Chapter 33
Rafaella endured the pain and swiftly leapt down beneath the pile of crates. Even as she staggered from the shock that churned her insides, their attacks poured in without pause.
One of them, wielding a longsword, jumped from atop the crates straight toward Rafaella’s head. She tried to roll away at once, but the sharp, stinging pain spreading through her side made her falter for a moment.
In that instant, the blade rushed toward her.
Kang—!
Just then, someone appeared in front of Rafaella and blocked the sword.
It was William.
“Your Highness! Are you all right?”
William slashed the masked man’s elbow, shoved him away, and stepped close to Rafaella. She replied calmly, pretending nothing was wrong.
“Oh, Duke. You got here fast. Looks like you’re better than I expected.”
“Yes. I’m fairly capable.”
“Oh? You can even say things like that now. You really do grow once you’ve been knocked around.”
“……Next time, I would appreciate at least a warning.”
“We’ll see.”
When Rafaella chuckled playfully, William nearly pressed a hand to his forehead as irritation surged up—but then her hunched posture caught his eye.
Cold sweat clung to Rafaella’s brow as she clutched her side.
Her shoulder and thigh, crudely bound with torn cloth, were already stained with blood. Her dress was caked with dirt and ripped in several places.
William’s brows knit tightly, and harsh words spilled from his mouth before he could stop them.
“Why on earth would Your Highness—!”
“Hm? More coming from behind.”
But the enemies gave them no time to talk.
William turned abruptly. Three men were closing in, daggers flashing, while throwing weapons flew endlessly through the air.
“Please stay back.”
William reversed his grip on his sword and lowered his stance. Beneath his sharply furrowed brows, blue eyes glinted coldly.
Sse-eek! Kang—!
He knocked aside two flying weapons in succession, then swiftly cut across the waist of the nearest attacker. His movements were fluid yet precise, like a dance.
Keeping his body low, the duke sprang upward and kicked the jaw of the man charging in behind him.
Crack—!
As the man lost his balance with his jaw twisted aside, William sliced deeply across both calves in one clean motion.
“Gah!”
William vaulted over the fallen man with his long legs, batting away the remaining throwing weapons without missing a beat.
“Oh.”
Watching from behind, Rafaella raised an eyebrow in admiration. From his restrained, efficient movements alone, she could tell how talented he was—and how hard he had trained.
“It’s a picture.”
The sight of a cold, sculpted-looking man in uniform, his coat fluttering as he displayed swordsmanship like a work of art, was enough to draw a satisfied smile.
“What a shame. If only he weren’t so stiff-necked, I might’ve tried at least once….”
But there was no time to admire him for long.
As another man joined the fight, the remaining enemies split into two groups and attacked.
Noticing the two approaching her, Rafaella raised her club and blocked one man’s blade.
Grrrk—
Wood and steel ground together with an unpleasant screech.
When she put strength into it, the pain in her side stabbed even deeper. The intense agony made nausea rise in her throat, and her vision swam.
Dizziness washed over her, and without realizing it, Rafaella blinked.
In that brief instant—
The other man slipped behind her, holding a thick leather cord taut. In one swift motion, he looped it around Rafaella’s neck and pulled tight.
“Ghk! You bastards…!”
“Your Highness!”
William tried to rush to her, but four men clung to his limbs at once, holding him back.
Already dizzy from her wounds and pain, the tightening cord around her neck made her vision turn white, her consciousness teetering on the edge.
“Kuh… hhk.”
From a corner, the old man shouted urgently in a furious voice.
“Now! Hurry and throw her into the cell!”
The man gripping the cord tightened it further and began dragging Rafaella toward the prison.
At that very moment—
Piiiing—
Thud—!
“Guhk!”
With a sharp whistling sound cutting through the air, blood burst from the man’s back, and he collapsed face-first.
“What—what was that?”
“Where did it come from…?”
The men panicked and looked around.
Standing in front of the cell was Rosalie, a massive bow dangling from her hand like a toy.
