In the past, Missha used to think that all her worries would disappear if she hired a Spiritual Beast. But the reality was different.
«So it's the Glacier Beast, Skadia». His father's cold voice and gaze, as if speaking to a stranger, remained the same. Only now, he didn't throw the words as directly as before. «Have you told anyone?»
«N-I haven't...»
«Okay. Let's keep it between us for now». It was an order, not a request.
«Okay...» Missha couldn't say anything else and just nodded. He felt guilty. He didn't make a normal contract with the beast. Using a mysterious item called the Frost Spirit Ring, the contract was successfully made. If his father knew...
This type of treatment must be natural.
Of course, she didn't have the courage to ask this. His father was someone he feared more than anything else. So, when he asked her to take the barbarian back to the mansion, she said she would. But he didn't say a word to Bjorn.
Yes, this is a problem that I have to overcome alone.
Hadn't he already received a favor that was quite difficult to pay for? It couldn't overwhelm him more. Although he tried to rationalize it that way, it carried a different truth within it.
I don't want to be discovered.
He didn't want to reveal his situation. Hikurod, Dwalkie, and Rotmiller... Even if everyone knew it, she wanted Bjorn to think she was coping well. So I went home more often.
«I have to go now. I have to stop by my parents' house today.»
He did what he could. She faced the gazes of her brothers asking her why she visited so often, the contemptuous gazes of the servants, and the loneliness at dinner as if she were alone on a remote island.
I can't run away anymore.
He learned from Bjorn that nothing was achieved by fleeing. A month, two months, three months passed like this.
«Hasn't that man arrived yet?» His father's insistence that he bring Bjorn intensified. She pretended to be reluctant, but it seemed like her father knew it was a lie since he made this suggestion. «Bring it here in a month. Then I will reconsider your treatment. You understand?»
In simple terms, it meant that she would let the family know that she had signed a contract with a Spiritual Beast and would treat her like a child. She couldn't understand why he was going so far to meet Bjorn. However, Missha decided to invite Bjorn, although she didn't like that he was technically using him.
I would do better to pay him.
He thought that if he did well, he could have more confidence against Bjorn. Furthermore, he calculated that if he gained the support of the Karlstein family, it would help his progress.
«Okay.»
«...What? Oh really? Are you serious? Oh! You can't take it back, okay?»
«Okay, what time can we go tomorrow?»
Contrary to his concerns, Bjorn willingly accepted. However, his happiness was short-lived and he began to worry again. He couldn't hide it anymore when they got home. What should I do? It was clear that if Bjorn went on a rampage there, it would get out of hand.
...That's an exaggerated ego! Ego!
Missha erased her anxiety with a smile. Bjorn may have been a warm warrior, but sometimes he could be colder than anyone else. I wouldn't do something like that in the home of a pureblood family, in the sacred land of another tribe. It's not that they were related by blood either. There was no way he would choose to antagonize the Karlsteins at that price.
Mhm, no way. Why would he do that for me...?
Missha thus organized her thoughts. Admitting it made his heart beat for some reason, but reality and dreams were strictly different. Now I knew it.
But what was this?
«¡Behell-ahhhhhhh!»
His tail hardened at the fierce scream, loud enough to make his ears hurt. It was natural. The servant seemed to wonder what was going on, but having been with him for a while, Missha knew.
«You must have a problem in your head».
That means «I'm going to break your head!»
***
«You're crazy?! For! Why are you doing this all of a sudden?!» Missha jumped up and grabbed my forearm, then turned her head and scanned the surroundings as if anyone had heard the commotion. Seeing that, even I felt sorry for her.
It's like seeing me in elementary school.
Surrendered and lonely, erasing herself by prioritizing the feelings of others; At one time, I also thought that was normal.
«Why do I do this? I just wanted to do it».
«What are you talking about?!»
I removed Missha's agitated arm and said, «Missha, you are allowed to do whatever you want from time to time».
"¿Q-qué...?"
«Why do you hold back? Putting up with it is only good for the other person».
«You are my family ...»
Family, shit. At this point they should be called antagonists.
I asked again: «So your family is more important than your life?».
Missha closed her mouth. He was sure that she knew in his head what the origin of his effort to visit his family periodically while longing for a harmonious relationship really was. It was all nonsense, a persistent affection that had no use, an emotion that was in no way different from the definition of ineffectiveness.
«Answer me. If so, I'll stop here».
I asked about her intentions once again, but Missha didn't say anything. That was the answer for me.
«From now on, just look. You won't have anything to worry about».
«B-but if you hurt that person...»
Yes, there would be a commotion. A fine wouldn't be the problem. I would have to face the wrath of the Karlstein family, who presumably valued honor.
«Miss Karlstein, when did I promise something I couldn't keep?»
«...Nuncaaa.»
«Yeah, so trust me.»
I didn't start this without a plan. Ignorant barbarian mode glowed when turned on and off while monitoring the situation.
Step.
Leaving Missha behind, I took a step forward. The servant remained arrogant. «What have you told him? No matter how poorly learned manners are...» I grabbed and lifted the man by the collar of his shirt. «Aren't you the rude one? A servant of the Karlstein family behaving arrogantly towards his master?»
