The moon floated in the night sky, casting a faint glow on the road as Leticia and her group prepared their camp.
They had traveled far from Rosemount, and Leticia was satisfied with the distance they had covered. If they maintained this pace, they would reach Duskwood by the following night.
From the distant plain, the echo of a horse's hooves can be heard.
"They're riding fast. Who could it be?" Leticia mused.
"I'll check immediately, my lady," one of her guards offered.
"Do it."
With that order, he quickly gathered three other men and set off to investigate the approaching rider.
A few minutes later, her guards returned, escorting someone familiar.
"Isn't he the city messenger?"
What urgent matter had driven him to follow them this far?
Leticia mounted her horse and rode to meet them.
"What on earth are you doing here?"
"Y-your ladyship! Y-your—hufftt, hufftt." The messenger struggled to catch his breath.
"Bring this man some water!"
Whatever message he brings, it must be an emergency. The man's condition and the state of his dying horse spoke volumes.
"Y-your ladyship, your daughter, Lucia Rosemount, has vanished in the middle of the festival!"
"...What?"
The messenger stared at his ladyship, bracing for the anger he knew so well from years of service. Viscountess Leticia had a fearsome reputation.
He waited, studying her face. But instead of anger, her eyes widened in shock, her complexion paling as cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
This was the first time he had seen his ladyship so afraid.
So she can make that face too, he thought.
Before him stood not the cold, cruel, and calculating Lord of Rosemount, but a mother terrified for her child.
"...I-is she safe?"
She knew the question was futile. Her troops wouldn't have come this far if they knew her daughter was safe.
"A-about that... we have contacted every guard post to search for Lady Lucia's location. But with the festival crowd, I'm afraid it's still difficult to confirm her condition."
Half of the messenger's words passed through Leticia's ears like air. Her heartbeat quickened, and her consciousness weakened. Even breathing felt arduous.
Her daughter was gone.
Was she to be left all alone?
So suddenly?
"LADY LETICIA!!"
Everyone immediately dismounted when their lady collapsed.
"I-I'm fine..."
It wasn't the time to panic.
"WE'RE GOING BACK!! EVERYONE PREPARE YOUR HORSES!!"
Leticia's command rang out, prompting her entourage to spring into action.
If they hurried, they could reach Rosemount in a few hours.
"KEEP YOUR MOUNTS AT FULL SPEED! I DON'T CARE HOW MANY POTIONS YOU USE!!"
Everything made sense now. Why that cowardly Thaddeus had been so insistent on inviting her.
He needed a reason to get her out of the city.
Bastard...
Whatever he was plotting, he wasn't acting alone.
Someone or something was backing him. Otherwise, someone like him would never take such a risky move.
And whoever was behind this, Leticia had a bad feeling about it.
Be safe, Lucia.
---
I placed the unconscious Lucia gently into the closet. I preferred to keep her away from the fight, but with Cedric's keen sense of smell, hiding her seemed futile. At the very least, it might buy some time before he detected her exact location.
I began setting up traps by the door—semi-invisible sharp strings. They weren't much, but any advantage in the fight could be beneficial. If Cedric started off injured or slowed down even slightly, it would help.
"Hopefully, he comes quickly before any of the mansion servants return."
When I turned away from the door after setting the trap, I was greeted by a figure crouching on the open window.
"Hello~"
"...!?"
How? I didn't even hear the window open!
This is bad!
Behind me was exactly where the strings were set up.
I can't dodge!
Clang!
The parry caused the slash to lose balance, cutting through my chainmail but sparing my flesh.
I quickly sidestepped, creating distance from both the trap and the figure.
"Invisible strings? Is that your trap? How cute."
Cedric.
Of course, it was naive of me to expect him to come in through the door.
In real battles, there's no rulebook. No enemy walks in through the most obvious path.
I hate to admit it, but the trap I set had clearly failed—or worse, it had backfired. Now, with the strings still around, my movements were more restricted.
"Seems like things haven't gone your way, stranger?"
Cedric studied my body language, trying to see past the mask I was wearing.
He thinks I'm panicking. He thinks I'm running out of tricks.
Cedric licked his lips, sensing victory within reach.
Chainmail, not enchanted. Good.
Initially, he'd been uncertain about what he would face upon entering this room. But whatever I was planning, it wasn't working.
He had grown overly cautious since witnessing the Order's demonic powers. The forces of light were no match for the darkness.
He may have been a small fry in the world of darkness, but here...
"I am powerful!" Cedric declared, his grin widening as he charged for another strike.
"SCREAM!"
A sudden burst of purple energy engulfed the floor like a flood.
"Tch!"
Area of Silence—a spell Cedric had learned for his twisted hobbies. It prevented any sound from leaving the area where it was cast.
Cedric's swing was fast and efficient, with no wasted movements. Despite his insanity, he never attacked recklessly. He adhered to the fundamentals, leaving no room for a counterattack as he instantly made up his guard.
He hadn't been promoted so quickly for nothing.
If I didn't think of something now, his blade would reach me very soon.
Sensing that I had no plan to turn the tides, Cedric intensified his assault, launching a flurry of increasingly aggressive strikes.
Thinking in the heat of battle was proving more difficult than I had expected, and Cedric ensured it was even harder.
I dashed around the room, trying to use my surroundings for any slight advantage. Cedric's blade sliced through the air, narrowly missing my face. I grabbed a chair and hurled it at him. He effortlessly slashed the chair into splinters.
"Is that all you've got!?" he spat, closing the distance between us.
A vein popped on his forehead as he charged straight toward me.
Clang!
In that one moment of rage, Cedric saw my movements come to an instant halt.
Quickly changing his footing, I used Cedric's momentum to bring my sword to his throat just before he could slash at my neck.
