The two Kleinfelders were given the same treatment as any other prisoner—bound with thick ropes that kept them tethered to one another with a Tiwakan mercenary holding onto the end.
The entire time, Linden didn't cease his yelling, constantly saying they couldn't treat him like this, but he quickly shut up after a mercenary got fed up and kicked him in the shin.
And Rienne watched the whole process unfold.
She didn't want to see it, but it couldn't be helped. Black was meant to take the prisoners to the council meeting and she wanted to see him off before he left, so it just ended up that way.
[Rienne] "Be careful."
Rienne didn't forget to give her quiet well wishes to Black as he climbed up on his horse. Black looked at her with a short smile before nodding.
[Black] "I know."
[Rienne] "There are those who feel deep loyalty towards the Kleinfelders. They might attempt to rescue them of their own will."
[Black] "Right."
His answer came quickly.
Rienne reached out her hand, tapping her finger against Black's knee, causing him to raise his eyebrow.
[Rienne] "I'm being serious."
[Black] "I never said you weren't. But I've prepared for things, so it'll be fine."
[Rienne] "I know but…you have to be really careful, okay? Don't let yourself get so hurt again."
[Black] "Hah...."
Hearing his sigh, Rienne thought for a moment that she was nagging him too much, bothering him with how much she was fussing over him.
But Rienne was wrong again.
[Black] "Don't move."
[Rienne] "Sorry?"
[Black] "It's hard to do this while I'm on a horse."
Saying that, Black leaned his body down as far as he could and kissed Rienne. She knew everyone was watching them, but she was so distracted by how affectionate and sweet it was.
Rienne stood up on her toes, returning his kiss. The pose was a little bit awkward, but their kiss lasted for a long time all the same.
[Black] "I'll never leave at this rate."
After the kiss finished with a sweet sound, Black let go of Rienne, giving her a teasing look.
[Rienne] "Wait a moment."
But before he could move away completely, Rienne stood up on the very tips of her toes, holding his face in her hands while wiping away the remnants of their kiss from his lips.
[Rienne] "You promised. You won't get hurt at all."
[Black] "As you wish."
Black's eyes deepened as he spoke. As the look in his eyes shifted, her body was the first to notice the subtle change. Her heart pounded and all she wanted to do was kiss him again.
…..I must really be losing my mind these days.
[Rienne] "Come back safely."
[Black] "...I'll hurry."
As Rienne backed up, Black kicked his horse into motion, and she stood there silently until he had entirely passed the threshold of the gates.
But as the Tiwakan party started leaving in droves, so too did the prisoners that were being dragged behind Black's lead—including Rafit.
[Rafit] "Rienne."
[Rienne] ". . ."
Immediately, Rienne turned her head away. She had no need nor a desire to deal with him any further.
[Rafit] "If you did that on purpose just to show me, there's no point. You'll be my love until the end of time."
[Rienne] "…..Hah."
But just as she thought. She couldn't stand this one bit.
[Rienne] "Rafit Kleinfelder. Listen carefully. You are sick in the heart. Time and time again, your insulting behavior has continually distressed me, and I no longer have any pity left in my heart for your situation. It would be for your own betterment if you came to your senses and learned to worry about yourself."
[Rafit] "Rienne!"
[Rienne] "You have no right to say my name. I am the monarch of this land and you are a prisoner being accused of treason against me and thus, I do not wish to speak with you any further. Take him from my sight."
Those last words were directed to the Tiwakan mercenary holding onto his bindings.
[Mercenary] "Understood, Princess."
The mercenary mercilessly pulled on the rope tying Rafit's hands together.
[Rafit] "Agh, Rienne!"
[Rienne] "It's beyond disrespectful for you to continue to speak my name when I've asked you not to. Please, keep him quiet somehow."
[Mercenary] "With pleasure, Princess."
Thwack—
As soon as he finished speaking, another mercenary kicked Rafit in the shin, bringing him to his knees.
[Rafit] "Ugh!"
But as he stumbled, before he could hit the ground, the rope was harshly pulled, forcing him back up.
[Rienne] "I know I don't need to say this, but I ask all of you to please remain on guard for the sake of your leader. Please ensure he returns safely."
[Mercenary] "Thank you for your concern, Princess."
Bowing their heads towards Rienne, thanking her for her words, the Tiwakan turned on their heels, following after the rest of the departing group while dragging Rafit behind them.
