Episode 34

“Alright.”

“Maybe you have that kind of taste—”

Leonel mercilessly shook the reins and increased the speed, causing my grip to involuntarily tighten. We rode for quite some time, and when the horse finally stopped, I was beginning to feel worried.

“Is your neck okay?”

I asked with the hope that it wasn’t too bad, but Leonel seemed perfectly fine. He chuckled lightly and halted the horse. Then, he dismounted and reached out to me.

I grabbed his hand with my waist and closed my eyes tightly as I jumped down. When my feet touched the ground, I let out a sigh of relief.

At the same time, Leonel, in a tone that was not at all admiring, remarked.

“You’ve become quite brave.”

“Don’t tease me, please.”

He chuckled and walked into the castle. As Leonel entered the reception room, a butler brought tea. I stood awkwardly, but Leonel gestured for me to take a seat.

“Sit down.”

I sat down hesitantly, glancing towards the hallway.

“Aren’t we going to carry out the punishment right away?”

“Follow the procedure. Levance will conduct the initial investigation.”

“I-investigation?”

Various torture methods I had only heard rumors about flashed through my mind. Instead of sipping the tea, I sat there stiffly, and Leonel chuckled softly.

“It’s clear what you’re thinking. We don’t engage in torture.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Hmm…”

Leonel let out a strange sigh and crossed his legs, then remained silent, focusing on his tea.

What’s going on? Why is he keeping me in suspense?

Is it true that they don’t torture people? Maybe they do torture but are just saying they don’t?

I looked at him with a skeptical expression, but the butler knocked on the door.

“Your Grace, everything is prepared.”

Leonel stood up, gesturing for me to follow, and walked ahead. When he opened the door connecting to the hallway, we saw the man who had kneeled earlier.

He didn’t look well, but there were no signs of injury.

‘That’s a relief.’

I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by Leonel’s silence. I looked at Mr. Carlson, trying to convey through a smile that he shouldn’t worry, but he avoided my gaze.

‘Why is he acting like that?’

I blinked and then turned my head. To Leonel’s left, Levance and Arette were standing side by side. I tried to read their expressions, but I couldn’t discern anything.

Arette remained as statuesque as ever, and Levance had an easygoing smile on his face. Should I ask them something? I needed to know the details of the situation to defend myself.

Would it be wise to sneak over to their side, behind the chairs? But before I could move, Leonel spoke up.

“Have you been told why you broke the law?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Leonel gestured for him to continue.

“I attempted to hold a small welcoming party.”

“For whom?”

“For the estate manager, Nelly Pepper.”

Levance’s response drew Leonel’s gaze back to me. It seemed as though he was asking if I knew about it. But before he could nod in my direction, the gentleman shouted.

“The manager was unaware of it! We have received so much from her, and we wanted to express our gratitude by, well, secretly offering our thanks. However, we were afraid of being caught if we used the communal oven…”

Leonel’s attention returned to the gentleman.

“Do you not understand why baking meat in private ovens is prohibited?”

The reason was to prevent the scent of cooking meat from attracting hungry predators, especially as wolves had been appearing frequently in the past few months. Leonel had issued warnings to the residents about the wolves, and this had been posted in the square for several months now. The gentleman must have known about it.

“It was months ago, so I thought it would be fine…….”

“Hmm…”

Leonel crossed his legs and leaned on the armrest, continuing to scrutinize the gentleman. He kept his gaze fixed on him for quite some time.

“I heard someone got hurt.”

“Ah, yes. Dylan, from next door… He got hurt a bit… He’s injured.”

My mouth felt dry. It was supposed to be a surprise party for me, but things had gone wrong. I couldn’t just ignore it.

I fidgeted with my fingers, not knowing what to do next. Leonel turned to Levance and asked a question.

“Since he broke the law and put a neighbor in danger, what kind of punishment should he receive?”

Levance opened a legal book he had on his arm and began to flip through the pages.

“According to the law, his wrist should be cut.”

The gentleman seemed to have anticipated this, as he closed his eyes as if bracing himself. It was a common punishment, so much so that even war veterans were sometimes mistaken for criminals, which made carrying documents to prove otherwise a common practice. However, it was by no means a light punishment. Especially for someone of the gentleman’s age, it could be a matter of life or death.

Levance looked at my contemplative expression and added.

“Alternatively, the punishment can be substituted with a fine.”

This time, the gentleman’s face became contemplative. Substituting the punishment with a fine meant bearing astronomical costs.

“I’d rather have my wrist…”

“Wait a moment!”

I stepped in front of Mr. Carlson.

Leonel gave me a look that asked me to defend myself. 

