Chapter 331
Chapter 331: I Have So Many Questions. (3)
Manus continued speaking without noticing Amelia’s expression.
“Yes, the Forest of Monsters is a place shrouded in secrecy. Though it’s just the entrance, I’ve been to where the Runestone was located. I want a fair price.”
“Aha….”
Amelia still smiled coolly as she nodded.
It’s not exactly wrong. Even for trivial information, one should pay a fair price. That’s the dignity of a noble.
“Fine, how much do you want?”
“I want 2,000 gold.”
At that, the expressions of the people in the hall turned grim. 2,000 gold is an amount that could change a commoner’s fortune.
Seeing him audaciously demanding an excessive fee under the pretext of information, rage welled up inside me.
But no one stepped forward. In front of Amelia, they couldn’t carelessly act on their emotions.
Meow!
Only Bastet could freely show her displeasure.
Amelia smiled sweetly and said, “That’s too expensive for an information fee.”
“This is information you can’t get anywhere else. I think it has that much value.”
Manus wasn’t being reckless without thought. He believed he would be safe.
‘Here, the Lord is said to be kind-hearted, right? He wouldn’t kill people carelessly. I can negotiate and lower the price a bit.’
Even for a lord, it’s hard to kill territory residents without justification. Once labeled a tyrant, the residents would never trust the lord, and if the deceased belonged to another territory, it could become a justification for territorial disputes.
That’s why everyone was concerned about their reputation with duties and dignity.
‘Moreover, I was suddenly captured from a tavern. Since many people saw it, they likely can’t act on it immediately. If the atmosphere seems off, I’ll make my escape.’
Even if the lord lets it slide, sometimes foolish followers create trouble. Occasionally, they wrongfully punish others for amusement.
I trust that Amelia isn’t that kind of person, but cautious Manus considered every possible scenario.
‘For now, I’ll quote high and then negotiate down. I don’t intend to take the entire 2,000 gold, so don’t worry, my lord. Hehe…’
This was a trade method ingrained from his mercenary days. In any case, the desperate one has to concede.
Indeed, Amelia responded to Manus’s bargaining.
“2,000 gold is excessive. However, since I’m quite curious about the information, I’ll give you 200 gold. Wouldn’t that be sufficient?”
“Hmm… Could you do it for 1,500 gold? This information is truly valuable enough to surprise you.”
The expressions of the retainers in the hall grew even more severe. Even 200 gold is a staggering amount, and this lowly fellow kept being greedy.
However, Manus wasn’t too intimidated by that atmosphere. Such negotiations with nobles were common during his mercenary days.
No matter how much the retainers showed their displeasure, they weren’t the ones negotiating with Manus. There was no reason to fear bargaining with a kind lord known for his fairness.
Amelia, slightly furrowing her lovely brow, quietly asked Bernap beside her, “Where did you bring him from?”
“I brought him from the tavern.”
She nodded several times before saying to Manus, “1,500 gold is still too much. I’m curious about the information, but that’s still difficult. Please leave for now.”
“Wha-? My lord? This is really information that will surprise you.”
As Manus spoke in slight astonishment, Amelia shook her head.
“Still too expensive. I can’t use the important funds of the territory just to satisfy my curiosity.”
‘Tch, she really is thrifty, only spending money for the residents’ sake. It can’t be helped then.’
“Then how about 1,000 gold?”
“That’s still too much. Even 200 gold is already pushing it.”
“Then I’ll give you 500 gold!”
Even 500 gold is an extraordinary amount. Still, if that doesn’t work, I really was thinking of leaving this territory even if it meant just taking 200 gold.
Amelia pondered for a moment and said, “I’ll think about that. For now, step back. Bernap, give this man enough money to eat well today. Since we’ve taken his time, he should be compensated.”
“Understood.”
As Bernap nodded, a servant approached Manus and handed him a gold coin.
Receiving the gold coin, Manus grinned maliciously.
‘Hehe, seeing her hesitation means I can push a bit more. She’s quite clumsy in the give-and-take.’
With years of bargaining experience, Manus could tell there was still interest from her.
She seemed inexperienced, hesitating to negotiate properly—this was clearly something she hadn’t done much before.
‘Well, how could a young lady, raised delicately reading books, handle this? She doesn’t want to give up any money but still wants the information. That must be a headache. Hehe.’
Laughing to himself at Amelia’s expense, Manus decided to retreat for now. The gold coin in his hand looked especially beautiful today.
“Wow, I can’t believe I’d receive money just for being called. Truly a gentle lord. She’ll get betrayed from all sides sooner or later. Tsk tsk.”
As he clicked his tongue in mock concern for Amelia, Manus began to celebrate.
He happily drank, treating himself with his own money for the first time in a while. He had almost spent all his earnings recently, so he hadn’t had a decent meal or drink.
“Ah, this is good. Sigh, I shouldn’t have run away back then.”
As he got drunk, memories of the past resurfaced. At that time, he was in a desperate situation, unable to return to the Jimbar Mercenary Guild.
Unless Giselle had died, he heard he was still alive from rumors.
So he wandered around other territories, doing odd jobs to pass the time. But as time passed, the stories he heard became grander.
“That bratty prince is now a count and the strongest in the North? Crazy Mad Hounds have become knights? Ha, ridiculous… even that pissy Gordon is now a knight and learning the Mana Circulation Method…”
The more he thought about it, the more it churned his stomach. How many times had he hoped that bratty noble would die during the wars? He wanted all the knights following him to fail too.
