“Alicia…”
Lai En frowned.
“Robbery is a serious crime to begin with, and you’re using money to encourage them? This…”
“Lai En, don’t speak!”
The girl cut him off without hesitation, then took a half step forward.
Her crimson eyes slowly swept across the faces of the bandits, carrying an eerie gleam.
Sure enough, they stared at the silver coins in her hand, their eyes practically glowing with the urge to pounce.
Yet at the same time, they hesitated, waiting for their leader’s orders, torn between greed and caution.
“From the look of you, you must have been pushed to the brink to do this, right?”
Alicia’s face bore a gentle smile as she probed further.
Those poor wretches failed to notice that the girl’s gaze was cold and sharp, holding no trace of warmth.
“Did your crops fail? Or is someone at home sick?”
The middle-aged leader’s face changed instantly.
He whirled around in panic, only to see shock and confusion mirrored on his companions’ faces.
Steeling himself, he raised the rusty hatchet.
“Don’t listen to her lies! She’s trying to trick you into lowering your guard! If she gets her way, we’re all dead!”
“Why would I do that?”
The girl blinked, picking up a silver coin and twirling it between her fingers.
“Whatever trouble you’re facing, feel free to speak openly. Surely you know this is the territory of House Maximilian. Lord Lai En, the new ruler, is magnanimous and loves his people like children. All difficulties are only temporary. Money is merely an external object—if it can help you through this crisis, then so be it.”
“Th-this… is it true?”
“Would the Lord really care about whether we live or die?”
Doubt spread like a plague among them.
They exchanged furtive glances; fear still lingered in their eyes, but now it mingled with a faint glimmer of hope for forgiveness and a way out.
Survival instincts began frantically calculating which path offered higher odds: following the boss in a desperate fight or trusting this woman and taking the money.
Listening to their muttering, Lai En’s face grew uneasy.
His own subjects had been reduced to bandits because they couldn’t make a living—ultimately, that was his failure as their lord.
“Don’t listen to her! If we take them down, this horse and this pouch of coins are all ours! Then… then we split it evenly! We’ll all live well!”
“Would you really split it evenly?”
The girl raised an eyebrow and cast a sidelong glance, her expression dripping with sarcasm.
“You’re just a bunch of innocent commoners who suffered misfortune. Now you’ve led them into danger, brought them to the very edge of becoming criminals. And you’re proud of that?”
“You’re full of crap!”
“Lucky for you, you’re still a bunch of cowards who haven’t gotten blood on your hands. It’s not too late to turn back!”
Alicia pressed her advantage.
“Since you haven’t crossed that line yet, I’ll make you an offer. Tie up your leader and hand him over, and you can take the money and leave. I guarantee no one will hold it against you.”
Under Lai En’s astonished gaze, the bandits turned on each other in an instant.
In no time, they had knocked the middle-aged leader to the ground, bound him hand and foot, snatched the silver coins from the girl’s hand with a mix of excitement and wariness, and vanished into the forest like a puff of smoke.
“Well done! I never expected that!”
Lai En sheathed his sword with a metallic clang, crouched down, and studied the bandit leader—now trussed up like a hog ready for slaughter—with amused interest.
He brushed some imaginary dust off his hands.
“I thought I’d have to go on a killing spree in front of a lady.”
“Heh heh heh!”
Alicia crossed her arms, stuck out her chest, and lifted her chin so high it nearly pointed at the sky.
“This is what they call a silver tongue! A few mere bandits—even if it were a million-strong army, one speech from little old me would make them lay down their arms and surrender in proper form!”
The smug girl had completely forgotten how Minister Wang, who once made such a promise, died when he faced Zhuge Liang.
But no one spoiled her moment.
Lai En ignored her cocky posturing, turned around, grabbed the collapsed bandit leader from the ground, slammed him hard against a tree trunk, and roughly yanked the rag out of his mouth.
“Talk. Why did you become a bandit?”
Lai En drew his dagger and pressed it against the man’s neck to begin the interrogation.
Alicia silently rolled her eyes.
‘What other reason could there be? Unless he’s just born evil or gets a thrill from easy money, what honest farmer would risk his neck for this? It’s always because they can’t survive.’
Sure enough, after Lai En introduced himself, the man’s bravado collapsed. Stuttering, he began to sob out his story.
The content was as cliché as it got—father died when he was three, mother when he was seven, child at twenty, wife at thirty.
He couldn’t farm properly, constantly teetered on the edge of starvation, and then Lemeng happened to stage that mutiny and lost.
The routed soldiers pillaged his village.
