful."
"As for Brother Fritz... I think you can handle him as you see fit."
Keldric strode out of the bedroom with the same unhesitating gait he had entered with.
Silence settled over the room immediately afterward.
Hilmer felt as though he had seen a new side of Keldric, and it was not a pleasant one.
He was not cruel enough to enjoy watching his own brother be crippled before his eyes.
Hilmer sighed softly and turned toward Fritz, whose limbs still convulsed from time to time.
"Fritz. Those lowborn mercenary bastards died like dogs, which poses no problem. But killing you here, a member of our family, would."
"U-urgh..."
"Baron Yaven will decide your fate. We just received word that he will be visiting soon."
Sentencing a resident of the territory to death was the lord's prerogative.
A letter had just arrived stating that Baron Yaven would visit the hunting grounds near Carlton Village, partly to meet Hilmer as Sir Volfen's successor.
Hilmer had to keep Fritz alive until Baron Yaven came to the village.
"Until then... having a nice, long talk between brothers after so long wouldn't be a bad idea. Would it?"
He returned favors in due measure, but repaid grudges tenfold.
Though he was no warrior, Hilmer was still a man of the North.