Executioner Dalus
‘There are too many of them, so it would be better to just use the guillotine.’
Dalus, the executioner of the Castle of Cassidy, lifted his great axe, then changed his mind and put it down.
Rather than the guillotine, direct decapitation with an axe would have been more responsive, but if you tried to chop all six of them with an axe, mistakes could easily happen.
Since the guillotine was sharpened last time, it should be able to finish six without any problems.
Dalus nodded and slung the axe on his back. He wasn’t going to use it, but he had to bring it with him when he entered the castle to avoid unnecessary friction.
“So, you should exercise regularly from your age.”
“If I exercise, can I grow up to be as stupid as Aaron?”
“Ignorant… This muscular body is so well engineered.”
Ted was very excited to see Aaron again after a long time. Dalus was worried about his son.
He was worried whether his young son would be able to withstand the harsh words that would pour out if he entered the castle with him this time. But it was something he had to face someday.
‘I started at that age too.’
Dalus brought up a very old memory, then shook his head slightly at the rough taste he felt there.
“Ready to go.”
“Really? You can take it a little more leisurely.”
“Ahhhh! Aaron! Put me down! I’m dizzy!”
Aaron was holding Ted up and spinning him around. Ted pretended not to like it, but he seemed to be having a lot of fun, judging by the smiling face.
Aaron, who was licking his lips, put Ted down, and Ted rolled around on the floor laughing.
Dalus came out and dragged out a cart that had been stored inside the warehouse. The cart, covered with a sheet, contained various tools for disposing of the bodies.
The human body was useful in many ways. After the execution, Dalus was in charge of disposing of the body. Blood could be sold for a high price, and skin was sought after for medical purposes.
Humans, like pigs, had little to throw away.
‘Six···.’
The cart might not be big enough, but it would take several trips. Dalus brought the horse and tied it to the cart.
Because it was a horse he had bought a long time ago, its hide was dull and its eyes were cloudy. Dalus stroked the horse’s mane, which looked somewhat tired.
“If you can’t run anymore, I’ll let you go without any pain, so please just ask a little.”
Did he understand what he was saying? The horse made a listless rumble.
“This horse is so old that I feel bad riding it in a cart.”
“It’s lightning! Lightning!”
At Aaron’s words, Ted raised his hand and said with sparkling eyes.
After becoming an executioner, Dalus never gave names to anything. Even his son, Ted, was named by his runaway wife, not by him.
“Hahahaha! I told you Aaron can’t ride! Come on, Aaron!”
“Dalus! You’ve made a lot of money, so why not buy a nice wagon instead? What is this? A wagon that can’t even seat a person on a sick horse?”
Aaron tried to sneak onto the cart, but got back down because there wasn’t enough room. Seeing his son smiling brightly while pointing at Aaron, Dalus realized why his father’s eyebrows had been furrowed the first time he followed him.
He gently put the reins on the horse and pulled it slowly. The horse moved at a slower pace than walking, but he was grateful that it was moving.
“You need to spend more money. Dalus, you live such a miserable life.”
“···I see.”
Maybe he was right. Dalus had put quite a few people on the guillotine, so he had quite a bit of silver.
He saved his money as much as possible, although he didn’t get angry when his wife carried it out with her hidden pockets.
‘Because Ted might not want to do this.’
He swallowed his words as he looked at his son, who smiled brightly and poked Aaron’s arm. These silver coins were a choice for his son.
Soon, we arrived at a place where we could see the gate. There were quite a few people waiting for the checkpoint in front of the gate.
“I’ll go and talk for a bit.”
“Okay.”
“Aaron! See you later!”
Aaron disappeared toward the gate, and Dalus adjusted the collar of his overcoat and pulled down his hat. His son turned his head here and there, perhaps curious to see people he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Ugh…! I’m going to have bad luck this morning.”
A moment later, a sharp voice flew through the noisy noise and pierced through. Ted’s face, which had been smiling brightly until just now, hardened.
“Where did the smell of blood come from···.”
“But seeing that lowly guy standing there, I guess he’ll be sentenced to death soon.”
“Tsk, let’s make a separate hole and have them go through there···.”
All sorts of sharp words flew in from all around me and hit me hard.
Dalus pushed away Ted’s trembling hand that was holding his own. He had to get used to it. If he chose this path, it was the kind of stare he would have to endure for the rest of his life. Ted’s hand, lost, stopped in midair.
