Family feud (part 1)

From the way this woman reacted, it became fairly obvious that either she already knew who I was and what was our intention of coming here, or if she lacked the crucial information required to make this conjunction, she simply saw Elia coming back with the assistance of enough guards to rid her of the mansion.

Either way, she was put on the spot, and her reaction was just as silly as excusable.

"By guards, you mean those governed by the mayor?"

Instead of letting her rampage and do whatever she wanted, I decided to be kind and refrain from ordering my people to knock and bind her down. After all, no matter how she acted, my actions would only reflect my own character.

"And who else? I'm the guardian of this city, and no brute will ever dare to invade my home! Naran, go call the guards! And you, sweetie, where do you think…"

Just like she butted in my part earlier, I simply picked the scroll from behind my belt and unrolled it in front of her eyes, completely ignoring whatever she was trying to achieve with her words.

"You mean those guards that are serving directly under the mayor of the town that officially concluded your part as the guardian over my fiancee's inheritance. Effective with the moment of signing."

While I flashed the paper right before the woman's eyes, I made sure to keep it just far enough to prevent her from snatching it away. Even if it wouldn't change anything in the long run, I didn't want to prolong it over the time necessary to finish this matter.

"Fiancee? And how dare you claim my daughter just like that! Who even are you to think you can marry into such an ancient and powerful family like mine?!"

With the guards' card already forced out of her hand, this woman decided to attack me from the other side. In fact, if she were to prove that I was using Elia for the sake of obtaining wealth alone, even more so with the use of military strength, no court in the commonwealth would ever take my side!

"I was going to introduce myself earlier. You only have your own rudeness to blame, but if you are that curious, then let me tell you who I am!"

Pulling the paper, back from the front of her face, I made sure it was safely stored behind my belt, before gesturing at Elemo. If she wanted to contend in terms of majesty and power, then introducing myself would have a smaller effect than being announced by one's retainer.

"Meet Mike from Tarnow, of the ancient herb of Leliwa, the firstborn son of the great Hetman Tarnowski, Lord of the City of Tarnow, Protector of Saint Martin Castle, ruler of the Tarnowian district and governor of the Tarnowian area, titular heir to the southern Sandomir, deputy of the land senate of the Tarnowian lands, and first and foremost, crown deputy of the pancer banner!" (*)

This time, there was no going back for this woman. While she could claim to belong to the middle tier of the nobility with a sizeable wealth in form of the city, even when one considered Pilzno as her own asset, it still paled in comparison to the numerous titles of mine, ranging from purely land claims through the true ancient heritage dating eight generations back from the Polish Kingdom Knightage all the way to the military title, that albeit no longer in use with the peace across the entire country, still added the majesty to my name!

While no lightning struck this place nor the earthquake saved Elia's mother from the situation, she still somehow managed to retain her attitude, ready to overshout anyone daring to refuse her claims.

"I don't care what kinds of titles do you possess! I already promised Elia to someone else so…"

At this point, I couldn't take her nagging any longer. I already had my fill of entitled people thinking that if they shout loud enough, everything would go their way. Without even ordering my people to… calm her down, I stepped forward and sent a literal slap through her face.

In many novels that I read, the institutionalised use of face-slapping required proper setup. Showcasing the other party bad intentions, hinting how much the good guy stood higher both in terms of moral grounds and his own power and one could go on and on with the lists of steps required to make the slap as juicy as possible, but despite not having even a single build-up to this moment, this feeling of cutting the crap before it would fill my ears to the brim was still liberating and exhilarating.

"Now, that you have calmed down, let me explain to you the choices you have."

Using the moment of silence where the woman grabbed her cheek as if unable to believe what had just happened, I made one step forward, grabbed her throat and pushed her against a nearby column, making her slam with her backs against it.

"First, the ugly option."

With my fingers tightening on the throat of the woman, I held back the disgust I felt for myself for a moment. Growing up with modern society, violence against women was something that was absolute taboo, yet in this world, with the instincts of this body, my muscles and mind just moved on its own.

Thinking about it, this woman ordered several attempts at the life of her step-daughter, forfeiting her right to be treated gently. The fact that I didn't outright kill her steemed only from the fact that there was no definite proof of her actions.

Yet I still tightened the grip of my hand on her throat, while making sure she was still looking in my eyes.

"You will pack your stuff, leave this place, and on your way, my men will ensure receive the same parting gift that you sent to Elia after she ran away in fear for her life."

While this was the bad option, I made sure to relax my fingers from her throat to the point where she could finally catch a breath, yet still holding her tightly against the stone column.

"And the… nice option…?"

Finally realising that I didn't come here to play the game by her rules but to inform her about the verdict of the real game that was played even without her participation, she asked about the other option. Just like I wanted.

In the end, killing her would still equal to killing a noble, and I didn't really want to visit the comfy chambers in the town's dungeon. Even if two weeks of seclusion that I would be most likely sentenced to along with a hefty fine wouldn't really hurt me in the short run, I couldn't afford to lose that much time that could otherwise be spent on developing my lands in the long run!

Additionally, no matter the feud between them, this woman was still someone that Elia's family loved to the point of marrying, so killing her, even if she attempted at Elia's life, after decisively cutting all her options to recover Pilzno for herself, would be nothing less than a brutal waste.

"You can…"

As if today's was a fiesta for everyone who liked to cut into someone else sentence, yet another voice resounded in the place, with a rather young man, barely a few years younger than me, stepped from the main corridor. Obviously cutting into my attempt to explain how could Elia's family save their lives from my hands, he shouted "LEAVE MY MOTHER ALONE!" before brandishing his sabre and jumping at me.

Regretfully for him, I didn't bother raising my own steel, vouching to simply pull the pistol from behind my belt and aim it straight in the young man's chest!