12. Corydalis’s Concerns

The skies of Rohze had been filled with ominous clouds since morning.

“There might be a storm tonight,” the vice captain said, looking up at the sky through the window and furrowing his brow.

Knowing this guy, I’ll bet you anything the look on his face has something to do with his wife.

“If I’m not there for her during a thunderstorm, Vi might feel neglected!”

Called it.

As you might have inferred, that evening the vice captain and I were scheduled to be on the royal palace’s night watch.

There was a band of thieves wreaking havoc in Rohze as of late, and we had been ordered to come up with a plan to take them down. Our department was officially known as “the Royal Guard,” but our actual job was maintaining public order.

“I became a Royal Guard specifically so I wouldn’t have to leave home...”

There he goes again. I opted to ignore the vice captain’s grumblings.

It was going to be a tempestuous night. Oh, that was a reference to the weather, for the record—not the vice captain’s attitude.

A light rain had already begun to patter against the windows.

I was worried about Stellaria myself, but considering she was back at the Fisalis manor, she was going to be perfectly safe unless things really went south. It would be no exaggeration to call that mansion as well-fortified as the royal palace itself.

* * *

“Based on the reports, we haven’t been able to pin down the number of bandits.”

“There’ve been reports that their numbers are in the double digits, but we’ve also heard word that there are only two or three of them.”

“It’s entirely possible that they adjust their numbers based on the size of the property they’re raiding that day.”

We were in the council room of the knights’ quarters. Captain Permam, Vice Captain Fisalis, a handful of our subordinates (almost all of them were former members of the Special Ops Division), and I were going over the damage reports while brainstorming countermeasures and plans to catch these crooks.

“Their targets have ranged from aristocrats to commonfolk.”

“Right, so they might bring more men along when they go after the mansions of nobles or wealthy men.”

“Exactly. I’ll bet they scale down when they raid smaller places, like shops or commoners’ houses.”

“Seems like it’s always been too dark to get a good look at their faces, but they’re a burly lot. Going by their voices, they’re all men.”

“Witnesses have claimed they had chiseled features. Aurantians, maybe?”

“My, could they be the remnants of the defeated army?”

“That’s a definite possibility.”

“Is it? Aurantians are so sneaky, I’d think nobody would be able to spot them in the dark.”

“Pfft!”

“There’s a chance they might be ex-soldiers or bandits who lost their way and ended up in Flür.”

We steadily narrowed down the list of possible culprits using the information we had.

I had no idea whether they were actually Aurantians or not, but it definitely sounded like they’d come from some other country, at least. As a matter of fact, there had been several reports of them speaking with a foreign accent.

“Looks like they tend to work in inclement weather.”

“And they steer clear of moonlit nights.”

Looking over our gathered data on the bandits’ criminal activities, it was easy to see that their raids were concentrated on stormy, moonless nights.

“Sounds like they’ll be making their move on a day just like today, then,” the vice captain posited, staring out the window with a frown.

While we’d been caught up in our meeting, more and more dark clouds had gathered in the sky, and before we knew it the light drizzle had turned into a downpour. It looked like the weather was only going to get worse from here on out too.

“Nothing hampers visibility like a heavy rain, so this would be the perfect time for those bandits to strike.”

“Plus, no matter how cautious you are, it’s easy to miss things on a night patrol—especially in a storm—so it’s a smart way to slip past our defenses.”

“Think they’ll attack tonight?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“In that case, let’s ask the captain of the watch to increase the number of knights he sends out on tonight’s patrol. Oh, I can go—it’d be quickest for me to take care of it myself.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

Just as one of his knights got up to go deliver the message, Captain Permam stopped him and offered to visit the Rohze police department himself. Nothing got a job done faster than letting a higher-up do the talking. This way, security around the city would be tightened up in no time.

“I doubt the bandits would target the royal palace, but you never know.”

“Better safe than sorry.”

“Exactly. Let’s heighten security around the royal palace until they’re caught.”

“For tonight, we just wait and see what happens.”

I sure hope nothing happens.

For whatever reason, I found myself gazing up at those threatening storm clouds in the sky.

