EP 6 - Aira Gets F*cked At The End(5)
The people in the mansion seemed to have plenty to say about the tenant farmer dragged around like a dog. I wasn't sure if it was about my sudden violent behavior or the tenant farmer greedily stealing money too blatantly.
In truth, it didn't matter. The important thing was that I had a mace in my hand and the tenant farmer's family had been dragged to the center of the lord's mansion like pigs. If they were dragged like pigs, they had to be beaten like pork cutlets. I practiced swinging my mace in the air. The tightly bound tenant farmer, who saw me practicing, trembled in fear.
The wife lying next to him kept saying to the tenant farmer.
“H-honey, what’s going to happen to us now? Huh?”
“I... I don’t know. I'm sorry.”
It was a truly tearful sight. The two daughters clung to the tenant farmer, trembling like aspen trees. In contrast to the overweight and unattractive couple, the daughters were well-maintained and quite fair. For a moment, I felt moved but firmly shook my head.
The tenant farmer Balpa was covered in dirt. The guards, who hadn't bothered to prepare a cart, had roughly tied him up with ropes and dragged him here. The same goes for the wife and daughters. There were no human rights for criminals in this country anyway.
Especially since they were caught embezzling taxes meant for the lord, there was nothing more to be said. At this point, anything short of roasting them would be considered lenient.
“Balpa. Do you understand your crime?”
“Yes! I've committed a grave sin! Punish me, but please spare my family....”
Kwang-!
I cut off the tenant farmer's plea by striking the ground with my mace. Just as quickly as he had stolen the taxes, the tenant farmer acknowledged his guilt and begged for punishment, hoping to save his family.
Hearing the commotion, Sieri came outside and asked Robin what was going on. After Robin explained the situation, Sieri came up to me and said.
"My Lord, pe.... perhaps you could show some leniency...... ”
Sieri voiced her opinion in a very cautious tone, careful not to undermine my authority. I shook my head and said.
“Sieri, if a crime is committed, it must be punished. If we show leniency once, it sets a bad precedent. If I don't properly punish the first case, what will people think afterward? They'll believe they'll be let off the hook too and commit wrongdoings again.”
Sieri fell silent. I felt like her favorability have decreased slightly, but I couldn't afford leniency in this matter. Showing weakness before a fraudster would inevitably backfire. I must see this to the end. I instructed Robin to send Sieri back into the manor and then turned my attention back to the tenant farmer. ṛ
“You asked me to punish you but spare your family, Balpa.”
“Yes! Yes! Please, I beg you!”
The tenant farmer once again banged his forehead to the ground. He seemed resigned to his own fate. However, tax evasion was a serious crime, and it was unlikely that his wife or daughters were unaware of his actions.
If anything, they likely mocked the foolish lord and partied together. It's obvious they didn't try to stop their father or husband. These b*tches were accomplices. Accomplices must be dealt with equally. Evil will always slip through the cracks if you give it room. I intended to make an example of this case to show what happens when you evade taxes.
I ordered the soldiers to move the daughters aside. Then, I lightly swung my mace in front of the wife. She trembled, tears streaming down her toad-like face. The tenant farmer desperately struggled on the ground.
After swinging my mace a few times in the air, I gently tapped the wife's head, aiming for a precise hit. I pinned her leg down with one foot to keep her from moving.
“My Lord! My Lord! It was my fault! Please, punish only me! I beg you!”
The wife struggled and tried to escape from me. After gauging the trajectory for the mace, I steadied myself. The tenant farmer screamed in desperation.
“My Lord! Please, I beg you! I'm sorry! I'll die for this, My Lord! My Lord!”
Kkang!
“Then there’s no problem. Let's cut it.”
I wanted to make sure they can't cause trouble in the extreme case that they escaped and lived well. It didn't matter where the slave trader sold them. Robin and Sieri would be satisfied knowing they were alive, and they wouldn't care about what happened afterward.
They didn't have to know every detail about the criminals' treatment. If they were later found in a brothel, I could simply deny any knowledge.
Using a technician brought by the slave trader, the tenant farmer's daughters had the tendons in their arms and legs severed, rendering them disabled. Measures were taken to ensure they wouldn't heal naturally, so there was no chance of them even escaping.
“What about cutting out their tongues to stop them from talking nonsense?”
“Mute slaves fetch a lower price.”
“I'll sell them cheap, so go ahead and cut them out.”
Since I wasn't selling them for the money, it didn't matter. The tenant farmer's daughters, already powerless with their tendons severed, began to thrash wildly as the pliers and scissors approached. They were gagged, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was probably curses aimed at me.
Aira, who was in the adjacent cell, stopped her act of madness and stared with her mouth wide open at the scene. When the technician struggled with the girls' resistance, I stepped in and slapped one of them hard. Her jaw snapped, leaving her mouth hanging open. The slave trader said with a grimace.
“Her jaw is dislocated.”
“You can fix it, right?”
“If it dislocates once, it’ll likely happen again. Slaves with such conditions sell for less.”
I grabbed the hair of the one whose jaw was still intact and whispered to her.
“You see that? Try anything dumb, and I’ll pull out all your teeth.”
The remaining girl then opened her mouth on her own and tightly closed her eyes.
Once again, screams echoed through the dungeon. Aira, clutching the iron bars, was trembling. The slave trader, after stuffing the daughters' mouths with hemostatic agent, pointed at Aira and asked.
“Are you selling her as well? I'll offer you double the combined price of these two girls.”
Aira shook her head vigorously and fled to the corner. Did she drop her crazy act? I shook my head and replied.
“No. I still have some use for that one.”
“I understand. You have a good eye.”
The slave trader nodded, then began to bind the daughters with the technician’s help. The two girls, completely drained of energy, could only breathe heavily—their eyes unfocused. I said to the slave trader.
“Please sell them somewhere other than the southern region if possible.”
“Understood. Then, I'll be on my way.”
With that, the slave trader left the dungeon. Now, it was just Aira and me. As soon as the slave trader was gone, Aira started screaming again.
“Kkiruk...kkieeek!”
How do I break her of this habit?
[Previous Chapter]