Chapter 40 - Episode 39: The Territory's People and the Traitor ②
"...You understand that this time, there is no talking your way out of it, Vendera."
"Tch. I thought nobody saw me."
Guided by Pence, Noein visited the scene of the crime—Vendera's house. He looked down with cold eyes at the man, who still refused to drop his sullen expression even at this stage.
It was early afternoon. Most of the territory's people were out in the farmlands, a time when the city streets became sparsely populated.
At such a time, Vendera had apparently threatened a girl who was returning home after drawing water from the well for chores, using a farming sickle to force her into his house.
Pence, who had been keeping a wary watch on Vendera, witnessed that exact moment and immediately stormed the house to capture him. Fortunately, nothing had happened to the victimized girl.
"But this time it was just an attempt, wasn't it? Is it flogging this time? Or maybe finger amputation?"
To Vendera, who wore a frivolous smile without any fear of punishment, Noein spoke quietly.
"No, you are sentenced to exile. You will leave the capital Noeina, and leave the Arqvist territory."
"...Tch. Is that so."
At this point, Noein wanted to eliminate Vendera's very existence. However, if he were to suddenly impose the death penalty for an attempted sexual assault, it would create a precedent of the lord handing down a judgment that deviated significantly from the kingdom's general laws based on his own arbitrary decision.
Therefore, instead of imposing corporal punishment, he decided to exercise a right that every lord possesses—the right to exile those who bring significant harm to the territory.
This sentence is not one handed down unless the circumstances are extreme, but this time, it likely fell under those "extreme circumstances."
.....
"I hereby carry out the exile of the resident Vendera. From this moment, Vendera shall be escorted outside the Arqvist Baronetcy and exiled. Should Vendera enter the Arqvist Baronetcy thereafter, in my name as the lord... killing him is permitted."
The following morning, Noein gathered the residents in the square once again and made that declaration.
The eyes the residents cast upon Vendera were harsh. It would not be an exaggeration to say they were filled with hatred. It was only natural, as he had tried to harm a precious comrade within the territory.
"Keh."
Vendera, his arms bound with rope, spat on the ground. Seeing that behavior, the victimized girl's father expressed a rage so great he looked as if he might lunge at him. The surrounding residents restrained and calmed him.
Having the rope binding Vendera held by a golem, Noein proceeded to lead Vendera away. Since this was the first exile sentence in this territory, he decided to execute it as the lord himself.
With the golem pulling Vendera and Pence accompanying him as a guard, Noein proceeded along the highway leading out of the Arqvist territory. Matilda hated even the idea of meeting Vendera, so Noein had half-forcibly left her to watch the house, telling her, "Pence and the golem are enough for guards."
"There's plenty of single men and women left over, so it should be free to put a hand on whoever, whenever, right?"
"I finally found a place where I could live easily, and now I'm back to a wandering life just because I upset some pervert lord who likes beastman slaves."
Vendera's words and actions along the way were unbearable to listen to. Since he was being exiled anyway, he said whatever he pleased.
However, Noein emptied his mind and let the words flow past him. Since he had decided on the sentence of exile himself, he should carry it out to the end. Besides, he wanted to kick this man out quickly and return to a peaceful daily life.
"Keh. You don't even get angry after being told all this? Creepy. Fine, once I'm exiled, I'll be su~ure to tell everyone outside about this place. That it's a piece of shit territory where a pervert lord is running a dictatorship."
When Vendera said that, Noein's expression shifted for the first time. However, Vendera, who continued to speak while being pulled forward by the golem, remained unaware of it.
"I'll spread the word that the lord who pretends to be a good guy is actually bullying the residents behind the scenes. And that the retainers and male residents are all scum, and the female residents are all treated like livestock~."
"...Let's stop for a moment."
Noein said this to Pence, and he himself came to a halt along with the golem.
"Oh? Finally angry?"
Vendera looked back, and for the first time, he saw Noein's expression and his face turned pale as if he had felt a chill.
Pence, standing behind Noein, asked while deliberately avoiding looking at Noein's face.
"What shall we do?"
"Disposal. It can't be helped."
"...Understood."
.....
Noein stepped off the highway and entered the forest. The golem pulling Vendera and Pence, the guard, followed him.