But instead of failing, everyone seemed to be thriving. Giselle had become the most renowned lord in the North, and the Knights of Penris were gaining great fame.
“Ugh, damn it. If I had been part of that, I could have learned the Mana Circulation Method and become a knight too. I would’ve done much better if I’d had that opportunity.”
He knew nothing of how hard they had worked. He was merely envious and resentful of the outcome.
As he cursed Giselle while drunk, Manus staggered back to his lodging.
It may be a shabby inn, but having stayed there quite a while, it now felt comfortable.
Lying on the crumbling bed, Manus closed his eyes and murmured.
“If I get some cash from this lord, I’ll have to go somewhere else to trade. Just watch—I’ll succeed big time and make that brat noble squirm…”
With that, Manus drifted off to sleep but was soon awakened by a strange feeling.
Still slightly drunk, his vision was blurry. In the dim space, a woman was smiling enchantingly at him.
“Awake now? Are you back to your senses?”
“Uh… my lord?”
The beautiful woman in front of him was Amelia. As Manus wore a bewildered expression, he quickly shifted to a smirking grin.
“Hehehe… If you miss a man, you can call for him separately, but you came all the way to this shabby place yourself…”
Manus, completely misinterpreting the situation, made a crude remark and tried to approach Amelia.
Clank.
But something bound his hands. Confused, he blinked and turned his head.
“Huh?”
The chains binding his hands were connected to the wall. Shocked, he looked around.
A dimly lit room with only a few candles—a place that wasn’t his lodging. The atmosphere was eerily reminiscent of a dungeon.
Only then did he come to his senses.
“Th-this is…”
As he gathered his thoughts, an unpleasant odor assaulted his nose. Being a former mercenary, he quickly recognized it as the smell of iron and blood.
“Ugh, Aaaah!”
Clank! Clank!
He struggled, but the restraints held him tightly.
Pitter patter.
Someone approached Amelia and bowed. A man who looked very intimidating unfolded various tools in front of Manus.
Manus now realized where he was. This was the torture chamber.
It must be a hidden place in the castle’s basement.
“L-lord! Why are you doing this!”
Manus cried out, but Amelia remained silent.
‘B-but they said the lord was kind? She really seemed to be…’
Which lord would use their private funds for the territory’s citizens? After months of observation, Amelia certainly appeared to be that type.
Based on what he had seen, the residents were fiercely loyal. Gaining that kind of reputation couldn’t be done by just playing nice a few times.
You must work sincerely for a long time for the territory’s benefit. Indeed, Amelia did just that.
But to think she could do such things without a second thought!
As Manus trembled, Amelia glanced at the torturer and said, “I have so many questions. I’m the type who cannot tolerate curiosity.”
The torturer bowed his head and replied confidently, “I’ll remember what you had for dinner ten years ago.”
“Don’t let a plea for mercy come out.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
As the torturer looked tense, Amelia smiled again.
“Please make me say I want to die.”
“…Understood.”
To do that, careful torture would be required. The torturer meticulously checked his tools with artisan-like diligence.
Seeing that, Manus felt his mind reeling.
Amelia sat a bit farther away and began to sip her tea.
Had Manus not been so greedy, this wouldn’t have escalated so far. He could have received the amount he wanted and obtained information smoothly.
But he dared to quote an outrageous price, trying to cheat her with his negotiation.
‘What a fool.’
She could have taken back the money after acquiring the information. But Amelia instantly recognized Manus for what he was.
Someone like him would wield the information as a weapon and would clearly not provide accurate answers. He would drag things out, using that to extract every last bit he could.
In that case, moving quickly was better. She didn’t enjoy wasting time unnecessarily.
Swish.
A curtain was drawn in front of the torture chamber. If needed, she could witness cruel scenes at will, but there was no reason to see unnecessary brutality.
“AAAHHH!”
Manus’s screams echoed in the dungeon. Amelia closed her eyes and sipped her tea, relishing the sound as if it were music.
*
The torture didn’t last long. Manus, lacking mental fortitude, spilled every piece of information he knew and even uttered requests to be put to death.
Truly, it was such a brutal torture that his pleas changed from a desire to live to wanting to die.
With every word Manus spoke, Amelia’s expression mixed with shock and disbelief. No matter how many times she confirmed, his statements remained unchanged.
Upon returning to her office, Amelia paced back and forth several times, lost in thought.
“Impossible… Did he really know everything in advance and even prepare for this?”
The Forest of Monsters was an area everyone had long given up on exploring. Therefore, there was no information. Yet Giselle had allegedly acted as if he had been there.
Aside from the last encounter with the Blood Python, he supposedly knew how to fight any monster he might encounter.
“He knew the habits and weaknesses of unknown monsters that people weren’t even aware of? That’s absurd… It can’t be.”
Considering Giselle’s circumstances and position at that time, it seemed even more impossible. He lacked the experience and was far too young.
Even seasoned mercenaries find it challenging to have a complete understanding of monsters. Let alone in the Forest of Monsters, teeming with unknowns and devoid of information.
“Additionally, to know the exact direction to the Runestone…”
It was unbelievable, yet since the results were real, disbelief was no longer an option.
Before, it was simple to conclude it was purely skill combined with luck that led to success. But this changed the narrative entirely.
After a long moment of pacing, Amelia halted her steps and muttered.
“That guy… is definitely obtaining information from somewhere else. About things others don’t know.”
