Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 29

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Unfortunately for Cassia, she only realized the castle was in turmoil after she had little to room to escape or respond to the attack.

A massive wolf-like beast, tall enough to nearly brush the ceiling, bared its icy fangs and drooled menacingly. Three barbarian men stood beside it, each appearing just as intimidating as the monster they commanded.

The two measly guards Viscount Viche had assigned to protect her had already fled. Abandoned and alone, Cassia now stood defenseless before a group of furious barbarians.

They looked truly primitive.

Their long, black hair grew wildly like wild beast fur, and their attire was scraps of brown hide that barely covered the essentials. Their bulky, muscular builds made it seem like even a blade wouldn’t leave a scratch.

Thud.

Cassia backed away instinctively, bumping into something behind her. It was the short-legged table in the room. On it sat a plate of fruit and a silver fruit knife, roughly the length of her palm. Though it felt useless, but Cassia grabbed the knife and hid it within her sleeve.

“Are you the wife of the subjugation force’s leader?”

The man who seemed to be the leader of the three men asked. Cassia avoided looking at the terrifying beasts and carefully processed his question.

This ‘leader’ he spoke of was clearly referring to Zester. And she was indeed his wife. It was an trivial fact, yet the unsettling part was that this barbarian, whom she’d never seen before, knew it.

‘That bastard…I won’t be satisfied even if I drown him in shit.’

As was her usual custom in situations where profanity was warranted, the refined noblewoman swallowed down curses that one could never imagine coming from her mouth. The target of her fury was Viscount Viche, a man who obviously had no decency or conscience.

Cassia wasn’t the slow type, and it didn’t take long for her to realize what had happened.

The barbarians in front of her looked rough and she could tell they had been cornered and decided to hatch a plan.

They had likely broken away from the main battlefront and infiltrated the castle to take the Viscount hostage. If Viscount had ordered Zester to cease fighting, it would have been a plausible plan. But instead of quietly submitting to their hostage plan, the damn Viscount had instead resorted to schemes.

No doubts about it, he must’ve offered her up as a better bargaining chip to save his own skin. How else would these men even know to come up to her and ask ‘Are you the wife of the subjugation force’s leader?’

Cassia’s thoughts were spot-on. As annoyed as she was at the Viscount, the damage was already done.

She felt like one wrong move could have her throat ripped off by the beast’s terrifying fang, and she struggled to remain calm.

The question now was, how should she navigate this situation?

First things first, the barbarians were going to use her to demand negotiations with Zester. They seemed to have been forced to retreat here, so they should want her to halt the subjugation. The best-case scenario was that the negotiations would go smoothly, as they intended.

Naturally, Zester wouldn’t ignore her being taken hostage and push forward with the subjugation.

No matter what the scenario, her only option was to quietly surrender to the barbarians. Her only worry was whether she would remain unharmed in captivity until she could meet Zester.

As far as Cassia knew, the barbarians were not very rational people. They were closer to animals driven by base instincts. Even if she were spared, she would still be a hostage, so there was a high chance she would be treated harshly. They might abuse her, or worse, they might even cut off an arm or a leg.

Cassia swallowed dryly and clutched the cold blade inside her dress sleeve.

Assuming the worst, Cassia tried to remain calm. She hoped she wouldn’t meet a pathetic end to her second life in this foreign land.

“This woman looks like she’s lost her mind.”

While Cassia was processing everything, Jerome clicked his tongue at her blank expression.

“Hey. We’re taking you with us. Your husband is slaughtering our people.”

He strode towards Cassia. Cassia instinctively backed away, causing the table behind her to sway.

She knew the wisest course of action was to not resist, but in this situation, she couldn’t calmly nod and comply either. Her trembling legs and trembling lips were very obvious.

Jerome stared at Cassia.

“Kuno. Tung. Open the sack.”

He ordered his men, who then opened a large leather sack they were carrying.

Jerome swiftly closed the distance between him and Cassia.

“Ah…”

With nowhere to run, Cassia froze, and Jerome quickly lifted her onto his shoulder.

Startled, Cassia screamed and struggled, but it was futile against his beast-like strength.

“Stay still!”

A hand slammed hard against Cassia’s thigh, causing her mouth to snap shut.

“You can live if you don’t make a fuss. Just stay still.”

“W-wait! Are you trying to put me in that sack?!”

“Yes. Or, you can ride with me on the beast’s back. Your choice.”

Jerome was rather lenient, which was the opposite of the barbarian recklessness she expected. Puzzled by non-forceful behavior, Cassia lifted her head, which had been lowered like some load.

She saw the large, fur-covered paw and five sharp claws of the beast called Rakan. Even at first glance, they looked as big as her own body.

