North x Northwest

Venua burst into laughter after he repeated the word ‘love’.

“As you know, I’m impudent, shameless and proud of my origins and how I treat my subjects. On top of that, I have no qualms about loving Liloa. I’m amazed that you still act surprised and even get angry by facts that you already know to begin with, it makes me believe that you’re in an even worse condition than the Archduke…”

“Since when can such hideous desire for an unrivalled woman be called love? That girl should at least become the mistress of a monarch’s family. The reason things went astray to this point was because of her wrong entanglement with the Duke of Mireille! If she had secured a relationship with the imperial family from the very beginning, things wouldn’t have gone this far!”

“The Liloa I know won’t be interested in being the mistress of a monarch’s family. Better yet, she couldn’t care less if she was the damn monarch herself or not.”

This time, Venua didn’t laugh. Ed was taken aback when his half-joking remark hit the other person right on the head. Paradoxically, Venua seemed to consider the possibility of Lil’s ascension to the throne more realistic than anyone else.

Ed saw deep-rooted emotions on his stiff face: long-standing anxiety, tension, uncertainty and denial. For a moment, his opponent’s eyes were distracted, but Venua then quickly turned his head and twisted the topic along.

“I know people like you well. Those who campaign as if they are kings just because they have a title to back them up.”

“Don’t be hasty, my real campaign hasn’t even started yet.”

“..?”

Venua raised his chin.

“First of all, I hope you’ll ask for forgiveness for doing something unsavoury in my territory.”

“You are asking to die.”

“No, I’m just trying to give you a chance.”

“If you dare to humiliate me, I pay you back with death.”

“Hiding behind immunity is useless when you refuse to disclose your identity.”

“..?”

Ed stood up, walked to the door and opened it, prompting the people, who had been waiting, to enter the drawing room. Among them was a solicitor for probate and a jury representative from Roahn. Ed knew all procedures had to be done properly because if Venua was provided with a rightful excuse, the situation with Lil would become very difficult.

“As the Lord of Roahn, I demanded an apology, but it was not provided. Out of respect for the criminal, I tried to persuade him first without your presence, but he refused. Since he moved a private army and even kidnapped someone in Roahn’s territory, a territory that’s been granted with the right of denying entry, his offence will be treated as a felony.”

“Oh come on…”

“If you want to avoid trial or claim immunity, it is in your best interest to reveal your identity first. From here on out, all interrogations will be recorded and used as evidence for future trials.”

“Hahahaha! How cute. Were you scared to face me alone? How dare you invite a ragtag group of people to play a so-called game of trial!”

However, no one was swayed by Venua’s provocation. The solicitor, who raised his glasses, began his questioning.

“Who are you, Sir?”

“…”

“Why did you come to Roahn?”

“…”

“Why did you carry out the kidnapping?”

Venua’s index finger tapped the sofa. His lips trembled at first, but soon he smiled. His fingertips traced his lips as if he was unsure of the nonchalance look he tried to fake.

“Kidnapping? That’s nonsense.”

“Who did you kidnap?”

“I don’t know.”

“There is an eyewitness who saw this gentleman’s private soldiers kidnapping someone. Even if that were not the case, it is already a grave disrespect of you to bring in private soldiers without informing the Lord or Governor.”

Venua’s eyes looked out the window.

“How harsh Roahn must be that I can’t travel without being accompanied by a few escorts. All I wanted was to travel quietly, but I wasn’t given sufficient leisure time. From my detainment to the trial, I’m completely embarrassed about what this is all about.”

“If you don’t want to be misunderstood, then you should reveal your identity. We also don’t feel comfortable interrogating the gentleman. However, since citizens of so many different nationalities and origins live in Roahn, and considering the humble number of nobles residing here as well, we put a lot of effort into security. You have no choice but to adhere to the rules here. If an unidentified person causes an incident in the territory, a trial must take place.”

“I’ll just wait for my identity guarantee.”

