[124] Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated in a Count's Family [30]

"The third and final condition is… Hmm. If you don't want to hear it, tell me now."

"…I'll listen."

Becan quickly moved to the side, avoiding Yuria. He drew a dagger hidden in his coat and swung it at me. His dagger was imbued with aura. The target of his dagger was my left arm.

It seemed he aimed for me because he thought I was Yuria's master and that I had ordered her to cut off his arm. If not that, then perhaps he thought I was an easy target.

"First, I'll repay the debt for my arm!"

I didn't move. There was no need.

Yuria was already by my side, faster than Becan.

Clang!

The dagger clashed.

"When did you…!"

Becan exclaimed in shock, stepping back.

Yuria moved. She grabbed Becan's right arm, twisted it, and then stabbed his left eye with the dagger before pulling it out.

"Aaaah!"

Becan's body collapsed to the ground. Yuria's shoe mercilessly kicked his head.

"There's a limit to being presumptuous…! I never thought you'd be such a fool that you couldn't even recognize your place! Master! Please give me just one hour! I'll teach this man his place!"

Yuria said. Her voice was filled with irritation, and I was surprised. I hadn't expected her to react so fiercely.

"Uh, sure. One hour is fine."

I said, slightly overwhelmed.

"Thank you. I'll use the empty room next door. Now, let's go, Mr. Becan."

"Ugh!"

Yuria roughly grabbed Becan's hair with her gloved hand and dragged him out of the room. I blankly stared at the door, then looked down at the floor. Blood from Becan and the fluid from his eye were splattered messily.

A moment later.

Horrible screams came from the next room.

"Aaaah! Stop! Please stop!!!"

I could guess what was happening. At the same time, curiosity got the better of me. I quietly stepped out and peeked through the crack in the door of the next room.

"Ugh… I'm sorry… Please stop… I was wrong… Aaaah!"

"I thought you'd be a bit more rational. Even though you were a mercenary, you're now the owner of the city's top trading company. But it seems your true nature hasn't changed."

Zap!

"Grrrr…!"

Electricity flowed from Yuria's hand.

Unlike me, who could only use the Lightning of the Yeongcheon Style, Yuria could use both the Lightning and the Shadow of the Yeongcheon Style.

"There's only one thing you need to do. Treat the Master with respect. Even a fool like you should be able to manage that."

Electric torture was just the beginning. She didn't hesitate to use methods like cutting flesh or skinning. Yuria even used potions generously to keep the torture going without pause.

'…Yikes.'

I looked away. Watching it made me feel the pain myself.

And then, the promised hour passed.

Becan sat before me again. However, unlike before, he was now missing his left arm and left eye. While he had been quite resolute earlier, he now wore an expression filled with fear.

Glancing nervously.

Becan kept looking at Yuria, who stood beside the table. He trembled violently whenever Yuria made even the slightest movement.

"Becan. Look at me. The one talking to you now is me, not Yuria."

"I-I'm sorry! Please forgive me! Please!"

Becan bowed his head to me. It was pitiful. It was astonishing how much he had changed in just one hour.

"…I'll forgive you. Let's continue the conversation we had earlier."

"I'll hand over the trading company! I'll pay the taxes on time. I'll do as you say. So… ugh…"

Becan spoke while glancing at Yuria. He was trembling badly.

"Hmm. Good. Then I'll tell you the third condition you must follow... Yuria."

"Yes, Master. Here it is."

Yuria placed a glass bottle on the table. Inside was a sticky, black liquid. It looked like tar and was unsettling.

"The Ten-Day Poison. Once poisoned, it slowly erodes the heart. It takes ten days for the heart to be completely eroded. If you take the antidote within ten days, the erosion will disappear, but the toxicity remains, and the heart will start eroding again."

There are two types of antidotes. One completely neutralizes the poison, and the other removes the heart erosion but leaves the source of the toxicity, giving another ten days.

I have no intention of giving the complete antidote.

