Chapter 75

Luinz had been expecting a day like this ever since he started human trafficking. He was very pleased to make money and even embraced women he couldn’t have touched otherwise. He resigned to life, thinking that this was what it meant to live a short and intense life.

Locked in a dungeon, he endured various brutal tortures, including water, iron, and fire torture, and screamed in pain. When a bucket of holy water was poured over him, the wounds from the torture healed quickly. At first, he thought they were going easy on him, but that was a mistake.

After the treatment was over, the torture resumed, and he wanted to confess like Roman but couldn’t speak. So he kept showing his tongue. Of course, sticking out his tongue was an act of insulting the other party, but he had no choice. He hoped that someone perceptive would quickly understand his situation.

Fortunately, Theodore was quite perceptive and nodded in response, causing the torture to stop temporarily.

Luinz, locked in the dark dungeon, looked at himself waiting for the day he would die, feeling pitiful and miserable, and continued to cry.

“Is he still alive?”

When a pitch-black man appeared in the dark dungeon, the torturers guarding it stood in a line and bowed to the newcomer.

“Your Grace, Grand Duke!”

“Welcome!”

Theodore, who glanced at the bowing torturers, opened his mouth.

“Is his treatment finished?”

“Yes, it is.”

The reason Theodore came down to the dungeon was simple. Meia wanted to meet Luinz, a member of the human trafficking group.

“Bring him.”

“Understood.”

And the jailer Ahin, who was guarding the dungeon, began to place various types and shapes of knives next to Theodore as if it were routine.

Theodore, with an indifferent face, picked up a sharp double-edged dagger and waited for Luinz.

Clank, clank.

Heavy iron chains were attached to both his wrists and ankles.

The torturer who brought Luinz threw him to the ground, making him kneel.

“Sit him in the chair.”

At Theodore’s command, the torturer sat Luinz in the chair.

“I have nothing to say.”

Luinz kept repeating this while showing his tongue. If he sold out the information on the human trafficking group, the magic circle engraved on his tongue would explode the moment he spoke.

No matter how heavy his crimes were, he still had a strong attachment to life. If he could just endure and survive here and escape…

“Luinz.”

Luinz looked up at Theodore.

And next to him were the swords and tools used to torture him.

At first, he was scared, but after receiving so much torture, he wasn’t afraid just by seeing them anymore. He only frowned at the pain from the torture he had received. After all, if he endured the pain, they would pour holy water on him.

Luinz, feeling a great sense of intimidation from the indifferent and cold gaze of the Grand Duke of Florence in front of him, trembled. He didn’t even blink while torturing. He was afraid he might die from the torture.

He looked innocent enough to not even kill a bug, but that was a mistake.

People who torture usually make expressions, but Theodore never changed his expression once. He tortured him just enough to not kill him, using various swords and tools.

He didn’t know what kind of torture he would face today, but he would never open his mouth, even if he might die.

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to torture you today.”

Theodore said, fiddling with the dagger before putting it down.

“In a moment, my lover will come down here.”

“Pardon?”

‘His lover is coming to this harsh dungeon?’

Luinz recalled the image of Theodore hugging the silver-haired Lady.

Luinz said with a puzzled expression at Theodore’s words.

“Is that lady your lover?”

Theodore proudly said with a bright smile.

“Yes. My lover is a mage. She heard you keep sticking out your tongue and wants to meet you. If you need a mage, nod your head.”

Luinz widened his eyes and nodded vigorously up and down.

“If you answer my lover as insincerely as you did with me, I’ll kill you. I came to let you know that. Be very careful.”

Luinz knelt on the floor and began to plead.

“Please spare me. I don’t want to die.”

Theodore recalled a recent event.

<If he doesn’t open his mouth, we need to figure out why he won’t speak. How much torture have you done?>

There was no need for the Grand Duke to torture him personally, but since he was someone who put Meia in danger, Theodore couldn’t forgive him and tortured him himself. And since he couldn’t let him die, he meticulously treated him and provided just enough food to keep him alive.

Recalling the somewhat brutal harassment he had inflicted made it difficult to speak. Would Meia be disappointed if she knew this about him?

