A sudden jolt woke Tim up from his slumber as the carriage stopped. Rubbing his eyes, he got out, opening the door himself which should have been done by the driver.
Tim expected to see the estate of duke Esper but the only thing came into view was endless fields filled with grasses and trees here and there. With a confused look, he scanned his surroundings and soon realized he was lost.
He stood on a not so well-maintained paved road bedside the carriage, in somewhere unknown. Tim clearly understood that he was brought here by the driver but where was he?
Irritated, Tim brought out his pocket watch. It was quarter-past two, which meant he was asleep for an hour only. Within an hour how did the driver even bring him here?
Tim's attention shifted behind him, as the bush there rustled. He recognized the driver, who walked toward him, coming out of the bush. He was a man in his thirties with brown hair and brown eyes. A normal commoner whom he remembered by the name Samuel.
"What is going on Sam? Why did you bring me here? Have any plans to kill me?" asked Tim coldly, observing the man's behavior who slowly approached him.
The driver shook his head from one side to another rapidly which indicated that he didn't have any plans to kill him.
"Then?" Tim tilted his head slightly. He knew this man talked in sign language as he had lost his voice for some reason, he knew yet couldn't quite remember.
Samuel did some gestures to convey his words. Tim never knew the language of the voiceless but somehow he understood everything.
"Some people wanted to meet me and you brought me here without my permission?" Retorted Tim, brushing his black hair with an annoyed face.
Sam pointed at a nearby tree, a couple of feet away. Four men covered in black clothing from head to toe came forward, carrying swords on their backs. They drew closer to the lord and kneeled when they were just inches away from him.
Strangely Tim neither felt dread nor anomality from them. He was confident that he could kill all of them if needed. It was not his ego getting to his head but just his normal persona who feared nothing but his mother and father.
"Lord!"
"What is it?" Tim growled with a condescending look in his eyes.
"It is I, Robert" Spoke one of the cloaked figures in a low tone with a little hint of fear in his voice.
"Robert!"
Instantly Tim's brain launched a barrage of information for him to process in vague details. And he who was used to this method accepted it with nothing but a twitch in his brow and a mild headache. But it was worth it, as Tim now successfully recalled who this Robert was.
"Yes Lord!"
"State your business and get the hell out of here."
"As you wish milord." Robert pulled out a stack of hand-written paper from the pouch he carried and handed it to Tim who opened it.
"And it is…" The lord mumbled while reading the paper.
"It is the information you asked about Rosenwood house."
The information recalling process or in short IRP started again in Tim's brain, providing details about the county named Rosenwood. It was a direct vassal of the house Esper and one of the three daughters of Rosenwood family was now with Adel as a lady-in-waiting.
All in all, Esper had complete trust in them, something Rosenwood liked to misuse wholeheartedly.
"Good. You will get your payment when I get back." Tim added reading the first page of the paper which detailed basic things about the house but soon lost interest.
"Yes Lord." Robert bowed one last time before getting back on his feet.
"And how long will it take if I want to erase someone off the map?"
"Tell me, lord who has brought death upon himself? Is he an enemy of yours? When you want him dead? Tonight, tomorrow, now? Tell me and it will be done." Added Robert firmly unmasking himself and a face with a long scar running from left eye to the chin came into view. He was a tall man, no more than forty years old with a strong body.
"I will tell you the name soon enough. Now go and let me be."
Tim waved Robert and his teammates away and turned around to board the carriage but stopped once he saw the man following him.
"You still need something?"
"Yes Lord. Just a little request." Robert smiled awkwardly, fidgeting his fingers.
Tim nodded saying nothing, affirming that he would listen to his request.
Robert then, turning to his left, called out loud, "Ruby!"
Soon a girl, probably fifteen or sixteen years old, came running from behind the trees.
She had long brown hair placed in a ponytail, and greenish eyes with a beautiful face. She definitely had feminine charm but judging from her muscles beneath her thin dress covering her hands, it was clear as day that she had done a hell lot of hard labor.
Ruby bowed deeply with a happy smile on her face and Tim accepted her respect but steadily looked at Robert with a concerning gaze.
"This is my daughter, Ruby." Robert introduced pulling his daughter closer to him with a proud grin on his face.
"I already know!"
"How?"
"Well, you did call her right?"
"Oh. Yes, Lord." Robert shook his head with a thoughtful expression as if he had discovered some hidden secret of the universe.
"Now, tell me why you called your daughter here. If you want money for her dowry then name the price, you will have it." Tim said in a nonchalant manner, removing his foot from the stand.
"No, no Lord. I do not want money."
