After returning to her room from the meal, Cassia once again lay sprawled horizontally on her bed.
Her face, sticking out from the bed, let out a long sigh into the air.
Bertol, who had been annoyingly persistent even before her return in time, hadn’t changed. No, if she were to be precise, he might be even more dangerous now than in her previous life.
Back then, Bertol had only begun his advances after she had treated the wounds he’d sustained in the territorial war. She had cared for him sincerely and kindly, perhaps, one could be generous and excuse him for falling for her.
Even so, she still couldn’t forgive him for hitting on a married woman,
Thankfully, in her past life, Bertol’s attempts hadn’t lasted long. After the territory war, he had visited Greze a handful of times, offering her those ridiculous proposals to become his mistress, but eventually surrendered to her unyielding rejection. She never saw his face again until the day she died.
Still, the trauma was significant enough that she couldn’t possibly remain composed when he so absurdly declared ‘you will be mine!’.
Moreover, this time, rather than simply admiring a woman who had treated him kindly, he seemed more attracted to her as a partner or an ally to rule a territory with.
If that was the case, it was a huge problem. Bertol was a man of deep ambition, and even in her past life he constantly said, ‘I cannot let just anyone become the Lady of Axios.’
Now the beast, who had waited so carefully to choose his Madam, had finally found a suitable candidate. The way his eyes had burned when he leaned close, like a predator ready to sink its teeth into her neck, made Cassia yank at her own hair in frustration.
“Things have gotten troublesome.”
Truly troublesome. Because Bertol’s promise to gladly help Greze grow, only to devour it once it had grown enough, was certainly not a joke.
And yet she couldn’t let Greze remain some pitiful, impoverished land either, just to avoid provoking Bertol’s interest…
For now, stopping the territory war from breaking out on Greze’s soil was paramount. Striking Varnan and Viche first, before they struck, would quiet the clouds of war in the North. Once a warning was given, order between territories would be maintained for quite a long time.
So the most ideal scenario was to work with Bertol just enough, keep him close, but never allow Greze to be swallowed by him. Whether that was possible, she couldn’t be sure.
Even if they remained allies for now, she had to remember that one day, he would be the enemy.
Just as Cassia finished her contemplation, someone entered her room. It was Clara.
Since Matthew Holton was arrested, Clara had spent the day in Lord Zester’s study to verify the truth of the report. Curious how things had gone, Cassia welcomed her quickly.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I came to tell you the news.”
“Right. How did it go?”
“The lord… he didn’t ask me to repeat everything in detail. He just said the punishment was deserved and that he would have Matthew brought to the execution ground this evening…”
Cassia smiled with satisfaction. She had been worried that he might make Clara recount Matthew’s unspeakable atrocities, but it seems he knew how to be considerate.
“And what about the divorce papers? Did he say how he would secure agreement for them?”
“I don’t know… he didn’t mention that part.”
“Hm, I see.”
“Anyway, he said he would execute the sentence this evening, and the Lord’s adjutant went to inform the territory.”
“His adjutant? Greg? To inform the territory?”
“Yes. I don’t know what’s going on either. It seems the lord intends to let the people of the territory freely enter and exit the execution ground…”
Oho. Cassia narrowed her eyes and nodded. She felt she knew what Zester intended by giving such an order.
“Whatever his reasoning, it’s for the best. To think he’d carry it out in a single day. Clara, you need only think of your freedom now.”
“I still can’t believe it. It feels like a dream…”
“This is not a dream. It is only something that ought to be set right. I’m curious myself to see what judgement the Baron will pass. I’ll attend tonight.”
“Y-You, Madam?!”
“What?”
“Such a place… it’s not… You should only see and hear good things, Madam. A place like that…”
“Mm.”
Cassia closed her eyes gently and shook her head from side to side.
“What could be more satisfying than to see a scoundrel meet his rightful end? This time, I’ll see it with my own eyes.”
Matthew Holton.
In her previous life, Cassia had been desperate, even pushing valuable goods into his hand in an attempt to save Clara. But this time was different. Since Zester, the Lord, had personally grasped the severity of the situation, a fitting punishment would surely be handed down. How could she miss the sight of such a man meeting his deserved fate?
Thinking of Zester, whom she hadn’t seen, probably because he was busy preparing for the execution, Cassia swallowed a breath nervously. She was secretly worried whether her husband, who always seemed full of shortcomings, could truly rise to the moment and show the dignity of a lord.
Not only in the capital but in many territories, the crime of assault between spouses was treated lightly. Even though the autonomy of punishment lay with the Lord, that fact remained the same. Zester would likely know that too.
If Cassia herself were the Lord, she would consider at least banishing him outright so Matthew could never set foot in Greze again, or demoting him to a slave status so he couldn’t even raise his head in front of others, but…
‘I probably shouldn’t expect such a cold judgment from our Lord yet.’
