"El Verdugo" by Honoré de Balzac is a short story published in 1830. Set during the Peninsular War in Spanish-occupied territory, it follows a French officer in love with a Spanish noblewoman whose family leads an uprising against his garrison. When the French retake the town, the commanding general orders brutal executions of the rebel leaders. A father must make an impossible bargain to spare one son, forcing a terrible choice that will haunt the family forever and test the limits of duty and survival. (This is an automatically generated summary.)