Chapter 22: Marriage Must Be Cautious (2)

The female mercenary, who had us surrounded, continued her words.

"Lord Martin de Iero, the illegitimate son, has become the new head of the Iero Marquisate."

"Lie! My brother Martin wouldn't do that."

"It's not a lie. He is your half-brother, miss."

She threw her handkerchief behind her and took out a note.

"I just received news. Unfortunately, the mansion caught fire, and the entire marquis family perished. Only Sir Martin, who was staying outside the mansion, survived and has taken the position of the new lord!"

Adria kept shaking her head. To her, it was an utterly unbelievable story.

"No. No. No."

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe it. I'm just telling you because it's a pity for a lady who died without knowing anything."

Though she spoke with a tone of pity, her eyes were full of joy.

Is this what they call a psychopath?

I found it hard to believe, but if what she said was true, all the remaining questions were answered.

If there was even one survivor from the marquis family, it would be impossible for an illegitimate child to inherit the family.

If Adria, the eldest daughter, was alive, the marquisate would certainly be passed to her.

How the mansion caught fire and no one escaped, and how the illegitimate child could be named the successor immediately after the incident—

There were still some questions, but I felt I had learned almost everything I wanted to know.

"Alright, then."

The female mercenary turned her gaze to me.

"Who is this kid? Is he the young master's servant? Oh, he must have fallen behind while serving the incompetent young master."

Huh? She doesn't know me?

Of course, it was natural that she didn't. Even the local people didn't know my face, so there was no way she would.

Then... maybe it could work?

I slightly shook my hand that was holding the sword, as if trembling.

Next.

I bowed my head to her.

"I, I don't know anything. P, please let me live."

It had been a while since I last acted, and it wasn't easy. Still, I begged the female mercenary with a voice full of sorrow.

"Please, please, I beg you."

Adria looked at me with wide, shocked eyes, but I was more focused on my acting.

"Tsk, how pitiful."

The surrounding mercenaries looked doubtful, and the female mercenary clicked her tongue.

Could it be that my acting, which I hadn't done in a while, was working?

"I'm really sorry for you, but it's impossible to let you live. Blame your master for getting you involved in this."

Ah, I was wrong to hope.

It was just like with Adria.

This psychopath seemed to take pleasure in making others fall into despair with comforting words.

"Useless, you just wasted your strength."

I sighed and straightened my body, and the female mercenary's eyes widened.

"Ugh, fool."

I could also hear Adria's mocking voice from the side.

It seemed she had regained her composure thanks to my foolish act.

"You can check if what the woman said is true or not. Let's think about getting back first."

"Yeah, you're right."

Adria gripped her sword firmly in response to my words.

"Heh, heh, heh. What an interesting kid."

A chilling laugh echoed. It was the female mercenary's laugh.

"I was looking forward to hearing the sounds the lady would make when she died, but now I have a kid I want to hear more from. How should I kill you to make you scream beautifully?"

Did I attract too much attention? She was licking her lips while looking at me.

The mercenaries, seemingly disgusted, took a step back.

Is there a chance?

I quickly scanned my surroundings and asked Adria.

"Could it be that you showed interest in me because of that illegitimate child?"

"Ah! That was part of it, but... isn't now the time to ask such a question?"

Adria responded well to my question.

While talking, I kept signaling with my eyes. She also nodded in response.

Three.

Two.

One.

"Now!"

At my words, Adria leaped backward.

Whoosh!

Lightning-fast speed.

My acceleration ability was in full effect.

"Stop!"

I ran toward the female mercenary, who was shouting in surprise.

It was clear that she was the leader and the strongest among them.

For Adria to escape, I had to hold this woman back.

I adjusted my breathing while running. I inhaled in sync with my running speed.

I stopped.

And I drew out the hidden power deep within me.

This wasn't the time to hold back any last tricks.

I released the rising power, mana, throughout my body—my arms, legs, muscles, and nerves.

My narrow field of vision widened, and the suffocating breath became free.

Time slowed down, and I could see every detail of the enemy.

This is mana. The power that allowed the young me to stand against a knight.

The enemy quickly approached. I swung my sword powerfully.

I could see her surprised eyes moving.

Her arm moved, and I could feel her sword swinging.

Even the faint light surrounding her sword.

Damn, she's stronger than I thought.

Clang!

The swords clashed.

Fortunately, I didn't lose much in terms of strength. The blade didn't break either.

However, the difference in weight was unavoidable.

"Ugh."

I was pushed back a few steps, then raised my sword and charged at the enemy again.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

I dodged the incoming sword, deflected the ones I couldn't dodge, and swung my sword while staying close.

"What are you? Are you a dwarf, not a kid?"

I had never heard of this before. Could there be another race?

I felt like I was being misunderstood, but if it bought me time, I didn't care about any misunderstandings.

I felt like I was walking a tightrope as I exchanged a few sword strikes with the female mercenary, then quickly stepped back.

