Episode 14- Payback and Wound Value

The dojo was filled with a very serious atmosphere. I swallow my spit and reply.

“What in the world is this ……?”

　
Sophia has a sad expression on her face, her head is bowed, and she is silent.

“Your Royal Highness, my daughter has sinned against you.”
“Yes?”
“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came in the guise of a lowly nobleman, despite his noble rank, to restore the relationship between my Kingdom of Halkeginia and my daughter Sophia, but Sophia, in her personal feelings, has caused you deep wounds.”
“T-that’s ……”
“My daughter, who holds the title of the strongest knight on the continent of the Orient, has inflicted a deep wound on you, who knows nothing of swordsmanship. You are the sole heir to the throne in the Kingdom of Ilas! To the next king of the Kingdom of Ilas, who will supply us with the Shine Stones that support the foundation of our kingdom’s economy!”

The king clenched his fists very regretfully, meditated and bit his lips as well. The queen was grieving as she looked alternately at her husband, the king, and her own daughter, Sophia, who was in custody.

I was so overwhelmed by the sight of the roaring king that I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth.

“Your Royal Highness……”
“Y-yes.”
“The nations of the Orient follow the principles of the Code of Hammurabi.”
“Yes, they do.”
“Do you know the most important legal principle of that code?”
“…… an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

The Code of Hammurabi is said to have been written by Hammurabi the Great, the greatest king in the Kingdom of Ilas. It is so rational that the judicial systems of countries in the Orient have adopted the legal principles of the Code of Hammurabi.

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

If A hurts B, then B has the right to hurt A, too, or A must pay B the equivalent price.

I don’t have to tell you what that means, because a sword with my blood on it is placed in front of Sophia.

“The crown prince is not at fault in this matter. Therefore, as of today, I am dismissing Sophia from the position of Knight Commander and stripping her of the title of strongest swordsman. And ……”

The king paused, took a deep breath, pointed to his sword, and continued with a serious look on his face.

“Use the sword there, and my daughter will suffer the same.”
“Nn!”

I said “That’s enough! You don’t have to go that far! Stop that king!”.

But I can’t stop him.

If I let Sophia go without any compensation, I would be tarnishing the great King Hammurabi and the Code of Hammurabi.

If I, the next king of the Kingdom of Ilas, were to say such a thing, everything would be ruined.

How can I help Sophia while maintaining the dignity of the Kingdom of Ilas?

I had to think of a way to help Sophia while maintaining the dignity of the Kingdom of Ilas.

Otherwise.

“Guardians, restrain my daughter’s body!”
“Yes!”

Hearing the king’s order, the Guard Guard Commander, with a tragic look on his face, strongly restrained Sophia’s body, which was tied up with ropes. He then pulled up her jacket so that her ivory-colored belly could be seen. After confirming this, the king picked up his fallen sword and pointed it at his daughter.

Sophia, without looking at me, meditates with a resigned expression. Perhaps she intends to accept her own father’s blow.

Think.

Think with all your wits about what you can do!

I heard from a doctor that if a woman, not a man, gets a wound like mine, if she’s not very good, she could bleed to death from shock due to excessive blood loss.

Maybe Sophia is ……

My legs trembled as I couldn’t stop thinking such anxious thoughts.

I have to prevent a war from happening, and I have to bring peace to this …… different world.

No, no.

No, no.

I am more than capable of such a feat.

I just want to

I just want to see the smile on the pretty Sophia’s face.

She is clumsy and not good at expressing her feelings, but when I hug her or hold her hand, she reacts in a very naive and lovely way.

The Sophia everyone knows as the dignified Knight Commander is good, but I want to see her true face as a girl.

I want to know this woman, Sophia.

The knowledge and legacy that our predecessors have built up is important, but no one can stop this feeling that far surpasses them.

Physical appearance and dignity are insignificant.

I, as a man, want to make Sophia, as a woman, happy.

“From now on, I will execute the sentence according to the Code of Hammurabi!”

The king, queen, head of the Guard, Sera, and Safina were all looking very sad, but I spoke the words as if I were the voice of a crane.

“Your Majesty the King, please put down that sword immediately. Why are you trying to do such a vain thing?”
“!?”

While everyone was silent, my voice reached the ears of everyone present. The king stopped his own hand movements and opened his mouth with a pout. Of course, the queen, Sera, and Safina were the same. Sophia looked up at me, puzzled.

