episode_0017

“Stay still!”

As I shouted, the butler clenched his mouth shut and glared at me.

“If you don’t want to see Andre die, then comply with our demands.”

“What are your conditions…!”

The butler clenched his fists tightly and trembled.

“The safety of the women in the basement and the carriage. Those are our two demands.”

The butler did not respond, so Lotus pressed a dagger against Andre’s neck.

“Stop!!!”

The butler urgently blocked Lotus.

“I will comply… so bring back the master.”

“Our demands come first.”

“Prepare the carriage. But ensure the master’s safety.”

“Fine, I accept.”

The butler instructed someone else to prepare the carriage.

“Lotus, make sure you handle things well.”

“Leave it to me.”

I left Lotus upstairs and descended into the basement.

Some of the women who were trapped underground seemed to have regained their senses and were conversing with Aramis and Laurent.

“They seem to be doing okay.”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Upon my arrival, the women all expressed their gratitude to me.

“We’ve heard from those two. They said you’re Lady Raju’s benefactor, who saved us… Thank you so much.”

The women bowed their heads in gratitude.

“Marie!!! The carriage is ready!!!”

At Lotus’s shout, we began to awaken the women one by one, but Lady Raju showed no signs of waking up.

“We’ll have to carry this lady back home ourselves.”

“I’ll do it.”

As I tried to lift Lady Raju, Aramis stopped me and carried her on her back.

“Let Grimo drive the carriage back to each of their homes, and we’ll take Lady Raju with us.”

“Alright, let’s do that.”

“Marie!!! Hurry up and come up!!”

Suddenly, Lotus urgently shouted from above.

“I’ll go up first.”

I cocked my gun and quickly ascended the stone steps to the surface.

“Ack! Ahh!”

Andre, who was being held by Lotus, was having a seizure and trying to break free, while Andre’s soldiers confronted Lotus at the entrance to the basement.

Lotus stood with a saber facing dozens of soldiers, tension thick in the air.

“Lotus!”

“Marie, please take care of Andre’s soldiers first!”

“Got it.”

I drew my saber with my right hand and aimed my gun at Andre’s soldiers with my left.

“A gun… a gun?!”

The soldiers who saw my gun began to panic.

“Back off.”

Andre’s soldiers hesitated for a moment at my words, but they stood their ground, pointing their swords at us.

Click.

I aimed the gun at Andre’s head.

“Ugh!”

“If you don’t want to see a bullet hole in Andre’s head, step back quietly.”

“Don’t joke around!”

At the soldiers’ outcry, I smirked and placed my index finger on the trigger.

“Stop! I said stop!!!”

The butler shouted as he jumped forward.

“Why are you breaking your promise and threatening the master!”

“If that’s the case, then what about you bringing armed soldiers here?”

“T-That’s…”

Smack!

“Ugh.”

I struck Andre’s head forcefully with the bottom of my gun handle as he thrashed around, causing him to pass out again.

“You may not know how strong your soldiers are.”

I brandished my saber menacingly.

“Eek! O-Or User!”

The soldiers, seeing me use Or, cowered in fear.

Soon after, Lotus also displayed her Or on her sword, showing them that she was an Or User as well.

“I can kill everyone in this mansion alone and come out unscathed.”

My grim threat made the soldiers lower their weapons.

“Move aside.”

At my command, the soldiers slowly backed away.

“Aramis! Laurent! Come up now!”

At my shout, Aramis and Laurent came up to the surface with the ladies.

“The carriage?”

“It’s prepared outside the gate.”

The steward answered with a disgruntled expression to my question.

“Hurry up and move.”

While Aramis and Laurent safely loaded the ladies into the carriage, Rotos and I confronted Andre’s guards with our swords drawn.

“Everything is ready.”

“Release him.”

Aramis said that they were ready to leave Andre’s mansion, so it was time to release Andre.

Thud!

“Master!”

Fainted Andre collapsed to the ground, and the steward, startled, grabbed him and helped him up.

“Whether you know what your master is up to or not, Andre has committed quite a serious crime…”

“You wench!!!”

The steward shouted at me as the mansion shook.

He swung his fist towards me.

“Where are you going!”

Before I could block the steward’s fist, suddenly Laurent jumped in front of me and blocked him.

Kwung!

Their fists collided with a loud noise.

“The young lad is quite skilled!”

“The old man is not bad either!”

“You wench!!!”

Seemingly angered by being called old, the steward shouted again.

I covered my ears in pain from his shouting.

By now, I wondered if he had the ability to attack with his voice.

Crash! Thwack! Boom!

As their fists clashed, explosive sounds rang out.

“Oh…”

I didn’t know Laurent could handle fists, but it was surprising to see him do so.

Kwang!

It didn’t take long for the outcome to be decided.

“Cough!”

The old man was hit in the abdomen by Laurent’s fist and fell.

“Hoo…!”

Laurent brushed off his hand and took a deep breath.

“It’s settled.”

Ignoring the fallen old man, I approached Laurent.

“Laurent, I didn’t know you could handle fists.”

“There was no need to boast about it.”

Well… if you get shot, you die anyway, so there’s no trend to learn how to handle fists.

“It doesn’t matter, we know how to handle them too.”

At my words, Rotos and Aramis shrugged.

“Anyway, thanks for saving us.”

“No problem.”

Laurent scratched his head awkwardly.

“I don’t know if there will be a next time, but make sure your young master doesn’t commit such heinous acts.”

I grabbed his stomach and kicked the steward who was lying on the ground.

