“…You understand you can’t talk your way out of this one, Bendera.”
“Tch. I thought no one saw me.”
Guided by Pence, Noein visited the crime scene—Bendera’s house—and looked down at the man, who still wore a defiant expression, with cold eyes.
It was early afternoon. Most of the residents were out in the fields, and the streets were almost empty.
During this time, Bendera had apparently threatened a young girl with a sickle as she was fetching water from the well for household chores, dragging her into his home.
Pence, who had been keeping an eye on Bendera out of suspicion, witnessed the act in that very moment and immediately stormed into the house to apprehend him. Fortunately, the girl was unharmed.
“But again, it’s just an attempt, right? So what is it this time, a whipping? Or maybe cutting off a finger?”
Bendera grinned arrogantly, not fearing the punishment. Noein spoke quietly in response.
“No, you are to be banished. You will leave Noeina, and the entire Earlkvist territory.”
“Tch. Is that so…”
Noein had reached a point where he wanted Bendera gone entirely. However, sentencing someone to death for an attempted crime would set a dangerous precedent, deviating significantly from the kingdom’s common law and making it look like the lord was abusing his authority.
Instead of corporal punishment, Noein decided to exercise his right as a lord—a right all lords held—to expel individuals who posed a significant threat to the territory.
This punishment was rare and only invoked under extreme circumstances, but this situation clearly warranted it.
…
“From this moment, Bendera is hereby banished from the territory. He will be escorted beyond the borders of the Earlkvist domain. Should he ever return, by my authority as lord, he is to be killed.”
The next morning, Noein gathered the townspeople in the square once again and declared Bendera’s exile.
The townspeople’s gazes toward Bendera were harsh, filled with hatred. It was only natural, given that he had tried to harm one of their own.
“Tch.”
Bendera spat on the ground, his arms bound by rope. Seeing this, the victim’s father looked ready to lunge at him in fury, but the surrounding villagers held him back.
Noein, who had tied Bendera’s ropes to a golem, began leading the man away. Since this was the first exile in the territory, Noein decided to personally oversee the punishment.
The golem pulled Bendera along, while Pence accompanied them as a guard. Mathilda, disgusted at the idea of even seeing Bendera, had been half-forced to stay behind by Noein, who assured her that Pence and the golem were more than enough for protection.
“With so many unmarried men and women around, what’s the problem with grabbing someone whenever you feel like it?”
“I finally found a place to live easy, but now I’ve pissed off this freaky beastman-loving lord, and I’m back to wandering again.”
Bendera’s behavior along the way was repulsive, saying whatever he pleased since he was already being exiled.
But Noein tuned him out, keeping his mind blank. He had already decided on exile, so he would see it through to the end. The sooner he got rid of Bendera, the sooner peace would return.
“Tch. No reaction, even after all that? You really are a freak. Fine, once I’m out of here, I’ll make sure to spread the word about this place. Tell everyone that this perverted lord is running a dictatorship in this dump.”
For the first time, Noein’s expression shifted, but Bendera, being dragged along by the golem in front, didn’t notice and continued his rant.
“I’ll tell everyone how this lord acts all nice, but behind the scenes, he’s torturing his people. And that all the men here are scum, and the women are treated like livestock—yeah, that’s what I’ll say.”
“…Let’s stop for a moment.”
Noein ordered Pence to halt, and he himself stopped along with the golem.
“Oh? Did I finally piss you off?”
Bendera turned around, only to freeze when he saw Noein’s expression for the first time. His face turned pale with fear.
Standing behind Noein, Pence purposely avoided looking at his lord’s expression and asked quietly.
“What shall we do?”
“Dispose of him. There’s no other choice.”
“…Understood.”
・・・・・
Noein steps off the road and into the forest. A golem pulling Bendera and the guard Pence follow him.
Once they are out of sight from the road, the golem pulls Bendera to the ground, pinning him down.