“Others were involved in preparing the party; it wouldn’t be fair for him to bear the punishment alone.”

“Are you suggesting we should cut the wrists of all the accomplices?” 

“No, not at all! I mean, impose a fine instead, but split the amount among those involved.”

I felt a tug at the hem of my skirt and turned to see Mr. Carlson shaking his head.

Observing this, Leonel straightened his posture. 

“It seems that Mr. Carlson doesn’t want it.”

“Or perhaps you could at least drop the charge of injuring a neighbor.”

Leonel seemed willing to hear me out for once. 

“Strictly speaking, the one who injured the person was the wolf, not Mr. Carlson.”

“However, he called the wolf.”

“As I mentioned, he didn’t do this alone. And it’s a bit peculiar. Normally, wild animals flee when they see humans, rather than attacking. Besides, it was described as a very minor injury.”

“And so?”

“It means that Dylan’s injury could have been caused by his negligence.”

If that were the case, Mr. Carlson’s charges would be reduced by one.

“How about hearing the details from Dylan?” 

I cautiously suggested. Leonel nodded in agreement. 

“Bring him here.”

At his command, Arette nodded briefly and left the room.

The hall fell into silence. Mr. Carlson continued to tremble, rubbing his wrist incessantly.

I studied Leonel’s expression, which didn’t seem particularly disturbed.

“Moreover, cutting the wrist is too cruel. Many people die from uncontrollable bleeding in such cases. In that case, what’s the difference between that and the death penalty?”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Leonel’s lips. Was he laughing now?

However, before getting a closer look, I turned my body to the hand that had grabbed my skirt hem.

“Please, don’t do this because of me, Manager. What if they get angry?”

“You don’t need to worry since you’re not the one who’s angry.”

Nevertheless, Mr. Carlson seemed anxious and kept glancing at Leonel.

During this, the door to the hall opened. Dylan followed Arette inside. He removed his hat and bowed to Leonel.

After Arette returned to his seat, Leonel commanded.

“You’ve probably heard what’s been said. Explain.”

“It’s my fault, indeed. Others were trying to drive it away, but I stopped them, and the wolf probably tried to escape through the door.”

Dylan explained the situation, trembling as he spoke.

After listening to the story, Leonel dismissed Dylan and took a moment to think. Then, he gestured to Arette.

“Lock him up in the prison, and don’t give him a drop of water. Release him after two days.”

Imprisonment was a punishment typically imposed on high-ranking individuals or prisoners. Of course, withholding food was different, but still, it was a surprisingly lenient punishment.

“Your Grace, thank you! Thank you so much!” 

Mr. Carlson shouted as he was escorted away by Arette.

Leonel, with his expressionless face, sat there until the hall quieted down, and then he looked at me.

“Tell them to set the donkeys loose near where the wolf appeared.”

“A donkey?”

Leonel nodded.

For a moment, Guadang’s face flashed through my mind.

“Is a donkey not at risk?”

“It’s not dangerous.”

No matter how I thought about it, it seemed like the donkey would become a wolf’s breakfast, whether it was morning, noon, or evening. Thinking of Guadang, I couldn’t bring myself to answer that it would be fine. 

I remained silent, and then Levance approached me and explained instead of Leonel.

“Donkeys are quite formidable animals. They’re more fearless than horses, cautious, and, above all, they won’t easily run away.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Donkeys raised in grazing areas are all there to protect against wolves in the first place.”

I had thought they were just cute, but it seemed our Guadang was strong. No wonder he seemed so relaxed. He had good stamina, too.

Unexpectedly, wolves had attacked humans, but instead of ordering them to be killed, this was a surprising turn of events.

I gazed at Leonel with a fresh perspective, and he raised his left eyebrow slightly.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just, it’s surprising that you didn’t order them to hunt the wolves.”

Leonel snorted and got up from his seat.

“If I liked that, I should have stayed on the battlefield.”

His self-deprecating tone made me feel strangely heavy-hearted. I felt like I had touched on a sensitive topic.

I remained silent, biting my lip, and then Levance lightly placed his hand on my shoulder, as if to reassure me, before following Leonel.

“What will happen to the others?”

It must be about the punishment for the villagers I mentioned earlier. What should I do? Should I ask him to spare them? They won’t be locked up, will they? Maybe this time, they really will have their wrists cut.

I could feel the blood rising in my face. Suddenly, Leonel stopped and turned his body. Our eyes met briefly in the air. He glanced at me for a moment and then turned away.

“Just finish it by managing the donkeys that have been released in the forest. It might be hard for the rancher to come down.”

“Understood.”

The two of them left the hall as they were.