The Female Knight I Met Again (1)
Draw their attention with noise from the east, then move in from the west. That was the plan. I lit the fuse on the explosive charge, set it on the ground, then quickly circled the building and pressed myself against the wall. Peeking out carefully, I watched the men guarding the prison entrance. Moments later the charge detonated on the far side with a sharp pop. The guards tilted their heads, confused, and started toward the sound. I seized the opening and slipped inside the prison.
The interior was dim, lit only by torches mounted on the walls. The maid who had gone in ahead of me was already chatting with the guard.
“Forget cleaning for a minute and have some fun with me. I heard you did it with Clark the other day, right?”
I crept up behind the man while he was still lost in his base instincts and dropped him with a single strike. I dragged the body into a corner, took his keyring, changed into his uniform, bound him tightly, and shoved him into an empty cell. The maid had told me there was only one guard inside, so now it was time to play the part and find the children.
“Pretend you’re cleaning and follow me.”
“Yes, sir.”
I strolled down the dark corridor with my hands clasped behind my back, inspecting every prisoner. It didn’t take long to spot the two sisters lying on the floor, worn out by hunger. I approached the bars and whispered.
“Hey, kids. Hey!”
They sat up together, rubbed their eyes, and stared at me in puzzlement before their faces lit with recognition.
“You remember me, right?”
They nodded in unison. I smiled.
“I’m here to get you out.”
After a quick explanation, I unlocked their cell and freed them. The maid hid the children inside the large barrel she had brought on her cart.
“Leave first and wait at the meeting spot. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Please be careful.”
She pushed the cart away with a tense expression. I watched her go and let out a long breath. Half the job was done.
I waited ten minutes before heading out myself, but just as I reached the exit, multiple footsteps thundered from the entrance.
“Guard! Guard! Where the hell is the guard?”
Swearing under my breath, I hurried out. Three men stood at the door with a woman bound tightly in ropes.
“Y-yes, you called?”
I bowed low and avoided their eyes. One of the men spoke.
“Got a room to lock this bitch up? Just until evening.”
“Of course. Right this way.”
I turned to lead them toward the cell the sisters had occupied and happened to glance at the captured woman. Shock hit me like cold water. That face was more than familiar; it was burned into my memory. It was her. The relentless female knight who had dragged me into a living hell. What was she doing here?
“Lady Sinclair!”
The eighty soldiers stationed near the refugee camp finally arrived, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. Sinclair’s eyes sharpened with relief at the sight of solid reinforcements.
“Follow me!”
She led the troops to the building where Adelia had vanished and ordered a thorough search. While examining the bed in the room Adelia had disappeared from, Sinclair discovered a hidden button. The moment she pressed it, a section of the floor sank open.
“Such a cheap trick!”
Rage boiled inside her, made worse by the crushing guilt of failing to protect her commander. She sent soldiers down at once to locate the connected exit. What they found was the basement of the neighboring house—an equally empty, abandoned building. The trail had gone cold, but a single thread of hope remained.
Sinclair summoned the unit’s magician and ordered him to track the footprints. After casting the spell, the mage followed the faint traces outside, then sighed and shook his head.
“There are too many overlapping footprints from passersby. The faint ones we need have been completely erased. Magic can take us no further.”
Sinclair bit her lip and surveyed the sprawling refugee camp. With only a small force, how could she possibly find Adelia in a place this vast? Frustration piled up until she could hardly breathe. The only option left was to ask for help from the detachment Lord Roten had sent. She turned her steps toward their barracks.
“If you lose her, your head rolls. Keep a close eye on her.”
The iron door clanged shut and the footsteps faded. I stood staring at the female knight locked inside the cell.
Why had she been captured? What had she been doing? Had she been stripped of her position for losing the treasured sword to me? No, surely not. Her current outfit was shockingly revealing—a black full-body suit that clung to every curve, the kind normally worn beneath armor. With her hands tied behind her back, the effect was disturbingly alluring. She lay on her side, staring at the dark wall with empty eyes. She wasn’t crying or raging; she simply looked… broken. Was this what despair looked like on her?
