1.2

While enjoying drinks and food, chatting noisily with his comrades, someone opened the tavern door and came in.

“Look over there. It seems the Gods have answered our prayers.”

Pierre said, pointing with the hand holding his drink. There stood a woman in black mourning clothes, drenched from the rain, looking pitiful.

The woman had a somewhat gaunt face with a gloomy expression, and her skin was excessively pale from the cold rain and wind. Her black mourning clothes blended halfway into the dark interior, creating an eerie atmosphere. A woman in mourning clothes on a stormy night when even the moonlight was absent. It was indeed a strange combination. The mercenaries’ lips, which were about to curl up at the appearance of a beautiful lady, hesitated.

“Which one of you is called Julian?”

Ignoring the gazes of the men, the woman spoke politely.

“Who might you be, Madam, that you come looking for Julian through the rain at night? Without an escort.”

“Are you Julian?”

“No, my name is Pierre….”

“Do not test my patience. Which one of you is Julian?”

The woman asked again in an angry voice, clutching her wet sleeve. Pierre took a step back, frowning at her.

Sensing something unusual, Donnie leaned slightly towards Julian and whispered.

‘What have you done again, you rascal?’

‘I don’t know. It’s a face I’ve never seen before.’

Julian muttered quietly, keeping his eyes fixed on her. Her beauty was not hidden by her somber face and dull mourning clothes. A beauty like hers would surely remain in memory. No matter how much he thought, Julian couldn’t figure out who she was.

“What other reason could a lady have for seeking Julian in the dead of night? She must miss the taste of a man even in mourning. Can her husband rest in peace?”

“How dare you! Do not insult my deceased husband!”

The woman shouted angrily at Max’s mockery.

“My husband said he fought with you in the Holy War. To speak like that about a comrade who shared life and death, don’t you feel ashamed?”

“We didn’t fight shoulder to shoulder with just one or two people on the battlefield. How am I supposed to know who your husband is?”

Max responded bluntly, not backing down from the lady’s scolding.

“My husband is Viscount Michael Cloet, and I am his wife, Vanessa Cloet.”

Vanessa replied as if grinding her teeth.

Michael Cloet? That sounds familiar.

Unlike Julian, who was struggling to grasp it like a clouded sky, Pierre seemed to know who Vanessa was. Pierre’s expression subtly changed as he looked at Vanessa.

“I am the Julian you’re looking for, but I don’t recall the name you’re speaking of.”

Julian spoke with an arrogant posture, crossing his arms and leaning back. His attitude was far from respectful towards a Viscountess. As she finally faced the main character she had been searching for, a brief relief crossed Vanessa’s face.

“If you have something to say, please sit down and share it.”

Donnie, who could be considered the most polite among Julian’s group, pulled out a chair for Vanessa. Vanessa sat down opposite Julian, keeping her back straight.

Vanessa removed her hood, revealing her wet face.

Her neatly braided hair was a dark blonde mixed with brown. A few curly strands lightly covered her round forehead and slender eyebrows, and the eyes beneath were a pale mossy green. Her cheeks and lips had lost their color, turning bluish, and her skin lacked vitality.

She was beautiful, but not to Julian’s taste. Vanessa was neither a lively and cute woman nor a seductive, glamorous beauty. She was the epitome of a virtuous lady who would be ashamed to exchange even a single word with a ruffian like Julian. She was also the type of person Julian most disliked dealing with.

However, it had been a long time since he had been with a woman after leaving the Earl’s territory, so even seeing such a beauty was satisfying.

“Virtuous Lady Vanessa Cloet, there are many rumors about you.”

“Those rumors are not true!”

Vanessa shouted, glaring fiercely at Pierre’s sneer.

“Despite being sentenced to death by the regional magistrate for poisoning your husband. What isn’t true?”

“I swear I did not kill him.”

