I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 46
Chapter 46
“I’ll ask again. Who ordered me to be killed?”
“…I also received orders from above, so I’m not sure.”
“Where is this ‘above’?”
It seems the reason for not answering immediately earlier was due to a lack of knowledge. This time, a quick response followed.
“They are based in the capital.”
“You were the ones who continuously attempted to assassinate the brides of ‘Kazen Tazetra’, right?”
“…Yes.”
Several more questions followed.
Through him, it was revealed that they were a contracting firm that handled various illegal tasks, not just assassinations.
In less than an hour, Lenette finished everything and stood up, speaking to Nazan.
“Please bring some edible food.”
At that, both Nazan and Kazen, who had been silently observing the situation, turned to look at Lenette.
Kazen, who had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in the shadows, approached.
“Aren’t you going to kill him?”
She glanced at the trembling assassin curled up and headed toward the stairs.
“I will spare him.”
Following her, Kazen asked again.
“You’re going to spare him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
The answer to that question came after the two had left the abandoned house.
“We need to confirm whether the information just given is correct or not.”
At Lenette’s words, Kazen frowned. This was not a situation where they could afford to wait idly.
“Sending someone to the capital to verify the location of the contracting firm will take a long time.”
Then Lenette shook her head.
“I will verify the truth in a different way, not like that.”
“How?”
Looking back at the abandoned house they had just exited, Lenette said with cold, sunken eyes.
“Ordinary assassins are trained to give false confessions in situations like this. So, I will ask the same questions repeatedly over the course of several days and torture him. Then, I will check if the information he spills is consistent each time.”
“…Can you really verify the truth that way?”
“Perhaps.”
For Lenette, discerning the truth within a repeating pattern was not a difficult task.
“How much time will it take?”
“At least three days.”
Kazen brushed his hair back and fell into thought for a moment. Then he opened his mouth again.
“Five days. We can’t afford to delay any longer than that.”
“Understood.”
* * *
Exactly five days later, Lenette succeeded in extracting all the information the assassin had about the contracting firm.
“This is the map drawn based on the information obtained through interrogation by Li
Eneta.”
Kazen looked down at the rough sketch drawn by Nazan.
“Here is the base of the contracting firm that has sent so many assassins until now.”
“That’s what we’ve gathered.”
Whether this was accurate or not could only be confirmed through direct verification.
However, apart from that, Kazen decided to significantly raise his evaluation of Lenette due to this incident.
“Ordinary assassins are trained to give false confessions in situations like this.”
Honestly, he had met many assassins, but he had never thought that far.
Why? Because Kazen had killed the assassins that came after him.
The only living assassins were those who had barely escaped from him, so they had no way of knowing such details.
“But even if we know that fact…”
“So, I will ask the same questions repeatedly over the course of several days and torture him. Then, I will check if the information he spills is consistent each time.”
They hadn’t considered the idea of gathering information through repeated interrogations.
“Nazan, what do you think?”
“Are you referring to Leneta?”
“Yes.”
The way she interrogated the assassin was certainly not that of an ordinary person. She was far from a frail woman.
“Did she seem like a professional interrogator?”
“To call her an interrogator would be an understatement.”
“That’s true.”
The way Lenette struck the assassin was not particularly fierce.
“But she definitely seemed accustomed to this kind of work.”
“She was unnaturally calm.”
“Exactly. It was as if she was a ‘superior’ who elegantly finished the interrogation with a spoon laid on a platter prepared by expert torturers.”
Nazan seemed to agree with this, nodding his head.
“What on earth is that woman’s true identity?”
“I thought she was just a doctor, but at this point, she seems to be more than just a simple physician.”
Kazen shared the same thought.
He had initially assumed she was from a “good family of doctors,” but after this incident, his perspective changed.
“At the very least, she’s someone who has participated in a war more than once.”
And that was the bare minimum.
She might have accomplished far more than Kazen could imagine.
“Nazan, once we arrive in the capital, send someone to approach those related to the Ecaron Kingdom.”
“Are you planning to gather information about Leneta?”
“Yes.”
Honestly, at this point, Kazen couldn’t help but feel greedy for her.
Not only did she possess the medical skills he desperately needed, but she also exuded an intimidating presence that could command others.
