Chapter 24

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: There Is No Mercy 24

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There was a small dining hall in the basement of the Brilloxen mansion.

It was a restaurant operated for the servants residing in the count's estate.

Any servant could use it for free.

Normally, it should have been filled with servants who had finished their work after dinner, but for the past few weeks, only knights had been coming and going.

"Kuhaha! Did you see those guys' faces earlier? What a sight!"

"That Gibson. He looks like a bandit leader, but every word out of his mouth is so embarrassingly corny. Today, he really showed his true colors, though."

"What did he say? He spewed some really filthy curses."

"Kekeke, he was so scared he practically pissed himself."

"I've already pissed myself, man."

Loud voices oblivious to their surroundings, exaggerated arm gestures.

Even speech so frivolous it was hard to believe they were knights.

The four knights seated in the center of the dining hall were harshly recounting what had happened that day.

One hand clutching alcohol, the other grabbing snacks or slapping fellow knights—actions unbelievable for knights.

"Still, Gibson's a stubborn one. Who would've thought he'd back down in that situation?"

"Yeah. If it were me, I'd have drawn my sword and started a brawl right there. What kind of messed-up head does that guy have?"

"What's the point of understanding guys like him? You know how knights from the boonies are—always the chatty ones coming up from the sticks."

The knights nodded as they tilted their glasses, glancing at Gilbert, who hadn't joined the conversation and was just sipping his drink.

They exchanged looks, puzzled by Gilbert, who hadn't said a word so far.

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"Nothing."

Gilbert replied curtly and emptied his glass.

One of the knights eyed the unusually taciturn vice captain with curiosity and probed again.

"What's going on? Did something happen?"

Even to the concerned knight's question, Gilbert remained silent.

The knights watched Gilbert as he stared at the table and sipped his drink wordlessly, but unable to read his mind, they fretted over the wrong things.

'...Damn it.'

Gilbert muttered curses to himself and drowned his gut with drink after drink, a slow voice echoing in his mind.

"What did you call me for?"

As soon as Gilbert entered the study, he got straight to the point about why he'd been summoned.

Sierra, who had been working at her desk, glanced at him as he came in and nodded toward the chair.

Gilbert furrowed his brow and took a seat at her silent gesture pointing to the chair.

Scritch-scratch.

In the quiet study, only the sound of Sierra's pen moving echoed.

Gilbert looked around the study before lowering his gaze to Sierra.

Her deep golden blonde hair, backlit by the window, shimmered like pure gold in the sunlight.

Gazing downward, her neat, long eyelashes were visible, and her skin was transparently pale.

Just as no one in high society didn't know Bellieta, few didn't know Sierra's name.

As Bellieta's fame rose, so did Sierra's notoriety.

Yet no one questioned Sierra's appearance despite her infamy.

Saying she resembled Bellieta meant, in reverse, that Sierra possessed beauty no less outstanding.

"What are you staring at so intently?"

Gilbert flinched reflexively at the voice that reached him while he gazed at Sierra, backlit by the sunlight, lost in thought.

Sierra was still focused on her documents, moving her pen.

Embarrassed at having been caught staring blankly, Gilbert cleared his throat awkwardly.

"You weren't saying anything, so I got bored waiting and was just seeing what you were doing."

"Are you saying you're dissatisfied with my attitude of calling a busy person here and then just working?"

"No, that's not it..."

"Well, you're not wrong."

Sierra cut off Gilbert, who was hurriedly shaking his head, and stood from her seat.

She circled the desk and sat opposite him.

"You must have your own duties as vice captain, so I'll keep this short without dragging it out."

Sierra placed a document she'd brought from the desk onto the table and slid it toward Gilbert.

Gilbert eyed the document pushed in front of him suspiciously before picking it up.

"I heard you've been appointed to the Brilloxen family and taken office as vice captain for two months now. It's a time that's long if long, short if short, but you've accomplished quite a lot in that period."

"This is..."

"What I felt reading the report was, 'Impressive.'"

Sierra rubbed the armrest of her chair and smirked faintly.

Gilbert's hand trembled as he read the document, his pupils shaking no less violently.

"Everyone has different levels of work ability, and there's an adaptation period, so I can't judge that. But even beyond that, there are many issues with your conduct."

