The passersby walking near the tavern stopped upon hearing the commotion between the woman and soldiers.
Allen mixed in with the crowd to watch them.
If she goes up against the soldiers in this situation, nothing good will co out of it.
What are you doing now after youve already gotten all my money?
No, shut up!
If you dont have anything to say, then you shut up. I saw it all earlier too. You didnt pay for what you ate, and you ignored when people were getting stolen from! If you have any conscience left, then
You damned bitch
Surely enough, Allens thoughts were correct. The soldiers, having no intention to put up with her insults, squared their shoulders.
As the girl watched them, her face paled in fear. Yet she didnt stop speaking.
Why wont you all keep your promise?! I told you my moms out there! Let her in! Please! she scread in anger.
However, none of the soldiers took her seriously. The one standing next to the groups leader took a look around and whispered, Boss, if we let her go and word gets to the higher-ups
I know.
The leader looked around with a cold look in his eyes. The disturbance that the woman had created had begun to draw the attention of the people walking through the streets.
We have enough money now, right? I heard theres a new aristocrat in town now, too, so we should go ahead and leave
Carefully considering the suggestion, the leader nodded.
They would be done for if they were caught, even if they had done far less than what they had actually done.
The price to bribe the gate guards was getting steeper and harder to gather.
It was ti to wrap this confrontation up.
Well then, well handle that. And clean up as usual, got it?
Yes, sir.
After finishing their conversation, the leader winked at the soldiers around him, and they began to chase away the passersby, as if they were familiar with the situation. And in the process, they stopped the woman from escaping.
Wh-What are you doing?! If youre trying to get to just waste the money I gave you all
The soldier blocking her escape from the rear winked.
Nod.
The soldier who received the others signal moved to grab her by the arm.
WhatLet go!
Resisting the soldiers rough touch, she stiffened at the words he uttered next.
So, you wanna see your mom?
Wince.
She began to tremble. Despite her fear, she clenched her teeth and responded in a stinging tone.
Yeah. Why would you leave her out there after youve already taken all my money?!
Alright, alright. Its all good.
The soldiers hand moved up towards her shoulder. He smiled darkly and whispered in her ear, I think what you gave was a little short. But I think it would be enough if youd be so willing as to cooperate with us for a little bit.
Allen, who had been silently watching up until that point, began to move.
Depending on how you go about it
Stop it.
His cold voice rang inside the tavern. Everyones gaze turned towards him.
He hadnt ant to intervene directly. He could have resolved the issue by calling in the guards to help, so was there even a good reason to intervene directly?
Nevertheless, his reason for stepping in was simple.
That woman
He didnt recognize her at first. However, under all the rubbage covering her head, he found black hair and purple eyes. And after seeing the rest of her familiar facial features combined, he was sure of it.
It really is her, isnt it?
The being that had troubled him so.
The girl whod lost her mother because she made a soldier late to his fight with Julius before his regression.
A soldier who had pledged her allegiance to Allen and died slaughtering monsters while in the pursuit of her revenge against Julius.
A woman who would have a peaceful futureentirely unaware of her talentsif things were to go differently than they did in the past.
Having confird her to be that sa being, Allen jumped into action right away without thinking.
Stomp, stomp.
His footsteps on the wooden floor resounded inside the tavern.
And who are you? Ah fuck, what a day
The soldier, who had been speaking his mind, looked back and forth between Juliuss luxurious dress and the guards standing behind him before laughing.
No, sir. It appears that youve stumbled into sothing while on your outing. If you dont want to end up in a prison cell, itd be best to mind yourself.
Allen scowled.
Did he not see the family seal? Could it be that he solely supports the baron? Or is it that he doesn't recognize the dukes emblem?
He began to laugh at the prospect.
Do you really not know who I am?
No, I dont know who you are, but you should be going. Cant you tell that youre in a dangerous situation right now? So before you lose your pride
At that mont, a soldier whod been watching from behind turned pale and imdiately whispered to the leader.
Boss! I I think were all screwed. Isnt he the noble who ca to town today??
What did you say?
Having heightened his senses in advance just in case, Allen could overhear all of their conversations.
The leader, whod been wearing an unimpressed expression during the entirety of the interaction, widened his eyes and imdiately looked at the emblem on Allens body.
His face turned white. When one of his soldiers began to speak rudely again, he covered his mouth.
Yeah, so get the fuMmph.
My apologies, sir! I believe this one here is just drunk and talking nonsense. Please show us rcy, just this once.
rcy? After hearing all of those insults?
Having been forced to speak by the leader, one of the lackeys beca as quiet as a mouse after finding out how things were turning out for the worst.
Upon hearing that, Allen was also dumbfounded.
So the baron changed, but the people under him havent, huh.
Knowing that the only thing that had changed from what he rembered was the baron, he felt a bit relieved and contempt at the reaction of those whod tried to diminish the Reinhart familys power.
Even though the city isnt directly ruled by the duke, do the people living in his territories really not recognize his emblem?
Yeah, rcy. rcy would be good.
