Reunion
Letitia Barrow/Odrant Side
“Now… what shall I do?” I muttered, arms crossed in the cage, contemplating my escape.
The warehouse was almost a complete closed room. Since no light entered, I didn’t know where the entrance or exit was. Fortunately, most of the thugs were on guard duty outside, leaving only two people to watch us.
The cage door was secured with a very sturdy-looking padlock and chain. It wouldn’t break with a little force. One of the guards had a key dangling from his waist, which was likely the key to the cage.
…They were clearly focused on the outside rather than us. Perhaps they weren’t very vigilant about us anymore.
This might be a blessing in disguise. Yes… I think so… If I could just lure those two—
“L-Lady Letitia… what’s going to happen to us…?” Shanoa asked, her face filled with anxiety. She was completely terrified, her shoulders trembling slightly.
“I-I don’t want this anymore…! Why do I have to suffer like this?! I-I was just trying to do my best…!” Shanoa began to cry and sniffle.
Poor thing. She must have been working hard all this time, thinking first and foremost of her mother and the tearoom. She only entered the Royal Academy to meet her mother’s expectations. In reality, she probably would have been happy just inheriting the tearoom. Yet, this was the result of all that effort.
It’s completely unfair.
…I understand that feeling perfectly. I, too, was once a person who was broken by injustice.
I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and spoke quietly so the guards couldn’t hear.
“Don’t worry, I will definitely get us out of here. So please stop crying. You are a proud student of the Royal Academy, aren’t you?”
“B-But…”
“I have an idea. For now, we must wait for our chance. You absolutely mustn’t despair.”
…Honestly, I want to cry from anxiety myself. I want Alban to rescue me. The thought that Alban will come for me makes the powerless princess in my heart want to act out her role and wait for help.
But there’s no way he could know where we are. The thugs must have deliberately targeted a moment when Alban and I were separate. If I just wait here, it will be exactly what the enemy wants. I have to take action.
Besides, if Alban really did come—there would be a bloodbath.
…He would absolutely kill every single one of them, wouldn’t he? To Alban, a hundred town thugs are “less than insects.” He wouldn’t show any mercy.
To keep my husband from becoming a slaughterer, I must escape first.
…………Yes. I must return to him, no matter what.
“Hey, what are you whispering about?” The two guards came over to check on us. Incidentally, the two guards were the same thugs we’d first encountered at the tearoom.
“Two little brats pathetically comforting each other? So sad.”
“…In a situation like this, one has to talk to keep their mind off things, don’t you think?”
“You’re being annoying! Damn it, I’m already pissed off enough about getting my arm injured…!” One of the thugs was clearly still holding a massive grudge about the time Alban nearly crushed his arm.
…
…………
There was no one else nearby. If I didn’t make a loud noise, I wouldn’t attract the guards outside.
—It’s worth a try.
“Hmph… To complain so much about a little bit of pain. You’re quite narrow-minded, aren’t you?”
“W-What did you say!?”
“If you’re so frustrated, why don’t you try hitting us? The only reason you can’t is because you plan to sell us off to some foreign brothel eventually, right? So you can’t risk damaging us unnecessarily.” I deliberately curled the corner of my mouth to provoke him.
Shanoa looked at me in surprise, saying, “Lady Letitia…!?,” but I ignored her. Come on, take the bait—
“How does it feel to be unable to take revenge on two defenseless girls in a cage? Truly pathetic, aren’t you?”
—SNAP!
That sound came from the thug. As expected, he had a short fuse.
“…F-Fine, then…! If you want a beating that badly, I’ll give you what you wished for!” He grabbed the key from his waist and violently unlocked the padlock. Then, he undid the chain and opened the cage door.
“Hey, you idiot! What are you doing…!”
“Shut up! I’ll teach this little brat what happens when you look down on an adult—!” The thug stormed into the cage. He raised his arm high, ready to strike me.
“—”
But—I evaded his arm, grabbing it, and swept his leg out from under him, throwing off his balance.
“—Huh?”
I pushed my hand against his chin, and the body, much larger than mine, spun in the air—falling head-first onto the ground.
“Bwah!”
The thug hit his head and neck hard, instantly falling unconscious. Whew, that worked well. I was glad the “self-defense techniques” I secretly learned from Sebas came in handy like this.
“Oh dear, did that hurt? My apologies.”
“Wha—?! D-Damn you—!” The other thug tried to run to call for help.
Hmph. I won’t let you.
“—Wind Impact.” I activated my Wind-attribute magic. An invisible wave of wind impact slammed into the thug’s back.
“Gwah!”
It was a basic spell, not powerful enough to destroy the cage, but sufficient to knock a person out. Both thugs fell unconscious with hardly a sound.
Well, that takes care of that.
“The cage is open. Let’s move to the next step, Shanoa.”
