I’ve Probably Made a Mistake in Getting Married

Chapter 35. The real intention.

The expected face came out from under the cloth-covered camp bed. Cain got out from under the bed with a natural motion as if nothing was out of the norm. He then slowly yawn, as if he didn’t care about the astonished gaze of Nadia and Balhail.

“W-w-what is the meaning of this…?!”

Balhail, who came to his senses belatedly, pointed his finger at Cain with a reddened face. Cain yawned once again, grabbed Balhail’s shoulder with one hand and threw him to the floor.

“Argh!”

Balhail, who didn’t even budge when Nadia rebelled, was now rolling on the ground. Clenching his fist with thrills, Cain then looked down at Balhail with a cold face Nadia had never seen before.

“Why did you do such a ridiculous thing, Mr Balhail?”

Wow…

Nadia temporarily forgot her current situation and admired at the thought, ‘So this is the sharpness of a knight!’. If it hadn’t been for her trembling body because fear, Nadia was only one step away from clapping in awe and singing praises about how cool Cain was. 

“W-w-why were you there?!”

“It looks cozy and just perfect for resting.”

“W-what crazy person rests in a place like that?!”

“Oddly enough, I like being under the bed. Seriously, since my preference is like this, I’m in a bit of trouble too you see.”

Cain deftly responded to Balhail’s words and stretched out. Balhail seemed to think he was about to attack, but Cain let out a scoff as Balhail’s shoulders flinched at the action. It wasn’t long before Balhail’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“H-how rude! If you saw high-ranking people coming in here, you should have left…”

Balhail raised his voice, perhaps trying to shake off his embarrassment. The more he did, the more Cain’s eyes became colder.

“The high-ranking one? Who is the high-ranking one? You?”

“You insolent bastard! I am the heir to Baron Aylesford!”

“What did you say? There is no such a thing as the heir to the Baron. The likes of you just have no choice but to enjoy the little reputation by relying on the favour of the real baron, while running wild without even knowing this most basic thing.”

“D-do you think that title of his is everything? Remember what kind of influence I have in social wor-…?”

As Cain didn’t want to hear it anymore, he waved his hand dismissively, interrupting Balhail’s words, and pressed his foot against the man’s shoulder.

“I don’t know nor do I care about the social world since I’m just a knight. I just want to hit you to death.”

“What…? Ahh!”

Cain forged a smile and started kicking him. Nadia could feel the anger on his smiling face, and her shoulders occasionally flinched as she watched. Balhail struggled to escape, but it seemed difficult to thwart the skilled knight’s movements.

“S-stop! Argh! I’m sorry! Ah!”

Balhail screamed and apologised incessantly. It was a servile attitude that could not be found in his usual condescending manner.

That guy is going to get into huge trouble!

Punishing the bad guy was of course necessary, but it felt uneasy to solve it this way.

“P-please stop!”

Nadia barely moved her stiff legs to stop Cain. Cain, who seemed unwilling to stop despite Balhail’s pleading, halted at her words, and Balhail, who was sprawled on the floor, heaved a sigh in relief and crawled towards the entrance of the tent. Of course, Balhail’s attempt to escape was simply stopped by Cain pressing his back with his foot.

“I haven’t paid him back properly yet, madame. You didn’t even….get a proper apology from this guy.”

Balhail, who received Cain’s sharp gaze, hesitated and pursed his lips.

I don’t need an apology like that.

Nadia ignored Balhail and lightly pulled on Cain’s sleeve.

“An apology that is not on his own will is meaningless.”

Nadia thought it was a given, but Cain slightly widened his eyes as if he had heard an unexpected thing.

Did I say something strange?

But wasn’t it a bit shameless to accept an apology forced out of someone?

“Besides…To subdue an opponent like this…”

Nadia’s shoulders’ drooped as she looked at the battered and mangled Balhail. Regardless of friend or foe, it’s hard to see anyone messed up like that. Though because she didn’t know how to express these feelings, Nadia hinted at Cain with a glance, and he gave her a friendly smile as usual, eyes full of kindness.

“To be able to serve such a faithful mistress, I am one lucky knight.”

“ Faithful…I don’t think so though…”

“It is the mistress’ power to have the knights carry out tasks for her. Even if you punish the opponent with your own fist, it is not shameless.”

“That…”

Nadia didn’t even say that she found this to be shameless, but it seemed Cain had already read her mind.

“Well, even so, if you say that is not to your taste, it is the duty of a knight to match it.”

Though a little baffled, he laughed it off then looked at the entrance to the tent.

“Now is the time for them to come in… ”

As soon as Cain muttered that, the entrance to the tent opened and a group of people entered as if they had been waiting. A huge sense of intimidation was felt at the appearance of the group dressed in black uniforms.

“H-help… … .”

Balhail, who was about to ask for help with joy, realised something was off and bit his mouth shut. It seemed that he intuitively recognised that they were not his allies from the cold eyes looking at him. Looking at Balhail sprawling on the ground, they talked in whispers. Before long, they splitted out, and Altair appeared. Seeing Nadia holding on to Cain’s sleeve, he frowned slightly, then moved forward without hesitation and came next to her.