"Then! You want her to get a job. Just say my name in our region and you will have it,"
"No Lord. I don't want her to get a job." Robert politely declined another offer, slightly swaying his head.
"Then, what do you want?"
"I want you to take her as a slave of yours?"
"What?" Tim appeared bewildered hearing the strange request made by the bandit chief named Robert. "Why?"
"You might not remember her Lord but she clearly remembers you. During the great purge led by you how you saved her…"
"Don't reminisce about those memories. I was childish and stupid. And I still don't like what I did there. I could have done better."
"You may not like it lord but we are forever grateful to you. If not everyone, I and my family are grateful to you."
"Yes. In fear, do you not see how you tremble when you hear the name Banditbane. It is not of gratitude Robert it is of fear and I am not a fan of that. Not anymore." Tim or rather Leon smiled bitterly as the flashes of past shrouded his soul. He had not done any good by butchering thousands of bandits who did not know what they had done.
"May I say something Lord?" said the young girl named Ruby, taking a step ahead of her father.
"Go on."
"Like my father said, you have saved my life from cruelty. You have saved me from hell and for that I am forever grateful to you." She kneeled in both of her legs before Tim and tried to touch her forehead to his legs. But Tim stopped her, picking her up.
"No need for that young lady. Live your life and forget what I did."
"No milord. I cannot forget what you did." Cried the girl. "You are my savior; you are my God. How can I forget you?"
"I did not say to forget me." Tim answered impatiently with a faint smile on his lips.
"So, please accept me as a slave of your lord."
"Listen…"
"I am an alchemist who knows any and every poison in this empire. I have devoted my life to studying those. I learned those to serve you. Please lord accept me."
"Why are you doing this to me…?" The lord mumbled with a sigh, looking at the sunny sky. It was now half past three and he had not eaten anything since the morning. Both hunger and anger were consuming his brain slowly.
"Lord, I am a bandit by profession, but was betrayed by my own. They took everything including my wife and child but you returned them to me. No matter how you put it lord, it was never a mistake. It was heaven's gift to us. You are our God. You saved us and we as mere mortals cannot be considered equal to you. We can only be considered your slaves. Please accept her as your slave and give her a new life." Begged Robert kneeling, as droplets of tears escaped his lime-colored eyes.
Tim sighed again, massaging his face with both of his hands, considering what he should do. Ruby was standing before him, teary eyes, hands clasped together, and Robert was kneeling sobbing.
"Ok. Ok. I will take her but not as a slave."
"Please Lord No! Please take me as a slave." Ruby cried again, unable to control her messed up feelings.
"Why? Why you so stuck with slave?"
"Because, it is the only way I can devote my everything to you."
"You can do it some other way."
"No Lord, it is the only way."
"You know what, do whatever you want." Tim moved to the side, getting overwhelmed by the situation. Everything was getting too much for him. He had just dealt with the princess, now this. 'Just great, really great.'
"Thank you, Lord."
Finishing her words, she looked at her father, who brought a vile of ink from the back purse he carried. Then he drew some strange icons on her left wrist and asked Tim to add a drop of blood there.
A sacred ritual which was completed by a drop of blood. The runes glowed golden and burned her skin leaving only the marks which will remain forever.
"Now, she is yours Lord. A slave who can neither disobey, nor lie. If she does anything to harm you, she will die on her own." Said Robert putting the ink back in his pocket.
"Very good, now tell me how to free her."
Ruby, who was happily inspecting her burned wrist like some jewelry, looked at Tim with a shocked expression on her face. "No Lord. I do not want to be freed."
"I know! Now tell me." Tim spoke in a distinct tone carrying so much authority that Robert had no choice but to answer.
"It is tied with your wish, Lord. You can free her whenever you want. Just hold her wrist and you will feel the curse. Break it and she will be freed."
As soon as the man finished the word Tim grabbed the wrist Ruby who sniveled in horror. "Please Lord don't." She begged but to no avail.
But soon Tim let her go without doing anything. "I was not doing anything. I was just looking for the curse and it indeed is there. It is harmless to the subject, right?" asked Tim. He could feel something dark, something ominous upon touching her wrist but could not quite name it. It was entirely new for him.
"Yes Lord. It is harmless. That's why your blood is there to counter it." Answered Robert like a humble servant.
"Very well then. You have cleared the road to piss the duchess off. She won't be happy with it."
"I…"
"Well, never mind. It is what it is. Come on, let's go."
Tim, who could literally see the chaotic cloud looming over him, sat inside the carriage with a sigh and Ruby followed with an elated smile. She felt like she had achieved every dream she had.
Finally, the carriage rolled after another hours of delay towards the capital and the bandits rolled on their way.