There Is No Mercy

Chapter 48

Three years ago.

My mother suddenly collapsed.

At first, I was shocked to hear that my once-healthy mother had fallen ill, but the shock didn’t last long.

We brought in priests, wizards, and all sorts of healers, yet we couldn’t determine what was wrong with her.

Moreover, during the hot and humid summer, her condition worsened, and we had to take her to a cooler place.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m looking for every possible treatment, and she’ll probably get back on her feet soon. But more than that, Flora is worrying so much about you that it feels like my ears are getting calloused. Now, go in.”

My father smiled as he opened the door.

A cool breeze swept through the open doorway, refreshing my body.

“Sierra.”

A gentle yet warm and affectionate voice.

On the bed was a thin curtain that flowed like a waterfall, hiding a shy blonde woman behind it.

“Mother!”

I rushed over, kneeling beside the bed and reaching out.

Her frail hand was still warm as I touched it.

I bit my lip, feeling the memory of her cold hands in the coffin, which felt like a haunting presence.

Gently stroking her tiny, frail hand, I lifted my gaze.

Her emaciated face held strong eyes that I recognized.

“Have you been well? You look so pale.”

“…That can’t be true. I’m the same as always. I’ve been eating well and living fine, even gained some weight.”

As I tried to swallow the emotions welling up inside me and forced a smile, my mother returned it with a soft grin.

She looked slightly drowsy, as if fatigued from her long journey.

Her clear but languid gaze slowly examined me, and then our eyes met again.

“Has my little girl grown so much? It feels like it’s been ages since I last saw you.”

It could have just been a simple greeting after a long absence.

But her words held more profound meaning than anything else at that moment.

The fact that my mother could notice even the slightest changes in me made me smile quietly.

“I think it’s been a few years since we last saw each other too, Mother. Strange, isn’t it?”

Nodding in agreement, my mother smiled back and lifted her head.

Father, who had just entered, gave my mother a brief kiss before lifting me up.

“You must be tired from riding in the carriage since early this morning. You should get some rest. Flora, leave the rest to me.”

“I will. Please take care of Sierra, Honey.”

“Rest well, Flora.”

My father gently patted my shoulder as if encouraging me to rise.

As I released my mother’s hand and stood up, Flora smiled brightly and waved.

I waved back lightly before confirming my mother was lying down and exited the room.

“She doesn’t look very well.”

“She was laughing just now, but just a few days ago, she was coughing up blood. I called the priest for treatment, but it seems time isn’t on our side.”

“It seems the treatments haven’t been very effective this time either.”

My father nodded gravely.

Yet, he continued to gently stroke my hair with a caring smile that never faded.

“She’ll recover soon. I’ll bet everything I have to make sure of that, so don’t worry. Flora may be praying for you, but before that, she’s the wife I love. I won’t give up, even if it costs me my life, so don’t make that face.”

Feeling the gentle and precious touch as if I were feeling the warmth of the sun on a spring day, I turned my head.

During those two days spent with my parents, I felt rewarded for the long suffering and painful memories of the past.

I listened to my father’s tales of his adventures and reminisced with my mother about her stories from the past.

After a late evening together, butler Dayton visited.

While flipping through a book in my room, I stood up at the sound of a knock at the door.

“I apologize for coming so late, my lady. I have something urgent to report.”

“Please come in.”

“It’s alright. I’ll just hand this to you and leave immediately.”

Dayton handed me a rather thick report.

Curious, I opened it up, and inside was Gilbert’s confession.

After quickly reading the first page, I closed the report and shook my head.

“When was this?”

“This morning, he came to me and confessed. It took about eight hours to interrogate him, adding your guide and my personal judgment. However, I felt it might be better to wait a bit longer to report since there isn’t much useful content.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Almost none of the answers you were hoping for are included.”

Frowning, I looked at the report again as Dayton pointed to the pages.

He sighed heavily, pressing his fingers against his eyelids in exhaustion.

I hadn’t seen him all day and now understood he’d been busy compiling this report.

“It contains detailed information on everything. I’ll provide you with a full report first thing in the morning since it’s too late for a detailed one now.”

“Alright. Thank you for your hard work, Butler Dayton. Please go rest.”

After saying goodbye, I watched Dayton leave and then closed the door.

Sitting back down, I started flipping through the report he had given me.

