After everything that had happened, no one inside the hall seemed capable of speaking.
Hera, who had previously stood several steps in front of Zeldryn, slowly moved backward and positioned herself behind her master, as though she had begun to understand that Zeldryn was not yet finished with the two men kneeling in the middle of the room.
The servants remained where they were, and none dared to move. They were still trying to process the scene before them.
Henry and Aeglo, who usually walked through the mansion with unbearable arrogance, were now kneeling with their hands bound. Henry's face was swollen from the guard's punch, while Aeglo remained hunched over as he endured the pain in his side.
"The task has been completed, my lord."
The guard stood upright beside them, his voice filled with confidence. It was completely different from only moments earlier, when he had spoken nervously and questioned every order Zeldryn gave him.
Zeldryn actually wanted to thank him, but he quickly abandoned the idea. Thanking a guard after ordering him to beat two men would sound far too strange, especially considering that the previous Zeldryn had never shown appreciation toward anyone.
"Bring me a chair."
"Yes, my lord!"
The guard immediately ran out of the hall. Not long afterward, he returned carrying a simple wooden chair. It had no elaborate design or decorative backrest, only a plain wooden board forming the back.
"Place it in front of them."
The guard immediately obeyed.
"Turn it around."
The guard looked confused for a moment, but he still turned the chair around.
Zeldryn then sat backward on it, facing Henry and Aeglo. He rested both arms across the back of the chair, causing his body to lean slightly forward. From the outside, his posture appeared relaxed, but there was not the slightest trace of calmness in his eyes.
Only now did Zeldryn begin thinking seriously about the wounds covering his body.
His face was battered, his body was covered in bruises, and the back of his head had suffered a serious injury. All he knew was that the previous Zeldryn had been surrounded and beaten the night before.
But who had attacked him? Why had he been in that place? What had Henry and Aeglo done before the incident?
Zeldryn had no answers.
If he asked Hera or one of the other guards, they might become even more suspicious. Zeldryn should have remembered the incident because he had supposedly experienced it himself.
Henry and Aeglo, however, were in no position to question his memory. They were too busy thinking about how to stay alive.
Zeldryn turned toward the guard.
"Ready your sword."
The guard immediately gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"If either of them lies, cut off his head where he kneels."
Everyone in the hall became rigid.
Even the servants who had already witnessed Henry and Aeglo being beaten had not expected Zeldryn to issue an order like that. Beating someone could still be considered punishment, but cutting off someone's head meant killing them.
Henry and Aeglo were people Zeldryn had protected for years. Anyone who dared offend them was usually the one punished by Zeldryn. Now, Zeldryn himself was threatening to kill them.
Henry swallowed hard, while Aeglo slightly raised his head and looked at Zeldryn with wary eyes.
"Now answer my question."
Zeldryn rested his chin on his folded arms.
"Why was I surrounded and beaten last night?"
Henry and Aeglo glanced at each other. Neither answered immediately.
Zeldryn carefully watched their reactions. They looked confused, but not because they failed to understand the question. Instead, they seemed to be considering which answer would be safest to give.
"Whoever answers last will lose a finger."
Henry's face immediately turned pale.
Aeglo also looked surprised, but his mind moved much faster.
"I-I'll answer, my lord!" Aeglo hurriedly said.
Henry turned toward him in disbelief.
A faint smile appeared on Zeldryn's face.
"Good."
He then shifted his gaze toward Henry.
"That means you were too late."
Henry's eyes widened.
"Guard, cut off one of his fingers."
The atmosphere inside the hall grew even colder.
"And remember my previous order. If either answer sounds suspicious, cut off the liar's head."
Several servants held their breath.
Even so, some of them still believed this was merely another one of Zeldryn's games. They knew his personality. The previous Zeldryn often tormented servants with horrifying threats, only to laugh when they cried and begged for mercy.
Perhaps this was the same.
Perhaps Zeldryn only wanted to watch Henry tremble in fear.
"Yes, my lord."
The guard drew his sword without much hesitation. The metal blade slid free from its sheath and reflected the sunlight entering through the hall's windows.
He approached Henry and placed the edge of the sword over one of the man's fingers.
In his mind, Zeldryn would surely order him to stop at any moment. At most, the blade would only need to come close enough to touch Henry's skin.