I rapped the bars with the key.
“Hey.”
She turned slowly.
“Do you remember me?”
I stepped closer to the torch so the light would fall fully on my face. Her eyes widened the instant she recognized me.
“You… you’re—!”
“I don’t know how you ended up here, but this is perfect timing.”
I gave her a deliberate smirk. Her expression twisted with hatred.
“So you were part of it too?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I’m in a hurry. Let’s keep this short.”
I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket, soaked it with anesthetic, and unlocked the cell. She scrambled backward, eyes wide with fear.
“W-what are you planning to do? I am a noble! Harm someone of high blood and the gods will never forgive you!”
“Stop screaming. I’m not here to hurt you. I just had a brilliant idea, that’s all. Behave and I’ll release you later.”
Her sharp gaze stayed locked on me, wary.
“Release me…?”
“Want to know what I’m thinking?”
“What scheme is this?!”
“Scheme? Yeah, I suppose it is a scheme.”
I grinned at her.
“I’m going to make you my slave.”
The moment the words left my mouth I clamped the drugged handkerchief over her nose. She jerked in surprise and tried to fight, but her eyelids fluttered and she went limp. I hoisted her over my shoulder. Why turn this female knight into my slave? Simple. She looked strong.
“Let’s move before it’s too late.”
I gave her firm backside a light smack as if urging a horse and hurried toward the exit. At the doorway I pulled on a mask, then took a sleep grenade from my belt and hurled it outside.
Boom!
“What the—!”
“Ugh!”
Thick white smoke instantly filled the entrance. The guards collapsed one after another. I walked out as calmly as if taking a stroll.
I reached the meeting spot, paid the maid the remaining three hundred veni, and collected the children from their hiding place among the thick trees.
“I wish you a safe escape. Hoho.”
She hugged the coin pouch with a delighted smile and disappeared. Now the real problem was getting three extra bodies over the high wall. Well, nothing to do but make two trips.
I carried both sisters at once, scaled the wall, and handed them down to Marcus on the other side. Then I climbed back, slung the unconscious female knight over my shoulder, and made the climb again.
“This isn’t a bride kidnapping, you know. What the hell are you doing hauling a woman around? Damn, she’s heavy.”
I was panting hard, swearing I’d never do three trips again, when a shout split the air.
“Intruder! Suspicious man over there! Catch him!”
I whipped around. Patrol guards were charging toward us, swords drawn, bellowing at the top of their lungs.
“Shit!”
With fire on my heels I scrambled over the wall. Marcus was waiting below. He clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. You failed the practical exam, kid.”
The look of disappointment on my mentor’s face stung. I snapped back.
“Is now really the time for that? Let’s go!”
We tossed the female knight into the cargo bed and whipped the wagon into motion. Worried about pursuit, I kept urging the horses faster. Even so, riders soon caught up. A pack of mounted men came thundering after us.
My vision narrowed to nothing but escape. I charged forward regardless of what lay ahead, turning the refugee camp into instant chaos.
“Hold the kids tight so they don’t fall!”
“Quit worrying about us and just drive!”
“How am I supposed to drive properly like this?!”
If we survived this, my carriage-handling skills would improve dramatically. I was using every trick a driver could manage, pulling off cornering that would have been impressive even in a car.
Still, a loaded wagon could never match the speed of lone riders. The reason we escaped at all was mostly thanks to Marcus. From the cargo bed he used the triple-shot crossbow I had bought for myself, mercilessly cutting down anyone who drew too close. While I still hesitated to kill, he treated human lives like insects, calmly thinning the pursuers. Smoke bombs, flash grenades, caltrops—he used them all without mercy.
Thanks to his skill and my increasingly reckless driving, we broke free of the refugee camp. It also helped that the settlement had begun as a refugee camp on barren land; there were no proper gates or garrison to stop us. The lack of checkpoints was a godsend.
We shook off our pursuers, left the village behind, and galloped hard across the open fields.