His lips began to curve into a violent expression, as the lid off his anger was removed, and his mind determined that it was safe for him to vent his frustrations. His hand went to his sword.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" The soldier spluttered, his shout loud enough to draw a crowd. 'Good', he thought. 'Let them see what I do to peasants that don't know their place.'
His sword came clean of the scabbard, and he levelled it towards the peasant's throat – or at least he tried to. There was a sudden flash of pain in his hand, and then a moment later, his sword on the floor.
Startled, he reached to grab it, but the boy's foot found its way onto the steel first.
"Boy! Remove your dirty feet from my sword!" The soldier cried out in anguish, thoroughly disoriented at this point. All he felt was anger.
"Oh, my apologies," Beam said, as though only just noticing. He removed his foot. The soldier reached to grasp the sword, but just before he could get his hands on it, Beam's other foot came in.
There was something of a small crowd gathering now. The butcher was sweating to an extreme degree behind the soldier, as he witnessed things escalating at an unbelievable rate.
Even Judas and Nila – who were meant to be part of this plan – seemed shocked by his actions, by his blatant disrespect of an authority that was above him.
"Ah, wait," Beam said, as his foot returned. "I have to confirm, this sword is for the protection of the village peace, is it not? If you're stirring up conflict within Solgrim garrison whilst we are so close to war, you'd be violating Captain Lombard's clear orders. Even if you are my social superior, I cannot disobey the orders of nobility. Do forgive me."
Relieved, the soldier reached out to grab it.
But it turned out, she was the devil as well. Just before his fingers could wrap around its hilt, she drew it back slightly.
"Of course, that's with the understanding that it's wrong to bother the butcher, right? I'm sure you were only joking. Of course, a noble soldier such as yourself would not abuse their power merely for fun, not whilst the Captain made it clear he didn't want to hear about any discord. Unless you have reasons to undermine our defence?" Nila said, flashing a devilish smile.
Beam fought to hide his own smile. It was sweetly done, but it was essentially the same tactic that Beam had used – likening the man's actions to treachery, as they made him explain the reason behind the unnecessary friction he was creating.
"...Only joking?" The soldier said weakly, glancing behind him for support from the butcher. But the butcher merely turned away. Out of a soldier and that fearsome trio behind him, he found that pissing off the soldier would likely be the lesser of the two evils.
Defeated, the soldier could only acknowledge them. With his heart toyed with and his soldiers slumped, he agreed with her, and took by his sword. "...Indeed, I was merely joking," he murmured, sheathing his blade, and hurriedly moving to leave, the gazes of the crowd feeling like spears on his back.
There was a temptation in his heart to throw a tantrum, to cause an even bigger scene, but just as he enjoyed using his social superiority against others – he feared it being used against him. Bringing up nobility, holding that over his head, suggesting that he was going against them.
It was a fatal move, especially when the nobility treat the serving class with the same dismissiveness that they did for peasants.
There were more than a few instances of soldiers being cut down merely as an example.
He meekly left with his shoulders bunched up tight, as he kept his eyes on the ground, and fled at a speed that nearly approached a jog.