Cassia didn’t expect anything grand from Zester. She thought it would be enough if he just secured the agreement for the divorce report and handed down a punishment appropriate by Zester’s standards.
However, that was a thought made without knowing Zester well—a man who, despite seeming soft, had rolled around on the battlefield for many years.
***
Dragged by two burly mercenaries, and a statement that a report had been received about him, Matthew Holton found himself tossed into Greze’s dungeon.
The dungeon was deep and silent without a single guard in sight. He had been shouting his innocence at the top of his lungs for hours, but there was no one to listen. Exhausted, Matthew leaned against the damp dungeon wall, limply waiting for someone to come.
It had to be a mistake. No matter what bad deeds one committed in this poor backwater territory, what problems could arise? And besides, he hadn’t done anything to deserve being dragged here and locked up like this.
Recalling the face of Lord Zester, whom he had seen in passing a few times, Matthew ground his teeth.
What kind of law was this, to seize an innocent man and lock them up like this?
“…Hungry.”
He was starving. He had been seized in the morning and hadn’t eaten anything since. He clutched his head in irritation.
Creeeak.
Thud. Thud.
Just then, suddenly, along with the sound of the rusty dungeon door opening, the sound of heavy footsteps descending wrapped around Matthew’s ears. Matthew urgently grabbed the bars and shoved his face between them.
“Hey! Look here! Why am I here?!”
The dark dungeon, where one couldn’t see an inch ahead, slowly brightened from the distance.
It seemed they were pouring oil into the old lamps on the wall and lighting them.
The footsteps sounded like two people, and although they must have heard Matthew’s desperate shouts, they approached without a reply, slowly lighting the wall lamps.
“Hey! Will you..!”
Before long, the light spread to the narrow single cell where Matthew was confined.
Two men revealed their faces. One was the middle-aged butler dressed in neat clothes who had visited his house yesterday, and the other was also a man Matthew knew.
The Lord of Greze and master of the castle, Zester Greze.
Matthew flinched at his tall height and daunting build. If it were only that, he wouldn’t shrink, but the seemingly indifferent eyes that held anger somehow made him tremble. His mouth, which was about to plead innocence, shut tight.
“M-My Lord… surely there has been a mistake. Why am I here?”
Laughing awkwardly, Matthew spoke with a fairly polite attitude.
Zester stared down at him without replying, then bent one knee to meet his eye level and pulled a piece of parchment from his inner pocket.
“Accused, Matthew Holton. A report has been filed at the castle for assault charges. You will be moved to the execution ground shortly.”
“Assault charges?!”
“Do you really need to ask me why?”
Zester’s voice was like frost. Matthew trembled, then scowled.
“Clara, that bitch, did she report me? No, how is that assault? Living together, husbands and wives can fight…”
“No. The complainant is not your wife.”
Zester unfolded the parchment and held it before Matthew’s eyes.
Matthew roughly scanned the dense report details on the parchment with blurry eyes. At the end, the reporter’s name was briefly attached.
Cassia Greze.
“It’s my wife.”
‘The Baroness?!’
Matthew was dumbfounded. Greze, wasn’t that the Baroness’s name? He soon remembered that Clara had gotten a job at the castle and thought there must have been some backdoor maneuvering to frame him.
“My lord, I swear, I’m innocent! I don’t know why this has gone so far…”
“Enough. If you have something to say, say it at the execution ground.”
Clink.
Zester, who stood up, lifted the bunch of keys hanging at his waist, unlocked the door of the cell where Matthew was confined, and looked down at the man sitting on the floor with indifferent eyes as he spoke.
“Because I will judge you myself.”
***
The execution ground, which hadn’t been used a single time since Zester became Lord, was like a desolate lot due to lack of maintenance. It was quite different from the execution ground of Axios, which was equipped with various punishment tools for immediate judgment.
Bertol, who came to the execution ground thinking it would be an interesting spectacle, smirked at the pitiful sight.
Because the execution plan had been deliberately announced, quite a number of territory residents were gathered at the execution ground. Not only them, but a significant number of mercenaries, including Zester’s adjutant Gregory who would assist with the execution, were guarding the execution ground with stern expressions.
The sun had long set. Chilling cries of beasts came from the mountains around the castle, and a few torches roughly lighting the dark execution ground were burning fearsomely as if to swallow the night.
Cassia, with Clara beside her, stood at a distance, watching the execution grounds. Clara had tried her hardest to stop Cassia from coming here, but in the end, she couldn’t win against Cassia’s resolve. Clara trembled beside Cassia, clutching her madam’s sleeves.
Before long, the door to the castle dungeon, clearly visible from the execution ground, opened, and Lord Zester appeared, with the accused Matthew Holton trailing behind him.
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