Volume 8 Chapter 2 Part 4

「I’m not satisfied with that! If I am to suffer such humiliation, then you might as well give me the death sentence instead! 」

Ulrika screamed out loud. Her pride as a Nord woman wouldn’t allow her to be whipped like an ordinary slave.

「I do not accept this. After this, execute the sentence immediately. You must pay for the crime of losing the colony given to you by the Margrave of Waldrind, and the crime of causing the settlers to lose their lives and property, in front of the public. 」

After saying that, Erik stood up indignantly and left the hall, while the chieftains looked at Ulrika with sympathy.

「He didn’t have to subject his own daughter to such humiliation. 」

She heard someone’s voice.

(Father…)

Ulrika hung her head in disappointment.

She couldn’t help it but feel like her own father had abandoned her just now. She never expected to be treated like this. If she were to be punished in accordance with the Nord customs, she’d not be charged with any further crime. However, the fact that she was whipped like a slave would stay with her for the rest of her life, like a stigma that she wouldn’t be able to rid herself of.

At that moment, all that Ulrika wanted was for someone, anyone to bring her a sword so that she could end her own life then and there. However, at that time, four strong men appeared and surrounded Ulrika. Then they grabbed both of her arms and led her out of the scene of the chieftains’ meeting.

After that, all that she could remember was the sound of a whip cutting through the air and a sharp pain shooting across her back. That sensation was being brough down upon her over and over again.
In the courtyard of the castle where she was born and raised, Ulrika was stripped of the clothing from her upper body, her wrists tied to stakes, and she received a whipping on the back.

After the first few whippings, the skin on her back was already torn to shreds and blood was running down her legs and soaking into the ground. She wanted to cry out in pain, but only a sob came out of her as the leather straps in her mouth kept her from biting off her own tongue.

The punishment ended with the whip being swung 50 times as the chiefs of the clans observed the gruesome spectacle. When it was finally over, the ropes that were used to bind her wrists were cut off, and Ulrika simply fell onto the ground where she lost consciousness on the spot.

And when she woke up, she was in her bed. It took her a while, but after a it of a struggle, she finally managed to slowly sit up.

A nearby window was open, but no sunlight was shining through it, so it must’ve already been nighttime. The light from the lamp that was hanging from the ceiling dimly illuminated the room.

Her back injury appeared to have been taken care of, and there were layers of bandages wrapped around her torso and chest. It was hard for her to breathe, but the pain wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be.

「Are you awake now? 」

When she turned to the direction of the voice, that called out to her, she saw the man who had been sitting crouched in the corner of the room stand up. It was Flint, the Werewolf that Ulrika tamed.

「How long was I asleep. 」

Ulrika asked in a weak voice.

「It’s only been a day and a half. The Mages treated your injuries right away, but it seems like you were exhausted both physically and mentally. 」

Flint’s voice sounded incredibly tearful.
「Were you here… this entire time? 」

Ulrika asked and Flint nodded.

「There was also a female servant who took care of you. Apparently she has been taking care of you since you were just a child, Lady Ulrika. 」

「Ah, Sigri… 」

She was a female servant who was taking care of Ulrika ever since she was not only a child, but a small baby. She is the wife of a free citizen, but her husband died in the war more than ten years ago, and she has been working as a live-in worker with her two children. The children are now independent and are the heads of their own families.

「What will happen to me now? 」

Ulrika asked herself that question aloud. She thought that she would be better off dead, but even that is meaningless now after she has been flogged. At that moment, Flint turned to look at the door, sensing somebody’s presence there.

「Who’s coming here?! 」

Ulrika asked Flint nervously as his nose turned upwards as he tried to smell the scent of the approaching person.

「This is Erik, the King of the Nords. 」

He says as he went to the door and waited for a knock to be heard before opening them.

The person who entered the room was indeed Ulrika’s father Erik. When he saw Flint, he gestured him to leave with his chin. Flint looked back at Ulrika for a moment, then followed the king’s orders, although it was clear that he was doing so reluctantly.

Ulrika was then left alone with her father in the not-so-large room, but she couldn’t even bring herself to make eye contact with him.

Her shame, anger, and sadness were all mixed up inside of her in a chaotic mess right now, and she groaned as her heart felt like it would burst at any moment now.

Her father slowly approached the bed and sat down in the round chair beside it. And then…

「Forgive me. 」

Suddenly, her father said something like that.

「F-Father? 」

Caught by surprise, Ulrika looked at her father with bewilderment.

Her father is a tall man with a sturdy physique, and has a fine beard on his face. He was brave and courageous, the true epitome of a Norse man.

That very same father of hers… was now crying.

Ulrika got off the bed in surprise and reached out to touch her father’s shoulder.

「I didn’t want to lose you. That’s why I overturned your banishment sentence and didn’t even allow you to die, but let you be flogged like a common slave. Because of my selfishness, I ended up humiliating you… 」

Erik wiped the tears with his fist and then placed his hand on Ulrika’s cheek. She remembered that when she was a child, she was crying in bed whenever she had a bad dream and her father would always come and do this for her. The touch of those big, thick hands strangely calmed her down every time, allowing her to fall asleep again in peace.

「…It’s my fault. I was the one who lost Stark and missed the opportunity for the Nords to advance into the South Seas… 」

「If we can get the entire continent, including the South Seas, things will naturally follow along and that will no longer matter. 」

Her father said that and gently shook the hand that was on Ulrika’s cheek.

Ulrika sat down on the edge of the bed, facing her father. It was the first time for her where she was able to talk to him like this, with just the two of them and no one else around to interfere.

「Congratulations on conquering Bretland, father. 」

Ulrika congratulated him. The conquest of the small continent floating in the North Sea has been a dream of the Nord rulers ever since the time of Geas the Conquerer.

「It was surprisingly difficult because we were supported by people from the Fantasia Union. However, now that Bretland is finally ours, we’re going to use it as a base for the purpose of invading the Fantasia Union’s territory. The Margrave of Waldrind also managed to turn Wamberg and Rumford into her dependent territories. Unfortunately, because of the presence of the Artuk Treaty in the south, we cannot allow ourselves to invade Allonne just yet, but we also don’t have any intention of allowing the opportunities that have presented themselves to us pass us by. 」

「Isn’t it dangerous to base yourself in Bretland, which you just conquered? 」

Ulrika failed precisely because of that.

「It seems that in Stark, the enslaved natives rose up against you all at once, and that was the reason why you failed to uphold it. 」

Erik, sensing her intentions, smiled bitterly.

「They were rebellious against us from the beginning. However, I used that as an excuse to refuse to cooperate with Milza, the Viceroy of Dartania, and then I tightened my grip on them too much. I was planning on loosening up eventually and appeasing them, but… 」