Once they reached a place invisible from the highway, the golem pulled Vendera down and pinned him to the ground.
"H-hey, wait. This is exile, right? Not an execution, right?"
"That's right, it's exile. If I say 'Vendera was properly exiled,' the residents won't know what happened to you after that anyway, will they?"
Noein replied in a cold voice to the panicked Vendera.
"...I truly intended to let you off with just exile. But it's different if you spread lies outside the territory and continue to harm me and the residents after your exile. I must protect my land and my people. Not just from physical enemies, but from malicious rumors as well."
"I-I get it. That was a joke. I won't say any bad things outside."
"Why do you think I would believe that? Has there been a single element in your words or actions until now that was believable? Right, Pence?"
"No, this one cannot be trusted in the slightest."
When Noein looked back, Pence showed his agreement. While trying not to look too closely at Noein's face because it was scary.
"Hey, hey now, wait. You're the lord, right? Is it okay to twist a punishment you decided yourself?"
"If it's to protect the residents, getting my own hands a little dirty is nothing."
Simultaneously with Noein's words, one of the golems used its large hands to envelop Vendera's head.
"No, wait. I mean, please wait. I beg you, I was wrong!"
"Goodbye, Mr. Traitor."
"I don't want to die! Please forgive me! Forgi—GYAAH!"
.....
With the headless corpse beside him, Noein was violently vomiting the contents of his stomach.
"Ugh... haa, it's finally settled."
"Are you alright? You didn't have to do it yourself, Noein-sama; I could have disposed of him for you."
When Pence spoke, Noein looked up and showed a slightly exhausted smile.
"It couldn't be that way. I decided to do something akin to an assassination for silencing, even if it meant twisting my own judgment. If I'm going to do such a thing, the one to be stained should be my own hands. At least for the first time."
It was an action based on that thought, but the shock after actually executing it was tremendous. A few minutes after disposing of Vendera, Noein was suddenly struck by the realization that he had "killed a person" and vomited.
"As expected, taking a human life for the first time was hard to stomach. Especially in this manner. Quite the way to lose my virginity."
"Hahaha, no doubt about it. Everyone gets a shock like that the first time."
Pence laughed at Noein's joking tone. He remembered that comparing one's first kill to "losing one's virginity" was a known joke among mercenaries.
"...I intended to show the residents more than enough love. I wonder why it came to this."
"In any era, there are hopeless bastards like this. You've done nothing wrong, Noein-sama."
Showing a sad expression for just a moment, Noein let out a sigh.
"I suppose I have no choice but to accept it and move on... Do I need to bury this corpse?"
"If you leave it, monsters or animals will clean it up nicely. Rather, if you bury it poorly and it gets dug up when land reclamation expands here someday, it'll be a pain."
"That's true. Well, shall we go back?"
"Yes, let's go back."
Wiping the blood-stained hands of the golem with soil and washing them with water from a canteen, Noein returned to the capital Noeina with Pence.
.....
After telling the residents that "Vendera was safely exiled" and returning to the mansion, Noein called Matilda to his bedroom so the maids wouldn't overhear, and told her the truth.
"...I am sorry for forcing such a burden upon you alone, Noein-sama. If it were possible, I would have liked to take that role in your stead."
Having heard Noein's story, Matilda said this and hugged him, enveloping him with her whole body.
"Thank you, Matilda. But this is my decision as the lord. If I've decided to cross the line, I'd be a failure as a lord if I didn't take that first step myself."
Even as a lord and noble, one cannot remain clean forever. As the territory grows, the capacity to swallow both the pure and the impure will be necessary. There may be times when he must order his retainers to do dirty work like this.
If so, at the very least, he believed that he should be the first in this territory to dirty his hands. That was why he had crushed Vendera's head himself. The golem's hands, stained with blood at that moment, were also Noein's own hands.
"...I think there will be times in the future where I dirty my hands. Even so, Matilda, will you stay by my side forever?"
"Of course, Noein-sama. No matter what happens, I shall remain by your side. There is not a one-in-ten-thousand chance that my love for Noein-sama would waver."
"...Thank you. Matilda, come here."
"Yes, Noein-sama."
The two of them collapsed onto the bed, and Matilda healed and comforted Noein with all her heart and soul.