I Married Because I Wanted To Live A Normal Life Chapter 71

Chapter 71

The people of Ensis were eagerly awaiting the return of their lord’s husband.

The reason was this: while the lord and her husband were away, their lord’s aide, Sein Borter, would often resolve the townspeople’s complaints, but his method of resolution was usually as follows.

“This man stole my horse! Because of him, I can’t even plow my fields right now!”

“What are you talking about? That horse was originally mine! Look at its coat, it’s identical to its mother’s!”

“Mr. Sein, what should we do?”

“Cut the horse in question in half and give one piece to each of them.”

“…..”

“…..”

To cut in half and distribute a horse bred for plowing fields—did that even make sense?

But the man, who seemed to have not the slightest interest in the townspeople’s affairs, would simply make such a ruling and wear an indifferent expression.

In the past, when the territory had no lord, Albert would sometimes mediate.

He was far better, for although he had long served as a butler for a noble family, his commoner origins meant he could often understand their feelings quite well.

As for the lord’s husband, he would hold the hands of those who came to him with heartbreaking stories and empathize with them, so the feuding townspeople always went home satisfied with his judgment.

Isn’t it true that when a person is wronged, they find some comfort when someone deeply sympathizes with them?

But Sein Borter, truly, seemed to have not a shred of interest in the petty squabbles of the townspeople.

However, the fact that nobles were uninterested in the lives of the lower classes was, in a way, to be expected, so it wasn’t enough to cause outrage.

In fact, in some areas, he was highly praised.

For example, when townspeople petitioned about a collapsed reservoir dam or rampaging wild birds, he handled the matters with astonishing speed, leaving everyone with a mix of bewildered feelings.

‘That man? He’s good at his job, he just… doesn’t seem to care about us.’

This was the current assessment of Sein by the majority of Ensis’s residents.

So when they heard that the lord’s husband would be returning before the lord herself, the people cheered.

It was only natural that the people, who were often cowed by Sein’s cold gaze, would now rush to knock on the gate of the lord’s castle with all sorts of worries and problems.

And today’s petitioner, upon seeing that the first person to open the door was Sein, was inwardly terrified, but then let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the lord’s husband right behind him.

Hisch looked around at them and said, “Is there something the matter today…?”

“Mr. Hisch! Please listen to me. Ah, these men are workers who recently came from Windsor, but can you believe they caused a ruckus at our inn and are now refusing to pay for the damages!”

“Hey, when did we say we wouldn’t pay? We said we’d pay when the rest of our party arrives!”

The large man pounded his chest in frustration. As the atmosphere heated up from the start, Hisch carefully opened his mouth.

“Um… so, one person at a time, slowly…”

“And how are we supposed to know when that party of yours will arrive? You’ve gone back and forth so many times, saying you’ll take another room one day, then canceling the next!”

“The mine is short-handed without us right now! We keep finding more of the ore we need, so what do you expect us to do?!”

“Hey, both of you, calm down…”

“That’s enough! Get out of my rooms now, and pay for the furniture you broke before you go!”

“I can’t live like this, it’s so unfair! Seriously! Shouldn’t the people of Ensis be applauding what I did?! Huh?!”

“P-Please, let’s just talk about…”

“Why would I applaud the man who wrecked my own property?!”

“Because that bastard spoke ill of the lady lord! I just couldn’t forgive someone who badmouthed our lord!”

At the shout from Luke, the worker from Windsor, Sein’s previously sullen face hardened into a cold mask, and Hisch’s eyes widened.

Neither of them uttered a word, but sensing the atmosphere rapidly stiffening, the innkeeper anxiously retorted.

“W-What?! What nonsense is this! I was right there listening, and all that man talked about was the new castle wall! What does that have to do with the lady lord!”

“What do you mean it has nothing to do with her! What kind of wall do you think that is? He said it was hastily built, that it looked like it would collapse any minute. He was saying all sorts of things he shouldn’t have!”

Luke puffed out his chest and spoke proudly, “Insulting the wall built by the lady lord’s command is the same as insulting the lady lord, isn’t it?”

At that sudden cry, Hisch wore a dumbfounded expression, while Sein inwardly muttered, ‘What the hell is this nonsense…,’ and his face crumpled in an instant.