«¡E-eso es...!»
The guy looked hurt, with an expression of disbelief. I was sure this seemed surreal. This was not a dark alley. How could he imagine that something like this would happen in front of the doors of the mansion in broad daylight?
» D-Leave... Ugh!» Was it because he lacked imagination? Even his words were similar to what the others with head problems had said. «Y-if you do this...»
What, something big is going to happen?
Smile.
Anyone who knew that wouldn't do something like that. If he did, it would be more correct to assume he had a plan. To think they wouldn't know something as simple as this... «You must have a problem in your head». I clenched my fist tightly and applied moderate force. If I killed him, not even I would be able to bear the aftermath. «Don't worry. Most of the time it is fixed with a small beating».
«M-mmm!»
I grabbed the guy by the neck while he was trying to say something, silenced him, and gently rubbed the right part to hit. Then, as if to beat him, I hit him only with the force of my wrist.
¡Zas!
The bastard fainted from a blow. Holding him by the neck, I checked the wound as if inspecting an object. Blood flowed from his crushed nose, but this should serve as an example in the future.
«…¿Cuál es tu plan ahora? Si mi padreee se entera, no se quedará quieto». Missha me observaba con una expresión casi resignada y me preguntó mis próximos pasos. No interfirió porque le dije que confiara en mí, pero supongo que seguía intranquila.
«Ya verás».
Levanté al aturdido hombre con una mano y me dirigí hacia la entrada de la mansión. Al pasar por el jardín, vi criados alrededor, gente cortando el césped o cargando equipaje.
«¡Eek! Daos prisa y avisad al señorito Karlstein».
Todas las miradas se centraron en mí. Algunos de los criados salieron corriendo hacia el interior de la mansión. Los seguí a través de la puerta abierta.
«Detente, bárbaro».
Me asediaron una docena de personas bestia, personal de combate completamente armado y poseedor de un espíritu feroz.
As soon as I stopped, the chief (who appeared to be the captain) opened his mouth in an order. «Miss Karlstein, could you explain to me what's going on here? Who is this barbarian and why is Brante, who is supposed to guard the front door, in that state?».
So his name was Brante.
«Uh, eso es.
«Missha, no need to explain». I threw the useless Brante towards them. Just when they caught him by surprise, I screamed so loudly that my voice echoed throughout the mansion. «What the hell are you doing?!»
All the beastmen seemed stunned, as if they did not understand what the situation was.
«I came here invited by the head of the family. But this guy insulted me, calling me an ignorant barbarian!».
Missha tilted her head at my subsequent scream, and then whispered softly so that only I could hear her: «Hey, did you say that?».
He had a tendency to pay attention to trivial things. He could pretend he had lost his memory from the blow.
«Don't lie! There's no way Brante would do something like that». His confusion was short-lived. The bald captain refuted it as if it didn't make sense. The way I saw it, he was digging his own grave. Ignorant barbarians were immune to attacks of logic.
«A lie? Are you insulting me too?»
When I took a step forward as if I were going to attack, Calvo took a step back. I didn't think it was because I was afraid of battle. Maybe it was because I was the guest of the house.
«What does this mean?» While the guards didn't know what to do, a man jumped from the second floor up the central staircase. It was a face he remembered. «You are... Bjorn Yandel?»
He was Missha's older brother, whom I met on the third floor. The name was... I didn't remember. Wait, did I remember his name in the first place? I decided to leave trivial matters behind and focus on the moment.
«It can't be, are you my father's guest?»
«How long without seeing each other».
«Skip the greeting. What's going on here?» The older brother narrowed his eyes at me. «If you can't explain it well, not even you will be able to return safely».
Gosh, those eyes were fierce.
I saved your life last time, remember? Anyway, I don't like this bastard.
I repeated the same explanation, that I had been insulted by Brante the gatekeeper, and then added another story. «If it had been just me, I would have endured it. But what's wrong with this lunatic? How dare he insult Missha while serving the family?». I pointed to the unconscious Brante and screamed.
Clear wrinkles appeared on the brother's forehead. «I told him to abstain when there were visitors».
It was a pretty absurd reaction.
It was an improvised story, but are you going to let it go? Damn, it's worse here than I thought.
It must have been something that happened every day. I spoke, without hiding my growing displeasure. «So you all knew it and still ignored it?»
«It's a family matter. I don't have to explain to you. And all of you, go to your posts».
«Yes sir.»
Soon Missha's brother dismissed the guards and turned to stare at me. «Bjorn Yandel, it's clear that it was a mistake on our part, so we won't make it a problem».
«¿Y?»
«...If it is true that this man has insulted you, he will receive appropriate punishment. That should be enough to satisfy you.»
«Satisfy, huh?» I interrupted my words and smiled satisfied. Schooling a spoiled bastard, and also imprinting in front of many that I was not someone to mess with: Originally, this was my plan.
I guess I'll have to opt for plan B.
I smiled and approached the brother. «Do you also have problems with your head?».
Plans can always change.