Noble Chain Assault Incident (2)
After parting ways with Riod for some prior preparations, Eunhyeon arrived alone at the entrance to a grand mansion boasting immense scale and majesty.
"Do you have business at the ducal residence?"
"Yes."
Eunhyeon stopped before the Armitas ducal mansion and nodded calmly at the question from the duke's private soldiers blocking the gate.
"Did you make an appointment?"
"I was told showing this would get me through."
He pulled a brooch from his pocket—the one Abros had given him, shaped like two crossed swords—and showed it to the soldiers. Recognizing it at once as the crest symbolizing the Armitas ducal house, they nodded, opened the gate, and stepped aside to let him pass.
"Go on in."
"Thanks for your trouble."
With a slight bow to the soldiers, Eunhyeon whistled in awe at the absurdly vast garden and mansion. He'd snuck into this place once before during the Hersha baronet incident, but this time he was entering officially through proper channels, so he simply strolled slowly toward the mansion, admiring the impeccably manicured grounds.
"Welcome."
He'd planned to take his time enjoying the garden, but a woman's voice greeting him made him turn and face her.
"Yes. Hello."
"Father is waiting."
'I wanted to go slow.'
Pushing aside a twinge of regret, Eunhyeon nodded and followed behind Elenoa as she led the way into the mansion.
"Lately, Erin's been doing much better thanks to you, my lady."
"What's with the sudden parent act?"
"Technically, I'm her guardian."
Elenoa eyed Eunhyeon suspiciously as he chuckled and tossed out the random topic. He smirked back.
"The kid's intimidated by Illyana. But now she can open up to an older sister figure of the same sex, so as her guardian, I'm thrilled."
Who in the world could casually deal with one of the continent's scant ten high-digit mages? Elenoa found the idea absurd even as Eunhyeon's words conjured a certain girl's face, darkening her expression.
"...All I feel toward that child is guilt."
It wasn't her doing, but her half-brother Ashton's reckless actions had nearly gotten Erin killed. The fault lay squarely with her family. The priestess—cold and poker-faced like her father, exuding haughty dignity and known as the Flower of Fernin—couldn't bring herself to be curt with Erin. It was a tangled mix of pity, sympathy, and guilt.
"Erin knows. She can tell you feel that way about her."
Elenoa's shoulders trembled at Eunhyeon's words.
"But right now, that child needs that kind of attention. Her surroundings are just too wretched."
He knew how Erin was treated at school, how she was forcing herself to seem fine while barely holding on. Even if time was slowly healing her wounds, new resentments would inevitably form as she gained some emotional leeway. Right now, Erin was like a bomb ticking down—or an ultra-high-maintenance patient. Eunhyeon was gently soothing her, regulating her emotions, but the storm of pent-up feelings could only be delayed, not prevented forever.
"I... think you're truly amazing."
Saving one person and continuously supporting them to keep their mind from shattering was no easy feat. If Elenoa had the power to save Erin upon hearing her plight, she might have. But providing unwavering support afterward, helping her adapt to this harsh world, demanded immense sincerity and effort. Elenoa admired Eunhyeon for it. He was infuriatingly sly toward her, prone to underhanded schemes, utterly unpredictable—but in strange ways, he cared for those around him like a saint.
"Eh? Rare praise from you?"
"If only you'd ditch that smug face, you'd be even more impressive."
Elenoa pouted as Eunhyeon grimaced theatrically then chuckled. They traded idle chit-chat the rest of the way until they reached Abros's study. She knocked.
"Come in."
With permission granted, Elenoa opened the door, ushered Eunhyeon inside, and took a seat beside Alex. Eunhyeon sat at Abros's invitation, his thoughts drifting to the one missing from the room.
"I heard you summoned me urgently."
"...There's something you need to know."
"What is it?"
"Ashton... he's finally laid hands on 'that child.'"
"Ah, Father? What on earth...?"
"......?"
For a split second, Abros glimpsed an expression on Eunhyeon's face unlike any he'd shown before—a clear flicker of perturbation in those eyes. Always composed, manipulating situations with his pre-laid traps, Eunhyeon now betrayed unmistakable agitation.
In the heavy silence, Erin felt a cold, hard sensation against her cheek and opened her eyes.
"Where... Ngh?!"
