Chapter 22

Chapter 22. Marriage Requires Caution (2)

Keeping us trapped inside the encirclement, the female mercenary continued speaking.

"I told you, Sir Martin de Hierro, the illegitimate son, has become the new head of Marquess of Hierro’s House."

"That's a lie! There is no way Brother Martin would do something like that."

"It's not a lie. He is your half brother, after all, milady."

She tossed the handkerchief behind her and pulled out a slip of paper.

"Word arrived just a moment ago. Tragically, a fire broke out at the manor, and the entire marquess's family perished. Sir Martin, who had been living outside the estate, happi...ly survived and has ascended to the position of the new lord!"

Adria kept shaking her head. To her, it was a story she simply could not believe.

"No. No. No."

"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not. I only told you because I felt sorry for a young lady who has to die without knowing anything."

She spoke as though she pitied her, but her eyes were full of delight.

Was this what people called a psychopath?

It was hard even for me to believe, but if what she said was true, then every remaining question was answered.

If even one member of the marquess's family survived, it would have been impossible for an illegitimate son to inherit the house.

If Adria, the eldest daughter, was alive, then it was obvious that she would inherit Marquess of Hierro’s House.

There were still things I wanted to know—how not a single person had escaped after the manor was set ablaze, how they had managed to raise the illegitimate son as heir the moment it happened—

But at this point, I had heard almost everything I needed to know.

"Now then."

The female mercenary turned her gaze toward me.

"And who is this little brat? Is he that young master's servant? Goodness, did he get left behind after attending to that useless little master?"

Huh? She did not know who I was?

Then again, that was only natural. Even among the people of the territory, hardly anyone knew my face, so there was no reason these people would know it.

If that was the case... then maybe this would work?

I gave the hand gripping my sword a slight shake, as though it were trembling.

Then—

I bowed my head toward her.

"I-I don't know anything. P-please spare me."

It had been a long time since I had acted with my voice like this. Even so, I begged the female mercenary with as much pitiful desperation as I could muster.

"Please, please, I beg you."

Perhaps shocked, Adria stared at me with wide eyes, but I only immersed myself even more deeply in the act.

"Oh dear, how pathetic."

The surrounding mercenaries made uncomfortable expressions, and the female mercenary clicked her tongue quietly.

Could it be? Was my long-unused acting actually working?

"I really do feel sorry for you. But leaving you alive is impossible. Blame the master who dragged you into all this."

Haah. It was my fault for expecting anything.

It was exactly the same as with Adria.

That psychopath seemed to take pleasure in plunging others into despair under the guise of comforting them.

"What a waste of effort."

As I sighed and straightened up, the female mercenary's eyes widened.

"Heh, idiot."

I heard Adria snicker beside me.

Thanks to my idiotic stunt, it seemed she had pulled herself together.

"Whether that woman is telling the truth or lying, we can confirm it ourselves. First, we need to think about getting back."

"Yes, you're right."

At my words, Adria gripped her sword tightly.

"Ho. Ho. Ho. What an interesting little boy."

A chilling laugh rang out. It came from the female mercenary.

"I had been looking forward to hearing what kind of sound the young lady would make when she died, but now I have found a little one I want to hear even more. I wonder how I should kill you to make you let out a pretty sound."

Had I drawn too much attention? She was licking her lips as she looked at me.

Apparently disgusted by the sight, the other mercenaries flinched and edged back.

Had that opened a gap?

Quickly scanning our surroundings, I asked Adria a question.

"Don't tell me the reason you showed interest in me before was because of that illegitimate son?"

"Ah! That was part of it, but... no, is this really the time to ask that?"

Adria played along with my words well.

While we spoke, I kept signaling with my eyes. She answered while giving me a signal that she understood.

Three.

Two.

One.

"Now!"

At my shout, Adria threw herself backward.

Whoosh!

Her speed was like lightning.

Her acceleration ability showed its worth.

"Stop her!"

I charged straight toward the female mercenary, who shouted in alarm.

At a glance, she was clearly both their leader and their strongest fighter.

If Adria was going to break free, I had to keep this woman tied down.

As I ran, I steadied my breathing. I inhaled in rhythm with my pace.

Then I stopped.

And I drew up the hidden power from deep within my body.

This was no time to hold back some last resort.

The power that surged up—mana—I unleashed it throughout my entire body. Into my arms and legs, my muscles and nerves.

My narrowed field of vision widened, and the tightness in my breathing vanished.

Time slowed, and I could see the enemy so clearly that even every strand of down on her skin stood out.

This was mana. The power that had allowed a child like me to stand as an even match for a knight.

The enemy closed the distance in an instant. I swung my sword with force.

I saw her startled eyes move.

I felt her arm move and her sword come sweeping down.

And finally, even the faint light wrapped around her blade.

Damn it, she was even stronger than I had expected.

Clang!

My sword was knocked back.

Fortunately, I was not overwhelmed in terms of strength. My blade had not shattered either.

But the difference in body weight could not be helped.

"Ugh."

Pushed back several steps, I raised my sword again and rushed at her once more.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

I dodged the blows flying at me, knocked aside the ones I could not evade, pressed in close, and swung my sword.

"What are you? Not a brat but a dwarf?"

I had never heard of such a thing before—did that mean there were other races too?

It felt like I was being misunderstood about something, but if it bought me time, I did not care what misunderstanding she had.

After trading swords with the female mercenary for a while, feeling as though I were walking a razor's edge, I abruptly sprang back.

This should be enough, right?

It had not been very long, but it was enough time for Adria to escape.

