episode_0027

“······That’s how I was brought here. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Bianca was shocked when she heard the whole story from the man. I thought they were in love with each other, but it turned out that they were forced into an engagement. It was Bianca who had been fooled by her junior.

But I wasn’t angry. Instead, her heart fluttered. I was giving up, but I thought I might have a chance if I did this. This is a chance.

“Senior, why are you shaking?”

“Chureup! Oh, it’s nothing! By the way, something like that happened. It must have been a lot of trouble…”

Bianca quietly came and sat down next to the man. The man answered.

“Well, I had a hard time in the past, but it’s okay now. Work has become easier, and traveling with Ilia is also quite fun. And… Wow…! What is it…, the inner compatibility is good…”

Looking at the man blushing, Bianca felt cold. It was because the man didn’t seem to dislike the engagement. It was very ominous. My anxiety soared as I wondered if it was already too late.

In the end, she asked directly.

“What do you think…? So, engagement.”

If he said no to the engagement, I was going to take him out of here right away. The duke also said he was against the marriage, so he wasn’t going to say anything big.

‘Answer me no…’

She prays in her heart.

However, contrary to her expectations, the man was only very confused by her question.

“I am…, um, so…”

The man who thought for a while answered.

“I’m not sure… Originally, I really hated it… but now I think it would be a shame if we broke up… I really don’t know. But since the duke is against it anyway, won’t the engagement just be broken off?”

“······.”

Bianca was frozen as a stone and did not move for a while, as if she had been sentenced to death.

“Senior?”

He was a man who was puzzled by Bianca’s appearance like that.

At that time, the door opened and a maid came in.

“Theo. We will serve you.”

It was somewhat noisy outside.

***

-It’s an intruder!!

-The teleport gate has been opened!!

The Northern Fortress is in great turmoil due to the intruders. Armed soldiers were busily moving around inside the fortress.

Hans, a soldier with good eyesight, was one of them.

While he was resting in the soldiers’ dormitory, he was suddenly taken out and sent on patrol. The lady said she was going to break in or something. I wondered what kind of nonsense that was, but I couldn’t help it because the commander was screaming loudly. I just have to follow it.

At first, I got angry because he was patrolling on his day off because of nonsense. But when he heard the breaking news that the teleportation gate had been breached, he thought that what the commander had said might be true.

I heard that the northern fortress’s teleportation gate is surrounded by strong security magic, so only a very small number of people, such as those of the direct lineage of Carstein or the royal family, can use it.

The Duke was here, and there was no word that someone from the royal family was coming, so there was a very high probability that the person who came through the teleport gate was a young lady.

But there was one thing I couldn’t understand.

‘Why did they attack this place?’

I had heard rumors that the young lady was of a special breed, but I thought this might not be true. Attacking my own family? It was difficult for a normal person to understand.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that it was not the young lady but some other outsider who had broken in. Who would attack their own home without being crazy?

At that time, a barrel of alcohol caught his eye.

“Huh?”

It was an oak barrel the size of a person. The reason it caught my eye was because it made me feel uncomfortable. There’s an oak barrel lying around in the hallway. Something was strange.

Hans observed the oak barrel for a moment. And I was shocked.

Suddenly, a human foot sprouted from the oak barrel and started moving.

He had a hunch. That’s the special girl I’ve only heard about. If it was that strange, it seemed like an attack on one’s own family would be something like that.

“Here!! The lady is here!!”

Hans spotted the intruder and shouted.

***

‘Did you get caught…’

Illia, the silver-haired intruder who was sneaking in, realized that her disguise had been discovered. I thought it was a perfect camouflage, but he was a very sharp soldier.

I tried to get to Theo’s place like this, but life doesn’t always go that easy.

I changed my plan. She changed her mind to force a breakthrough from now on. I took off the oak barrel and threw it away.

He held a sword and made a solemn expression.

And Ilya moved forward, striking down the soldiers standing in his way with his sword.

Every time she swung her sword, five or six soldiers flew away with a scream.

Boom!

“Kwaaaa!!”

Ilya didn’t stop. We continued to move forward.

The idea was to cut down anything that came between Theo and himself. Even if it’s my mother.

After running and slashing for a while, she swung her sword at a new obstacle.

“!!”

However, unlike before, this obstacle did not fly away all at once. In fact, he even deflected her attack.

