: Between Your Leaving (3)
Two knights lay on the bare ground in a gruesome state. One of the knights had died instantly from the shock of having his arm torn off, while the other twitched on the ground, his head caved in. Looking at his condition, even Sieri's healing wouldn't be able to save him. And a short distance away, Rubicon Condrix was dead.
That day, three more corpses were added to the Peta Territory.
"Fuck."
Eve spat out a curse, perched on a stone at the street corner. She ruffled her hair in frustration, but it changed nothing. Sieri had already collapsed to the ground, her spirit seemingly broken. It had felt satisfying to do it, but thinking about it now, this was a major incident.
The lord's wife, a mermaid hybrid, had stabbed a nobleman to death. And her opponent was the northern grand duke. Eve couldn't quite grasp how high the position of high priest was, but she knew that a grand duke was a very high rank. She also knew how renowned the son of such a grand duke must be.
"What should we do?"
"I don't know."
Eve asked Sieri. Sieri sat gloomily, her head bowed low. It wasn't like Sieri would know what to do either. Eve twirled her hair in annoyance. She didn't regret killing him. If she hadn't killed him here, he would have definitely become a nuisance. He would have undoubtedly caused all sorts of trouble by claiming to be the territory representative, so it was better to kill him and shut him up.
"Should we just bury them all? No one else came besides these three."
"If you get caught during an investigation, it'll be an even bigger problem. It would be better to be upfront about this part." Sieri advised. It was impossible to cover up the incident by crudely hiding the bodies. The northern grand duke's son wouldn't have snuck out without telling anyone. In fact, he had likely announced his visit to the Amur Territory in every way possible.
A northern grand duke could afford to hire a mage and could also order an inquiry in the area. If they tried to hide it sloppily and it backfired, they'd be truly cornered.
"Fuck. Still, this bastard was the one in the wrong."
Eve said, dragging Condrix's sprawled-out body over. From the moment he called Eve, the lord's wife, a prostitute and a half-fish, Condrix's future was sealed. Just as the outcome of this incident was sealed the moment Eve stabbed him.
"But he's the northern grand duke's son. And what's more, he's an aide from the Amur Territory, so what do we do?"
"When my husband gets here, should we all just run away?"
Eve asked, kicking the corpses with her foot. Seeing her complete lack of respect for the dead, Sieri spoke.
"Please, at least leave the bodies alone. They're dead now. And even if we ran, where would we go?"
"Fuck, if he weren't a grand duke's son, I'd have gutted his belly and salted him like a mackerel. I'm only leaving him alone because I have to send the corpse back in one piece."
"Then we'll start by sending the body, right?"
Sieri said, pressing on her aching head. Eve nodded as well. They had to send the body first for the story to continue.
"Let's send the body for now. And see how they react. Fuck, what do I have to be afraid of? Isn't calling another man's wife a prostitute or a half-fish just asking to be stabbed?"
Eve said. She did have her own justification. Insulting another man's wife was a serious matter that should be settled with a duel. Condrix had simply thought that Eve, having been pardoned, was intimidated and would back down if he acted tough enough.
His mistake was that Eve was stronger than most royal knights, ruthless enough to plant a knife in his gut without a word of a duel, and had a terrible personality. Eve was just a little curious about what Condrix must have been thinking as he died.
"That may be true, but still..."
Sieri trailed off. As a cleric of the Archdeity Church, she shouldn't take Eve's side, but even she thought Condrix's death was close to a natural one. So she was hesitant to definitively take anyone's side. The two of them and the guard agreed to send the body back to the Amur Territory, accompanied by an official document.
"What should I write?"
Eve asked. Sieri, holding a pen, thought for a moment before speaking.
"Condrix was accidentally killed after making excessively disrespectful remarks to the lord's wife. How's that?"
"That's too honest. If we write that, it'll look like it was my fault too."
"But, we have to be honest..."
"No, if it ends up being my fault, I'll be boiled alive with my mom, you get it? Fuck, did I come all this way just to become mermaid stew?"
"Th-Then what should we write?"
Sieri asked, slightly intimidated by Eve's harsh words. Eve spoke.
"Say it was a duel."
"A duel?"
"You sons of bitches. You saw me dueling, right?"
Eve asked the nearby guards. The guards, who were loading the body onto a cart, hastily nodded. It wasn't entirely illogical. Eve, insulted by being called a prostitute, challenged him to a duel, and Condrix died during said duel.
"But what about the knights? If the duel was with Young Master Rubicon, it doesn't explain why the knights are dead."