[Rienne] "...Maybe that was too cruel."
Rienne murmured to herself as she watched Rafit, being pulled away like a paper doll blowing in the wind before finally turning away.
[Rienne] "No, if I speak too kindly, he won't understand. Even now, he keeps saying those sorts of things right until the end."
Rienne shook her head.
There was no need to think too deeply on how his heart worked. Rafit was just obsessed, and never having experienced rejection before in his life, he was simply reacting badly to his first run in with someone saying no.
[Rienne] "Hopefully he grows up soon. Life will only become more difficult for him in the future if he doesn't."
Right now, Rienne's heart was deceptively calm. She turned around, walking off towards the castle.
Today was going to be a busy day.
Once the Great Council was completed and everything was squared away, all that remained was the wedding ceremony. Black and the other Tiwakan mercenaries would also need to be appointed as nobles and knights respectively.
[Rienne] "I have plenty of money left over after selling that necklace, so I should use it to redecorate the bedroom. Ah, I should've asked him what color he would prefer."
It was a Nauk custom to redecorate the bedroom to welcome any new spouse of royalty.
Rienne hurried back, her head full of all the things she needed to do.
*
* * *
*
[Burey] "To disrupt the sanctity of the Great Council like this…..!"
Gathered were the remaining five families, excluding the Kleinfelders. Out of those five, three of the noble heads were clenching their fists.
The other two, however, could not. Rosadel's left hand was still broken and he wasn't sure what to do with his right. All he knew was that he needed to sign something. Other than that, he just sat there, quietly trembling.
[Rosadel] "Stop it and just sit down."
Rosadel waved his right hand, passively trying to calm the other nobles.
Unfortunately, the other family heads hadn't met the leader of the Tiwakan before this.
[Burey] "The right to attend a Great Council blessed by God and the Treaty of Risebury does not belong to outsiders. You must leave at once!"
The head of the Burey family was the one making the most noise. Among all the families, he was the one who brought the most private soldiers with him, placing them just outside the main meeting hall.
[Black] "Then what should I do about these?"
Black gestured behind him with his chin to the pair of Kleinfelder prisoners, his stance still strong and stalwart, yet steady and calm.
[Black] "Someone has to monitor the prisoners."
[Burey] "The audacity…..! How dare a mere mercenary speak back to a noble elder of Nauk!"
When Burey shouted out, Rosadel visibly shrunk back, sighing nervously as his eyes anxiously darted around. Even Ellaroiden clenched the grip he had on the crutches he brought.
[Black] "Audacity, huh?"
Black lightly pushed Burey out of the way of the door with his hand.
[Black] "Get out of the way. The prisoners need to get inside."
[Burey] "How dare you lay your hands on me!?"
Burey smashed his fist against the wall with his hand, calling out to the soldiers he had prepared outside.
[Burey] "This is unacceptable! You must be punished!"
Having never met the leader of the Tiwakan, the other three house leaders were foolish. They already aligned themselves with the Kleinfelders, believing that to be the wisest course of action.
The Grand Hall where the meeting was being held lacked any housekeeping staff, instead being watched over by a single head butler. He was told that if he heard any disturbances in the meeting hall, he was meant to send in the private soldiers using that as an excuse.
They even made sure to plant eyes and ears near Castle Nauk.
Those agents conveyed that they only saw eight mercenaries leaving the castle for the council meeting. With those small numbers, it didn't matter how notorious they were, they definitely couldn't do much.
Especially not in comparison to the thirty soldiers he brought in, plus the fifty he borrowed from the Kleinfelders.
With numbers over ten times what the mercenaries were, the difference was insurmountable.
At least, that's what Burey thought.
[Black] "How did you know?"
Black murmured, as if he were talking to himself.
[Burey] "What? How did I know what?"
[Black] "I'm in a good mood today. Did you tell him?"
Those last words were directed towards Rosadel. Rosadel immediately started panicking, completely forgetting his left wrist was broken as he frantically waved both hands around.
[Rosadel] "Of course not! I didn't say a word to anyone!"
[Black] "Then was it you?"
This time he turned to Ellaroiden, who also shook his body so firmly, he looked like he was about to snap in half.
[Ellaroiden] "Never! I was told to be as silent as the dead, so I did nothing all the way until this day came!"
[Black] "Then that makes this weirder."
Black tilted his head.
