The One Who Stays by Your Side in the Hardest Times #8
Leni had vanished.
Where to?
How?
By whom?
Before those questions could even form, Emil summoned his ally.
“Pidea, wake up. Right now!”
He focused deep within his mind and called the demon girl with forceful intent. Pidea materialized from thin air.
...Yaaawn. You called, Emil? What’s going on? Don’t tell me it’s another one of your trivial little—
“Leni’s gone.”
Emil’s voice had dropped to an icy calm.
Pidea flinched, studying his face for a moment before her tone grew serious.
Wait… a kidnapping?
“Most likely. It looks like they went through the window, but it doesn’t seem as if she walked out on her own.”
But who would do it? And why kidnap a bastard daughter instead of the lord’s legitimate child? It makes no sense.
“It makes perfect sense if the bastard daughter is actually a princess of Rosdea.”
Pidea froze.
A princess? That ill-mannered little brat?
“That’s right.”
The demon girl floated through the air, visibly pondering, until realization dawned on her face.
Ah… the red hair really is a signature of the Esterien royal family. That would explain it. But Emil, how did you even—
“Save the chatter for later. I need your help now. Pidea, lend me your ‘eyes.’”
She looked momentarily startled.
My eyes? Are you sure that’s wise?
“Yes. There’s no other way to track her. Any objections? I thought you’d enjoy this.”
Well, from my perspective it’s certainly tempting…
“Then there’s no problem. Do it. Now.”
Pidea hesitated briefly, but finally yielded to his demand.
Sorry, Emil. This is going to hurt. Try to bear it.
In that instant, a burning sensation flared behind his eyes.
It felt as though every blood vessel and nerve in his body had been rewired to his sight, as if something were digging through his brain to excavate his pupils.
“Ugh—damn it all!”
The brief but excruciating pain passed. When he opened his eyes, the world had transformed. Or rather, it was now perceived entirely differently.
Emil was seeing reality through an entirely new lens, and the difference went far beyond sharper vision.
With these eyes, he could see the whispers of ants crawling across the floor. He could see the vivid curls of clove and lemon rising from the bed.
It was a sensation almost impossible to describe in words.
“Damn it… I think I’m going to be sick.”
You’re actually adapting quite well. Most people lose their minds when they’re suddenly forced to process this much information through a single sense.
In the center of the room lingered a strange, lingering trace.
These eyes identified it instantly.
It was a drug designed to knock the victim unconscious the moment it was inhaled.
Just as I thought. This was a planned abduction.
Yet that was not what Emil had truly wanted to see.
He slowly scanned the room, and there it was—the thing he had been searching for.
The demonic energy Leni had left behind.
The trail stretched clearly toward the window. Without hesitation, Emil leaped through it.
Oh my god—kyaa! Emil, slow down!
Pidea shrieked in alarm, but he paid her no mind and kept running. His legs were not so fragile that they would break from this.
The demonic energy continued past the outer walls of Iredain Manor, stretching far into the distance.
Emil’s brow furrowed.
They had already left the manor?
In such a short time, they managed to carry one person out of the manor without being seen. This is no amateur work.
The trace led him farther and farther into the outskirts.
Scattered. Chaotic. At the end of that messy trail, Emil caught a scent.
The smell of wounds. The smell of blood.
The moment he recognized it, a cold chill settled in his chest.
Leni, who had briefly lost consciousness, realized she was slung over someone’s shoulder.
“Ah…?”
Was this a dream?
She wondered for a moment, but the uncomfortable pressure of an unfamiliar shoulder against her stomach and the way her legs were gripped like baggage felt far too real.
What is this…
Then the memories flooded back.
While Emil had chased after Daisy, someone had entered through the window.
There was no reason for a servant to come through the window. Leni had tried to scream, but a cloth had been clamped over her mouth, and her consciousness had quickly faded.
That’s right.
A kidnapping.
It had definitely been a kidnapping.
But what was the purpose?
What could anyone possibly want with Leni, who was officially recorded as dead…?
Could they be after her sister instead…?
No. That can’t happen!
The thought made her panic.
Just then, she saw the kidnapper’s forearm right in front of her eyes.
Without thinking of the consequences, Leni sank her teeth into it with all her strength.
“Aaargh—this damn little bitch!”
The man screamed and hurled her to the ground, then kicked her viciously.
It hurt. It felt like something had broken.
“Damn it, when did you wake up? It would’ve been so much easier if you’d stayed asleep!”
He kept kicking her. The pain was so intense she couldn’t even speak.
Tears simply streamed down her face.
Leni could only think of her sister.
And of Priest Emil.
“Priest… Priest-nim…”
“What the hell are you muttering about?”
He kicked her once more and spat on the ground.
“They said you wouldn’t wake up. Tsk, I knew those bastards couldn’t be trusted.”
The man gave a vulgar smile.
“Hey, little girl. Does it hurt? You don’t like pain, right? So just behave and come quietly. I won’t hit you anymore. But if you try any more sneaky tricks like before—”
His sentence was never finished.
A fist-sized stone flew through the air and struck the man’s head.
“—Ugh!”
While the man staggered, someone burst out from behind Leni with lightning speed.
“My lady, are you all right!”
“Priest Emil!”
Leni called out through her sobs.
Emil stepped between Leni and the man, settling into a stance. In his hands was a wooden staff he had picked up somewhere.