“Insulting the wall is insulting the lady lord, and the lady lord is Windsor’s benefactor! Therefore, my anger was righteous fury, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Hey! You crazy bastard! Whatever the reason, you’re the one who started a fight and destroyed my inn! What does that have to do with me…!”

“Wait.”

The lord’s husband, who had been quietly listening to their conversation until then, interjected in a calm voice.

“What is your name?”

“It’s Luke!”

“I see… I think we need to hear a little more of Luke’s side of the story.”

No… why on earth?

The innkeeper, his last hope, the lord’s husband whom he had believed to be the epitome of fairness, stared at him with wavering eyes at the absurd mediation.

When he first arrived, Hisch had unconsciously used polite language with the townspeople, earning him a sharp look from Sein, but now, having grown accustomed to speaking casually, he smiled brightly and said, “His heart is in the right place, isn’t it?”

At those words, the innkeeper clutched his temples as his blood pressure rose, Luke’s spirits soared as he shrugged his shoulders, and…

Sein, watching from the side, looked utterly fed up.

He shook his head, watching the lord’s husband become more and more like his wife with each passing day.

***

In the end, Hisch decided to pay for the inn’s repairs out of his own pocket. In any case, the innkeeper got his money, so he had no complaints.

‘At this rate, we’re going to have a flood of people using the lord’s name as an excuse.’

Sein grumbled to himself, hoping that Hisch would at least come to his senses for more serious matters. He had completely forgotten that he himself was the one who had planted such fantasies about Liddell in Luke’s head.

In any case, the two of them had finished their schedule for the day and were now heading down to the castle’s cellar.

Lamps were placed one by one to light the dark passage, but there was a limit to how much they could illuminate the damp, murky darkness.

Watching Hisch’s back as he walked ahead with a steady gait, Sein suddenly spoke, “…Are you not afraid?”

“Of what?”

“Of the things that are to come. Or perhaps, of the man who is waiting for you in the cellar right now.”

“Hmm.”

“Ordinary people are bound to be frightened when they face someone who could potentially harm them.”

Waiting for them in the cellar was a man on death row.

He had committed a crime so heinous that he had been sentenced to summary execution ^[1] Summary execution refers to the putting to death of a person accused of a crime without the benefit of a free and fair trial. , so Sein had chosen the man as a sacrifice for the experiment without a second thought.

But while that was true for himself, there was a sense of dissonance in seeing Hisch, who usually reacted so delicately to everything, acting so calm.

At his words, Hisch laughed as if he had heard an interesting story.

“Well, I…”

But soon, his voice, devoid of laughter, came out low.

“In that sense, I’ve rarely been afraid of anything in my life.”

“…..”

A strange tension flowed between them. Hisch did not stop walking, and Sein followed behind, watching his back as if observing him.

“I’m not saying it’s strange that you don’t feel sorry for that man. To be honest, I’m just a little surprised that you were the one to make such a suggestion.”

As he had Liddell’s orders, Sein had deliberately paid no mind to Hisch’s power.

‘But it seems this man was different.’

That part intrigued Sein in a strange way.

The Hisch Riot he had watched and investigated until now was, if you took away his power, a truly ordinary person.

He would blush at his lover’s loving whispers, and agonize over his own mistakes.

And, as people tend to do, he would hide his own secrets—a perfectly ordinary figure.

So why, after all this time, had he decided to confront the problem he had avoided his entire life?

Why had he now decided he wanted to know about his own power?

Hisch was silent for a moment at Sein’s question.

By the time he finally spoke, they had arrived in front of the firmly shut entrance to the underground prison.

“I just… have been constantly thinking about what’s more important.”

The black-haired man continued slowly.

“For example, if the reason she came to this place was to meet me.”

His gaze was on Sein, but his voice was low and sunken, as if he were repeating it to himself.

“Then perhaps making this place safe is something I can do for her.”

“…Pardon?”

Hisch didn’t answer Sein’s question and continued, “…Please open it, Sein.”

His eyes were filled with the strength of someone who had firmly resolved to do something, but the smile on his lips was decidedly out of place in this situation.

“I want to finish this before the sun sets.”

• 1. Summary execution refers to the putting to death of a person accused of a crime without the benefit of a free and fair trial.