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Chapter : 11
Surviving in the Marquis’s Household ( 3)
[Multiple updates: ½]
“Young Lady, please be honest with me. Why do you suddenly need a sword?”
“Ah. Well…”
I froze, unsure how to respond to Hanson’s blunt question.
Should I tell him the truth? Or should I lie again?
No. I didn’t want to lie anymore. Besides, I doubted I could get away with lying to Hanson, of all people.
So… Hmm. I decided I would tell him half the truth.
“Young Master Dwen has been coming to see me rather frequently lately.”
The moment I mentioned Dwen, Hanson’s expression grew serious.
“Sigh. So it finally came to this. You need a sword for self-defense, don’t you? Given his personality, I suppose I should have expected as much.”
As expected, Dwen had absolutely no credibility with anyone in House Rues.
He really should have learned to behave himself.
Even if someone had power, using it recklessly wouldn’t make that power genuine authority.
Hanson had probably already pictured Dwen as a womanizer.
He gestured for me to follow him.
I obediently trailed behind him into the storage room where the weapons were kept.
Inside, spears, swords, bows, and other weapons were neatly arranged, all meticulously maintained and sharpened.
Every single one looked to be in excellent condition.
After rummaging through a corner for quite some time, he finally pulled out a slender rapier about the length of my arm.
“Try holding this.”
“Wow. It’s light.”
It was certainly much lighter than the sword Hanson had let me hold the other day. It also looked convenient enough for me to carry around.
“This is a women’s rapier I kept just in case. It can be used to slash, but it’s primarily designed for thrusting. I’ll show you how to use it in a way that suits you.”
Hanson lightly gripped the rapier, bent his knees, lowered his upper body, and extended his arm straight out at a forty-five-degree angle, demonstrating the proper stance.
“And… Hmm. Aim precisely here and thrust.”
He awkwardly pointed to a certain important part of the male anatomy.
“Excuse me?!”
“Right there. It’s a vital spot.”
I mean, I knew it was a vital spot… But against your master’s younger brother? Are you sure that’s okay?
“Well, personally, I wouldn’t particularly care if Young Master Dwen died. But with your strength, even if you stab him, you’ll probably only hurt him a little. So don’t worry. Aim carefully and thrust. Then run away immediately.”
So he wouldn’t mind if Dwen ended up impotent…
I imagined Dwen shouting, I’ve become a eunuch! and nearly burst out laughing.
Hanson placed the rapier in a leather scabbard and handed it to me.
“Thank you, Hanson. I owe you so much. By the way, is there a reason you haven’t told Young Master Dwen much about me? He didn’t seem to know the details of my circumstances.”
“Given his personality, whenever he sees someone of lower status or someone he thinks he can easily push around… he tends to do whatever he wants. And I really dislike that.”
As expected of a knight of the Silver Candelabra Knights, who were respected by the people of the Empire. How admirable.
“Thank you. Truly.”
“It’s nothing.”
I stopped Hanson once more.
“Hanson, I’ll make sure to repay you for the sword later.”
“There’s no need. I’ve already had more than enough of your lemon water.”
Hanson shrugged, and I thanked him once again before returning to my room.
Now I was ready.
I just hoped things would go well in three days. I prayed, over and over, that foolish Dwen wouldn’t suddenly become clever.
The day before the monster extermination campaign, Ainhar came to visit me. I asked him if I could accompany him.
He refused, saying it was dangerous. But, just as I’d planned, Dwen came to my defense.
“The extermination zone is dangerous, but the military encampment is safe, isn’t it? If she stays at the camp and doesn’t go anywhere near the hunting grounds, there’s no reason she can’t come with us. Besides, the young lady must be bored staying alone at the estate.”
I’d been worried that Ainhar might continue to refuse, but after thinking for a moment, he finally agreed.
“Only if you stay at the encampment.”
Hanson, on the other hand, looked thoroughly displeased, complaining that the more extra mouths they had to accommodate, the more troublesome things would become for the knights.
Meanwhile, Ena dressed me in an outfit based on the concept of a young countess going on her first hunt, so I could move around comfortably.
First, she had me put on a short, dark-brown dress that reached my knees, followed by comfortable black shoes. She also made sure to fasten soft leather guards made of a similar material around my arms and legs.