This should be enough, right?

It wasn't a long time, but it was enough for Adria to escape.

The direction she ran in had no mercenaries capable of stopping her with her acceleration ability.

Adria would certainly have escaped the mercenaries.

Now, it was my turn. I had to find a gap and escape quickly...

I quickly turned my head and stopped.

I saw two fallen mercenaries in the direction Adria had run. As I had expected, Adria had successfully escaped the包围圈.

However, the other mercenaries did not follow Adria.

Adria also did not run far.

"Why are you so late!"

"Did you think it would be that narrow? Besides, we almost messed up the job!"

The man answering the woman was the one who had been commanding the mercenaries below the fortress.

He was walking over, his thick arm wrapped around Adria's neck.

"Ugh. Ugh."

Adria, hanging from the man's arm, could barely breathe.

"I only trusted the boss. I wouldn't have known the boss was coming."

She tapped her nose with her finger.

I sighed involuntarily.

It doesn't work like in novels or movies. Nothing goes as planned.

Adria's captor's arm was incredibly thick, about twice the size of the other arm.

Clearly, it wasn't that thick when I first saw him.

He had also taken off all his armor except for his pants, and like us, he was covered in dirt.

His words and appearance.

"Could it be, body transformation?"

"Ah, you're smart? Was there a kid like you in the duchy? Hmm. I thought the illegitimate child was around your age..."

Just by saying one word, he immediately came up with the right answer.

He seemed much smarter than me, the fake genius.

Sigh, this time I really had bad luck.

The enemy had matched their abilities appropriately and the timing was perfect.

"Do you have a seer or something?"

Frustrated, I muttered to myself.

At my words, the man's face changed.

He immediately gave an order.

"Kill that kid right away!"

Then he tightened his grip on Adria's neck.

"Ugh!"

"Don't even think about running. If you run, the lady's life is over."

I looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"You were going to kill me anyway, right? Besides, I'm not particularly close to the lady."

"I don't know how you got such skills at your age, but with those skills, you must be protecting the lady. If you think about your honor, you won't just run away."

He glanced at the scar on his other arm.

"The knight and the maid we met in the fortress basement also sacrificed their lives to stop us."

"Ugh! Ugh!"

Adria, struggling to breathe, was shaking her body wildly.

"Can we play a bit more? I was so frustrated almost losing."

"No! We don't have time."

The female mercenary clicked her tongue and approached.

It was a dilemma. Running away was the right answer, but it didn't seem easy to escape.

Leaving her to die and running away would make me feel uneasy.

But what could I do? Those who can live must live.

With a guilty heart, I looked at Adria one last time.

Adria was also looking at me.

Our eyes met.

Adria shouted desperately.

"Ugh. Ugh. Run, run!"

Thank you. I was planning to do that too.

Just as I was about to turn my head after our final exchange,

"Ugh!"

Adria did something unexpected.

She opened her mouth wide and bit her tongue.

Blood gushed out like a waterfall.

Adria, spitting out blood, smiled at me.

"Tsk, committing suicide."

The surprised man threw Adria and charged at me.

The female mercenary ran from behind, and the mercenaries raised their swords.

"Are you not planning to run?"

The man stopped in front of me and asked.

I was still looking at Adria, who was lying on the ground.

She was already dead.

Damn.

What a pointless act.

Just showing off and causing harm to others.

"Why is he like this? He's completely lost it."

The female mercenary looked at my face with amusement.

Ah, right. This is what it means to be "lost it."

I was so frustrated I could have exploded.

"The lady made a pointless sacrifice. No matter how skilled, you're still just a child."

The man raised his sword.

"What a pity. If we had more time, we could have played with you more."

The female mercenary licked her lips as she looked at me.

I wanted to fully indulge in her enjoyment, but I had one more question to ask.

"Before I die, let me ask one thing."

"Hmm?"

"Where do you two belong? You can't be serving that illegitimate child."

My calm voice made the man look puzzled, but he didn't answer my question.

"I don't know."

He was about to swing his sword again, but fortunately, there was a loose-lipped person next to him.

"Hey, it doesn't matter now. We can't reveal our original affiliation because of other people, but we're currently under the command of Count Raphalma. Got it?"

That was enough.

Even if it was said to mock me, it was helpful enough.

I lifted my head and looked at the man swinging his sword and the woman laughing.

I etched every detail, from a single hair to an eyebrow, into my mind.

I would never forget.

The sword quickly swept past.

Swoosh.

My vision flipped and gradually lowered.

The forest and sky gradually blurred and eventually turned dark.

Complete darkness.

Silence.

And light poured in.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the small hand of a 6-year-old child.

I had returned.

To the day I sent the second duchess away.

I clenched my fist.

A pale hand, but I felt no pain.

There was plenty of time.

I would change the future.

But this time, it wasn't for my survival.