TVSP 28🍂

Chapter 28

Even when the ambush erupted out of nowhere, Leandros did not falter.

Though unarmed, he cut through the assailants without hesitation, as if every incoming strike had already been predicted. He sidestepped blades with light movements, seized attackers by their collars, and threw them down in swift counters.

One after another, men crumpled beneath his fists until the rest began to retreat, wary of him.

“Stay where you are. Do not move. Remain safe.”

There were more than a dozen men with swords drawn against him, but worry was unnecessary.
This was Leandros.
The man chosen by God to save the world would not die to such petty thugs.

I knew I should move to free the captives below deck—act efficiently while Leandros held the fight—but my body refused to listen.

Even as I watched him rip up loose planks to wield like a shield, charging into the slavers, I stood frozen.

“Wh-what is going on here?”

Mila, still lost in confusion, asked anxiously.

“We’re having a deeper conversation with His Eminence, the Cardinal of Zenom,” I replied dryly.

Her eyes widened. “Wait… d-don’t tell me you knew the cardinal was tied to the slave trade? How—how could you possibly…?”

‘How? I saw it all in my previous life.’

Back then, it had been Leandros who exposed everything—the loans, the human trafficking ring that Zenom profited from, the use of his nephew’s ship to hide victims before moving them to market, and finally, his true identity.

I remembered clearly. I’d read the glowing articles praising Leandros’s heroism, seething with rage, and later, after my rebirth, I even used that knowledge to denounce Zenom.

So of course I knew. But I had no intention of explaining that.

“Why should I tell you?”

Mila’s finger trembled as she pointed at me. Her audacity made me frown, but she didn’t lower her hand.

“You—you knew all along!”

“And you’re only realizing it now?”

“You let me scream at you, accuse you, get furious—while knowing the truth?!”

“Surely you didn’t think your words had enough weight to sway me?”

Her face flushed crimson. For once, the chatterbox was left speechless.

Then Wendy, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, finally burst out.

“Wait—does that mean you already knew who the culprit was, my lady? You made me search every corner! You scolded me, said I was useless when I couldn’t find the hideout—when you already knew all along?!”

“I only learned recently.”

“Liar!”

“Believe what you want.”

Wendy clenched her fists, shaking with anger. I ignored her.

Mila, regaining her breath, tried again. “If you’d told me and Sir Leandros from the start, things would’ve been resolved far more easily.”

“How? By calling the temple for aid?”

“Of course—”

“And in the meantime, Zenom flees after hearing whispers? What if the temple covers it up, or gives him a slap on the wrist? What if they bury it entirely?”

She fell silent.

“Listen carefully. The only way to deal with scum like this is to strike when they least expect it—without warning, without mercy. You destroy them entirely.”

Mila’s lips trembled. “…Like now?”

“Exactly. Look at Zenom. He’s furious, but powerless—hiding behind his men, shaking.”

Her head bobbed unconsciously, entranced by the sight of Leandros fighting.

“I told you before. I’ll change the slums. But first, we must erase vermin like him.”

I softened my tone, almost gentle. “That’s why I came to the harbor. I knew he’d appear.”

“Why?”

“Because I stirred the slums. He’d want to cut ties quickly. Why else hide his den here? So if trouble came, he could escape by sea.”

In the distance, I saw reinforcements approaching—the duke’s knights, no doubt, answering the letter I’d hastily sent.

“Zenom isn’t some low priest. Without catching him here and now, there’d be no chance of dragging him down.”

I was about to descend below deck to free the captives when a roar split the air.

“Stop right there!”

Zenom had emerged onto the deck, clutching someone in his arms. My blood ran cold.

He was holding Lise hostage.

“Don’t move! Take another step and this girl dies!”

So she hadn’t yet been loaded aboard. Lise’s terrified eyes darted to us, muffled cries escaping behind gagged lips.

“Quiet!” Zenom snarled, shaking her violently.

Then he shouted toward us:

“I don’t know how you discovered this place, but walk away now and I’ll let her live. Your little friend too.”

Mila panicked, stomping in place. “W-what do we do…?”

Leandros’s voice was iron. > “There is no negotiation with criminals. Release the hostage immediately.”

The standoff tightened like a drawn bowstring.

I stepped forward. Zenom flinched, tightening his grip. Leandros’s worried eyes met mine—I smiled to reassure him.

“That girl doesn’t make much of a hostage. Why not trade her for someone far more valuable?”

Lise’s eyes flew wide. She shook her head desperately.

“I am the only daughter of House Apferdita, a ducal lady, and a candidate for sainthood. I haven’t trained in self-defense, I’m weaker than most noblewomen. Tell me—what better hostage could you ask for?”

“Stop this, Grace!” Leandros cried, almost pleading.

But I ignored him.

‘It’s fine. I cannot die—not yet.’

If Lise were harmed, Leandros would blame himself. I wouldn’t let him bear that. And besides, I had another reason for confidence.

“Very well.” Zenom grinned, shoving Lise aside and dragging me into her place. His arm locked around my throat, a blade pressing cold against my skin.

“Now then! If you want her back alive, step away. Fetch me a ship—sturdy, fast, seaworthy!”

“Leandros.”

“…Yes?” His voice trembled.

“Do you trust me?”

“…I do.”

“Silence!” Zenom tightened his grip, choking me.

Around us, Leandros’s opponents lay sprawled on the deck, their weapons discarded. Yet he still did not pick up a blade.

Because within the capital’s domain, no knight may draw a true sword without the temple’s permission. The punishment was exile.

But there was one exception.

“Draw your sword.”

Zenom laughed derisively. “Ha! The pampered lady really knows nothing. That man can’t draw steel without sanction. He’s a knight in name only!”

Still, I smiled. > “It’s all right. Draw it.”

“Enough nonsense—”

Before he could finish, I stamped down hard on his foot with my heel. Zenom howled, bending over, and I shoved him away, nails raking his throat as I slipped free.

In the next instant, a blur of steel swept past me.

Leandros stood with a drawn blade, its tip leveled at Zenom’s throat.

“You fool,” Zenom sneered. “You’ve doomed yourself! For a single woman, you’ll lose everything—your honor, your station, your faith!”

But I only dusted off my dress and lifted my hand to show what I had snatched in the struggle.

“Leandros cannot unsheathe his sword in the capital… except under one condition.”

Zenom’s eyes widened, horror creeping in.

“When facing a heretic.”

I let the object fall from my fingers—a necklace with a crimson cross pendant, swaying in the sea breeze.

Mila, supporting Lise, gasped.

“That’s… the symbol of a heretic—one who serves the evil god!”