Allen burst into laughter, making the leader think he had gone crazy.
Allen had thought that he couldve been the child of an honest rchant, so he had been observing his subordinates behavior to make sure of that suspicion.
If you slip up, then your head will be cut off.
It would be easier for a rich rchants child to bribe their way out of a situation like this. From ssing with the wrong people. From blaming their subordinates for their own wrongdoings.
So, then, what about you?
Allen asked the woman who had been standing peacefully next to the unfolding situation.
P-Pardon?
I stepped in because of you. Thats why Im asking you now.
She stamred in response to his question and glared at the soldiers.
I Id like to reveal their true nature if possible, but
The soldiers expressions grew dark at her response.
You all gotta stop it. No, please stop. But I feel bad because yall didnt do nothing yet. Or because you all havent done anything yet.
Frowning at her inconsistency in speech, the man spoke.
If speaking formally is difficult, you can speak regularly.
Thats
As she spent her ti hesitating, Allen sighed and urged her on.
Co on.
Oh Uhm, well Then Nothing has happened yet, so Im okay.
Hearing her response, the soldiers let out a relieved sigh. However, Allen had no intention of ending things just yet.
One.
What?
An eye or a tongue. Choose one.
No, I
Hm?
Allens face turned cold.
Dont they know the consequences of crossing noblen, the owners of their land?
When did I ever say that Id do as she said? I only asked for her opinion.
That Isnt that too unreasonable?
You.
The ring around Allens heart began to shake, and the intangible force within him began to swell up around them.
As he approached them, step by step, unbearable pressure began to weigh on their surroundings.
It appears you dont understand the aning of your insults towards .
He laughed.
This was the reality of the dukedom. Its citizens not only failed to recognize the owner of their land, but were rude to him as well.
If I were a different nobleman, you wouldve been decapitated already. But because Im so rciful, Im giving you the chance to choose. So make a decision. Which would you prefer? Eye or tongue?
The guards standing behind him drew their swords in unison. The aning behind his words was simple.
Would you rather give up your life or simply lose an eye or a tongue?
The drunken soldiers couldnt even respond to the unfamiliar level of military discipline and force they were experiencing.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
M-My eye!
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
For just a mont in the late evening, terrible screams rang out from the tavern.
* * *
* * *
In front of him stood the woman who was slightly different from how he rembered herfrom her manner of speech to her actions and expressions.
Allen was sowhat pleased by this change. It seed to imply that their fate could still be changed after all.
Uhm Can I call you sir?
Sure.
As Allen answered her, she hesitated to assu.
What is it? questioned Allen whose back was towards her. She carefully replied, nervous to speak before a mber of the aristocracy.
I Uhm Why did you bring here?
As she asked him her question, she quietly undid her collar.
Upon looking at her, Allen forced a smile.
What a pain.
Since he stopped by the tavern in the early evening, he figured that it was currently the middle of the night.
It was natural for her to be worried since she was alone with him in a room at such a late hour.
However, he had no intention of doing any of that sort of thing.
Dont worry, I dont plan on doing anything to you.
Hehe, how kind of you.
She gave an awkward smile but kept her guard up.
Her waist-length black hair, purple eyes, and dirt-covered white skin sparkled in the moonlight.
She was right to worry about it, though.
Rather than being happy about it, Allen questioned the fact that she had been right to assu that she was about to beco a victim of a vulgar situation.
Had this kind of thing been happening to her before my regression? Or could it just be a result of the butterfly effect?
While she washed up, he read through the black book, reminiscing through his past mories. However, there was nothing else to infer from it.
It had also bothered him that he had heard about her mother during her conversation with the soldiers.
The reason why she eventually turned into the person in Allens mories was because of the incident regarding her mother.
More specifically, her mothers death.
That was what made her change.
He looked at the girl and took a mont to think. In that mont, he suddenly realized that he didnt even know her na.
Whats your na?
Hic, hic! I Im not feeling very well. So please dont attack What?
Her pale skin reddened.
What are you imagining up there?
Th-Thats
Im into older won, so a kid like you
The corners of his mouth lifted into a smirk as his eyes traced her body. Every ti their eyes t, she would let out a small yelp and shrink away from him.
Youre not really my type.
She let out a sigh of relief as she leaned back.
Then, she made a small complaint.
Linbelle. And Im not a kid. Im fifteen.
Ah, yes. A young, young lady.
When Allen answered almost agreeingly, she pouted and sulked. However, he didnt seem to have noticed.
So, Linbelle
When it seed as though shed eased her anxiety to a certain extent, Allen sprung the question.
What did you do to cause that commotion with those soldiers?
I
She trembled and hesitated, repeatedly opening and closing her mouth without uttering a single word.
At first glance, it seems as though it had sothing to do with your mother
As Allen calmly smiled at her, she slowly began to speak, fidgeting with her hands while talking.
Its because those soldiers didnt keep their promise.
Promise?
Yes.
He waited silently, as though urging her to keep going.
And so, she slowly began to unravel her story.
Reviews
All reviews (0)