The Main Character is the Villain

"Th-That's absurd..."

Lord Amur fell to his knees. It must be absurd. He must feel wronged and frustrated by the absurdity. He probably doesn't know why he has to go through something so unreasonable. Seeing Lord Amur completely deflated, I asked again.

"Why do you say it's absurd?"

"Evidence... How can you persecute someone without any evidence? Why do you only side with that woman's words?"

"My Lord! I'm so scared, sob sob..."

Just as Lord Amur was about to argue back, Aira burst into tears and hugged me tightly again. The knights' expressions soured, and the servants began to whisper among themselves. By now, Lord Amur must have realized. That he had willingly stuck his head into a tiger's jaws. Robin spoke.

"Just say the word, My Lord. I will prepare the corporal punishment immediately."

"This can't be happening! You can't persecute someone without evidence! I swear, I didn't do it! High Priest Lusius! No matter how precious that woman is to you, please judge this fairly!"

Lord Amur grew even angrier at Robin's words and continued to protest. If he was going to be this defiant, there was no need to drag this out. I stroked Aira's head and said.

"You have already betrayed my goodwill and tried to deceive me. Is there any reason for me to believe your oath? Robin. Lock this cruel and ruthless lord in the underground prison immediately. We will speak again tomorrow. We can discuss the punishment then." "This can't be! This can't be happening! Let go! Let go of me, you bastards!"

I had no intention of taking this to a Royal Palace-supervised trial. Taking a case with no evidence to trial would put me at a disadvantage. Besides, the lord would have to be the one to file for a trial, and by the time the territory representative of Amur Territory finds out what happened in our territory, the situation will already be over.

After Lord Amur was dragged to the underground prison, I ordered the coachman waiting outside to be brought in. The coachman, who had been waiting for his master, was dragged before me, clueless as to what was happening. He had a very shocked expression after being suddenly seized by the guards.

"What is this? What is going on? Why am I being dragged away?"

"Lord Amur was arrested for committing lewd conduct in my mansion. It's an unfortunate thing."

"What... My Lord is not someone who would do such a thing!"

The coachman was loyal to Lord Amur. He looked me straight in the face and insisted again that the lord was not that kind of person.

"There must be some kind of misunderstanding. My Lord would never..."

"That sounds as if you're saying the victim of molestation is at fault."

"What?"

"Older nobles often say things like that. It was a mistake. A misunderstanding. My hand just brushed against them. Yes. There certainly must have been a misunderstanding. However, if the other person felt shame, then it is undeniably indecent assault. Do you understand?"

There might be misunderstandings, but I've never personally touched the servants. To maintain the image of High Priest Lusius, I can't do that kind of act.

"What... No, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Escort him to the next room."

I had the coachman put in the next room and ordered the soldiers to watch him. As soon as I was a short distance away, the soldiers began to taunt the coachman.

"Your lord is really screwed. He touched the Lord's favorite woman."

"Combined with trying to touch the Lord's wife this time, he might actually be killed."

I went up to my room. Eve was stretching. Sometimes, when I visited her room, I could see her stretching like a random event. I said.

"Eve. I've got Lord Amur locked up in the dungeon."

"Lord Amur? That fucker?"

"Yeah."

"Can I go down there now?"

"But if you kill him this time, it'll get really complicated, so don't kill him. No, don't even hit him. Actually, just come down with me. If it looks like you're going to kill him, I'll just toss you aside. It'll be a pain if you lay a hand on him."

"Groom. You don't trust me?"

I didn't. Eve had a bit of a stake in the last trial case, after all. If Eve had just pummeled that son of what's-his-name Rubicon in the gut with her fists instead of stabbing him, it wouldn't have gone this far. I looked at Eve silently, conveying that feeling. Eve averted my gaze and said.

"No, well. Fine. Let's go together. I said, let's go together."

And so, Eve and I went to the dungeon. Lord Amur was already lost in despair. Eve frowned slightly at the sight of Lord Amur and said.

"Is this the bastard?"

"Hic..."

Lord Amur seemed to recognize Eve. It was only natural, as anyone interested in current affairs would have seen the wanted poster for the mermaid serial killer and rapist of Esta City at least once. He began to tremble in fear the moment he saw Eve. The lord cried out.

"Wh-What is this! What are you planning to do to me!"

I didn't particularly have any plans for Lord Amur right now. If he were a woman, I would have fucking fucked him, but this bastard was just a man with a rat-like mustache. However, Eve clearly showed signs of wanting to talk to Lord Amur.

"Hey, fucker. You know me."

"H-Hiiiik..."

Eve was the bitch who, just a short while ago, had stabbed the son of Grand Duke Rubicon in the gut for the sole reason that he had insulted her. Lord Amur, who must have heard about it, was showing just how terrified he was with his current expression. He trembled as he pressed his body against the farthest wall beyond the iron bars.

"St-Stop! Do you think you'll get away with doing this to me! I am a lord! A legitimate lord! There's no history of treating someone like this in any..."

