13 – Selam-8
A few days ago, a conversation I had with Adrian passed through my head.
“The word uncle is something to be so angry about?”
“Of course. If you mention your age, any man will consider it an insult to himself.”
Most of the words spoken by the men in Selam felt like that, but I couldn’t understand it this time either.
“Why? Didn’t men receive unconditional preferential treatment?”
“…Not necessarily like that. Especially for older men.”
As I thought about the meaning with a blank expression, Adrian kindly added an explanation.
“It is usually difficult for men to meet new women after they are over thirty-five.”
“Why?”
“It’s because of the age difference. Even a woman has a minimum expectation when using a gift to meet a new man.”
“Hmm…”
“You have to be in a relationship for at least 5 years to hold hands once, but that’s when the guy is over 40, right?”
“Whoa.”
“Even if women cringe in Selam looking for husbands, when they go out into society, they are worthy owners of estates and daughters of aristocratic families. There is bound to be a minimum expectation.”
“Isn’t it okay to lower your eyes?”
“That’s because it lowers the rank in Selam that the man enjoyed. It’s not an easy choice.”
I vaguely nodded.
“So at that age, men get out of Selam and live in the house of a woman they’ve already dated. And that’s… That’s what they’re afraid of.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m lonely. I live with a man and then have to live a life surrounded by women in an instant.
“Hmm…”
“And no matter how good an existing lover is, they can’t give more than women who are bombarded with gifts trying to find a new husband.”
Does it mean that you will not receive preferential treatment and the quality of life will be lowered? Then, I could understand being afraid.
No, you shouldn’t understand. After living in Selam for a long time, it seemed to me that my head had gone awry.
I’m sorry Adrian, but he also needs to get out of here as soon as possible.
“So, just in case, don’t even think about using that word. If you call me by name or say brother, I’ll do it. You can’t take it out even by mistake.”
“Okay, okay.”
“And if a fight ensues because you used that word… Just be right. Don’t try to fight back.”
“No, why is that?”
“If you fight back even a little bit, Selam’s law treats it as ‘two men fighting each other.’
“That’s right, there are all sorts of strange laws.”
At that time, I thought that there would be no use for this knowledge.
/////
The provocation worked. The problem is that it was eaten a little too much.
After Logan slapped me on the cheek, he was smiling with a sense of triumph.
“No, is this something to be proud of? Uncle Logan. Isn’t it a big deal?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve heard about Selam’s rules, too. It seems that assault between men is a sense of banishment?”
“Poohup.”
Logan gave a bad laugh.
“hahahaha, puhahahahaha, ahahahaha!”
Then, as if going backwards, he burst into laughter.
“Hey, you two.”
“Yes… Yes!”
“I have something important to do, so don’t let the guards come here. Tell them I have something to do. OK?”
He took a token out of his clothes and passed it to his subordinate. Those who heard his order quickly ran out of the break room.
“Of course, Selam’s rules are absolute. But… Whoever enforces them isn’t particularly like that?”
He taunted me by pushing my forehead with his finger.
“You are not wrong when you say that assault is expulsion, but there are also ‘major assault’ and ‘light assault’?”
“…”
“It’s someone else who judges that. People I’m very close to.”
Even if the rules are firm, is it the people who enforce them after all?
If it was the princess’s lover, it wouldn’t be strange if she had such power.
“So, I stabbed you in the forehead like this, slapped you in the cheek…”
Logan squeezed all his strength and kicked me in the shin. I felt a bit bad, but it didn’t hurt at all.
“Even if your legs are kicked. I’ll treat it as a ‘light assault’.”
Now he was lifting his tiptoe slightly, grabbing my hair and trying to pull it.
However, there was something else I was curious about.
“…Adrian.”
“Me, because of me… Evan…”
“Listen to me, Adrian!”
Logan snorted.
“Are you running away? After giving you such an insult, I guess you didn’t expect to be hit like this?”
“Adrian! Answer me as I ask!”
“Oh, okay, Evan!”
Adrian came to his senses. It was fortunate.
If he had kept his mouth shut, I might have acted without conviction.
“This guy named Logan. Can he move the crown princess to harass people outside?”
“…It’s probably going to be difficult. Because Her Highness the Crown Princess is a fair person. Maybe if it’s money or honor… She’s not someone who would share her power with a small person like Logan.”
