Chapter 75 – Conflict (1)
75
Doubt is like a slowly spreading disease. At first, it was annoying, but it was tolerable pain, so I thought it would get better with time, so I thought it lightly and passed it over, but later it became out of control. The affected area is rotted to such an extent that it has to be completely removed.
Sophia learned that from Carl Leben. It was at a time when there was a debate about whether rumors spreading among the crowd should be controlled or whether an immediate battle is urgent and should be left as they are nothing more than words that will fade away unless they are true.
Rumors circulated within the army that the Demon King’s detachment had already occupied the capital and the emperor had surrendered and the war was over. Even though it was an absurd lie, there was no way to prove it to be false. At that time, the army had already advanced to the vicinity of the Devil’s Castle, so the soldiers could not confirm the news of the capital. The military spirit was dizzy. Anxiety that it could be a meaningless fight even if they won, lowered the morale of the soldiers.
In response, Carl gave the order to find out who spread the rumor, and immediately arrested several people and had them publicly executed. His severed neck was hung on a pole so that it could be seen far away. Some people drool at such atrocious treatment, but no one criticized the knife because they knew the seriousness of the situation. Stable supply became possible due to the victory in the battle that followed.
At the time, I thought so, but now that I think about it, there was no way the culprit could have been caught so quickly. It must have been Sejak’s activities secretly infiltrated by the enemies, and cracking down on it in one day is close to impossible. Carl probably brought a few of the death row inmates or innocent people who were originally scheduled to die. It could be seen that the threat to execute all those who spoke related to the public execution worked. In fact, after that, I caught and killed about 30 more.
Carl’s comments were usually like that. It was brutal but effective. The more cases in which Carl’s opinion was adopted in the army, the better the war went. It added to the awkwardness, but there were many people who lived high as much as that competence. Lloyd and Carl quarreled often. It was because of a difference of opinion.
Carl laughed at Lloyd, saying he was a kid who couldn’t see reality, and Lloyd sarcastically called Carl a vicious killer. It was after it was revealed that innocent people were mixed in among those who had been cut to death the day before.
To be precise, rather than being proven innocent, those close to the soldier risked their lives to visit Lloyd and plead his innocence with tears. Sophia knew the soldier was right. Maybe Lloyd knew too.
Carl often used the word “Prescription of the deadly drug” To protect himself from those who criticized and attacked his opinions. Even though it was an excuse, it was close to the truth. What the military needed at the time was to make the sick body able to move immediately, even if it was a poison close to poison.
At the time, Sophia thought that Carl’s treatment was too cruel, but he thought it could not be helped. He was like Lloyd at heart. Of course, it was human nature to want to prioritize moral judgment. Even more so, wasn’t it the body of a priest who worshiped the goddess? Nevertheless, Lee Sung admitted that Carl’s judgment was correct. In the end, it was a matter of logic and emotion. In times of crisis, logic usually wins.
Sophia didn’t know why the events of that time were still in her mind.
No, I could tell she already knew It’s just that emotions try to deny reason. Sophia decided to be honest with herself. In Sophia’s head, Lloyd’s words she had heard as she left the banquet hall were repeating over and over again.
Carl, I mean you. Maybe that day when I had my arms and legs cut off-
Sophia’s lips moved. After Carl left, saying he had work to do, he hadn’t come back yet. Extreme drug prescription. Reciting the word inwardly.
Inside Sofia, opinions of emotion and opinions of logic were continuing an endless discussion.
Carl couldn’t have done that to me, he’s the one who loves me, right? No. Carl will always be, you know. He’s a man who will do anything to get what he wants. But Carl loves me. How could he do that to someone he loves? Can you prove your love, Sophia? Really? Isn’t that just what you hoped for?
“I’m dizzy, Carl. I’m sad I’m depressed. Why aren’t you by my side I need you.”
Sophia murmured quietly in a melancholy voice. Close your eyes. I heard Arya cleaning. The sound of brushing, the sound of mopping. The rustle of the wind outside and the ticking of a second hand inside the room. If you twist her body slightly, you can hear the rustling sound of the blankets rubbing against each other. Because her prosthetic arm was removed, her limbs are missing. The feeling of not being there.