Although I wasn’t actually going to participate in the extermination campaign, she insisted that the outfit was necessary to get me into the spirit of the occasion.
She secured my hair with a thin headband decorated with short blue feathers.
My hair was almost a short cut, but it had grown just long enough to reach that awkward in-between stage. Recently, I’d started wearing headbands to keep it in place.
Finally, she draped a short blue cape over my shoulders, the same shade of blue that symbolized the Silver Candelabra Knights.
With that, I somehow felt like a female knight myself.
Clothes really do make the person.
“Thank you, Ena.”
I gave Ena one last tight hug.
“You’re welcome, my lady.”
The thought that I might never see Ena again filled me with fear.
Would I ever meet someone else who was so kind to me?
No. As long as I was alive, there would always be a chance. I had to think that way.
“If… if I survive, and I get the chance, please let me hire you someday, Ena.”
“My lady, you’re acting strangely. You sound just like a noble lord who’s about to go off to war.”
Ena seemed to think I was joking, so she responded playfully.
Big sister, wait for me. I’ll find a way to save up enough money. I promise I’ll hire you someday.
I picked up the rapier and the bundle of belongings I’d prepared, then headed toward the military encampment, still trying to work out my rather clumsy escape plan.
The encampment was quite a magnificent sight.
On one side of the enormous open field, surrounded by farmland, blue flags fluttered everywhere. On the opposite side, black flags waved in equally impressive numbers.
The blue flags bore the emblem of House Rues: a candlestick and a sword facing one another.
The black flags displayed a roaring red dragon, the symbol of House Duranche.
The arrangement created a strangely tense atmosphere.
Hanson explained that, by imperial order, the two houses had been instructed to conduct the extermination campaign together as an allied force.
Because of that, the Silver Candelabra Knights were particularly determined not to fall behind House Duranche.
The carriage carrying me passed through the area marked by the black flags and headed toward the section marked by the blue ones.
Now I just have to sneak over to the other side. Will I be able to pull it off?
My heart was already pounding.
When Ena and I had finished unpacking our belongings in the tent assigned to us, Hanson came to see us.
“The departure ceremony will begin shortly. Would you like to watch? It’s probably the only entertainment you’ll find here. If you go, you’ll also get to see Her Imperial Highness.”
Ena and I nodded and followed him.
In the open field, an elaborate golden platform had been set up.
The knights of House Rues and House Duranche, who were about to depart for the campaign, stood in neat rows before it, each holding a sword.
Hanson showed us to a seat in the corner before returning to his place among the knights.
Ainhar was standing in front of the platform.
And beside him stood a man dressed in black.
Kylen Duranche.
Even standing still, his presence was overwhelming. I swallowed nervously.
But before I could get a proper look at him, a trumpet sounded.
It announced the arrival of the imperial princess.
As golden flags embroidered with the imperial crest fluttered in the wind and the princess entered the open field, everyone present rose to their feet and bowed in respect.
Wow. So that’s Princess Eliza Amantaria.
She was petite, but elegant and beautiful. Even from a distance, she seemed to radiate the authority of a ruler.
Her golden eyes shone as she looked upon her subordinates. She truly seemed like someone of extraordinary nobility.
Big sister, why did you have to die so early in the original novel? What a shame.
“Guardian of the Empire, Duranche. Immortal Sword, Rues.”
She addressed the two men standing before her in turn, then stepped forward, holding a magnificent golden scepter.
“As the rising sun of the Empire and the master of its new balance, I hereby command you. Restore the dignity of the Empire founded by humanity to this devastated land, and return victorious.”
“We obey your command.”
The two men bent their knees and paid their respects to her.
When they rose, a tremendous roar of cheers erupted from the knights.
It was the sound announcing the beginning of the monster extermination campaign.
I was still marveling at the spectacle when Dwen approached me and whispered in his snake-like voice.
“Lady Adelia… Are you ready?”
Of course I was ready.
Ready to run away.
I smiled sweetly at the face I never intended to see again.
“Young Master Dwen, how would you like me to assist you from now on?”
Go on, tell me. What would you like me to do for you, Dwen Rues?
