Once again, I realized that there were many assassins who came after me.
'He hired a lot. I can't even believe that the Marquis of Abedes had this much wealth.'
To spend money on so many people just for me, he must have taken as much money as his inheritance right.
I started to deal with the assassins who attacked me one by one, and people began to flock as it was quite spectacular.
It was not an easy sight to see one person defeating so many people with ease.
"Hey, isn't that Annabelle Rainfield?"
"No, what, those people!"
"Aren't we supposed to help? How many people are running now?"
"Wait, help… I don't think there is a need?"
I shouted cheerfully, kicking the 38th and 39th assassins at once.
"You can't help me! Because I, alone, am enough!"
The assassins who couldn't stop attacking now fell into my hands one by one and began to spread out on the streets.
It seemed like it wouldn't take long to deal with all of this.
'I expected it, but I'm really strong.'
In the past, such a number of people would have been difficult to bear.
'But he didn't know I'd become this strong. His actions were too deceitful as a great villain.'
I acknowledged Richard inside. Of course, I was the winner.
At my words, the people who were watching did not even think to intervene and were buzzing.
"Hey, is it possible to defeat so many opponents alone?"
"No… If that's enough, wouldn't it be easy for Ian too? It doesn't even look like she's doing her best."
"I heard that the Duchess of Wade started teaching swordsmanship herself and her skills improved a bit, didn't it?"
It was as planned.
I now caught the assassins running away, kicked them away and grinned.
'With this, I succeeded in having others see me being attacked alone in front of a lot of people.'
Now, even if Richard somehow denied it, there are too many witnesses for him to escape.
In addition, by showing myself being attacked alone, there was an effect of mobilizing forces against the discriminatory people.
'It's what I planned, but too many people are watching. Because they're so interested…'
An alleyway was filled with assassins I had dealt with.
As the crowd murmured, I blinked and thought.
'Very good. It's best to be praised while showing off your hidden skills. How exhilarating.'
To be honest, I'd been hiding my skills until now. Even I did not properly deal with Lagian on the last trap.
'I want more people to see my skills. I don't want to hear that Ian looked after me, even as a joke during a friendly match.'
It was when I kicked the last person and then slapped him with a scabbard and threw him away.
I saw knights running in the distance.
'…Knights of Wade?'
Among the people in knight uniforms, recognizable from afar, a familiar figure was seen running over the wallowing assassins.
"Sister!"
"Annabelle!"
And I was buried in the arms of my family without a chance to answer anything.
~*~
(3rd person pov)
The sight of Annabelle so easily subduing the multitude of assassins in the capital left a strong impression on many.
Of course, Annabelle couldn't see the reaction, because she was surrounded by her family who had just run to her.
"Are you hurt anywhere? What the hell is this with these horrendous things!"
"What is this, Annabelle?! You can be rest assured now. Because we are here."
Marilyn, Leslie, and Oscar screamed as they hugged Annabelle incessantly.
"You must have been savagely cutting down on the ugliness."
Aaron, unable to intervene, took a step back and said cheerfully. Even so, he was smiling as if he was genuinely happy for Annabelle.
"They can be arrested without a single sword by the knights."
He cleverly mobilized the knights to arrest every assassin.
Like a competent lieutenant, he quickly knew what he was doing.
"One of these will open up about who's behind it."
And shortly thereafter, someone arrived. It was Ian.
Ian also did not come with Robert's party.
As soon as he heard that Annabelle had departed, he immediately followed her footsteps and rode on his horse alone.
"Annabelle!"
Of course, it was all over when he arrived. The Knights of Wade had already captured the assassins and carried them away.
"Hah…"
Ian calmed his heart as he saw Annabelle smiling in the arms of her family safely.
And he decided not to talk about the fact that he was so worried that his whole body was burning since he heard that she had followed a suspicious girl.
"It's a big deal."
But he mumbled quietly to himself.
"If I don't have her right in front of my eyes, even for a moment, I'm going to go crazy…"
Aaron approached him, who had just arrived in the capital and had his gaze fixed on Annabelle.