"What am I doing? Fuck. What the hell do you mean, you bastard. What did I do to you? You beat the soldiers I sent like dogs."

"Hiiiiiik! I-I was wrong! I'm sorry!"

The lord fell to his knees and started begging again. Kneeling was better than dying. I asked.

"Lord Amur. Are you reflecting on your actions?"

"Yes! I am reflecting!"

"Then you're prepared to accept your punishment, right?"

"Wh-What kind of punishment are you talking about!"

"Those who commit indecent assault are sentenced to up to 60 days of forced labor. It's written in the territory law. I have no intention of making this a problem between territories, so let's settle with this."

"Th-That's not possible!"

"Why not?"

"If I'm away from my territory for 60 days... the restoration project underway in the territory... will come to a halt. Please, take pity on my domain folk..."

"You keep using your domain folk as hostages instead of reflecting on your actions."

"H-Hostages? Using my domain folk as hostages... That's absurd..."

"That's what you were thinking, isn't it? That no matter what sin you commit, from the perspective of a cleric, the domain folk of Amur Territory must not die, so High Priest Peta Lusius will forgive you. You came to apologize with such a complacent thought, didn't you?"

"No! I assure you that is not it!"

"Then why did you apologize publicly in front of my mansion, without any warning, before I set any conditions? What does that make me if I don't accept your apology or set conditions there?"

"That's..."

Lord Amur's eyes started darting around. There's no politician in the world who acts without reason. I said to Eve.

"This won't do. Eve. Let's just kill him cruelly. Your domain folk will be taken care of by your wife, who will act as the representative. You know we have more than enough justification to kill you, right?"

In any case, Amur Territory could never beat us in a territory war. If they have a problem, they should fight and win. I already won the trial by setting the condition 'I will not interfere in the conflict with Amur Territory,' so they can't even file a trial for this case.

Lord Amur knew this too, so my threat seemed to hit him more directly. Still, he seemed to think that a High Priest wouldn't openly kill a lord, but that was a very wrong prejudice.

Besides, it didn't seem like Lord Amur's wife was very good at domestic affairs. With her aide dead, if she were good at managing the territory, Lord Amur wouldn't be so anxious. In the first place, there weren't many noble's wives who were good at domestic affairs.

"N-No! Please, spare me! My Lord! My Lord!"

This is it. I had to set the conditions now, while he was mentally cornered. I grabbed Eve, who was actually trying to open the iron bar door and kill Lord Amur, and held her back, saying.

"How about this, then? If you just agree to a few conditions, I'll let this matter slide."

"Y-You mean, a few conditions?"

Lord Amur's eyes looked desperate. Eve, held back by my arm around her waist, had a slightly dissatisfied expression.

** **

And so, Lord Amur was released again just two hours after being locked in the underground prison. The coachman, who had been worrying about his lord the whole time, looked a little pale. The coachman's voice choked up as soon as he saw Lord Amur, and he said.

"My Lord! What in the world happened!"

"Well..."

"Silence. Then, coachman. You shall be a witness to the treaty we are about to make."

I didn't want to see a tedious melodrama. I wanted to wrap this incident up as quickly as possible.

"I didn't bring my seal, but..."

"It doesn't matter, since we'll be using blood for the thumbprint."

I took out the paper I had prepared in advance. Then I brought a thick box from the next room. Lord Amur read the contents of the contract and looked back at me, asking.

"Is this really all?"

- 1. Amur Territory will not send letters to Peta Territory requesting aid.

1-1. Peta Territory can help Amur Territory within the limits of the Archdeity Church's donation funds.

- 2. By following the above conditions, High Priest Peta Lusius will not ask for compensation from Lord Amur or Amur Territory regarding the Rubicon Condrix murder case.

"That's all."

Amur Territory was fucking poor right now anyway, so even if I demanded reward money, I'd just get blamed and gain nothing. It was enough to just sign a treaty.

Sign this, and I'll let you go. Otherwise, I'll kill you. It was a simple either-or choice. The terms of the contract were fucking simple and easy, and in a way, it was a decent contract for Amur Territory. After all, it only contained a single line telling them not to send aid letters.

If anything, it was a treaty where I gained nothing by killing Lord Amur.

"That... How do I make the thumbprint..."

"You'll use this."

I took my holy sword out of the box. The bright blue blade was glowing ominously. I had already called a witness from the Archdeity Church, and the lord's witness was the coachman. The lord recognized the sword and flinched. I lightly cut my own hand with the sword to draw blood and said.

"Yes. Lord Amur. It's that sword. The one that won the 'contest' against the Grand Duke Rubicon."

Then I brought the sword to the lord's finger. The lord pricked his own finger with the sword and made a blood thumbprint. How many minutes were left. I opened Lord Amur's status window.

* 51 minutes remaining until death by An Honorable Contest.

For reference, it takes 30 minutes for the poison to activate. After the poison's activation, the time until death varied slightly by individual. I kicked Lord Amur out of my mansion as quickly as possible.

So, what now? The answer will come if I wait.