Chapter 331: I Have Many Questions (3)
Manus, oblivious to the subtle chill in Amelia’s demeanor, continued speaking.
“Yes, the Forest of Beasts is a place shrouded in secrecy. While I only ventured into its outskirts, I did make it to the location where the Runestone was found. I believe I deserve fair compensation for this information.”
“Ah, I see…”
Amelia nodded, her lips curling into a still frosty smile.
Strictly speaking, Manus wasn’t wrong. Even for trivial information, one ought to offer due payment. That was the noble way of doing things.
“Very well, how much do you want?”
“I want 2,000 gold.”
At those words, the expressions of the people in the hall darkened. Two thousand gold was a fortune large enough to drastically change the life of an ordinary commoner.
The sheer audacity of making such an exorbitant demand under the guise of an information fee caused anger to bubble up.
However, no one dared to voice their frustration. In front of Amelia, even the most loyal retainers knew better than to act recklessly.
Nyaang!
Only Bastet openly displayed its displeasure, letting out a petulant cry.
Amelia, still smiling faintly, spoke.
“That’s an exorbitant price for information.”
“This is knowledge you won’t find anywhere else. I believe it’s well worth the price.”
Manus wasn’t making this bold demand without thought. He firmly believed he was safe.
‘The lady of this land is said to have a kind heart, isn’t she? They say she doesn’t harm people needlessly. I’ll just haggle a bit and let her lower the price.’
Even for a lord, it wasn’t easy to kill one of their subjects without justification. Such an act could tarnish their reputation as a tyrant, causing the people to lose trust in them. If the victim belonged to another territory, it could even serve as grounds for territorial disputes.
That was why nobles made a show of dignity and duty, constantly managing their public image.
‘Besides, I was dragged here straight from the tavern. Many people saw it, so she can’t just do anything to me right now. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just make a run for it.’
Even if the lord showed restraint, there were always instances where overly zealous subordinates caused trouble. Some even went so far as to pin false charges to justify punishments.
While Manus trusted that Amelia wasn’t such a person, his cautious nature had led him to account for every possibility.
‘I’ll start high and let her negotiate it down. I’m not expecting to get the full 2,000 gold anyway, so don’t worry, Lady Lord. Heh, heh…’
It was a negotiating tactic he’d honed since his mercenary days. The party in need was always the one to yield.
Sure enough, Amelia responded to his proposition.
“Two thousand gold is far too much. However, since this information does pique my curiosity, I’ll offer you 200 gold. Isn’t that a fair sum?”
“Hmm… Could we perhaps settle at 1,500 gold? This information is truly astonishing and valuable.”
The expressions of the retainers in the hall grew even harsher. Two hundred gold was already an immense sum, yet this insolent man continued to demand more.
Unfazed by the atmosphere, Manus didn’t feel intimidated. As a mercenary, negotiating with nobles was something he’d done often.
No matter how displeased the retainers looked, Manus knew they weren’t the ones he was dealing with. He was negotiating with the lord herself, who was reputed to be kindhearted, so he saw little reason to be afraid.
Amelia, furrowing her delicate brows briefly, turned to Bernarf and asked quietly.
“Where did you find him?”
“We brought him in from a tavern.”
Amelia nodded a few times before addressing Manus again.
“Even 1,500 gold is far too much. I am curious about your information, but I can’t justify such an expense. For now, you may leave.”
“Huh? My lady? This is truly astonishing information!” Manus exclaimed in surprise, but Amelia merely shook her head.
“It’s still too expensive. I can’t justify spending such a significant amount of the territory’s funds to satisfy my curiosity.”
‘Tch, so the rumors about her being frugal for the sake of her people were true. Can’t be helped, then.’
“In that case… how about 1,000 gold?”
“That is still too expensive. Even 200 gold stretches my resources.”
“Then… how about 500 gold?”
Even 500 gold was a staggering amount. Manus resolved that if this too was rejected, he’d accept the 200 gold and leave the territory.
