Chapter 3: Submission

“…What exactly do you plan to do to me?”

After emerging from that pitch-black place, they reached a deserted alley, and Witch, who had followed behind Farra the entire way, finally could not hold back and asked.

“Haven’t I made myself clear enough? I’ve already bought you, and from this moment on you are my slave, young lady. What’s your name?”

“Ha…” Hearing Farra’s words, Witch let out a dry laugh that sounded equal parts surprise and ridicule, and said, “So you plan to keep a witch?”

“That’s right.”

“Do you know what sort of crime that is in the Nosbaro Kingdom? The last person who tried to shelter me was flayed alive and died horribly; do you want to give it a try as well?”

Witch’s voice carried deep sarcasm, anger, and an unmistakable warning.

Yet Farra paid no heed to that warning.

As though he had not heard her at all, he quickly scanned the street, and while thinking, answered irrelevantly, “Stay close. We’ll find a better place and then talk.”

“…”

Hearing that unchanging, indifferent tone, the witch frowned but ultimately kept pace with Farra’s increasingly rapid stride.

…

Farra found an inn, paid a few copper coins, and received a key and the right to use a room.

He brought the witch into the room, and her expression grew ever more peculiar.

As soon as they entered and she saw Farra lock the door behind them, Witch said coldly, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you; if you try to force me here, you’ll die miserably.”

Farra turned around and replied, “And then you would die miserably as well.”

He shook the iron badge at his waist and asked, “Do you know what this is?”

“…What is it?”

“A Low Baron identification plaque.”

…

Hearing Farra’s answer, Witch’s face darkened at once.

Low Baron.

Among the many human nations, it was virtually the lowest, most worthless title of nobility.

Yet even the most worthless noble was still a noble.

In the strictly stratified Nosbaro Kingdom, the death of a noble and the death of a commoner were two completely different matters.

If a commoner died, the authorities would go through a routine investigation and be done with it.

Whether they found anything was another story.

But if a noble died, the case had to reach a clear conclusion.

The inquest would continue step by step until the perpetrator was found, and only then would the matter end.

The little witch obviously knew what consequences awaited her if she killed Farra.

By then, being a witch and murdering a noble in the Nosbaro Kingdom’s royal capital would stack every damned debuff imaginable on her.

She could not even picture how miserably she would die.

After all, she had not genuinely killed anyone yet, and the special Constitution she possessed had already left her with nowhere to run or hide.

Observing the changes in her expression, Farra nodded with satisfaction and said, “Good, it seems you understand the consequences, so I’ll spare you the idle talk.”

He sat on a nearby chair, crossed one leg over the other with effortless ease, and lifted his chin at the little witch, gesturing.

“…”

Witch trembled all over and squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth, “Pervert…!”

Then, as if resigned to her fate, she grabbed the hem of her ragged tunic and peeled it upward, taking it off completely.

Her petite figure was thus laid bare before Farra’s eyes; with tears brimming, the witch looked both angry and despairing, hugging herself tightly as though suffering immense humiliation.

So she still knew how to feel wronged?

In this world, the trade of slaves was legal and regulated in the Nosbaro Kingdom, and most other nations likewise practiced similar policies.

Once a sale was completed, every bit of value a slave possessed belonged to the master; slaves had no human rights and were regarded merely as personal property.

The slaves had largely accepted this centuries-old notion; take the serfs, for example… if you stood up to resist, how would they react… ?

Their first reaction would be to help the master suppress you, and then use the result of that suppression to beg for a pitiful reward.

Unbidden, Farra’s thoughts flew back 4 years, and he grew momentarily pensive.

Unknowingly, he had already been in this world for 19 years.

The first 15 years of his life had been dismal, and even with the System he had found no chance to make use of it.

It was not until 4 years ago, when the Nosbaro Kingdom went to war with the neighboring Blue Wing Kingdom over various disputes, that huge numbers of soldiers were needed and many serfs were conscripted as frontline cannon fodder.

From that time, Farra began what could be called the turning point of his life.

Looking back now, his previous life felt like something from a bygone age…

His thoughts returned to the present.

While Farra spaced out, the little witch’s Spirit endured tremendous pressure.

Under Farra’s prolonged ‘gaze’, with no path of retreat left, she could only lower her hands, her face full of anger and humiliation.

That tear-filled expression left Farra certain that, were it not for his status and the special circumstances here, this Young Lady Witch would have struck him without hesitation.

But her strong desire to live made her bow to reality.

“If the Retainer System hadn’t unlocked, recruiting a powerful subordinate would really be a headache… I’d have to probe every chink in her mental defenses, use every low tactic, assault her mind and body together… just thinking about it is a pain; being a lord is worse than being a bandit…”

Farra discarded the idea of analyzing her weaknesses and said, “What I mean is, there’s a shower room behind you; go clean yourself up and then we’ll discuss business.”

“…!”

The little witch heard the implication in Farra’s words, flushed bright red, and dashed into the shower room.

Though her circumstances were dire and her frame petite, she was still a girl; being called filthy would mortify her to the point of exploding.

Farra ignored that feeling; he always subconsciously probed for gaps in others’ mental defenses and looked for ways to exploit them.

But now, with the System’s new functions, he no longer cared what others thought.

Only one thought filled his mind now.

… Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.

Heaven grants all things to mankind, yet mankind offers nothing back to Heaven!

Since the System had unlocked its new functions, that thought had grown ever stronger in Farra’s mind.

The current Nosbaro was rotten to the core.

All the upper echelons of the Kingdom’s power had been hollowed out by the great nobles, and the royal family had become mere decoration.

If the 4-year war with the Blue Wing Kingdom had not been forcibly turned around by the soldiers at the front, they would not even have made it to this year… 2 years ago the royal capital would have fallen, and the Kingdom’s rule would have collapsed completely.

But that great war ended in victory, wounding the Blue Wing Kingdom’s vitality and leaving it unable to launch another conflict of similar scale for the foreseeable future.

At the same time, the successful defensive counterattack deterred the many small states in the northern and southern regions of the Mu Continent, making them wary of provoking the Kingdom’s authority…

At least, not openly.

Only Heaven knew how long that situation would last.

Before the current order snapped completely, Farra had to make thorough preparations for the great turmoil that was almost certain to come.