Chapter 70, The Case Of Beffa

Translator: Lizz

 

Beffa’s encounter with that informant was the result of his father’s unreasonable demands since childhood.

 

If he failed, his enraged father would subject him to severe punishment.

And then he would lament theatrically,

‘I cannot face my master. I must die to atone.’

 

At the time, Beffa had truly wished he would die. No, even now he still thought so.

 

That day, the punishment was especially brutal—whipped, beaten, kicked, and finally cast out with the words, ‘A useless wretch like you should just die.’

As he staggered aimlessly, a man named Nomani called out to him.

Had he been left alone, he surely would have died.

Nomani treated his wounds and nursed him, saving his life.

 

After thanking Nomani for saving him, Beffa began to think about his future.

Perhaps it would be better to pretend he had died and leave home.

However, if his survival were discovered, he would likely face even harsher punishment and be killed.

 

As Beffa was lost in thought, Nomani said, ‘If you tell me your circumstances, I might be able to lend you some wisdom.’

Beffa confessed everything.

By then he had already resolved to abandon his home, so he felt there was no point in keeping secrets.

After hearing Beffa’s story, Nomani said this.

 

“You may leave, but living alone as a young child might be harder than staying. In that case, why not try to make the environment as comfortable as possible?”

 

Marquis Onofrio himself was not a cruel man. On the contrary, he was kind to his servants. Therefore, Nomani explained, Beffa should win the favor of someone above his abuser.

 

Beffa was first taken under the protection of the guard.

He told them that his father had beaten him, and that a kind man had treated his wounds and saved his life.

When he trembled dramatically, saying that he would be killed if things continued, the guards reported the matter to the knights of the Marquis’s household, which brought his father, the butler, rushing in.

 

“You—how dare you shame your master!”

As his father struck at him, Beffa cowered theatrically, crying out,

“I’m sorry! Please don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!”,

over and over.

 

The people around them intervened, and the commotion grew until Marquis Onofrio himself appeared.

When he heard the situation—though in truth all he heard from the butler was excuses like ‘I was disciplining a useless wretch who cannot serve his master’ and ‘He has caused so much trouble that simply killing him would not be enough to make amends’—the Marquis sighed deeply.

 

“You have done well. But if you continue to ‘instruct’ all the servants in this way, there will be no one left to serve in my household.”

“That is not true! Those who cannot understand the honor of serving you should be punished and cast out—”

“Enough!”

 

At last, even the gentle Marquis Onofrio shouted.

“Do you still not understand that right now you are the one causing the greatest trouble to my household!?”

 

Hearing the Marquis’s words, the butler burst into tears, declaring he would ‘die to make amends,’ which left the Marquis exasperated.

 

Beffa secretly hoped his father would be arrested or dismissed, but unfortunately that did not happen. Instead, the butler was strictly ordered by the Marquis: ‘No violence. Treat the other servants with care.’

 

Beffa pretended to be deeply moved and devoted to the Marquis. He placed the Marquis’s commands above his father’s.

The Marquis seemed pleased by the look of admiration from the boy he had saved, and often spoke kindly to Beffa.

 

“Thank you. You saved my life!”

Later, when Beffa visited Nomani to thank him for his help, Nomani replied with a calculating smile.

 

“I gained information from this too. We’re even.”

 

Beffa froze for a moment, then quickly narrowed his eyes and smiled back.

“So that’s how it is. Good, I’m glad the payment was settled with something so small!”

 

From then on, Beffa and Nomani maintained a mutually beneficial relationship.

Beffa passed along the information he gathered.

Nomani provided the information Beffa wanted.

 

Beffa felt no gratitude toward Marquis Onofrio.

He only pretended to worship him as a way to keep his father in check.

In truth, just as Nomani had advised, unless the matter had been turned into a major problem involving many people, Marquis Onofrio would never have acted. It was Beffa himself who had forced the issue.

 

His father surely thought of him with resentment. Since that incident, Marquis Onofrio occasionally gave Beffa direct orders.

That seemed to infuriate his father.

Yet he could neither blame him for it nor punish him with beatings.

 

For his father, the words of Marquis Onofrio were absolute.

To act in secret would mean defying the Marquis’s orders.

That was something he could never do.

 

Gradually, Beffa strengthened his position within the Marquis’s household, but in the end he could never surpass his father or his brother.

The beatings stopped, but he was forced to do dirty work, and in any case his life was constantly at risk.

No one thought he was indispensable. He was treated as nothing more than a pawn.

And they didn’t even realize it.

 

He had drifted along, thinking someday he would die from one of those unreasonable demands.

—Until he met Sylvia.

 

Recalling those times, Beffa reached out.

“Nomani, do you know of any mercenary groups who are ready to swear loyalty?”