Episode 101: Special Treatment

“Very well— I have duly received this pledge.”

Siegfried took the pledge that Pebrio had finished writing.

He rolled it up neatly and placed it into a cylindrical container.

“T-then… you’ll keep your promise, won’t you…!”

“Of course. Now then… shall I show you to your room?”

“For Siegfried-sama to personally guide me…!”

Following Siegfried, Pebrio left the room.

Siegfried’s tone had taken on a politeness that was absent before.

(Well, that’s only natural… we’re accomplices now, after all…!)

Yes, accomplices. The moment Pebrio offered up slaves and Siegfried accepted, they were bound together.

The two left the strategy room and stepped outside the headquarters.

The sky was dyed a deep crimson, the surroundings bathed in the hues of dusk.

Tents that had collapsed in battle were being re-pitched by the Eastern Army.

Pebrio assumed one of those tents would be assigned to him as lodging.

But Siegfried passed by the row of tents, heading toward a rocky slope at the edge of the encampment.

Their destination was—a cave, its mouth gaping open in the rocky terrain.

“This is… the food storage, isn’t it…?”

Around the Western Army’s encampment were several natural caves, their interiors maintaining stable temperatures year-round.

This trait was used to store food supplies.

“As you say. Let’s go inside.”

“Huh?”

Pebrio showed a hint of confusion but didn’t voice any objections.

He had to avoid anything that might sour Siegfried’s mood.

The cave’s interior was dimly lit, with just enough outside light filtering in.

Yet, thanks to good ventilation, it felt hardly damp.

The passage was wide enough for two or three people to walk side by side, sloping gently deeper inside.

Siegfried proceeded down the path, stopping abruptly at a certain point.

By now, almost no outside light reached this far.

Ahead lay darkness—but since this had been a storage, there should be an open space beyond.

“Thanks to this cave, we’ve been greatly helped.”

“Helped?”

“Yes. Thanks to it—we’ve had no trouble finding a place to house prisoners.”

Siegfried snapped his fingers.

In response, a torch in the corner of the cave flickered to life.

In an instant, the depths of the cave were illuminated, revealing its full extent.

“Wha…!”

Pebrio couldn’t help but cry out. Before his eyes stood—an iron grate.

That alone wasn’t surprising.

This storage had also served as a wine cellar for high-quality vintages kept for Volfirio and other high-ranking officers.

The iron grate and door were installed to prevent theft.

What shocked Pebrio was beyond the grate.

There stood—Serodonian soldiers, their faces utterly haggard.

Their numbers reached the hundreds.

Pebrio recognized their faces. And why wouldn’t he? These were the soldiers who had served under his command.

“All the food stored in this cave has been moved out, and it’s now being used as a prisoner holding facility. The other caves have been repurposed similarly.”

Siegfried stated this matter-of-factly.

“I-I see…”

Pebrio stared blankly at the soldiers behind the bars.

“B-but… why bring me here? Is this some gesture to let me see my subordinates? T-though…”

Those soldiers had already been handed over to Siegfried. Pebrio had no further interest in them.

“As for me… I’d rather you guide me to my room…”

At those words, Siegfried responded with a smile.

“—This is your room, Pebrio-sama.”

Siegfried snapped his fingers again.

Kirchhen soldiers waiting by the wall approached and silently grabbed Pebrio’s arms.

Glancing at this, Siegfried addressed the prisoners deeper in the cave.

“This is the new arrival in your room. Give him a warm welcome.”

Pebrio’s face twisted in shock and terror.

“W-Wait… this isn’t what we agreed on!”

He cast a desperate, pleading look at Siegfried.

“Siegfried-sama! Y-You promised me special treatment as a noble, didn’t you!? Are you breaking your word!?”

“Perish the thought. I’ll treat you with the special treatment befitting a noble—exactly as promised. …Starting tomorrow.”

“T-Tomorrow…?”

“Yes. I made it clear, didn’t I? Special treatment starting tomorrow.”

“Wha…! S-So you’re saying I have to spend one night in here!? What’s the point of that…!”

Ignoring Pebrio’s question, Siegfried approached the iron grate.

“I’ll give you all—this.”

With that, he tossed a single piece of paper inside.

“What’s that?”

A middle-aged soldier with an unkempt beard stepped forward.

He picked up the paper, eyeing Siegfried suspiciously.

“Read it aloud.”