“W-wait, hold on. This is exile, right? You’re not gonna execute me, are you?”
“That’s right, it’s exile. As long as I say, ‘Bendera was properly exiled,’ no one in the territory will know what happened to you afterward, will they?”
Noein replied coldly to the panicked Bendera.
“I really was planning to just exile you. But if you spread lies outside the territory and harm me or the people even after being exiled, that’s different. I have to protect the land and the people. Not just from physical threats but also from malicious rumors.”
“I-I get it. That was just a joke, okay? I won’t badmouth you out there.”
“Why would I believe that? Have you ever said or done anything even slightly trustworthy? Hey, Pence?”
“No, this guy is not trustworthy in the least,” Pence agreed, avoiding looking too much at Noein’s face, which he found intimidating.
“W-wait, hold on! You’re the lord, right? Can you just go back on your own punishment like that?”
“If it’s to protect the people, it’s no big deal to dirty my hands a little.”
As Noein spoke, one of the golems grabbed Bendera’s head with its large hands.
“Wait, wait! No, please wait! I was wrong!”
“Goodbye, traitor.”
“I don’t wanna die! Please forgi—Gahh!”
…
Next to the headless body, Noein vomited up everything in his stomach.
“Ugh… Finally, it’s done.”
“Are you alright? You didn’t have to do it yourself; I could’ve handled it,” Pence said, offering support.
Noein looked up, a tired smile on his face.
“No, that’s not how it works. I decided to break my own judgment and go through with something like an assassination to silence him. If I’m going to do something like that, my hands should be the ones getting dirty. At least the first time.”
Though this was his reasoning, the shock of actually going through with it was overwhelming. Minutes after disposing of Bendera, Noein was suddenly struck by the reality of “having killed someone” and vomited.
“The first time killing a person really takes a toll. And in such a way, too. What a way to lose my ‘innocence.’”
“Haha, you’re not wrong. Everyone is shaken the first time,” Pence chuckled. Noein’s choice of words reminded Pence of a joke well-known among mercenaries about losing one’s “virginity” to killing.
“…I thought I was showing the people more than enough love. How did it come to this?”
“There will always be hopeless scum like him, no matter the time. You’ve done nothing wrong, Noein-sama.”
Noein showed a brief expression of sorrow before exhaling deeply.
“I guess I have no choice but to see it that way… We don’t need to bury the body, right?”
“Don’t worry about it. Monsters or animals will clean it up. If anything, burying it could be troublesome later if we ever expand into this area and someone digs it up.”
“That’s true. Alright, let’s head back.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
After wiping the blood from the golem’s hands with dirt and rinsing them with water from a flask, Noein and Pence returned to the capital, Noeina.
…
After telling the townspeople that “Bendera was safely exiled” and returning to the mansion, Noein called Mathilda to his bedroom, away from the ears of the maids, and told her the truth.
“I’m sorry to burden you with this alone, Noein-sama. I wish I could have taken on that role for you,” Mathilda said, embracing him warmly.
“Thank you, Mathilda. But this was my decision as lord. Once I decided to cross that line, the first step had to be mine. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be fit to lead.”
No matter how clean a noble lord may wish to be, they cannot remain so forever. As his domain grows, the ability to accept both good and evil will be necessary. There may even come a time when he has to command his retainers to do such dirty work.
If that’s the case, then at least for the first time, it should be his own hands that get dirty. That was what Noein believed. That’s why he personally crushed Bendera’s head. The golem’s bloodstained hands were as much his own.
“…I’ll likely dirty my hands again in the future. Even then, will you stay by my side, Mathilda?”
“Of course, Noein-sama. No matter what happens, I will always remain with you. My love for you will never waver, not even one in a million.”
“…Thank you, Mathilda. Come here.”
“Yes, Noein-sama.”
The two fell onto the bed, where Mathilda comforted and soothed Noein with all her heart and soul.