"They tried to kill me after the duel, so I had no choice but to kill them?"
"I wouldn't believe it."
"Fuck, then what am I supposed to do?"
"How about we just write that he died due to a clash?"
"Clear and simple. And it's ambiguous whose fault it was. Let's do that."
And so, Eve and Sieri sorted out the document. Sieri called a guard and had one of the territory's knights and two soldiers take the body to the Amur Territory. Sieri had intended to go herself, but Eve stopped her. The Lord of Amur might do something unpredictable if he snapped over his aide's death.
"Then we shouldn't send anyone."
"If you get taken hostage or killed, how am I supposed to face my husband?"
Eve chided Sieri for insisting she'd go. Sieri quieted down as soon as Lusius was mentioned. And so, the cart carrying the body, led by a knight and two soldiers, headed for the Amur Territory. Every day, Eve and Sieri waited for news of how the Amur Territory would react.
One day, two days, three days passed. Time flowed by without any news. Eve hoped for Lusius's return as soon as possible. Sieri, too, prayed for the soldiers and the knight to return unharmed. It was an incident where an aide had died an exceptionally pointless death, so Amur Territory's response was completely unpredictable.
On the fourth day, a report finally came from the territory border. Eve rose to her feet as if she had been waiting and received the report. A single document had arrived for her. Eve unfolded it first.
- The Amur Territory cannot possibly tolerate this heinous act of a mermaid killing a person and acting so brazenly. We will formally request a trial at the Royal Palace regarding this incident and inform you that we will also protest this marriage to the Archdeity Church.
The debauched mermaid who acts as she pleases, as if she has absolute power thanks to the high priest's authority, will have her filthy fins cut off and be thrown into boiling oil to die. And the Peta Territory will have to pay the just deserts for Rubicon Condrix's miserable death.
We send you a small gift to express our resolve.
"Fuck."
Eve tore the paper to shreds the moment she saw it. In the end, it meant it was Eve's fault. From Eve's perspective, it was utterly unfair. They were the ones who sent an unapproved representative, and they were the ones who insulted her first.
But the Amur Territory was condemning Eve for all of it. This was why Eve hated the political arena of humans. It was the same when she lived in the slave market. The slaves always formed factions among themselves. It was so different from the mermaids, where a single leader made all the decisions.
Eve looked for the soldiers who had gone with the bodies. They wouldn't have sent them back safely after sending a document that was practically a declaration of war.
"The soldiers?"
At Eve's question, Sieri spoke with a grave expression.
"They all came back beaten to a near-death state. They survived, but they'll need treatment for a while."
Eve barely managed to hold back a curse. Aira covered her mouth and collapsed. Eve scowled and muttered.
"Sons of bitches."
Eve spat an insult and ruffled her hair. Things had gotten too big. There was no turning back now. Eve was praying for Lusius to return as soon as possible. Only then could this complete mess be handled.
***
"Heuk... Aheuk... Heueu..."
Erina was trembling with her legs spread. Semen was leaking from the crevice. She was panting, her tongue hanging out. I got up from the bed, touching Erina's breast as I lost myself in thought.
I had to return to the territory soon, but were Eve and Sieri doing okay? Surely they hadn't caused some fucked-up accident somewhere? As I saw it, there were no elements that could cause a quarrel in the territory right now. The only potential issue was the territory representative, but that was impossible since forcing one's way in was a clear abuse of authority.
"Erina. Get up."
I roughly calculated the time and squeezed Erina's legs again. Her firm thighs offered an addictive texture. Erina let out a moan and barely managed to sit up. I rubbed my stiffly erect cock and lifted her.
"Aaht..."
Before Erina could say a word, I sat her on my cock. Her genitals pierced through her core in an instant, and she let out a melting moan. Her waist trembled violently as she rubbed her soft skin against my stomach. I pressed my chest against Erina's back and thrust my hips up.
"Aheuk... Heuk... Ugh... Ugh..."
Even when I just lightly bounced my hips, Erina moved her own hips and moaned. I squeezed her thighs and spread her legs wider. Erina let out a pained sound, her tongue hanging out. I whispered.
"Feels good, doesn't it, Erina?"
"I-I don't know... I don't know... Heeung... Ugh..."
Even while having sex, I was worried about the territory. Scenes of Eve slaughtering the domain folk or the domain folk protesting against Eve kept flashing in my mind. I moved my hips again to forget all those trivial things.
“Haeuk...! Heeung...! Good... more... more...!”
Fuck, I'm sure she's handling it just fine. I moved my hips and decided to trust Eve.