The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me Chapter 221 - Side Story Chapter 11

“You’re the ones doing the insulting.”

My voice sank coldly.

“Because of the knights’ looting, Evantes has become nothing more than a bunch of thugs shaking down the territory residents for money.”

Since they went around claiming they were the face of Evantes, they would have to take responsibility for it.

“I should be the one saying this.”

I stared at the knights.

They had absolutely no idea what was wrong with what they had done.

It was clear that the lord of Piet Territory was turning a blind eye to the things they were doing here.

But.

Would Arjen do the same?

Besides, what kind of situation was this right now?

Since they had come here under the pretense of protecting the rear lines, their conduct was supposed to matter.

“If you want to live, beg us.”

“What?”

I grinned.

“You’ve been draining Piet Territory quite thoroughly, haven’t you? It wasn’t enough to extort taxes in the name of maintaining order—you even used the money as gambling stakes.”

I knew everything they had done.

I had already heard it all before coming here.

“So what if we did…!”

“You’ve got quite the nerve doing that under the name of the Evantes family.”

I had worked in Evantes before.

So I knew very well what Arjen hated the most.

Something like this had happened when I worked there.

The head maid and her son had committed fraud using the name of Evantes.

Even until the day I left the mansion.

And a few years later, I heard that Arjen had personally punished them.

Arjen never tolerated anyone tarnishing the name of Evantes.

“The territory residents will soon work together and file a complaint.”

“…What? A complaint?”

“Yes. A complaint. To the imperial palace.”

There was also a way to inform Arjen about their behavior…

But there was no way I would do that unless I had lost my mind.

“What do you think the imperial court will say when they learn that the ‘face of Evantes,’ who came here to strengthen the rear lines, is looting this place…?”

The woman clapped her hands.

“Oh. It’ll look like an occupation!”

“A-an occupation?!”

The knights were stunned.

“If the Marquis of Evantes hears about this…!”

One knight couldn’t hold back his anger and grabbed the hilt of his sword, ready to cut me down.

But I didn’t even blink as I glared back at him.

They wouldn’t dare.

Fear had already crept onto their faces at the thought that this could turn into a serious problem.

“…Damn it! Enough, enough!”

Finally one knight shouted, sounding shaken.

“Stop giving them something to hold against us and just release that woman!”

“What?! But—”

“I don’t want bad luck sticking to us! You don’t mess with women like that!”

The knights were still fuming, but they no longer dared to touch us.

“Fine! We’ll let her go! Hey, Max! Bring that woman here!”

A knight called Max ran into the fortress to retrieve Marta.

Honestly. Do you think this is my first time dealing with people like you?

Back when I ran a trading company with Michelle, there were plenty of scum like them.

If you threw their own half-baked threats back at them, they usually froze up.

After a short while, I saw Marta being led out by a knight.

“Marta…!”

“You guys…! Why are you here!”

The women cried out to her, and Marta looked shocked.

I quickly checked her condition.

Thank goodness.

She didn’t seem injured at all.

I wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.

I didn’t want to argue any longer with the knights of Evantes.

Right now I was living in hiding.

More importantly, we had achieved the main goal—getting Marta back.

It was better to retreat quickly.

Then—

“How noisy.”

At the low voice, the knights who had been grumbling suddenly fell silent.

“C-Captain!”

The knights immediately straightened up, their faces pale.

Captain?

Piet Territory already had elite knights and soldiers stationed here.

Among them, the captain was the highest authority.

“Is the scouting finished?”

“Y-yes, sir. We just finished and were taking a short rest…”

“A rest?”

The captain’s cold gaze swept over his subordinates.

“Who are these women?”

“They’re not women you need to worry about, Captain.”

“I asked who they are.”

At the captain’s words, the knights hesitated before speaking.

“Th-they’re women who came to sell goods to the fortress. We were just about to send them away…”

“They’re empty-handed for people who came to sell goods.”

“……”

They had clearly made up the excuse in a hurry.

How could they be that stupid?

“You don’t need to have the goods with you right now to sell them.”

“What?”

“The fortress felt too empty, so we offered to plant flowers for you.”

When I casually made up the story, relief spread across the knights’ faces.

I’ll deal with you later.

If the opportunity came someday, I would make them pay in another way.

People like them shouldn’t be allowed to remain in Piet Territory.

“…Then we’ll be on our way.”

I planned to quickly lead the frightened group of women away.

The captain didn’t seem particularly interested in us anyway.

Just as we turned to leave—

“Wait.”

Suddenly the captain called out to us.

“…Is something wrong?”

A bad feeling crept over me.

“…Have we met somewhere before?”

“What?”

At that moment the atmosphere turned cold.

Especially among the group of women.

They looked like they had just swallowed something awful.

They probably thought the captain was trying to flirt with me.

But that didn’t seem to be the case.

Maybe…

In the worst case, this man might have seen me somewhere before.

After all, I had once stayed at Arjen’s side.

But when exactly?

When I worked as a maid in the Evantes family?

When I was with Arjen in the northern castle?

When I pretended to be Arjen’s mistress under a different identity?

Or…

There are too many!

I couldn’t narrow it down at all.

“No. We haven’t.”

“What’s your name?”

“…Laurel.”

The captain studied me carefully.

His brow furrowed as if trying to pull a memory from his mind.

“You may go.”

“…Thank you.”

…I should return to the cabin immediately.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

The captain watched the group of women leave.

They came to sell goods?

Ridiculous.

It didn’t feel like that at all.

“You fools. Don’t act like street thugs while wearing the crest of Evantes. Treat the family’s honor as if it were your life.”

“Y-yes, sir…”

“If the family’s honor is damaged because of you, I will personally cut off your heads.”

The knights’ faces turned pale.

Now that they had been frightened, they wouldn’t dare cause trouble for a while.

He entered the fortress.

There was a mountain of work to do.

The elite units dispatched under the state of alert had been given a mission.

To closely observe the Cursed Territory.

But…

Laurel’s face from earlier wouldn’t leave his mind.

He pondered it carefully.

Had he seen that face somewhere before?

Or was this just a strange feeling?

He remembered the woman the next day.

Suddenly, an old memory flashed through his mind.

A maid who had once worked in Evantes…

Normally he wouldn’t remember the face of a mere maid.

But that woman was different.

She had been the personal maid of the monster the marquis had brought.

And after she fled Evantes, Arjen issued a warrant for her.

Her name was not Laurel.

 

<Find Rosie.>

The order Arjen had given long ago resurfaced in his mind.

She was the woman who had run away from the marquis’s house years ago.

Everyone believed she had died.

Yet she had appeared alive right in front of him.

“Capture that woman immediately!”