Chapter 47

Ｒ​εａ​ɗ ｏɴ ǨаţЯｅаđｉ​ɴցСα​ｆҽ

The distance between the terrace of the next room and Lucy’s room was about three meters.

Despite this, the masked men began leaping over the railing and landing on Lucy’s terrace.

Their movements were light.

They’re like ninjas, Lucy thought.

They must have undergone similar training.

Thud!

Soon, the sound of the door breaking echoed, and the masked men rushed into the room.

“Lu, Lucy…”

Finn trembled as she hid inside Lucy’s clothes.

“I-I think this is dangerous…”

Lucy nodded quietly.

There were at least twenty masked men surrounding them.

They must have all been trained like ninjas.

However, their target wasn’t Lucy.

They were after the girl who was now sitting next to Lucy, trembling.

They had pointed at the girl earlier and shouted, “There she is, grab her!”

So, the solution was simple.

If Lucy handed over the girl, there would be no problem.

She didn’t know why they were after the girl, but it was probably some personal matter.

It wasn’t something Lucy needed to get involved in.

But,

“Huh? There’s another one here. Is she a friend?”

“Don’t know. Let’s grab both of them.”

Listening to their conversation, it seemed handing over the girl wouldn’t solve the issue.

Lucy quietly muttered as the masked men approached.

“Darkness.”

Whoosh!

A pitch-black mist spread around them.

A skill that blocked the enemy’s vision.

“Wh-what is this?”

“I can’t see!”

“Damn it, grab the girl! Don’t let her get away!”

The masked men panicked and began to murmur.

Meanwhile, Lucy grabbed the girl and jumped over the railing.

“Ah!”

The girl let out a small scream and tightly clung to Lucy’s waist, while Finn burrowed deeper into Lucy’s clothes.

As Lucy felt herself falling, she summoned Death Mount.

She landed on Death Mount mid-air and then touched down on the ground.

Thud—

It was a stable landing.

The girl was also safely on Death Mount.

Lucy urged Death Mount to move and reached out her hand behind her.

Shadows extended from Lucy’s hand, grabbing the knight who had fallen earlier and pulling him up.

Whoosh!

The knight was large and wearing heavy armor, but he was dragged like a doll by Lucy’s shadow.

Lucy plopped the knight onto Death Mount.

Even with Lucy, the girl, and the knight on its back, Death Mount didn’t seem burdened at all.

“Ugh…”

A groan escaped the knight’s mouth.

Fortunately, he wasn’t dead.

On the terrace, the masked men were still in chaos.

“Damn it, I can’t see anything!”

“Don’t let her get away! Grab the girl!”

“Ah! Don’t touch me!”

Lucy quickly rode away on Death Mount.

Lucy rode without stopping, putting as much distance as possible between them and the inn.

◈

After leaving the city center and reaching a quiet area, she stopped Death Mount near a large bridge with a gentle stream.

They should be safe here.

No matter how well-trained the masked men were, they wouldn’t be able to track them this far.

The area was illuminated only by faint moonlight, with no signs of the festival lights.

Moreover, there were no people around, and the only sound was the gentle flow of water, creating an eerie silence.

“Ugh…”

As they got off Death Mount, the knight groaned and collapsed to the ground.

The girl asked him with a worried expression,

“Are you okay, Sir Derrick…?”

“I-I’m fine… but I think my arms and legs are broken…”

Lucy quietly thought to herself.

If his arms and legs are broken, he’s not fine.

“Hey, human!”

At that moment, Finn crawled out of Lucy’s clothes and shouted at the girl.

“How are you going to take responsibility for this? Because of you, we wasted expensive lodging! We didn’t even get to use the comfy bed or the big bathtub!”

The girl hung her head, tears streaming down her face.

“I-I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

She apologized so deeply it looked like her forehead might touch the ground.

“Sigh, seriously…”

Finn tied her long blue hair into a loose bun, then flew over to the knight, grumbling.

“This is why humans are such a pain. What are you doing? Hurry up and take off his armor.”

“…Huh?”

The girl looked at Finn with wide eyes.

