Chapter 12
“W-What…?!”
Before he could even try to explain himself, the bandits walked over to the wagons and gestured with their chins for the drivers to get down.
Three of the four wagons the Merchants’ Association had brought were seized.
“I told you, didn’t I? We’re not bad people.”
“What kind of bandits leave one wagon behind?”
Despite such ridiculous words, the merchants couldn’t argue back.
If they did, they would either lose the remaining wagon as well, or worse, blood would be spilled right then and there.
The bandits disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared.
Their wagon-driving skills were first-rate.
“W-What do we do?!”
“We can’t do anything with just one wagon left!”
“I even borrowed money for this purchasing trip!”
The merchants grabbed hold of Baker and burst into tears.
They were incredibly fortunate to have survived.
But if they returned like this, they would be buried in debt.
Baker was just as lost as everyone else.
But if he couldn’t somehow resolve this situation, he felt certain that all the blame would fall upon him.
“L-Let’s go to the Baron!”
“This crime happened within the territory, so it’s the lord’s responsibility to deal with it!”
“That’s right!”
“It’s the lord’s responsibility!”
“Let’s go to the baron’s estate!”
Dragging along their one remaining wagon, they entered Tessis.
Without even unloading their cargo, they headed straight for the baron’s estate.
☆☆☆
“My Baron.”
“The people from the Merchants’ Association urgently request an audience.”
“I don’t think they’ll leave easily.”
Hearing Glen’s report, I smiled faintly.
‘I knew they’d come straight here.’
Naturally.
After losing the goods they had so ambitiously purchased, they were probably beside themselves by now.
“Are the people I brought ready?”
“Yes.”
“They’ve changed their clothes and are waiting.”
“Good.”
“Now let’s recover the money they lost—with interest.”
I had two of the mercenaries I had brought from the capital dressed up as my personal guards before heading down to the lobby, where the Merchants’ Association was waiting.
Just looking at their travel-worn appearance and anxious expressions made it obvious how desperate they were.
They had been talking noisily among themselves.
The moment I appeared with my guards, however, they fell silent with startled expressions.
“It’s been a while, Baker.”
“I hope you have a good reason for storming in here with so many people.”
“I’d rather not punish familiar residents of my territory as rioters.”
“R-Rioters?!”
“What are you talking about?”
“We came to ask for your protection, my lord!”
“Protection?”
“Did something happen?”
With a face that looked ready to burst into tears at any moment, he explained what had happened to them.
He said bandits had appeared in Grasico Forest and taken three of the caravan’s wagons.
He begged me to step in and resolve the matter.
Tilting my head, I looked at him as though I couldn’t understand.
“What are you talking about?”
“Bandits appeared?”
“It’s true!”
“A group of men dressed in black with their faces covered…”
“No, no.”
“What I mean is…”
“Weren’t bandits appearing all along?”
“I’ve been giving you subsidies for the militia to stop them this whole time.”
“W-Well… that’s…”
I frowned deeply and glared at him.
“You all are acting as though this is the first time you’ve ever encountered bandits.”
“T-That’s not it!”
“The bandits we encountered this time were on an entirely different level from the ones we’ve driven off before!”
“So you’re saying a new bandit gang has appeared?”
“Exactly!”
“That’s exactly it!”
So they refused to admit their wrongdoing until the very end.
Well, it didn’t matter.
I had expected as much.
It simply meant they had thrown away the chance I had given them to come clean.
“Even so, one thing is certain.”
“You’ve been wasting my money.”
“Wasting it?”
“We did our absolute best to organize the militia according to your orders, my Baron!”
“Then why doesn’t a single one of you have so much as a scratch?”
“When you encountered the bandits, didn’t you fight to protect what was yours?”
“Did any of you even draw your swords?”
At those words, Baker’s mouth snapped shut like a clam.
‘A militia? You people never even intended to fight.’
Even the mercenaries assigned to play the role of bandits had suspected there were no real bandits in the forest, and therefore probably no actual militia either.
Still, they had been somewhat concerned, assuming there would at least be armed escorts.
After all, subduing people charging at you with swords without injuring them wasn’t an easy task.
Fortunately for the mercenaries, however, not only the merchants but even those who appeared to be their escorts had been too terrified to move.