Seeing Theodore’s eyes narrow slightly, Meia spoke.

<Considering the victims, it’s right to torture him brutally.>

From the children caught in human trafficking to the beastmen, especially the young women, the mental and physical scars would remain as trauma.

<There’s no need to torture such beasts mercifully. It seems the torture is bearable, so he’s not opening his mouth.>

Theodore’s hand clenched and trembled. Then he explained how he had tortured him, albeit a bit indirectly.

After hearing the story, Meia smiled and said,

<As expected, my lover is very kind.>

At the word ‘lover,’ Theodore’s face began to fill with joy.

She called him her lover!

Seeing him look down at her with a happy face, Meia smiled and confidently said,

<Let me try to make him open his mouth.>

Thinking of her, Theodore, whose mouth drew a line, looked down at Luinz, kneeling and begging in front of him, with indifference and coldness.

“I don’t care if you don’t tell me the information. No, I don’t care if you die. So when my lover comes down soon, be as polite as possible. Don’t bark like a dog saying you don’t know.”

*

Her father taught her the mindset a noble should have when dealing with criminals.

<Mei, you must not have sympathy for criminals.>

<Yes.>

<Not only should you not have sympathy for criminals, but you should also never show emotions to those who are scared when you are torturing them.>

Young Meia followed her father’s words to understand and watched the punishments.

From petty theft to murder, the punishment varied according to the weight of the crime.

One day.

She had to watch a young boy, who stole bread because he had nothing to eat, get his hand hit thirty times.

He said he stole the bread because he had a sick brother, no one to take care of him, no money, and was hungry.

<Father, it’s pitiful.>

<Mei, you must put aside your sympathy. That boy committed theft.>

<But he stole because he was hungry. He doesn’t even have parents to take responsibility for him!>

It was pitiful and heartbreaking. The boy was about her age, but he was so skinny.

Seeing the tears flowing from the eyes of the boy, who felt the fear of punishment, made her heart ache.

<You must not turn a blind eye to crimes committed out of hunger and pity.>

In the end, Meia cried.

<Then will that boy starve to death?>

Her father hugged and patted her as she cried.

After punishing the boy by hitting his hand thirty times himself, her father instructed the butler to let the boy work in the ducal house.

<He committed a crime, was punished, and repented. The victim will remember this for a lifetime, but he forgave him out of pity. And helping that boy not commit a crime again is the role of us nobles.>

Her father was truly admirable at that time.

<The size of the crime doesn’t matter. The victim remembers everything they went through.>

And he taught her that if a crime was truly committed out of poverty, helping with that was also the role of a noble.

<Those who haven’t been punished repeat their crimes. Mei, but the most important thing is to develop an eye to accurately judge whether that person really committed the crime.>

Whether they were falsely accused or pretending to be falsely accused.

She had to develop the discernment to tell the difference.

She had to judge coldly. She had to look at it fairly.

It was a story she had heard countless times since she was young, no, a ‘subject’ she had learned.

“Grand Duke Theodore.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not that kind of kind person.”

His lips curved into a smile.

“Lady Meia, you are righteous and courageous. And kind.”

She thought he would ask for her opinion, but when he complimented her, she looked at him.

“Grand Duke, are you saying I’m kind?”

“The Lady Meia I know is kind. But I wish you would only be kind to me.”

“I don’t think I’ve been kind.”

He gets angry when he sees her speaking kindly to others. He knows that even the passing maids, attendants, and even Venable all like her. He hates that very much.

The more people who like her, the more anxious he becomes.

Even though they became lovers, his heart sinks heavily, engulfed in anxiety.

He wishes she would be kind only to him, look only at him, smile only at him, and hold only him.

“Lady Meia, you are very kind.”

Just seeing her tilting her head and looking up at him makes his blurry vision clear.

He understood why treasures are hidden.

She is his treasure. He wants to hide her so no one else can see her.

But no matter how much you hide a brilliant jewel, it shines in the darkness.

Then, if I swallow the brilliantly shining jewel, won’t it shine only inside me?

If she knew these feelings, would she run away?

Theodore looked at Meia’s face, his eyes shining.