* * *

By sunset, the rain was coming down harder than ever, fat droplets pounding against the window of the knights’ quarters. The wind was blowing violently as well, causing the trees in the garden to sway so hard they threatened to snap.

The overwhelming intensity of the gusts and rain had shrouded the world outside in a white mist.

“The visibility is terrible.”

It was dark, it was pouring, and the wind was howling something fierce. This wasn’t just a spot of bad weather—it was a raging tempest.

“If anything, this guarantees the bandits will be working overtime.” The vice captain was likewise gazing out the window, a grim look on his face.

Immediately after our meeting, the number of guards stationed throughout the city had been bumped up, and those men had hastily set out on their patrol. Just making the rounds was going to be absolute hell in this weather. They were all decked out in rain gear, of course, but that wouldn’t help them much in a storm like this one. I could already picture them coming back absolutely drenched.

Along with strengthening Rohze’s security, more knights were put on guard duty around the royal palace. Even those who were off duty weren’t exempt from the summons, and soon the corridors and most strategic spots of the palace were crawling with twice as many lookouts as usual.

So as you can imagine, the atmosphere was more hectic than ever.

Captain Permam had gone off to act as a personal guard to His Majesty, so the vice captain and I were holed up in the council room—where we could easily hand out orders—compiling the reports from our subordinates.

The storm outside was getting worse and worse, and the sound of the rain beating against the window was more disquieting than ever. The constant flashes of lightning made the trees in the garden stand out in an eerie silhouette. I sure hope one of those lightning strikes doesn’t start a fire... Not that it’d have a chance to spread in rain like this, I guess.

“Will your wife and servants be okay?”

This was the peerless Fisalis manor we were talking about, but I figured I’d better ask just to be certain—seeing as “the servants” also happened to include Stellaria.

“The mansion will be fine. Even if the worst were to happen, our servants train day in and day out for that eventuality.” He did his best to answer calmly, but I noticed his face twitch just a smidge. Despite the words coming out of his mouth, he was worried. “It’s just...”

“Just what?”

“Look at how terrible this storm is! Even with all those servants by her side, I’m sure Viola will be feeling lonely! Damn, if only I could run home this instant...!”

“You sure did give yourself away there...”

The vice captain pounded his fists against the desk with all his might. Apparently, he was more worried about his wife on an emotional level than a physical one.

* * *

Time slowly crept by. Meanwhile, the wind and rain didn’t just refuse to let up—they continued to grow worse and worse.

“It’ll be nice if all our worrying turns out to be for nothing.”

“I wonder if Viola has gone to bed yet,” I heard the vice captain mumbling to himself.

Looking over the same documents from earlier, I said, “Now’s about when the bandits would usually jump into action. The real moment of the truth is at hand.”

“Yeah...I know.”

“If only we had some idea of their next target, it would make guarding against them so much easier.”

“You said it. It’s frustrating how indiscriminate their attacks are.”

The districts they struck were all over the place, and the social classes of the homes they raided varied wildly too. Were those guys out to make our lives hard or what?

“Well, so far, we haven’t had any useful reports come in—”

I was just about to finish that thought with: “Want to take a break? I’m going to go make some tea.” It was in that moment, however, that there came the sound of a frantic knocking on the door.

“Excuse me!” one of our subordinates shouted, barging into the room.

“Did something happen?” the vice captain asked calmly.

“Yes, sir! The bandits have been spotted!” the knight eagerly reported.

“I see. Just as we predicted.”

“Yep. We knew they’d strike on a stormy evening.”

The vice captain and I exchanged glances.

“So, what’s the word?”

“The witness couldn’t determine their exact numbers due to the weather conditions, but it sounds like there’s quite a few of them on the prowl.”

“Good to know,” the vice captain commented with a nod. Come to think of it, we never had reached a conclusion on how many bandits there were in total.

“What are they up to?” I asked, prompting our subordinate to go on.

“Oh, right! They scattered the moment they realized they’d been spotted, but it seems they were headed in the direction of the Fisalis manor!”

“What did you say?!” Cercis and I cried out in unison.

For a fleeting moment, the vice captain went pale as a sheet. So did I, for that matter.

“You said they were headed for the mansion?”