At the same time, he stepped on Balhail’s hand, which was spread on the floor, and the man struggled while screaming, but no one paid attention to him.

“What happened?”

Altair looked at Nadia, examining her condition while asking Cain in a low voice.

“As you ordered, I was waiting in the tent, but that bastard Balhail was looking for the madame…”

As Cain whispered, he looked at the group in black uniforms that just came in. It was just an attempt and nothing happened, but the mere fact that such an incident almost happened was a matter that could cause a scandal. Altair, gritting his teeth, glared at Balhail as if he had inferred many facts from the hesitant Cain and Nadia slightly disheveled appearance. Balhail flinched at the gaze that seemed to imply that he wanted to bite him and rip him into shreds.

“Don’t do anything extreme. Madame doesn’t like that.”

“What?”

When Cain stopped Altair, using Nadia as an excuse, Altair frowned as if it sounded absurd. It was the look of confusion, not knowing what the knight was on about.

“She told me that. She said that ignorant punishment with fists is not to her liking.”

“T-t-that’s not true! I didn’t say it was ignorant…”

Nadia hurriedly shook her hands in case there was any misunderstanding, whereas Cain shrugged his shoulders and smiled mischievously.

“Well, that was obviously how things went though.”

“It is completely different!”

Seeing the flustered Nadia at a loss for what to do, Cain’s smile widened. Altair, who got caught in the middle, looked at them as if in dismay.

“Anyway, what I want to say is, now that outsiders are here, let’s act with common sense first. We have many opportunities to solve it our way later on.”

“…”

Altair didn’t say much, but he also seemed to agree with Cain’s opinion. Just in time, a man who appeared to be representative of the group in uniforms who had finished talking, came forward and spoke to Altair.

“For now, we will take him away.”

“Do that. Have you already secured the evidence?”

“As soon as I secured the people I spoke to, they opened their mouths to speak. Through testimony, evidence is also obtained. Thanks for the information.”

“As a baron loyal to the imperial family, I just did what I should.”

Altair slightly bowed in an unusually dignified manner. It seemed that the other man was of considerable rank.

Who was that?

Judging from the uniform, there must be a group he belonged to, but it was difficult to deduce his identity because there was no pattern or symbol on it.

…Huh? Wait a minute.

As Nadia continued her reasoning, there was one fact that came to her mind.

Those who can wear black uniforms without patterns or symbols…

A special unit directly under the emperor, the Black Dragon Knights! They were a kind of special order knights that moved only according to the orders of the emperor. It was a group loyal only for the stability and prosperity of the imperial family, so it had considerable authority. Hence, it was difficult for most aristocrats to treat them carelessly. If caught in their eyes, one could be dishonored as a traitor and fall into the abyss in an instant.

“Balhail Aylesford. We shall arrest you in the name of the Black Dragon Knights representing the Imperial order.”

“B-Black Dragon Knights?”

Balhail seemed to have finally recognised the identity of the group in black uniforms.

“W-why would the Black Dragon Knights arrest me? I-, I have never acted as a threat to the imperial family!”

“All appeals shall be made in Balstead.”

“B-B-Ba-Balstead?!”

Balstead was a notorious prison near the capital. It was a place with vicious rumours that once detained would be crippled or rendered insane before being proven innocent, it was a place where only traitors and the empire’s worst criminals were confined.

“I am not guilty of anything! I’m innocent!”

“All appeals shall be made in Balstead.”

“No-, why the hell-, I really am-…!”

The man in the black uniform repeated the same words like a machine and then raised his hand. With that, the crowd waiting behind him rushed in and dragged Balhail out.

“Argh! Let go of me! No! I can’t go! I’m not guilty!”

“Tsk.”

The man in black clicked his tongue in contempt as he watched Balhail shout on his way out, then slightly bowed to Altair. Altair also lowered his head in return, and the man left the tent following the disappearing group. The tumult passed in an instant, and his head, which had been filled with noise, was instantly emptied. Nadia then looked at the absent-minded Altair intently with unblinking eyes. At that, he sighed and opened his mouth, perhaps understanding that she was asking for him to explain the situation.

“I knew in advance that the third prince was coming to this meeting today.”

“Right. Because it was decided a long time ago.”

“I also knew that Balhail was going to seek either my life or yours.”

“Y-you did?”

“Yes. Aylesford is a thoroughly guarded place and it’s my home ground, so I thought he’d be aiming for a time when I came out.”

Altair kindly explained the situation, but it was still difficult to understand why the third prince’s visit and Balhail’s conspiracy were connected.

“Our lord is not good at explaining.”

Cain, who had been listening quietly, sighed and stepped forward instead of Altair, perhaps thinking that the explanation was lacking.

“There was definitely a conspiracy to kill someone, but wouldn’t it be impossible to get the conspirator into trouble if the target was properly manipulated? If the manipulated target is the third prince, the crime goes beyond a simple murder conspiracy…”

“…It becomes treason.”

I looked at Altair, saying the correct answer as if possessed.