Following Siegfried’s order, the soldier reluctantly read the text.

“‘Pebrio de Parnia hereby swears to hand over all soldiers under his command to Siegfried von Kreving as slaves’… What the hell is this!?”

At those words, the surrounding soldiers erupted in commotion.

“Huh!? What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“What’s going on!?”

Amid the growing uproar, Siegfried spoke calmly.

“Exactly as it says. This man offered you all to me as ‘slaves’ to secure a better position for himself.”

“What…!?”

The soldiers’ gazes turned on Pebrio, brimming with fury.

Pebrio frantically waved his hands.

“N-No, that’s not true! I didn’t mean it like that… It’s a misunderstanding!”

Siegfried issued an order to his men.

“Put this man in the cell.”

“Yes, sir! —Prisoners, step back from the door.”

The soldiers opened the iron grate.

And then—they threw Pebrio inside.

“S-Stop! Wait, listen to me!”

Pebrio tried to scramble back out, but Siegfried’s kick landed squarely in his gut.

“Guh!”

Pebrio let out a groan and tumbled into the cell. Immediately after—a cold metallic clang rang out as the door slammed shut.

“W-Wait! Open it! Let me out!”

Pebrio clung to the door, his face on the verge of tears as he begged for help. But—an arm grabbed him from behind.

“Captain Pebrio… since you’ve come all this way, why don’t you stay a while?”

The one who whispered low, still gripping his arm, was the middle-aged soldier who had read the pledge.

“Eek…!”

Turning around, Pebrio saw the soldiers’ faces in the torchlight, glaring at him with expressions filled with hatred.

“It’s just before 6 p.m. now… about six hours until midnight.”

Siegfried spoke.

“Six hours from now, I’ll come to retrieve you. After that, I’ll treat you with the dignity befitting a noble… Pebrio-sama.”

With that, Siegfried turned to the soldiers in the cell.

“Let me ask you one thing. What kind of man was this Pebrio to you?”

“…A piece of trash.”

The middle-aged soldier answered immediately.

“We come from his territory. His exploitation was brutal—he was the kind of lord who’d whip peasants. As a commander, all he could do was scream insults at his soldiers. Utterly incompetent.”

“Then why did you follow him?”

“…That’s obvious, isn’t it? In the Serodonia Kingdom, commoners can’t defy nobles. The law doesn’t allow it.”

In a feudal society, the caste system is an absolute principle.

Those who defy it are seen as rebels threatening the very order of the state.

Thus, the state mercilessly suppresses such individuals.

“I see. But—the authority of the Serodonia Kingdom doesn’t reach here. And no one will care if a defeated commander disappears.”

“…That’s welcome news.”

The middle-aged soldier smirked, a bold grin spreading across his face. He twisted Pebrio’s arm behind his back.

“Gah…! I-It hurts! What are you planning to do!?”

“For the next six hours—we’ll be your gracious hosts, Captain Pebrio.”

“N-No! Stop!”

As Pebrio struggled desperately, multiple soldiers’ hands reached for him.

His head, waist, legs—every part was restrained, and his body was dragged deeper into the cell.

“N-Nooo! Stop it!”

“Hey, don’t kill him right away. Captain Pebrio needs to fully experience the pain we commoners endured. We’ll deal with him after that.”

“Got it.”

Right after that exchange from the depths of the cell—a dull crack echoed through the prison.

An arm, or perhaps a leg. It was undoubtedly the sound of one of Pebrio’s bones being brutally broken. Immediately after, a scream filled with agony reverberated through the cell.

“We’ll meet again in six hours… Pebrio-sama.”

With those parting words, Siegfried quietly turned on his heel.

The middle-aged soldier called out to his back.

“…Is this really okay?”

He held up the pledge Pebrio had written.

Siegfried glanced over his shoulder slightly and spoke calmly.

“I don’t need it. Dispose of it. —I never intended to keep slaves in the first place.”

At those words, the soldier shrugged and muttered with a wry smile.

“Heh… If I could, I’d have liked to serve under a commander like you, Siegfried-sama.”

Without turning back this time, Siegfried walked away in silence.

Only Pebrio’s screams continued to echo endlessly through the cave.

It was a pitiful yet beautiful elegy for a villain, spilling forth in the moment evil shone brightest.

But there was no time to linger in that melody forever.

After all, countless villains still awaited Siegfried to make them shine in this world.