Chapter 53: Hang the Rope

However, the gag was still in his mouth. It was a punishment to feel shame as he saw the end of the world and to die with the frustration of not being able to leave a final word.

Derga blinked his bloodshot eyes and made an indescribable expression.

"Dieee!"

Many people shouted for his death. Once stripped of his clothes, he was just a pitiful human, yet no one knew what had made him so despicable.

"Hang the rope."

"Hang the rope!"

A rope was placed around Derga's neck. Five squad members below began to pull the thick rope. Derga's body slowly rose.

"Ughhh..."

"Anyone who has a grudge against this man, throw a stone. The stones you throw will become the central pillar of Barial and the wall that solidifies the palace's status."

He struggled and writhed, but the more he did, the tighter the rope became. The hanging viscount seemed like a well-skinned pig.

People burst into laughter, and the Kakanter and other Thalir warriors stood expressionless to witness his final moments.

"Whaaa!"

"Throw! Kill!"

Thud! Thud!

Dozens of stones flew at the execution platform. Erica, under the protection of the investigation team, stepped back and watched Derga, who was being stoned in mid-air.

Then, it happened.

Swoosh! Thud!

An arrow flew like lightning and pierced Derga's side. One of the Thalir warriors had thrown it. The crowd was momentarily stunned, but the boiling anger did not easily subside.

"Derga!"

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Dozens of arrows flew at Derga's trembling body. It was the Thalir warriors' vengeance. Most of the arrows pierced his thighs and back, and soon blood dripped from the wounds.

Swoosh!

And the last. Kakanter, who had been sharpening the sharp tip of the arrow, frowned as he confirmed the trajectory. Derga's body began to sag. Kakanter threw the arrow without hesitation, and it pierced his chest with a sound that no other warrior could match.

Iain thought it must have hit the heart.

"Gurk..."

Derga, his eyes rolled back, gasped for breath. Soon, the trembling of the rope stopped, and everyone witnessed Derga's death.

"Derga Bratz is dead."

"Derga Bratz is dead!"

Buuu-

The sound of a bullhorn signaled the end. People cheered and spat insults at Derga's dead body. They celebrated, using the captain's declaration as a rallying cry.

Iain just watched the scene strangely.

"Are you alright, Sir Iain?"

"...Me? You mean me?"

"You didn't throw anything. In fact, your hands should have been the ones to strangle Derga, not the rope."

Kakanter glanced at Iain. Strangling him, not a pleasant task.

"I don't know. But now that he's dead, it does feel strange. I keep thinking of things I never said."

"Things you never said?"

Begging for forgiveness from the bastard Iain.

Not the emperor Iain, but the bastard Iain.

In this life, history had changed, but if things had gone as they should, Iain would have crossed the border and become a handful of sand. Just because he was the viscount's son. After Iain died, Filia, the child's mother, would have died too. Lady Mary wouldn't have let it go.

"Doesn't it feel good now that it's over?"

"It does, but I know this is just the beginning."

Iain stared at Derga's body swaying in the wind. From this moment on, the name Bratz would be erased from the world.

* * *

Derga's body was to hang in the square for several days to clearly show the fate of those who opposed Barial.

While Erica was tidying up the gallows, she asked her subordinate.

"Any word from the central support forces?"

"Yes, but..."

"Why, what is it?"

"Mary and Chel's trail has disappeared."

"Ha. Damn. Where from?"

"It seems they didn't even find a sign of them entering the forest. They're continuing the search based on burn marks, but it's a dead end near the gorge. They're facing difficulties. And..."

"And?"

Please, not more bad news.

Her subordinate, reading Erica's expression, answered with difficulty.

"They say they received a message from the council."

"...What?"

"Mary and Chel's pursuit is delayed, so the soldiers are to return to the center. They say they're recalling all soldiers dispatched to the regions, but I don't know if this is the council's decision."

