Chapter 15 - Secret of Mjosgard

With anger burning in her heart, Shalria stormed back to her family's castle. After waving away the bothersome servants and slaves, she rushed straight into Charloss's room.

Inside the room, Charloss was lying on the bed with over a dozen maids and his eighth wife tending to him, carefully applying ice packs to his injured face.

While being treated, Charloss grumbled, "That Gawain is way too much. Even though he punches like a kid, he always aims for my face. So vicious!"

"Hmph!"

Upon hearing this, Shalria stormed over to the bedside, shoving away the trembling commoner wife, and delivered a heavy punch right to the bewildered Charloss's face.

Bam!

The punch left Charloss dumbfounded. He stared at Shalria with a dazed expression, his lips trembling as he stuttered, "S-Sis… sister?!"

"Sister? You have no right to call me that, you idiot!" Shalria's rage surged as she raised her hand for another punch.

As she struck him again, she shouted furiously, "You got into a fight with Gawain? How could you mess things up with him?!

That's Gawain we're talking about! What if he loses his fondness for me because of you? Do you expect me to marry some worthless scum from our clan instead?!"

Smack!

"And do you even realize how many women in the Holy Land are already eyeing Gawain?

If he hates me because of you, those two twins from the Carmelite family will swoop in and take my place!"

Smack!

"What did you do to Gawain? Tell me! Speak up!

If you had the nerve to offend him, surely you can tell me what you did so I can help you apologize!"

Shalria's furious voice made every servant and slave in the vicinity tremble in fear. Even Charloss himself couldn't stop the words from spilling out of his mouth.

"I-I didn't do much… My slave ran away and bumped into Gawain…"

"Why didn't you control your slave? Just wait, I'll deal with you later. Now, keep talking! What else did you do wrong?"

"I don't know… He hit me, so I kicked him—just once!"

Hearing that Charloss had actually kicked Gawain, Shalria felt dizzy, and the fury on her face flared to new heights.

Meanwhile, Charloss continued rambling.

"Then I aimed my gun at him… After that, I blacked out. When I woke up, I stole his slaves and servants… That's all!"

Crack!

A sharp sound interrupted Charloss's babbling. His round eyes widened with fear as he looked at Shalria, whose face was now as dark as charcoal, with flames seemingly igniting behind her.

What they called "bibor—uncontrollable rage" was in full effect.

With a terrifying look in her eyes, Shalria clenched her fists until her knuckles cracked. In a cold, menacing voice, she hissed at Charloss,

"You did all that? How wonderful, Charloss. Just wonderful."

Boom!

That afternoon, the neighbors near the Rozwald estate felt that things were… unusually loud.

The familiar sound of someone screaming echoed endlessly, going on and on… for a very, very long time.

----

Leaving Charloss's tragic fate aside, after Shalria stormed off in humiliation, Gawain finally entered Mjosgard's castle.

The layout of this castle was different from that of the Gawain family's. Upon entry, the visitor stepped directly into the grand hall.

At that moment, Lord Mjosgard sat slumped on a sofa, a look of dejection on his face. All around him lay broken plates and cups.

While the servants quietly picked up the shattered pieces, Mjosgard let out heavy sighs. He only looked up, dazed, when Gawain entered the room.

"Oh, you really came. No wonder Shalria stormed off halfway through her tantrum," Mjosgard said as he slowly stood up, stepping over the broken pieces to approach Gawain.

As he walked, Mjosgard muttered to himself, "That girl's temper is as fiery as ever, though this isn't too bad. At least she only destroys objects now. She hasn't started attacking my servants."

With a chuckle, he added, "It seems the only thing that can get under her skin these days is you, Gawain. You really are the perfect match for her tastes—handsome and elegant, just the type young ladies of our kind adore."

"You're exaggerating, Lord Mjosgard," Gawain responded with a warm smile.

Seeing Gawain's smile, Mjosgard felt a strange relief. Somehow, the heavy weight in his heart lightened—perhaps it was because he no longer felt so alone.

Mjosgard exhaled in liberation and enthusiastically grabbed Gawain's arm.