“…………” Shanoa stood motionless, mouth agape, utterly bewildered.
What’s wrong?
“Shanoa?”
“Ah! S-Sorry! I was so surprised… I never expected Lady Letitia to be so strong…!”
“I’m not strong at all. Compared to Alban, I’m practically powerless.”
“N-No, that’s not true! Lady Letitia is plenty strong and wonderful…!”
“O-Oh, thank you…?” Shanoa was praising me to the fullest. W-Why do I feel a little embarrassed…?
—No, stop, stop. Focus, Letitia Odrant. The real test begins now.
“Alright, Shanoa, let’s gather anything flammable, anything at all.”
“Huh? A-Aren’t we going to escape right away?”
“No. The outside is full of guards anyway. We won’t be able to escape easily. So—we need a ‘lure.'”
▲ ▲ ▲
“Caw!”
“…Letitia-san and the others are over there,” Carla said.
—Guided by Carla, I arrived near the warehouse where Letitia was supposedly being held. I had been skeptical until I saw the warehouse, but a glance confirmed it. She was there.
Thuggish “insects” were conspicuously armed and milling around the warehouse. They were clearly guarding something. There were about a hundred of them. A veritable swarm of rabble.
“…Those guys kidnapped Letitia, didn’t they?” I asked.
“Caw!”
“…Yes, that’s what he says.”
“I see, I see… So those guys really want to die, huh.”
I tightened my grip on my sword hilt.
—I’ll kill them. Every single one.
How dare they, how dare they kidnap Letitia. I won’t let a single one leave alive. I won’t forgive them, even if they beg for their lives or cry and apologize. What’s about to happen is a massacre. I’ll make you pay for your crimes with your deaths.
“I’m getting… my Letitia back.” I murmured, taking a step forward.
But just then, the ceiling of the warehouse suddenly blew up, and an explosion of flames erupted.
“Wha—What the hell!?” I flinched at the sound of the explosion. It was so sudden.
—Black smoke began to billow from the hole in the roof caused by the explosion. The smoke rose thickly into the sky. It was clear evidence of something burning. Smoke this noticeable would be visible from anywhere in the Royal Capital. Firefighters, knights, and soldiers guarding the Royal Capital would surely come flying here immediately.
But why a fire all of a sudden—
“…Could it be Letitia?”
—It’s not impossible. It’s entirely possible that she set the fire and raised the black smoke as a signal to tell someone her location. She could do it, and she would do it. She is a “highly competent villainess,” after all.
…Still, a fire is a fire. If I leave it alone, her life could be in danger.
“I’m going in. Carla, wait here.”
I left Carla and ran toward the warehouse. The thugs who had been loitering around the warehouse were completely thrown into chaos by the sudden fire. All order was lost, and most of them didn’t even notice me.
“F-Fire, it’s a fire!”
“R-Run for it!”
“You idiot! Check on the boss first…! Hey, what are you—!?”
“Shut up.”
“Gyaah!”
The few who noticed me were instantly cut down as I dashed past. I didn’t care if they lived or died. If I spent time worrying about that, I’d waste time getting to Letitia.
I reached the warehouse and cut down a section of the wall. Since the entrance was probably locked, this was the fastest way.
—The inside of the warehouse was filled with black smoke; visibility was almost zero. The heat was immense; jumping in here was literally throwing myself into the fire.
But Letitia is inside—
“—Cough, cough…! L-Lady Letitia, we really should escape soon…!”
“Just a little longer…! Until the soldiers arrive, we still have time… cough!”
That’s when I heard voices. Was that… Letitia and Shanoa…?
“Letitia?! Letitia, are you in there!?”
“………..Al-ban? Is that Alban?”
“Yeah, it’s me! Where are you!?”
“Here! I’m here!”
I followed the sound of her voice through the smoke-filled, visibility-zero warehouse. I ignored the heat and the suffocating air, pushing deeper and deeper.
And then—
“—! Alban!”
“Letitia…!”
We finally spotted each other. The moment I confirmed her presence, I rushed forward and wrapped her in a fierce hug.
“Thank God… you’re safe…!”
“…Ah, this isn’t a dream…! You really came to rescue me…!” She hugged me back just as tightly.
I rubbed my cheek against her face, which was stained black with soot, feeling the reality that my wife was here.
“Thank God, I’m so glad…! I was afraid I might never see you again…!”
“I was scared too… But I knew I absolutely had to get back to you.”
“…And you did this crazy thing for that?”
“If it means seeing you, this is nothing.”
“Letitia…”
“Alban…”
We continued to embrace, feeling the beating of each other’s hearts.
—Naturally, our faces drew apart, and our eyes met. Our lips slowly drew closer—
“U-Um… I-I’m here, too, you know…?” Shanoa whispered, covering her face with both hands in embarrassment. She was clearly peeking through her fingers, though.
