The guard immediately straightened his posture after hearing Zeldryn's question.
“Y-Yes, Lord.”
He briefly glanced at Keltaz.
Then looked back at Zeldryn.
“M-My apologies, Lord... for insulting a noble, the offender can usually be sentenced to severe imprisonment, forced labor, or even life imprisonment.”
“...”
The guard swallowed before continuing.
“It depends on how severe the insult was.”
!!
Keltaz's body immediately tensed.
The anger that had filled his face moments ago slowly began to change.
Even his shoulders seemed to sink slightly.
But the guard wasn't finished.
“B-But...”
He seemed to choose his next words much more carefully.
“If someone goes as far as lying and claiming to be a blood relative of a noble...”
“...”
“That is far more serious.”
!!
Keltaz immediately looked at the guard.
Gerald's wife beside him also turned toward him.
“As far as I know...”
The guard took a small breath.
“Someone who does that can even be sentenced to hanging.”
“...”
!!!
Keltaz's face instantly went pale.
His eyes widened.
Even the anger that had still been visible on his face disappeared completely.
Gerald's wife beside him wasn't much different.
Her lips parted slightly.
The redness that had covered her face from anger slowly drained away.
Zeldryn watched the change in both of them.
His gaze moved from Keltaz...
Then to the woman.
‘Hmm.’
‘Makes sense, I guess.’
If he thought about it from the perspective of this world...
Simply insulting a noble was already considered a serious offense.
Claiming to be a blood relative of a noble was obviously even worse.
The identity of a noble family clearly wasn't something people could casually use however they pleased.
‘Still... hanging, huh?’
Zeldryn frowned slightly.
‘That's pretty inhumane.’
But after seeing what this world had been like over the past several days...
For some reason, he wasn't particularly surprised either.
‘Well... what can you do?’
‘The setting of this novel world is basically around the medieval era anyway.’
While Zeldryn was still thinking about that...
“Z-Zeldryn...”
Keltaz's voice suddenly reached him.
Zeldryn shifted his gaze.
Keltaz was now staring at him.
The anger from earlier was gone.
No more shouting.
No more cursing.
Even his voice had become much quieter.
“I-I was just joking earlier...”
“...”
“We can talk this through calmly, right?”
Zeldryn simply stared at him.
Before he could respond...
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Gerald's wife beside Keltaz immediately joined in.
“T-That's right.”
She quickly nodded.
“Let's just talk this through calmly, alright?”
“...”
“We were only carried away by our emotions earlier.”
Keltaz immediately followed up.
“Y-Yeah. That's right.”
“I didn't actually mean to insult you.”
“...”
Zeldryn remained silent where he stood.
The two people in front of him kept speaking one after another.
Trying to explain.
Begging.
Making excuses.
But Zeldryn didn't respond at all.
He simply stood there and watched them.
Meanwhile...
The guard who had answered his question was still waiting.
His body remained straight.
His gaze occasionally shifted toward Zeldryn, as though waiting for whatever decision he would make.
“...”
Zeldryn lowered his gaze slightly.
‘Hmm.’
‘Then... what punishment should I give them?’
Several options immediately appeared in his mind.
Forced labor.
Imprisonment.
Or even...
The death penalty.
But then...
Something Pertaz had said before they came to Lerta Village returned to his mind.
This is only a temporary measure.
A messenger had already been sent to the Main Residence.
“...”
Zeldryn's gaze changed slightly.
‘Wait.’
Thinking about it more carefully...
That statement was actually pretty clear.
Pertaz had never said that Zeldryn had full authority to settle this entire case however he wanted.
He had only been asked to handle the situation temporarily.
Until people from the Main Residence arrived.
‘And if Gerald really was embezzling money from the Mansion...’
This problem was obviously much more complicated than simply deciding how to punish his family.
They needed to find out how much money had disappeared.
How long the embezzlement had been going on.
Who else was involved.
Whether Gerald had been working alone.
And probably many other things that Zeldryn didn't even know about yet.
His gaze returned to Keltaz and the well-dressed woman.
‘In that case...’
‘The two of them might still be needed for the investigation.’
Which meant...
Zeldryn shouldn't be able to simply kill them right now.
At least...
If his reasoning was correct.
“...”
The corner of Zeldryn's mouth slowly rose.
‘Hmm.’
‘Might as well test it.’
Keltaz and the woman beside him were still talking.
“Zeldryn, please...”
“We can explain everything...”
“I didn't mean what I said earlier...”
“Y-Yes, just listen to us first...”
“...”
Zeldryn raised his head.
A small smile was still visible on his lips.
“You two are fucking noisy.”
!!
Both of them immediately fell silent.
As though someone had pressed a mute button on them at the exact same time.
Everyone's attention on the platform returned to Zeldryn.
Even the whispers from the villagers below grew quieter.