After that, we casually escaped from Andre’s mansion, leaving behind the guards rushing towards Andre and the steward.

“The ladies? Have they left?”

“I informed Grimo beforehand. They have already left.”

“Lauren and Viscountess Yeong-ae?”

“They are lying in the carriage now, with Laurent guarding them.”

“Then Rotos and I will ride on horseback, so please take care of Yeong-ae.”

Rotos and I rode on horseback, while Laurent and Aramis boarded the carriage to watch over Viscountess Yeong-ae.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Got it, let’s go!”

Hee-haw!

After Rotos whipped the horses, they ran at a fast speed towards Viscountess Yeong-ae.

#

Arriving at Viscountess Yeong-ae’s mansion, we knocked on the front gate.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As we knocked loudly as if the door would break, armed soldiers rushed towards us.

“Who are you!”

“We have brought Viscountess Yeong-ae’s second daughter. Open the door!”

“Wait a moment.”

At my shout, a man who seemed to be the leader of the soldiers sheathed their swords.

“Where is the young lady?”

A man who seemed to be the captain of the knights stepped forward.

“She is sleeping in the carriage right now.”

“You all wait here.”

He ordered the soldiers to wait inside and came out of the main gate.

I opened the carriage door and showed him Viscountess Yeong-ae sleeping inside.

“It is indeed the young lady. I will escort her inside.”

As he said that, he took Viscountess Yeong-ae inside.

He embraced Lady Youngae and entered the mansion safely.

“Hmm… Should we go back?”

Seeing Lady Youngae safely entering the mansion in his arms, it seemed like it was time to go back now.

“Stop right there!”

As I turned to get on the carriage, the soldiers approached me with their weapons raised.

I looked at the soldiers surrounding me and smirked.

“Don’t move!”

The soldiers, tense and ready, pointed their swords at me, but it didn’t matter even if a hundred of them gathered.

“Those guys seem desperate to die.”

Rotos, sitting on the coach, chuckled softly.

“Ugh… Ugh…!”

Whether they pointed their swords at me or not, I stretched and yawned.

Raising my arms up and stretching, my chest protruded assertively.

All the soldiers’ eyes were on my chest, and I opened one eye to look at them.

“Looking away?”

“Hmm!”

At my words, the soldiers coughed awkwardly and turned their heads.

“Can I wait sitting on the coach over there?”

“Of course.”

The soldiers nodded as I pointed to the coach seat.

“You’re quite impressive.”

“What do you mean?”

As I sat on the coach, Rotos suddenly made a random comment.

“Never mind, forget it.”

I waited on the coach until someone came from the mansion.

Creak creak

As I absentmindedly looked ahead, I heard the sound of someone drinking beside me.

“What are you drinking?”

I turned to see Rotos drinking from a small metal bottle.

“I prepared this for when it gets boring. Seems like it’s coming in handy.”

“Hmm… Smells like alcohol. Can’t you drink alone somewhere?”

“I can’t. Can’t pass it on.”

When I reached out for some alcohol, Rotos quickly finished the bottle.

“Ah, nice! Glug!”

After finishing the bottle in one go, Rotos let out a short burp.

“Drinking alone and being so naughty.”

Feeling bad for not being able to drink, I turned my body away.

“You’re acting like I’m the one who drank alone and got drunk like a woman.”

“She’s already a woman. And you’re not mad because of the alcohol, so don’t talk to me.”

“Ah… I see…”

Seeing me sulking, Rotos opened the window behind him.

“Look, Mari is sulking. What should we do?”

As Rotos stuck his head into the carriage and talked, I sneakily grabbed another bottle of alcohol from his pocket.

Creak creak

It was already boring, but with alcohol, the boredom seemed to lessen.

“You’re sulking because you can’t drink alone… No, wait, Mari. What are you drinking now?”

Seeing me drinking from the bottle I stole from his pocket, Rotos’s eyes widened.

“Hehe… You didn’t see that coming, did you? It’s alcohol, alcohol.”

“What?! My alcohol!”

“Hehehe…”

I chuckled and showed Rotos the empty bottle.

“No, this guy. What will you do if you drink all of it alone?”

Rotos grabbed my shoulders and shook me vigorously.

“Hehehe, who said I had to drink alone?”

“Ugh…! But I can’t hit you because you’re a woman.”

Rotos raised his fist but hesitated, eventually hitting himself on the forehead.

“Mari, look at Rotos.”

Arames, sticking his head out the window, pointed to the front gate.

A middle-aged man with silver hair, leading the soldiers, approached us.

The four of us got off the carriage and approached the Marquis in front of the mansion.

“Are you the ones who brought my daughter here?”

The Marquis’s sharp gaze swept over us briefly.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

As I responded, Marquis Lajurang looked at me.

“You are…?”

“I am Marie de Roanne.”

I lifted the hem of my dress slightly, bent my knees, and bowed to him.

“Ah, I heard that Minister Roanne has brought a new lady into the family. So, it was you. Yes, Minister, how have you been?”

As I revealed my name, Marquis Lajurang suddenly started to show kindness towards me.

“Yes, I met him yesterday as well.”

“Ah, still being modest. Aren’t you the one who holds a special place in the heart of our King’s faction? It is truly an honor to meet the daughter of that person.”

“You flatter me.”

“But how did you all manage to bring back my daughter?”

“Well… to explain in detail…”

“Ah, we shouldn’t talk about this outside. Let’s go inside and discuss it in more detail.”

With that, we entered the mansion with Marquis Lajurang.