Incompatible Interspecies Wives chapter 179

179 – Approaching Crisis (3)

I was winding down the situation.

The couple of the Hominin tribe to whom we had given assistance came and expressed their gratitude.

“Lord Riker…! We are truly grateful…! We never expected you to come and help personally…”

They were ones who had settled in our territory after I became a member of the nobility.

I nodded to their words.

“No need for thanks. If you have problems in the future, let me know. That’s it.”

Their expressions of gratitude were slightly uncomfortable for me.

I had been fortunate this time, but there was no assurance I could assist next time.

As a lord, the task of repeatedly verifying the lives that now depended on me was nothing short of burdensome.

I sighed and looked back at the thieves we had captured.

We killed five of them and captured 14.

It was quite a large gang of bandits.

I approached Beonze and patted his raised shoulder as I spoke.

“Van. Are you truly okay?”

“I’m fine. There’s not even a bruise.”

Upon hearing his answer, I nodded my head.

Soon, I approached a figure that appeared to be the chief of the thieves gang.

The moment he saw my face, he bowed his head to the ground, imploring.

“Be…Bergh Liker…please, have mercy.”

“…”

“I…I made a mistake. We have nothing to eat, and that’s why we acted this way. It will never happen again.”

It was the same story every time I caught thieves.

I clicked my tongue and asked him,

“Where are you from?”

“..eh?”

Startled, he belatedly replied to my question.

“Ah…er, from Toriya.”

Toriya’s mercenary, why did you crawl all the way here?”

“I…I didn’t know it was Liker’s territory…we…we were just trying to find a way to survive…”

“…”

Toriya was far to the northwest from here.

That they had traveled all this way was not good news.

If people from Toriya are appearing here, people from other places might be as well.

I sighed and asked him.

“Do you know what happens when you’re caught thieving in Stockfin?”

“L- Liker…please…please…”

“It’s lucky you didn’t commit murder or rape. If that was the case, your life would be at stake.”

I stood up and looked towards the horizon.

Then I nodded my head.

The members of the Red Flame Squad began to move in flurry.

“Ah ah..! No!!”

The thieves started to scream.

I’ve learned something while managing my territory.

In the past, we showed a lot of mercy, and sometimes even let them into our territory.

But the outcome always brought unforeseen problems.

Such as more theft and assault…or even murder…or rape.

Especially, thieves who were former mercenaries tended to show this trend more intensely.

Afterwards, we stuck to the principle.

Thieves have their thumb and index fingers on both hands cut off.

So they can’t properly wield a sword in the future.

Then, if they change their ways, they at least will be able to handle tools.

This was the principle we came up with in our search for punishment that was not too lenient, yet not too cruel.

“L-Liker… just…just once more…”

I unwaveringly stared at the gang leader and spoke,

“No exceptions.”

****

We released the mercenaries whose fingers had been cut off, and returned to our territory.

Applause rained over us who had settled the matter.

‘Good job!’

‘Barran! Are you okay?!’

I was surrounded by women, and patted Sien with a smile who was looking at me.

As I dismounted, Sien rushed towards me and hugged me.

“I was worried, Bell.”

I let out a small laugh at her words.

“There was nothing to worry about.”

“…but catching thieves is not a safe task.”

As she said this, Sien gave me a light kiss.

Even after the kiss, she continued smiling, which told me that she seemed to be particularly happy today.

“Did something happen?”

When I asked, Sien mischievously shook her head.

“No~?”

I looked at Sien, then turned my eyes to the women who were proud and smiling from afar.

Their expressions were also filled with happiness.

The atmosphere in some way was strange.

“…Something did happen, didn’t it?”

Whether Sien’s words were true or false, I have always been able to tell at a glance.

Right now, she was definitely hiding something.

But even with my questioning, Sien kept denying.

“Nothing happened at all. Just…”

“…Just?”

“I’m planning to cook something delicious for you. Let’s have fun, Berg.”

Even as an adult, Sien often used the phrase ‘let’s play.’

It seemed like a habit she had since she was little.

This word seemed like a term of endearment for us, and I liked it even more because it sounded like my nickname.

“…”

I was about to agree to play with her… when I suddenly remembered that there was still work left.

I thought I needed to discuss the thieves who recently showed up with Gale.

I thought I would have to work on the leftover paperwork.

“…Bell?”

“…Well, Sien…”

“… Is it not okay?”

“…”

However, my resolution seemed to gradually crumble under Sien’s charm.

There were two options.

Either bear the burden of my unfitting noble duties and keep going…

Or spend the remaining day comfortably with Cian, who looked so happy.

I could only choose one.

“…”

I continued to fret, finally bowing my head.

It hurts each time I have to make such a decision.

However, for our people, it has to be this way.

“……I’m sorry, Cian. I can’t today-”

“-Captain.”

At that moment, Baran put his hand on my shoulder from behind.

The one who was smiling gently said.

“…I will explain what happened today to Mr. Gale on your behalf.”

“…”

“Likewise, I will also prepare a response. Additionally, I’ll summarize the remaining documents to make it easier for you for tomorrow.”

“You can’t read.”

“I will ask Desmond to read it.”

“…”

“Go spend time with the madam.”

When Baran said so far, my heart leaned towards him.

