There Is No Mercy

Chapter 30

“Even after a long shower, it’s still hot,” I grumbled, stepping out of the bathroom. Despite spending twice as long washing up as usual, the heat seemed to instantly make me feel sticky again. I untied the towel from my hair to dry it and reached for a glass of water.

I narrowed my eyes at the lukewarm water as it slid into my mouth, making me frown.

Shaking the empty water jug, I decided it was time for some cold water.

I grabbed the jug and opened the door.

“Is there something you need, ma’am?” Ripert, my guard, asked immediately.

I turned to see Ripert, drenched in sweat. Wearing heavy armor in this humid castle without a break must be exhausting.

“If it’s water, I can get it for you…”

“I’ll get the water myself. Why don’t you go take a break and freshen up? You look exhausted,” I suggested.

Ripert hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded, unable to resist any longer. After he left, I refilled the jug with fresh water and returned to my room, picking up the contract. I meticulously checked it again and again to ensure nothing was missing.

Knock, knock.

Just as I was deep into reviewing the contract, someone knocked on the door.

“Who’s there?” I called out while organizing the papers, but there was no response. I was about to frown, thinking it was some prank when a voice finally spoke.

“Lady Briloxen, do you have a moment?”

“Ugh,” I muttered under my breath. It was Rick who I met in the morning.

He showed up right after I sent Ripert away, which was no coincidence. Suppressing a sigh, I turned my back to the door.

Of course, I hadn’t expected Belietta’s followers to stay quiet, but showing up this late was a bit much.

I stared at the firmly closed door, rolling my eyes.

“It’s late. Let’s talk tomorrow,” I said, not bothering to open the door.

I didn’t want to see his face for no reason, so I responded with the door closed.

I could hear a flustered cough from the other side, but I ignored it.

As I continued organizing the messy contract papers on my desk, Rick kept insisting to open the door.

He’s Persistent

Glancing at the closed door, my eyes fell on a report on the desk. Narrowing my eyes, I pondered for a moment before hearing his voice again.

“Lady Briloxen, I have something urgent to discuss. Please open the door.”

“Then say it from there.”

“There are many eyes watching. We need to speak inside.”

“There’s no need. It doesn’t seem that important,” I replied, a mocking smirk tugging at my lips.

What could be so urgent?

He was silent for a moment, likely frustrated. I heard a long sigh, followed by a quieter, more desperate tone.

“It’s about Lady Bozeborne. It’s important. Please open the door.”

Belietta? Now that was a name worth hearing.

I put down the papers in my hand and glared at the door before taking a step closer.

“At the last banquet, Lady Bozeborne mentioned something about you and His Grace. I overheard it, and while I don’t know the full details, it seemed quite important. That’s why I came to tell you.”

She mentioned something about me and Aden. Interesting. I feigned indecision, lifting my chin slightly.

The sound of rustling came from outside.

After a deliberate pause, I slowly opened the door to find Rick standing there with a serious expression.

“Go on, speak.”

“Could we talk inside for a moment…?”

“Do you realize the kind of misunderstandings it could cause if someone saw you in my room at this hour? Speak from there.”

“Then, perhaps we could step out into the quiet garden…?”

“Let me clarify again: I want no misunderstandings involving you. I’m already dealing with enough. Besides, I don’t trust what you might try.”

My voice was sharp, my words biting. Rick flinched and scowled.

Naturally, he was upset. For someone whose pride as a noble was his entire identity, being spoken to like this would sting.

The followers of Belietta I knew were all petty and immature. They treated her words like divine commands and wouldn’t hesitate to do anything for her. Especially the man in front of me—he had a history of getting humiliated after trying to meddle with a marquis’s daughter following an argument with Belietta.

There’s no need to exchange pleasantries with someone like him.

I crossed my arms, watching Rick’s reddened face as he struggled to speak.

“So, what is it you need to say? Hurry up. My guard will be back soon, and you won’t get a chance to speak then.”

