“It seems the lowly commoners of Roguebert truly have no manners,” I said. “You don’t bow your head or introduce yourself in front of a noble such as myself.”
“Whoops. Apologies, sir,” he said. “I’m Greig, head of these sailors. As you can see, I’m from the boonies, so don’t expect me to have any manners.”
He flashed a smile and introduced himself. Needless to say, he didn’t bow his head, and his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes either. His hand remained on the blade by his waist, and he seemed more wary of Carlos than me. I’m just a kid, but Carlos is armed—I suppose this Greig has a smidge of common sense.
“I’m sorry,” Greig said. “I’ll have these idiots back off. You heard me, boys! Step away.”
The men remained reluctant and tried to pounce on me instead, but an immediate glare from Greig made everyone leave the building.
“I suppose I can have a conversation with you, at the very least,” I said.
I dispersed my mana and turned to him as Greig looked at me unexpectedly.
“Gee, I didn’t expect you to free little Lillia here so quickly,” he said.
“It’s too much of a pain to destroy this dingy, old village anyway,” I replied.
Greig glared at my cutting remark.
“Don’t give me that look,” I spat. “That’s exactly what’s supposed to happen when lowly commoners dare to surround a noble. You lot even brought weapons and tools with you. This goes beyond insolence and treads firmly into treason. The criminal’s family line should be slaughtered and this whole village burned to the ground. It’s only natural.”
“I see...” Greig replied. “Which is why you took little Lillia hostage and intimidated the other sailors to prevent that from happening.”
The leader of these idiots is quick on the uptake. If any one of them had managed to lay a hand on me, I would’ve been forced to take them all out.
“I gave you guys a chance, but there’ll be no next time,” I warned. “Even the cardinal of a church wouldn’t be so merciful.”
“So? Want me to thank you or something?” Greig asked. “I can bow my head as many times as you wish, oh benevolent noble.”
“Hah! And how valuable is that puny head of yours? But I suppose you ought to lower your head for what I’ve done. Go on.”
The air between us was sharp and intimidating. I saw Lillia in the corner of my eyes, hastily trying to pour us all a cup of tea as she did her best to keep it together. No need for unnecessary kindness. Just stand there.
“Hmph, you’re a haughty kid, that’s for sure,” Greig replied. “But yeah, I’ll thank you. After all, you let my boys go. You’re a noble, but not rotten to the core. A far cry from that bastard, Clinton.”
And yet, Greig made no attempt to lower his head as he scowled. Huh? Lower your head. Who the hell is Clinton?
Carlos caught on to my befuddlement and explained, “Clinton faux Serpente is in charge of this area.”
Ah, the magistrate. And Serpente is the house of a viscount on the frontier, isn’t it? A low-ranking bumpkin of a noble, no doubt. Wait... A magistrate of Roguebert? Is this Clinton the man who enforced heavy taxation on the main character and his forces? But that name never came up...
“Are you on bad terms with this Clinton?” I asked.
“‘Bad’ is an understatement,” Greig replied. “He’s the enemy of Roguebert, the worst kind of bastard around. I don’t care if I’m accused of treason; if he so much as shows his face around these parts again, I’ll slaughter him. You just see if I don’t!”
Looks like everyone here hates Clinton. The men who stood outside made their ire apparent. I could practically feel it in the air. If Clinton were to appear right now, there was no doubt a riot would ensue.
But this guy just proudly declared his intent to revolt in front of the heir of House Lightless. Sure, I haven’t named myself, but does he really not know who I am? Does he not see my house’s crest on my jacket? Or is he truly ignorant about it? It’s the same for all the others too—not a single one recognizes the simple truth! You’ve got to be kidding me... I really feel a headache coming on.
“But I guess I shouldn’t have said that in front of a noble, eh?” Greig added. He scratched his head and grinned. “Best if you just run along, young master. I don’t know why you came to a remote region like this village, but a lot of us have deep-seated grudges against nobles. It’s not right for you to stay here for too long.”
I guess he’s telling me to leave. But this is within my march, and furthermore, I’m the eldest son of the lord who rules over this entire fief.
His words were worthy of a beheading. Is it my fault for being silent about my birth? Do I have to spell it all out for them? How stupid and uneducated are these commoners? They really aren’t that different from monkeys.
I almost fainted from how idiotic these imbeciles were, but I managed to keep it together and turn around.
“Carlos, we’re leaving,” I ordered.
“Huh? A-Are you sure?” my butler asked.
He seemed shocked; after all, I’d usually behead all of these insolent fools on the spot. But none of that mattered anymore—I was absolutely exhausted from having to deal with their idiocy.
“I am,” I replied. “This place makes my head hurt.”
“Sorry ’bout this, kid,” Greig said with an apologetic frown. “I really don’t mean to chase you away.”
Shut your trap or I’ll kill you. I ignored Greig and climbed back into my carriage with Carlos, and for the umpteenth time today, I let out a huge sigh.
Now that I think about it, in the tale, the main character meets a new ally in Roguebert: a heroine of the story, that crazy sailor woman. I can’t believe she’s one of the heroines. The sheer thought of her sent shivers down my spine, and judging from the timeline, she was probably in that village already. Luckily, I hadn’t spotted her, but if I did, my anger would’ve reached my peak and I might’ve killed everyone in sight.
“Let’s go home,” I ordered.
I commanded Carlos to head back home. If I stayed in this lowly place for much longer, I knew that it would affect my mental well-being. I yearned to return home as soon as I could so that I could surround myself with the finest that my land had to offer and become psychologically stable. Carlos, who had been awake for four nights in a row, cast me a haggard and weary glance, but I knew that a man like him could easily stay up for twice as long. What mattered now was easing my mind.
Carlos let out an exhausted and sorrowful sigh as the sound of the whip hitting the horses rang in the air. Another four days until I reach home... This’ll be a tough road back.
Just as I was about to reclaim some peace in my life, I heard the angry cries of the commoners.
“It’s Clinton! His underlings are here!” someone shrieked.