In the direction Adria had fled, there had been no mercenary capable of stopping someone using an acceleration ability.

If it was Adria, she must have already broken through the encirclement and escaped.

Then now it was my turn. I just had to find an opening and get out fast—

As I snapped my head around, I suddenly stopped and spoke.

I saw two mercenaries collapsed in the direction Adria had run. Just as I had expected, Adria had slipped through the encirclement beautifully.

But the other mercenaries had not gone after her.

Nor had Adria managed to flee very far.

"Why did you take so long?!"

"How was I supposed to know it would be that narrow? More importantly, you nearly ruined everything!"

The man replying to the woman's words was the same one who had been commanding the mercenaries beneath the fortress.

With one thick arm wrapped around Adria's throat, he walked toward us.

"Ghk. Ghk."

Dangling from his arm, Adria could barely breathe.

"I believed in you, Captain. There is no way I would fail to notice you coming."

The woman tapped her nose with one finger.

A sigh escaped me on its own.

So things really would not turn out like they did in novels or films. Not a single thing ever went the way I wanted.

The arm wrapped around Adria was enormous. It looked twice as thick as his other arm.

It definitely had not been that thick the first time I saw him.

He had also stripped off all his armor except for his trousers, and like us, he was caked in dirt from head to toe.

His words just now, and the way he looked—

"Don't tell me... bodily transformation?"

"Oh, you're clever. Did the ducal house always have a child like you? Hmm. I seem to recall the illegitimate son was around your age...."

I had only spoken a single line, yet he immediately laid out the right answer.

He seemed far smarter than a fake genius like me.

Haah. This time, my luck was truly rotten.

The enemy had come prepared with exactly the right abilities, and their timing had been perfect.

"What, do you have a prophet or something?"

Frustrated, I muttered it almost like a complaint.

At my words, the man made a strange expression.

Then he gave an order at once.

"Kill that brat immediately!"

At the same time, he tightened his grip around Adria's throat.

"Ghk!"

"Do not even think about running. If you flee, the young lady dies."

I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"You were going to kill her anyway, weren't you? Besides, I am not all that close to milady."

"I do not know how you came by such skill at your age, but with that level of ability, you must be serving as the young lady's guard. If you care about honor, you will not simply run."

His gaze flicked briefly to the scar carved into his other arm.

"The knight and the maid we met beneath the fortress also gave up their lives to stop us."

"Kgh! Ugh!"

Even as she struggled to breathe, Adria twisted her body wildly.

"Then may I play with him a little longer? I came this close to being pushed back, and I am still quite upset about it."

"No. We don't have time."

Clicking her tongue, the female mercenary approached.

This was bad. Running away was the right answer, but it did not look as though escaping would be easy.

And if I abandoned her to die and ran, I probably would not sleep very well afterward.

Still, what else could I do? The living had to keep living.

Feeling sorry for her, I looked at Adria one last time.

Adria was looking at me too.

Our eyes met.

And then Adria cried out desperately.

"Ghk. Ghk. R-run!"

Thank you. That is exactly what I intend to do.

Just as I was about to turn my head after exchanging that final farewell—

"Kah!"

Adria did something I had never expected.

She opened her mouth wide and bit down on her tongue.

Blood gushed out like a waterfall.

As blood poured from her mouth, Adria looked at me and smiled.

"Tch, she killed herself."

Startled, the man threw Adria aside and charged toward me.

The female mercenary came running from behind him, and the other mercenaries raised their swords as well.

"Do you not intend to run?"

The man stopped in front of me and asked.

Until then, I had been staring at Adria's body sprawled on the ground.

She had already stopped breathing.

Haah, damn it.

Doing something so pointless.

Showing off for no reason and only making trouble for someone else.

"What is wrong with him? Has he lost his mind entirely?"

The female mercenary looked at my face as though she found it amusing.

Ah, I see. So this was what it meant to lose one's mind.

I was so irritated I felt on the verge of going mad.

"The young lady made a pointless sacrifice. No matter how skilled you may be, you are still just a child."

The man raised his sword.

"What a pity. If only we had had more time, I could have played with you a little longer."

The female mercenary licked her lips as she looked at me.

I wanted to indulge them fully, exactly as my mood dictated, but there was still one thing I needed to ask.

"Before I die, let me ask one thing."

"Hm?"

"Whom do you two serve? It cannot be that you truly follow that so-called illegitimate son."

At the calmness in my voice, the man looked puzzled. Even so, he did not answer my question.

"That is not for you to know."

He moved to swing his sword again, but fortunately, there was someone beside him with a loose tongue.

"Oh, come on, it doesn't matter now. I can't tell you our original affiliation with other people around, but at the moment, we're under Count of La Palma. Satisfied?"

That was enough.

She had only said it to mock me, but it was more than enough.

I lifted my head and looked at the man swinging the sword and the smiling woman.

I carved their faces into my mind so that I would not forget a single strand of down or a single eyebrow.

I had no intention of ever forgetting them.

The sword flashed past in an instant.

Slash.

My vision flipped, then gradually sank lower.

The forest and the sky blurred more and more, and at last, everything went dark.

Perfect darkness.

Silence.

And then light came pouring down.

[You have died. Restarting from the autosave point.]

When I opened my eyes, I saw the tiny hands of a six-year-old child.

I had returned.

To the day I sent the Duke's second wife away.

I clenched my fists.

My hands had gone pale blue. Yet I felt no pain.

There was plenty of time.

I was going to change the future.

But this time, it would not be for my own survival.