Well, that certainly made my job easier.
“I’m displeased with you.”
“But I’ll postpone investigating your actions until after we’ve dealt with the bandits.”
“Whether I like you or not, protecting the people of my territory is the duty of a lord.”
“Glen!”
“Yes, my Baron.”
“Prepare the mercenaries I brought.”
“At once.”
Glen immediately moved according to the plan we had arranged beforehand.
Meanwhile, the members of the Merchants’ Association, who had been deceiving the baron’s family all this time, could only stare at one another with deathly pale faces.
☆☆☆
The mercenaries quickly entered Grasico Forest.
After waiting for a while, the sounds of clashing swords and shouting began echoing from deep within the forest.
The merchants and townspeople standing behind me stiffened and huddled together.
Meanwhile, I simply folded my arms and silently stared into the darkening forest.
‘An hour should be enough.’
There was absolutely nothing to be nervous about.
After all, the whole thing was nothing more than a staged performance.
Still, it was essential for me to present myself as a dignified lord.
“My Baron.”
“The bandits might come this way.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if you remained inside the castle?”
“So you want me to send the people of my territory into danger while I wait safely inside?”
“Glen, are you trying to make me into some worthless noble who knows nothing of responsibility or duty?”
“My apologies.”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
This exchange had also been scripted with Glen in advance.
Even so, the people standing nearby looked at me in complete astonishment.
The Rosalyn Tessis they knew was notorious for dismissing maids simply because they were prettier than she was.
It was only natural that they would be shocked.
There might still be people who doubted me.
I should add one more line.
“I’m no longer the Rosalyn Tessis I used to be.”
“I promised my late father that I would become a worthy successor.”
“And that’s a promise I intend to keep.”
At those words, Glen looked at me with moved eyes once again.
Well, he had certainly suffered more than anyone.
Just as I was pretending to look impressive and setting the mood, the mercenaries emerged from the forest.
They were dragging along the mercenaries who had played the bandits, now tied up.
“A few of them managed to escape, but we captured most of them alive, my lord!”
“Well done.”
“Load them onto that wagon and head straight to Valkein.”
“Hand them over to the police.”
“They’ll take care of the rest.”
“Understood!”
Before either the merchants or the townspeople could insist on getting a closer look at the prisoners’ faces, they quickly left Tessis.
That, too, had been part of the plan.
The few who remained brought back the merchants’ three hidden wagons.
“It appears the bandits hadn’t disposed of any of the goods yet.”
“There are no signs that the ropes securing the cargo were ever untied.”
Hearing that, the merchants rushed forward to inspect the wagons.
They jumped up and down with joy.
“Thank you, Miss!”
“Thank you so much!”
“She’s not ‘Miss’ anymore!”
“She’s our lord!”
“Long live our lord!”
“Long live our lord!”
Yes.
That was exactly the reaction I wanted.
People would no longer question that I was somehow different from the Rosalyn of the past.
Because that was no longer what mattered.
The truth was, they didn’t care who became their lord.
What mattered to them was only one thing.
How much the new lord improved their lives.
And since I had proven far more capable than the incompetent lord before me, even if they someday learned I was an impostor, they would keep their mouths shut.
“Good.”
“Now we’re returning to the estate.”
“The executives of the Merchants’ Association, including Baker, will come with us.”
“We still have something to discuss, don’t we?”
The excitement vanished from their faces the moment I gave that order.
Led by Chairman Baker, the vice chairman, the secretary, and several others beneath them, they followed me back to the baron’s estate with tense expressions.
I had them wait outside the reception room.
Then I called them in one at a time.
Starting with the lowest-ranking member, I made sure no one who entered was allowed to leave again.
That way, the next person had no way of knowing what the previous one had said.
In the end, each of them had no choice but to tell the truth.
The last to enter was Baker.
Every time one of his companions disappeared into the room, his insides must have burned with anxiety.
“You’re the last one.”
“Well then, Baker Mill.”
“Yes, my Baron.”
“W-We deeply apologize for failing to stop the bandits with our militia…”
“Enough.”
“I’m getting tired of hearing the same thing over and over.”
“So I’ll ask you directly.”
Without even uncrossing my legs, I looked at him indifferently and asked,
“Were there ever any bandits in Grasico Forest?”
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