Chapter 35: Escape (1/2)

Lute, 12 years old.

The sun has set; it is now the domain of the night.

A few hours ago, the castle fell silent as if the boisterous fun times were a lie.

Chrisse-Ojousama appears to be anxious as she looks out the window.

The visage from not too long ago of the girl who was afraid of going outside was nowhere to be seen.

“Be at ease, Ojou-sama. Since the Master is personally going, our side losing is simply unimaginable.”

Mercè-san gently pats Ojou-sama’s shoulders.

Ojou-sama smiles in agreement.

“… … Ojou-sama, Mercè-san, please be silent.”

I call out the the two who were encouraging each other.

The first floor is strangely noisy.

Flustered voices, wild footsteps, and the like can be heard.

Mercè-san tenses up and holds Ojou-sama close to protect her.

There is knocking on the door.

It is rough.

It is rough to the level that if the head butler, Merry-san, was here, he would have angrily reprimanded whoever it was.

“…..Ojou-sama, Mercè-san, just to be safe, please step back.”

As I give out instructions, the two obediently obeys.

And I, just in case, pick up a letter opener.

I slowly reach for the doorknob and open the door.

There is one maid in the hallway.

She peeks inside the room with an impatient expression.

“I, is Ojou-sama here? There is an urgent report that I have to convey!”

“Report? What is it?”

“At present, Merry-san has returned, and the Master and Madam are–”

“!? Ojou-sama, Mercè-san! Take cover!”

“Kyaaaaa!”

The scream of the maid who was in the middle of reporting.

I immediately turn around and throw the paper-knife towards the window!

Right on cue, a man breaks through the 2nd floor window’s glass and lands in the room. At the same time, the paper-knife sticks into the enemy’s arm.

He had jumped up to the second floor from the courtyard by raising his physical ability with body strengthening magic. Having sensed signs of magic being used outside, I was able to promptly react.

“Guh — !”

The man looks to be in his early twenties.

He has an appearance similar to those of the human race, but since his canines were unusually long, perhaps he is a vampire like Ojou-sama’s family.

He pulls out the paper-knife and starts healing.

“Glow in my hand, O soothing light. Be the glimmer that healeth me. Heal!”

He’s probably one of the novices scraped up by Master’s older brothers and their allies.

Even though the battle isn’t over, he was paying an undue amount of attention to healing his wounds. It would appear that he’s not accustomed to battle.

The result: he shows a huge opening.

I wasn’t trained to be so naive as to overlook such an opening.

Just as Gigi-san had taught me, I quickly move in on the magician.

The male magician panics and swings the paper-knife he pulled out from his arm sideways as a diversion.

Compared to Master, it really wasn’t fast or powerful at all.

I duck, easily evading, and throw a reinforced blow at his abdomen.

“Go ho!”

The man is coughing out saliva, falling over in agony.

Still I show no mercy and throw a palm heel strike at his jaw, throwing him out of the window he came in from.

Having been thrown out the window, the man hit the ground and stop moving.

His hands and feet are convulsing, so he probably wasn’t dead…

He had merely fainted.

The enemy was a mage, but due to his lack of combat experience, I was able to fight him off.

But why was such a person in the castle?

“I, is Ojou-sama safe, baa~!?”

“Merry-san!”

“!?”

While I was confirming that the male mage I had thrown out had fainted, the head butler Merry-san tumbles into the room, his body full of injuries.

He was supposed to have gone to battle with Master and the rest.

Yet, why did he come back to the castle in such a tattered state?

A bad premonition is swelling in my heart.

But the bad news Merry-san brought with him surpasses even my wildest imaginations.

“Ojou-sama, there is something I must report. In the recent battle, due to the betrayal of our head guard, Gigi, Master was defeated baa~.”

“ “ “ !? “ “ “

Ojou-sama, Mercè-san, and I couldn’t believe our ears.

There’s no way Gigi-san could have betrayed the Vlad house!

The servants all liked Master and Madam’s character and were highly loyal.

And even among them, Gigi-san was special.

He even treasured Ojou-sama as if she were his own daughter.

For such a person to be a traitor, there must be some sort of misunderstanding. It has to be a mistake!

I instinctively press the injured Merry-san for an explanation.

“To think Gigi-san would betray us, could it be some sort of mistake? Perhaps it was a fake impersonating Gigi-san!”

“He’s definitely not a fake. He stabbed the Madam with a silver knife, and used its toxicity to force the Master to surrender. Furthermore, he had, at some point, replaced our stock of anti-silver drugs with imitations using his authority as the head guard. With only the enemy in possession of anti-silver drugs, the Master, to save Madam, put on a magic prevention choker and surrendered baa~.”

Merry-san looks mortified as tears forms in the corner of his eyes.

“The main family took custody of the Master and Madam and is now marching towards the castle to capture Ojou-sama. I saw an opportunity and was able to escape, but was attacked by pursuers to this pathetic state… … The main family will arrive soon. Ojou-sama, quickly make preparations to escape baa~.”

Merry-san’s bloodcurdling advice.

However, Ojou-sama still couldn’t follow the overwhelming changes in the situation, simply pales, and becomes overcome with surprise.

Instead, Mercè-san starts moving.

“Excuse me, Ojou-sama.”

Mercè-san put on a coat made of thick fur for Ojou-sama who had changed out of her party dress and into her pyjamas.

Merry-san gives instructions to the other maid, the one who screamed earlier, to look for a jewel box in Ojou-sama’s room.

Furthermore, he grabs my arm with his hands which were still wet with blood.

“Lute, after this, go to the hidden passage that no one other than the Master, Madam, and I know. From there, take Ojou-sama and escape far away baaa~.”

“What do Merry-san and the rest intend to do?”

“We will attract the attention of the main family and buy you some time.”

I grind my teeth at that reply.

Merry-san tightens his bloody fists.

“Please forgive us for being so worthless that we have to rely on Lute even though you’re still just a 12 year-old child. However, right now, the only one that can protect Ojou-sama is Lute. Please, please! Please protect Ojou-sama baa~”

“… … Of course. I will show that I can fulfill my duty as Ojou-sama’s butler-cum-blood bag.”

“Thank you baa~”

Around the time I finished talking with Merry-san, Ojou-sama’s preparations have been completed.

Ojou-sama is still pale, and her eyes aren’t focused.

Her mind is still unable to cope with reality.

“Now then, let us go to the dining hall on the first floor.”

Lending the bloody Merry-san a hand, we head toward the 1st floor dining hall.

The dining hall that the Master and Madam always used.

A luxurious, elegant chair in a long table. Massive curtains, gilded candlestands, vases arranged with vibrant flowers — and a hearth that’s a world of difference from that in the servant mess room I usually use.