If I Disobey the Duke

Shattered (3)

The golden dust of sunlight fell through the tiny prison window.  A shadow fell on half of Vlad’s face.

He just quietly looked down at the man kneeling in front of him. He was a monarch who gave the final judgement to a guilty soul.

A feeling of intimidation that Rocus could not dare to disobey naturally crushed the air.

Unfortunately, he was foolish. He was such an ignorant and immature beast that he forgot that if he ran into a tiger’s jaws, he would die.

Rocus’s eyes blazed like green flames. “I know you were aiming for the Isles from the beginning. There must be a pile of half aristocratic women who want the title of duchess. That’s why you wanted my sister, who is a commoner woman… You bastard!”

Vlad stepped on his thigh.

He just put his foot on him. However, Rocus could not move, as if he had been crushed by a heavy rock. Even if he used a little force, it seemed that his raw flesh would be crushed.

The mood in the cell was terrible.

“There is only one reason you are living your life now.” Vlad exerted strength and pressed down.

Rocus clenched his teeth at the pressure and pain that squeezed his muscles. He looked like he was being crushed to death by a falling stone wall.

Instead of explaining further, Vlad narrowed his eyes for a moment. He had to pay the price. It was a man who crawled into his own land to intimidate his wife. No simple punishment would suffice…

“If it weren’t for the sister whom you ignore, I would have had that proud head of yours rolling around in Cadis Jail.”

Considering what he had done to Lily, he wanted to pull out his head with his bare hands.

Vlad was patient. He couldn’t even afford to put a single drop of sadness on Lily’s life. Narrowing his eyes terrifyingly, he lifted the foot that was pressing on Rocus’s thigh. “…You’re like a parasite in many ways. Isn’t it shameful to be alive?”

He crookedly put his weight on one leg, glancing over Rocus’s face. Rocus’s self-esteem was so crushed that he wanted to grab him by the collar right away. The corners of Vlad’s lips twisted with ridicule.

“Think of it as luck that there is only one use left before you reap the cost of your life.”

Rocus gritted his teeth as he endured the pain. “The payment…  I’ll give it to you if you want.”

It was obvious that the aristocrats who had tried to marry their sister had their intentions.  All of them were like that, so there was nothing special about it.

He realized it after setting foot in Arcadia, especially Cadis.

How in the world is this place called the land of monsters?

Until Duke De Winter took over, Cadis was frankly fodder for the monsters that would come in and devour both humans and livestock when bored.

In exchange for protection, the new lord filled the city with cursed races or morons who lost their limbs in war.

The hole for money to come out of was the land narrower than the eye of a needle. He felt like the money was flying along with the wind.  A stench that his sister was unaware of.

“Even if this is known, it will only harm the duke. I will make your pockets overflow with bundles of money.” Rocus’s muffled words grew harsher. He couldn’t fight it, and his temper started to boil in the end. “Please just return my sister. To her home.”

“…”

The air changed. It was such a clear change that even a foolish idiot would be able to notice.

White frost seemed to seep from the iron gate to the place where he knelt.

Rocus’s body, feeling the cold and silent anger, trembled uncontrollably. It looked like he was about to snap his jaw. He, himself, felt fear. He couldn’t quite accept it.

“Honestly, it would be better for the duke to take interest in a precious young girl with another bloodline! You’re a duke, so it wouldn’t be weird to have two or three concubines… Argh!”

Vlad lightly kicked Rocus on the shoulder. His vision whitened. He curled up like a shrimp on the floor and twisted his body. Veins surfaced on his neck, but then the boot stepped on his shattered bone.

With a second scream, Rocus desperately grabbed Vlad’s boots. No matter how pushed, he did not budge.

“I want would rather slaughter your three people than give my wife. You are going too far.”

“Urgh, uh…! Adgh, my sister… I’m sorry, I won’t even do it… This monster…”

“The Isles will trample on her. She will go back to the person she deserves. In perfect condition.”

Vlad, who had been slowly loading the weight on the boots, suddenly stopped. It was like a beast that heard the rustling of the bushes.

He suddenly removed his foot and turned to the doorway. His demeanor changed entirely. He even looked nervous.

The moment Vlad took a step, Rocus grabbed his shoulder and yelled. He let out a hoarse noise in pain as he breathed heavily. “If I had known you were this much, I would have cut off my sister’s foot and stopped her from coming! How long has she been living here?  How terrible it must have been!”

The whites in his eyes were red and bloodshot. It was a color similar to that of his shoulder that had burst and was dripping with blood.