"Ian, you have returned safely."
Come to think of it, no one talked to Ian.
From his family to the crowd, they had lost interest in Ian's arrival, and were preoccupied with Annabelle, who had just knocked out over 50 assassins in an instant.
"When I look back, there is something I really want to ask."
Aaron asked cautiously.
"Do you know what my favorite food is?"
"…Salad?"
"Ah, seeing that you don't know, you are sane. Sorry. I asked this question because I wanted to make sure that you weren't completely crazy and fell for my sister."
Aaron, too, seemed more curious about his mental state rather than interested in Ian's return.
"For reference, I like seafood. Especially crustaceans."
Read only at pm tl.
And on that day, the capital's gambling house was completely turned upside down.
Annabelle's dividend, which was almost nonexistent in the upcoming friendly match between Ian and her, began to rise.
Since many tourists stayed to watch the friendly match between the two after the swordsmanship competition, the match schedule was set two days later.
"Because it won't be easy for Ian to subdue so many people in an instant. There must have been something in the Duchess's teachings."
"According to the people of the Wade Knights, Ian gave her special training. In the meantime, she hasn't received any proper instruction, but her skills have increased dramatically."
"Anyway, wasn't it nonsense to say that she was afraid of a friendly match and ran away? Who would run away with such skills?"
In a different way than before, people in the capital began to look forward to the friendly match.
In the meantime, the opinions of those who argued that Ian would deliberately lose to Annabelle were also included.
And that afternoon, Robert's party, who had taken Carlon and Lagian, returned.
On the way to the Imperial Palace, they stopped by the Marquis of Abedes and arrested Richard as well.
Richard had long since regained consciousness, but he was also charged with not appearing voluntarily.
~*~
"Wow."
Aaron was conscious of me and tried not to get too excited, but it seemed he couldn't help the exclamation that came out.
"You are finally home."
Upon arriving in the capital, Carlon was immediately detained in the Imperial prison. Side by side with the Empress who was already imprisoned.
Richard was also dragged to the prison next door to Elburn.
In other words, it meant that now there was no force to harm us openly.
Even if there was a remnant of Carlon, there was no way they could move in the current situation unless they were crazy.
So we returned to Rainfield Mansion.
Of course, there was someone who was nervous and anxious with regret.
It was Ian.
"Well…ah… Well…"
Ian, unable to tell me not to go or say good-bye, just hesitated.
Ian refrained from showing affection because of Robert all the way to the capital, but he seemed to swallow a lot of words now that he was in front of his family.
"Don't fuss like a lost dog like that."
It was so miserable to see him groan without saying a word, so Leslie slapped Ian on the side while they were seeing us off.
"Anyways, Annabelle will come to see us often."
"Absolutely."
I replied with a smile.
"Leslie is my teacher. To show my improved skills, I will go to Wade's training ground the day after tomorrow."
At that time, Braden was vacating the duke's residence. Because he had to participate in the Imperial courts, where the high nobles went.
And that night, we saw the results of the out-of-house newsletter hastily published by Maiena.
[The Empress and the Crown Prince will be deposed.]
After the swordsmanship contest, my uncle, who was staying at the Rainfield Mansion, held a pipe and laughed.
"It's been a long time, Nick. Over 20 years?"
My mother clicked her tongue as if fed up, and my uncle frowned and muttered.
"You have to save them to live well."
"That's right, mother."
I took the side of my uncle and smiled.
"Thanks to you, I didn't fall into Lanella's ways."
Of course, as soon as the name 'Lanella' came out, the atmosphere became chilly despite my jokes.
But now that my family was together, it was an issue that must be mentioned.
My uncle was fiddling with the old pipe and spat it out.
"Lanella was taken care of so you can go see her at any time."
Seeing that his indifferent voice trembled slightly, he seemed nervous just by bringing up this story.
"You're not normally allowed to visit, but I've been in charge of the convoy, so I've put in some words well. And Prince Robert told me to do whatever you want about Lanella."
Of course, I was going to do whatever I wanted.