The harsh and explicit words around me did not stop, but rather became more intense. Some people even came up to me and started talking openly.
It was hard for a child to bear the sight of his father being looked down upon and ridiculed by others. Dalus knew this well, but he said nothing. He simply turned up the collar of his red overcoat.
“How dare you, you lowly wretch, ignore my words?”
The man suddenly grabbed Ted by the collar, angry at Dalus’ continued ignoring him. Ted couldn’t stand it anymore and jumped in. Dalus knew what was going to happen, but he didn’t stop him.
Just like his father had done, Dalus simply covered his eyes with his hat.
“Let go of it! Let it go!!”
“This lowly bastard!”
Ted was pushed to the floor.
“Tsk, where did this kid touch with his dirty hands… Huh?”
“Dirty hands?”
“Ah… Aaron?! Heeeeeeek!”
At that moment, the name Aaron burst out of the man’s mouth like a scream. At that, Dalus raised his head.
The face of the man who was caught by Aaron suddenly turned pale. The long scar drawn at the corner of Aaron’s mouth became ugly.
Dalus thought back to when he first met Aaron. Dalus thought Aaron was an executioner. He had that thick, bloody smell of an executioner.
“You are calling me dirty hands right now.”
“That··· I didn’t say that to Aaron···.”
The man answered cautiously, shivering as if he was about to pee himself.
“Dirty hands?”
“No, I didn’t mean Aaron···.”
“Dirty hands?”
“that is···.”
“Um…, dirty hands?”
Aaron kept repeating the same words over and over again, holding out his palm, which gradually came closer and closer to the man’s neck.
The frightened man hurriedly took out a pouch from his bosom and placed it on Aaron’s palm. Then Aaron patted the man on the shoulder.
“Wow… clean hands! Aaron is the real guard captain who protects our Cassidy Castle! Ha… haha.”
“yes?”
“Uh… uh. Of course.”
Aaron Tan seemed to be smiling brightly, but the scars drawn on his face made him look more threatening to the onlookers. The man who laughed awkwardly and loudly disappeared, saying that he had urgent business.
“The guys who would come out and say it was okay during the execution… Anyway, they are uncivilized and ignorant. Tsk.”
Aaron opened his pocket and looked inside, grumbling.
Dalus raised the corners of his mouth slightly at the sight of Aaron, the scoundrel of the Cassidy Castle, calling someone ignorant.
“No, where are you going again, Captain?”
At that moment, a bearded man who was conducting the search came over and grumbled.
“I told you it was work. Nova told me to do it. I don’t want to just stand here and take money from kids.”
“Are you sure? I smell like alcohol.”
“Oh, this is what I drank this morning.”
“Why are you drinking before work···.”
“Okay. I told you I’ll be here soon.”
After waiting for a while for Aaron, who was grumbling with the bearded man at the gate, we passed through the gate together.
“Oh, Ted. Let’s buy something delicious with this.”
“Thank you, Aaron.”
Aaron took a few coins out of the pocket he had received from the man and put them in Ted’s hand. Ted’s face relaxed a little.
“Aaron.”
“Hey, I gave you a son. And you earn more than me.”
Aaron answered Dalus’ call with a frown. Dalus thought for a moment about what Aaron meant, then opened his mouth again.
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
Dalus, who had lived in a shack outside the castle all his life, had no gift for roundabout speech.
Even though she was a woman bought with money, Dalus was the one who couldn’t stand it and left, even though she was the mother of a child.
“···What the hell are you talking about.”
Aaron sighed softly and brushed his bangs back. Then, the long scar on his forehead caught his attention. Deep, tired-looking eyes stared at Dalus.
“I wanted to ask you a favor later.”
“ask?”
“Oh. If I ever get to be guillotined, make sure I get through it cleanly. Sharpen the guillotine blade really sharply.”
At Aaron’s unexpected remark, Dalus laughed.
Even though he was called a dog and a loser, Aaron was always surrounded by people. Dalus had a hard time imagining Aaron lying on the guillotine.
I don’t know if it was a vague remark or a sincere one, but I nodded at the request.
If that was the case, then Dalus was confident.
“Okay. Cleanly.”
“Okay, then that’s fine.”
“Me… me too! If I ever have to cut off Aaron’s head again, I’ll do it cleanly!”
“Yeah… that… really… thank you.”
Ted, who was soon excited again, raised his hand and shouted, and Aaron, whose face was now irritated, muttered quietly, “Horo, you little brat.”
