Chapter 40

"…You know you can't talk your way out of this one, Bendela."

"Damn. I thought no one was watching."

Under Pence's guidance, Noein visited the scene of the crime—Bendela's house. Noein looked down at Bendela with cold eyes, who still maintained a sullen expression even at this critical moment.

It was mid-afternoon. Most of the residents were out in the fields, a time when the city streets were relatively empty.

At such a time, Bendela had apparently threatened a girl who was fetching water from the well for household chores with a farming scythe and dragged her into his house.

Pence, who was still keeping an eye on Bendela, witnessed this very moment and immediately entered the house to apprehend Bendela. Fortunately, nothing happened to the victimized girl.

"But this time it's still an attempted crime, right? Will it be whipping this time? Or maybe finger amputation?"

Noein said this calmly to Bendela, who wore a frivolous smile, unafraid of the punishment.

"No, you will be exiled. You will be expelled from the capital of Noeina and the Arquvist territory."

"…Damn. Is that so?"

At this point, Noein wanted to eliminate Bendela's existence altogether. However, if he immediately imposed the death penalty for an attempted crime of assault, it would set a precedent for the lord's arbitrary judgment, deviating significantly from the general laws of the kingdom.

Therefore, instead of imposing corporal punishment, he decided to exercise the right that every lord possesses—the right to expel those who cause significant harm to the territory.

This punishment is rarely imposed unless there is a significant reason, and this time it certainly qualifies.

...

"From this moment on, the resident Bendela will be exiled. I will escort Bendela to the border of the Arquvist territory and expel him. If Bendela enters the Arquvist territory again, I, as the lord, will authorize his execution."

The next morning, Noein gathered the residents in the square again and declared this.

The residents' gazes on Bendela were harsh, filled with hatred. It was only natural, as he had attempted to harm one of their precious companions.

"Damn."

Bendela, with his arms tied, spat on the ground. Seeing this, the father of the victimized girl showed a rage that almost made him lunge at Bendela. The surrounding residents restrained him.

Noein, having entrusted the rope binding Bendela to a golem, decided to carry out the exile himself, as it was the first such punishment in the territory.

The golem pulled Bendela along, and Pence accompanied as a guard. Noein proceeded down the road leading out of the Arquvist territory. Matilda, who didn't even want to see Bendela, insisted on staying behind, saying, "Pence and the golem are enough for the guard."

"There are plenty of single men and women around, so why can't I do as I please?"

"Damn, I finally found a place where I could live comfortably, and now I'm going to be a wanderer again because I offended a perverted lord who likes beast slaves."

Bendela's words and actions on the way were unbearable. He said whatever he wanted, knowing he was going to be exiled anyway.

However, Noein listened to it with a blank mind. Since he had decided on the exile, he should see it through to the end. Besides, he wanted to get rid of this guy and return to a peaceful daily life as soon as possible.

"Damn. You're not even angry after all that? That's disgusting. Fine, I'll tell everyone outside about this territory. About the perverted lord who runs a dictatorship."

When Bendela said this, Noein's expression changed for the first time. But Bendela, being dragged by the golem, didn't notice and continued talking.

"I'll spread the word that the lord, who pretends to be a good guy, is actually mistreating the residents. And that the knights and male residents are all scum, and the female residents are treated like livestock."

"…Let's stop for a moment."

Noein said this to Pence and stopped with the golem.

"Hey? Finally got angry?"

Bendela turned around and, for the first time, saw Noein's expression, which made him shudder.

Pence, standing behind Noein, asked without looking at his face.

"What will you do?"

"Execute him. There's no other choice."

"…Understood."

...

Noein left the road and entered the forest, followed by the golem pulling Bendela and Pence as his guard.

When they reached a place out of sight from the road, the golem pulled Bendela down and pinned him.

"Hey, wait a minute. This is supposed to be exile, not execution, right?"

"That's right, it's exile. If I say, 'I have properly exiled Bendela,' the residents won't know what happens to you afterward, will they?"

Noein replied coldly to the panicked Bendela.

"...I really intended to just exile you. But if you spread lies outside and continue to harm me and the residents, that's a different story. I have to protect my territory and the residents, not just from physical enemies but from malicious rumors as well."

"Okay, okay, I get it. It was just a joke. I won't say anything bad outside."

"Why do you think I would believe you? Has there ever been a single credible element in your words and actions? Pence?"

"No, I can't trust this guy at all."

When Noein turned around, Pence agreed, trying not to look at his face out of fear.

"Hey, hey, wait a minute. You're the lord, right? Is it okay to twist the punishment you decided on?"

"To protect the residents, it's no big deal to get my hands a little dirty."

As Noein said this, one of the golems held Bendela's head with its large hands.

"No, wait. No, wait, please. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"See you, traitor."

"I don't want to die! Please forgive me! Forgive me, Gah!"

...

With the headless corpse beside him, Noein was vomiting profusely.

"Ugh... Finally, it's over."

"Are you okay? I could have taken care of this guy, you know?"

When Pence asked, Noein raised his head and showed a slightly tired smile.

"That's not an option. I decided to go as far as to silence him, even if it means twisting my own judgment. If I have to do something like this, I should be the one to get my hands dirty. At least for the first time."

He thought this, but the shock after the act was immense. A few minutes after disposing of Bendela, Noein was suddenly overwhelmed by the realization that he had taken a human life and vomited.

"Taking a human life for the first time is tough. And in such a way. What a way to lose my virginity."

"Hehe, that's true. Everyone is shocked the first time."

Pence laughed at Noein's playful comment, remembering the joke among mercenaries that compared the first kill to losing one's virginity.

"...I've always tried to show more than enough love to the residents. Why did it come to this?"

"There will always be hopeless scum like this in any era. Lord Noein is not at fault."

Noein sighed, showing a sad expression for a moment.

"I guess I have to accept it... Do we need to bury this body?"

"Leave it. Monsters and animals will clean it up. If we bury it, it might be dug up when we expand our territory here in the future, which would be troublesome."

"That's true. Let's go back then."

"Sure, let's go back."

Wiping the golem's blood-stained hands with dirt and washing them with water from a canteen, Noein returned to the capital of Noeina with Pence.

...

After informing the residents that "Bendela was successfully exiled" and returning home, Noein called Matilda to his bedroom to tell her the truth, so the maids wouldn't hear.

"…I'm sorry to burden you with such a task, Lord Noein. If possible, I would have taken on this role myself."

Matilda, hearing Noein's story, hugged him, enveloping him in her embrace.

"Thank you, Matilda. But this was my decision as the lord. If I decided to cross the line, I should take the first step myself. Otherwise, I wouldn't be fit to be a lord."

As a noble lord, he couldn't remain clean forever. As the territory grew, he would need the capacity to accept both good and bad. He might have to order his knights to do dirty work like this.

If so, he should be the first to get his hands dirty in this territory. That's why he crushed Bendela's head himself. At that moment, the blood-stained hands of the golem were also his own.

"…I think I will have to get my hands dirty again in the future. Will you still be by my side, Matilda?"

"Of course, Lord Noein. No matter what happens, I will always be by your side. My love for you will never waver."

"…Thank you. Matilda, come here."

"Yes, Lord Noein."

The two collapsed onto the bed, and Matilda comforted and soothed Noein with all her heart and soul.