I Don't Need Any Other Women
Other women aren't needed. Rodin's broad chest grew damp with hot tears. The murderous aura that had raged like a storm just moments ago had vanished without a trace. The hand he'd raised to push her away hovered awkwardly in the air, unsure where to go. Veronica buried her face deeper into his embrace, clinging to his neck as if she were a noose tightening around it. Her body trembled like a leaf in the wind, yet the voice slipping from her lips carried a chilling, almost manic obsession.
"It's my fault. I didn't even know what you hated... How could I saddle you with those mercenaries when you're sick of them? I've committed a sin worthy of death."
"...If you know that, then let go. I can't breathe."
Rodin grumbled in clear annoyance, but Veronica only pressed her face in harder.
"No! Now I understand completely. In your world, nothing else is needed except me."
"What?"
"I don't need any other women. Whether it's a pretty mercenary or the greatest female knight on the continent, no woman will be allowed to appear before your eyes. If any of them do... I'll use my position to drive them away. Or better yet, I'll roll them right down this mountain."
Rodin's eyebrows twitched. What the hell was this princess saying? He wondered if the fever had melted her brain and made her word choice so vicious, and reached out to check her forehead. But she snatched his hand and pressed it firmly against her own cheek.
"You only need to protect me. I'll only look at you. Your world only needs me in it, right? Cabbages and me—that's enough, isn't it!"
"...You've really lost it. Isn't the fever making you delirious?"
"Yes, I'm crazy! I'm crazy about you, so please don't push me away. Stay by my side until you die, planting cabbages and taking care of me! Don't even think about running away!"
It was a confession steeped in icy possessiveness. Faced with this absurd yet heavy sincerity, Rodin was at a loss for words. Normally, hearing something like this should have sent chills down his spine, but strangely, a corner of his chest felt ticklish.
Rodin stared at the ceiling and let out a long sigh. Life really was exhausting. He'd fled to the mountains because he hated bothersome things and absolutely loathed taking responsibility for anyone. Yet now he couldn't think of a single way to pry off this woman clutching his clothes and shivering uncontrollably. Or rather, the more accurate truth was that he didn't want to pry her off.
In the end, he gave up and wrapped one of his large, rough arms around her back.
"...Ah, damn it. You've completely ruined my life. Looks like my peaceful farming days are over."
Veronica answered through a choked sob.
"Even if it's ruined, let it be ruined beside me. Understand? If you get ruined somewhere else, I'll kill you."
"Fine. Do whatever you want. It's not like you'd listen even if I tried to stop you anyway."
At Rodin's indifferent tone, Veronica suddenly lifted her head. With her tear-streaked face, she glared at him.
"...Did you just call me a 'woman'?"
"Don't like it? Then what should I call you? Princess? Chief Administrator? Or... wife?"
In an instant, Veronica's face flushed bright red as if it might explode. The chilling obsession from before vanished, replaced by utter panic. She buried her face back into his chest, completely flustered.
"...Call me whatever you want. After all, I'm yours."
Her voice was tiny, but the answer was filled with absolute conviction. Rodin ruffled her hair roughly to hide his own embarrassment.
"...Shut up. Just get some sleep already. Your body's burning up but your mouth won't stop running. Say one more stupid thing and I'll really plant you in the field."
His words were harsh, but the arm holding her radiated warm affection. Safe in Rodin's embrace, Veronica finally let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes.
The faint bluish light of dawn crept through the window bars. In Rodin's arms, Veronica had fallen into a deep, nightmare-free sleep for the first time in ages. Listening to her steady breathing, Rodin kept his eyes closed as well. It was a miraculous peace, as if his terrible insomnia had been washed away completely.
But that peace didn't last long.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Boss! Sister-in-law! It's an emergency! This isn't the time to be sleeping!"
Dagan's scream-filled shouts echoed through the hallway, loud enough to shake the entire corridor. Rodin's eyes snapped open. The lazy haze of sleep was gone from his gaze, replaced by cold, sharp focus.
"...Ah, damn it. I finally try to get some sleep and people won't let me."
Rodin muttered under his breath as he sat up. His movement stirred Veronica, who groggily opened her eyes.
"Dagan? What's going on at this hour?"
"Boss! Sister-in-law! Look down the mountain! Count Valder's regular knight order has completely surrounded us! There must be hundreds of them!"
Veronica's face hardened in an instant.
"Valder... So he's finally come. To disturb my only sanctuary."
A chilling rage flickered in her eyes. The dignity of an imperial princess resurfaced as she looked at Rodin. But he was already picking up the crude pickaxe leaning beside the bed.
"Princess, you stay here and sleep more. You still don't look well."
Rodin shrugged and headed for the door. The aura flickering behind him wasn't the manic bloodlust from last night. It was the absolute presence of a supreme expert—the kind only someone protecting what was precious could emit.
