He bent his face, dripping with grease, to examine the two of them closely.
"Brats without a shred of fear. To think you'd play bandit in broad daylight... Well, well? And one's a wench at that. A pretty-faced girl plotting robbery—truly, the end times are upon us."
Even hearing the merchant's sneering words, the two could not open their mouths. Never in their dreams had they imagined being captured so futilely. Yuliana in particular was bitterly regretting her decision moments ago. From choosing to attack this carriage to conceiving the robbery in the first place—all of it.
*'I was wrong. What do I do now? If this becomes known in Karsel...'*
Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her eyes. She felt as though she could die right then and there. To think she had fallen into such circumstances... She no longer even thought of her own fate. Even if she were taken to a major city, tried, and beheaded, she had resolved not to reveal her identity.
*—The princess of Karsel was captured while committing robbery alongside her escort knight.—*
If this fact were known in Karsel or the neighboring kingdoms, it would bring about unimaginable consequences. The damage to the nation's image was as obvious as fire. Moreover, it was clear that her father, whose heart was already weak, would receive a terrible shock. Recalling that fact, Yuliana gritted her teeth and looked at Michel.
*'No matter what circumstances we face from now on, no matter what happens, we must hide our identities.'*
It was a silent promise, but Michel understood and nodded. He was in the same position. His father Hails, who placed all his trust in Michel alone, would surely lose his appetite immediately upon learning of this.
They had attempted the robbery confident of success, but the result was too futile. Perhaps unable to escape the shock of defeat, Michel's face was utterly haggard. The merchant watching them clicked his tongue.
"Pitiful, but it can't be helped. I'll have to hand them over for trial in Dontrel, our destination. Before that, shall I learn their names? Hey, Helber. Try to figure out their names and identities..."
"Understood."
The mercenary called Helber approached and began his interrogation.
"Hey. What's your name?"
"......."
"Where are you from?"
Helber's questions continued, but the two did not open their mouths. As if they had made a promise. At that sight, Helber shook his head.
"They won't talk."
"Is that so? Then there's a way."
The merchant approached with an extremely confident expression. Taking a long wooden plank from the cart hitched behind the carriage, he ordered the two loaded onto the cart and bound tightly.
"Tie them up firmly. So they cannot possibly escape..."
"You needn't worry."
The mercenaries rushed in and carried the two one by one, loading them onto the last cart. Then they firmly secured the two's wrists and ankles. The cart seemed to have been made for transporting slaves. There were several rings embedded in each seat to which shackles could be attached. Even while being bound to the cart, Yuliana said nothing. A light of resignation shone in her eyes.
"Hehehe. This should do. How is it? Isn't it splendid?"
Seeing the plank the merchant triumphantly held up moments later, Yuliana felt a spine-chilling dread. Written upon it was content she could never have imagined.
*[Inept Band of Thieves. Amateur bandits captured due to lack of skill while attempting to rob a carriage in broad daylight.]*
Roughly such words were carved largely on the plank. Realizing the merchant's intent, Yuliana involuntarily screamed.
"No! Please don't do that."
"Well, well? So you're not mute. Good. If you don't want the sign hung on you, why don't you honestly reveal your names and identities?"
But revealing their names and identities was out of the question. The merchant looked at the two, who remained silent, and shook his head as if it could not be helped.
"Fine. It matters not, since you'll be sent to trial and beheaded anyway. You never know? There might be someone who recognizes you on the way to Dontrel..."
Mercilessly, the merchant nailed the plank to the side of the cart. Right beneath where Michel and Yuliana were bound, to be exact. Watching this, Michel and Yuliana's faces grew deathly pale.
*'O, God...'*
In the end, Yuliana had no choice but to invoke a God she normally never sought. If in these circumstances they were to encounter someone who knew them... The very thought was too horrifying. Moreover, if they were to meet the mercenaries they had abandoned, there would be no greater humiliation. With the desperate thought that they had to escape this predicament somehow, Yuliana urgently called out to the merchant as he was about to board the carriage.
"E-Excuse me."
"What is it?"
Yuliana forced a smile and pleaded with the merchant.
"I'm sorry, but couldn't you release us? We will never rob again."
But unfortunately, the merchant was not a man moved by pleas. It was a fact obvious at a glance. He shook his head decisively as if there were no need to even consider it.
"Nonsense. Judging by your actions, you look like ones who've robbed many times already; that won't do. Those who recklessly attempt to steal others' property must pay the appropriate price."
"B-But this is our first time?"
"How am I to believe that? You never know. If you honestly confess your names and identities, I might think on it once..."
But their names and identities were things they had to hide at all costs. Glaring at the speechless Yuliana, the merchant and the two mercenaries silently boarded the carriage.
"Hiyah."
Moments later the carriage began to move, and Michel and Yuliana were pitifully loaded onto the cart, placed in the position of being transported to Dontrel. Bitterly regretting having plotted the robbery. With the most humiliating inscription carved into the cart's side, the two had no choice but to hang their heads deeply.
"You're truly a wicked human. How could you do such a thing..."
The merchant turned his head at the shaggy mercenary's words. An expression of satisfaction was evident on his face.
"What do you mean?"
