Since It's My First Time Being a Lady, I'll Cause Some Trouble - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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It’s My First Time as a Lady, So I’ll Make a Few Mistakes — Episode 41
At the mention of a Military Police Corps lieutenant, I grimaced.
‘This is the worst-case scenario I’d imagined.’
I didn’t know who Norbu was, but judging by his rank, he appeared to be a nobleman from a minor house.
The position of lieutenant in the Military Police Corps was typically filled by nobles with little in the way of titles or wealth.
‘So that’s why he went after bandits and the gold mine.’
“Tell me everything you know.”
“Look, through his connections, he said he could reject the Marquis Netzer’s request for reinforcements. And he knew the locations of Military Police Corps squads and platoons throughout the region.”
“Who are these connections?”
“I don’t know. He refused to tell me that one detail, no matter what.”
“Tch. Then do you know where that bastard is right now?”
“No.”
“Ah, you don’t know? Then how about we watch some fireworks to cheer you up?”
The moment I pressed the bomb against my thigh, Felon shrieked like a cook spotting a rat in the kitchen.
“A noble! You said you were meeting a noble this morning!”
“What noble? Do you think there’s only one or two nobles? I’m a noble too!”
Never mind that what’s inside is a commoner maidservant.
When I snapped at him, Felon grew cautious, eyeing me nervously to see if I was about to set off the fireworks right then and there.
“I really don’t know. He said there was no need to know such things, so he never told me!”
“Then why are you meeting?”
“He said something about business.”
I’d asked the question first, but this old bandit chief seemed to be a rather curious fellow himself.
Judging by how he’d already inquired about who his advisor went around meeting.
‘Perhaps this nobleman is actually an accomplice to the lieutenant.’
The bandits I’d encountered at the very beginning said the same thing—the Marquis would receive an offer that if he drove away the guards, the Military Police Corps would send reinforcements.
‘A military redeployment of that scale can’t be done by just anyone.’
Which meant Lieutenant Norbu had connections with someone in a position to wield such authority.
And on top of that, the judge who was currently obstructing Marquis Netzer’s hiring of mercenaries under the pretense of imperial orders was also cooperating with Lieutenant Norbu.
‘Could Rodinia have fallen?’
The arrest of the rebellion’s ringleader had been not long ago, and now this—corruption involving military officers, judges, and someone even higher up. It was infuriating.
And to make matters worse, I hadn’t even been hired for this job, so I was doing all this backbreaking work for nothing.
‘I just wanted to save good people and myself! Why does it always turn out like this!’
Was I really doing all this just to survive on my own?
‘My lord and lady don’t know. Even if I appear to be a well-behaved lady on the surface, I’m secretly protecting the household like this.’
It all felt terribly sad.
‘After this is over, I’m asking for an increase in my allowance.’
* * *
We locked the unconscious bandit underlings in the iron cage with the mustachioed man, and the two of us slipped out through the warehouse’s secret passage.
It took considerable time to move the bandits, but the fact that the soldiers still hadn’t arrived meant they must still be clearing away the earth and rubble that had blocked the passage I’d fallen through.
‘It would be wise to head over there and assess the situation, but I can’t bring this man to where the villagers are.’
If they discovered he was the bandit chief who’d harmed their neighbors and subjected them to forced labor, an enraged pickaxe might very well be driven through his skull.
As both the perpetrator and a crucial witness, I couldn’t let that happen.
Felon limped along, but he walked well enough. He knew what would happen if he tried to shirk.
As we emerged outside, the sky was just beginning its evening glow. The interplay of deep blue and pink was magnificent.
Soon the world would be washed in orange twilight.
As we made our way down the mountain, before long I spotted a crowd of people gathering in the distance.
What appeared to be Military Police Corps soldiers and servants were peering into a pit, doing something.
‘And my lord and lady are…’
They were, along with the Seibo Guild’s head of security, engaged in a heated dispute with a young man in military uniform and a sharp-looking woman.
Nikolai and Dasther stood beside the Marquis and Marquise with stern expressions, supporting them both.
The distance was too great to hear what they were saying, but I had a strong intuition they were arguing about dismissing the guards.
“It’s all your fault!”
I brought my fist down on the back of the bandit chief’s head.
Once I handed this wretch over to the Military Police Corps, this commotion would finally die down.
Probably.
“Hey!”
At my shout, everyone turned to look in my direction at once.
“Ulfina!”
“Young mistress!”
I waved my hand broadly in greeting.