Dodge!
Both swords hit the air, narrowly missing each other's targets by millimeters.
Taking a step back, eyes bloodshot, Cedric realized he had almost been killed just then. Grabbing his throat in a desperate check for wounds, he gulped.
I let my guard down for just one single moment.
And look where that got him.
If he had been just a split second slower...
Was he aiming for that one attack to finish me off?
Cold sweat ran down Cedric's palms. He realized the man in front of him was not prey but a threat.
Doesn't matter. I just have to kill the girl.
There was no need for an unnecessary fight he wasn't sure he could win.
Cedric took a deep breath.
The closet!
The scent of perfume was strongest there.
Damn it, he figured it out.
I could have ended the fight earlier, but hesitation gripped me at the last moment.
The fear of death.
If I hadn't dodged his blade, mine would have pierced his throat first!
Now I had to start over.
So much for coming out of this without a scratch.
Just before Cedric reached the closet, as anticipated, I pursued him without delay.
He paused for a split second, then swiftly changed his course.
A bait!?
His swing met my blade and pushed me back.
"Kghh!"
Cedric's eyes glared with murderous intent.
"You little worm, I'm done playing games."
He cast his weapon aside as his eyes glowed with a demonic red light, while dark energy crackled and surged from his fist.
"BEHOLD, THE POWER OF THE ABSOLUTE!!!"
"Shit, I have to—"
THUNK!
"KGGAHHHH!!!"
Pain exploded in my ribs. Before I could brace myself, his fist hit me square in the chest, sending me flying across the room and crashing into a dresser.
Huft... huft... so this is demonic power. I feel like dying after just one hit.
His strike had been so fast it blurred, hitting with brutal force.
If not for my armor...
"You can't run forever," Cedric growled.
For now, I need to regain my footing... eugh. I staggered back, dazed.
Blood poured from my mouth.
"Pathetic."
Tch, just move! Fighting through the pain, I forced my body to crawl backward.
If I stopped moving now...
Thud. Thud.
Cedric approached slowly, his cocky grin gone.
I didn't know if Cedric was being cautious or if he simply wanted to savor the moment of beating me to death. One thing was certain—his demonic aura grew more intense with every passing second.
He's aiming for a killing blow.
The target would be...
Swoosh
Like a giant hammer descending toward my face, it was the fastest strike I've ever seen.
But...
Predictable.
The telegraphed right hook came from miles away. No matter how fast it was, if I moved first—
Just as Cedric's fist plummeted, I rolled forward.
"...!?"
Ducking low, I pulled a hidden dagger from my sleeve, driving it into his thigh.
"AGGHH!!! INSECT!!!"
He immediately retaliated with a knee to my stomach before I could escape his range.
"EUGH!"
The strike itself was weaker than expected, his injury evident, but my battered body made it feel as if my insides had been crushed.
I couldn't move. Let alone fight.
Meanwhile, Cedric stared at the dagger embedded in his thigh. Blood trickled down his leg in rhythmic pulses.
...I've spent too much time here.
While a few city guards wouldn't pose a problem, the aftermath of someone discovering his presence near Lucia's death would.
He's wounded.
Cedric noted, watching me clutch my chest and struggle for breath.
He limped toward the closet, the faint scent of perfume guiding him like a beacon.
I've won. A twisted grin spread across his face.
With a roar, he swung his fist with all his might, tearing through the wooden furniture, destroying anything inside.
CRASH
"—!? AGGHHHHH!!!!"
Instead of meeting Lucia's flesh, his strike found something else entirely—dozens of steel strings, razor-sharp, slicing through his arm. The force of his attack only worsened the damage, as the strings cut deep into his flesh.
"A-another string trap?? Wait... why is it purple?"
Cold sweat poured down Cedric's face as the realization hit him.
Poison!!
He frantically scanned the room, piecing it together. The perfume—it was all a ruse.
That bastard sprayed the Lucia's scent to mask the poison's smell!
Had he planned this from the very beginning?
Was Lucia never in the closet? Was this room an elaborate death trap?
Who is this man?
Thousands of questions raced through Cedric's mind like daggers. I had anticipated his moves—his keen sense of smell, his arrogance, everything.
HE HAS TO DIE!!!
Cedric's energy surged to its limit. He would burn a few years of his life if it meant surviving this. After so much noise he had done tonight, he couldn't leave loose ends. The Order wouldn't tolerate failure.
This was supposed to be a triumphant night—a celebration—but now...
"WHERE IS SHE???"
The ruby necklace around his neck began to glow. His shredded arm regenerated in seconds, the poison's effects nullified.
To think I'd waste a precious magic item here of all places!
The necklace had only three uses, and now one was gone. He couldn't afford to squander the remaining charges.
"LUCIAAAA!!! WHERE DID YOU HIDE HER???" Cedric's voice cracked with desperation, the madness of his demonic magic threatening to overtake him. Drool dripped from his bared fangs as his consciousness wavered.
I didn't answer.
"SO BE IT... PERISH!!!"
But before Cedric could act, an excruciating pain erupted throughout his body. His muscles locked, and he collapsed, unable to move even a finger.
"Aghh!! W-what's happening?" he gasped, his body convulsing in agony. He couldn't even scream—his body refused to obey him.
His wide, terrified eyes met mine. Behind my mask, I smiled.
"I won," I said simply.
What... what did he do?
The necklace was supposed to neutralize all toxins, heal all wounds.
Had the Order lied? Had he been deceived?
THAT GEEZER BENJAMIN!!!
"Don't look so mad. The necklace your esteemed benefactor gave you works perfectly."
Cedric's wide eyes become even more bloodshot.
He even knows about the necklace!?
But if the necklace could cure any toxin, then...
"What I used wasn't poison."