“So, you aren’t a spy sent by the Barbarians after all?”
Anke spoke with his fingers interlaced in front of his chest.
“Yes, yes. Lord, we are… ‘Rats’ hired by Earl Oca. I will tell you whatever you want to know. I only beg you to spare my miserable rat’s life.”
The last “Rat” answered tremulously.
“Understood. Vera, bring those three people in.”
Anke nodded and then spoke to Vera.
“Understood, Your Highness.”
Vera replied and walked out of the barracks while the last “Rat” watched her with a confused expression.
When she returned, Vera was followed by six militia members.
Each pair of them was escorting a “Rat” whose mouth was stuffed with tattered rags, his expression was contorted, and his legs were squeezed tightly together.
“You, you aren’t dead?”
The “Rat” who had been talking honestly was stunned as he looked at his escorted companions.
“His Highness won’t let you ‘Rats’ die so easily with your secrets.”
Vera rolled her eyes at the man, her tone icy.
“You — you tricked me!”
Realizing he had been deceived, the “Rat” struggled to stand up, but he was held down firmly by the laborers behind him.
“It is called wisdom. Since your identity has been exposed, you would be dead anyway if you returned to Earl Oca. It is better to honestly tell me everything you know. I can still give you a way to live. I am a man of my word.”
Anke’s fingers lightly tapped the tabletop in front of him. The rhythmic tapping sound placed immense psychological pressure on the “Rat” without a word being spoken.
Just as Anke said, once the identities of these low-level “Rats” were exposed, they could not go back to either side. Death was the only path remaining.
“I… I will talk. But Lord, can you really give me a way to live?”
“Of course. I am a man of my word.”
“Fine. I hope Your Highness does not go back on your word.”
The “Rat” began to recount everything he knew to Anke, one detail at a time.
However, Anke did not trust the “Rat” enough to believe everything blindly.
Every time the “Rat” disclosed a piece of intelligence, Anke would exchange a glance with Vera to confirm its reliability.
‘Ever since that incident with Kano, I’ve known that Vera has a Lie Detection Ability.’
He had decisively put her to good use, making the most of Vera’s special skill.
The “Rat” originally intended to provide some false information, but every time he fabricated a lie, Anke would immediately point it out.
Anke was in no hurry. He simply waited until the “Rat” had lied three times before issuing a warning.
“You don’t have any more chances to lie. If you try to use your petty tricks again, I can just choose another person to answer my questions.”
As Anke spoke, he looked at the other three “Rats” being held by the militia. The latter immediately nodded at Anke with agitation.
“As for you, you will die right here. I hate people who lie to me.”
Following Anke’s words, Vera unsheathed her side-sword. The deep, cold glint of the blade made the “Rat” break out in a cold sweat.
“No, don’t kill me! I’ll talk, I’ll talk honestly…”
After several exchanges, the “Rat’s” psychological defense was completely destroyed. He cooperated fully, telling Anke everything he knew.
Through the interrogation, Anke obtained intelligence regarding Earl Oca.
The Count already knew that Anke was doing something to counter a Barbarian Raid, but he did not know exactly what Anke planned to do.
That was why he had sent these “Rats” to infiltrate and scout for information.
It could only be said that the “Rats” were indeed the lowest level of spies; the information they could access was meager.
However, for Anke, this bit of intelligence was already very useful.
At the very least, it let him know that Earl Oca was paying attention to Border City’s movements, allowing him to make targeted arrangements.
“Lord, that is all I know. Can you really give me a way to live?”
“Of course.”
Anke nodded.
“Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!”
The “Rat” shouted in ecstasy.
“Lock them up for now. When this is over, arrange for them to serve a sentence of 30 years of forced labor at the Construction Site.”
Before the “Rat” could celebrate any longer, Anke continued.
It was like a bucket of cold water being poured over the “Rat.”
“No, it wasn’t supposed to be like this! Lord! Lord!”
The “Rat” struggled as he and his companions were dragged out by the militia.
“I gave you a way to live. Prepare yourselves mentally and work hard in the future.”
Anke waved toward the screaming “Rats.”
“Right, and you all. You were the ones who caught these ‘Rats,’ weren’t you?”
Having dealt with the spies, Anke looked toward the laborers.
“Yes, yes, Lord.”
the middle-aged laborer had not yet recovered from the Lord’s strange interrogation. When Anke’s gaze fell on him, he immediately knelt to answer.
“Vera, did you record the names of the laborers who were involved?”
Anke asked Vera.
“I have them recorded, Your Highness.”
“Good. Reward every laborer involved in capturing the spies with 4 Morgans (approximately 1 hectare) of Rent-free Land. It will be distributed after we resist the Barbarian Raid.”
Anke arranged the reward directly.
“4 Moores of Rent-free Land! Your Highness, you are truly too generous!”
The middle-aged laborer and the companions who followed him knelt to thank Anke.
“This is what you deserve. Everyone, stand up. Don’t stay kneeling.”
Anke walked over and helped the laborers up one by one. The men were overwhelmed by the favor, silently resolving in their hearts to support this new Lord.
After sending the laborers away, Anke sat back down and patted his face, which had been held in a tense, serious expression, to relax his muscles.
“A pity. They weren’t Barbarian spies, but spies sent by Earl Oca.”
After a minute or two, Anke suddenly spoke.
“Why does Your Highness say it’s a pity? Isn’t it a good thing to catch spies regardless of where they came from?”
“It is indeed a good thing. But it is also a bad thing. I previously considered that local nobles like Earl Oca might just stand by and watch when the Barbarians invade, waiting for us and the Barbarians to fight to the death so they can reap the fruits of victory.”
“But now, the situation might be worse. They might not just stand by. Depending on the balance of power between us and the Barbarians, they might selectively intervene.”
“Selectively intervene?”
“Yes. When we are at war with the Barbarians, if there is a possibility of us winning, they might choose to fund the Barbarians to weaken us.”
Anke immediately thought of the worst-case scenario. After all, while providing help in times of need was rare, adding fuel to the fire was very common.
“Then, Your Highness? What should we do?”
“Perhaps, we can try to subjugate the Barbarians?”
Anke revealed his new plan.
“Subjugate the Barbarians? Is that feasible? No one has ever done it before.”
Vera shook her head.
“No one has ever done it? Then I will be the first person to do it!”
Anke spoke with a determined tone.