You Must Be Careful with Marriage (2)
You Must Be Careful with Marriage (2)
With us still trapped in their encirclement, the female mercenary continued speaking.
"I'm telling you, Martin de Hierro, the illegitimate son, has become the new head of the Hierro Marquisate."
"That's a lie! There's no way Brother Martin would do that."
"It's not a lie. He really is your half-brother, young lady."
She tossed her handkerchief behind her and pulled out a slip of paper.
"Word just arrived. Regrettably, a fire broke out at the mansion, and the Marquis's entire family perished. Fortunately, Sir Martin, who was staying outside the mansion, survived and has ascended to the position of the new Lord!"
Adria kept shaking her head. It was a story she simply couldn't believe.
"No. No. No."
"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me. I'm only telling you because I feel sorry for a young lady who has to die without knowing anything."
Though she spoke as if she pitied her, her eyes were filled with amusement.
Is that what they call a psychopath?
It was hard for me to believe, too, but if what she said was true, all the remaining questions were resolved.
If even a single member of the Marquis's family had survived, it would have been impossible for an illegitimate son to inherit the household.
If Adria, the eldest daughter, were alive, she would surely inherit the Marquisate.
How not a single person had managed to escape after the mansion was set on fire, and how they had appointed the illegitimate son as the successor immediately after the incident...
There were still things I was curious about, but it seemed I had heard almost everything I wanted to know.
"Now then."
The female mercenary turned her gaze toward me.
"Who is this little brat? Is he that young lord's servant? Oh dear, looks like he got left behind while catering to his pathetic master."
Huh? Does she not know who I am?
Well, of course she wouldn't. Not even the people of the domain knew what I looked like, so there was no way they would.
In that case... would this work, perhaps?
I made the hand holding my sword tremble slightly, as if I were shaking with fear.
Next...
I bowed my head toward her.
"I-I don't know anything. P-please, spare my life."
It had been a long time since I'd used my voice for acting, and it wasn't easy. Still, I begged the female mercenary, putting as much misery as possible into my tone.
"Please, I beg of you."
Perhaps shocked, Adria stared at me with wide eyes, but I immersed myself even deeper in my acting.
"Oh, you poor thing."
The mercenaries around us wore awkward expressions, and the female mercenary clicked her tongue quietly.
Could it be? Was my acting actually working after all this time?
"I really feel sorry for you. But keeping you alive is out of the question. Blame your master for getting you dragged into this."
Ha, I was a fool to expect anything.
It was exactly the same as with Adria.
That psychopath seemed to take pleasure in plunging others into despair with comforting words.
"I wasted my energy for nothing."
As I sighed and straightened up, the female mercenary's eyes widened.
"Pfft, pfft, idiot."
I heard Adria mocking me from beside me.
It seemed my foolish display had helped her snap out of it.
"We can verify whether that woman's words are true for ourselves. For now, let's focus on getting back."
"Yeah, you're right."
When I said that, Adria gripped her sword tightly.
"Ho. Ho. Ho. What an interesting brat."
A creepy laugh echoed. It was the female mercenary's laughter.
"I was looking forward to hearing what kind of sound the young lady would make when she died, but now I've found a brat whose voice I want to hear even more. How should I kill you to make you sing a pretty tune?"
Had I drawn too much attention? She was licking her lips as she stared at me.
The mercenaries flinched and took a step back, as if repulsed by her display.
Had an opening presented itself?
I quickly scanned our surroundings and asked Adria.
"Could the reason she showed interest in me be because of that illegitimate son?"
"Ah! There was that, too, but... No, is this really the time to be asking that?"
Adria played along with my words well.
As I spoke, I kept signaling to her with my eyes. She understood and signaled back as she replied.
Three.
Two.
One.
"Now!"
At my shout, Adria threw herself backward.
Swish!
Her speed was lightning-fast.
Her acceleration ability was on full display.
"Stop her!"
I dashed toward the female mercenary, who was shouting in surprise.
It was obvious at a glance that this woman was their leader and the strongest among them.
For Adria to escape, I had to keep this woman pinned down.
As I ran, I regulated my breathing, inhaling in time with my pace.
Then I held it.
And then I drew up the hidden power from deep within my body.
Now wasn't the time to hold back my trump card.
I unleashed the surging mana throughout my body, into my arms and legs, muscles and nerves.
My vision widened, and my constricted breathing eased.
Time slowed, and the enemy's figure became visible down to every single fine hair.
This was mana. The power that had let my young self stand on equal footing with a knight.
In an instant, the enemy was close. I swung my sword with all my might.
I saw her startled pupils shift.
I felt her arm move and her sword swing.
Finally, I could even see the faint light wrapped around her sword.
Damn it, she was more skilled than I had anticipated.
Clang!
Our swords clashed and recoiled.
Fortunately, I wasn't at much of a disadvantage in terms of strength. The blade didn't break, either.
But the difference in our body weight was unavoidable.
"Ugh."
Pushed back a few steps, I raised my sword again and lunged at the enemy.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Dodging the incoming strikes, deflecting the unavoidable ones, I closed the distance and swung my sword.
"What are you, a dwarf instead of a brat?!"
I had never heard of such a thing. Could there actually be other races?
I felt like she was misunderstanding me, but as long as I could buy time, it didn't matter what she thought.
Feeling as though I were walking a tightrope, I exchanged a few more blows with the female mercenary before leaping backward.
This should be enough, right?