[Black] "No one ever dares to shout in my face like this. The nobility of Nauk must be especially stupid."
[Burey] "Wha, what are you talking about!"
[Black] "I'm saying you should pay more attention to things."
Black answered calmly, all while holding up Burey's left wrist. The action was so quick and light that he didn't even notice that it happened. But now that he knew that he was caught, his shoulder shook back in shock.
[Black] "But it's too late. Once you've been caught, it's all over."
Then, echoing out in the meeting hall was a familiar sound. One that Rosadel and Ellaroiden knew very well.
[Burey] "AGHH!"
Grabbing at his newly broken wrist, Burey stumbled backwards and howled like a wild animal.
[Burey] "What have you done!? What the hell are the rest of you doing!? How could you just watch me be treated like this!?"
But before he could get many other words out, Black kicked out his knees, causing him to flop down on the ground.
[Burey] "ARGH!"
Falling to the ground without any resistance, Burey struggled on the ground, his face messy with gross tears. His wrist was terribly mangled, but now his knees hurt, too.
[Burey] "W, what are you all doing…..?"
Finally, the rest of the nobles faltered. They were so shocked by the scene before them that they were stunned into silence. They couldn't believe what they were seeing, so all they could do was watch like a bunch of fools.
As nobles, they lived their entire lives having everything given to them from birth, including their status. They had yet to accept the fact that there were people who didn't give a damn about that.
[Burey] "H, how…."
[Black] "You're too noisy. Just sit down. We need to proceed with the rest of the council meeting."
[Burey] "There are Burey soldiers waiting outside....."
[Black] "There were."
[Burey] "Wh, what....?"
[Black] "There were Burey soldiers outside, and now there are no longer."
[Burey] "Wh, what are you talking about? Why aren't there—!"
[Black] "You're free to check if you're so curious."
Black readily moved to the side. Two nobles glanced at each other, reading the air of the room before they quickly went outside to verify his claims.
Meanwhile, Black walked to the front of the meeting room, calmly sitting in the chair meant for the head of the Kleinfelder family. The mercenaries holding onto the bindings of the two Kleinfelder prisoners naturally dragged them up, throwing them at his feet.
[Black] "Proceed."
He gestured to Rosadel.
[Rosadel] "Very well. Everyone, take your seats."
No one bothered to help Burey up. He sat on the floor, waiting for his soldiers to come, but even after a long time, no one answered his call.
Unable to bear it any longer, he eventually struggled to pull himself up to his feet just as the two nobles returned, completely pale in the face.
*
* * *
*
There were no soldiers outside.
And there were no bodies either, strangely enough. All that remained were some abandoned weapons, terrible bloodstains, and a few Tiwakan mercenaries, calmly standing in the bloody wreckage.
Black still faithfully remembered Rienne's words that she did not wish to see death on this day, so he was doing what he could to follow those wishes. It was a shame the families didn't seem to realize that.
And besides, an objective numerical comparison of their army size was pointless when it came to predicting victory against the Tiwakan. The difference between nobles who waved swords around for sport and mercenaries who called the battlefield their home was a meaningless comparison.
Anyone could see the plain disparity.
[Arland] "…..That's everything."
As the royal family was the one who requested the convention of the Great Council, someone was required to represent their wishes before the nobility.
Arland stayed up the entire night before, preparing the documents necessary to present to the nobles.
It was a written statement, detailing the crimes levied against Linden Kleinfelder and his alleged illegitimate son, Lopez Kleinfelder, and how the both of them attempted treason against the crown.
So long as one had the ability to read the words in front of them, they could never argue their innocence.
[Arland] "Typically, the punishment for such crimes would be hanging."
As soon as the word 'hanging' was brought up, whispers echoed across the council.
[Noble] "W, what…..That can't be!"
One of the nobles who still had their wrist intact shouted out first, with Linden Kleinfelder himself speaking out next.
[Linden] "You would dare hang me by the neck!?"
Black tilted his head, looking down at him. The look in his eyes was scarily indifferent, so convincing him otherwise would take more than just a few haughty words.
[Linden] "Do you think such a thing is possible in this land?"
Linden stood up, determined not to back down. It was true he found Black to be a terrifying man, but he could stand idly by and allow himself to be strung up.
If he were to be sent to the gallows, there was no doubt that the Kleinfelder's military would step in.
It would mark the beginning of a war.
Then, one noble raised their hand.
[Noble] "I object."