Chapter 38

Father had already returned to his true form, his face devoid of any expression.

"What? Father?"

"Hehe. You mean that really, really scary father you just mentioned?"

Crec mocked.

They hadn't recognized Father, whose face was still unknown in the city.

"What, what? Came to save your daughter? What confidence? Do you think we'll just say, 'Here she is,' and hand her over? You should have taken better care of your pretty daughter, shouldn't you?"

The fat man, chuckling, was secretly pulling a dagger from the back pocket of his pants.

"Aaah, Father! Be careful!"

Suddenly, his arm, sluggish in contrast to his body, swung nimbly.

Thud.

But Father, without a trace of worry, caught his wrist with one hand.

"What, what... Ugh!"

Then he pulled him and dragged him out of the door.

"Aaaah!"

Father grabbed the back of the fat man's neck, which was bent, and pushed him to the side, causing him to fall.

Thud, something broke.

'Ugh.'

Fortunately, I couldn't see the gruesome scene that unfolded outside the door.

"..."

As Father stepped into the room, Crec put me down and grabbed his knife.

"You can fight a bit, huh?"

"..."

"Too bad. That slow guy might not know, but I'm a lifelong expert with knives."

Crec, with a carefree expression, held the knife in both hands and lunged at Father.

Thud, thud!

"Ah..."

But before the knife could reach Father, Crec screamed.

"Aaaah!"

Struck precisely on both wrists, his bones broke, and he collapsed.

"Ha, ugh, a... What, what is this?"

Father grabbed Crec's neck, pressed him to the ground, and climbed on top of him.

"Chk!"

At that moment,

Father's eyes made my tears stop.

'Father is scary.'

Killer intent...

Even when Father faced the Holy Knights in Zeon, he didn't have that look in his eyes.

Perhaps the knights subconsciously thought they wouldn't really harm me.

But this time was different.

If Father had been a little late, I don't know what would have happened to me.

"..."

Crec's face, as if about to be punched, saw Father's arm rise high into the air.

I covered my eyes with both hands.

But no terrifying sound came.

When I cautiously lowered my hands, Father was still in that position, taking deep breaths.

Trying to suppress his anger, Father soon pressed Crec's forehead with his palm.

Crack,

Crec's body trembled and he fainted.

"A, Father..."

Father stood up and slowly approached me.

His steps were a bit unsteady. His hand, trying to open the iron bars, was trembling.

Clank,

The lock was on.

"Huh."

Father closed his eyes tightly.

His attempt to control his anger looked more frightening than his anger itself.

"Father..."

"I'm sorry, Princess."

Crack! With a slight force, the lock shattered.

After a moment, creak, the iron bars opened, and Father extended his arm inside.

"Come here."

* * *

"Father, I'm sorry... I suggested we go out to see the festival..."

The moment she was held in his arms, the daughter, who had been crying her heart out, fell asleep as if in a faint.

It felt like my heart was breaking.

Why would this child say she's sorry?

The one who should be sorry is me, for making her live in such a terrible place.

"No, Princess. I'm sorry. I..."

Although it was already too late to make a difference, Enok hid his true form again and went outside.

Outside, there was an unexpected face.

Axion.

And Cheshire beside him.

'You, being so reckless. Did you go to find Axion?'

When the announcer revealed the criminals' hideout, Cheshire had run off without looking back.

Although worried about Cheshire, Enok had to go to Lilith due to the urgency of the situation.

"How many are inside?"

"Two."

When Axion asked, Enok briefly answered and looked down at Cheshire.

"You were worried. It's dangerous to wander around alone. And I'm sorry. I had to save Lilith in a hurry..."

Cheshire's expression became strange.

Does he mean he's sorry for not taking care of himself, who had run off alone?

Indeed, he is a very strange person.

"No, I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything."

"...? What do you mean? Ha, why do my kids make me feel so inadequate?"

"That's enough."

Axion scolded Enok, who was sighing.

"Axion. By the way, these were part of an organization. The rest..."

"Don't worry. Some guy has already caught them all. Over there."

Axion nodded his head.

Enok was surprised when he looked.

Billy was dusting off his hands in front of the unconscious remnants of the organization, who had been beaten up badly.

"Brother, didn't you hear?"

As he approached, Billy greeted him warmly.

"Oh, young sir. Are you hurt anywhere? I came back because it was noisy. Hey, they're the kind who deserve to be beaten for ten days and nights, so I showed off my skills after a long time."

"Wow, as expected, you're not an ordinary muscle man."

"Hehe!! Is the princess okay?"

Billy worried about Lilith, who was in his arms.

"Yes. She's just tired and fell asleep."

"Oh."

Billy clicked his tongue and scratched his head.

"The world is truly in decline... When will our children be able to walk around safely?"