Dalus smiled for the first time in a long time.
***
“Did you hear? Tomorrow, they’re going to cut off six heads at once! This is definitely going to be a historic day, the first day since the construction of Castle Cassadyk!”
“The square will be packed with people, so shouldn’t you reserve a spot in advance? I told you that I was late during the last execution and didn’t see the head roll off!”
“Wouldn’t it be the best thing to see, with its neck rolled over and it falling into a box? What a shame you didn’t see that.”
“This is fucking sick, really.”
Because it was a small castle, rumors of the death penalty spread quickly.
As if some kind of festival was taking place, the streets were filled with anticipation, people laughing and running around, and women were talking about what to eat while watching the executions that would take place the next day.
“There’s no password tomorrow. I’ll pull everyone out and clean up the area.”
Berman grumbled, feeling very upset.
“Why, when it’s my password···.”
“Chief, weren’t you on duty today?”
The petty Berman immediately cut me off and shouted at me.
“I said no. You’re complaining because you were alone for a while. So give it to a mercenary and he’ll get busted. A man’s chest needs to be broad to make his fists stronger.”
“You were alone for a bit! Wasn’t the captain lying around at the guard headquarters, scratching his belly? If I hadn’t woken him up, he would have slept there until tomorrow!”
“I told you there was a reason for that.”
“Please tell me. Let me hear your reason.”
“That’s… Oh my… No.”
“So, you don’t even have the sincerity to make it up anymore?”
Berman’s long sigh was so frustrating.
On my way here, I stopped by the hotel for a moment, and as soon as Kanna saw me, I couldn’t refuse the ice-cold beer that she offered me. How could I refuse a gift filled with a child’s innocence?
At that time, Hannah, who heard the news of the execution, asked me to look into the food to be sold at the square the next day, and when she tried it, it was salty and oily, so she had no choice but to drink beer with shaved ice.
After a while, I felt better and packed a lot of food and beer and headed back to headquarters, where I happened to run into the pig leader.
Originally, it was a law that if you look good to your superiors, your subordinates will be comfortable, so you had no choice but to strengthen your friendship with the pig chief by sharing food and drinks with him.
You don’t even know how hard I worked, and you’re getting upset because I checked you alone for a little while.
“You little punk. I’ll take your place next time.”
“Okay then. Well, I didn’t really have anything to do today.”
I realized that I had been fooled by Berman’s quickly changing expression. However, I had already promised, so I did not back down.
“Anyway, since you’re so petty, give it to the mercenaries and they’ll explode.”
“It didn’t work out. I had no choice but to be pushed back by the odds… And I won against two people. I couldn’t help it because of that despicable guy who stabbed me in the back of the head. If I had fought properly….”
“Hey, captain. Have you heard the news?”
“Thank you for your hard work, Captain.”
At that moment, Snake Eye Grass and Fish Bread Brick appeared next to the grumbling Berman.
“Nothing happened?”
“Yes, there wasn’t anything special today. I was busy preparing everything for tomorrow.”
Snake-eye answered, scratching his eye with his finger. He looked disappointed that nothing much had happened.
“Chief, is it true that six people will be executed tomorrow? I heard our passwords were also delayed.”
Brick asked in a disgruntled, discontented voice.
“It’s not that it was pushed, it’s that it disappeared.”
“Chief, Brick has been feeling sorry for a while now. Don’t you think that’s strange? He used to be the type who never said anything…”
Snake Eyes pointed at Brick with a sidelong glance. Brick coughed in response, which was very awkward. He had an idea.
“No way, Charlotte?”
“What? Isn’t Charlotte a maid? What happened? What happened?”
Berman opened his eyes wide and asked hurriedly. Berman seemed anxious that there was something he didn’t know, and he urged the answer.
“I… was patrolling earlier… and I met Charlotte… and we decided to go to the execution together tomorrow….”
Brick blushed, scratched his cheek, and trailed off.
“Oh… Let’s go watch the execution together?! Charlotte is totally into you.”
“Brick, you too…. Damn it.”
Snake Eyes was very excited and made a mean gesture, and Berman muttered with a betrayed look on his face.
“Are you saying that going to watch the execution together means you’re crazy about someone?”
It was a primitive way of dating that I couldn’t understand at all.
“Isn’t that obvious? After all, when one dies, a new one is born to maintain balance, right?”
Snake-eyed Grass opened her eyes blearily and answered, moving her hands in opposite directions as if weighing each other.
