The Trap Closes on Emilia
Indeed, I should have carved the spell into Emilia's chest, right over her heart. No matter how I thought about it, that was the only way.
"This is insane······."
I finally realized how stupid I'd been. It had taken me this long to see it.
I'd expected that the bastards who wanted to ruin my midterm would send Crows or thugs after me. But my countermeasures had been incomplete. I'd assumed it would be enough to hole up inside. That as long as I didn't go outside, I'd be fine.
Even with this goldfish brain of mine, a little thought was enough to realize the target didn't have to be limited to me alone. There could be hostages. It didn't have to be me.
And right now, the most suitable hostage was······
"Emilia!!!"
It was Emilia.
I came up from the training room and shouted, but there was no answer. She'd said she was going to the market this morning. She must have already left the house.
I rushed toward the front door in a panic.
"Ha······."
A letter had been slipped under the door. An ominous feeling suddenly washed over me. I didn't want to read it. I didn't even want to touch it. I wanted to pretend I hadn't seen it.
But of course, I couldn't do that.
"Huu······ haa······."
I took a deep breath and unfolded the letter with trembling hands. The hastily scrawled message read:
Your attendant is with me. If you don't want to see her die, come to 31st Street······
"Son of a bitch······."
A clump of hair came out in my hand. I didn't even feel the pain. I was just furious. At myself. At the stupid, no, the stupid me. At my complacent self.
Damn it. If I'd just carved the spell into her chest earlier, this never would have happened. This only happened because I'd gotten soft and tried to handle things peacefully.
"I have to go."
There was no time to wallow in self-reproach. I bolted out of the mansion.
"Hm. Hm-hm······."
Humming to herself, Emilia carried the shopping basket on her elbow as she entered the market. A lively street packed with people unfolded before her eyes.
"Oh my, Emilia! Here to shop?"
"Ah, yes. We ran out of ingredients at home."
Merchants who recognized her called out from every stall she passed. The girl in a maid uniform who always came around this time to shop. She was impossible to miss, and combined with her friendly personality, she'd quickly become a local celebrity in the market.
"So you work in that big mansion all by yourself? Must be tough."
"Haha. Not really······."
The part about working in a big mansion had come from one stall, and the part about being the only maid had come from the one across the way. The speed at which rumors spread was impressive.
'Seafood, huh. Schluss op······ Heinkel seems to like seafood.'
Staring into the tank full of fish, Emilia fell into thought. Schluss definitely liked seafood. He'd even stopped at a seafood restaurant on the way back from the imperial palace once because he couldn't resist.
The problem was that Emilia didn't know how to cook seafood.
"Seafood doesn't come in often. If it's all gone this time, you'll have to wait another two months."
"Hmm······."
That only made her more conflicted. Should she ask for the recipe? But who would she ask? There was no one around who would know how to cook seafood.
"I'll take two."
"They're fresh, so preserve them with a chilling spell right away when you get back."
"Yes. Thank you."
In the end, she bought them. She figured she'd figure out how to make them delicious somehow. After all, whenever Emilia cooked ingredients she'd never touched before, they always turned out tasty. She'd never failed at cooking before.
'Should I grill the fish? Or make soup?'
Recipes using fish meat popped into her head one after another. Schluss op······ no, Heinkel would surely like it.
'But when will he start calling me comfortably?'
The sudden thought annoyed her a little. They'd lived under the same roof and shared so much time together. By now, he should be calling her casually, using informal speech. It felt like he was deliberately keeping his distance. Was it because he'd figured out she was a spy for the intelligence agency?
If that was the case, then why had he saved her life? Why had he said she was someone he absolutely had to protect······.
'Should I try calling him first? Schluss op······ oppa······.'
Just thinking about it made Emilia's face flush instantly. No, that was too much no matter how she looked at it. The psychological burden was still too great. Maybe she and Schluss weren't that close after all.
Emilia thought this as she walked, forcing herself to calm down.
"Huh?"
She realized something was wrong with her surroundings. Just moments ago, this had been the market. How far had she walked for it to turn into a dark alley?
Emilia dropped her basket.
"Uh······?"
When she turned around, Emilia was quite startled. The way back was blocked. By a high wall. She quickly turned her head, only to find the front blocked as well. The path that had been open just seconds ago was now sealed with bricks.
"W-what is this."
Magic? But she hadn't felt any spell activation at all. Emilia tapped the wall. As she clutched her scraped hand, she felt something was off.
It was a barrier.
"Haa······."
She stepped back and lifted her skirt. Then she pulled out the dagger strapped to her left thigh. It was called a Magic Breaker. The one her brother had given her······.
Dagger in hand, Emilia calmly felt along the wall. She was looking for the core of the barrier. Reading the flow of mana, she found the center through which all magic passed—the core.
"Here!"
Without hesitation, she plunged the dagger into the wall. The blade slid in without resistance. Then the scenery surrounding her began to collapse.