“That’s right! We don’t know for sure whether that’s their final target or not, but they were at least moving towards it. The knight who sighted them is chasing down the fugitives. And backup’s on the way, of course.”

“As if I would leave this up to my subordinates! It’s my mansion—I’m going there myself!” the vice captain shouted, cutting in on the man’s report.

I nearly echoed the sentiment, but something gave me a moment’s pause. There were a million and one reasons I wanted to go with him, but we couldn’t very well leave the council room without anyone around to call the shots.

Dammit! What should I do?!

Right as I was agonizing over my dilemma, there came another voice. “I’ll stay behind. You two take our men with you and go after those thieves.”

“Captain!”

The order had come from Captain Permam, who had made it back to the council room without either of us noticing him there.

“Yes, sir!” the vice captain and I shouted back, thanking him with a bow before we rushed out of the room.

The Bombshell Trio was already waiting for us just outside the door.

“Take this rain cloak. There’s no time to waste, so put it on while you walk.”

“We brought your horses around the front.”

“Here, take this whip and these gloves too.”

They had everything ready for us. Now that’s what I call well-prepared.

Rushing toward the front entrance as fast as our legs could carry us, we swiftly donned the rain cloak and accessories the girls had given us.

The moment we stepped out from under the eaves, the rain pelted us hard enough to hurt. We each wordlessly mounted our horses, then waited for the signal to head out.

“Watch yourselves,” the vice captain advised his men. “If you aren’t careful, you’re going to take a painful tumble.”

“Yes, sir!” everyone shouted back, steeling themselves.

After he’d made sure that everyone else was ready, Cercis was the first to dig his heels into his horse’s side.

We galloped full speed ahead as soon as the order came. From here, we would be rushing through the streets of Rohze as fast as we could go. Unlike the city outskirts, the downtown area was full of all sorts of corners and hurdles, and the raging storm only made things harder to navigate. Considering what we were about to be sprinting through, this was going to take a lot of skill and concentration.

I pulled the hood of my coat down low in an effort to keep myself dry. That didn’t stop my face from getting pelted with raindrops, but that was the least of my concerns at the moment!

Amid the violent winds, rain, and lightning, we galloped straight ahead, the vice captain leading the way.

Please, God, don’t let anything happen to the Fisalis manor!

I prayed that everyone there would stay safe—not just the vice captain’s wife, but Stellaria too.

While I spurred my horse onward, consumed by my thoughts, I soon spotted another horse heading toward us from the opposite direction.

“Everyone, stop! Halt!” came the vice captain’s command, and the rest of us put on the emergency brakes.

The other man likewise came to a halt the moment he spotted us.

Is he part of the bandits’ crew?

For a brief moment, tension ran through our ranks. I squinted, doing my best to make him out despite the awful visibility—until he called out to us.

“Master! There’s been trouble at the mansion!” he shouted, hopping down from his horse and kneeling before the vice captain.

Whew, he’s just a messenger from the Fisalis manor. ...Wait, that’s no reason to relax! There’s been “trouble at the mansion”? What happened?!

I wasn’t the only one freaking out, naturally.

“What do you mean?” the vice captain demanded sharply.

At his master’s command, the servant briefed him on the situation, nearly choking the words out. “A group of thieves broke into the manor not long ago! They’ve barricaded themselves inside, taking Madam Fisalis and the maids hostage!”

“What did you say?! Vi is being held hostage?!”

“My deepest apologies—they broke one of the bedroom windows and snuck in during the storm. The madam’s safety is our top priority, so we’ve been watching their movements without putting up a fight.”

“Still, I assume you lot haven’t been standing back and twiddling your thumbs.”

“Of course not. Rohtas is taking action behind the scenes as we speak.”

“Understood. Let’s hurry, Corydalis!”

“You don’t need to tell me that!”

The vice captain kicked his horse into action once more. The rest of us kept pace close behind.

Our Mrs. Fisalis-loving subordinates felt the same way he did. So did I, of course, but there was something else that mattered to me even more.

If the madam was in danger, that meant Stellaria was in danger too!

Kicking our speed up a notch, we continued our mad dash through the streets of Rohze.