“O-Oh, right! My bad, my bad!”
“C-Cough. We should save this for when we get back…!” We snapped back to reality and broke the embrace.
I looked over Letitia’s body again. “Are you hurt anywhere? Did those guys do anything terrible to you?”
“No, I’m fine. But we need to get out of here quickly.”
“Understood. I made a hole in the wall over here; let’s go that way.”
I led the two of them to the breach in the wall. We successfully escaped outside.
“Y-Yaaaay… We finally got out…!” Shanoa cried.
“Hah, hah… Yes. But it’s still too early to relax—” Letitia started.
“…That’s right, ain’t it? It’s too early to relax,” a voice said.
“—!”
I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a group of thugs gathered there. There were about twenty of them. The ones who hadn’t run away even with the fire. In the center was the man who was obviously their boss, wearing black-lensed round glasses.
“You had the nerve to burn down my assets. You’ll pay dearly for this.”
“Oh? Was it not the fault of your own negligence for underestimating us, a woman and a girl?” Letitia countered.
“Shut your mouth, you little bitch. Either way, there’s no way I’m letting you get away.”
The armed thugs moved forward. They clearly intended to use sheer numbers to lynch us.
“Don’t kill the women! But feel free to slaughter the man—”
“…You.”
“Huh?”
“You gave the order to kidnap Letitia… It was you, wasn’t it!?” I roared, a bellow of rage that shook the very ground.
The boss and the thugs flinched violently.
“Hick…!?”
“It was you, wasn’t it? You’re the bastard who took my Letitia and put her through this terrifying ordeal…!” I moved my sword slowly, advancing toward the boss.
I won’t forgive him. I won’t forgive him, I won’t forgive him, I won’t forgive him. How dare he try to tear me and Letitia apart. I absolutely will not forgive him. I’m sending him to hell.
“—I’ll kill you.”
“W-What are you doing?! Quick, kill that man!” The boss yelled at the “insects” in a trembling voice, apparently terrified by my Aura.
Oh, am I that scary? Am I that terrifying?
Well, Letitia was more scared than this. I’ll multiply the fear she felt ten thousand times and give it back to—
“Alban… you mustn’t kill them.” Letitia’s voice stopped me just as I was about to swing my blade.
“Letitia…? What are you saying? They tried to—!”
“I know. That’s why—we must let them taste a living hell.” Her voice was chillingly cold.
My lips curled into a smile at her words.
—As expected of my wife. She’s not called a villainess for nothing.
“…Yeah, you’re right.”
“K-Kill him—!”
—The “insects” charged at me, swinging swords, clubs, and various weapons.
I dodged their attacks and slashed back at the same time. Some had their torsos cut, some their arms severed, and others their legs sliced.
One, two, three, four—I swung my sword fluidly, ensuring each person felt pain and intense agony. But I made sure not to kill them. Inflicting pain without killing the “insects” was easy; a mere triviality.
In just a few minutes, all twenty “insects” were lying on the ground. Not a single one was dead, yet not a single one was unharmed.
“W-What…? T-That’s impossible…!”
“Now it’s just you.”
“U-Ugh…! H-How much do you want?! I’ll give you any amount of money—!”
“…Shut up.” I walked up to the boss, sheathing my sword, and punched him hard in the face.
“Hogeh!”
“It’s not over yet. Not by a long shot.” I grabbed the boss, who had fallen to the ground, and forced him up, continuing to punch him.
Punch after punch after punch. A dull thud, thud, thud echoed with every impact to his face. His nose bone broke, his teeth cracked, and blood gushed out. His face was visibly warping and swelling. It was barely recognizable anymore.
“P-Please… f-forgive me, f-forgive m-me…” the boss finally managed to croak out in a choked voice.
Hearing that, I let go of the “insect.” I honestly felt like I hadn’t retaliated enough yet, but I figured Letitia would get angry if I went any further.
I dusted off my hands and strolled back to her.
“Good work, Alban.”
“Yeah. Let’s go home, Letitia.”
“Yes. Let’s go home… together.”
—In the following days, the “Letitia Barrow/Odrant Kidnapping Incident” became a major scandal throughout the Royal Capital. The entire gang of thugs was arrested and sent to prison. In addition, an investigation began into the activities of certain nobles who were suspected of collaborating with them.
▲ ▲ ▲
“……Indeed, a blunder, a genuine blunder. To think those two were capable of this much…”
A lone man stared into the distance at the burning warehouse. It was the Impaling Baron, Scuyer.
His clown mask remained fixed, but he sighed, casting his eyes downward.
“Good grief, what shall I report to The Master? Vexing as it is, I must needs concoct an excuse…”
With a look of sheer frustration, the Impaling Baron, Scuyer faded into the shadows without a soul witnessing his departure.
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