"L-Lord Zeldryn?!"
Henry began to panic.
"Please, don't do this! Have mercy on me, my lord!"
Zeldryn merely stared at him coldly.
Henry continued pleading. His voice began to tremble, his eyes turned red, and his expression looked as though he were about to cry.
The guard briefly looked toward Zeldryn.
No order to stop came.
"Do it."
That was the only word that left Zeldryn's mouth.
The guard crouched in front of Henry. One hand seized Henry's wrist and pinned it against the floor, while the other raised the sword.
Henry began struggling.
"W-wait! My lord, please!"
The sword slowly descended toward Henry's hand.
The guard was still waiting for Zeldryn to order him to stop, but that order never came.
The edge of the sword finally touched Henry's skin. Because the guard was still holding back his strength, the blade only tore through the skin and flesh along the top of Henry's finger. It had not yet reached the bone.
Blood immediately flowed from the wound.
"AAAAARGH!"
Henry screamed at the top of his lungs, his body writhing as though he were facing death itself.
"It hurts! It fucking hurts! Stop! It hurts!"
His screams echoed throughout the hall. Several servants covered their mouths, while others turned their faces away, unable to bear the sight of blood pouring from Henry's hand.
Even the guard looked confused.
He felt that he had lowered the sword far enough. However, because he had continued waiting for an order to stop, his movement had lost its force and only injured the outer part of Henry's finger.
Zeldryn stared at the wound for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
"Did you not hear my order?"
The guard turned toward him.
The smile on Zeldryn's face sent a chill crawling down his spine.
"I told you to cut it off."
Zeldryn tilted his head slightly.
"Not injure it."
The guard immediately shuddered.
Only now did he realize that Zeldryn was not playing around. His order had been completely serious.
"Yes, my lord."
The guard raised his sword again, and this time his grip was much firmer. The hand restraining Henry also tightened because the man continued to struggle.
"Let go of me!" Henry tried to pull his hand away. "It hurts! You bastard, let go! Please, don't do this!"
Aeglo stared at the scene with his eyes wide open. He genuinely could not believe what he was seeing.
The Zeldryn they knew had always been cruel toward servants and anyone weaker than him, but Zeldryn had never treated them like this.
Henry suddenly turned toward Aeglo.
"Help me, Aeglo!"
Aeglo became rigid.
"You planned all of this from the beginning! Do something!"
Aeglo's expression immediately changed. He realized that Henry's words could drag him into a far greater problem.
"Lord Zeldryn!"
Aeglo quickly turned toward him.
"I'll tell you everything! Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you!"
Zeldryn gave no response. He simply watched the two of them while the sword in the guard's hand rose even higher.
Henry stared at his wounded finger while continuing to cry and scream.
"No! It hurts! Please, don't cut off my finger!"
He turned toward Aeglo again.
"You bastard! You planned everything! You told me to take Zeldryn to that place! You were the one who planne..."
CHOP!
The sword came down with full force.
"AAAAARGHH!"
Henry's scream severed his own sentence as his thumb separated from his hand and fell onto the floor.
Blood poured from the severed stump.
Henry's body immediately collapsed onto its side. He writhed while trying to hold his injured hand, but the ropes around his wrists prevented him from properly covering the wound.
"My finger!" Henry screamed as he stared at his thumb lying on the floor. "My finger! Bastard! You cut off my finger!"
The guard stood motionless with the bloodstained sword in his hand. There was no longer any satisfaction on his face. He was beginning to understand that Zeldryn's orders were far more serious than he had originally imagined.
The servants had all turned pale. Hera covered her mouth with one hand as her body began trembling again, but this time it was not because she feared becoming Zeldryn's next target.
She felt as though she were looking at an entirely different person.
Aeglo stared at Henry's severed thumb on the floor, and every trace of color vanished from his face.
Zeldryn did not take his eyes off him.
"Now it's your turn to answer."
The smile on Zeldryn's face slowly disappeared.
"Why was I at that place last night?"
Aeglo raised his face, his entire body trembling.
Zeldryn narrowed his eyes.
"Think very carefully before you open your mouth."
He glanced toward the guard's bloodstained sword.
"Because this time, it won't be your finger that gets cut off."