I Don't Trust My Twin Sister

I took the shriveled papers and unfolded the contents. Each document had a portrait attached to it, each of a different age or gender.

“Oh, this.”

I rested my elbows on the desk and rubbed my chin with my hands. With my eyes narrowed, I flicked through the data containing personal information and slightly frowned. When her eyes met, Butler Fiebel put on a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Where is his data?”

“My lady, I think the man is Joe.”

Where is the man’s material? With a sharp shot, another document came out of the butler’s bag and spread it out on the desk. The first thing that caught my eye was the portrait. He was a man with a pretty rough face. Even though he was red, he had a deep impression and was scary enough to make you think that he was quite big.

“Del Benson.”

“That man is dangerous. Lady, he is a nobleman and a man who can destroy everything if he is mistaken. Really, to such a person…”

“So that’s good. If you are a person like this, no one will be intimidated by your opponent. And he’ll try to live no matter what.”

I kept my eyes fixed on the information and only moved my mouth. It was obvious without looking at Butler Fiebel’s expression. 

“It’s gorgeous. As expected.”

There were 220 cases of property damage alone, 12 cases related to the injury of nobles, and the resulting fines and compensation were about 120 gold coins, mostly unpaid.

“It’s strange. Seeing that he injured nobles and he’s still alive.”

“…That’s a S-rank mercenary, isn’t it?”

S-rank mercenary. He was a mercenary with a golden plaque meaning the highest rank. His skills were basic, and he had to have both personality and intelligence to ride. Even within this vast empire, there were no more than ten of them. Some nobles even hired them as escorts, but their value was beyond imagination. Even if they were escorts for only three years, they were worthy enough to devour a year’s budget for a small territory. However, despite their value, many nobles were frantic to take them. Most of them had dirty back holes or had many enemies, so their popularity seemed to show how rotten this country was. Anyway, a man named Del Benson was also one of the S-ranked mercenaries. He was a madman among madmen who had not belonged to anyone for nearly five years, eating and drinking every day and smashing objects around him.

“Where is this man now?”

“Are you trying to meet him in person? Please bear with that, ma’am.”

“It’s important, so I have to go. Or will the butler go?”

“I’d rather go. That person is of very poor quality. If he did something suspicious to the lady, what would I say to the Grand Duke?”

Grand Duke? I narrowed my eyes. When I witnessed the sharing, I wanted to conspire, but… But why was he talking about it now? As I stared at him gently, the butler’s face turned slightly. I wanted to ask, but it wasn’t urgent, so I decided to ask later and got up. The butler sighed and shook his head.

“Then, please go with a large escort. I’ll tell the knights.”

“I see.”

Well, that’s about it.

* * *

Ajstain Viscounty was one of the most livable cities. It was very safe and the crime rate was low. Welfare was good, so there were few homeless people or abandoned orphans. It was a human environment. But that didn’t mean there weren’t dark spots. The area located in the west of Ajstain Viscounty was lawless enough to be called the Den of Darkness in its own way. There were many mercenaries and a criminal group was also residing there. They were busy pushing drinks inside, whether on the roads or inside buildings. There were only a handful of so-called elite guys who remained after sweeping and sweeping, so they didn’t openly commit crimes, but it wasn’t common to see aristocratic girls walking around this place in broad daylight. So, people on the street turning their heads at my appearance was well within the predictable range.

I couldn’t help but draw attention. Although he wore long pants and a thick coat, he could not hide that it was a valuable one. But no one dared to come up and stretch out his hand. Having more than 15 knights surrounding me probably played a part, but what was more decisive was the direction I was heading. It was a noisy street, but there was no one in front of the red door as if they had reached an agreement. Not only in front of the door, but also around it, people didn’t even come close. I was walking right there.

“…Is that crazy Benson finally being captured? Isn’t that lady the next lord?”

“I think so. Did you reach out to the next lord after everything you did to the aristocratic lady?

“He lived like a fool for five years. If he’s hanging on his neck, isn’t he living a long time?”

“is it?”

I stood in front of the red door, letting go of the slurping noise that came through my ears. The alley was quiet. I flicked my chin to get rid of the knights, then reached out and knocked slowly on the door.

“Are you there?”

The door rattled with a creak. Then there was a hissing sound and the door was pushed in and fell down. The fallen door thumped and raised dust. Confused, I took a few steps back and looked at the door. What was this?! You didn’t put the door on it, did you just put it on? After a while, a thick voice came from inside.

“What are you?”

It was full of hostility toward me, with a low voice and a rough voice. The face of the person who stepped on the door that had fallen with a rustling sound was even more threatening to the point that the portrait couldn’t do its job. He looked so scary that everyone flinched, and he was huge enough to have two more heads above me.