"The bastards who came to trample my fields... this time, I won't show any mercy. I'll plow them all under and turn them into premium fertilizer for our mountain stronghold."
Outside the door, two figures pressed flat against the hallway wall jumped in fright and stumbled backward. It was Dagan and Gil. They clamped their hands over their mouths, clutching each other's shoulders as they trembled violently. The word they'd just heard wasn't a hallucination. From the mouth of their boss—the continent's strongest mercenary king and the very embodiment of bluntness—the word "wife" had just slipped out.
"Hey, hey! Did you hear that? The boss just called her 'wife'! My ears aren't rotten, right?"
Dagan's eyes rolled back as he grabbed Gil by the collar and shook him. Gil was already shedding tears of overwhelming emotion.
"Brother, my heart feels like it's about to stop from the thrill. Our stronghold finally has an official sister-in-law! And it's the imperial princess, no less!"
"What good is that?! There's an army from that count bastard camped at the bottom of the mountain! We'll all get turned into fertilizer before we can even eat noodles! I haven't even gotten married yet!"
When Dagan made a face like he was about to cry, Gil puffed out his chest with confidence instead.
"What are you saying! You saw the boss's mood just now. With the power of love, he'll blow those guys away! Right now the boss looks like he could split the entire continent if anyone touches him!"
"You're right! Those count bastards picked the absolute worst day for their little visit. Who attacks right when the boss is about to start his romance arc?"
The two men exchanged satisfied smiles at the languid silence coming from inside the room, then carefully tiptoed down the hallway and slipped away.
A short while later, Rodin gently tapped the sleeping Veronica's forehead once before quietly leaving the room. The moment the door closed, the faint warmth that had lingered on his face disappeared completely. In its place was the cold, sharp, and overwhelming killing intent of the 'Mercenary King.'
With every step he took down to the courtyard, the entire stronghold's atmosphere grew heavy and oppressive. Dagan and Gil, who had been waiting in the yard, swallowed dryly under the weight of his presence.
"Hey. How far up have they come?"
Rodin's voice was low and icy. Dagan answered in a trembling tone.
"They're at the toll booth at the base of the mountain! It's Count Valder's elite knight order—five hundred men strong. Their momentum is no joke! They've got heavy cavalry and mages mixed in!"
"Five hundred? ...That's going to make quite a lot of fertilizer. Looks like I won't have to worry about this year's cabbage harvest."
Rodin replied indifferently as he stretched. The pressure radiating from his body was so intense it almost seemed like the weeds in the yard were flattening themselves on purpose.
"Boss! Are you really going to use a sword this time? Their numbers are no joke."
When Gil asked worriedly, Rodin snorted.
"No. Swords make too much blood splatter. If I step on them it'll dirty my fields, so no swords."
Rodin picked up the well-worn, crude pickaxe that had been leaning in the corner of the storage shed. It was an ordinary farming tool, but the moment it entered his hand, it began radiating a destructive aura that surpassed even the divine weapons of legend.
"A pickaxe is plenty. The bastards who stepped on my cabbages and disturbed my wife's sweet sleep... I'll plant every last one of them underground. Don't let a single one escape. Fertilizer's too precious to waste."
With the pickaxe resting on his shoulder, Rodin's eyes glowed red in the predawn darkness.
Hiiiiiing—! The whinnies of iron-armored warhorses filled the base of the mountain. Count Valder's elite knight order. At their head, a knight arrogantly raised his chin and shouted toward the stronghold's main gate. Behind them, hundreds of torches formed a massive river of fire.
"Listen up, you bandit scum! We come bearing the orders of Count Valder! Surrender the Third Imperial Princess Veronica, who has betrayed the empire and fled, at once!"
The messenger's cry echoed through the mountain valley. But the stronghold's gate remained firmly shut, not moving an inch.
"Are you deaf?! Hand over Her Highness and surrender immediately, and we shall spare your lives. But if you delay, we will turn this entire mountain into a sea of blood!"
At that moment, the tightly closed wooden gate creaked open slowly. A man wearing dusty pants and a shabby shirt walked out, yawning.
"Hey. Keep your voice down. There's someone sleeping inside."
Rodin replied indifferently while digging at his ear. The messenger burst into laughter as if he'd heard something absurd.
"What? This pathetic little bandit dares...! It seems you don't understand the situation. Count Valder's elite knight order has come to take your worthless life!"
"Yeah~~~ I don't know about any army."
Rodin's gaze shifted downward.
"You. You kicked the pillar of my precious toll booth while riding up here, didn't you? I just repainted that the day before yesterday."
"What does a worthless piece of wood matter! If you don't hand over Her Highness right now, this place will...!"
"You talk too damn much. Move. Before you trample my cabbages."
Rodin dragged his pickaxe behind him as he walked toward the knight. With each step he took, the earth trembled faintly.