“Now, who is a small person!”
Logan somehow tried to lift my hair, but the height difference was so great that it didn’t hurt that much.
“What you said last time. That said, if you fight back, both sides will be punished. Are ‘light assault’ and ‘serious assault’ treated separately?”
Adrian shut his mouth for a moment. He seemed to have sensed my intentions. It wasn’t Logan.
“What, how? Would you like to hit it? The punishment for ‘light assault’ that someone like me receives is only a light fine, but you wouldn’t even have the money to pay the fine?”
Through Logan’s sarcastic remarks, Adrian’s small voice was heard.
“…It’s no different. If one side commits ‘grave violence’, as long as the other side commits violence even once, they will both be punished according to ‘grave violence’.”
“Isn’t that going to change?”
“If it’s a light assault, it can be changed at the judge’s discretion, but if it’s a serious assault, there’s no option. It’s unconditional expulsion.”
From noble mtl dot com
“Is it possible that these people will deny the fact that Logan committed an assault?”
Adrian took a deep breath, then he said calmly.
“No. The country has male witnesses… If it were you, you would be able to call the imperial family’s investigative team instead of Selam’s guards.”
After hearing his words, I smiled brightly.
“What, you’re going to hit me? Are you like me? What an arrogance! This is the difference between you and me! Now stop accepting it!”
Still not realizing the meaning of this question and answer, Logan moved his hand to slap me until the end.
“What?”
Then, my hand grabbed his wrist.
“…Really, why do you think you’ll never be beaten?”
Before Logan’s expression distorted, I hit his stomach with a fist.
“Heuk!”
In an instant, Logan fell over. With his small frame, he wouldn’t have been able to hold my fist.
I calmly took the mount position and beat the fallen Logan mercilessly.
“Ugh, keuhuk, Leek, ugh…”
I couldn’t see the circumstances in my hands. Whoever saw it couldn’t make this a ‘light fight’.
Even people with half-open eyes shouldn’t be able to call this a ‘minor assault’.
Angry with her eyes turned upside down, she shouted, ‘Get this scum out of Selam right now!’ It has to leave a painful scar enough to say.
His left eye was bruised, and blood was oozing from his mouth. However, it was still lacking.
“Kheuk! My, I was wrong! If you stop right now, I’ll forgive you…”
“Why did you touch Adrian?”
“…What?”
“You say you don’t like Adrian, but you ask me why I touched you. Huh?”
I laughed out loud, but my fists didn’t rest.
Logan, who screamed with his eyes closed tightly every time my fist touched his body, unfortunately didn’t seem to have seen my smile.
“Just because of that…”
“Well, both sides and sides.”
The face seemed to have been beaten enough. Logan’s arms and legs seemed to itch.
“Ah, ah ah, ah ah ah!!!”
I put my weight on his elbow and stamped and crushed his arm. A painful scream leaked out.
“I didn’t want to do it this far either. Then, why are you arguing so hard. Huh?”
If his violence had stopped even for a moment, I wouldn’t have gone this far either.
There was plenty of time. To be safe, I asked Adrian one by one about the issues that could be a variable in what I was trying to do.
If his violence had stopped even for a moment in the process, I would have no choice but to hesitate to make this choice.
However, he beat me to the end.
I understood that the curse of being an uncle is a worse insult than I thought, but if the contempt he inflicted on me was stronger than that, it would be strong, not weak.
In the end, it is self-employed.
“Ugh, mo, I’ll give you everything. I’ll give you all my money and presents. Please, please…”
“No need!”
Although I was a little greedy, I wasn’t beating Logan to get money.
Revenge for the person who relentlessly followed and made me feel bad, the friendship that separates the person who annoyed my friend, the desire to get out of this f*cking space.
“Ugh, my, please! Please stop!”
It seems that the arm muscles have been relaxed enough, so I started to trample his legs in earnest.
“Ji, if you stop even now! I will somehow make it possible for you to stay in Selam! At this rate, you too will be kicked out…”
“Ah, that’s what I was aiming for.”
Logan didn’t even notice what I was angry at and what I wasn’t angry at.
There was no way I could know what I wanted.
“I was trying to get out of here.”