“Poor Sir Michael. Survived the battlefield only to be poisoned by his wife upon his return. Sir Michael was old enough to die naturally, but it seems you really disliked taking care of your old husband.”

Pierre said coldly. Vanessa trembled in her seat, having been insulted. She seemed to be holding back the urge to slap Pierre.

“It was not I who killed my husband but his own daughter, Miriam. Miriam poisoned her father and framed me for it.”

“Isn’t Miriam the mistress of Earl Plar? What does she lack to commit parricide? That’s a pathetic excuse.”

“It’s not an excuse! Miriam being Earl Plar’s mistress was a long time ago, and she was expelled from the territory and sent to a convent by my husband six years ago. It was to prevent Miriam from harming me.”

When rumors spread that Sir Michael’s health had deteriorated due to injuries from the war, Miriam returned to the territory in a flash. Miriam committed the unforgivable crime of parricide and pointed to Vanessa as the perpetrator. She bribed the magistrate to induce an unjust verdict to remove Vanessa. If she could eliminate her five-year-old half-sibling, the family and territory would fall into Miriam’s hands.

Vanessa claimed her innocence with a heart full of blood. However, spouse murder sounded more sensational and plausible than parricide, so the audience was easily convinced.

Vanessa’s face, pale with injustice and anger, turned red with heat. Her eyes, flushed and moist, seemed to be on the verge of tears. Julian’s lust was aroused by Vanessa’s face, twisted as if about to cry.

Julian lowered his hand under the table, soothing the one that was inappropriately rising for the serious situation.

“You didn’t come all this way just to complain. What do you want from me? I don’t take cowardly assassination requests.”

“I have no evidence that Miriam is the culprit, only my suspicions, so I have no way to prove my innocence. Therefore, I will formally request a trial by combat from the King. Julian, I want you to be my champion and participate in the trial by combat.”

Her straight gaze, as if piercing through, was directed at Julian. It seemed like a resolute look. It was the kind of eyes someone who had decided between life and death could have.

Julian had never seen a woman with such eyes before.

Regardless of the truth of the matter, Julian became curious about her.

“Before accepting the request, let’s see how much you brought for my life.”

Vanessa’s face brightened slightly, perhaps taking Julian’s words as a positive sign. She hurriedly took off a gold ring from her finger and handed it to Julian.

It was an amount far from sufficient for a life price.

“Do you think you can buy me with this small change?”

“I only have this now because I left in a hurry, but if I win the trial by combat, I will give you a proper reward. If you want, I can even offer land from the Cloet estate.”

“The Arenshen family I serve and the Plar family, to which the Cloet family belongs, are not on good terms, so it’s impossible for me to receive land from that side.”

“Then I’ll sell the land and prepare the reward money….”

Vanessa said desperately at Julian’s indifferent reaction.

“150 ducats.”

“What?”

“150 ducats, I won’t accept anything less.”

It was an amount equivalent to a year’s income from the estate. It was not only absent from the treasury but also not easy to borrow from the surroundings.

“I don’t have such a fortune. But if you give me time, I can slowly repay….”

“There’s no point in listening further.”

Julian grabbed Vanessa’s slender arm and dragged her toward the entrance. Vanessa, who turned pale again at the brutal grip, struggled.

“I’m not saying I won’t pay. I’ll even increase the estate’s taxes to pay, so please….”

Vanessa pleaded, almost clinging to Julian’s thick chest. Having a beautiful lady in his arms was delightful, but it didn’t sway his heart. Even if he was called a tyrant mercenary, he was quite discerning.

The odds of winning a trial by combat were extremely low, and even if he risked his life to win, the reward was insignificant. There was no guarantee she would pay him properly. In Julian’s view, it was more beneficial not to engage in this deal.

Julian lowered his head to bring his face close to Vanessa’s. Vanessa’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Then an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Since you want me to be your sword.”

A vicious grip seized Vanessa’s b*ttocks. Julian’s large hand filled with soft flesh.

“I will fairly take your body.”