The tenant farmer pointed to the barren farmland, as if suggesting there was still a chance for him to survive. "You came all this way just to inspect the farmland and leave? This guy must be a complete idiot," I thought.
"Open the door."
"What?"
"Open the door. Now."
"Oh, uh... Lord... I have... uh... some women inside, so the house is a mess..."
Despite his surprisingly plausible excuse, I shook my head and approached the door. Grabbing a mace from beside my horse, I swung it hard at the door.
*Bang!*
The door, made of fine wood, shattered into pieces. A startled pet cat, covered in splinters, fled to the attic.
The woman and daughters inside screamed and collapsed to the floor. I stroked the mace, surveying the living room.
It was indeed the right house. Robin had wisely detained the tenant farmer. A few servants and slaves approached, curious about the commotion, but none dared to confront Robin or me.
"Lord! Please, have mercy! I've hidden nothing, I swear!"
Even now, the tenant farmer was lying. I stepped past his trembling wife and daughters, kicking open the door to the basement.
*Crash!*
The massive door splintered, revealing a huge basement that could serve as a shelter. Dimly lit by the outside light, it was packed with grain—far more than the taxes he'd paid me.
"What's in the basement?"
"Uh... just... leftover scraps..."
I was tired of his lies. Grabbing the wife by her hair, I slammed her to the ground. Middle-aged and well-fed, she was as plump as her husband. Her daughters clung to her like ducklings, pleading for mercy.
Holding the mace, I pointed at the wife. "If I tear open one of these sacks and find wheat, what then? Two daughters, one wife—three sacks should be enough to check."
Even scum like him cared deeply for his family. Abandoning his denials, the tenant farmer bowed his head and cried, "I'm sorry! Greed got the better of me!"
"'I'm sorry'? Are you saying other tenants aren't like this?"
"No! They're all in on it!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! Please, forgive me! I made a mistake out of greed. Just once..."
People don't change. A liar will lie again. Forgive them once, and they'll expect it twice. Lenient punishment breeds hatred and future trouble. So, what's the solution?
I lifted the wife by her hair again. She trembled, staring at me. Her daughters clung to my legs, begging for mercy. The wife seemed useless, but the daughters were attractive.
I threw the wife toward the tenant farmer and kicked the daughters aside, herding them into a corner. Spotting a servant outside, I ordered, "Fetch five fully armed guards and the tools to transport prisoners. Now."
It was time for a public shaming.
The tenant farmer was dragged in like a dog, and the household had plenty to say—whether about my sudden violence or his greed, I couldn't tell.
It didn't matter. What mattered was the mace in my hand and the tenant's family paraded like pigs in the lord's manor. Pigs deserved to be beaten like cutlets. I swung the mace in the air, practicing my swing. The tenant, bound and trembling, watched in terror.
His wife, lying nearby, kept asking, "Honey, what's going to happen to us?"
"I don't know. I'm sorry."
It was a pitiful sight. The daughters clung to their father, shaking like leaves. Unlike their fat, ugly parents, they were well-kept and beautiful. I hesitated for a moment but quickly shook it off.
The tenant, covered in dirt, had been dragged by ropes since no cart was prepared. His wife and daughters fared no better. In this country, criminals had no rights.
Especially those caught embezzling taxes owed to the lord. At this point, anything short of roasting them alive would be tolerated.
"Do you know your crime?"
"Yes! I deserve death! Punish me, but spare my family..."
*Bang!*
I slammed the mace on the ground, cutting him off. He confessed as quickly as he'd stolen taxes, begging for mercy for his family.
Sieria, hearing the commotion, asked Robin what was happening. After being briefed, she approached me cautiously. "Lord... perhaps mercy for the family?"
I shook my head. "Sieria, crimes must be punished. Show mercy once, and it sets a bad precedent. If I don't punish this properly, others will think, 'He'll forgive me too.' And they'll repeat the crime."
Sieria fell silent, her approval of me likely dropping, but this was non-negotiable. Show weakness to a fraud, and you'll be bitten. I sent Sieria back inside with Robin and turned to the tenant.
"You asked for punishment and mercy for your family."
"Yes! Please!"
He bowed his head again, resigned to his fate. But tax evasion was a grave crime, and his wife and daughters couldn't have been ignorant of it.
They'd likely mocked me while partying. They never stopped their father or husband. They were accomplices and deserved the same fate. Leave room for evil, and it will always resurface. I intended to make an example of them.
I ordered the soldiers to move the daughters aside. Before the wife, I swung the mace lightly. She trembled, tears streaming down her puffy face. The tenant writhed on the ground.
After a few practice swings, I tapped the wife's head, aiming my strike. I pinned her leg with my foot to immobilize her.
"Lord! I'm sorry! Punish only me! Please!"
She struggled to escape, but I measured my swing and positioned myself. The tenant screamed in despair.
"Lord! Please! I beg you! I'll die! Lord!"
*Crack!*
The wife's screams stopped. Her head snapped back, rolling on the ground. Her neck, no longer supported by her spine, dangled limply. Leaving her body, I pointed the mace at the daughters.
Robin approached. "Lord, even the daughters...?"
"They'll live."
The tenant's expression was vacant, his screams exhausted. He crawled to his wife's body, touching it as if expecting her to revive. But there was no coming back.
*Cannot view the status of the deceased.*
"Ah... ah..."
I wiped blood from the mace and ordered the daughters brought forward. They were attractive, but I felt no desire. Who knew if they'd sleep with the man who killed their mother? And what if they fought back in bed?
Killing the daughters would ruin my image. News of me slaughtering an entire family would lower Sieria's approval.
To care about appearances, the daughters had to live.
"Let this be a lesson for tax evasion. The tenant farmer and his wife are executed. As for the daughters..."
Pausing, I asked Robin, "Is slave trading legal in our domain?"
"Yes, Lord."
"Then sell them. Fetch a slave trader."
I considered selling Ira too, but her value was uncertain. Her body and skills were still useful, so I'd wait.
The tenant wept over his wife's body. Seeing this, I almost felt pity—until I remembered his lies.
"Let's wrap this up."