Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: TempWane
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Why would someone say something like “Kill me”?
In the end, isn’t the most important thing one’s own life?
Usually, the reason people work is for money, and the reason they need money is to survive.
Even professions like knights, romantically depicted in various media, are ultimately driven by loyalty bought with money.
Sure, people can fight for their lives. I’d be willing to risk my life for Amelia too. That’s how much I care for her.
But without a special reason, isn’t it absurd to throw away one’s life just for a mission?
“Does saying ‘Kill me’ mean that if you fail this mission, a punishment worse than death awaits you?”
Amelia tilted her head with an innocent expression, as if she truly knew nothing, and asked.
Of course, it was all an act. Amelia had never shown such an expression in front of me. She was far from being pure-hearted, and at her age, it was only natural. After all, in this era, being seventeen years old was no different from being an adult.
The crown prince and the younger prince were already being spoken of as the next emperor and king at this age, so a Grand Duke’s daughter wouldn’t be much different.
“……”
The woman, who seemed to be around our age or maybe a year or two older, clenched her teeth and glared at the three of us.
No, to be precise, her gaze was mainly directed at Amelia and me.
If she had followed us, she’d know that Amelia was the most significant person among the three of us. But she didn’t dare to glare at my older brother. Likely because he was that intimidating.
“If you don’t speak up willingly, we could let you experience here what would happen if you failed your mission.”
“……Heh.”
The woman let out a chuckle at Amelia’s threat.
“What do you even know about us to say something like that?”
“Aren’t you from the Information Guild?”
At Amelia’s words, the woman snorted dismissively. Whether that was mere bravado to avoid being caught, or whether she was genuinely from another group, I couldn’t tell.
“……”
Harvey-Hyung, who had been quietly listening with his hand resting on his chin, suddenly crouched near the woman.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
Seeing Hyung suddenly lean his face toward her, the woman blushed.
…Wait, was it not fear that kept her from looking away?
Well, he is handsome. After all, he’s the male lead.
“Hey, wait, where are you putting your hands—ouch, ouch, ouch!?”
When Harvey grabbed her leg, the woman, who had initially been blushing and letting out a coy sound, quickly shifted to screaming.
Harvey’s hands were as big as his tall frame suggested. So large, in fact, that he could grasp both the thigh and calf of an average-sized woman in one hand each.
And Harvey grabbed the woman’s leg in that manner too.
Holding the calf of her tied leg with his left hand and her thigh with his right, he gently pushed it upward, ensuring not to bend the joint in an unnatural direction.
“Ahhh! Wait, wait! I’ll break! I’m going to break!”
The woman screamed at the top of her lungs, struggling, and Harvey stopped his hands.
Then, he looked up at Amelia.
“Shall I continue?”
“Uh…”
Amelia hesitated, looking conflicted.
No matter how hardened one might be, there was no need to witness something so gruesome firsthand. Even though both Amelia and I had found ourselves in the midst of battlefields as children, neither of us had ever seen someone being tortured.
There was a vast difference between cutting someone with a sword and seeing bones break and protrude from their body.
“…Harvey, how far are you willing to go with this?”
Amelia asked with a slightly serious expression. Harvey-Hyung moved the woman’s leg back and forth as though he were playing with a doll.
The woman seemed to resist in her own way, but her legs moved effortlessly, regardless of her attempts to stop him.
“With this level of force, I can dislocate and reset any joint. With the help of a cleric, breaking her bones could also be an option—”
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
The woman shouted in panic at Harvey’s words.
“……”
“…Why is there a Delkis person here… I was never told anything like that…”
While we were briefly at a loss for words due to her sudden cooperation, the woman muttered tearfully.
*
“Before we continue, could you… um, untie me, perhaps? No, I suppose not,” she said, her tone now subdued and resigned.
When she had been glaring at us with a venomous look, it had been annoying, but sprawled on the floor like that and saying such things, she seemed somewhat pitiful. Moreover, the bruise on her forehead gave her the appearance of someone who had suffered abuse.