Zeldryn looked at Keltaz first.
Then at the woman beside him.
“The head of your family embezzled money from the Mansion.”
!!
Keltaz flinched slightly.
Zeldryn continued.
“Then his son pretended to be the brother of a noble child.”
“...”
Zeldryn's gaze shifted toward the well-dressed woman.
“And both of you even had the nerve to insult me, a noble.”
“...”
Zeldryn paused for a moment.
Keltaz's face grew even paler.
The woman beside him also began to look restless.
Then...
A faint smile appeared on Zeldryn's face again.
“So, of course...”
“...”
“Your punishment is hanging.”
!!!????
The entire platform seemed to freeze.
Several villagers below immediately widened their eyes.
Some instinctively covered their mouths.
Even the guard who had just explained the punishment looked shocked.
But naturally, the two people with the biggest reactions were Keltaz and his mother.
“N-NO!”
Keltaz immediately shouted.
“Y-You're joking, right, Zeldryn?!”
He frantically pulled against his shackles.
CLANK!
“Please! Forgive me!”
“...”
“I promise I won't insult you again!”
His voice began to tremble.
“I-I'll never pretend to be your brother again either!”
The well-dressed woman beside him immediately joined in.
“Y-Yes!”
She hurriedly looked at Zeldryn.
“L-Lord Zeldryn!”
!!
Zeldryn slightly raised an eyebrow.
‘Oh?’
The woman continued.
“Please forgive us, Lord Zeldryn!”
“...”
The corner of Zeldryn's mouth rose slightly.
‘So now you finally call me by my title?’
For some reason...
That only made him enjoy the situation even more.
Just a few minutes ago, they had called him however they pleased.
Zeldryn.
My dear Zeldryn.
They had even ordered him to punish the guards.
And now?
Lord Zeldryn.
‘That changed fast.’
But Zeldryn didn't drag it out.
He shifted his gaze toward the guard who had explained the punishment earlier.
The guard was still standing there somewhat stiffly.
Zeldryn raised one hand slightly toward him.
“Hey.”
!!
The guard flinched.
Zeldryn frowned.
“Didn't you hear me?”
“...”
“I said I want them hanged.”
!!??
The guard immediately looked confused.
His mouth opened slightly.
But not a single word came out.
He looked at Keltaz.
Then at the woman beside him.
Then back at Zeldryn.
“...”
His hand moved slightly.
As though he was about to do something...
But it stopped again.
Zeldryn watched him.
‘Hmm?’
Several seconds passed.
The guard finally did something different.
He turned his head.
Not toward the prisoners.
But toward Pertaz.
“...”
His gaze looked like that of someone silently asking for help.
!!
Pertaz, who had been standing not far from the platform this entire time, seemed to understand what the guard's look meant.
He began moving.
TAP.
One step.
TAP.
Another step.
TAP.
Pertaz walked toward the wooden platform.
Zeldryn immediately noticed.
He slowly turned his head, following Pertaz's movement.
“...”
‘Oh?’
‘What now?’
But only a few seconds later...
A possibility immediately came to mind.
‘Wait.’
Zeldryn's gaze changed slightly.
‘Don't tell me...’
‘This is exactly what I was thinking?’
Pertaz had already said that their handling of the situation in Lerta Village was only temporary.
A messenger was also on the way to the Main Residence.
If that was the case...
‘He's going to tell me I can't kill them because they're still needed for the investigation?’
“...”
A small smile nearly appeared on Zeldryn's face.
But he held it back.
He wanted to hear it directly.
Pertaz finally reached the platform.
He stopped.
Then lowered his head slightly toward Zeldryn.
“M-My apologies, Lord.”
“...”
Zeldryn simply stared at him.
Pertaz continued.
“I understand that you are angry because they insulted you.”
He briefly looked at Keltaz.
“And this young man even dared to claim that he was your brother.”
“...”
“B-But...”
Pertaz looked slightly hesitant.
“The Main Residence still needs them for the investigation, Lord.”
!!
Zeldryn's eyes changed slightly.
Pertaz continued.
“If they are executed now, we may lose information that is still needed.”
“...”
“So... at least until the investigation from the Main Residence is complete, I ask that you postpone their execution, Lord.”
Pertaz lowered his head a little further.
“If, after that, Lord still wishes to sentence them to death...”
“...”
“Lord may decide on that punishment once the investigation is complete.”
!!
The corner of Zeldryn's mouth finally rose.
‘Exactly.’
He had already suspected it.
That sentence had never been his final decision.
It wasn't because he had lost control.
Nor had he suddenly decided that he genuinely wanted to kill them right then and there.
He had only wanted to find out one thing.
Exactly how far did his authority extend in this matter?
And now...
He had his answer.
Zeldryn smiled slightly.
‘GOTCHA.’
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