They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 108

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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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They say an age gap of nnn years doesn’t even warrant a compatibility check.
Chapter 108
When the interrogation ended, Marquis Ramon and his cohorts had been reduced to something barely recognizable as human.
With bones twisted and flesh torn asunder, their bloodied bodies writhed as they begged for death.
‘How foolish.’
Elhart gazed down at them with an icy stare.
They were the sort who trembled and confessed everything the moment he merely approached—without even laying a hand on them.
Yet how could they be so cruel to others when they feared pain so deeply?
Having secured all evidence of the atrocities these wretches had committed, Elhart dug a massive pit in the heart of the forest.
He cast the mercenaries’ corpses into it along with those who still clung to life.
He peeled off his blood-stained gloves and discarded them into the pit as well, then turned to leave.
Now the forest fell silent.
The veil of night descended upon all things, concealing even the traces of that brutal hour.
Elhart stood for a moment, regarding the gathered people huddled to one side.
They covered their bare bodies with borrowed cloaks and garments of unknown origin, their eyes fixed upon him.
‘What should I do?’
They might now fear him.
If that were the case, it might be better to depart as he was rather than approach them hastily.
Then.
“Your Highness.”
Suddenly, one person stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
“We shall treasure what transpired today in our hearts, but we shall never speak of it.”
That was the beginning.
“We swear upon our lives to keep this secret!”
“We promise!”
“Thank you… truly, thank you…!”
A child burst forth from among those bowing.
The child threw their arms around his legs and looked up at him.
“Your Highness, is it over? Can we go home now?”
“…Yes.”
Elhart forced a smile and nodded.
“No one will ever take you away again.”
“Ah… thank goodness….”
The child broke into a radiant smile.
He knelt and withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket, gently wiping the child’s face.
The sight of the child smiling while tears streamed down their cheeks tightened his throat.
It seemed none of the child’s parents were among those present.
Then where would this child return to?
The ‘home’ the child spoke of must surely be their mother’s and father’s embrace.
Alongside the ache of pity, a renewed hatred for those he had buried in that pit surged through him.
Barely suppressing his emotions, Elhart tended to the wounded alongside the child who trailed after me like a shadow.
The emergency potions Iserna had provided healed even the most grievous wounds without a trace.
“Wow….”
“Oh….”
It was a miraculous sight, as if the gods themselves had intervened.
‘Such things existed three hundred years ago.’
Elhart was equally astonished, though he feigned composure.
“Wait! A carriage!”
“She’s returned!”
The people, still unaware of Iserna’s true identity, rushed to Elhart with the news.
Once he finished treating the last of the wounded, Elhart rose to his feet and turned around.
“…?”
The single carriage that had departed had somehow multiplied into five.
“I’m back.”
Iserna leaped from the lead carriage and approached Elhart.
“Everything went smoothly?”
The moon had long since set, leaving only darkness in its wake.
Yet the starlight from above seemed to illuminate her every step.
Watching Iserna shine alone in the gloom, Elhart found his hand pressing against his chest without conscious thought.
The violent pulse beneath his palm felt as though it would shake the entire world.
“What…? Why are you like that? Are you hurt?”
She rushed toward him in alarm.
Behind her, figures began descending from the carriages in succession.
“Mother…?! Father…!!”
The child who had followed Elhart all this time bolted forward.
Starting with that child, those who had found their lost families ran toward them, embracing one another and breaking into tears.
Elhart watched the scene for a moment before turning his gaze back to Iserna.
Her enchanting sky-blue eyes held him completely captive.
“Are you alright?”
“…Yes.”
Elhart pulled her into his arms desperately.
Iserna held him in silence, patting his back gently.
Her hand soothed his broad shoulders with the tenderness of one comforting a child.
Elhart felt the hatred that had threatened to consume him gradually dissolve away.
And with it, his rage at himself for failing to protect them.
Once he seemed to have calmed, Iserna spoke of the evidence she had brought.
“I’ve secured the correspondence between Marquis Libran and his associates. I also obtained the names of nobles from both nations involved in this affair.”
Elhart, in turn, shared what he had learned from interrogating Marquis Ramon and his conspirators.
“Marquis Ramon is merely a conduit to the Empire’s network. Similar incidents must be occurring in other fiefs.”
“Undoubtedly.”
Iserna’s gaze swept across the gathered people.
“There must be plenty who harbor doubts about how the Crown Princess ascended to the throne. I’ll need to leak information to them.”
If it became known that she had used slaves not merely as servants but as tools for extracting life force itself, the political damage would be severe.
“At the very least, we can make her stop for a while.”
The problem wasn’t limited to those being sold from Bardia.
Already conquered nations, or the impoverished within the Empire itself.
Such atrocities must never occur anywhere.
“Ah, where is that bastard now?”
Iserna glanced around, searching for Marquis Ramon.
Elhart, who had hesitated briefly, pointed toward the pit.
“I haven’t killed him yet.”
“Is that so?”
Elhart followed as Iserna strode purposefully toward the pit, his lips pressed thin with anxiety.
He worried she might find his capacity for such cruelty repugnant, might view him with disgust for possessing such ruthlessness.
She stopped before the pit and peered into its depths for a long moment.
Her profile was expressionless, making it impossible to discern her thoughts.
“…Ser Brin.”
Unable to bear the suspense, Elhart forced himself to speak.
“Let’s bury him as he is.”
Iserna turned to him and spoke.
“I think burying him while he still draws breath would be far more terrifying than simply killing him.”
“…That does seem like a sound idea.”
At Elhart’s response, she smiled faintly.
“Doesn’t it?”
Iserna began withdrawing tools from her spatial pouch.
‘Why does she have so many shovels…?’
While Elhart stared in bewilderment at the heap of shovels piled on the ground, Iserna had already seized one and was expertly turning the earth.
“Shall we help as well?”
“Of course you should.”
With Iserna’s permission, the people eagerly grabbed shovels.
“Let’s bury him!”
Elhart watched them cast soil into the pit for only a moment before he too began to help.
If he truly exerted himself, filling the pit would be instantaneous, but that wasn’t right—not now.
The fierce, almost manic gleam in their eyes told him everything.
Just as the people of Brin Domain had once hurled stones at traitors, this too was their own form of vengeance.
Iserna and Elhart assisted moderately before stepping back.
After watching the people fill the pit for a moment, Iserna spoke to him.
“Let’s head to the Lord’s Castle.”
Beyond the evidence confiscated from Marquis Ramon, much remained within the castle.
There was still much to be done if these people were to rebuild their lives in this domain.
Elhart nodded and spoke.
“The man who ruled this place before Marquis Ramon is still alive, or so I’ve heard.”
“That’s good news.”
Iserna brightened, turning his body toward me.
“Those people….”
“Let them vent their resentment a while longer.”
“Agreed.”
With carriages available, there would be no problem in each of them returning to their own homes.
“I’ve also brought along a reasonable sum as compensation, so they’ll have no trouble settling down and rebuilding their lives.”
“Compensation…? You didn’t….”
So that’s why it took some time—he’d apparently stripped the Empire Noble’s manor clean.

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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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