“If you do that, you will damage Sophia’s beautiful skin. Please keep such a dangerous thing away from such a pretty girl.”
“No, no,…… but …… this girl is …….”

The king gave me an unwilling look. Of course, he did not want to hurt his precious daughter. But breaking the law is an unbecoming act for a king. Parental love and the dignity of a king. I was tormented by the presence of these two things.

There is only one way to save them from this despair.

“I won’t let Sophia suffer the same fate as I did. But in return, I demand something in return!”

As soon as they heard the word ” payback,” the king and queen’s faces suddenly turned pale. Perhaps if it had been the old Eric, he would have come to them asking for terrible things for sexual pleasure. That couple must have a similar image of Eric as a man, a tyrant.

So, I’m going to smash that stereotype. This man Eric, I will be reborn here.

“What are you going to …… demand?”

“In return, I demand a smile from the very pretty Sophia!”

My words, filled with a smiling face, changed the bleak atmosphere. Then the queen opened her mouth.

“Eric sama, …… what do you mean?”
“I mean that the charming Sophia’s smile has the same value as the wounds I have sustained.”
“……”

Seeing my face, the queen burst into tears like crystal. Then, she collapsed, as if she had lost her back.

“Eric sama……”
“Fufu.”

The queen, whose facial muscles had been rigid until a few moments ago, relaxed her cheeks and sent me a smile. I patted Sera’s brown head a couple of times and then moved to Sophia’s place with slow steps.

Her eyes, deeper blue than the ocean, change shape as they ripple. She is probably holding back tears.

I like her strong spirit, but I want to see Sophia as a girl. I want to see her as a girl.

Before I knew it, I was standing right in front of Sophia.

“Guards san”
“Yes, sir!”
“Untie the ropes that bind Sophia’s wrists at once. I have the right to demand it of you.”
“……”

The Guards looks to the king for permission before saying,

“I-I understand!”

Then the Guards, who had been holding Sophia, cuts off the rope with his guard knife and quickly moves away from her.

And I bent down,

I gave her a hug.

“Let’s make up.”

“Yeah, I’ll …… make up with you.”
“Fufu, Yes!”

“…… u…… ueeeeeeeeeee! It was my fault! Eric was serious and I kept trying to test him,…… and then I did terrible things to him,…… and Eric,…… Uuuuu…hiku……”
“It’s okay. I’m glad Sophia knows how I feel about her.”
“Eric ……”

Sophia sobbed for a while and then rubbed herself against me to hide more against my body. Her sweetness was so adorable that I hugged Sophia more tightly and gently stroked her nape and back of her hair.

“Sophia-chan.”
“Yes?”
“Tomorrow is your day off, right?”
“Ummm, yes. Yes though …..Hiku”
“Come on a date with me. Just the two of us.”
“I’ll go on a date with you if you want me to. ……”
“I won’t date you if you don’t want me to, Sophia. You can tell me what you really think of me of your own free will.”
“I …… want to date…… Eric. I want to date Eric alone. That’s my free will.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
“Eric……”

Sophia’s face as she utters my name is absurd to say the least.

Her eyes have long since turned red, and her long lashes are soaking wet. Also, her cheeks are on fire, reminiscent of cherry blossoms.

But she is

smiling brightly.

“I never thought my daughter would show her face like that,…… Guard, is this a dream?”
“N-no,…… I would like to believe it is a dream too, but this is undeniably real.”
“……Safina?”
“Yes! Your Majesty.”
“You have seen my daughter for a long time. So let me ask you this. Have you ever seen Sophia’s face like that?”
“No!”

Someone was speaking next to me, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying because of Sophia’s cuteness.

I have to ask for permission because I’m going to ask for a moment of her precious daughter’s time.

Sophia rubs her head against my chest, but I manage to turn my gaze to her parents and open my mouth.

“Um, I’d like to go out with Sophia tomorrow, is that alright?”
“That’s …….”
“Of course it is! Eric sama! Please have a good time with my daughter.”
“No, no, you ……”
“Dear, You have to read the air!”
“Ugh. ……I understand”

The two of them seemed to be quarreling about something, but at least I got the parents’ permission.

“Eric, …….”
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“…… head ……”　
“Head?”
“Stroke ……”
“Hahaha…..got it”

I’m glad it all worked out.

(TL/N : Sophia sweett…)

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