Ch.836Hush’s Daily Report (2)

======[ Hush ]======

“Mmph! Mmmmph!”

Surveillance Target #2, Belneisia, was being violated without even being able to properly resist the assault that had befallen her.

Her outdoor clothes were being torn to shreds by the men’s rough hands, and the torn and crumpled pieces of cloth were stuffed into her mouth as she tried to scream and curse.

The vagrant’s tongue, carrying an unpleasant stench, crawled like a slug across her pale skin, leaving faint traces of saliva, while brutal hands with no trace of consideration roughly mangled the girl’s exposed chest.

Well, it wasn’t a pleasant sight to behold.

Anyone could see it was a scene of back-alley thugs capturing a defenseless girl and attempting to rape her.

‘Did I misjudge…?’

Hidden in the darkness, I clicked my tongue as I observed the surveillance target who was about to be violated.

‘My instincts must be failing me.’

Unlike Eleonora, I had always felt an ominously strange feeling whenever I watched this maid named Belneisia, so I thought she must be hiding her power… but it seemed I was mistaken.

A girl clearly unable to resist the assault. Perhaps there might be a reason she needed to hide her power even at the risk of being violated…

“Mmmmph-!”

Even so, her panicked trembling and tearful face seemed too natural to be an act.

‘Nothing to be done.’

Though my suspicions weren’t completely gone, I couldn’t just let her be violated.

If, by chance, Lord Haschal and I had been overly suspicious and this girl was truly just an innocent maid, leaving her like this would be too cruel even by my standards.

That’s why I had drawn my own line when planning this operation.

If Belneisia couldn’t put up any meaningful resistance even after her top was removed and they started on her lower garments, I would save her before any further violation occurred.

“Mmmmmmph!”

“Wow, so smooth! Do rich girls keep even these parts so clean and well-maintained?”

Yes, just like now.

The vagrants grabbed Belneisia’s legs, spread them apart, and tore off the underwear covering her groin, exposing the bare skin underneath.

Realizing it was time to end this, I took out five or six needles from my pocket.

Needles coated with a reagent that would trigger the poison already planted in these men. Being a fast-acting poison, they would vomit blood, convulse, and melt away as soon as the needles pierced them.

Just as I raised my right hand with the needles inserted between my fingers—

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!”

A voice I seemed to have heard before thundered through the back alley.

‘A knight? In a back alley like this?’

This wasn’t a normal patrol route. Perhaps she happened to be passing by and witnessed the crime.

I turned my head to examine the knight rushing into the alley. She was wearing ordinary civilian clothes instead of a uniform or armor, suggesting she was off duty. It was a face I knew well.

A rookie female knight from the pathfinder corps who had joined the Rose Cross Knights on Lord Haschal’s recommendation. Her name was… Minea, wasn’t it?

Though somewhat slow-witted, she had received quite favorable evaluations despite being a parachute appointment, perhaps due to her friendly attitude or her usefulness in dungeon exploration missions.

“Tch, who the hell is this bitch?”

The vagrants grimaced at the unexpected intruder and drew their daggers with a threatening attitude.

As they say, ignorance breeds courage. They probably thought she was just some meddlesome youngster, seeing her equipped with only a longsword and no proper armor.

Even soldiers or adventurers, not just knights, usually wore at least minimal armor.

“Hey, miss. If you don’t want to get hurt, just quietly—”

“No need for words!”

Of course, the price of ignorance is often paid in blood. With a swift twist of her waist, her drawn longsword flashed like lightning, slicing through the arm and neck of the thug reaching toward her.

“Guh, geheeek-!”

The thug who instantly lost his arm clutched his split throat, spewing a fountain of blood as he tumbled down. Though her skill might only be at the level of an average knight, a knight was still a knight. Not someone back-alley thugs could handle.

“R-Rick’s down?!”

“Shit, what is she? A knight? Is she a knight?!”

The vagrants were shocked at the sight of their comrade collapsing with a fatal wound. Fear flashed in their bulging eyes as they finally realized their opponent’s identity.

“Vermin eating away at Hestella! I, Minea Rose of the Rose Cross Knights, shall deliver punishment on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen!”

With half her face stained red from the spurting blood, Minea pronounced a death sentence on the remaining three men and charged at them. Her movements were as swift as a rabbit.

“For the justice of Hestella!”

‘Was she always like this…?’

I let out a chuckle as I watched this back-alley murderer who had suddenly appeared.

Her exaggerated theatrical tone. Her flushed cheeks, as if intoxicated with herself. The smile that kept slipping out.

Even the trajectory of her sword seemed to overflow with self-consciousness, making her look like a typical rookie from the countryside who had just been appointed as a knight—truly ridiculous.

Minea herself probably thought she looked incredibly cool.