Finn put her hands on her hips and glared at the girl with a look of exasperation.

“He’s hurt, right? So hurry up and take off his armor. I’ll heal him.”

“H-heal…?”

“Yes, you idiot! Hurry up!”

The girl still looked confused, but she began removing the knight’s armor as Finn instructed.

Since it seemed difficult for her to do it alone, Lucy helped.

“Ugh…”

The knight groaned in pain.

Once the armor was off, Finn flew up above him.

She then began spinning in circles, fluttering her wings.

Sparkling powder fell from her wings onto the knight’s body.

The knight’s body began to glow with a radiant light.

“Ah, it’s beautiful…”

The girl whispered.

Lucy nodded in agreement.

The sight of the fairy spinning under the moonlight was mesmerizing.

“Huh…?”

A moment later, the knight sat up, unharmed.

He moved his arms and legs, then tilted his head in confusion.

“I’m healed…”

“Hmph, of course. I sprinkled healing powder on you.”

Finn, looking slightly tired, flew back to Lucy’s shoulder and sat down, crossing her legs arrogantly.

“You should be grateful. I don’t do this for just anyone.”

“Th-thank you…”

The knight said.

The girl beside him also bowed her head and said softly, “Thank you.”

Lucy smiled contentedly and stroked Finn’s body.

This fairy is quite useful.

For Lucy, who had no healing magic, Finn was an invaluable companion.

Well, Finn said she would leave once Lucy met her mom, so they couldn’t stay together for long…

Should I just keep her in a cage and take her with me?

While Lucy was lost in thought, Finn asked the girl,

“So, why were those guys chasing you? And on a festive day like this, too.”

“W-well…”

As the girl hesitated, the knight spoke up.

“I’ll explain. Well, since you’ve saved our lives, it should be fine to tell you.”

◈

The knight seemed to rationalize the situation to himself before beginning to explain why the girl was being chased.

The girl’s name was Estelle.

She was the daughter of the mayor of Cressia.

“…Given her status, there are many factions targeting her for political reasons. The mayor has many rivals…”

Knight Derrick explained.

“That’s why Miss Estelle is usually not allowed to leave the mansion. If she were to be kidnapped, it would create a politically unfavorable situation for the mayor, so he doesn’t permit her to go out. But today is the Moonlight Festival. Miss Estelle really wanted to see it. So…”

As Knight Derrick spoke, Estelle quietly interjected.

“…I wanted to go to the festival, but my father said it was too dangerous and wouldn’t allow it. Still, I really wanted to see it, so I secretly asked Sir Derrick, my escort knight, for help.”

Of course, Derrick wasn’t in a position to easily agree either.

The festival would be crowded, and if Estelle went, she could be in great danger.

So, they reached a compromise: staying at the Moonlight Inn in the city center and watching the festival from the terrace.

“So, you climbed onto the railing and almost fell?”

Finn asked, crossing her arms.

Estelle blushed and hung her head, while Derrick looked shocked.

“M-Miss, you climbed onto the railing?”

“I’m sorry… I just wanted to get a closer look…”

“You promised me you wouldn’t do anything dangerous… No, never mind. It doesn’t matter now. Even if you hadn’t, the assassins would have attacked anyway. If it weren’t for these two, I would have lost my life, and Miss Estelle would have been taken by them.”

“…I’m sorry, sniff.”

Estelle trembled, tears streaming down her face.

The knight looked at her with a bitter expression and said,

“…Anyway, we need to return to the mansion. The assassins are persistent, so they won’t give up. They’re probably searching the city for us right now. We need to hurry back to the mansion before they find us.”

“Okay…”

Estelle nodded weakly.

“I understand…”

At that moment, Lucy approached Estelle and crouched in front of her.

“Do you want to see the Moonlight Festival?”

When Lucy asked, Estelle slowly raised her gaze.

Her tear-filled eyes sparkled under the moonlight.

Eyes filled with longing.

Estelle nodded slightly.

“I… I want to see it…”

At her words, Lucy smiled.

“Then let’s go see it.”

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
So uh… no one’s gonna question the skeleton horse?