“And who would you like to ask?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“There isn’t much time left before the trial. At this rate, you shall be punished by flogging.”

“…Flogging?”

Venua tilted his head like a child who had heard such a word for the first time. The stern solicitor stepped forward to explain the process.

“Flogging is a corporal punishment executed by hitting the criminal’s bare buttocks with a wooden stick. Usually, the criminal loses consciousness after about ten strokes, that’s why flogging is carried out parallel with medical treatment and spans over several days…”

“Hahahaha!”

Venua’s sudden laughter made the solicitor look at Ed, who motioned his chin to ask them to step outside. But regardless of whether the solicitor and the jury went out or not, Venua’s laughter dragged on, even going as far as to bang his hand on the armrest. For a while, the living room was filled with the sound of his laughter when he threw his head back and curled his arms around his stomach.

It wasn’t until only the two of them were left that Venua, who finally stopped laughing, gritted his teeth.

“You’re doing something interesting, Marquess.”

“You’re about to become the interesting one, Prince Regent. Since you’re sentenced to flogging, what could be a bigger spectacle than that? Thinking about all the citizens of Roahn coming to watch, I’m already dying of laughter.”

“You vulgar bastard. Now I understand why the two of you got together.”

Ed merely shrugged his shoulders at the insult. Since he had more to say, he continued his momentum.

“I must say I’m surprised that you would rather risk showing your noble buttocks to the whole of Roahn. You truly must be afraid of it coming to light that you’re looking for Liloa.”

“…”

“Why? Why are you so secretive about this?”

“…”

“It’s said that the Archduke of Obernyu is in critical condition, and the regent, who hasn’t been able to receive the title, is hiding in this far western land during those difficult times…”

“…”

Ed stroked his chin. Unlike Venua, creating this facial expression came quite naturally to him.

“Is there anything else other than the topic of succession that would make the noble Prince Regent so impatient?”

“Shut your mouth, Marquess.”

“Did the Archduke leave a will stating that he would abdicate the title in favour of Liloa? …Well, I can’t blame him, there’s no one more suitable and worthy for the title of Archduke than she is…”

“Marquess!”

“Why do you keep shouting for the person who’s already in front of you? It’s a rather pointless action.”

Venua hit the armrest and jumped up from his seat.

“That mouth! I’ll make sure it can never jest again.”

Ed looked at his opponent’s trembling shoulders before lowering his eyes to the knees that tried so hard to suppress the spasms. It was an outrageous threat to Ed, who had crossed an immeasurable line of fire.

‘Intimidation is a trick used only when one wants the other person to back down. If someone truly intends to kill his opponent, it’s more efficient not to have his murderous intent discovered.’

“In essence, threats are most frightening when they’re done in silence, Prince Regent. You will have to eliminate that clumsy trait of yours if you want to deal with me.”

– – – – – – – – end of flashback – – – – – – – –

***

Ed rolled his eyes and looked at Lil, whose eyes narrowed as she let out a sigh.

“You were so childish…”

“I didn’t tell you because that’s what I thought you would think.”

“…and timid.”

“I admit that.”

Lil stopped herself from smacking him, considering his condition was comparable to that of a critically ill patient.

“I knew I would pay the price for my childish and timid behaviour.”

“…”

Lil clasped her head and groaned.

“But this situation is different from what I expected, now we’re both suffering… I should’ve been more careful…”

“And you realise this only now?”

“I…”

As Ed blurted out his words, Lil raised her eyebrows.

“…I never thought that someone would save me because I was always the one who had to save myself…”

“What on earth were you planning to do? What were you going to do when you fell off your horse like that?”

“I would try to hold on to the cliff.”

“But weren’t you already unconscious when I got there?!”

“If I had fallen into the sea, I would have come to my senses. It wouldn’t have been difficult after that. I would just be washed ashore and find a place to hide…”

Lil ended up hitting the floor instead of Ed.

“Are you going to insist on talking back to me like that?!”

– – – – –