With nowhere to go, too old to enlist, and unable to find even manual labor, he and his companions had no choice but to turn to robbery.
Even Lai En let out a sigh after hearing it.
But stories like that were a dime a dozen—basically every villain’s backstory could fit that template.
Unfortunately, this guy was playing a background role, destined to be an NPC whose name no one remembered.
Alicia felt herself nodding off.
After all, such misfortunes were hardly rare in this era—just one of countless fates of ants crushed under the wheels of a chaotic age.
This was the Chaotic Era.
Human lives were like drifting duckweed, and choices often lay between two impossible options.
“Alright, you’ve asked everything you needed to, Your Highness.”
Alicia sat on a large rock and stretched.
“So, shall we execute him?”
“Kill him?”
The cold suggestion made Lai En frown again.
“Alicia, you let the other bandits go. Why can’t you show him mercy?”
The girl curled her lip and let out a derisive snort.
“Do you think I’m some kind of saint?”
Then she met the bandit leader’s terrified, despairing eyes, her own eerie crimson pupils gleaming with cold clarity.
“He’s the leader. Even in a ragtag group like that, he’s the one who pulled together men too scared to stand. That means he has some kind of unifying power—or persuasive power, call it what you will. In this chaotic age, that ability is a curse.”
She paused to make sure Lai En understood her logic.
“If we let him go, will he willingly return to that empty village and quietly starve to death? No. He’s tasted what it means to be a leader. Even if he failed miserably, as long as he lives and this world remains chaotic, it won’t be long before he uses the same story to gather another group of desperate souls—and become a real, far more dangerous bandit. To protect the innocent who might fall victim later, he has to die.”
“Then… those others…”
Lai En trailed off.
The girl shook her head.
“It doesn’t matter. Either they take the money, get through their hardship, and return to normal life, or they squander it and find another way. Either way, the fact that they sold out their leader for money won’t stay secret. From now on, anyone with crooked ideas who tries to recruit others will have to think twice about loyalty. They’ve lost their credibility; they won’t be easily taken in again. Letting them go changes nothing. But keeping him alive leaves endless trouble.”
“I see, however…”
He shifted the topic, bent down, picked up the rag, and shoved it back into the bandit leader’s mouth.
“I still don’t intend to execute him here.”
Alicia raised an eyebrow.
“Take him back and hand him over to the sheriff. A public trial and execution on the gallows is the only way to uphold the law’s authority.”
“Fine, as you wish.”
Alicia spread her hands, secretly relieved.
‘He’s the boss, he calls the shots. At least he considered my feelings and didn’t let the guy bleed out on the spot.’
“Also, regarding the real situation in the surrounding villages… I think I need to have a serious chat with a few ‘Excellencies.’”
Lai En put away his dagger, a dangerous glint flickering in his eyes.
“The reports they submitted to me just days ago painted a picture of peace and prosperity, with the people living happily.”
‘Looks like some well-dressed officials are in for a rough time. Hell yeah! This is going to be fun!’
The girl immediately began to revel in schadenfreude.
On the return trip, burdened with an extra captive, the two barely spoke.
They led the man through the city like a dog on a leash.
Under Lai En’s furious gaze, the sheriff took custody of the prisoner from Alicia with an awkward expression.
The girl was all warmth.
She firmly shook the bandit leader’s hand and bid him a heartfelt farewell: “I’ll be sure to attend your execution. See you at the gallows—don’t miss it!”
Lai En watched from the side, the corner of his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly, before finally letting out a helpless sigh and shaking his head.
“Alicia. Stop chatting with the prisoner. Come to my study first.”
The girl’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
She slowly raised her head and looked toward the western sky.
‘Well, sunset. Evening time. Everyone’s finishing up their day’s work and getting ready to rest. Tired citizens are either heading to the tavern for a drink or the brothel for the night. The unlucky married ones are going home for a hot meal, then… getting down to business with the wife.’
‘What a boring era for entertainment. After dark, it’s just women and alcohol. Why would Lai En call me over so late?’
‘Long night, alone together—could he be thinking of… me?’
Alicia suddenly had an epiphany.
Like a startled rabbit, she jumped back a full step, her face instantly frozen in a stiff smile of panic and wariness.
“Th-the, um… Lord and Master! Couldn’t we discuss whatever it is tomorrow? I mean, it’s already after hours! According to the Labor Law… uh, according to common decency, I need to rest and get something to eat, right?”
Lai En crossed his arms, looking both amused and exasperated.
“Alicia, do you know what? My teacher once told me that a person’s thoughts often reflect their true nature. What exactly is running through that head of yours right now, hmm?”