"I'm not exaggerating! In all my life, I've never seen anyone in our clan as handsome as you. Well, excluding the girls, of course. Every one of the Celestial Dragon women is beautiful in her own right.

But this isn't the time for small talk. I saw what you did for that poor mermaid earlier. You mentioned wanting to accompany me to the Ryugu Kingdom to meet Great Knight Neptune and return the mermaid's body, didn't you?"

"Of course," Gawain answered without hesitation.

Overjoyed by the response, Mjosgard's excitement surged.

"That's excellent! Follow me!"

Without waiting, Mjosgard, full of enthusiasm but a little clumsy, pulled Gawain toward a secret door near the back of his estate.

As they reached the door, Gawain could faintly hear the sound of crying. Then, when Mjosgard pushed open the hidden entrance, Gawain looked inside and froze in astonishment.

Inside the room were dozens of mermaids of various colors, gathered around the body of the fallen mermaid, their bubbles floating gently as they wept softly.

Mjosgard nervously watched Gawain's reaction as the door opened. When he saw that Gawain's expression remained calm, with no trace of predatory intent, Mjosgard let out a sigh of relief, accompanied by a bitter smile.

"As I thought," Mjosgard said softly. "You're just like me—a fellow Celestial Dragon who has rediscovered his compassion and kindness. Now that I know this, I don't have to be afraid to share my secret with you."

Mjosgard gestured toward the room and continued, "Over the years, all of the Heavenly Tribute I've received has been spent on these poor mermaids.

Ever since Queen Otohime, the one I most admired and loved, passed away, I haven't dared to leave Mary Geoise for five years.

It's my fault she died—I failed to protect her properly. I couldn't keep her safe, and because of that, she lost her life. I'll never forgive myself!

But even though I can't leave, I've tried my best to make amends. Every single mermaid slave our people have purchased over the years—I've found ways to buy or trade them and bring them here.

I must keep them hidden. If the other Celestial Dragons discover them, I won't be able to protect them!"

With that, Mjosgard pulled Gawain further into the room. Surrounded by the curious, frightened mermaids, he raised Gawain's arm and introduced him.

"Ladies," Mjosgard said with a rueful smile, "I regret that I wasn't able to fulfill my duty today, and one of your sisters died in this heartless city.

But fortunately, this tragedy has brought me a kindred spirit. Please allow me to introduce you to my new friend—Gawain!"

The room fell into complete silence. Not even the sounds of crying remained.

The mermaids froze for a moment, and then suddenly huddled together in a terrified embrace, all of them staring fearfully at Gawain.

"Lord Mjosgard!" one mermaid with a red tail stammered. "How can you trust him so easily? You only met this man today!

You are the only hope we have of leaving Mary Geoise! You promised to protect us… But have you thought about what happens if you've been deceived? If that's the case, then we… we…"

Before she could finish, the red-tailed mermaid suddenly felt a tickling sensation at her waist. She looked down in confusion.

To her surprise, it was her friend gently poking her slender waist with a small hand.

"Lalry, what are you doing?" the red-tailed mermaid whispered.

"Uh, Triss, I think you're overreacting," Lalry whispered back.

"How am I overreacting?"

"Just look closely. Doesn't this Celestial Dragon that Lord Mjosgard brought with him… look like a good person?"

"I know he looks handsome, but looks can be deceiving! That's what Jinbei told us…"

"Ahem."

Hearing their whispered conversation, Gawain, now free from Mjosgard's grip, cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Um, you do realize… this room is very quiet, right? So I could hear everything you said."

"Y-Y-You heard it all?!"

The red-tailed mermaid's jaw dropped, and she seemed to turn to stone on the spot.

The other mermaids, stunned at first, immediately burst into a panicked frenzy.

"Ahhh! We're doomed! We got caught talking badly about a Celestial Dragon!"

"It's all Triss's fault! But Triss is such a sweet girl… How can we be mad at her?"

"Lord Mjosgard, help us! We don't want to die—we just want to go home!"

Amidst the chaos, Triss, her red tail trembling in anxiety, gave Gawain a pitiful look.

She nervously flicked her tail and asked timidly, "L-Lord Gawain… If I start complimenting you now, do you think it's… not too late?"