Ilya took a couple of steps back due to the rebound force pushing the sword away.

Ilya was eventually blocked.

Meanwhile, soldiers swarmed like bees and surrounded her.

The man who stopped Ilya said.

“Sorry. There was an order from the duke to stop the young lady.”

It was a face she knew. He was the leader of the Carlstein Knights.

He was not an easy man.

‘I need to leave some room to deal with my mother…’

Ilya became nervous.

But then, to make matters worse, another intruder appeared.

A red-haired woman walking from the other side of the hallway.

“······.”

It was Bianca.

***

Jump and run…

When Bianca appeared, the atmosphere in the hall changed.

The complexions of the soldiers surrounding Ilya brightened. This was because everyone had heard the famous name of the powerful wizard who had recently arrived at the Northern Fortress. Among these, there were many soldiers who went into battle with her. Their complexions were particularly bright.

On the other hand, Ilya’s complexion worsened. The knight commander was also annoyed, but an even bigger obstacle had appeared. Dealing with my mother wasn’t the problem. It seemed difficult to get out of here right now.

It was a moment of mixed joy and sorrow.

Before I knew it, Bianca had walked in front of Ilia.

The knight commander spoke to her.

“Thank you so much for coming to help. The soldiers and I will take charge of the front line, so from behind… kueeek!!!”

However, the knight commander could not finish his sentence. At Bianca’s gesture, it turned into a ball of fire and flew away.

“······.”

At that shocking scene, the atmosphere in the hall, which had been excited just a moment ago, quickly cooled down. Everyone could not believe their eyes. A wizard who blows away our commander as soon as he arrives.

In the scene of shock, Bianca said to Ilya, pointing behind her with her thumb.

“Go. I’ll take charge of this place.”

“Why…?”

Ilya didn’t understand. Wasn’t he a cat thief preying on Theo?

But Bianca didn’t say anything and just motioned for them to go. There was a vague expression on his face.

Although I still couldn’t understand it, it seemed clear that he was trying to help me. She decided to meekly accept her senior’s favor. I wasn’t the person to stab you in the back.

“Thank you, senior…”

“······.”

After expressing his gratitude, Ilya disappeared across the hallway.

Bianca stood and thought.

‘Would things have been different if I had approached the boy a little faster…?’

It was something unknown. Because time that has already passed cannot be returned…

After a while, the knight commander, now covered in charcoal soot, came back and protested fiercely to her.

“What are you doing, Lady Martinez!! You can’t help me, but you’re attacking me!! What are you doing too?! Hurry and chase after the lady!!”

At his shout, the soldiers gasped and ran into the hallway where Ilya had disappeared.

However, it was blocked by a wall of flames that suddenly rose up.

“Keuuu!!”

The soldiers were stranded in the scorching heat.

A chilling voice echoed through the hallway.

“Please, please do not cross that line… I’m not in a good mood right now, and it seems difficult to control my strength…”

Bianca’s long, slit bright yellow pupils were shining.

***

Suddenly, Ilya arrived at the hall where the Duke was. The duke welcomed her.

“Hoo, how did you get here already? There must have been a lot of troops below, right?”

“······.”

Ilya said nothing and looked at Theo next to his mother. It was as if their eyes were looking to see if there were any injuries. Soon Ilya breathed a sigh of relief. There seemed to be no injuries.

The Duke continued speaking.

“Oh, did that kid from the Martinez family help you? Hehe… Friends are good things… I never thought the day would come when my daughter would bring a friend. I’m proud of you, I’m proud of you. After all, she is our daughter.”

To be exact, Bianca did not bring her, but she came on her own, but the duke looked at his daughter as if he were proud of her. It wasn’t sarcasm, it seemed like he was genuinely happy.

However, the heartless daughter coldly only spoke about her own business.

“I came to get Theo back.”

The Duke chuckles at Ilia’s words and pretends to be worried.

And he said it in a somewhat teasing tone.

“Hmm~ Take a guess. Do you think I’ll give it back?”

There was no longer a mother who was happy with her daughter’s growth. The Iron Blood Duke, the greatest sword on the continent and the Devil of the North, was only present.

It was a situation that would have made any normal daughter feel discouraged.

However, the daughter was not normal either.

“Mother’s wishes are not important.”

Ilya chanted as she drew her sword.

“I will take you by force…”

The duke’s smile became even deeper.