Chapter 57
<57> An Irresistible Proposal
Black Wolf issued a warning to Idnia, but at that very moment, water spirits appeared around him.
The water spirits summoned by the Scarlet Pimpernel’s assassin began attacking Black Wolf.
“Black Wolf!?”
At the same time, the assassin’s blade began to move.
“This is bad!”
The Mazdari servants watching from afar clenched their eyes shut.
It was already too late to intervene, and that Scarlet Pimpernel assassin had attacked Idnia.
Even in this situation, the Papal envoys did not step in.
‘Damn it! Those Papal envoys are just going to sit there even now? Are they deliberately waiting so that if the duke’s daughter gets injured or killed, it’ll give them leverage to pressure the Dunais Academy?’
‘If the Duke’s daughter of Betelgeuse gets hurt or killed, we’re the ones who’ll get scolded by Lord Lorenzo!’
‘Wasn’t the duke’s daughter a candidate for sainthood? Why are those Papal guys so cold-hearted? My God, we’re too late!’
Everyone was certain that Idnia would be unable to withstand the Scarlet Pimpernel’s assassin and would suffer severe injury or die.
And yet…
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind erupted around Idnia.
The hem of her clothing and the outer coat of her academy uniform fluttered violently, and for a brief moment it seemed as if her body had grown larger—then the assassin from the Scarlet Pimpernel staggered backward, flailing, while Idnia stood completely unharmed.
Black Wolf, too, effortlessly cut down the water spirits with just two daggers and sealed off their retreat.
And then…
“Idnia!?”
From the road near the inn, a young nobleman and his subordinates came running, weapons drawn.
It was Karl Gustav Ansbach, prince of the northern Ansbach Principality, rushing forward with his retainers.
“Oh, it’s Prince Karl.”
“Let’s go as well! We can go out now, right!?”
The Mazdari servants who had been watching immediately drew their weapons and sought confirmation from the Papal envoys.
“Well… since Prince Karl has already intervened….”
But without even waiting for an answer, they all rushed outside.
Noble individuals who could appreciate such matters all held respect for Duke Betelgeuse, who had fought the Demon King as a hero and whose principality had been so corrupted and devastated by the battle.
With the duke’s daughter now in danger, they all sprang into action to assist her.
As Prince Karl’s subordinates and the Mazdari servants poured out together, the Scarlet Pimpernel’s assassin attempted to retreat.
But Black Wolf blocked his escape route.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
At that moment, the assassin raised his magic wand…
“Black Wolf! Be careful!”
Idnia warned him, but the direction of the magic seemed odd.
“W-wait a moment! Master!?”
The archer whose arm had been broken panicked, but the wand in the assassin’s hand began to glow.
Shimmering particles of light shot out like lightning and struck the bandits and the archer whom Black Wolf had already incapacitated, one after another.
“Damn it! Is this silencing them!”
The Mazdari servants watching the scene were shocked by the ruthlessness of the enemy’s methods.
They were likely just thugs hastily gathered from nearby rather than proper subordinates, but still—killing one’s own men so easily to silence them?
However, when the particles of light struck them, they merely sparkled.
“It’s a memory-erasure spell! This is….”
The Papal envoys recognized the spell and clicked their tongues.
Memory erasure was not a simple spell that could be cast so easily in the middle of combat.
However, if the target had previously agreed and formed a vow, the spell could be activated with a simple trigger to erase specific portions of memory.
This Scarlet Pimpernel assassin had made those subordinates swear such a vow when recruiting them, and now that his mission was failing, he activated the vow to erase their memories.
Truly meticulous.
The assassin then cast a lightning spell again to threaten Black Wolf, Karl, and the Mazdari servants who were approaching, before leaping over a building wall and disappearing without a trace.
“Are you alright? Idnia!?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Idnia gave a wry smile as Karl approached her in concern.
“Prince! Should we organize a pursuit?”
“No. That one is no ordinary opponent. If we pursue recklessly, there may be casualties.”
Karl made a calm judgment and turned back to Idnia.
“You’re not hurt?”
“Yes. Thanks to your concern.”
“Let’s head to the lodging for now.
Honestly… to think such people are lurking right beneath the Academy.
It’s probably because of the Mazdari Principality.”
“I’m afraid that remark is a bit hard to hear.”
“We’ve also done our best to assist the duke’s daughter.”
“Done your best, huh—you were just watching, weren’t you? You didn’t notice any of this commotion?”
Karl’s sarcastic remark left the Mazdari servants speechless.
It was true they had been standing by and watching due to the Papal envoys.
“Well, that’s typical of those slick southern types.
Still, the food was good and the lodging was clean.
I’ll give them that.”
Karl escorted Idnia to the lodging together with his subordinates.
Idnia accepted his kindness and walked with them.
At the outskirts of Blackcow Village, in the swamp beneath the cliffs near the Academy, a man wandered alone.
After a while, he found a spot and cast a spell.
The illusion shattered, revealing a small hidden hut within.
He entered, then cast another spell outside to reactivate the illusion.
It was the Scarlet Pimpernel assassin who had just fled from the village.
“Guh….”
He was injured.
“That woman… she’s no ordinary opponent.”
The assassin had confidence in his “illusion blade.”
Using a hidden magic wand beneath his cloak to cast a low-grade disorientation spell, he would approach with a gliding footwork technique and deliver a sudden lethal strike—that was the essence of his illusion blade.