He held the staff forward with his body angled slightly to the side.
Leni didn’t know much about swordsmanship, but the posture somehow looked remarkably competent.
“Who the hell is this bastard?”
“The bastard who’s going to kill you.”
Emil’s voice was low and threatening.
The man pulled a dagger from his coat with a vicious expression. The blade glinted as it caught the sunlight.
Yet Emil showed no fear. He slowly raised the staff in a refined stance.
“First a sickly noble girl, now a priest? I’m getting sick of this.”
“I’m sick of it too. Fighting without getting paid was something I refused even in my last life.”
The man let out a roar and charged.
Instead of retreating, Emil took a smooth step and evaded the man’s body by a hair’s breadth, swinging the staff.
“Head.”
The staff cracked against the man’s skull with a satisfying sound.
The man spat curses.
“You son of a—
“Leg. Waist. Arm. Leg again.”
Emil dodged the man’s reckless attacks and struck each named area in turn.
“Wrist.”
When the staff slammed into the man’s wrist, he screamed and dropped the dagger.
A gasp of awe escaped Leni.
It looked just like the dazzling combat she had witnessed from the knights back in the capital of Myrdin.
“Graaah!”
When the man finally lost control and rushed forward, Emil took a small step back and struck the man’s chin with the staff.
The man lost his balance and collapsed.
“Damn it… who the hell are you!”
“I already told you. A bastard. Are you slow in the head?”
Emil approached the fallen man.
The man gnashed his teeth.
“You… bastard!”
He tried to get up and charge again, but Emil kicked him square in the chest.
The man rolled helplessly across the ground.
Emil planted his foot firmly on the man’s head and spoke in a cold voice.
“Who are you? Who sent you?”
Leni had never heard Emil speak in such a tone before.
“Heh, idiot. You think I’d tell you… ugh!”
When the man sneered with difficulty, Emil kicked him in the mouth. Teeth scattered across the dirt.
“Who sent you?”
Emil had always shown a gentle demeanor, occasionally playful or mischievous, but this was a side of him Leni had never seen.
The man coughed up blood, then laughed again.
“Damn it, what would you even do with that information… Just take me already. To Alon Ricgard.”
“Actually, I have one more question. There are too many things that don’t add up.”
Emil narrowed his eyes.
“How did you slip past all the guards in Iredain and reach that room? In broad daylight, no less.”
“Heh, and what if I told you? What could you possibly—”
Emil looked down at the man for a moment, then spoke.
“You’re right. That was a pointless question.”
He turned to look at Leni.
She flinched without meaning to.
It wasn’t just that the situation was confusing—Emil himself felt terrifying in that moment.
Seeming to understand her reaction, Emil’s face quickly softened into his usual gentle smile.
“My lady. I’m sorry. I’ve made you witness something frightening.”
“No… it’s okay, Priest-nim.”
That smile immediately eased her heart.
There was a mysterious power in Emil’s smile.
A power that could calm the soul.
“My lady, could you close your eyes for a moment?”
“Huh…?”
“Please close your eyes.”
Emil smiled again.
Leni obeyed.
“Mmph…”
The moment she squeezed her eyes shut, the sound of something breaking reached her ears.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Along with it came a short, sharp scream.
“Aaaargh—!”
Leni covered her ears and tried not to think about what the sounds meant.
It didn’t matter. Emil had come to save her.
“My lady, it’s all right now.”
“Mm…”
Emil approached and wrapped her in his arms.
That was enough.
“Ah, can you walk on your own?”
Leni could still feel sharp pain in every place she had been kicked.
She quietly shook her head.
“No… I can’t walk.”
“Then I’ll carry you.”
Emil carefully lifted her onto his back.
His back was broad and warm.
Leni whispered softly.
“Priest-nim… are you okay…?”
The question carried many layers of meaning.
Emil nodded silently.
“I’m fine.”
“Really?”
He stood still for a moment before speaking.
“My lady, I have a favor to ask.”
“…What is it?”
“Could you keep what happened today a secret?”
“A secret?”
“Yes. Even though it was to protect you, I killed a man. There may be consequences.”
Killed.
The word made Leni tremble.
“…Did you really have to kill him? Wouldn’t it have been enough to take him to Alon Ricgard?”
At the question, Emil stopped walking.
Leni immediately regretted asking. Why did I say that? What answer could he possibly give?
“There were too many suspicious points. This is only my opinion, but even if we had taken him to Lord Alon, I doubt we would have learned his true identity.”
Yet Emil explained calmly.
“So I thought that if we kept Princess’s kidnapping from everyone, the mastermind behind this might reveal themselves.”
His words startled her.
Princess. Emil had just called her Princess.
“Priest-nim… you knew?”
“Only a fool wouldn’t have noticed. Don’t worry. I have no intention of telling anyone.”
Emil gave a small chuckle and added,
“So please keep my story a secret as well.”
Murder.
A priest had killed a man.
For a moment, the fact terrified Leni.
But that fear soon transformed into joy. He killed for me. Once she thought that, the joy far outweighed any fear.
“It will be our secret.”
Those words filled Leni with happiness.
That was enough.
“Yes… our secret…”
Leni tightened her arms around Emil’s neck as he carried her.
This outing had become something frightening, filthy, and blood-soaked—but it would remain one of the happiest memories of her life.