‘Well, it’s the age when confidence overflows.’

Though her behavior was amusing, her skill was sufficient to handle this situation, so I could just watch without needing to intervene.

“Haaaah!”

The arm of a vagrant who swung his dagger while trembling pathetically flew into the air like sliced cheese, and the following strike split open his belly, pulling out his intestines.

“Aaaaargh!”

The vagrant collapsed, clutching his split abdomen with his remaining hand and squealing like a pig. Minea roughly kicked him, crushing his neck, then swung her sword at the remaining two men.

“Kuk…!”

The tip of her sword shot out like an arrow, piercing through the back of the neck of a man trying to escape, and with a half-turn of her body, her diagonal slash broke the collarbone of the man trying to take Belneisia hostage and buried deep into his torso.

“Grrrgh…!”

The man slumped down, foaming blood. It didn’t take long for his twitching body to go limp.

“Hmm, is that all.”

Having slaughtered four men in an instant, Minea shook the blood off her longsword and smoothly sheathed it, uttering a self-satisfied, pretentious remark.

Then, she wiped her blood-stained face with her left hand and lightly brushed back her hair.

‘She’s got it bad.’

I barely managed to hold back an eruption of laughter as I observed Belneisia’s reaction.

She had collapsed, her legs seemingly giving out, and was staring blankly at Minea. She didn’t even think to cover her exposed chest.

Her face showed great shock.

Whether it was because she had nearly been raped, because she had directly witnessed human bodies being cut to pieces, or because she was stunned by the knight’s show of pretentiousness, I couldn’t tell.

“Are you alright, Lady? You can rest easy now. Minea Rose of the Rose Cross Knights is here.”

“Pfft.”

I finally couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

In what she probably thought was the coolest possible manner, she took off her coat, knelt on one knee, and wrapped it around Belneisia—a perfect role model for a fifteen-year-old boy.

But seeing a woman who must be at least in her twenties doing this, I simply couldn’t contain my laughter.

Thanks to the blessing of shadow concealment, I wasn’t discovered hiding here, which would have been the case otherwise.

—-

After covering Belneisia’s body with her coat, Minea gently patted her back to comfort her, then they got up together and returned to the castle.

Upon arriving at the castle, she boasted to the shocked knights about how she had rescued the Regent’s maid.

Like a child showing off a drawing to their parents, she kept shrugging her shoulders as if asking to be praised quickly.

After hearing the full story, the senior knights patted her head or shoulders in praise, then went to find Administrative Governor Lambert, saying they needed to thoroughly clean up the criminals in the back alleys.

Well, more than half of them would die on their own by tomorrow anyway, so there was no need for the knights to step in.

The thugs I had poisoned would struggle to see tomorrow morning. I hadn’t given them the antidote they needed to receive today.

Though I had poisoned twenty men and only used four before discarding them, such stray dogs could be found anytime later, so there was nothing particularly wasteful about it. Using even four was good enough.

“—That concludes my report.”

Afterward, I went to Lord Haschal to report on today’s events.

“Hmm… good work. The method was a bit extreme, but it’s certainly useful information.”

Lord Haschal was munching on what appeared to be a meat skewer he had brought as a snack, having detached himself from his “sister” who usually stuck to him like a leech, using official business as an excuse.

The spicy aroma that wafted even to where I was prostrating seemed more like a torture device than food.

‘Is he unable to taste spiciness? No, then he wouldn’t specifically seek out spicy food.’

Seeing him calmly eating something that others wouldn’t dare touch even if paid to do so, without changing his expression, I wondered if superhumans had transcendental tastes as well.

“This confirms it. Keep a closer eye on Belneisia. If she’s hiding her power even when about to be raped, there must be a reason for it.”

“Could it be… not that she’s hiding it, but that she simply doesn’t have any power to reveal…?”

“That’s impossible.”

Lord Haschal smirked as he incinerated the wooden skewer from which he had eaten all the meat.

“Even if one conceals their aura, ingrained habits can’t be erased. Perfect, refined breathing. Unwavering gait. The reflexive glance toward the left waist whenever she encounters others. Even the habit of maintaining a stride that allows for immediate response to any situation. It’s certain that woman has been trained with a sword. At the very least, she shouldn’t be overwhelmed by four mere thugs.”

Lord Haschal explained the reasons for watching Belneisia closely, counting them off on his fingers—habits I had failed to notice, having been raised as an assassin rather than a swordsman.

“For such a woman to be unable to resist at all, even when surprised? That’s nonsense. She could have killed at least two of the four with ease. So… that woman has a reason to grit her teeth and endure without revealing her power. Even at the cost of being defiled.”

Now, do you understand why we need to strengthen our surveillance?

Lord Haschal said this with a smile tinged with killing intent.