By the way, this poison was created by Yuria, who learned it from Hassent. It's a secret poison.

'According to Hassent, a top-tier Shadow mage can easily neutralize this poison with magic… but it's not like you can easily meet such a mage.'

Moreover, I have no intention of just giving him the poison and neglecting surveillance. If he tries anything foolish, I'll kill him on the spot.

"Drink it. I'll give you the antidote periodically."

"...."

Becan couldn't bring himself to reach for the poison bottle. Drinking this meant becoming my slave. No, in some ways, it was worse than being a slave. At least slaves don't have to drink poison.

"I don't need to drink this… I'll do well! I'll pledge my loyalty to you. So…!"

"I don't need loyalty from the likes of you. Drink it. Don't make me say it a third time."

"...."

Yuria looked at Becan. Then she spoke coldly.

"Drink it. Surely you're not ignoring the Master's words?"

When Yuria frowned, Becan flinched.

"No! No! I'll drink it now!"

Becan hurriedly grabbed the poison bottle and poured it into his mouth.

I was impressed. Despite his appearance, Becan was a seasoned mercenary. He was a lower-tier aura expert, so he had some skill. Yet, after just one hour of torture, the fierce wolf had turned into a scared little dog.

'Yuria's torture skills are beyond imagination.'

I understand. Although Yuria hasn't been doing it recently, she used to visit the prison every day to torture the Ferek mercenaries.

Gulp, gulp!

Becan swallowed the poison in front of us.

I clapped with a satisfied expression.

Clap, clap, clap, clap!

"Let's work well together from now on, Master Becan of the Trading Company. Let's strive for the endless development of Tebura together. Hahahaha."

"Yes..."

"Let's change the name of the trading company while we're at it. Black Tiger… What a rustic name to run a trading company with! Don't you think so, Master?"

I was being friendly, but his response was slow. When I clicked my tongue lightly, Yuria subtly revealed her dagger.

"...I'll think about it, Master."

Becan, startled, nodded his head.

"The trading company's name will be Cheonma (Heavenly Demon)… No, that doesn't fit this world. Pegasus is a good name, but it doesn't quite appeal to me. Let's name the trading company Korea."

"Korea… That's a good name. May I ask what it means?"

"Do I really need to explain it to you? Aren't you going to find out for yourself?"

"I-I'm sorry. I'll find out myself."

"You'd better do well. Don't disappoint me. If you disappoint me… I'll have to educate you."

At the word "educate," Becan's face turned pale.

"I-I'll do well! I'll never disappoint you!"

"I'll trust you, Master of Korea Trading Company. Hahahahaha."

"...."

"Why aren't you laughing? Can't you laugh on such a good day?"

"I was thinking about the future of Korea Trading Company… so I couldn't laugh. Hahahahaha!"

"The future of Korea Trading Company will be very bright. Don't worry. Hahahahaha!"

The laughter didn't stop. What a harmonious relationship between lord and vassal.

***

The next day. After returning to the Pruckus mansion from the port city of Tebura, I asked Elaine if I could go on a trip.

I was granted permission on the condition that I take ten escort knights with me. I also had to bring servants to take care of the knights. Including me, the total number of people was twenty-five.

I didn't complain. Just being allowed to go on a trip was enough.

On my way back to my room, I ran into Kyle in the hallway. Kyle had just come out of prison.

"Here. The key. I used it well."

"You can use it a bit more."

I didn't take the key Kyle offered. I didn't need the key to the ancient warrior training ground right now.

"Eugene. You're going on a trip tomorrow? Where are you going?"

"To the Hughes Snow Mountain in the northern part of the kingdom."

"Hughes Snow Mountain? The mysterious mountain where the snow doesn't melt even in the hot summer? That's nice. I'd like to go too."

There's a legend that an ancient silver dragon died on Hughes Snow Mountain. Because of that, the snow on the mountain never melts, even in summer, and maintains its snow cover for a lifetime. Strangely, if you take the snow from the mountain outside, it melts immediately.