As everyone’s gaze turned to her, Rosalie shrank back out of habit, flustered—but then she clenched her lips tight. She picked up a stone rolling on the ground, this one a bit larger than before.
“Was that kid just now—?”
While they hesitated, Rosalie held the oversized bow horizontally. She placed the stone against the string and pulled back with all her strength.
The bizarre sight of a tiny child wielding something like a giant’s slingshot left everyone stunned, until one man shouted,
“Dodge!”
Whooosh—!
But Rosalie’s stone was faster.
Thud—!
“Aaagh!”
Blood sprayed like a smashed watermelon from the shoulder of the man facing Rafaella. Though small, the stone hit with the force of a catapult—or a cannonball.
Rosalie, cheeks flushed, muttered timidly,
“Ah! Th-that wasn’t where I meant to hit. A-aiming is harder than I thought….”
Rafaella tore the leather cord from her neck and gasped for air. Then she kicked the man rolling on the ground and clutching his shattered shoulder, knocking him unconscious.
The pain was severe, but still bearable. William had arrived early, and Rosalie had joined in; as the tide of battle turned, Rafaella’s mood lifted.
She shouted toward Rosalie,
“Rosalie! Well done!”
When Rafaella gave her a thumbs-up, Rosalie’s ears burned as red as her cheeks. Just being called “Rosalie” instead of “little miss” made her heart race with a sense of being acknowledged.
Hurting someone had only been difficult at first—it was easier than she’d expected. The fact that she wasn’t striking directly eased the psychological burden. Feeling the princess’s thoughtfulness in giving her the bow, Rosalie grew even more captivated by Rafaella.
William also shook off the men clinging to him and rejoined Rafaella’s side.
The old man’s insides boiled as many of his subordinates fell to the unexpected counterattack. Blood vessels burst red in his greedy eyes as he stared obsessively at Rafaella.
“You bitch. Contract or not, I’ll chew you down to the bone!”
At the sound of his words, something almost surfaced in Rosalie’s mind—but the old man moved faster.
He pulled a small pouch from his robes and dumped its contents onto the ground. A powder with an unknown, fishy stench spilled out. He struck it hard with his staff, and the powder ignited.
The fist-sized flame grew larger and larger, and in the blink of an eye, engulfed the old man.
“Huh? W-what is this?!”
As the fire wrapped around him like a living thing, the old man screamed in panic.
“I-it was supposed to be monster-summoning powder! Why is it—aaaargh!”
The surging flames were sucked into his body through his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. His hunched body thrashed violently, like a fish flopping out of water.
“J-Jerad, you bastard—!”
The fire intensified until it completely swallowed him. Even then it didn’t stop, swelling until it reached the ceiling of the cave, sending clumps of dirt raining down.
Rumble—
The massive sphere of fire suddenly halted, then began to writhe. From within the egg-shaped mass of flames, a gigantic, dark-red scaled foot burst out.
Everyone still conscious in the cave, Rafaella included, stared in shock.
“B-boss…?”
A masked man crawling on the ground with his legs slashed screamed in terror. The others fled the cave in a panic, as stones fell like it might collapse at any moment.
Rafaella bit her lower lip and spat out a curse.
“Insane bastard. He really went this far.”
What emerged from the flames was a fire lizard—the most savage among rank-three monsters.
Judging by the name the old man had shouted, someone called Jerad must have given it to him as a last resort. The old man clearly had no idea how monster summoning actually worked.
There were two ways to summon something: dragging the being itself across space, or bringing only its core. Naturally, the latter was far easier—but it required a vessel to sacrifice as a host for the core.
The ignorant old man, filled with nothing but greed, had offered his own body to the monster’s core.
By now, not just the foot but nearly the entire slick, massive body of the fire lizard had emerged.
Opening its eyes wide, the lizard flicked its tongue and turned its huge head from side to side. When its vertically slit, chilling eyes locked onto Rafaella, it let out a savage roar.
[KRAAAAH!]
Clinging to Rafaella’s back, Rosalie covered her ears, trembling as she asked—