If, at the end of the day, she would have to ride on the beast, whether than be in a sack or on top of it, the version where she didn’t have to look at the beast was much more preferable.

Cassia clenched her eyes shut and shook her head.

“I’m good. Just put me in the sack.”

With a resigned sigh, Jerome bent down and slid Cassia into the sank, feet-first. He stared down at Cassia, who had slid into the sack, her eyes tightly shut and trembling.

Then he gestured to his men.

“Tie her up.”

***

Viscount Viche, who was trembling and cowering under the table, finally managed to crawl out and peek outside the window, when he heard a commotion outside the castle.

He saw three Rakan beasts darting across the drawbridge at lightning speed and disappearing beyond the castle.

It looked like everything had gone according to his plan. Those stupid barbarians. If they had any brains, they would have taken him hostage too. In what world would he just sit here and quietly wait for them to invade?

In any case, he had bought time by using the baroness. It would be ideal if Zester wiped out the barbarians, regardless of who the hostage was, but he seemed to cherish his wife dearly, so that was unlikely. This subjugation was likely to fail, but at least he had preserved his life, so it wasn’t all bad.

With a suitable hostage, the barbarians would surely force the subjugation team to surrender and, with that momentum, storm the castle again. And even if they retreated, he’d eventually have to drive them out someday. In that case, what he needed to do now was…

“Hey! You’re still there, right? You cowardly bastard!”

The Viscount yelled with a fierce expression and the butler, who had been hiding behind the door, trembling, peeked out, revealing himself.

“Hah, what a cowardly rat you are. You master almost died and you’re busy hiding to save your own life.”

The Viscount clicked his tongue in disapproval while the butler grumbled silently. Who are you calling a coward? You’re the one who peed on yourself…

“This isn’t the time to sit around. We have to get moving!”

“Yes, we are running away, right? I will prepare at once. But… where should we go to ask for help?”

“What? Run away and leave this castle behind? Contact nearby territories. Offer to pay whatever they ask. It’s a shame, but we have no choice.”

“Ah…you should’ve done that earlier.”

“What was that?!”

“But if word of this spreads to other domains, it will be terrible. Didn’t you sell out the baroness?”

“You idiot. Do you think she’ll survive?”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you hear them going on and on about beheading? They want the Baron’s head. And that dumb bastard might actually offer it to save his wife, but either way, they want the Baron’s head and there’s no way she’ll live. You think negotiations can happen in that situation?”

“Hm, come to think of it, you’re right. If the Baron dies, the rest of the subjugation force won’t be able to stop the barbarians without their leader.”

“Exactly. That woman will die like a dog. If you understand now, hurry up and get a move on! Contact every major territory that can get here as soon as possible.”

“Yes, understood!”

The Viscount clicked his tongue as he watched the butler leave the room.

Thanks to his brilliant wit, he had managed to avert the crisis, but the thought of spending all this money to hire reinforcements to defend the castle made him feel like he was dying.

The ten gold bars that the Baroness had offered wouldn’t even come close to being enough. If he had known, he would have been a little less greedy.

***

At that very moment, Zester’s subjugation force was struggling. Initially, the barbarians had taken heavier losses, but as the battle progressed, the gap in stamina between the human mercenaries and the monstrous Rakans grew wider and wider.

The longer it dragged on, the more unfavorable the battle became.

And Zester had another reason to finish the battle quickly and return to the castle.

‘Cassia. I really shouldn’t have brought her here…’

A strange sense of unease kept distracting him during the battle.

“Captain!”

At that moment, a massive Rakan lunged at him, its jaws gaping wide, aiming for Zester’s head.

Clang!

Zester jammed his sword sideways into the beast’s mouth just in time. The screech of blade against fangs pierced the air.

He twisted free and launched a counterattack, but the Rakan dodged with ease. It moved with agility and precision, seemingly better trained than the other beats and it was clearly under the command of the chieftain.

“You must be confident to have time for daydreaming in battle.”

As expected, the barbarian chief stood nearby, his red eyes gleaming as he licked the tip of his spear mockingly.

Clang!

The man, Jerd, the chieftain, hurled his spear. Zester deflected it with ease.

That strange sword of his clearly wasn’t some common mercenary’s blade.

Jerd narrowed his eyes at the hefty weapon.

“You’re right. Daydreaming in battle is quite rude of me.”

His subjugation force was still in fighting shape while the barbarians had lost nearly half their number. If he pressed on with an attack, they could win, and he could return to Cassia sooner.

From now on, he couldn’t allow himself to be consumed by useless thoughts. Determined, Zester kicked his stirrups and charged straight at Jerd.

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