Chapter 12
“Th-This is—!”
Before he could even try to explain himself, the bandits approached the carts and jerked their chins at the drivers, telling them to get down.
Of the four carts the Merchant Alliance had brought, three were taken.
“See? We told you—we’re not bad people. What kind of bandits leave something behind like this?”
Despite the absurdity of the remark, the merchants couldn’t argue back.
If they did, they might lose the remaining cart as well—or worse, spill blood right here.
Just as suddenly as they had appeared, the bandits vanished.
Their cart-driving skills were excellent.
“W-What do we do?! With just one cart left, we can’t do anything!”
“I even borrowed money for this purchase!”
The merchants clung to Baker and cried.
It was a miracle they had survived, but if they returned like this, they would be buried in debt.
Baker felt just as hopeless, but if he couldn’t resolve this situation somehow, all the blame would fall on him.
“L-Let’s go to the Baron! This crime happened inside the territory—so the lord has to handle it!”
“That’s right! It’s the lord’s responsibility! Let’s go to the manor!”
They dragged the remaining cart back into Thesis, and without even unloading it, went straight to the baron’s castle.
***
“Baron. The Merchant Alliance members urgently request an audience. It doesn’t seem like they’ll leave easily.”
At Glenn’s report, I smiled faintly.
‘Just as expected—they came right away.’
Of course they would. Their carefully acquired goods had been stolen. They must be completely out of their minds right now.
“Are the people I brought ready?”
“Yes. They’ve all changed clothes and are standing by.”
“Good. Shall we recover the lost money—with interest this time?”
I dressed two of the mercenaries I’d brought from the capital as if they were my personal guards, then went down to the lobby where the Merchant Alliance was waiting.
Just looking at their half-disguised appearances and anxious expressions showed how desperate they were.
They had been talking noisily among themselves, but when I appeared with my guards, they went quiet, eyes wide.
“It’s been a while, Baker. I hope there’s a good reason for storming in here with this many people. I’d rather not punish familiar townsfolk as rioters.”
“R-Rioters? What are you talking about? We came to ask the lord for protection!”
“Protection? Did something happen?”
Looking like he might burst into tears at any moment, he explained what had happened—that bandits had appeared in the Grasico Forest and taken three carts from their caravan, and that he begged the lord to step in and resolve the matter.
I tilted my head, looking confused.
“What do you mean? Bandits appeared?”
“It’s true! A group of men in black clothes wearing masks—!”
“No, no, that’s not what I mean. I mean—haven’t bandits been appearing all along? That’s why I’ve been paying vigilante subsidies this whole time.”
“P-Pardon? Ah—th-that is, well…”
I frowned deeply and stared at him.
“You’re acting as if this is the first time you’ve ever encountered bandits.”
“That’s not it! The bandits we met this time were on a completely different level from the ones we’ve dealt with before!”
“So you’re saying a new bandit group appeared?”
“Yes! Exactly!”
Still refusing to confess to the end.
Well, that’s fine. It was expected.
It just means they threw away the chance I gave them to repent.
“Even so, it’s clear now that you’ve been wasting my money.”
“Wasting it? We followed your orders and formed the vigilante group as diligently as possible!”
“Then why does everyone look completely uninjured? When you encountered bandits, didn’t you try to fight and protect what was yours? Did you even draw your swords?”
At that, Baker’s mouth clamped shut like a shell.
‘Talking about vigilantes when you never even thought of fighting.’
The mercenaries who’d been sent to play the role of bandits already knew there probably weren’t any real bandits in the forest—and therefore no vigilantes either—but they’d still worried there might at least be some guards.
Subduing attackers without injuring them isn’t easy.
Fortunately for the mercenaries, neither the merchants nor the so-called guards had dared move at all. They’d been frozen in fear.
Well, that just made things easier for me.
“It’s infuriating, but we’ll postpone investigating you until after the bandits are dealt with. Like it or not, protecting the people is a lord’s duty. Glenn!”
“Yes, Baron.”
“Prepare the mercenaries I brought.”
“Understood.”
Glenn immediately moved according to my intent, and the Merchant Alliance members—who had been scamming the barony for years—could only stare at each other with pale faces.
***
The mercenaries entered the Grasico Forest swiftly.
After waiting a short while, the sounds of clashing swords and shouting began echoing from deep within the woods.
The merchants and townspeople standing behind me huddled together, frozen stiff.
But I simply crossed my arms and stared calmly into the darkening forest.
‘An hour should be enough.’
There was nothing tense about this at all.
This was a completely staged performance—rigged from the start.
Still, it was essential that I present myself as a dignified lord.
“Baron. The bandits may come this way. Wouldn’t it be better for you to remain in the castle?”
“You want me to put the townspeople in danger while I wait safely behind walls? Glenn, are you trying to make me into a noble who doesn’t even understand duty and responsibility?”
“I apologize. That wasn’t my intention.”
This exchange, too, had been rehearsed in advance—but the nearby townspeople stared at me in shock.
The Rosalyn Thesis they knew was infamous only for replacing maids prettier than herself. Of course this surprised them.
In case anyone doubted, I added a word.
“I’m not the Rosalyn Thesis I used to be. I promised my late father that I would become a worthy successor. That’s a promise I must keep.”
At that, Glenn looked at me again with moved eyes.
Well—he’d suffered the most of all.
As I stood there striking a noble pose, the mercenaries emerged from the forest, binding the men who had played the bandits.
“Some of them escaped, but we captured most of them, my lord!”
“Good work. Load them onto that cart and head straight to Balkein. Hand them over to the police—they’ll take care of it.”
“Yes, sir!”
They left Thesis quickly, before merchants or townspeople could try to get a closer look—exactly as planned.
Those who remained brought out the three carts that had been hidden away.
“It seems they haven’t sold off a single item yet. The ropes tying the cargo haven’t been loosened.”
At that, the merchants ran over to check the carts and jumped up and down in joy.
“Thank you, my lady! Thank you!”
“She’s not ‘my lady’ anymore! She’s the lord!”
“Long live the lord! Long live!”
Yes—this was exactly the reaction I wanted.
People would no longer question whether I was different from the Rosalyn of the past. That wasn’t important anymore.
Truthfully, they didn’t care who the lord was.
What mattered was how much the new lord helped their lives.
And since I was far more helpful than the incompetent lord before me, even if they discovered I was a fake someday, they’d keep their mouths shut.
“Good. We’re returning to the castle now. Baker and the Merchant Alliance executives will come with us. We still have things to discuss.”
Their excited mood instantly chilled.
The chairman Baker, the vice chairman, the treasurer, and several others followed me to the manor with tense expressions.
I made them wait outside the reception room, then called them in one by one—starting with the lowest-ranked.
Once they entered, I didn’t let them go back out. Since each person didn’t know what the one before had said, they eventually had no choice but to tell the truth.
Last came Baker—the one whose insides must have been burning every time another colleague entered the room.
“You’re last. Yes—Baker Mill.”
“Yes, Baron. A-About our failure to stop the bandits with the vigilante force, we truly—”
“Enough. Hearing the same thing over and over is tiresome, so I’ll ask directly.”
Without uncrossing my legs, I looked down at him coolly and asked:
“Were there bandits in the Grasico Forest?”