"Do you want to come with me, brother?"

"Can I join your trip?"

"It's fine. We're brothers."

"Alright. Wait a moment. I'll get permission from Mother."

Kyle happily went into Elaine's office.

It didn't matter if Kyle joined the trip. It wasn't like this trip was for leisure anyway.

'Once I receive the baronetcy and become the lord of Tebura, I won't need Elaine's permission to move around.'

If nothing else, I liked the idea of having more freedom to move.

'I should also take Elaine down… but she's such a fortress, it's tough.'

There were a few times when I tried to create a suggestive atmosphere when I was alone with Elaine. But there was no sign of success. Elaine was a fortress.

She never crossed the line. Even if I tried to subtly touch her while her senses were heightened, it was the same.

I couldn't take her down with ordinary methods.

'Should I use drugs? No… I shouldn't rely too much on drugs. It's no fun if I rely only on drugs.'

The greater the difficulty, the greater the satisfaction when I succeed. There's plenty of time. Thanks to mana and management, Elaine maintains her youth.

'Hehehe. I'm looking forward to the moment that fortress crumbles.'

***

Four people, including me, were inside the large carriage.

I sat with Yuria, and across from us were Kyle and Lucy. Lucy was Kyle's personal maid.

Lucy Cobrett.

She was the daughter of Baron Cobrett, a vassal.

She had curly auburn hair and was younger than Yuria. She had only been Kyle's personal maid for half a year. The previous maid had married a clerk from the mansion and quit.

'Hmm.'

She was as pretty as she was in the original story.

'But…'

Her face was pretty, but her body was lacking. Even considering that she was younger than Yuria, she was too thin. When Yuria was that age, she at least had a slight bust. But Lucy had none at all.

'I'm not thinking of making a move.'

Lucy was Kyle's personal maid. If I made a careless move, it could end badly. Since she wasn't really my type, I decided to leave her alone.

"It's my first time going to Hughes Snow Mountain! I'm so excited! Miss Yuria, have you been to Hughes Snow Mountain before?"

"No. This is my first time too. I'm also very excited."

Lucy was a lively girl.

Moreover, her eyes were filled with respect and admiration for Yuria.

'Yuria is quite popular among the servants.'

Yuria is not only beautiful but also capable at everything. To a young maid like Lucy, she must seem incredibly impressive.

I spoke to Kyle, who was staring blankly at Yuria.

"Brother Kyle. Have you been to the snow mountain before?"

"Snow mountain? Well… no. It's my first time too."

Kyle had been to a snow mountain in his past life. The volcano he lived on would turn into a snow mountain when winter came.

"I heard there's a monster called Yeti on the snow mountain…"

Thud!

Neigh!

A heavy sound and the scream of a horse were heard. The carriage shook violently and then stopped. I frowned. Something had definitely gone wrong.

Kyle quickly opened the carriage window.

"Sir Hent. What's going on?"

"A group of monsters and someone are fighting up ahead."

Hent, the captain of the Flune Knights, spoke. Hent's face was grim. He and dozens of other knights were tasked with escorting us. This kind of incident was unwelcome.

"What's the situation up ahead? Is it dangerous?"

"No. It seems to be some noble family. Their knights are handling the monsters. We probably don't need to help."

Kyle shook his head and stepped out of the carriage.

"Let's join in. It might be dangerous."

"Young Master Kyle. We'll handle the fighting. Please wait inside the carriage."

"No. I'll help too. I can't just sit by when people are in danger. Eugene. Lucy. Yuria. You stay in the carriage."

I simply nodded. I knew from the start that Kyle's personality would make him step forward.

'This is such a typical cliché.'

It was a mistake to travel with Kyle, the protagonist. If Kyle hadn't been here, this situation probably wouldn't have happened. Maybe.

'I'll bet my hand that the person we save is a noble lady. Seriously.'

***

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