🔊 TTS Settings
The assailants, seeing Mildred unconscious and collapsed on the roadside, paid her no further attention.
‘Mildred!’
Marie couldn’t even scream—her mouth was gagged.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
One of the men pulled out a dagger.
“······!”
“Hey, miss. You’d better stay quiet if you want to die peacefully.”
He pressed the flat of the blade against Marie’s neck.
“If that giant comes out, things will get noisy.”
“Yeah. Good thing the tavern music’s loud. Let’s get her to a secluded spot first.”
“Right. We need to deal with her quietly.”
Marie was frozen with terror.
‘They’re going to kill me!’
A brute force yanked her forward.
Helpless, she could only be dragged away.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
There were some people on the street.
But this was the Lanid slums—where fists and blades are the law.
Three men dragging one woman didn’t attract anyone’s attention.
‘Dwayne! Dwayne! Please come out!’
Marie glanced desperately toward the tavern.
But the joyful music only seemed to mock her.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“I told you to shut up! Make one more sound and I’ll stab you right here!”
A sharp blade touched beneath her chin.
“······!”
Even the slightest move could draw blood.
—
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
A black stallion galloped elegantly, its glossy body shimmering beneath Calix.
“There’s a problem at the tavern?”
Calix had come down to the estate today.
Next to him, Josh rode beside him, and three knights followed behind.
“Yes, it seems there was some trouble with the northern steward.”
Josh sounded irritated.
“I keep telling them to handle it unless it’s murder, but they keep asking for your help.”
“It’s fine. It’s not difficult. I should do at least this much.”
“They probably think your presence helps maintain order.”
The Lanid slums bordered one of Calix’s nearby estates.
Conflicts between the local thugs and his people were frequent, and Calix sometimes responded to the steward’s request for help.
“Aaagh!”
Before they even reached the tavern, a scream erupted.
“What’s going on?”
About twenty people were gathered outside the tavern.
The timing suggested that everyone had come out from inside.
“Grab him! He’s going to destroy everything!”
“Speak! Where! Where is she!”
“We don’t know! We swear!”
“You bastards!”
“Let go! We don’t know anything!”
The entire slum was in chaos—someone was clearly rampaging.
“I’ll go see what’s happening.”
“Do that.”
Calix remained on his horse, watching Josh disappear into the crowd.
He avoided direct involvement with the slum folk.
Just the sight of him in his black half-mask and cape was usually enough.
Most people were terrified just by his presence.
“Dwayne?”
Josh’s eyes widened as he made it through the crowd.
A familiar giant had the tavern owner by the collar and was about to punch him again.
Several men lay unconscious nearby, bruises covering their faces.
“Graaaah! Our… lady!”
Dwayne roared like a beast.
Usually so gentle, he now looked ready to kill someone with his bare hands.
He had lost almost all reason.
“Dwayne! Stop! What are you doing?”
But Dwayne didn’t stop—he began pounding the owner’s face.
“Waaah! Spare me!”
The owner’s face was quickly covered in blood and bruises.
Even Josh felt fear watching it.
Thwack—
Josh quickly intervened between them.
“Dwayne! Snap out of it! You’ll kill him!”
“···L-Lieutenant?”
Dwayne froze mid-swing.
The tavern owner had already passed out after just a few punches.
“Dwayne? What’s going on? What happened?”
“O-Our… lady…!”
Dwayne began to tremble in fear and confusion.
He couldn’t even think straight.
Josh looked around in alarm.
“Lady Marie? Did something happen to her?!”
He spotted Mildred lying on the ground.
Beside her were crushed eyeglasses with shattered lenses.
“Gasp! Secretary!”
Josh rushed to help her up.
“Secretary! Wake up! Are you okay?”
“Ugh…”
“You alright?”
“A-Ah! The lady!”
Mildred, now conscious, screamed in panic.
Still cradling her, Josh shouted toward Calix.
“My lord! It’s a Whitehouse matter!”
From afar, Calix—who had been watching quietly—heard Josh and could hardly believe it.