"But she's a princess, in name and all; would she really endure such humiliation?"
The merchant smiled broadly.
"Don't worry. In all my life I've never seen a girl with such a wild temper. Only by thoroughly breaking her habits this time will that temper of hers subside."
"Well, plenty of women have already been tamed by your hand and turned into docile lambs."
The lantern-jawed mercenary nodding as if that made sense was not, in fact, human. Freely moving but not alive, he was a Death Knight, bearing a body cursed through the soul as its medium.
He was none other than the Death Knight Helbertron, who had been granted life by Damon. The one listening to the conversation with amusement from the side was indisputably Raindelph. That much was evident from the hastily fabricated names "Helber" and "Rain."
Michel's defeat was due to precisely that. No matter how outstanding his skill, he could not help but lose to Death Knights possessing skill enough to rank within the top ten of all Arcadia. The two currently wore forms that left absolutely no room for doubt as human. Thanks to Damon's superb craftsmanship.
The true identity of the grease-dripping merchant was Damon, who had changed his appearance using the Reverse Body Transformation Technique. Helbertron looked over Damon's face in wonder.
"But the more I look, the more amazing it is. How could you take on such a typical merchant's appearance?"
"It's surprisingly simple. Because this is the appearance of a real, existing person."
Damon shook his head as if amused. In fact, the appearance he currently wore was that of Anthony, the manager of Lorbein's jewelry shop. When he had wanted to transform into a merchant, Anthony's appearance was the first to come to mind, and as long as it remained in his memory, disguise was a piece of cake. Moreover, since Lorbein was quite far from here, there was virtually no one who would recognize him. It was so perfect that even Michel and Yuliana had been completely fooled...
Raindelph, who had been listening silently from the side, opened his mouth.
"But truly amazing. That girl looks more and more like the Saintess of old. I might have mistaken her had you not told me beforehand."
"You almost fell for it too?"
Watching the two Death Knights conversing intimately, Damon quietly fell into thought. At the mere mention of her name in conversation, memories of Daphne flooded in like a tidal wave. He had not known he was so deeply immersed in Daphne.
Brightly shining eyes. The gentle tone whispering in his ear. And the soft lips that had touched his cheek. His chest swelled at the mere thought. Though it was a memory from 500 years ago, to Damon it was as vivid as yesterday. As if something had occurred to him, Raindelph turned his head and immediately froze.
"Come to think of it, you were quite... toward the Saintess..."
Seeing Damon lost in memories, Raindelph quietly closed his mouth. Even without Helbertron's urgent gesture of pressing a finger to his lips. Helbertron lowered his voice and cautioned.
"Shh. Be quiet. We all know what his relationship with the Saintess was like."
"Right."
Taking the reins in place of the lost-in-thought Damon, Helbertron quietly drove the carriage. Though it was a Death Knight's body, there was no problem in driving the carriage.
Michel and Yuliana, bound and dragged on the cart, soon began quarreling. Because as their minds calmed somewhat, their anger toward each other flared to extremes.
"You idiot. You couldn't even properly handle those mere mercenaries?"
Michel shouted back as if unwilling to lose.
"Damn it. They were definitely not ordinary mercenaries. You should choose properly if you're going to choose. Anyway, nothing good has ever come from following your words."
"Still, all talk and no action... Come to think of it, that makes sense."
A strange madness swirled in Yuliana's eyes.
"You lost to the Dullahan too, and you lost in a duel with the mage as well? So losing to mercenaries makes perfect sense. I should have recognized your skill long ago..."
"Damn it."
Michel, seeing red, bellowed. As Yuliana recklessly pressed the argument, his fury finally exploded. But Yuliana showed no sign of backing down in the slightest.
"I should have brought an ordinary defender from Karsel. They would have been a hundred times better than you."
"Shut up."
Unable to watch the two bickering any longer, Helbertron roared.
"You fools. Be quiet."
But unable to see, the two paid him no heed. Had they not been firmly bound, they would have rushed at each other as if to fight to the death. Only when Damon intervened did the two stop fighting. Damon deliberately glared at them with fierce eyes.
"You insolent wretches, fighting even after being caught thieving. If you don't stop at once, I'll strip you both bare and drag you behind the carriage."
To a threat that could be considered most fitting, the two couldn't help but flinch. Believing a merchant was someone who could very well do such a thing, the two closed their mouths as if they had promised. To the two, Damon issued further threats.
"A slave market lies a little further ahead. If you keep making noise, there's no need to bother taking you along; I'll simply sell you there, so behave yourselves."
Having finished speaking, Damon swept over their entire bodies with sinister eyes. Michel and Yuliana felt chills run through their bodies involuntarily. The merchant rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.
"Come to think of it, that might not be bad either. The girl is quite pretty, so if I sell her as a prostitute she could fetch a decent price, and the boy knows how to use a sword, so I could simply sell him as a slave soldier in the north. Shall I give that a try?"
At such horrifying words, the two were struck mute as if they had eaten honey. Because if that actually happened it would be truly disastrous, Michel and Yuliana vowed again and again never to open their mouths a second time. Inwardly grumbling countless times that if they had to be caught, they had been caught by a filthy wretch.