I tilted my chin, and Rick nervously glanced to the side. What was he looking at? I stepped forward to see what he was glancing at behind the door.

There they were—Hautman and Altas.

Of course, two of the three idiots were hiding behind the door.

Typical.

When I lifted my gaze, Rick noticeably flinched, his shoulders trembling.

“What on earth are you doing?”

“Well, uh…”

“It’s already outrageous enough that you came to a woman’s room at this hour and forced me to open the door, but to find other men hiding here? How do you expect me to take this?”

Rick opened his mouth, likely to attempt an excuse, but I didn’t give him a chance.

“It was my mistake to open the door. What was I thinking, trusting a guy like you? I’ll pretend today was just an unfortunate encounter and overlook it. Go away. I don’t want to be involved in any scandal with you.”

“Rick…”

“We shouldn’t have listened to that idiot,” I heard Hautman and Altas muttering, blaming Rick.

Their voices grew more anxious as their plan fell apart. Rick just stood there, tongue-tied and unsure.

Turning away from Rick’s stricken face, I angled my body to face them.

“I’ll wrap this up with a simple warning to your families. Now leave.”

“Let’s go, Rick,” Hautman said, getting up to calm Rick. Rick nodded, seeming to give up.

So, they’re leaving just like that? Watching the group retreat, I clicked my tongue. They were too stupid and small-minded to even pull off a proper crime. At best, they might manage petty theft. What a waste of my time.

Just as I was about to close the door, a commotion erupted behind it.

“Altas!”

“What the…?!”

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Altas, who was hiding behind him, suddenly jumped out, opened the door roughly, and came in.

“You really think I’m going to believe you when you say you’re going to ignore it, when you go back, you’re going to tell everyone in the neighborhood, and it’s going to end up in my father’s ears?”

“Enough! The original plan wasn’t supposed to go this far…”

“Shut up! If we get caught this time, it’s the end. Dad said he’d disown me if I messed up again, so why stop now? We’ve come this far, we need to see it through.”

Altas showed his teeth and faltered like a man who had lost his mind.

“I didn’t plan for it to go this far, but sorry, I have to do whatever it takes to survive, Lady Brilloxen. So, if you had just played along with our plan a bit, it wouldn’t have come to this. Don’t blame us, it’s partly your fault.”

“Stop it!”

“Let go! If you want to shut her up, there’s no choice but to kidnap her before people get here…”

“You’re the one who pressured me first, aren’t you?”

“What?”

Altas furrowed his brow, confused.

“Thanks. I was worried you’d just go along with it.”

As Altas’s eyes clouded in confusion, I pushed his elbow up.

I pushed myself in, sinking my weight deep, and simultaneously pulled his arm over my shoulder.

When I leaned forward using the principle of leverage, the body of Altas, who was standing behind me, seemed to float and then fell to the floor with a thud.

“Ugh…”

Pinned to the ground, Altas moaned in pain.

Gripping his shoulder and facing his contorted face, I gave a sly smile.

“Don’t tell me you don’t think I’ve learned some self-defense, I’m trained enough to defend myself.”

“Ah, Altas…”

“…Run!”

Where are you running away?

The knights that had been prepared in advance appeared behind Rick and Hautman, who were trying to run away, abandoning their friend without loyalty.

I had been here just in case those three would do something.

My guess was right.

Are they being pulled in because this is something Belieta arranged, or did they receive some kind of threat?

I was hoping I could get that information out of them.

“I wasn’t expecting you to do something like this, huh? Thanks for falling into my trap, Altas.”

“Damn…”

Snickering at the moaning Altas, I looked up to see Richelle’s frozen face staring at me.

Were they in on this whole scene together?

Scanning the crowd, I furrowed my brows.

“You’re good at doing annoying things. Thanks to you, I’ll keep up with one more rumor.”

With a sigh, I tightened my grip, twisting his shoulder a bit more.

“Aaack!!”