Chapter 21 - Kind and Cruel

Chapter 21: Kind and Cruel 

‘Hurry up and choose!’

I blinked and looked straight ahead.

These mercenaries were really slow. They should choose faster. Yet they were frozen like ice. It was also funny that the soldiers were also stiff like them.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Why do we have to be like that?”

“This is why you shouldn’t get along with barbaric and uncivilized northerners… We helped you all, but you treated us like this. Without mercenaries like us, you guys would have been shipped to the monstars!”

The villagers gathered in the village square murmured hearing those words. The remark was an insult to all the people living in the North.

“But, doesn’t the Heilon Duchy also pay the mercenaries a price commensurate with the risk?”

I replied nonchalantly, stating the truth. These people talked as if they were here truly to help the north, which they were not.

It was not for nothing that many mercenaries, adventurers, and even merchants had gathered in the northern territory of the high risk.

Abel was cold but fair. If these people took the risk of catching the monsters, he would pay them a corresponding reward. In addition to that, the materials dropped by the monsters they caught belonged to them which they could sell to merchants and earn some profit. The rarer the materials the monsters dropped, the more money they would get. Even there were quite a few people who came to the north solely for these rare materials. In the end, all of these people gathered here to pursue their own interests. And there was nothing wrong with that. Heilon Duchy needed the force to protect the territory, and the mercenaries needed money.

“Ha! A brat who doesn’t know anything about the world. If the mercenaries are suppressed like this, who will fight in the north from now on?”

“I’m not trying to suppress mercenaries. I’m making you pay.”

Subsequently, I added calmly. “The right price for your crime.”

Of course, the price was a method that fitted their case very well.

“If you continue to refuse to make a choice, I would choose randomly.”

“LET GO!!” The mercenaries kept struggling.

I looked at their rebellious act and felt a bit irritated. Right now, the weather was very cold, and I was pretty sure the people who gathered in this village square did not enjoy standing outside of their comfortable house in this kind of weather. Because I, myself, did not like it at all. In fact, my body has been trembling since earlier. Therefore, this case should have been ended up early. Yet, these mercenaries seemed like not going to choose and kept resisting.

Well, if they did not want to choose, I might do it for them.

A good idea had crossed my mind. I felt that dividing them into half and half would be great. Although they were in an odd number and kinda unbalanced, it was better to group them in two and three people and quickly decided their punishment than waiting for them to chose it by themselves.

As I finished pondering, I realized all of the people were strangely quiet, and I felt like, maybe it was just me, the ambient temperature seemed to have dropped by about two degrees more.

Then a cold voice came from behind me.

“What are you going to choose?”

I lightly clicked my tongue hearing the familiar voice. Now I knew the reason the temperature dropped around me.

Looking back, I saw Abel stood with his arms folded. His expression showed he was not in a good mood and as if in line with it, I felt like there was a cold wind sweeping continuously. Behind him was Jeron who looked at me with an apologetic expression.

I sighed inwardly. To create such an atmosphere by only appearing, he was indeed the master of the male lead.

“Duke, why are you here?”

The villagers were paying attention to Abel with the gaze of half yearning and half fear. Meanwhile, I felt annoyed. Why did he come here when he ordered me to do the work? Was it because he couldn’t trust me?

“I don’t need a reason to visit my estate.”

‘Right. Then you should just come here from the beginning on your own, and do not order me to do it. Why bother asking me if you were going to come here anyway?’

Of course, I couldn’t say it to the terrifying Duke who was holding on to my life, so I just smiled like a child on the outside.

“Is that so?”

What a beautiful life.

In any case, Abel’s sense of intimidation was terrifying that the mercenaries who had been screaming until now were shut their mouths as if they were exhausted.

“So what option did you give them?” Abel asked me after lifted me up.

“From which part did you hear?”

Abel laughed furiously at my question.

Just looking at that smile, I could see that he was in a foul mood.

“From the barbaric and uncivilized northern people.”

Ups…. they were doomed.

If it were before, they could be considered lucky. They would end up half-dead. But because of their mouth, they made a mistake, they were completely dead. Even being beheaded was much better.

I wriggled in Abel’s arms, finding a more comfortable posture, then replied, “I told them to choose between two punishments. Going out of the wall naked or cutting their reproductive organs.”

“I like both of them.” Abel lightly stroked his chin. “Then, why do you give them a choice?”

“That is… I think doing both seems a bit hard, it was just my own consideration.”

I was here on behalf of the Duke. If the punishment went too strong, Abel, who delegated the authority, could have been critized.

“It was useless consideration.”

Abel raised the corners of his mouth coldly. It was a smile that made people flinch and step back, avoiding his gaze.

“Fiona, haven’t I always told you ”

Abel approached the mercenaries while carrying me. As he got closer to them, their faces became paler.

“I don’t need trashes, even the ones who dare to touch my people in my territory. ”

With icy tone, Abel stomped on the mercenary’s hand.

“AAGHH…”

Although I couldn’t see exactly what kind of expression Abel had, a chills ran down my spine. My shoulders trembled even though I knew the hostile wasn’t towards me.

Abel looked down at the mercenaries with the usual arrogant gaze. “You dared to call the territory I ruled savages, then it would be impolite if it doesn’t meet those expectations.”

Then he turned around, decisively ordering his men.

“Apply both punishment. Cut the body parts that doing the crime, then, kick them out of the wall.”

“Ye..yes My Lord.”

Finally, Abel recited in a low voice.

“This is the northern way you called uncivilized. Start the execution.”

“Yes!”

Abel walked out of the village square while still carrying me. For that reason, i couldn’t see directly the end of the mercenaries who harassed Sigren and the northern people. I couldn’t help myself rolling my eyes while still in Abel’s arms in this bloody situation.

This whole mercenary fiasco was already tiring for me, and with Abel’s involvement, in honesty, I felt like I was being bitten by tiger emotionally. Right, he was the tiger. If Abel was compared to an animal, I felt like white tiger would be the best fit. A tiger as white as snow.

“Fiona.”

I was half a beat late as I was lost in thought.

“….yes?”

“From now on, don’t worry about unnecessary worries.”

I couldn’t help but smile dry inwardly. Haha, that was right. My worries were really useless. I felt like it was because I had to decide someone’s life for the first time. Moreover, if I were not ordered to do it, I would never try in the first place. However, since I was a small citizen, I had no choice but to accept the command, and swallow all the questions, as well as calmly respond the words of the most powerful person. Now, I’ve gotten his permission and reassurance, next time, let’s just be wild and throw away the worries.

“Okay.”

Also another thing for keeping myself in check in the future, never turned Abel into an enemy in this world.

No matter how you looked at it, he was much more dangerous than Sigren, the main character.

“….”

So in the end, what was the real reason that Abel, who has not-good personality, came all the way here?

T/N: I read some comments about Fiona’s character. To be honest, yeah she’s kinda dense in particular. I felt like, my two projects, the main characters are so clueless. Fiona is kinda a bit psycho, smart in some way, yet she is so slow to understands ML’s feeling. She friendzoned ML so hard. Then, Sigrid, she is very talented in swordsmanship, genius, but she has zero knowledge of human relationship. I really wanna ask, does anyone ever see this type of person in real life? So smart in one part, or a bit psycho, but a bit clueless about human relationship? I laughed so hard reading these two girls story coz poor our ML. ???? anyway, thanks for reading.