Amelia pondered for a moment before replying.
“I’ll consider it. For now, leave. Bernarf, ensure he is provided with enough money for a hearty meal and lodging for the day. We’ve taken up his time, so it’s only right to compensate him.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Bernarf gestured with his head, and a servant approached Manus to hand him a single gold coin.
Manus took the coin, a sly grin spreading across his face.
‘Heh, judging by how she hesitated, I bet I can push her a bit further. She’s terrible at this back-and-forth.’
With years of haggling experience, Manus could tell Amelia still had an interest in what he had to offer.
The way she struggled with the negotiation made it clear she wasn’t used to this sort of thing.
‘Well, of course. A sheltered lady who spent her days reading books wouldn’t know how to handle this. She doesn’t want to part with her money but still wants the information. Must be giving her a headache. Heh, heh.’
Mocking Amelia inwardly, Manus retreated for now. The gold coin in his hand seemed unusually precious today.
“Wow, she gave me money just for calling me in briefly. What a soft-hearted lord. She’ll end up getting stabbed in the back a lot, I bet. Tsk, tsk.”
Clicking his tongue a few times in faux concern for Amelia, Manus soon began to feel elated.
He happily indulged in drinks for the first time in a while, even paying for them out of his own pocket. Having spent most of his earnings, it had been ages since he’d eaten and drunk properly.
“Ah, this is nice. Ugh, I shouldn’t have run away back then.”
As the alcohol flowed, old memories surfaced. Back in the day, having fled, he couldn’t return to the Zimbar Mercenary Guild.
If Ghislain had died, it might have been a different story, but Manus had heard the rumors Ghislain was alive and well.
So Manus spent his time wandering from one territory to another, taking on odd jobs to pass the time. But the stories he heard about Ghislain and the others grew increasingly remarkable.
“That bratty young lord is now a count and the strongest in the North? And those crazy Mad Dog bastards became knights? What the hell… Even that piss-pants Gordon became a knight and learned mana techniques?”
The more he thought about it, the more bitter he felt. During every war, he had secretly wished for the death of that bratty noble and hoped his land and knights would all collapse.
But instead of falling, they had all flourished. Ghislain had become the most prominent lord in the North, and the Fenris Knights had earned great renown.
“Damn it, if I’d stuck around, I could’ve learned mana techniques and become a knight too. I’d have done better if I’d been given the chance.”
Manus had no idea how hard they had worked. All he saw were the results, and all he felt was envy and jealousy.
Drunk and swearing about Ghislain, Manus eventually stumbled back to his lodgings.
It was a shabby inn, but having stayed there for some time, he had grown accustomed to its worn-down charm.
Collapsing onto the nearly broken bed, Manus mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes.
“Once I squeeze some money out of this lord, I’ll head somewhere else to sell my info. Just you wait I’ll strike it big and make that bratty noble squirm someday… Mmnn…”
Manus drifted off to sleep, but something felt off, forcing him to open his eyes again.
Still half-drunk, his vision was blurry. Before him stood a woman with a seductive smile in the dim light.
“Are you awake now? Have you come to your senses?”
“Huh… Lady Lord?”
The beautiful woman before him was Amelia. Dazed and confused, Manus soon broke into a lecherous grin.
“Heh, heh… If you missed a man’s company, you could’ve just summoned me privately. Coming to a place like this yourself… how forward.”
Completely misunderstanding the situation, Manus spewed vulgarities as he tried to approach Amelia.
Clank.
But something bound his hands. Confused, he blinked and turned his head.
“What the…?”
His hands were chained to the wall. Alarmed, he frantically looked around.
The room was dimly lit by a few candles. It wasn’t his lodging but a place that reeked of dampness and menace something like a dungeon.
Only then did Manus fully wake up.
“W-where is this…?”
As his senses sharpened, an unpleasant smell hit his nose. A former mercenary, Manus quickly recognized it the scent of metal and blood.
“U-ugh, aaaaah!”
Clank! Clank!
He struggled against his restraints, but the shackles held him firmly.