I expected it would take a while to read through the many pages, but I found myself reading quickly.

Just as Dayton had said, the content was rather unremarkable.

It only mentioned that Gilbert had been dismissed from the royal knights and, having received a recommendation from Bozbourne, had applied to Brilloxen. Nothing more substantial than that.

Nowhere in the report was there any mention of the secret contract between Bozbourne and Gilbert.

As I finished reading the last page and closed the report, one thought lingered in my mind.

“Are they playing games with me?”

While there was no concrete evidence, their attitude in this situation suggested they had some form of confidence.

Had I given them too much time?

I thought I had left a window open for communication with Bozbourne, but in reality, I hadn’t reached out at all.

This meant there must have been some internal communication going on quietly.

“Jin. Come in.”

As soon as I stood up, the door opened, and Jin stepped in.

He looked at me with a solemn expression, as if asking what was the matter.

I nodded briefly, meeting his gaze.

“Tomorrow morning, inform the head maid and the butlers of the situation. Initiate the personnel changes.”

“Understood.”

“And Jin, as you know, the information I’m sharing with you is classified. I believe you understand what I mean without me having to say it.”

Jin nodded heavily, his expression stoic.

I didn’t mind a man who kept his mouth shut.

I waved my hand to signal him he could leave.

As I watched him turn to leave, a thought suddenly came to mind, and I called out to him.

He turned back to meet my eyes as I took a moment to gather my thoughts before speaking.

“How is Aden doing? You meet regularly for training, right?”

“He’s doing well.”

“How exactly is he doing well?”

“…?”

Jin tilted his head slightly in confusion at my question.

With a sigh, I shook my head, exasperated by his lack of clarity.

What was I asking him for?

“Never mind. You can go. Oh, and I believe a report has already been sent, but there’s a meeting tomorrow regarding the merchant guild. You’ll be moving along with me, not just Ripert, so prepare for that.”

“I will.”

“Go on now.”

After my words, Jin bowed his head and exited the room.

I sighed and brushed my bangs aside as I looked at the closed door with a thud.

What did I just ask?

“Alright, alright.”

I’m feeling sleepy, and staying up late makes me act weird.

I trudged over to the bed, lay down, and stared at the dark ceiling while letting out another long sigh.

“…Guess I’m staying up late.”

My head felt all jumbled.

***

While watching the knights train in the training ground, Baran quietly approached Aden.

Aden briefly held up his palm to the captain, who was reporting on the achievements of the knight order, then turned to Baran.

“What’s up?”

“The three we brought from the previous Genoa territory have all been interrogated. They’ve been treated as criminals for attempted crimes, but since they’re nobles, they went through various interrogations minus torture, and there’s no useful info.”

“Are they still sticking to the line that this was all their independent action to impress the Princess of Bozbourne?”

Baran nodded slowly.

Aden sighed and furrowed his brow.

Thinking back on what happened in Genoa still made his stomach churn.

Even though Sierra had planned everything thoroughly, if she had messed up, it could have turned into a big problem.

Aden had focused on interrogating the three and had hoped for some encouraging results.

But it turned out to be the opposite.

“So we wasted our time.”

“Right now, their families are asking for them back. Since the attempted crimes are treated as minor offenses for nobles, their families say they’ll handle it independently. It’ll be a slap on the wrist, but we don’t really have a solid reason to keep them.”

“If we hold onto them any longer, we’ll drag the royal family into this. I hate dealing with that, so let’s interrogate them a bit more and then let them go.”

“Got it. But…”

Baran nodded while jotting down Aden’s words but trailed off.

Aden tilted his head, wondering what was up.

Baran looked around and leaned in closer to whisper.

“…I don’t know what to do about Lady Richelle. She still hasn’t said a word. From the looks of it, she doesn’t seem to want to die since she’s eating and drinking, but she doesn’t show any other attitude either. A typical noblewoman would usually freak out in a dark, creepy dungeon filled with bugs, but she doesn’t seem bothered at all. It’s like she’s a hollow doll.”

After Richelle tried to kill Fiorette and ended up injuring Sierra in Genoa, her fate was passed from Genoa to Rippleton.

Despite several recommendations from Bozbourne and the royal family to hand her over to the Empire, Rippleton had no reason to do so.

Just like Sierra, Aden believed Richelle could end up being pretty important.