Chapter 49
Sienna stared blankly at Laria, completely dazed.
But she wasn’t the only one who noticed Laria’s magical power.
“What… what’s this? Another sorcerer?”
The man looked back at Laria.
Rather than being tense, he cracked his knuckles with a relaxed attitude.
“A necklace that blocks magic?”
Judging by the way all of Sienna’s spells were being nullified, it was highly likely.
As Laria quietly stared at the necklace, Sienna spoke in a trembling voice.
“It’s a magic-canceling necklace. It was created by senior sorcerers from the Sorcery Bureau…”
Laria had instinctively started to reply but quickly closed her mouth.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t drunk the potion to change her voice today.
“Will three gems be enough?”
While Laria was briefly pondering, her opponent didn’t miss a beat and unleashed his spell.
A dark blue magical force lunged at Laria like a beast.
It opened its jaws as if to bite her head, then—poof—vanished in an instant.
“Wha—what?”
As the magic disappeared in an instant, the man looked at Laria in disbelief.
“Could it be… you also have a necklace…?”
Laria didn’t actually need a magic-canceling necklace.
If she observed what kind of magic her opponent used, she could simply counter it with opposing magic, nullifying it.
There was no need to bother with a necklace.
However, Laria didn’t know one thing: it wasn’t that others didn’t wear them because they didn’t know, but because they couldn’t.
Laria raised her arm and traced the air.
The sapphire she carried in her sleeve shattered, sending a flash of white light from her fingertips.
It struck the man like a lightning bolt.
BANG!
With a single strike, the necklace broke, and the man’s mouth dropped open.
“Why…?”
Before he could finish speaking, his body crumbled.
He fell to the floor, completely unconscious.
The other robbers quickly assessed the situation and grabbed nearby hostages.
“Don’t move!”
“Ugh…”
A sword was pressed close to a hostage’s neck.
Since this had been somewhat expected, Laria didn’t panic.
“Should I just knock them out?”
While she was contemplating, Sienna, freed from her bindings by the fallen sorcerer, quickly stuck close to Laria.
Sienna’s flushed face and bright, sparkling eyes gazed at Laria.
It was as if she had fallen in love at first sight.
She opened her lips for a moment, then whispered softly:
“Thank you… for saving me.”
Her shy voice was completely different from the image she had at the ingredients shop earlier.
Instead of responding, Laria just nodded.
Excited, Sienna bombarded her with questions.
“How should we deal with the remaining ones? Should I use binding magic first?”
Just staying put was enough to help.
“Stop whispering!”
A robber who had grabbed a sword barked at her.
Deciding to take out the remaining two in one strike, Laria quietly summoned her magic.
Just as she was about to cast a spell toward the robbers, a tremendous sound erupted.
BOOM!!!
Laria almost bit her tongue in surprise.
Reflexively, she turned toward the source of the sound and saw the entrance wide open.
The door had been completely torn off.
“…!”
THUD!
The thick iron door fell to the floor, shaking the ground.
A man had thrown it aside casually and walked in, his back to the pouring sunlight.
The sudden quiet of the bank was broken by the sound of polished shoes.
Laria, seeing his face, was utterly shocked.
‘Jenox?’
After being out of contact for so long, how did he appear here?
It wasn’t just that he appeared suddenly, but that his face, after a week, felt unfamiliar.
He hadn’t slept; dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his sharp jawline looked as if it could cut paper.
Above all, his aura…
People instinctively stepped back, intimidated by his suffocating presence.
A masked man rushed at him, realizing Jenox had no weapon in hand.
“Uaaah!”
Jenox, skilled in swordsmanship, dispatched the guard in an instant.
Thinking the fight was winnable, the robber charged, but…
Before he could even reach Jenox, he was thrown back.
In the blink of an eye, a scabbard appeared in Jenox’s hand.
“Duke Craseum…”
Muttering someone’s name, the lone robber dropped his sword.
Clang!
The metallic clatter echoed sharply.
Hearing the name Craseum, the robber lost all will to fight.
Jenox, uninterested, looked away, scanning the room for someone.
When his gaze landed precisely on Laria, his pupils constricted like a predator spotting its prey.
Even with her hood up, he recognized her immediately.
Jenox strode straight toward Laria.
Caught off guard, Laria’s face paled.
‘I mustn’t acknowledge him…’
If Sienna discovered she was Laria Rohan, it would cause trouble.
At that moment, Sienna suddenly stepped in front of Laria.
“Nice to meet you, Your Grace.”
Sienna calmly greeted him.
Her voice, however, trembled slightly.
“I am Sienna Hashir. May I ask if you have business with my party?”
“Party?”
Jenox raised an eyebrow.
Hesitating, Sienna clarified her relationship with Laria.
“…She’s a client.”
Jenox slowly spoke again, now looking at Laria.
“I came looking for him.”
Taken aback by the polite tone, Sienna couldn’t hide her surprise.
She hadn’t expected Laria to know a duke.
“Are you really acquainted?”
Sienna asked.
Laria nodded.
Jenox knew Laria was hiding her identity while working on intelligence.
‘If I could speak, I’d cover by saying she’s a client.’
Jenox seemed to roughly understand her situation and reached out his hand first.
“You still have a sore throat, I see. You’re late, so I came to fetch you.”
Jenox lied so naturally that even Laria could almost believe it.
She hesitated, then took his hand. Jenox’s expression stiffened.
Unsure why, she twitched her fingers, and his frown eased immediately.
“Ah…”
Sienna looked at Laria with disappointment in her eyes, whispering softly as if sharing a secret.
“I’ll be waiting. Please contact me.”
As they stepped out, people parted to make way.
It seemed as if she wanted nothing to do with Jenox, keeping her distance.
As they were about to leave, black-armored knights entered.
All of them wore helmets bearing the Craseum family crest.
“Let’s tidy up.”
Jenox gave a brief order and started walking.
Laria, drawing all eyes, walked out of the bank alongside Jenox.
Thanks to him, she had avoided a crisis, but somehow, she felt as if an even greater danger awaited… or was she imagining it?
Shaking off the unease, Laria paused as she saw the scene outside.
Knights of the Craseum family lined up on either side of the building.
The atmosphere was so solemn that no one dared approach the bank.
Descending the steps, Laria spotted a man covered in blood.
Judging by his mask, he was likely a colleague of the robbers who had held the hostages outside.
As Laria descended, she looked for Rodit.
‘Why isn’t he here?’
She expected him to be loudest in searching for her…
Noticing her thoughts, Jenox said,
“Your ladyship’s bodyguard is in my carriage.”
Somehow, that sounded like he had taken the hostage.
Jenox smiled and gestured politely.
“Shall we go to my carriage?”
His eyes didn’t smile.