Thud. Thud.
A man with a brutish appearance approached Amelia, bowing his head. Soon, he laid out an array of tools before Manus.
Manus instantly realized where he was: a torture chamber.
This must be a secret room hidden deep beneath the castle.
“L-Lady Lord! What is the meaning of this?!”
Manus screamed in desperation, but Amelia remained silent.
“B-but they said she was a kind lord! She really seemed like one too!”
What kind of lord would spend their personal wealth on their territory’s people? Manus had observed Amelia for months, and she was undoubtedly that kind of person.
From what he’d seen, the loyalty of her subjects was exceptionally high. Such a reputation wasn’t something that could be earned by merely pretending to be kind a few times. It required years of genuine effort and devotion to the people. And Amelia had done just that.
Yet now, this same person was capable of doing something so horrifying without batting an eye!
As Manus trembled uncontrollably, Amelia glanced at him briefly before addressing the torturer.
“I have a lot of questions. And I can never stand not knowing what I want to know.”
The torturer, bowing respectfully, replied with confidence.
“I will make him remember what he ate for dinner ten years ago, my lady.”
“Make sure I don’t hear him begging to be spared.”
“…Your meaning is…?”
As the torturer hesitated with a tense expression, Amelia smiled again.
“Make him beg me to kill him.”
“…Understood.”
To achieve that, the torture would need to be precise and methodical. With the meticulous care of a craftsman, the torturer began inspecting his tools one by one.
Manus, watching this unfold, felt his mind start to drift into oblivion.
Amelia moved to a chair some distance away and began sipping tea.
If Manus had been less greedy, things wouldn’t have come to this. She would have paid the amount he wanted and smoothly extracted the information.
But he’d dared to demand an absurd sum and tried to gouge her. Worse, he sought to haggle with her as though he had the upper hand.
“Foolish man.”
She could have taken back the money after obtaining the information, but Amelia immediately saw through Manus.
Men like him wielded the information they had like a weapon, refusing to disclose it entirely and dragging negotiations out to milk as much as they could. It was clear he would waste her time to extract everything he could.
That left only one logical course of action. Amelia disliked wasting time unnecessarily.
Shhhk.
A curtain was drawn over the front of the torture room. Amelia could endure watching gruesome scenes if needed, but she saw no point in witnessing what was about to unfold.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Manus’s screams echoed through the dungeon. Using them as a backdrop, Amelia closed her eyes and leisurely sipped her tea.
* * *
The torture didn’t take long. Manus, lacking any significant mental fortitude, spilled everything he knew before eventually succumbing to death.
The torture was so brutal that Manus wasn’t begging to be spared he begged to be killed.
Amelia’s expression shifted between shock and disbelief as she listened to Manus’s revelations. Even after confirming his statements several times, his story didn’t change.
Back in her office, Amelia paced the room, deep in thought.
“This doesn’t make sense… He really knew everything that would happen and was prepared for it?”
The Forest of Beasts was a place long abandoned by all who had tried to explore it. No one had information about it. Yet, according to Manus, Ghislain acted as though he had been there before.
Except for the final encounter with the Blood Python, Ghislain had supposedly known exactly what they would face and how to fight it.
“He even knew the habits and weaknesses of unknown monsters that no one had ever encountered before? That’s impossible… utterly impossible.”
Given Ghislain’s circumstances and position at the time, it made even less sense. He didn’t have the experience or the age to explain such knowledge.
Even seasoned mercenaries found it difficult to perfectly understand monsters. In the Forest of Beasts, where new, unknown creatures thrived, it was almost unthinkable.
“And yet he even knew the precise direction of the Runestone’s location…”
It was unbelievable, but the results proved otherwise. She couldn’t dismiss it.
Until now, she had assumed Ghislain’s success was due to a mix of exceptional skill and sheer luck. But this changed everything.
After pacing for a while, Amelia stopped and muttered to herself.
“That man… he must be getting his information from somewhere. Things that no one else knows.”