She tried to sit up but realized her hands and feet were shackled, restricting her movement. Panic surged as she scanned her surroundings to get her bearings. Pitch darkness, icy floor, faint moonlight filtering through a tiny window, illuminating swirling dust motes. She sensed she was locked in a dim warehouse, but why? Why was she imprisoned like this?
"I was... on my way to Lady Illyana's mansion then..."
After-school classes had ended, and unusually, Eunhyeon hadn't come to meet her. Disappointed but unsurprised—he was swamped beyond just her training—she'd shrugged it off. She remembered walking alone to Illyana's mansion, where she freeloaded meals...
"Tch, stay calm. Hyeon warned me stuff like this could happen."
She took deep breaths to steady her racing heart. Once the initial shock subsided, Erin assessed her situation clearly, mentally listing actions, prioritizing them.
"First, get out of these restraints..."
She twisted her arms, but the bonds—tightly secured—showed no give around her wrists.
"Ugh, seriously!"
Frustration mounted with impatience as things refused to budge, creasing her brow.
Creaaak!
"Wha...?"
As she grumbled in frustration, unable to overcome the bindings, the heavy iron sliding door groaned open. Three shadowy figures entered the warehouse. Too dark to make out faces, but their builds screamed male. As they approached and their faces came into view, Erin's expression hardened. The central man, clad in highborn attire, was a stranger. But his two escorts were etched in her memory.
"Y-You..."
"Heh heh."
The pair leering wickedly at her stiffened face were Villad Orba and Grass Broad—the noble brats who'd harassed her at Aiter Academy not long ago.
"Finally get to see your face. Would've been great if you'd just died quietly back then."
Amid their brazen stares, one man scowled at her and spoke. Erin had planned to channel the mana techniques from Eunhyeon and Illyana to strengthen her body and snap the cuffs, but no change came. Panic hit.
"Wh-Why won't the mana..."
"Mana-sealing cuffs. Used on kingdom traitors to block magic. We knew you train with that bastard and the witch. Right now, you're just a helpless human."
"Who... are you?"
"Someone you've caused a lot of damage to."
"What damage have I ever done to you?!"
"Ashton Armitas, vice-duke of the Armitas ducal house. Ring a bell?"
"Ah..."
Erin's shoulders jerked in shock at his introduction.
"You're...?"
Her eyes widened as she stared at Ashton. Hearing his name and seeing his face shattered the fragile calm she'd regained.
"You! You're the one who... my brother!"
Shock turned to seething hatred in an instant, her glare murderous. Ashton scowled openly, repulsed, and closed in. She couldn't move, shackled and prone on the floor—he kicked her hard.
"Kugh!"
"How dare you! You insolent wretch! A mere commoner glaring at me, heir to a ducal house! What the hell is that look?!"
Once, twice—his rage-fueled kicks battered her body. Each impact forced blood-flecked gasps from her lips as she curled tight, shuddering from the pain.
"Hah... hngh..."
"If you'd just stayed quiet and let us grab you! I could've used you as a hostage to wrench the gold back from that black mage! But you vanished, that snake got involved, and everything went to shit! All because of you! Me ending up like this! That bastard mocking our house! The humiliation in front of Father and those bitches! All your fault!"
"Mmph!"
Long-forgotten memories of one-sided beatings resurfaced. Unlike the training violence from Eunhyeon, this malice-drenched assault clawed at her trauma. Helpless against it, she recalled her father's hated figure kicking her defenseless body. She regressed, shrinking into her powerless, cowering past self.
"Hng... ugh..."
Ashton vented his pent-up rage, shame, and humiliation on her. Spouting irrational blame, pinning his every misdeed on her—he'd lost all reason. It was just primal outburst, beyond human bounds.
'Why... why is this...'
Erin wondered why she couldn't resist again, just taking the hits. What was the point of Eunhyeon's brutal training? If her future remained this—abducted, beaten senseless—had enduring it been worth it?
'No, that's not right...'
She couldn't think that. It'd negate Eunhyeon's devoted care and effort. This was her fault—pathetic, lacking effort, talent, strength.
Are you planning to just take it without resisting like back then?
'No.'
The unidentified voice echoed in her mind. No time to question its source—Erin denied it outright.
"...I... won't... yield."
"What?"
Ashton paused his kicks, leaning in to catch her mumble.
"I'm not scared of scum like you at all!"