"...Indeed."

"Ah, right! This!"

What Billy held out was...

Princess Lara's shoe.

"Why do you have this?"

"Hehe, it wasn't a fair competition. I'll buy one for Emilie with the money I earn."

"Haha..."

"You worked hard today, young sir. Be sure to visit my pub! We'll have a beer together!"

Enok nodded with a smile.

* * *

That early morning.

The commotion in the city was immediately reported to the emperor.

"What?"

As the advisor finished speaking, the emperor gritted his teeth.

"Those scoundrels dared to... touch what they shouldn't."

Enok's daughter was a leash he had painstakingly created over seven years.

What if something had gone wrong?

"So."

"Axion Libre was already investigating it personally. He has caught all the related individuals and will likely punish them according to his authority."

"Ah, no, don't."

The emperor waved his hand.

"Let the royal family handle it."

"Your Majesty?"

"By my command. Execute the scoundrels. Make sure no one dares to do the same. And..."

The emperor stroked his chin and added.

"Axion can't touch the nobles. Find and punish all the nobles involved as well."

The advisor's eyes widened.

"But the nobles are not guilty, are they?"

Commoners are like stray dogs on the streets, aren't they?

In this incident, the nobles had merely bought a few pretty young stray dogs with money.

"Why would you want to cause the nobles to be dissatisfied in the name of Your Majesty?"

The advisor was confused.

To the emperor, non-magicians and commoners were not citizens of the empire.

It was strange to order the execution of commoners in the emperor's name, but...

To also order the arrest of the nobles was even more incomprehensible.

"Our upright and just Sir Enok likes this. He must be very angry..."

"..."

"As the master, I should show this much consideration."

The emperor smiled like a snake.

* * *

Blink, blink.

When I opened my eyes to the sunlight coming through the window, it was morning.

'Wow.'

Why is it morning? Thinking about it, I had no memory after being held in Father's arms.

Perhaps I fell asleep immediately due to the relief.

"Aaaah, Miss!"

"You're awake? You're conscious? What should we do, our Miss? Are you hurt anywhere?"

As soon as I sat up, Joon and Jetti rushed over.

"Father... Where are Father and Cheshire? Is Cheshire okay? Did he get hurt?"

"The Duke was here until just now, but he left after we arrived. He probably went to deal with yesterday's incident."

"Cheshire is fine too. He didn't sleep at all and stayed by your side... I had to push him to get some rest, and he finally left."

"Oh, I see."

I felt relieved.

But then,

I was surprised by their reactions, which seemed to know everything about yesterday's incident.

"Hey, sisters. Do you know everything that happened to me yesterday? Even Grandfather?"

If Grandfather found out, it would be a big problem.

If he learned that I secretly went to the festival and caused trouble, Father might get a severe scolding from Grandfather.

Or maybe he already has...

"Um, well..."

"Ah, that is..."

For some reason, Jetti and Joon exchanged glances.

Then Jetti spoke quietly.

"Don't worry. Grandfather doesn't know anything yet. No one in the house knows that you went out secretly yesterday."

"Yes. We only knew that something happened to you because... the boss? Yes, the boss told us."

"The boss? Ah!"

They must mean Rico. I scratched my cheek and pretended not to know.

I know their true identities, but we don't openly talk about it.

It's like an unspoken agreement.

"Should I wash up, Miss?"

"Sure, sure."

As Jetti washed my face with warm water, I asked,

"But how did Rico, I mean, the boss, know?"

"The boss was very worried when you went out to play yesterday. There have been many child abductions in the city recently."

"Ah, I see. But I only told my plans to go out secretly to you sisters?"

Jetti seemed taken aback and then laughed.

"Ahem. Sorry. Understand, please. Reporting every move of the Duke's family is our duty."

"Ugh, yes, I understand."

"Anyway, the boss sent about ten disguised guards to follow you. Although the Duke went with you, just in case."

"Really?"

But why go to such lengths? Seeing my surprise, Joon chuckled.

"The Duke is capable, but if something unexpected happened, you would still be safe."

"That's too much. I'm sorry... And if you attach such people, my father will notice."

"Ah, not at all. We, the <Red Hawks>..."

"Hey, Joon!"

Jetti gave Joon a look, and Joon laughed and corrected himself.

"...I mean, our colleagues? Yes, our colleagues are all well-trained veterans."

"But my father is a Swordmaster. He can sense if someone is tailing him, right?"

Joon smiled.

"Tailers are amateurs. Even the Duke wouldn't know, right? I heard one of our colleagues even shook hands and introduced himself to the Duke yesterday."

"...What?"

What are you talking about? I blinked, then gasped.

Could it be?

"B, B, Billy?"

Jetti and Joon laughed.