“Love is like a midsummer night’s dream,”
It is a song that is sung by imitating the song of a bard I once heard. Sophia felt her rhymes and sentences leak out of her mouth, sinking her stomach. I decided to sink her complex thoughts into the depths and fill her sleep with light songs, think pleasant thoughts, and put on a pleasant expression.
“You who loved me forget it when the night passes.”
But is it fate? She picked the wrong song. The lyrics following this are not what Sophia wants. In a more melancholy voice, he recites a pre-determined sentence. A clear, sweet voice spread calmly throughout the mansion.
“Without knowing the reason for living, with the memories of love buried, I will slowly grow old with time-” “And sometimes I will be abandoned- But it’s okay, if you who violated me last night were happy, that’s fine -“
Let’s ask Carl. She shouldn’t be upset, and if Carl comes back, let’s calmly bring out the questions we’ve been harboring with him. Carl will answer in one way or another. Whether he lies or avoids answering or he tells the truth. A tear fell from Sophia’s eye. That’s it. No matter what Carl answers, Sofia will nod her head and say yes.
Carl would tell me otherwise. Then he’s done with it. It’s over. Because those who love knives shouldn’t have doubts about knives. If Carl says he never did, he just has to live as if that’s the only truth. He just needs to trust the words of the person he loves rather than trusting the words of others. That’s it.
Carl laughed and told me that he could joke like that, and that he would tell me in a playful way that he was so sad because of it. I hope Lloyd was just drunk and saying something mean. Sophia longed for it. So this time, it ends with a simple happening, and as time goes by, we grow old together and meet the end.
Sophia waited for Carl to come. When she returned, she expected to put an end to her anxiety. While swearing at Lloyd together, she jokes around like the day before, and casually endures Carl’s sexual orientation, which she thinks is a bit harsh. She falls asleep in Carl’s arms, and the next day she sees Carl’s apologetic face and munches on the delicious food Carl feeds her. She hoped that such a daily life could continue.
Lord, look upon me. Take care that my fragile soul is not buried and eroded by the great waves of sorrow.
As Sophia tried to rub her eyes, she realized that she had no arms. It’s still like this. She laughs dejectedly as she sings the last line of the song.
“Just one day, I hope you don’t just tell me that I’m ugly in front of another woman. Especially in front of beautiful women.”
… I don’t want to be abandoned.
“If that day comes, I will cry forever, cry… Teya.”
Sophia’s breathing is thin and long.
*
Ossot stood behind the sword, hardening his expression. The emperor looked down on a man named Carl Leben. It’s been a while too. At least, that’s what Osot thought.
Carl and Osoth secretly entered the palace. Getting in wasn’t too difficult. Even if he just walked in openly, the guards couldn’t even react. It was not difficult to deceive the knights’ feelings.
“Sorry. Sorry. Reven. Please just once… “
“Yes, I have a friend here who knows very well that the brewery is my source of funds, so why did I worry about that? Yeah, thanks to our friend, we had to solve some riddles. That’s true.”
A crunching sound is heard. Inut trembled in fear. The sword, which dared to insist that Osot would do it instead, freed Inut’s wrists from being tied. Carl grinned and smiled. “There is a house that is good at torture around here. Shall we go together? A date for the two of you?”
This nut trembled and dropped his lips and limbs. Carl looked at Nut who shook his head and said troubledly.
“Why. Huh? You hate me? Oh, I bet. Well, that’s why I must have stuck with the emperor.”
“No, that’s not it. I mean, the emperor took my family hostage… “
“Oh, keep talking. Because the emperor took your family hostage?”
“He told me that he would burn the house down if I didn’t find out whereabouts of Carl, so I just kept the secret. It’s true, believe me!”
“Oh~”
Carl grinned. The brewer was well aware of the meaning of that laugh. It was the smile he had when he beheaded the former brewer and handed over the place to Inut. After that, Inut had never looked directly into Carl’s face. It was because he was smiling.
“How did the emperor know you and threaten you?”
“… “
“You have to think about that and open your mouth, Master Brewer. Right?”
“Please… I will never betray you again. Mr Reben. So just have mercy!”
The only person who knows about Carl’s relationship with the brewer, and the risk of betrayal.
The brewer is Inut himself.
