Chapter 31
Chapter 31
* * *
"Darling, darling!"
The Baroness Hawin rushed over and untied the gag on Baron Hawin.
The moment Philip set down five sacks of wheat on the far side of the zelkova tree and vanished, Baron Hawin, who had been dangling by a rope from the top of the zelkova, slid down.
If they had brought more people or if there had been no wheat, the plan had been to simply cut the rope. In that case, Baron Hawin would have died on the spot.
At that moment, the intruder who had jumped down from the tree to the other side hoisted the five sacks of wheat and disappeared somewhere.
"Huff, hah...."
Meanwhile, Baron Hawin, who had reached the ground, gasped for breath.
The baroness quickly untied the rope.
"Damn it, those bastards, so quickly...."
Baron Hawin actually had no memory of anything after the western knights had swarmed in. He had been struck on the head and knocked unconscious.
"What happened?"
At Baron Hawin's question, the baroness earnestly explained the whole story from beginning to end.
"What?"
As he listened, his eyes widened and he asked in disbelief.
"You handed over Jejel Street and Beron? For a mere five sacks of wheat? Are you insane?"
"I only handed them over for a moment. Don't worry."
The Baroness Hawin said with a grin.
"Tom and Dalia will bring Brisa soon."
Tom was the stable hand at the baronial residence.
He was not a knight, but he could still subdue a single twelve-year-old girl.
"I brought all the documents here, too."
The Baroness Hawin pulled the documents from her bosom.
"Threaten her into signing here again if she doesn't want to die. Then we can get it all back."
"Say she signs now. But do you think that little wench will keep her mouth shut and stay quiet? When her brother returns in a month...."
"Which is why we kill her now."
The Baroness Hawin arched an eyebrow.
"The kidnappers will be living as fugitives anyway, so we can pin it on them! Even if the Marquess Sears returns in a month, do you think he'll care about a half-sister he lived without even knowing existed?"
"Ah."
Baron Hawin blinked, impressed.
"Good heavens, you... I never knew you were this clever."
"It's all for our family."
This was a hill right on the territory border, and few people came here because monsters were said to appear nearby.
The kidnappers probably intended to cross into Joachim County prepared to die... but they would not even be able to defend themselves.
That was when it happened.
"Mom, Father!"
Dalia came running. Behind her was Tom, with Brisa slung over his shoulder.
"We're here!"
"Dalia!"
Baroness Hawin ran over with an excited cry and hugged Dalia tightly.
Baron Hawin grinned, brushed himself off, and stood.
"Good heavens. You all did wonderfully."
Beneath the zelkova tree at the foot of the quiet hill, Tom set Brisa down.
Baron Hawin personally removed Brisa's blindfold.
Brisa glared at Baron Hawin with the gag still in her mouth.
"Now, Brisa."
He grinned and held out the documents.
"Did you enjoy playing at being the owner of the territory you took back for half a day? You've had your fun, so now it's time to return it to its true owner."
The Baroness Hawin quickly pressed a quill into Brisa's hand.
"You have to sign."
She whispered.
"Just like I did this morning. If you hold out to the end, your corpse will be buried in that damned potato field."
Brisa did not put up any particular resistance, but she glared back and forth between Baron Hawin and the baroness with her large eyes.
"Sign it, Brisa."
Dalia cut in with a giggle.
"Oh, are you going to go on about imperial law again? But what a shame. No one saw you get kidnapped, you know?"
"......."
Even so, Brisa would not grip the quill.
Baron Hawin arched an eyebrow and spoke.
"Now, Tom here is very good at beating horses. If you keep resisting like this, my lovely niece, Tom might beat you the way he beats horses."
He seized Brisa's chin with a sinister air and threatened her.
"Then even after you sign, you might not be able to walk back to your territory on your own two feet. Let's not waste each other's energy."
That was when it happened.
"Good heavens."
A voice full of fury came from the darkness.
"That this wretch worse than a beast is my uncle...."
Even Brisa, who had remained composed the entire time, was horrified. This was the one situation she had not anticipated at all.
"I'll make sure you're the first one who can't walk on his own two feet!"
The man who appeared radiating killing intent was the war hero of the north, Alpheus.
* * *
What in the world was going on?!
Why was Alpheus here?!
With the gag still in my mouth, I couldn't say anything, and my eyes just went wide.
"My lady!"
Philip hurried over and lifted me into his arms.
"You've been through so much!"
"Mmph mmph!"
"Ah, I'll remove the gag!"
"Pwah!"
The moment I caught my breath, I looked around with disbelieving eyes.
The kidnapping, and Philip rescuing me—that was all part of the picture I had predicted.
In the first place, it made no sense for Philip not to know about Tom, who had been hiding near Dalia. He had been the vice-commander of a capable mercenary company that had ended the war alongside Alpheus.
Even if he had been farming potatoes until now.
He was not to be compared with a stable hand from the central region, where not a single territorial war had broken out. That was why I had given Philip instructions in advance.
"If you disappear, I'll probably be kidnapped, so just let it happen for now."
"What? No, why in the world...."
"They'll definitely threaten me to get Jejel Street and Beron back."
"But must you go through such hardship, my lady?"
"I have to."
This was all part of my plan.
"Just getting back Jejel Street and Beron isn't enough for me."
Those people were far too vile for us to coexist with them.
Even if that future had disappeared, they were still the ones who had ultimately sold me out.
Keeping them in the neighboring territory was too great a risk. Wouldn't they keep watching for a chance to hand me over to the Kingdom of Sebon?
"Then how in the world...."
"I have a plan for everything."
I had prepared for all of it.
But Alpheus's appearance was truly beyond my calculations.
'The Warp doesn't activate for another month, though?'
Even so, Alpheus's condition was perfectly fine. He must have taken my Awakening Herb in time.
"I didn't recognize you because of the name Hawin, but you're my uncle? Huh?"
Alpheus grabbed Baron Hawin by the collar and lifted him. Then he hurled him violently against the zelkova tree.
"Are you even human? You kidnapped your starving niece and now you want her territory?"
I, who had kidnapped my starving uncle and taken his territory, kept my mouth shut.
Meanwhile, Wendy, who had been hiding near the zelkova tree, tied up Dalia and the Baroness Hawin.
"Um, my lady."
Wendy blinked and spoke.
"I did as you ordered, but... did you plan for the captain—I mean, the Marquess—to come too?"
She muttered with an uncertain expression.
"If you graduated second in your class at the academy and can speak five languages, can you predict even something like that?"
"No way."
I answered calmly.
"I'm extremely surprised right now."
"You don't look it at all.... Anyway, the Marquess's appearance surprised you too, my lady, right?"
"The appearance aside, what in the world is that horrible scrap of cloth around his neck? It doesn't look like a cravat."
"Ah... a floral handkerchief."
At Wendy's answer, I was horrified.
"Why in the world would he tie a handkerchief around his neck?"
When I had seen him at the funeral, Alpheus had been in mourning clothes. He had looked perfectly presentable. In other words, this was the first time I had seen Alpheus in casual clothes.
'The original novel said he only wore black after his fall into darkness! So that's why no one had ever criticized him for it!'
The fashion of the protagonist who had not fallen into darkness was astonishing.
By now, Alpheus was throwing punches at Baron Hawin's face.
At that moment, I shouted.
"You can't kill him!"
In truth, Baron Hawin had to remain alive here. Because....