"Captain is dead." I reported back to Blanche. She frowned for just a second without raising her head from the paper she was writing on. Her room was mostly destroyed during the beastkin attack, and she now had to stay in a small room without her comfy furniture, which made her less than happy.

"21 guards, including the Captain, are dead. 17 wounded, 7 of them are crippled." I continued my report.

"We have 15 guards alive and able to fight but... More than half of them don't want to fight. They just want their pay and leave."

"Cowards," Blanche muttered under her breath.

"I don't blame them, My Lady."

Blanche raised her head and shot me a surprised look.

"You also saw the ruins. They must have mages and mana users. Possibly stronger than Percavel and me. Can you really blame them for realizing they are no match for attackers?"

Blanche ripped the paper in front of her. I wanted to take a step back seeing her angry reaction, but I kept a poker face.

"We have to chase after them."

Blanche's tired and unenthusiastic voice told me she was just saying that just for the sake of it and wasn't willing to go through with it.

"What's with that face?"

She asked. I must be making a weird face.

"I don't advise that, My Lady."

"And why is that?"

She asked as she crossed her legs and looked directly into my eyes. Her long, muscular, and nicely shaped legs. I had to stop myself from gulping. I really needed some time alone.

Seriously, I knew that breaking dozens of beastkin wasn't an easy task but did they seriously have to create this big of a mess? Hell, if they were going to do something like this, I didn't have to collect information! We could have just called warriors and achieved the same thing!

"We are weary and wounded. You yourself told me before that your contract with Madam Agatha and Percavel will end after we reach the town. Duncan is a loose cannon and you - we don't have enough men, let alone strong men. We also don't have trackers."

Blanche clicked her tongue.

"You are right. But I can't just let them go. My family controls this land. If I allow them to go unpunished, it would make us look weak."

Shit. I knew this would happen.

"You already promised to free the beastkin, My Lady. Pouring more resources into it seems-"

Blanche let out a small sigh, interrupting my sentence.

"This is different, Poyraz. Me freeing them and we getting attacked is totally different."

Damn, pleading with her promise won't work. I held a position of authority, so I knew why Blanche thought like this.

Every attack must be answered twice as strongly. If you take it like a dog, your enemies won't fear you and your underlings won't obey you.

Chains of responsibility wrapped around everyone with power and authority. Someone with no power or authority could not move, and they would be fine. But if you have them and you don't move - you don't do something, those chains will drag you down and make you lose everything you had.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Because of that very reason, I had no chance of changing her mind by trying to appeal to her "soft" side. I had to convince her that chasing beastkin wasn't the logical move right now.

If I could somehow delay her from pursuing them now, she had no chance of finding them again. The passing of time would erase all of the traces of them passing through their escape route, and they would reach beastkin controlled area, which would make catching them impossible.

"How do you plan on doing it then, My Lady? It is obvious there are mages among them. They could have teleported away."

You and not 'we'. My word usage was deliberative.

She frowned at whatever to it or at me talking about other mages.

"It is not possible. Teleportation itself is a complicated magic. Even if they know how to use teleportation they can't teleport all of the slaves."

"They don't have to."

I retorted.

"All they need is teleporting weak and old, and they will move faster. They already got a head start on you."

"You almost talk like you are on their side, Poyraz."

I sensed a small amount of hostility in her voice.

"I am simply stating the information we have and conclusions we can come to with that information, My Lady. You appreciated me doing that during the dungeon expedition, so I assumed you would want me to keep doing it."

She put her elbows on her desk. She folded her hands and looked at me with a serious expression on her face. Well, more serious than usual.

"I like you better when you don't talk like one of those politicians back at home."

A small smile bloomed on my face. I also hated being a "politician." But I just like her was bound by chains of duty, and I had to do whatever that duty required me to do.

"What would you rather me behave like?"

I gently put my hand on her desk and leaned closer to her face.

"Hmm."

She pulled her body back and leaned back on her chair. I took that chance to gaze at her bag of holding.

"We also do not know if that 'thing' has an expiration date. While I don't know about your family and that 'condition,' wouldn't it be better to rush it to your home? There could be a family member of yours suffering from it currently after all."

She closed her eyes. Her expression told me that she was deep in thought.

"Do you have a trusted person you can reach here quickly? Perhaps they can deliver the liquid to your family while you chase after the beastkin or vice versa?"

I couldn't just tell her why she couldn't chase after the beastkin. If I seem too biased, there was a chance that she wouldn't take me seriously about this topic. So I at least should look objective and logical about it.

When she heard what I said, she quickly opened her eyes and looked directly at me.

Wait. I know that look.

She opened her mouth to say something.

"No. I can't do that."

I spoke up before she could say anything. She frowned and looked offended.

"Why?"

Seriously?

"I think this is a little bit too much for me, My Lady."

She crossed her arms.

"You conquered a dungeon with me and you think just delivering a single bottle is too much?"

"All of it is too much, My Lady. I am just a normal soldier. I don't think I can keep up with being under your order any longer."

Blanche's pale face reddened ever so slightly. Honestly, with the amount she paid me and will pay me, I wouldn't mind working for her. Now that she was cured (I hope it was permanent), even with her dragging me into horrible battles, it was worth it. If I didn't have to deliver Morrigan's letter and wake up Larve, I would stay with her and climb through the ranks.

However, I couldn't stay with her. I already gave myself those duties, and I would follow them until I either fulfilled them or die. Simple as that.

"I am that bad of a leader in your eyes?"

The question she asked caused my eyes to narrow.

"No."

I said without any emotion.

"It is simple, My Lady. I am not a knight. I am not a follower of a God. I am not an adventurer. I am a simple guy. With the amount you gave me, I could easily buy a small amount of land and live the rest of my days in peace. I don't want risks nor the responsibility."

"If you deliver the liquid to my family, I will reward you with the land. Bigger than you could buy with the gold you have."

I let out a small laugh. It was fake, but I managed to make it sound sincere.

"What am I going to do with a huge land, My Lady? I am just one person."

She let out a sigh.

"You don't want to follow my orders any longer?"

"I want to retire."

"Why? With your skill, you could easily be popular and rich. Glory, gold, and fame. Don't all men want those?"

"In theory, yes. In reality: No. You are taught from birth how to fight. How to conquer and overcome. Normal people aren't like that. Many people wouldn't risk death and pain unless they had to. Many of the guards served here only served because it was profitable with small amounts of risk. In the end, I just want peace."

She stared at me for several seconds before speaking:

"So I am not normal?"

A weird noise escaped from my throat. That's the point she was stuck on?

"No, My Lady. Your skill, strength, and beauty make you special."

She turned her face to the side to hide her blushing face.

"I was just joking."

She said with a small stutter.