Chapter 37

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 37

Chapter Title: Severing the Traitor's Tongue

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After Hilia dragged Ludwig's servant into the guest waiting room.

Everyone outside was straining their ears toward the sounds coming from within.

If Annie, who had received Hilia's orders, hadn't been guarding the door so thoroughly, someone surely would have tried to peek.

A common question lingered in everyone's eyes. Even Annie's.

'Will Hilia really cut out Ludwig's servant's tongue?'

That was when.

As if mocking their doubts, a bone-chilling scream soon echoed from the room.

"Gaaahhh!!!"

Those who had been listening flinched in unison.

And it wasn't just once.

Several wretched screams followed—sounds so horrific that anyone could tell something gruesome was happening.

Finally, the waiting room door opened, and Hilia stepped out, her face pale.

She still looked like a fairy with her tiny features.

She didn't appear to be the cruel person who had just ordered a tongue severed.

But when they saw the servant that a mercenary dragged out behind her, no one dared entertain such thoughts.

The servant's face was frozen in abject terror, a blood-soaked cloth stuffed in his mouth.

His face was a mess of blood from what looked like a beaten nose, and his entire body trembled like an aspen leaf.

Hilia issued a cold command to one of the mercenaries.

"Don't let him die. Take him to the doctor."

It was so chilling that even a battle-hardened mercenary flinched.

After the servant was dragged away, shaking violently.

Hilia gazed at the employees kneeling on the floor with a blank expression.

"If anyone else wants to insult me or disobey my orders, speak up now."

No one dared raise their head.

Their fear was plain to see.

Hilia let out a small sigh, then gave Gerald further instructions.

"You brought people from the mercenary corps who handle paperwork and know how to read and write, right?"

"Yes, Mistress."

Hilia furrowed her brow.

That 'Mistress' sounded just like the sarcasm Arpad had grown fond of.

But now wasn't the time to quibble over such things.

'I have to finish cleaning up the mansion by tonight.'

She was already swamped with preparations for the Artanus Hall banquet.

She couldn't afford to waste time.

'Besides, this incident is bound to become gossip. The quicker and more decisively I wrap it up, the better my reputation will be.'

Cleaning house in a few days would earn plenty of praise.

But that wasn't enough to satisfy her.

'I need to tidy up the ducal house even faster and root out Ludwig and Evangeline's remnants.'

Only then would her hands-on approach at this critical juncture pay off.

Having just delivered a powerful crack of the whip, Hilia flashed a radiant smile and dangled a sweet carrot before the employees.

"Submit statements to the mercenaries. Those who give me useful information might receive leniency."

"…!"

Everyone looked up in shock. Then they began eyeing one another with suspicion.

It was exactly as Hilia had calculated and hoped.

A few hours later.

It was nearly dawn.

Once the two of us were alone in the Delphin ducal residence's office, I let out a long sigh.

And before Arpad could speak, I beat him to it.

"Go on, laugh your heart out."

His response was surprisingly unexpected.

"Why would I laugh at you?"

I shrugged.

"Isn't it obvious? My own household's a disaster because I couldn't keep it in check. Of course you'd laugh."

Surprisingly, Arpad didn't mock me at all.

With the door locked, he removed his disguise, revealing his true face.

His hair, dyed black by magic, reverted to its brilliant golden hue, and his ordinary brown eyes shifted to a striking red. It was mesmerizing.

Back to his infuriatingly handsome self, Arpad said something unforeseen.

"I'm not laughing."

I was a little taken aback.

I'd been sure he would.

It felt embarrassing to have preemptively put myself down.

And... just a tiny bit, my mood lifted.

"That's unexpected. Anyway, I already gave you one chance. No laughing or snide remarks about this—it's off-limits now."

Grumbling, I reviewed the stack of statements detailing the Delphin residence's internal corruption.

These were all officially documented by the mercenary corps personnel at my direction.

Ready to submit to the imperial palace at any moment.

Each bore the mercenary corps' certification, along with the signers' signatures and fingerprints.

And naturally, this mountain of statements was irrefutable proof of how badly I'd mismanaged the Delphin family.

I hadn't preemptively said something self-deprecating in front of Arpad for nothing.

'It was a setup where anyone not skimming or stealing was the fool!'

I couldn't help feeling pathetic about my former self.

But I chose to think positively.

By cross-referencing these with my memories from my past life, I could excise every rotten part of the Delphin residence.

'Right. To save a patient, you squeeze out the pus and cut away the dead flesh!'

This was surgery time.

As I fervently cross-checked the litany of briberies in the statements.

Tap. A white, slender finger landed on the documents.

"Huh?"

Looking up in confusion, I saw Arpad leaning over the office desk where I sat.

His shadow draped over my upper body.

Arpad's red eyes gleamed.

"What's wrong?"

"There's one thing I want to ask."

"What? Oh, but I already said—no laughing or sarcasm about this. You missed your chance."

"I won't."

He clicked his tongue lowly, then posed the real question.

"That magic tool you used on Ludwig's servant earlier. Can it really cast a curse?"

Ah, so that's what he was truly curious about.

I recalled the incident from moments ago, known only to the servant, me, and Arpad.

I activated the magic tool right on the servant's tongue. A sinister red light blazed dazzlingly, and he screamed as if his tongue were being sliced off that instant.

"Gaaaaahhh!!!"

It was so loud, my eardrums felt like they might burst.

But his tongue wasn't severed.

So I grabbed the shoulders of the man screaming like he was dying and shook him.

"It didn't cut. It didn't cut."

"Aaak! Aaaaak!! Gaaahhh!!!"

My ears ringing as if they might bleed, I whispered threateningly.

"Scream louder. I'll really cut it this time."

"...!"

The servant clamped his mouth shut, eyes darting wildly. Then, belatedly, he realized.

That the magic tool hadn't actually cut his tongue.

As relief mingled with doubt on his face, I threatened him in a low voice.

"I didn't cut your tongue just now. But what I used is a treasured heirloom passed down through generations of the Delphin ducal family."

The servant's eyes quivered uneasily.

I added with a bright, innocent smile.

"With this magic tool, I've cursed your tongue."

His eyes began shaking like there was an earthquake.

That threat sealed the servant's lips tight.

"If you breathe a word about what happened here, your tongue gets cut off immediately."

Terrified, tears streaming down his face, he nodded frantically.

"When you leave, I'll send you to the Black Mercenary Corps under the guise of treatment. There, write down everything you know about how Ludwig siphoned off the Delphin ducal family's assets."

"…!"

Yes. That was one reason I'd gone to such lengths.

The servant, as Ludwig's key confidant, knew the corruption inside out.

"If you refuse, that's fine. Just lose your tongue—that's all. I won't kill you, so no worries."

At my words, he merely nodded endlessly, tears pouring.

'Good—one piece of evidence secured!'

Thanks to that, the servant's statement from the Black Mercenary Corps now sat before me.