The Terminally-Ill Lord Desires Hospice Care

I had visitors arrive at the crack of dawn.
Replacing the maid and coachman frozen in terror, I welcomed them with my body still weighed down by lingering drowsiness.
The soldiers pointing spears at me were all youthful men who seemed to be newly conscripted recruits.

“R-Raul Musca. You are hereby placed under emergency arrest on charges of treason and attempted murder. If you resist, we have orders to…shoot to kill!”
Raul Musca was the second name I had adopted after abandoning the Berger estate.
The soldiers who had uttered that name were visibly trembling as if shaking a dead branch.

“Hmm. Their response time is indeed quite swift.”
When I raised my hand, they recoiled a step back with faces full of trepidation.
They were such green recruits that they stepped back in fear when I had simply moved to brush my hair back.
The one who sent them surely intended for me to harm them as the goal.
If I attacked the soldiers, they would use that as a pretext to report it up the chain and mobilize the military forces properly.
Or they could have requested capable personnel from the capital instead.

“You men.”
“Y-Yes?!”
Of course, I did not wish to kill such fresh recruits.
What vile group of bandits would want to kill young soldiers dragged into this against their will?

“Have you eaten breakfast yet?”
“W-Well…we came in such a hurry that we haven’t…”
“Why are you telling him that! He might think we’re an easy target since we’re hungry and attack!”
“I-I’ve eaten! Stuffed myself until I could burst!”

I had briefly wondered if the one who sent them had hired some court jesters to amuse me as a gesture, but it seemed that was not the case.

“Betty.”
“Yes, Raul sir.”
“Could you quickly make enough sandwiches for the people here to eat on the way?”
“The people here, you say…”
“I trust you understand the extent of my words.”

My maid hurriedly made some sandwiches, and I took one into my mouth.
Fortunately, these sandwiches did not contain any pork ham or onions, so I could eat them without issue.

“You men should eat as well.”
“W-Well, if I could have just one…”
“You fool, it could be poisoned! Don’t touch it!”

As I despised the use of poisons, I did not keep such vile things in my home.
Moreover, my maid had the habit of tasting anything she saw, which could be quite dangerous.

“You men have likely heard the general story about me already.”
I crushed the spear-tips they had been pointing at me.
“I have no need for such cumbersome tools when it comes to harming you all.”
“A m-monster…”
“Rather trite condemnation. If you have a mouth to utter such words, you would be better off consuming food instead.”

I thrust the tray of sandwiches towards them.
Either they were quite hungry, or they had taken my words as a threat, but they slowly began accepting the tray.
Watching them ravenously wolf down the sandwiches stirred old memories.
Memories of meals enjoyed with my friends after enduring our teacher’s grueling training while going three days without food or drink.
Though mere recollections, they were strangely more fragrant and sweet than any delicacy.

“If you have finished eating, we should be on our way.”
I offered my hands to allow them to place handcuffs on me.
Such things no longer held any meaning for us. But people deluded themselves into thinking they could bind us with such things.
The handcuffs they had placed on me were like a mere thread we could snap at any time.

“Then let us go.”
Just as I was about to leave the village behind, from afar I saw Cecilia rushing over, her silver hair fluttering, grasping an immense lance – likely intending to use force if need be.

“My lord!”
“Lower your lance.”
“If this is about yesterday’s incident and you are to be arrested, then I…!”
“These men are simply following orders. Killing them would only bring more, resulting in unnecessary deaths.”
“But this treatment is utterly unreasonable! That bastard struck first!”
“The world has always been an unreasonable procession from the start.”

She still seemed unable to accept the situation, glaring at the soldiers.
“Even if issues arise, do not worry too much. I am one who takes responsibility for the seeds I have sown.”

It was I, not her, who had used violence against that man and his entourage.
Thus, I intended to try ensuring the sparks from my actions did not spread to them.

