Chapter 76…………………….
“Digging through the ground to approach….”
And they had hidden their presence perfectly.
If the spirit hadn’t warned me first, I wouldn’t have noticed until they were right beneath my feet.
“What do I do?”
Leonhart still hadn’t realized.
Even a Sword Master’s senses weren’t as keen as those of a nature spirit.
I beat my wings furiously and screamed.
“Cawww! Caaawk!”
“You’ll hurt yourself like that. Stay still—Della!”
Maybe he was worried I’d get hurt from thrashing around so much, because Leonhart loosened his grip.
I landed squarely on the patch of ground that had been writhing.
Dashing frantically, I stabbed at it with my beak. Leonhart tilted his head.
“What are you doing? Is there something—!”
His words froze mid-sentence.
“Della! Come here!”
At that instant, the ground beneath me exploded.
Boom! Boom!
With a deafening roar, dirt blasted outward.
From the dust appeared a man cloaked head to toe in black.
Leonhart rolled instantly, snatching up his sword and aiming the tip at the man.
“An assassin?”
“…Lucky you, Third Prince.”
“Who sent you?”
“You don’t actually think I’d tell you, do you?”
“Then I’ll just capture you and ask.”
Leonhart’s tone was calm, matter-of-fact—naturally assuming he could subdue the assassin.
The assassin chuckled.
“So confident. Fine, do your best. If you catch me, maybe I’ll answer.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than he tossed something to the ground.
Thump! Fsssshhhhh—
A burst, then the hiss of escaping air.
Thick smoke spread, clouding the surroundings.
He must have wanted to block Leonhart’s vision. How pitiful.
[Why would he do that? Has that black-clad fool never faced a Sword Master?]
[Right? Doesn’t he even know the basic fact that once a Sword Master locks onto someone, they never lose them?]
[Besides, isn’t Leonhart the only Sword Master in the Empire? Of course he has no clue what level he’s dealing with. Isn’t that right, Gnome?]
[(Nod)]
Clang!
A sharp ring echoed by the lakeside.
Naturally, the fight tilted in Leonhart’s favor.
No matter what dirty tricks the assassin tried, Leonhart never once lost composure.
He calmly evaded every hidden weapon, sometimes even knocking them back to disrupt the assassin’s rhythm.
“Why’s he taking it so easy? That’s not like Leo at all.”
Normally, Leonhart would have already subdued him. He was deliberately dragging this out.
“Strange… huh?”
From my perch on a branch, I spotted men secretly surrounding the lakeside.
They were knights from the Third Prince’s palace.
“He’s buying time so the knights can round up the hidden ones.”
Then I couldn’t just sit still.
I fluttered around the assassin, heckling.
“Caw! Caw-caw-caw!”
Whenever I found an opening, I pecked his head or yanked his hair.
At first, he ignored me, but after failing several attacks because of me, he finally snapped.
“Damn it! You cursed crow! Get lost!”
“Nope, not gonna! Nope!”
“Caaawk! Caaawk!”
“I’ll kill you!”
“Try it! Just try it!”
“Caaawk!”
“Della! Get back, it’s dangerous!”
Leonhart glanced at me, worried.
“Am I distracting him? That won’t do.”
I quickly flew back to the branch.
The assassin ground his teeth but couldn’t attack me, because Leonhart’s blade kept forcing his attention back.
The assassin dodged lightly, then flicked another hidden weapon.
“Hmph! So a Sword Master isn’t much after all.”
“Is that so?”
Leonhart smirked as he batted it aside.
The assassin’s killing intent thickened at his laid-back attitude. He unleashed a flurry of attacks.
Blades flashed from every angle, metal clashed, dirt scraped.
To ordinary eyes it would have been a blur—but I saw everything clearly.
“Whoa… so he really is top-tier.”
From the outside, it looked like he was almost on par with Leonhart.
Of course, Leonhart wasn’t going all out.
Still, if the assassin had been weak, the fight would’ve ended ages ago, even with Leonhart holding back.
“Hm? What’s this?”
Just then, after parrying Leonhart’s sword, the assassin leapt back, glaring into the forest.
He must have sensed the knights.
At that moment, Leonhart’s sword began to glow blue.
He had decided—dragging this out any further might let the assassin escape.
The assassin raised his blade in defense, realizing what was coming.
But only the aura of another Sword Master could block a Sword Master’s aura.
With one strike, Leonhart’s sword sliced through the assassin’s weapon like tofu.
The assassin stared dumbly at the broken halves.
“No way… you weren’t even serious?”
Leonhart gave no answer.
He moved like a shadow, slamming a fist into the assassin’s face.
Thud!
“Guhh!”
Blood and teeth flew as the assassin tumbled.
Leonhart pinned his chest underfoot, preventing movement, and calmly wiped his hand with a handkerchief.
“Now that I’ve caught you, you’ll answer me.”
“Urgh!”
The assassin strained to push Leonhart’s boot away, but it didn’t budge an inch.
“Who sent you?”
“…”
“I asked who’s behind you.”
The assassin, of course, stayed silent.
Leonhart’s voice turned low and grim.
“Could it be Duke Evrante? But she’s currently…”
“…”
“Speak. If you don’t want to die.”
The assassin bared his bloodied lips in a twisted smile.
“Quit wasting time. Just kill me.”
“…”
Leonhart’s glare was murderous. Then his lips curled.
“I won’t make it that easy. This time, I will find out who’s behind you.”
“You really think… urk… you can?”
“I can. You lot kept killing yourselves, so I developed a confession spell.”
“…!”
“You can look forward to it.”
Leonhart whispered with a smile. The assassin clenched his jaw, ready to bite through his tongue.
But Leonhart was faster.
With brutal strength, he forced open the man’s jaw and stuffed a handkerchief inside.
He bound his hands and feet, completely restraining him, just as the knights returned from their sweep.
“Your Highness, are you safe?”
“The remnants?”
“None were found.”
“He digs like a mole. Search underground and the lakebed too. Spread out, leave no stone unturned!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
While Leonhart gave orders, the assassin twisted his wrist unnaturally.
“What’s he doing?”
In a blink, the rope snapped.
“Huh?”
From his freed hand appeared something shining—
a long, silver hidden weapon.
It pointed straight at Leonhart.
“No!”
I didn’t think—I just flew and latched onto the assassin’s face.
“Caw! Caw!”
“Urgh!”
My shrieks made Leonhart turn his head.
At that instant, the assassin grabbed me and hurled me violently.
“Damn bird!”
“Cawk!”
“Della!”
Pain exploded through my body.
My ears rang, my mouth filled with a metallic taste.
“You bastard!”
Leonhart kicked the assassin square in the face.
Leaping over his limp body, he rushed to me.
“Della! Della… are you okay? No… no!”
My eyes wouldn’t stay open.
Sleep weighed heavy, unstoppable.
“Della, stay with me! Damn it! Someone call Owen! Fetch Owen! Now!!!”
[Ri-an! Open your eyes!]
[Lord Rian! You can’t pass out! Stay with us!]
[Huh? He’s closing his eyes. Sh*t, what do we do? Gnome! Do something!]
[…]
Sorry.
So sleepy…
I’ll just rest a little.
And then—nothing.