Harvey’s fists were indiscriminate, it seemed—whether the recipient was a woman or a man.
Not that I’d ever been on the receiving end.
“Harvey, could you perhaps…”
Amelia began to speak to Harvey with a tone that sounded genuinely apologetic.
Since Harvey and I were siblings, she seemed cautious about making direct requests to him. In the novel, she had shown consideration toward him, but now her attitude was even more careful.
Still, it wasn’t difficult to grasp what Amelia wanted, even if she didn’t finish her sentence. The situation was clear as day.
Harvey grabbed the woman by her waist and effortlessly lifted her, placing her on the sofa.
“……”
And the woman looked conflicted, unsure whether to feel pleased that a handsome man like Harvey-Hyung had grabbed her waist and lifted her or terrified of his overwhelming strength. Her face flushed red, but her expression was also filled with fear, making her look rather peculiar.
“To wield aura means they’re a highly skilled assassin, doesn’t it?”
Amelia spoke, glancing at the woman with a slightly annoyed expression.
It was undoubtedly a serious situation, but somehow, the people gathered here were so far removed from normal standards that it all seemed absurd.
“Heh.”
The woman let out a chuckle at Amelia’s remark.
“…Hyung, is it possible to dislocate her shoulder in this state?”
“I’ve performed first aid on dislocated soldiers before. Reversing the process shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“I-I’m sorry! I’m not an assassin! I didn’t come here on an assassination mission! No, more than that, the group I belong to doesn’t accept assassination requests! It’s true! Please believe me!”
Perhaps feeling the weight of Harvey-Hyung’s gaze, the woman’s voice quickened as she spoke.
“Do you know who the young lady here is?” Amelia asked.
“A Lady… Lady Elsie of the House of Delkis… isn’t she?”
The woman hesitated to end her sentence simply with “Lady,” but when Amelia’s eyes narrowed, she hastily added, “Ma’am.”
“Then you must also know why she’s at my side?”
“…I heard that she was expelled from the family for not meeting their expectations… I swear it’s true! That’s what I heard! Otherwise, why would I be trailing someone from Delkis?”
“You’ve been investigating Elsie’s background?”
Amelia blinked in surprise.
We exchanged a brief glance before turning back to the woman dressed as a ninja.
“What reason would you have to investigate Elsie’s background?”
Amelia asked, clearly finding the situation strange.
It was only natural.
Though the House of Delkis could trace its roots to royal bloodlines, it was so remote that it had little to do with the power struggles of the royal capital. Moreover, Delkis people generally weren’t the type to care much about political power.
But still, what reason could there be to investigate me?
“……”
“Harvey?”
When the woman pressed her lips tightly together, Amelia called out to Harvey-Hyung again.
“Wait, wait!”
As Harvey’s hand landed on her shoulder, the woman let out something close to a scream, struggling to pull away. To think just moments ago she had been blushing.
Even I found Harvey’s calm expression to be a bit intimidating.
“The Empire! It was the Empire! The Imperial family requested the Information Guild to investigate someone named Elsie Delkis!”
“……”
At the woman’s words, the three of us were momentarily at a loss for words.
The Empire? Investigating me?
Why?
While the Delkis family held a strategically significant position in the kingdom’s defense for a barony, it wasn’t something that should concern the Empire. After all, the Barony of Delkis was located on the opposite end of the kingdom from the Empire’s border.
If a war were to break out, the Delkis people would surely participate… but right now, there was no apparent reason for a war.
“I’d like to hear more about this. In detail, if you don’t mind.”
Amelia said as she stood and began preparing tea.
“Ah, yes! Of course! Absolutely!”
And as Hyung’s hand moved toward her shoulder again, the woman shouted in panic.
…Honestly, wasn’t she the one shouting “Kill me” earlier?
Well, I suppose pain is scarier than death to some people.