Without uttering the standard refusal, I accepted his proposition.

“I am sorry, Baran.”

Baran just smiled at that.

“Then, please take care of my upcoming wedding.”

I laughed at his words and said,

“You better propose.”

From noble mtl dot com

Having finished this brief conversation with Baran, I turned back to Cian.

Her face was full of uncontrollable joy.

“…So we are going to have fun today?”

At her word, I nodded in reply.

“Let’s do that.”

****

Cian made a lot of effort to prepare meals today.

It might seem strange for us nobles to cook for ourselves, but… this felt more natural to me.

It started because Cian also wanted to prepare food herself.

The only problem was that her cooking skills weren’t so good, even after a year.

Sometimes the strange food could be painful, but in retrospect, they all became lovely memories.

“What happened, Cian?”

From this, I could tell how hard she prepared today.

Food with musty or sour smells were nowhere to be found.

Only appetizing and fragrant foods were listed.

There were many types.

There was too much food for two people to eat.

“What’s happening today?”

When I asked this question after observing the preparations, she just flashed a shy smile instead of denying anything.

She tried to change the topic.

“Just try it, Belle. I’m confident about it today.”

“Alright, sit down. We should eat together.”

“Sure. Just a second?”

She pulled out a bottle of Bardy.

It was a drink we had been avoiding because life had been busy recently.

She then quietly filled both my glass and hers.

“Let’s eat.”

“…”

I didn’t understand why she was doing this.

It wasn’t a special occasion.

I watched her closely.

Did she prepare a special gift?

Perhaps she prepared this because she saw how tired I was.

We were a couple who occasionally had days like this to share our passionate love.

“Well, cheers.”

She raised her glass and pushed it towards me.

I kept trying to understand her intention, deeply gazing into her eyes.

“…Pfft!”

At my gaze, she chuckled and smiled.

Then she whispered to me,

“Drink, Belle.”

“…”

I tasted the Bardy wine after a long hiatus.

She just wetted her lips and put down the glass.

“Not drinking?”

“…I just want to feel the mood today.”

She casually scooped out the food onto my plate.

Following her lead, I picked up my utensils and tasted the food.

“What do you think?”

As I tasted her food, I nodded my head and answered her.

“It’s delicious. What’s going on?”

“…Belle!”

Watching her getting flustered, I laughed.

“I was starving.” I replied, with a mouthful of food.

“…It’s all good. But it’s a bit much for two.”

Shen responded to that.

“That’s because it’s not for two.”

“…”

I mulled his words over before asking,

“…Did you invite Gail?”

“I didn’t invite anyone.”

“Then what do you mean… It’s not for two…”

The possibility hit me like a punch in the face.

My jaw, which had been grinding food, stopped, and so did my motioning hands.

“………”

I stared at Shen, without blinking an eye.

Perhaps because he knew I had sensed his meaning, Shen whispered,

“…You realized it too late, Bel.”

“……..”

There had been countless moments like this over the year and a half.

Even on days she was late with her menstruation. Days she vomited for no reason. I had doubted whether we might be expecting a baby.

But this hope broke each time, leading us to put the thought of a child on the back burner.

-Tap!

I rose from my seat and approached her.

I knelt down and grabbed her shoulders.

“…Really?”

Shen nodded.

“….Yes.”

“It’s not a joke, right?”

“Why would I joke about something like this…”

She smiled brighter than ever before. Her eyes welled up.

“What should we name it?”

“………………”

I was at a complete loss for words.

-Thud!

There was nothing else to do other than to pull her tightly into my arms.

Shen chuckled, perhaps feeling my joy.

“Are you happy, Bel?”

I had nothing else to say.

I pushed away the overwhelming feeling that threatened tears at the news of a new addition to our family and replied.

“…You could say that.”

****

“…Cough! Cough…!”

Buzz felt the heat rise in his head.

Could the intense battle have been the cause?

After capturing the band of thieves, he fell into a peculiarly strong sense of fatigue and took a nap before getting up.

However, even after resting, his condition only seemed to worsen.

“Burns. Eat and rest.”

Then his compatriots approached Burns, who was struck with a high fever.

Burns, who had not yet established a household, was sharing a room with other members of the Crimson Flame gang.

Burns nodded his head and covered himself with a blanket.

“…I have no appetite right now. I’ll rest a little more.”

“You’ll get better if you eat and rest. Come out already.”

Burns, the youngest gang member under leader Jo, lowered his head at the words of his seniors.

His physical condition was indeed unspeakable.

“…I apologize. For now…cough! cough!! I’ll only rest…today.”

-Boom!

Then, someone entered the room.

Burns couldn’t react at all to the heavy footsteps approaching.

Suddenly, a bulky hand started shaking him.

“…Burns.”

Burns slowly moved his increasingly heavy body.

He could tell that Baran had arrived.

With difficulty, Burns pulled down the blanket and looked up at Baran, who was looking down at him.

“…I’m sorry, vice-chief. I should be getting up to greet you…”

“…”

Baran made no comment about Burns’ condition.

Not a word about eating, or resting.

“…vice…chief?”

Burns called out to Baran in spite of his strange behavior.

Only then did Baran ask, belatedly and with a trace of fear…

“…When did you start feeling like this.”