“Whitehouse?”
He felt a terrible premonition and leapt from his horse.
Striding rapidly toward the crowd, almost running—
“D-Duke Bloodstone!”
“Th-The Cliff Castle…!”
People parted to make way.
“What happened?”
Reaching the center, Calix quickly grasped the situation.
Mildred was struggling in Josh’s arms.
The rampaging giant.
‘Marie!’
He frantically scanned the area.
Nothing.
The soft, green scent she always carried—gone.
“······!”
His heart began to race uncontrollably.
—
Hours Later
Marie sat slumped in the corner of a small, abandoned shed.
A red handprint stained her cheek.
“······.”
Outside, it was deathly silent—no signs of life.
By now, Mildred must have awakened. Dwayne was likely searching for her too.
‘It’s too late. We’re too far from the tavern. Dwayne won’t find me here.’
The gag in her mouth stank—like the stench of death.
She was on the verge of collapse from stress and fatigue.
‘Is this really how I die?’
The thugs, convinced she was no longer a concern, were now drinking.
“This is too easy. I feel bad taking the money. Hahaha.”
“Yeah. But what if someone shows up to rescue her? Shouldn’t we finish it and get out?”
“Nah. She’s from a fallen house. No one’s coming. And this place is so remote, no outsider would ever find it.”
“···So what now?”
“Look at her skin. Definitely noble. Must feel amazing. When would we ever get a girl like this again?”
“Yeah… would be a waste to just kill her.”
“Hehehe.”
The two men turned to look at Marie.
Their faces twisted with lecherous red hunger.
“······!”
Marie went pale.
But with her hands and feet bound, she couldn’t run.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
She writhed desperately to escape.
But the solid wall behind her blocked the way.
The men, drinks in hand, grinned as they approached.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“What’s wrong, miss? Feeling helpless?”
“Want us to remove that gag? It’s more fun when you squirm.”
One of them removed it.
Marie gasped for air.
“Haah! Stay away from me!”
“Tut-tut. Quiet down, miss. Don’t make a fuss. We’re tired.”
“Why are you doing this? Who hired you?”
“You’re about to die. What good is that knowledge?”
“Get away! If you’re going to kill me, just do it!”
Marie shook her head furiously.
The men only snickered among themselves.
“If you were just going to kill me, why drag me all the way here?!”
“Tsk, tsk. You really don’t get it. Murder and disappearance are two different things. The city guard handles them differently.”
“Disappearance?”
“Yeah. Better to make you vanish. No body, no case. Our client likes certainty.”
“Who is it? How much were you paid to kill someone?!”
“Wait a bit. We’ll kill you soon enough.”
One of them pinned her shoulders while the other cut the rope around her ankles.
“Kyaaaah!”
Marie’s face flushed red with panic.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“I don’t want this!”
Then—
BANG!
A thunderous crash—like a bomb exploding.
The door of the shed blew off its hinges.
“W-Who’s there?!”
The men turned in shock.
Marie, now in tears, lifted her head.
“······.”
Dust billowed around the shattered door.
The intruder’s figure was hard to make out.
“Y-You are…?”
Marie couldn’t believe her eyes.
Beneath the tousled black hair was a black mask.
And eyes that gleamed like beautiful rubies.
“······.”
A cloak fluttered over broad, strong shoulders.
He stepped through the dust in all black—like a grim reaper from the underworld.
But the red eyes behind the mask trembled with rage and confusion.
“······!”
It was Calix.
She didn’t know how he’d found her, but it was him.
“Calix!”
He scanned the gloomy interior.
He had definitely heard a woman’s scream from here.
“······?”
Then he saw it—light-brown hair catching the faint light.
A red handprint marked her cheek.
Tears streamed down her face.
“···
···!”
The eyes that once sparkled like a meadow had gone dull with fear.
“Marie…!”
Her hands were still bound.
A rope, half-untied, dangled from one ankle.
“You bastards…!”
His ruby eyes darkened with murderous energy.
A dangerous aura exploded from his entire body.