Even if the opponent detected it, his sword, the “Man Eater,” would finish the job.
A magical killing blade crafted by criminal mages who could not live in the light after being expelled or graduating from the Academy.
Even a graze would infect the wound, ultimately leading to death.
He had been certain of victory when he unleashed that illusion blade on Idnia.
And yet…
Suddenly, Idnia’s body appeared to grow larger before him.
In an instant, she had released a sovereign combat form.
Clang!
Idnia blocked the Man Eater with a shield spell cast through her black iron wand, then threw a punch with her other arm.
‘Not an illusion!
Her effective range has actually increased!?’
The assassin narrowly evaded by pulling his body away, but the punch grazed his face.
Riiip!
His mask tore, and blood splattered to the ground.
‘Ugh!?’
The world spun before his eyes.
“You managed to avoid that. Impressive.”
Idnia had already returned to her normal form and offered him a rare compliment.
“I’ve never had to strike an opponent twice before….”
Clenching her fist, Idnia prepared to strike again, but the assassin’s hands trembled.
Both his wand and his sword shook uncontrollably.
‘Damn it… I’m going to die here. To be killed by a mere first-year academy student?!’
But at that moment, Idnia’s hand hesitated.
Karl could be seen rushing in from the opposite direction.
And from behind, Mazdari agents were also emerging.
With so many people suddenly converging, perhaps she hesitated to use her sovereign combat form.
That brief hesitation was something the assassin would not miss.
He quickly regained his focus, cast a spell, and escaped with all his strength.
“Though I barely managed to escape, this injury is no trivial matter.”
The duke’s daughter’s punch carried terrifying force—enough to kill a bear with a single blow. Though he had not taken a direct hit, even the graze had caused a concussion.
For now, he could move after regaining focus, but his body ached.
“Damn it. What a disgrace.”
With trembling hands, he opened his hip pouch and took out a potion.
He drank it after applying a potency-enhancement spell to a powerful painkiller.
The pain subsided, but his condition was far from fine.
He entered a hidden shelter he had prepared near the swamp, blocked the entrance with an old board overgrown with grass, and cast healing magic on himself.
“Ugh….”
Healing magic on an injured body is excruciating.
He was fortunate to have enhanced and taken a painkiller beforehand; otherwise, he might have lost consciousness.
He lay down after casting the healing spell on himself.
The pain induced by the healing, the effect of the painkiller, and the exhaustion and depleted mana all washed over him.
“My head is spinning… I should rest….”
He closed his eyes.
How much time passed?
Srrrng.
A blade was placed at his throat.
“Easy now. Don’t move, Scarlet Pimpernel. Unlike our noble master, the duke’s daughter, I have no qualms about seeing blood.”
A boy from the Sacred Beast tribe known as Black Wolf had a blade pressed against his neck.
Sensing the truth in the boy’s words, the man lay still.
Had they intended to kill him, they would have done so while he slept.
Lying there, he moved his eyes to survey his surroundings.
The sky was still a deep bluish-black.
Before dawn broke, a girl stood there, her silhouette cast against the faint light behind her.
Her appearance was anything but ordinary.
A massive frame like a grizzly bear, long golden hair flowing, and a colossal fist that had nearly reduced him to ruin with a mere graze…
Standing with the dawn behind her, she resembled a sovereign figure.
And yet…
‘Strong… and beautiful. Or is it beautiful because she is strong? Like a scene from a sacred painting.’
He felt a solemn beauty emanating from Idnia.
“Are you the duke’s daughter of Betelgeuse? Remarkable. It doesn’t seem like transformation magic. How do you alter your form so?”
“The one asking is the master. Not you.”
Black Wolf pressed the blade harder against his neck.
“Stop it, Black Wolf. Threatening someone who is prepared to die with their life is meaningless. Put the blade away.”
“But….”
“In any case, he’s within my range. If he tries anything strange this time, I’ll finish him myself.”
At Idnia’s words, the assassin knew she was not joking.
Even a graze of her fist had been devastating—if struck properly, his body would be torn apart.
“Very well. I suppose escape is no longer possible. So what do you want from me?”
“I intend to make you an offer you cannot refuse.”
“An offer? From you, the duke’s daughter of Betelgeuse?”
“Yes.”
At her words, Black Wolf flinched.
“Hey, Master. The Scarlet Pimpernel is an organization of unknown intentions.
Dealing with them will bring more harm than benefit, especially for someone of noble lineage….”
“It’s fine.
I’m not proposing to join the Scarlet Pimpernel, and I’m not negotiating with the entire organization—only with the individual standing here.”
The assassin burst into laughter.
“Duke’s daughter… your martial skill, courage, and tracking ability at such a young age are impressive.
However, you should hand me over instead.
I have no intention of betraying my organization.”
“I’m not asking you to betray them.”
“Hmm. Are you serious? Our organization is a thieves’ guild, and those who bear the name Scarlet Pimpernel are assassins and top-tier thieves.
We are like oil and water compared to someone of noble lineage like yourself.”
“The fact that you say that so confidently suggests that your guildmaster—the captain of your organization—personally ordered you to come to the Academy.”
“……”
“No need to deny it. I already know it’s true.”
Idnia spoke with confidence.
“My name is Farinelli. Farinelli.”
The Scarlet Pimpernel assassin seemed ready to listen to Idnia’s proposal.
“So, what is it that you want from me?”