‘Is it that person?’ I thought at first, but I opened my mouth in a hurry.

“Are you Del Benson?”

The man stared down at me, rolled his eyes, looked at the knights around him, and smiled.

“I am Del Benson, but who are you? It’s the first time I’ve seen her, but she’s a very pretty noble lady. Are you here to have fun with me?”

In every word he spoke, I could clearly sense the will to circumvent me. The knights flinched, but after calming them down with his hand, he shook his head.

“Well, I can make it fun for you, but that’s not what you’re thinking.”

“Then what is it?”

“Let me introduce myself first. I…”

“Lawrence Ajstain, you’re the next lord.”

“…Did you know? But why did you ask?”

“Aristocrats like that, because they feel proud of their status and like to show off.”

It was so ridiculous that there was no laughter. What are all these men like?

“Well, other nobles would have been kicked out, but the next lord is different. No matter what anyone says, the Ajstain family deserves to be treated more than nobles here. They’re a good family.”

“Thank you for that. Then at least talk for a while…”

“Come in.”

Before I could finish my sentence, Benson nodded and pointed towards the inside of the building. Um, it was kind of hard to get into. After hesitating for a moment in the dark, Benson’s voice rose again.

“Oh, by the way, the knights are not coming in. Because, I have a severe allergy to the knights, so if I stay with them, my personality gets worse.”

“That crazy…!”

The knights touched their swords in anger. In an instant, Benson raised his back and lowered his head slightly. He had bloody eyes. I also felt lightly alive. It wasn’t the murder that the knights saw, it was bloody like a dog fighting in a fighting arena.

“Okay. Everyone, please wait here. I’ll be back for a while.”

“But, lady…”

“Wait.”

Without waiting for the knights’ reply, I stepped on the door with his last words and moved inside. Benson let go of his bloody expression and drew a smirk.

“You’re a brave young lady.”

He took the lead again. He looked at the massive back and ran his hair through it. It sounds crazy, but it worked for the best. In order to deal with crazy people, you had to choose someone who was just as crazy and obedient. Del Benson, a lunatic and talented man who met all of these criteria, was the right fit. As Ersia’s escort, it was dark and gloomy when viewed from the outside, and he thought it was a gloomy space to the point where he would refuse even if he asked for money to enter. In fact, the inside of the building was dark and gloomy. But it didn’t look like the bugs would crawl out any time soon. It was pretty neatly organized.

He paused for a moment as he opened another door inside the building and watched his back enter. He must have heard my feet stop, and he poked his head out and looked at me and said,

“Do nothing.”

“…Can we talk here?”

No matter how much it was, the dry money that goes all the way to that point could be lo… Looking at it with eyes full of doubts, Benson smiled.

“If I was going to stab the next lord, I would have done it outside. Anyway, even if all the knights out there attack, they can’t stop it. So don’t worry.”

I wonder if it’s true, I had often heard of S-class mercenaries, but are they really good enough to knock out 15 knights? I hadn’t seen it in person, so I couldn’t judge it, so I hesitated for a while, so he sighed, packed something, brought a chair and put it down in front of me.

“Sit there then. I’ll speak here.”

What was this? Sitting face to face with an open door and having a conversation seemed pretty unseemly. It seemed funny, too, and I stared at the chair and clicked my tongue low. Then he took a chair, went into the room, set it in front of the table, and sat down comfortably.

Benson looked at me with a moment of surprise, then he smiled and leaned over with his arms on the table.

“There is a pulpit, definitely.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Well, that’s up to you.”

I took my bent upper body and relaxedly straightened my back. My head snapped when I saw Benson even though I was sitting there. My throat hurt, however, I was not in a position to complain, so I slowly opened my mouth.

“I’m asking for confirmation, but you’re Del Benson, aren’t you?”

“Why do you ask that then and now? Do you think I’m lying? Or do I not look like Del Benson?”

I shook my head at the sight of him fumbling across his face.

“I just checked. I have a lot of doubts.”

“It’s a troublesome personality. Although that personality survives for a long time.”

I thought for a moment about what he said behind his back. Was living for this man the same as surviving? The life of a mercenary was rough and violent. Literally randomly wielding a sword, it was also common to cause friction with people. As long as he gave him money, he became involved in a dispute between nobles and became an expendable item and even faced death. For those who live such a daily life, living was probably the same as not dying. Was survival the goal? It was bittersweet. But in a way, it was no different from me. It was a world full of competitors who would follow you behind your back and bite your neck if you looked down for a moment and rested from where you were standing.

“Yes, the next lord.”

“Please call me Lawrence.”

“Miss Lawrence.”

“Yes.”

“Why did you find me? After coming to such an inhospitable den. This is not a place for a pretty person like a young lady to be. Especially if you have a lot of money.”