“Is that so?! That… That… That’s what happened! What should I do! I agreed! Ugh! Balance!”
Brick suddenly screamed, waving his arms and stammering. Judging by his face turning red as if it was going to burst, it seemed like he was already trying to find the balance in his head.
“Damn, why doesn’t anyone talk to me… I’m sure if I grow a beard I’ll be more popular….”
Berman muttered, glaring at Brick like a knight who had been defeated in a duel.
‘Ask me to go watch an execution together, is that a date request? Those uncivilized guys.’
Just imagining people laughing and laughing while watching their necks fall off made my head spin.
“Boss, I think it would be nice to have some beer. Would you like to join us? Just bring one of the neighborhood guys and let him order it for you.”
Brick, who had a great sense of smell for money, nodded his head and suggested. It wasn’t a bad idea.
“Okay. But not beer, but red wine. That’s because the color is similar.”
“Oh… As expected, it’s the leader. Then I’ll go to a nearby bar and get some for you in advance.”
Snake Eyes looked genuinely impressed by my answer, but I found that expression strangely unpleasant.
“My mother’s fish bread goes well with red wine. How many can I get you? If your mother is the head of the household, I don’t need to take any money…”
“닥쳐, 이 개새끼야!”
“Yeah, Brick, I told you last time, your mother’s cooking is shit. No, shit might actually taste better.”
Brick’s terrible suggestion was met with a barrage of harsh words. The straightforward Snake Eye Grass did not stop at simply telling him to shut up, but also retorted sharply.
“Huh? I don’t know why everyone hates that delicious food···.”
Brick looked really upset, as if he really didn’t understand English.
“You, when you meet Charlotte, never bring fish bread.”
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me and I said to Brick.
“I… didn’t mean to do that.”
Brick answered sheepishly, avoiding eye contact.
“Anyway, don’t be late tomorrow.”
“yes.”
Everyone answered in a somewhat tired voice.
“And the red wine is in the square… You know that guy who always sells oranges? Put it over there. That’s the front.”
“Red wine and a direct seat… The captain is also really great.”
Snake Eyes looked at me with complicated eyes, and Berman and Brick nodded with tired faces.
“What are you looking at?”
The gaze was strangely irritating, so I glared at them, and everyone quickly turned their heads away.
***
As I came out of the shower, Kanna handed me a cold beer with her still shivering hands.
I patted the head of the quick-witted mini fridge, took a mug of beer, and sat down in an empty seat in the hall.
Perhaps because of the execution tomorrow, there was not a single person in the hall.
“Aaron, take a look at this!”
At that moment, Hana came out from the kitchen, carrying a large wooden tray. Kanna ran over and helped her carry the wooden tray.
‘What is this guy eating bread…’
The wooden tray was piled high with breads laden with various ingredients. Perhaps, it seemed as if they were trying to secure a share in the executions tomorrow.
“I prepared it with bread, just like Aaron said, because it’s easy to hold and eat. What do you think?”
Hannah, who had placed a wooden tray in front of me, asked with a proud face while patting Kannah’s head. Kannah tried to pull her head away, but Hannah grabbed Kannah’s shoulder and prevented her from running away, and continued to patting her head.
‘It’s not like it’s a picnic day or a group order for kimbap…’
I shook my head as I looked at the piled up bread. Maybe it was because there was only bread piled up, but I felt like something was missing.
“Oh, I think it would be good to sprinkle some red sauce on it.”
“Red… sauce?”
Hannah stuttered, her face looking somewhat frightened by my words.
“I guess it will stimulate my appetite.”
“That… I guess so… Aaron really is… um… amazing.”
Hannah narrowed her eyes and expressed subtle admiration.
“Don’t drink beer, drink red wine.”
Suddenly, I remembered what I had said to the grass, and added:
Suddenly, Kanna hid behind Hanna, and Hanna looked at me with wide eyes.
“That… That’s right… Because beer is heavy! And red wine has a much better flavor! Right? No! You don’t have to answer! I got it!”
As I was about to answer, Hannah suddenly shook her head and spoke quickly, cutting me off.
“Anyway! Where is Aaron working tomorrow? I’ll pack some food and drinks and head over there.”
At Hannah’s question, whose face turned slightly red, I scratched my head.
“···With this guy!”
Then Hannah pulled out Kanna who was hiding behind her and pushed her forward.
After looking at the mini fridge for a moment, I nodded.