'It was cleverly done······.'
It was a barrier so well constructed that she might have accepted it as reality if she hadn't been careful. Emilia held the dagger in a reverse grip and focused on the shimmering space beyond the barrier. Two men stood in front, looking quite flustered.
"W-what?"
"How did she get out?"
"You have an interesting trick!"
There was no time to hesitate against mages. She had to strike first. Emilia dashed forward and swung her dagger. The two men who had been reaching out to cast spells—
"Aaaagh!"
"Ugh! My hand!"
They collapsed, blood spraying from their severed hands.
"Who sent you?"
"Like I'd tell you······"
Thud! The dagger pierced the man's throat. The blade twisted half a turn in Emilia's wrist—
"Kuh······! Urgh······! Gurk!"
It was yanked out, sending a fountain of blood spraying. The man lay on the ground for a few seconds, creating a pool of blood, then went limp and stopped moving.
When Emilia turned her head, the other man's face went deathly pale.
"So? Who sent you?"
"Eek! Sob! P-please! Just spare me! Please!"
"If you just tell me who sent you, I'll let you live······."
"P-people······"
Crunch. The dagger embedded itself in his forehead. With the sound of his skull cracking, the man stopped moving.
"Why did you have to scream······."
Emilia pulled out the dagger with a frown. She'd thought killing one as an example would make the other talk. She hadn't expected him to be stupid enough to try screaming. In the end, she got no information and was left with two troublesome corpses.
Holding the blood- and brain-soaked dagger at arm's length with her thumb and forefinger, Emilia rummaged through her pockets.
"It's gone······."
Her handkerchief was missing. The pretty ribbon-patterned one she always carried. Emilia looked around, confirmed there was no one in the alley, and lifted her skirt slightly.
"Ah, seriously······."
She felt embarrassed at the thought of having to do this, her cheeks flushing. Still, she absolutely didn't want to wipe the dirty blood off with her thigh.
"Hnn······."
She slid off the white cloth and removed it one leg at a time. Well, it wasn't much different from a handkerchief since it had a pink ribbon attached. After wiping the dagger clean, Emilia tossed the cloth aside.
As she was about to sheathe the now gleaming blade, Emilia—
"Ugh. It's cold······."
A sudden breeze brushed against her thighs, making her feel exposed. It had been a temporary measure, but she couldn't do it again. It was too embarrassing······.
"I should head back now. Hmm······. If I go that way, there should be a way out."
As if entranced, Emilia began walking through the alley. There had to be an exit somewhere. She'd think about it once she got out of the alley. But no matter how far she walked, she couldn't find an exit. It felt like she was just going in circles.
"Must be my imagination······?"
Even so, she kept walking without much concern. She figured an exit would appear eventually. She didn't suspect anything. Of course paths had ends. She just hadn't walked far enough. If she walked a little more, she'd get out······.
"Huh? But why is my handkerchief missing?"
Emilia unconsciously checked her pocket and tilted her head. That handkerchief was made of mana and was supposed to never leave her body. If the handkerchief was gone······
"Ah."
It meant she was in a mana environment controlled by someone else. The moment she realized this, Emilia let out a sigh. Panicked, she looked around. She belatedly realized she'd been walking through the same repeating alley this whole time. No, the fact that she hadn't noticed until now was absurd.
"A double barrier······!"
Her teeth ground together. Whatever trick had been placed on the barrier, trying to think complicated thoughts made her head hurt. If she hadn't thought about the handkerchief, she would have walked this path forever. Feeling a chill, Emilia felt along the wall to find the core of the barrier.
"Wow. How did you figure it out?"
"······!"
At the voice from behind, Emilia instantly drew her dagger and swung. But there was no one there. As Emilia frantically looked around—
"If you keep doing that, I'll have to put a strain on your body······."
"Aah! Ah!"
A sweet, melodious woman's voice whispered in her ear. Her hand holding the dagger wouldn't obey. No, her entire body wouldn't move as she wanted. Taking advantage of that opening, a small glass bottle approached and touched her lips. Emilia had no choice but to drink the unknown substance while stiff as a board.
"Ugh······ ah······."
Drowsiness washed over her. Despite her fierce resistance, her eyes slowly closed, and Emilia's body went limp.
"Oops."
Someone caught Emilia from behind. At the same time, the alley scenery collapsed. Before she knew it, the two of them were standing in a secluded space behind a bustling market stall. The hooded woman laid Emilia down, then boldly walked forward and closed the stall door. Returning to the back, she removed her hood, revealing a woman with red hair.
"Hehe. Now, what should I do with this······."
Looking down at the sleeping Emilia, she clasped her hands in front of her mouth. Schluss Heinkel's woman, huh. What should she do with her? How could she make Schluss Heinkel fall into deep despair? How could she make him break down? It was such a delightful dilemma.