Yes, I’ve returned. And I’ve captured the bandit leader!
As I descended with such unmistakable pride, a man rushed toward me almost at a run.
He was a soldier who’d been fighting the Marquis and Marquise just moments before.
Though he was taller than me, I stood on the slope above him, so our eyes met at nearly the same level.
“You’re unharmed, Lady Ulfina. I was worried when I heard you’d gone to the bandits’ hideout.”
Then he swept his gaze toward Felon.
Seeing the middle-aged man bound tightly, bleeding from his shoulder and leg, a flicker of displeasure crossed his face.
“But who is this man?”
“The bandit leader.”
“……Pardon?”
He turned his gaze to Misty, his expression one of disbelief.
“The young lady is correct. This man is Felon, the bandit leader who attacked Oschel Village.”
At her confirmation, the man’s eyes widened noticeably. Felon hung his head low.
“A bandit? A b-b-bandit?”
A voice like tearing silk cut sharply through the air.
The Marquis and Marquise strode toward us with expressions of utter disbelief.
“A mere girl, alone, without a shred of sense, went to a bandit hideout and captured their leader?”
“I wasn’t alone. Rozi was with me.”
“Don’t play word games with me!”
I wasn’t playing word games either.
While the Marquis fumed, the Marquise busied herself examining me.
“Are you all right?”
“I have some bruises, but otherwise I’m fine.”
“What’s this terrible appearance? What have you got strapped to your body?”
“Oh, don’t touch that. It’s a bomb.”
“A bomb?”
The Marquis shrieked and yanked the Marquise backward in haste. At his rebuke about why I was carrying such a hideous thing, all my strength drained away.
Can’t we go inside the manor first and discuss this? I didn’t choose to wear a bomb, you understand.
The man, who had been silent under the weight of the Marquis and Marquise’s presence, spoke to me again.
“You’ve accomplished something remarkable. And I’m relieved you’re safe.”
“Thank you. But who are you?”
He was clearly a Military Police Corps officer, but I pretended ignorance.
‘Because I genuinely don’t know his name and rank.’
At that, the man laughed a little self-consciously.
It was proper etiquette to introduce oneself before addressing a lady.
Felon chewed his lips persistently and swayed his body side to side.
I kicked his shin with the toe of my boot, telling him to stay still, but instead he began writhing more violently.
The man glanced at him, then opened his mouth.
“Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. I’m Lieutenant Kizling Norbu, commanding the Military Police Corps squad assigned to the Netzer Marquis Territory.”
A strong wind swept through. Branches and leaves rubbed together, creating a sound like crashing waves—shwaaaa.
My chest went cold.
Standing right before my eyes was the bandit leader’s strategist.
Before Misty could lunge forward, I grabbed her arm.
If she attacked the Military Police officer here, the soldiers—who knew nothing—would attack her on the spot.
And if a stray bullet happened to graze the bomb, we’d all go up in smoke.
“Please hand the bandit leader over to us. We’ll handle the rest.”
Norbu extended his hand.
If I gave Felon to him now, Kizling Norbu would continue his military career without incident, and the incident of the bandits attacking the Netzer Marquis Territory would be minimized.
‘To hide the truth of the misconduct involving collusion between the military, the legal system, and high-ranking members of the upper class, Felon would be disposed of quietly, without a trace.’
And if Felon let slip that Misty and I knew Norbu’s true identity and that someone was behind him, then we, the Marquis and Marquise, and possibly everyone at the manor……
‘No. Absolutely not.’
Think. I have to do something.
Revealing everything here would be catastrophically foolish.
Felon would deny it, thinking he’d found an ally, while Norbu, who had us at his mercy, would use his connections to cover up the whole affair.
And all the Seibo Guild members who’d been protecting us would be branded as terrorists.
“……Lady Ulfina?”
“Oh, forgive me. Here.”
I pretended to hand him the rope while swiftly driving my boot into Felon to knock him over!
“Ahhhhhhh!”
While Norbu stood stunned, watching Felon tumble helplessly across the ground, I shot my arm out like lightning and wrapped it around his throat.
“L-Lady Ulfina, what on earth are you—”
“What do you think? Catching the bandit commander.”
“I believe there’s been some misunderstanding…….”
The cold muzzle touched Kizling Norbu’s temple, and he flinched.
“Kyaaah! Ulfina!”
“Miss! Whatever shall we do……!”
I shouted loudly toward the panic-stricken onlookers.
“Bring Rodinia, the Supreme Commander, here at once!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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