: Between Your Leaving (2)
The Peta Territory was adjacent to three major territories.
One was the Delmon Territory, where Lusius had previously cracked their heads.
Another was the Kaidon Territory, which had been directly hit by monster attacks and was now practically on life support.
And then there was the Amur Territory, which was currently causing a ruckus, claiming to have sent a 'Territory Representative' to the Peta Territory.
The Amur Territory's situation wasn't good either, as it had yet to recover from the aftermath of the monster attacks.
So they had been periodically requesting aid from Lusius's Territory, which was why Sieri couldn't help but be puzzled that they would send a representative.
"Didn't you say only nobles can be Territory Representatives? Are there any nobles besides the lord who can be appointed as one?"
"An aide can be a noble."
On the way to the boundary line, Sieri answered Eve's question.
"In our Peta Territory, I or Aira help with the duties in place of an aide, but other territories have collusive relationships and send children of nobility to each other as aides so they can experience a lord's work beforehand. So if the aide is a young master from another noble family, he can be sent to our territory as a representative." "What's so good about becoming a Territory Representative?"
"Perhaps....."
Sieri trailed off. The Amur Territory had been consistently asking the Peta Territory for support. If the aide from Amur Territory took over as the Lord's representative, he could mobilize the Peta Territory's budget to support the Amur Territory. Sieri lowered her voice and spoke.
"I think they're after our territory's budget. The Amur Territory is in a very difficult situation right now."
"Aah, because they can use a certain amount of the budget while they're the representative. So they're trying to get the representative's authority no matter what."
"Yes. Since My Lord is a High Priest, he won't be able to ask for the return of a budget used for aid purposes."
"That's surprising. I thought you'd say we should obviously help the Amur Territory."
"Because it's something My Lord never permitted."
Sieri said resolutely. At some point, Peta Lusius's orders had begun to take precedence over the Archdeity Church's doctrine in Sieri's mind. After walking for some time, Eve grew irritated by the uncomfortable shoes. When a frowning Eve arrived at the boundary line, a man was there shouting at the soldiers. Behind him stood about two knights who appeared to be his escort knights.
"I'm telling you! I will be the representative of this territory! I am Rubicon Condrix, son of the Grand Duke Rubicon of the North! To prove my identity, I've brought my family's emblem and a personal letter from the Lord of Amur."
"No, I mean, we haven't heard anything about this. Please understand, Aide Condrix. If we arbitrarily let in an outside noble like this, My Lord will punish us later."
"Are you bastards more afraid of the High Priest, or my father, the Grand Duke of the North?"
The man introduced himself as Rubicon Condrix. He also said he was the son of the northern Grand Duke, and that the emblems of the Amur Territory and the Rubicon Family would prove his identity. As they walked closer, Eve asked Sieri.
"Where's the Rubicon Family from?"
"They're a family from just below the Dragon Mountains. They're well known as an incredibly influential family in the North."
"You're pretty smart, aren't you?"
"They're one of the families that donates the most to the Archdeity Church. I met Grand Duke Rubicon once when I was training at the monastery. He was a very nice person, but......"
Sieri trailed off, looking at Rubicon Condrix, the son of Grand Duke Rubicon. Eve had a rough idea of what words would have followed Sieri's trailing sentence. She was probably wondering where such a ruffian came from. If Lusius had given any hint about a representative, there was no way Eve or Sieri wouldn't have known.
Lusius wasn't the type to forget something like that, and in the first place, he had designated Eve as the representative before he left. According to territory law, in the lord's absence, the lord's spouse had the first priority right.
"Ahem."
Eve cleared her throat to draw their attention. The guards, not recognizing Eve, just stared blankly. Only after Sieri mouthed 'Lord's Wife' from behind Eve did the guards hastily get up and greet her.
"Oh, you've arrived, My Lady!"
"Uh, yes... you too. Good work...?"
Eve felt a twitch in her face. Normally, she would have said, 'Keep up the hard work, you fucking bastards.' but she couldn't bring herself to say such a thing while bearing the official title of Lord's Wife. Her body was rejecting the unnatural pretense she was forced to put on.
Condrix looked Eve up and down and asked.
"And who are you?"
"I am the groom's wife. My name is Eve."
"What?"
"No. I mean, that... what's-his-name. Peta Lusius's wife. My name is Eve."
Eve's face turned red. Sieri covered her face and sighed. The guards were biting their lips hard to keep from laughing. Condrix nodded at her words and spoke.
"Aah, I've heard. The story that Peta Lusius took a Fish Prostitute as his wife."
"Wh-what?"
At Condrix's bombshell statement, the guards all froze at once. Sieri also stared at him with a dazed expression, and Eve asked again, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"Am I wrong? That's what the rumors say, but seeing you walk on two feet, you don't seem to be a mermaid. If it's not true, then I apologize."
He was a guy you couldn't tell if he was being polite or just a jackass. Eve suppressed the urge to spew swear words and spoke.
"Ah, yes. There seems to be a misunder...standing. I am... a Mermaid Hybrid... named Eve. I committed great crimes, but I received a pardon through my groom's grace and am now living a new life."
