The Terminally-Ill Lord Desires Hospice Care

Early morning.
I was barely able to open my eyes thanks to the dedication of my maid.
“….From now on, if I do not awake when called, please try waking me with a louder voice.”
“Yes…”

While dark elves may have a culture of tickling someone awake, I did not particularly enjoy others touching my body.
The one I despised most had once coveted my body, so if someone touched me without permission, it could only conjure those foul memories.
Especially if the one touching me was not human.

“It is my fault for not explaining beforehand, so do not cry.”
“Hic…”
It seemed the reason for her tears was that I had unconsciously cursed when she tickled me, sensing an unpleasant feeling.

“…If a situation arises where you must touch my body out of necessity, I shall permit it.”
A dark elf was tolerable. Though an enemy race I had faced on the battlefield, we had no direct ill relations.
With a dark elf, the unpleasantness would only be akin to a snake coiling around me.

“I’m sorry… I thought we had grown closer… so I tried playing a little prank…”
“……”
While I liked children, I was still quite clumsy when dealing with them. Just as liking dogs is separate from liking raising dogs.

“…I shall buy you some candy on my way back, so dry your tears.”
“Waaah~!”
It seemed my maid was an extremely simple creature.
The other dark elves I knew were either cunning or inscrutable monsters, nothing in between.
This was a new discovery, so my gloomy mood seemed to lift, if only slightly.

“Then I shall take my leave.”
“Oh, Raul sir, will you not eat?”
“I shall eat out.”

This way, she could finish my portion alone as a small reward for her change of mood.
As I headed towards the adventurers’ guild, an inexplicably restless atmosphere could be felt.
The cause seemed to be the people whispering worriedly around the guild building.
I quietly approached them and asked:
“Has something happened?”
“W-Well, my lord, th-that is…”
“I do not favor having to repeat my questions.”
“That is…not too far from this village, there is a fort…”

To summarize this woman’s words:
Not far from this village was an imperial military fort, and the imperial officer newly appointed as its commander frequently made passes at Cecilia.
The issue was that his passes were not mere passes. He was even a noble, meaning she could not properly respond.
That was the gist of her story.

“Indeed.”
“Rumor has it that man is also associated with the Argos Duchy. Even you as the lord may be…”

Something seemed amiss.
The unruly Camilla and her cold-blooded brother would not keep such a man by their side.
Even my teacher, lacking human decency, could discern those using the duchy’s prestige to run rampant.

“I had best confirm this.”
“My lord, it is dangerous…!”

Disregarding the villagers’ dissuasions, I entered the guild building.
The moment I opened that door, a rather sickening sight greeted my eyes.
“My lord…!”

Men who appeared to be mercenaries hired by that man were pointing blades at the village’s adventurers.
And a rather youthful noble was holding Cecilia by the cheek as he glared at me.

“…And just who might you be?”
“I am the representative of this village.”
“Ah, so you’re that loose end left dangling in the countryside?”
“Whatever you call me matters not, but there is no need to hold that woman, is there? For that would be a breach of decorum, and…”

I gripped my cane tightly.
“I detest breaches of decorum.”
“Ha!”

He contemptuously shoved Cecilia away, yet she did not get angry, only giving me a look urging me to flee.
However, as this matter involved the honor of my friend, I could not retreat.

“Hey you bastard, what made a loose end like you think you could talk back like that?”
“…Let me ask. Are those men pointing blades at this village’s adventurers imperial soldiers? Or are they your mercenaries?”
“Hey, I asked you first!”

He seemed quite frivolous.
Judging from how he lost his composure over something so trivial, he did not seem suited for an important post.

“I simply ignored it as it did not seem to be a question requiring an answer. I shall ask again – are those men imperial soldiers?”
“What? Of course I wouldn’t bring along such weaklings. They are the finest mercenaries I hired. Just their payroll alone costs…”
“Indeed.”

“Don’t interrupt me, you bastard!!!”
Judging from how easily he became enraged, he likely would not suit the military either.
For a commander who reacted so emotionally, unable to control his anger, would inevitably cause an incident sooner or later.

“If you’re a loose end, you should stay quiet when a fellow noble deigns to address you…!”
“State your business.”
“Listen when someone’s talking to you, dammit!!!”
“I recommend you turn and leave immediately. And never approach that woman again.”