“Why must you keep fueling these misunderstandings!!!”
“Is it not a fact that I sowed those seeds?”
“I cannot comprehend this.”
“In any case, this is an unjust act! If you are taken away like this, my lord, then we will…”
“You all will simply return to your daily lives before I arrived. It is not that grave a matter, is it?”

My life would soon end anyway.
Not much time had passed since my arrival here.
It was not as if I had done anything for their sake.
Even if there were those who grieved my death, it would only be limited to my friends.

“Even if I die.”
What meaning could there be in a death that could not evoke even the slightest emotion from my family or fiancée?
Thus, I did not lament my life.

“You all need only think of it as something that happened and move on.”
If my death was something even those I had only known for a few days would grieve, yet my own family could not shed a single tear for it, I felt I would become a resentful spirit unable to bear that contradiction, cursing everything.

“My lord…”
“I shall see you again.”
After bidding her that farewell, I followed the soldiers, walking on and on.

After walking for about two and a half hours, a rather modest fort finally came into view – smaller than expected.
After a long and complex entry process, they tried to shove me into the dungeon attached to the fort’s basement.

“I do not recommend kicking me to create a sense of oppression.”
“What…?”
“I detest troublesome acts. For then I would have to take action.”

Coincidentally, the clothes I was currently wearing were quite expensive, so any dirt or dust would require a troublesome cleaning process.
Thus, I directly handled the cleaning of such costly garments myself, which was why I had cautioned this soldier not to kick me.

“As a person, I too would prefer not getting my hands dirty.”
“…J-Just get in there already!”
“Rather cold, even though we just shared a meal together.”

Even after entering the cold underground dungeon, the soldiers kept their weapons gripped tightly as they glared at me.

“Have I done something wrong again?”
“The commander has ordered us to keep a special watch on you!”
“…Come to think of it, that is rather peculiar. Normally in such cases, I expected he would come down himself to kick me around.”
“The commander is currently busy treating injuries from falling over while rushing to the fort…”
“Hey, why are you telling him that!”

I began to seriously wonder if these men would not be better off as court jesters after being discharged from the military.

“So what is to become of me then? I would decline being dragged to the capital at least.”
It would be unpleasant to be hauled back so soon after the arduous journey here.
Above all, His Majesty would surely double over laughing, wipe away tears, then execute everyone involved.

“Are you kidding? The commander has ordered your execution!”
“I was unaware he also served as a judge. Is this not an abuse of authority?”
“The commander said that in this small rural area, a noble like himself is the emperor and law itself.”
“…This small frontier certainly seems incomprehensible to me.”

No matter how high a position he held as the fort’s commander, he should have no authority to execute the local lord.
Moreover, no matter how lowly my standing as a ‘loose end’, executing me without a formal trial was an egregious violation.

“…I shall have to inquire about this later.”
“What kind of question could a man facing execution tomorrow possibly have…”
“Is there not a man who would pose a question even when facing death? Though whether she will entertain my question remains uncertain.”

Come to think of it, for me who had once led armies on the battlefield to be imprisoned in the dungeon of this small fort was quite the amusing spectacle.
No, perhaps not just this dungeon, but everything around me.
His Majesty, who had earned brilliant achievements on the battlefield, had nearly lost his inheritance rights to the favored concubine’s son. In the end, he had to accept the epithet ‘Kinslayer’ to reclaim what was his.
Despite her numerous battlefield exploits, people mockingly attached a disparaging epithet to Her Majesty the Empress, unconcerned with the reason she had lost her chastity.
Tragedies unbecoming of the immaculate, unlike someone like me.

And recalling them reminded me of something else.
“Let me ask one more thing – what is the current weather outside?”
“The sky was completely clear until just a moment ago…but now dark clouds have covered it, making it slightly overcast…”
“Hey, are you just going to answer everything he asks?”
“But he’s scary, man!”

I was not so unruly as to resort to violence simply for not answering a question.

“A storm is coming soon, it seems.”
“It doesn’t look that severe.”
“Well, it was never meant to be predictable in the first place. From that perspective, it may be something even worse than a storm.”

I could be certain this old fort would soon undergo major renovations before long.