"So this is what they call a shameless scoundrel."
Eve didn't open her mouth again. Because if she did, she felt like she'd start swearing. Sieri was anxiously clutching Eve's arm. The Amur Territory was no big deal, but Grand Duke Rubicon was a great noble who held command over the North. If Eve turned his son into a disabled person right now, there was no telling how far the consequences would reach.
"According to territory law, a Territory Representative must be a noble or someone with an equivalent post."
"Before that, the wife has priority..."
"Wife? Do you think a Mermaid Hybrid has any legal authority? Let me ask you one thing: do you possess a token that proves you are a citizen of this kingdom?"
Of course she didn't. Strictly speaking, Eve's status was that of a runaway slave. Sieri came to Eve's defense.
"Princess Erina of the Ahildern Kingdom has already served as the Territory Representative for the Peta Territory. Whether one is human or not, or a citizen of the kingdom or not, is not very important for the qualification of a Territory Representative, I think."
"The Elf Kingdom, just like the Dwarf Kingdom, has a mutual cooperation treaty with our kingdom. When did we ever sign a mutual cooperation treaty with mermaids? Mermaids are nothing more than monsters whose meat and skin are sold. Do you think a neighboring territory would understand appointing a monster as a representative? Who could possibly trust a monster with a criminal record of mass murder and sexual offenses? Relinquish your authority at once and return to your room, mermaid."
"You fucking..."
Sieri urgently clamped her hand over Eve's mouth.
"What. Are you afraid I might lay a hand on your filthy body? Don't worry. I have a wife back in my hometown. I have no intention of indulging in any luxuries while in this territory. I'm merely going to borrow some goods needed for the Amur Territory's aid. A half-fish bitch wouldn't think of helping others, of course."
"What did you say, you bastard? Half-fish?"
When Eve shot forward and swore at him, Condrix flinched for a moment but quickly composed his expression and spoke.
"I will say it again. I cannot accept a monster being in charge of my neighboring territory, even for a moment."
"You fucking bitch!"
Stab!
Eve snapped at those words. She drew a sword from a guard next to her and stabbed it straight into Condrix's stomach. Condrix, with a stunned look, clutched his stomach and fell to his knees. The escort knights drew their swords with surprised faces and rushed forward, but were blocked by the guards.
"Gurgle... guuurrrk... wh-what is... this act... to at...tack a noble..."
"You fucking bastard! I'm the Lord's Wife. And you call the fucking Lord's Wife a half-fish? You'll be going back as half a corpse today, you son of a bitch!"
The guards, the knights, and Sieri all froze at the sudden situation. Eve pulled the sword out of Condrix's stomach. Condrix clutched his belly, rolling on the ground and spitting up bloody foam.
"Gasp... hack..."
After rolling a few times, Condrix barely managed to get up. He fumbled in his pocket and took out a wallet. It was a beautiful wallet that shone with a brilliant luster.
"M-money, I'll give you... as much as you want... qu-quickly... a priest....."
"This bastard, you're really asking for it!"
Before Sieri, who had belatedly come to her senses, could heal him, Eve got angry again and sliced open Condrix's gut once more. This time, she used the edge of the blade to split his stomach in half. Condrix stared at Eve with a look of utter incomprehension.
"This son of a bitch takes out a mermaid-skin wallet in front of me? Are you fucking doing this on purpose to piss me off? You won't fucking die a peaceful death!"
The escort knights, having pushed past the guards, rushed in. Eve ripped off the entire arm of a knight who extended his sword toward her. One knight collapsed screaming, and Eve charged at the other hesitating knight and slammed her fist into his helmet. The helmet caved in, and the knight crumpled.
"S-save me... save me... I... I was... wrong..."
Sieri had barely managed to heal him, so Condrix was still clinging to life. Staring at him breathing faintly, Eve panted raggedly. This feeling. It had been a very long time. Eve smiled and asked.
"You, what did you say your name was?"
"Co-Condrix... Rubicon Condrix..."
"That's a very pretty name. If you were born a mermaid, you would have become a fine mermaid. Did you know? Fucking mermaids are all born female. You bastard. You said you wanted to live, right?"
"Save me... save me..."
Eve exhaled and pointed the blade at Condrix.
"I'm going to castrate you now. If you're still alive after that, I'll let you go, you fucking bastard."
"Gak... st-stop... stop..."
"Eve! Stop it! Stop! Something really bad will happen if you do this!"
Sieri ripped Eve away as she was actually about to pull down Condrix's pants. Killing an aide would truly be irreversible. Eve looked at Sieri, who was hugging her and desperately trying to stop her, sighed, and threw the sword away.
"Hey, get lost."
And then she nudged Condrix away with her foot. Condrix shot up and hastily ran towards his own territory. After running just a few steps, Condrix suddenly stopped ramrod straight, and died as blood poured from every orifice of his body. It was because he had forced himself to move while his internal organs were completely destroyed.
"I'm fucked."
Eve muttered. Sieri felt a headache coming on.