Chapter 23: ~Son in law!~ (2/2)

“We have to thank this noble then. If he saved Liandra and you out of good will, then he has to be thanked.” Mother grabs my hand and smiles at me.

Um. That's not the entire truth either.

“What's his name?” My father smiles at me.

“Um. His full name is Ascathon Asceron.”

Both of my parent's expressions suddenly become fearsome. “The Arenzien!” “The Arenzien!”

“Ah. So you know his previous family name.” Aaah. It will be a pain to change their opinions!

“Of course! We know of all members of that accursed family!” Father snaps.

“But he left that family and the country. And he actually doesn't like any of his relatives except his little sister.” I try to smooth the waves.

“That makes him a traitor too! My poor daughter! Did he defile you!? You can tell everything to me.” My mother hugs me again.

“He... didn't... exactly... defile... me.” Oh my god! Why did my mind just blank out!? How can I turn this conversation into a positive direction!

“He did! I will murder that....”

“Husband!” So. Now it's out. Better to drop the whole bomb at them and clean the mess later.

“Hus...” “...band?”

“~Yes.~ I married him. So please refrain from doing anything to your own son in law. He is a noble from Norfolk by the way, so you would create some diplomatic issues too by doing so.” I smile at them while my mother fights to keep standing with my support.

“Why?” My mother asks with a whiny voice.

“Didn't you guys always say that I should marry someone with power to save our house and ensure our safety? Well. I decided that marrying someone with power and gaining a citizenship would be better than staying a person with no legal rights.” I nod at my perfect explanation.

“We still have to see him to judge for ourselves!” My father folds his arms in front of his chest. His face tells me that he already made up his mind about the hermit.

“You don't have anything to fear. I wear the pants in our relationship!” I stand proud in front of my father while proclaiming this line.

“We will see... where is he?” My mother sighs and starts to walk towards the exit.

“I parted with him at the entrance. He wanted to get an appointment with the Jarl to further the development of our principality! It shouldn't take that long to make an appointment. So maybe he is already searching for me.” I smile at them. I may as well try to sell some of Ascathon's good points. Like having money and power. And being smart and having a high morality.

“He has a principality!?” Dad's expression drops a little. Maybe he just lost a little confidence?

“The whole of Sarn-Valley with about a hundred thousand inhabitants!” Hah! Maybe that will change their opinion of my choice.

I lead them slowly back the way I came while looking carefully around. It's still possible that we could miss each other but I hope that Ascathon would also take a direct route. So we should meet each other.

While I walk I decide to pile on with Ascathon's pros. The better my parent's impression of him, the less worries they should have. “And he is actually a very nice and emotional person.” He always has nightmares when I don't sleep with him.

“And he is reasonable too. If you have some good arguments you can always convince him to help you.” A little blackmail here and there and he will even marry you.

“And while he is really strong, he can be gentle too.” Yes. When he saved me he gently ended the life of that idiot who tried to buy me and Liandra.

“His skill in the bed is ~godlike~!” Ah! Damn! I got carried away. Their expressions turned fearsome again.

“And........”

“KYAAAAA!”

I was just about to enter the next hall when a scream destroys the atmosphere and a few people come running into our direction with pale faces and horrified expressions. It should be the hall which was filled with entertainers and various exhibits.

A few steps take me to the entrance and I peek inside the room.

What I find is a murder scene. No. It's closer to a massacre because there are multiple victims. I see seven bodies in total and there are stains of blood everywhere! I slowly walk forward while I observe the scene. There are actually a few nobles left within the room. They look around with dazed expressions but they don't look scared. Seems like the violence was restricted to a certain group of people.

All corpses seem to be Jamaian nobles. There is one who seems to have been wounded and actually managed to crawl a few metres towards the exit before a sword nailed him to the floor, right through his heart. The trail of blood makes his struggle evident.

Another two seem to have killed each other with their bare hands. It looks like they actually tried to peel the flesh off of each other while being in an all or nothing struggle for life and death! They are still entangled on the floor like two maniacs. A puddle of blood is forming around them.

One is sitting on the ground while leaning towards the wall. The wall has a human shaped dent!

On the far side of the room I see a hideously burned and charred corpse which looks like it was trying to reach a small pool with a warning of dangerous fishes above it. I guess it wouldn't have mattered if he had reached the water or not.

Someone is hanging heels over head from the slowly spinning chandelier at the ceiling. Various cuts and bruises are covering his body. How he got up there is a mystery to me.

Then I see a pair of feet looking out of a big barrel which was used earlier by an entertainer to demonstrate his escapology.

*Smack* *Smack* *Smack* *Smack*

A silent, rhythmic and a little wet sound draws my attention towards a spot which was previously hidden by a table which is tilted sideways.

Someone is sitting on top of an eighth Jamaian corpse which is lying on its belly with all limbs spread out. He is working very hard to hit the head of the unresisting person into the ground again and again. The mangled head looks a little dented which probably is at fault for the wet sound that is created by the action.

I feel my parents following me while I walk slowly closer.

The person who is committing the desecration of the corpse has a knife sticking out of his right shoulder blade and deep red blood is soaking the traditional Norfolk clothing around the wound.

As I step closer I draw his attention and he turns around.

“Hi, ~sugar cat~. Did you have a nice evening?”

Ascathon smiles at me with a laceration on his forehead above his left eye. The wound is bleeding pretty heavily and obstructing his view.

“H...~Honey bear~? What are you doing?”

Ascathon has a really relaxed expression. I never saw him like that before. It's actually a little frightening. He doesn't seem to feel his wounds at all.

“Just using the opportunity to relieve some stress. Oh, maybe I should introduce you. That's the brother of a certain Jamaian idiot whom I had a little argument with at a certain slave auction. He tried to avenge his deceased family member.”

Ascathon smacks the head of the body into the ground a final time and a crunching sound can be heard as the skull finally yields.

.