It hadn't been very long, but it was enough time for Adria to escape.
In the direction she'd fled, there were no mercenaries capable of stopping Adria while she used her acceleration ability.
Knowing Adria, she would surely bypass the mercenaries and escape.
Then it was my turn. I had to find an opening and get out of here quickly...
I quickly turned my head, then stopped dead in my tracks and spoke.
In the direction Adria had run, I saw two fallen mercenaries. Just as I'd expected, Adria had successfully broken through the encirclement.
But the other mercenaries didn't chase after her.
And Adria hadn't managed to run very far, either.
"Why were you so late!"
"How was I supposed to know it would be that narrow? More importantly, you nearly ruined the job!"
The man answering the woman was the one who had been commanding the mercenaries below the fortress.
He was walking toward us, his thick arm wrapped around Adria's neck.
"Gack. Gack."
Hanging from the man's arm, Adria could barely breathe.
"Well, I just trusted you, Boss. There's no way I wouldn't know you were coming."
She tapped her nose with her finger.
A sigh escaped me.
I guess things don't work out the way they do in novels or movies. Absolutely nothing was going according to plan.
The arm wrapped around Adria was incredibly thick. It looked twice as thick as his other arm.
It certainly hadn't been that thick when I first saw him.
He had stripped off all his armor except for his pants, and, like us, he was covered in dirt from head to toe.
Those words just now, and the way he looked...
"Don't tell me... body transformation?"
"Oh, smart kid. Was there a kid like you in the Duke's estate? Hmm. I heard the illegitimate son was around your age..."
I'd only uttered a single phrase, yet my opponent had immediately figured out the right answer.
He seemed much smarter than me, a fake genius.
Sigh, I was really out of luck this time.
The enemies had brought the perfect abilities to counter us, and their timing was impeccable.
"Is there a prophet or something among them?"
I muttered to myself in frustration, almost as if I were complaining.
At my words, the man's expression turned strange.
He immediately issued an order.
"Kill that brat right now!"
Then he squeezed Adria's neck.
"Ugh!"
"Don't even think about running. If you flee, the young lady's life is forfeit."
I looked at him in disbelief.
"You plan on killing us anyway, don't you? Besides, I'm not even that close with the young lady."
"I don't know how you possess such skill at your age, but with that kind of strength, you must be escorting the young lady. If you care about your honor, you won't just run away."
He glanced at the wound carved into his other arm.
"Because the knight and the maid we met in the fortress basement also threw away their lives to block us."
"Aaah! Gack!"
Even as she suffocated, Adria thrashed wildly.
"Then can I play with him a bit more? You have no idea how upset I was when I almost got pushed back."
"No! There's no time."
The female mercenary clicked her tongue and approached.
This was troublesome. Running away was the right choice, but it didn't seem like I could escape easily, either.
And if I ran away and left her to die, my conscience would probably keep me up at night.
But what could I do? The living must go on living.
I gave Adria one last, apologetic look.
Adria was looking at me, too.
Our eyes met.
Adria desperately cried out.
"Gack. Gack. R-run away!"
Thank you. I plan to do just that.
Just as I was about to say my final goodbyes and turn away...
"Aaah!"
Adria did something completely unexpected.
She opened her mouth wide and bit her own tongue.
Blood poured out like a waterfall.
Spitting blood, Adria looked at me and smiled.
"Tch, committing suicide."
Startled, the man threw Adria aside and rushed toward me.
The female mercenary ran close behind him, and the other mercenaries raised their swords as well.
"Do you have no intention of running?"
The man stopped in front of me and looked down as he asked.
Until then, I had been staring at Adria, sprawled on the ground.
She had already drawn her last breath.
Ha, damn it.
I'd done something pointless for nothing.
I'd only been trying to look cool, and all I'd done was hurt others.
"What's wrong with him? He's completely lost it."
The female mercenary stared at my face with amusement.
Ah, right. Is this what it feels like to lose it?
I was so annoyed that I felt like I was going crazy.
"The young lady made a useless sacrifice. No matter how skilled you are, you're still just a child."
The man raised his sword.
"What a waste. If only we had time, I could have played with you a bit more."
The female mercenary licked her lips as she looked at me.
I wanted to play along to my heart's content, but I still had one question left to ask.
"Before I die, let me ask you one thing."
"Huh?"
"Which faction do you two belong to? It's not like you're serving that illegitimate son."
At my calm tone, the man looked puzzled, but he didn't answer my question.
"You don't need to know."
He tried to swing his sword again, but fortunately, there was someone nearby with a loose tongue.
"Oh, come on, it doesn't matter now. We can't tell you our original affiliation because of the others, but right now, we belong to Count Lapalma. Happy?"
That was enough.
Though she probably said it just to mock me, it was helpful enough.
I raised my head and looked at the man swinging his sword and the laughing woman.
I etched them into my mind, making sure not to forget a single fine hair or eyebrow.
I had absolutely no intention of forgetting.
The sword flashed past rapidly.
Slash.
My vision flipped and gradually sank lower.
The forest and the sky grew increasingly blurry, eventually fading into darkness.
Perfect darkness.
Silence.
And then, light poured in.
[You have died. Restarting from the Automatic Save Point.]
When I opened my eyes, I saw the small hands of a six-year-old child.
I had returned once again.
To the day I sent away the second Duchess.
I clenched my fists.
My hands were pale blue. Yet I felt no pain.
There was plenty of time.
I will change the future.
But this time, it wasn't just for my own survival.