And now, she had the ability to extract information from assassins?
How could he let that go?
‘But I can’t just swallow it blindly because it’s sweet.’
There must be a reason she acquired such abilities. He needed to understand the background behind her skills.
That way, he could avoid trouble later on.
“So, what about Leneta?”
“She is preparing to depart.”
“Got it. I’ll go out and help.”
Nazan bowed and left the room. Kazen looked down at the servants who were busy preparing to leave through the window.
Since the interrogation was over, they planned to head to the capital immediately.
However, with the departure delayed for about a week, he wondered if they would arrive on time.
Thus, he had no choice but to take a different route.
“It’s unavoidable, but it worries me…”
The route he chose was the fastest way to the capital, known as the “Path of the Sword.”
And on that path, he was bound to encounter someone: his half-brother, Rahim Tazetra.
“Sigh… I hope he doesn’t pull any crazy stunts this time.”
* * *
As they paused briefly in a village, the weather grew hotter.
The sun in the desert was already scorching, but now it blazed hot enough to melt the desert sand.
No matter how strong Lenette was, she would crumble under such heat.
“Just hold on a little longer. We’ll reach the village soon.”
She was originally from the north. After days of traveling through the shimmering desert, it was no wonder she was running low on energy.
“I understand now why the desert people don’t leave their villages.”
“Is traveling common in Ecaron?”
“Since the kingdom was unified, travel has become more frequent.”
Originally, the serfs were little more than ‘property’ of their lords. They had no freedom to relocate, but that changed with the unification of the kingdom.
The king of Ecaron suppressed the powerful families and encouraged their serfs to settle in other territories.
Under the pretext of ‘uniform development,’ if they moved from their original territory to a small village and cultivated the land, they would be granted rental rights to the land (essentially meaning ‘ownership’ since they rented directly from the king).
Naturally, the farmers who were once tenants wouldn’t sit idly by. They would immediately move to a village where they could obtain rental rights.
“They even offered land in other villages. But in a desert like this… I doubt anyone could easily move even if they were given land.”
Whether it was land or anything else, traveling here could lead to death from the heat.
“If it’s tough, lets take a break.”
“I’m fine. It’s getting late, and you said we’d reach a village soon.”
They only had to go a few more dozen minutes. Honestly, it felt awkward to stop and rest now.
Kazen handed Lenette a water bottle.
“Make sure to drink some water.”
“Thank you.”
After gulping down water from the leather pouch, she wiped her mouth and let out a short sigh.
“Still, drinking water makes me feel a bit better.”
She handed the leather pouch back. It was clear that drinking water had improved her condition.
Perhaps because of this, she suddenly asked Kazen a question.
“About all that time we spent together…”
As she looked at him expectantly, she urged her camel closer.
“You’ve gotten quite good at riding camels.”
“I learn quickly, after all.”
Casually, she continued in a low voice, “Is it because of the assassins?”
“What do you mean?”
“The union.”
“Yeah.”
He answered without hesitation, as if it were no big secret. After all, given that assassins had been persistently coming for a while, the palace guards must have had some inkling.
“During the day, there are many people coming and going, so it’s fine, but at night, it’s a different story.”
“You could have had the guards strengthen the night watch.”
“How could I know when they would come?”
“That’s true.”
It had been over two months since Lenette became Kazen’s bride when the assassins finally showed up.
‘You can’t expect someone to stay on high alert for over two months.’
“So, is that why you assigned Nazan to me?”
“You have a lot of questions.”
“Because I’m curious.”
“Are you the type to ask everything just because you’re curious?”
“Only if it’s not a sensitive issue.”
Seeing her unwavering demeanor, Kazen eventually shook his head and smiled.
“Yeah, I’m busy during the day.”
“I see.”
It took over two months for her to learn the reason behind their union.
“Well, you could have said that from the beginning. I would have cooperated willingly.”
“I didn’t know my bride would be so strong-willed.”
From his brief explanation, Lenette recalled her own uniqueness.
‘Well… Most women would probably panic and make a fuss at the mention of assassins.’
They weren’t the strange ones; it was her, grabbing the intruder by the pants in her nightwear. Lenette was fully aware of that.
“Kazen, thank you.”
His eyebrow raised in surprise at her sudden expression of gratitude.