"..."

"Not content with forming factions within the knight order, you even used them to start fights. It must have been hard to discipline you since you were appointed vice captain on Sir Obern's recommendation. You abused that power, and lately, even knights outside the factions have been getting injured during training."

"This is a misunderstanding. I mean..."

"Which part is the misunderstanding? Forming factions? Abusing power? Or injuring fellow knights with excessive actions during training? Which one?"

Gilbert bit his lip at Sierra's sharp question.

He rolled his eyes as if racking his brain for a way out, then slowly opened his mouth.

"It's true I formed factions. I won't deny that. But I didn't abuse power or injure other knights."

"I saw something today. You arguing with Sir Gibson over the training grounds. How do you explain that?"

"That was just a simple argument. The training grounds are small, and the number of people who can use them is limited. I just came up with a reasonable method everyone could understand and scheduled their use accordingly."

"So, Sir Gibson was unhappy with your method and got angry?"

"Yes."

Sierra stared piercingly at Gilbert, who answered with unwavering eyes.

Gilbert met her red eyes but somehow found her gaze burdensome and averted his own without realizing it.

As his head lowered, Sierra's voice followed.

"Then, it would be quicker to investigate the knights who used the training grounds on time for the past three days and check how many belong to the factions you created."

"I set the order based on skill. And yes, the faction knights are skilled, so they used it at those times. But calling this power abuse..."

"That is power abuse, Vice Captain Gilbert!"

Sierra scowled and shouted at Gilbert, who persisted with excuses to the end.

Her small frame emitted a heavy pressure in her voice, overwhelming Gilbert's.

She watched him flinch and stop speaking, then let out a small breath.

"Using the training grounds must be fair regardless of skill level—those with lower skill should even get more time allotted. Judging knights' skills is your discretion as vice captain, but discriminating against them is not within your authority."

"..."

"And I heard some very amusing things."

Sierra picked up the document she'd set aside and opened it.

Her eyes scanned from top to bottom as the pages rustled.

"Your conversations with the factions were a spectacle. No hesitation in injuring other knights during training or mocking their skills."

"That was...!"

"And you didn't hesitate to badmouth and insult the family you swore loyalty to, even."

Sierra's hand closed the document, cutting him off.

Her eyes narrowed unpleasantly, as if facing something distasteful.

"You even spoke vile things about me. When knights who value chain of command like their lives got furious, you suppressed them with your authority. Isn't that right?"

"No! How could I, a knight, say such things? This is slander. From knights who had grudges against me...!"

"It was confirmed by staff at the underground dining hall you frequent, and other knights said the same. Is this slander too?"

Gilbert, now pale as a ghost, bit his lips tightly.

Sierra gazed steadily at the stiffened Gilbert and sighed.

He seemed to have found an excuse, but the words circling his mouth scattered without forming sentences.

Sierra stared intently at Gilbert, who only looked at the table, then uncrossed her legs.

"You have a lot of debt. As an imperial knight, you got into gambling, racked up enormous debts, and were eventually dismissed. Sir Obern told me. Despite the disqualifying reasons, you swore to live diligently as a knight again. But where is that diligence in your current behavior?"

"..."

Sierra looked at the silent Gilbert and stood.

He still stared only at the floor.

Sierra tossed the documents from beside her chair in front of him.

"I'll give you a chance."

"...A chance?"

"People chased by debt always look for a way to strike back. If you truly needed money urgently, you wouldn't have done something this reckless. Since you didn't, there's only one thing to think: you were acting on someone's orders or instigation, using your position to infiltrate here. That's the only explanation."

Gilbert's gaze, fixed on the table, snapped up to Sierra.

Sierra nodded at the documents.

"Confess whose orders you were following to come here. Then, at least, it'll end with dismissal. But if you plan to keep your mouth shut to the end, you'll learn just how heavy the weight of deceiving the Brilloxen family and me for two months is. So, think it over carefully and write it down."

Sierra returned to her seat and picked up her pen again.

Gilbert, still rigid in his seat, couldn't tear his eyes from her.

Sierra checked the approval documents she'd been processing.

Scritch-scratch, the sound of the pen moving echoed.

"You may go."

Sierra's voice signaled the end of the conversation.