Chapter 93: Aftermath
Gareth’s screams continued for minutes.
By the time they finally stopped, all four of his limbs had been severed.
Several servants were already gathered around his unconscious body, cauterizing the wounds before tightly wrapping them in bandages.
Roderic watched from several feet away, both Azure Hooked Blades resting against his shoulders.
Edmund stood beside him in complete silence.
’’...Young master,’’ he said slowly.
’’Hm?’’ Roderic turned to him.
Edmund stared at Gareth for a few seconds before swallowing hard.
’’Was all of that really necessary?’’
Roderic didn’t hesitate to nod.
’’Absolutely,’’ he replied casually. ’’I mean, look at how satisfied our people are, isn’t that enough to make it necessary?’’
Edmund fell silent.
His gaze swept across the knights, soldiers and servants.
Unlike before, their faces no longer seemed to contain frustration or anger.
Instead, they looked... at peace.
’So that’s why,’ he thought, amazed. ’The young master truly cares for us!’
Normally, no one would ever harm a captured noble, whether for ransom or to avoid further disputes.
They’d expected their situation to end up the same, with no way to get proper vengeance for the fallen.
But Roderic had completely shattered those expectations.
Looking around, Edmund could tell he wasn’t the only one who understood that.
Just then, Roderic clapped his hands together.
’’Alright, everyone. As unfortunate and painful as this is, we need to gather the bodies and bury them. Whether they were our enemies or our own, it’s the least amount of respect we can give them.’’
Without even thinking about it, everyone lowered their heads.
’’Understood, young lord!’’
As everyone got back to work, Roderic turned back to Gareth.
The man was still lying on the ground, tears streaming across his face as he stared up at the sky, unable to move.
’’Edmund,’’ he said quietly.
The chubby attendant snapped out of his daze.
’’Yes!’’ he replied, turning to Roderic.
Roderic smiled slightly before pointing at Gareth.
’’Bring him, his limbs and the gift boxes into my personal carriage,’’ he said. ’’I have some questions for him and some... presents to prepare for my dear stepmother.’’
Edmund stared at him for a moment.
Then he sighed.
’’Of course, young master.’’
Roderic nodded once before heading to his carriage.
His body had finally started reminding him just how exhausted he truly was.
’I really need a fucking vacation,’ he thought, cracking his neck. ’But that isn’t happening any time soon.’
Climbing inside his carriage, Roderic slammed the door shut behind him.
For several minutes, it remained quiet as he sat there with his head against the wall.
Then voices approached outside.
’’Careful!’’
’’I’ve got him.’’
’’Watch the wounds!’’
Roderic’s eyes snapped open.
The door swung open moments later as two servants awkwardly carried Gareth inside.
The limbless noble was fully conscious again.
His face was deathly pale, and his eyes filled with a horrible disbelief.
Roderic waved his hand lightly with a smile.
’’Welcome back.’’
Gareth’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, passing out once more.
The servants placed him down on the bench opposite Roderic.
Edmund appeared behind them with the small gift boxes under his arm.
’’And the rest, young master?’’
Roderic spread his arm.
’’Anywhere you find room.’’
Edmund grimaced slightly but nodded.
Another servant appeared beside him, holding Gareth’s severed limbs with pure disgust.
A short while later, everything had been placed inside the carriage.
After the door closed, Roderic leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
’’Hey,’’ he called out. ’’You awake?’’
No response came back.
Gareth simply lay on the bench, breathing steadily.
’’Whatever,’’ Roderic muttered. ’’There’s still plenty of time to interrogate you.’’
In no universe would Gareth not be aware of his father’s plans.
And that was exactly the information Roderic wanted to obtain.
Besides that, there was something else he needed to do too.
’’Let’s see...’’ he muttered, glancing at the limbs and gift boxes. ’’How did those gangs do it back at home?’’
Roderic slowly rubbed his temples.
Memories flashed through his mind one after another.
Back on Earth, many of his friends had taken out big loans in an attempt to escape their rotten neighborhood.
But when those loans weren’t paid back in time, some lenders had rather creative ways of sending warnings.
’’I believe it was just a finger from a family member or friend for a basic scare,’’ Roderic mumbled.
His eyes moved to Gareth’s severed arms and legs.
’’But I’m not just trying to scare Margaret,’’ he said, grinning. ’’I need that woman to completely lose her mind.’’
Roderic leaned back, folding his arms.
He began tapping his arm as his mind churned.
’’I’ll really have to make the gifts special then... Good thing I have plenty to work with!’’
And if it wasn’t enough, there was always a way to cut off more.
Just then, some faint whimpering noises rang out in front of him.
Roderic’s gaze snapped towards Gareth, finding him wide awake.
’’Would you look at that,’’ he said, immediately grinning. ’’You woke up at the perfect time!’’
’’N-No!’’ Gareth cried out.
But Roderic just ignored him.
’’Say, since we’ll be spending a lot of time together, what do you think?’’ he asked, picking up his severed limbs. ’’Would your aunt go crazier if she saw your chopped-off hands or your entire limbs?’’
Gareth’s face somehow grew even paler.
’’N-Neither! Please! I-I can’t get them reattached if you do that!’’
The carriage immediately fell silent.
Roderic glanced up with a strange expression.
’’Reattached?’’ he repeated slowly.
It was possible in this world using the church’s divine power.
But...
’’What makes you think you’ll ever get the chance to do that?’’
Gareth froze completely.
’’Didn’t I tell you that you aren’t leaving our territory alive?’’
Whatever tiny bits of hope remained in Gareth’s eyes disappeared on the spot.
Soft sniffling began echoing through the quiet carriage.
’’P-Please...’’ he whimpered. ’’Anything! I-I’ll do anything! Just don’t kill me!’’
Roderic’s smile immediately returned.
’’Anything?’’
Gareth frantically nodded, tears flying everywhere.
’’Gold! Information! Whatever you want!’’
Roderic began rubbing his hands together as his smile grew into a smirk.
’’Good. We can definitely work like that,’’ he replied with a satisfied nod.
He remained silent for a moment.
Then his eyes dropped back toward the severed limbs in his hands.
’’But you still haven’t answered my question,’’ he continued. ’’Hands or arms with hands?’’