Prince Marib of the First. Prince Gale of the Second had stationed soldiers in the regions, and this was a proper response. But Erica, unaware of this, closed her eyes and muttered.

"Really screwed."

If the central support forces couldn't find Mary and Chel, how could the investigation team catch them? If they did, they would surely be torn apart by the two Thalir.

"By the way, Lady Erica. Didn't you receive a letter from Sir Molin?"

"What?"

"The commander of the support forces said he received an order to follow the council's decision and asked what we should do, but I didn't know what to say."

"A letter from Molin?"

Erica turned her head in surprise. If Molin had sent it to the commander, he must have sent it to her too. Erica realized there was a problem with the messenger pigeons.

"With a mana stone, they shouldn't have gotten lost."

The mana stones, like brooches, had a magnetic property that guided the pigeons more precisely. They would have waited right in front of the window.

Her subordinate, after some thought, offered an opinion.

"There are many hawks in the mansion. Maybe they were eaten..."

It made sense. Erica frowned and immediately led a horse out. Her subordinates, who were tidying up the square, called out to her, but Erica galloped straight to the mansion.

Bang!

"Iain! Iain!"

"...What is it?"

"I need to cut open the stomachs of all the hawks here."

Suddenly appearing and demanding to cut open the hawks' stomachs. Iain put down his documents, and the Thalir warriors looked bewildered. But they soon realized she was serious and threatened her.

"Don't be ridiculous. We'll cut open your stomachs before the hawks'."

"If a single feather is plucked, I'll know. Do you want to hang next to Derga?"

"The hawks seem to have eaten the messenger pigeons!"

"Ah, the messenger pigeons."

Iain nodded as if he finally understood. He had no idea what she was talking about at first. Erica hesitated, looking doubtful.

"Did you know?"

"Not exactly. The hawks didn't eat them, but there was an accident. I buried the pigeons properly and kept the mana stones separately."

"Stealing the palace's messenger pigeons? That's a serious crime, Iain!"

"They weren't the palace's. Molin sent them personally, it seems."

Hearing this, Erica's heart sank. What did Molin write? He wasn't foolish, so he wouldn't have written their plans in words, but it could be seen as evidence of treason later.

Erica's attitude softened.

"Give them back."

"Of course. I planned to give them to you as a gift when you leave Bratz. Clean up Derga's body within four days."

Leave within four days, and he would return the letters. She would be forced out anyway, but he was giving her a choice.

"It seems Sir Molin sent the letter urgently. If you leave immediately instead of waiting four days, we would be even more grateful."

Erica's pupils dilated as she guessed the contents of the letter.

In reality, there was a problem with the appointment of the lord, and he would soon come down with advisors, but Erica couldn't know that. The letter was more to comfort her than to inform her.

Erica's hands trembled as she spoke.

"Fine. I'll leave tomorrow, after retrieving the body."

"That's a welcome decision."

"Iain, you must leave before the advisors arrive. Don't think you'll be free just because you don't carry the Bratz name."

Her words were filled with desperate curses.

But they had no effect on Iain. Seeing his lack of reaction, Erica glared at the Thalir warriors.

"The advisors are officially appointed to manage the region. A bastard from a brothel isn't fit to play the noble game with the Thalir."

"Better not use the term 'Thalir,' Lady Erica. When the advisors ask about your whereabouts, I might be in trouble."

It was hard to say such a threat so gracefully. But for Erica, who had lost her title and would chase Mary and Chel indefinitely, it didn't hit home.

"I'll return. When I do, be prepared. I'll turn the Great Desert upside down."

"I doubt that."

"Don't dream. Iain. You're despicable."

Erica placed her hand on her chest and bowed in the manner of a noble. Then, an overwhelming aura of mana. Her green eyes turned golden, and an unknown power flowed. Erica could only stare in shock.

"Erica, don't hold onto the false hope of returning. Find Mary and Chel's bodies and head back to the center. You're destined to die in the desert."

"...A mana user?"

"Then go. I can't see you off."

"..."