Whatever you said, I’d find a loophole and escape.
I was confident.
But this young master was even more foolish than I’d imagined.
Just as he had in the original novel, he declared that he was going into the monster’s lair.
And he intended to take me with him!
Why me?!
Why should I follow you to the place where you’re going to die? If you want to die, do it alone!
“I’m going to distinguish myself in this extermination campaign. I’ll show those bastards who looked down on me what I’m capable of.”
“…If that’s your intention, wouldn’t it be better to accompany the Marquis?”
I tried to persuade Dwen calmly.
But it was useless.
“With my brother? Absolutely not! I went through so much trouble finding out where the greatest concentration of monsters is. That place is mine.”
“If there’s such a place, wouldn’t it be dangerous?”
“Not at all. I’ve prepared plenty of things in advance.”
He pulled out the dagger Alkan had made.
The blade gleamed brilliantly.
Did he mean that he’d prepared it by killing people and using their blood as sacrifices for the dagger?
He was not only stupid but insane!
A shiver ran down my spine.
Suddenly, I remembered a saying about how frightening it was when someone who didn’t know much about something became determined to pursue it.
“Then let’s go.”
“Yeees…”
With the expression of someone being dragged to a slaughterhouse, I followed him toward the extermination grounds.
Ena looked utterly bewildered when she saw that I wasn’t returning to the tent with her but was instead following Dwen.
But there was no one nearby who could help Ena or stop what was happening.
Hanson and Ainhar, the only people who could have stopped him, had already departed quite some time ago to hunt monsters.
First, Dwen followed the Silver Candelabra Knights, who had set out ahead of us.
The knights in the rear unit were busy disposing of monster corpses.
The monsters looked like enormous climbing roses. I heard people warning one another to be careful because they sprayed paralyzing poison from mouths that resembled flowers.
What grotesque creatures.
Most of the monsters in The Saintess of the Demon Kingdom had looked something like this.
They were far more disgusting in person than they had been in the novel.
After following the same route as the Silver Candelabra Knights for quite some time, Dwen quietly slipped onto a side path.
Ugh. Do I really have to follow him?
Reluctantly, I followed him.
At the end of the dead-end path was a cave.
I didn’t need anyone to explain it to me.
This is it. This is where Dwen dies.
The cave seemed to be opening its enormous jaws toward us.
Dwen beckoned me to follow him inside.
What should I do?
Should I just confess that everything I’d told him was a lie and beg for forgiveness?
There was no one here except Dwen and me. Couldn’t I just run away?
I desperately searched for the right moment, turning over every possibility in my head.
“Lady, are you frightened? Don’t worry. Come this way.”
Dwen said this with an air of bravado as he stepped into the cave.
And that was when it happened.
SHHHHRAAAAAK!
With a tremendous sound of rushing wind, thorn-covered vines as thick as a human body burst out of the cave and lunged at Dwen.
“Urgh!”
As expected of someone who had received swordsmanship training, Dwen managed to dodge the first attack.
But he was soon caught by the monster’s vines.
The dagger Alkan had made was useless against vines of such enormous size. Dwen didn’t even have time to properly raise it.
The monster wrapped its vines tightly around him, restraining him before dragging him straight into the cave, swallowing him into the depths where its main body was hidden.
The entire thing happened so quickly that I couldn’t even scream.
I’m doomed. I’m doomed! I should have run away when I had the chance!
I couldn’t see the monster’s main body, but judging by the sheer size of its vines, it was far larger and more terrifying than any of the monsters we’d encountered on the way here.
To put it simply, it looked like a final boss.
Apparently, the monster wasn’t satisfied yet, because it sent another wave of thorny vines flying toward me.
I pulled out my rapier and swung at the vines approaching me.
The blade must have been meticulously sharpened, because it sliced through the monster’s smaller branches quite smoothly.
So this is why Hanson told me to stab Dwen in the… Well, I see.
But I didn’t have time to admire the sword.
I wasn’t a trained knight or anything of the sort.
I couldn’t possibly die here alongside Dwen like some worthless sacrifice.
I was going to become a real estate tycoon in this world, hire Ena, and live a long, comfortable, happy life!
I quickly turned away from the cave and began running at full speed in the opposite direction.