At that, he began scowling in an unsettling manner.
His right eye narrowed to where the pupil could barely be seen, while his left eye bulged outward grotesquely.

“Did she spit in your mouth too or something?”
“While we did enter the water together, I have no recollection of exchanging bodily fluids.”
“What?”

Though I had simply stated a plain fact, he began further twisting that disturbing expression.

“You bastard, I’ll dismember you and toss you into the river!”
“…And you would try to kill someone over such a trivial reason?”
“Yeah. Those who have no power or backing and offend their betters deserve to be punished.”

Power and backing.
Those were not what we had fought to protect on the battlefield.

“Hey, village chief. We’re just following orders here, so don’t be too resentful.”
The mercenary who grabbed me by the collar seemed to be a half-orc judging by his build.
“…I warn you. I do not favor others touching my body.”
“Ha! And what are you gonna do about it! You’re just a loose end no matter what…!”

I lightly tapped his wrist with my hand imbued with resonance.
“Wha…?”
“Something like this is possible.”
“Aaaaarrrrggghhh!!!”

He began screaming as he clutched the severed surface of his wrist.
While I did not favor such screams, the most effective means had to be used to subdue him.

“That bastard’s a mage! I knew that staff meant he was strong, but a mage!”
“Overwhelm him with numbers! Mages are useless against numerical superiority!”
“Just kill him without mercy!”

Unlike Her Majesty the Empress, I was a mere commoner incapable of using magic.
And contrary to people’s perceptions, proper mages do not carry around staves.
But there was no reason to inform them of such facts.

“…I do not favor fighting.”
However, I too did not hesitate to use violence to protect myself.
“And I greatly disfavor those who harm my people.”

I swung my resonance-imbued cane, shattering either the hands or feet of each man.
Knowing they were simply following someone’s orders, I did not take their lives. For following an evil order was not a crime deserving of death.
However, these men showed no shame in their evil acts. That was a sin worthy of losing their hands and feet.

“I-Impossible…! Those were the elite of the elite mercenaries I brought from my family’s forces…!!!”
“…They seem somewhat lacking to be called skilled mercenaries.”

Their strength was merely a slight cut above average imperial soldiers.
This man who had paid exorbitant sums for such paltry mercenaries was almost pitiable.

“Just who the hell are you…!? You think you’ll get away with this…?!!!”
“What nonsense.”

I shook off the blood dripping from my cane and began stepping towards him one pace at a time.
“I simply wielded a weapon to protect myself.”
Another step towards him.
“And I was simply stronger than them. Had it been the reverse, I would be the one lying there defeated.”
“Y-You crazy bastard, dismembering people’s hands and feet like that…!!!”
“You too ordered my limbs to be dismembered. What difference is there between your order and my actions?”

Though I had simply posed a question, he began backing away slightly.
“You said the powerless who offend their betters deserve punishment, did you not?”

“D-Don’t come any closer, dammit!!!”
“It is the same act you spoke of. Do you enjoy such a sight? Or at the very least, do you find it acceptable?”

He ended up soiling his pants as he fell to the ground.
“At least I find such acts repulsive.”

In the end, he did not answer my question, fleeing while hurling incomprehensible curses – which I saw no need to pursue.

“…My lord.”
Cecilia was the first to approach me and check my condition.
“Are you injured anywhere?”
“Unfortunately, I am uninjured.”
“That is a relief, then. But why did you intervene? That bastard’s backing is so powerful…”
“…Could I simply abandon you?”
“Pardon?”

For a moment, Cecilia’s cheeks seemed to redden.
“You are someone who accepted the things I had harbored within me.”
She had accepted without revulsion the question and negative residue I had kept bottled up inside.

“Though that day was somewhat dangerous, you did not become enraged at me.”
It was entirely my fault she had encountered a ferocious beast like the horn tiger, as I was the one who took her to the riverside.
“If any issues arise, I shall take full responsibility.”
I intended to bear sole responsibility for any repercussions from my actions against that young noble today.

“My lord, why must you speak in such a manner…!”
For reasons unknown, the faces of the watching adventurers also began reddening.