13. Stellaria’s Battle

The driving rain pounded against the glass of the window; lightning streaked across the sky over and over, always accompanied by an eerie rumbling (or sometimes even a crash).

The clouds over Rohze had been threatening rain since morning, but the weather only got worse and worse as evening drew near—and by now, it was shaping up to be a full-blown storm.

“It’s too bad Cercis is working tonight, of all nights. He hardly ever gets stuck on the watch, so why did it have to happen during a thunderstorm?” the madam grumbled as she gazed out the window, a flimsy robe pulled over her nightgown. “Now, don’t get the wrong idea—I’m not some damsel who’s afraid of a little thunder! But a storm like this just makes a girl feel lonely, you know?”

When all is said and done, she really does count on the master to be there for her.

Though she wasn’t acting too differently from usual, she still managed to come off a tad bit anxious.

Mother was also looking outside as she went around closing the curtains. “This is quite the storm. I certainly hope this wind doesn’t blow a tree branch right through one of these windows.”

Every now and then a bolt of lightning would illuminate the area, but for the most part the garden was shrouded in a cloak of white mist due to the downpour. Visibility was simply terrible.

The trees I could see were swaying in the gale so hard I feared they might tip over. Just as Mother had said, there was a real danger that one of their branches might get blown away and break through the glass.

“Exactly,” the madam agreed. “If one of the windows breaks, just think of all the rain that will come flooding in.”

“The rain we can handle, but there’s been some unsettling news making the rounds. We don’t need to make it any easier for some band of ruffians to get inside,” said Mother, heaving a sigh as she closed another set of drapes.

She was likely referring to the band of thieves ransacking Rohze as of late. Known for indiscriminately breaking into the homes of anyone from rich nobles to the average commoner, they were a truly vile bunch.

“What ruffians?”

“A short while back, a band of thieves popped up out of nowhere and has been wreaking havoc in the capital ever since,” Mother succinctly explained to the madam, who appeared to be hearing about this for the first time.

“Really?”

“Yes, ma’am. No matter how flawless the manor’s defenses are, there’s no telling what might happen in a storm like this. Though even in a worst-case scenario, I suppose we could always escape through the hidden passage.”

“N-Now wait just a second there! What hidden passage?! This is the first I’ve heard about this!”

“We’ve yet to find ourselves in a true emergency, so we’ve always put off telling you until later, I suppose. Rest assured, if we do send you down the tunnels, we’ll have Stellaria or one of the other maids accompany you.”

“Whew, that’s a relief! If I ended up lost down there, I’d be a goner for sure.”

“Indeed. For tonight, I only ask that you sleep with a dagger hidden near your pillow. Think of it like a lucky charm.” With that, Mother took the dagger we always kept in a bedside table drawer and snuck it under Madam Fisalis’s pillow.

“S-Sure. I doubt I’ll need to use it, anyway.”

“Of course.”

The madam was staring holes into her pillow. No doubt her primary concern was how comfortable it was going to be to sleep on.

Her gaze eventually shifted from the bed over to me. Not a second later, she asked, “Would you mind sleeping here with me tonight, Stellaria?”

Madam Fisalis always was the straightforward sort, but that request was crossing a line.

“Goodness! You know I can’t do that. I’ll be close at hand, so there’s nothing to be so anxious about.”

“Aww... Then you should at least set up a cot in my room.”

“We can sleep just fine without a bed, I assure you. Stellaria and I will be right here beside you, and tomorrow I’ll assign a few more girls to be your attendants. We won’t let you feel lonely,” said Mother, doing her best to mollify the madam.

“Okaaay...”

Reassured to know that there were plenty of maids around, the madam was finally ready to get into bed. She always had such a good head on her shoulders, but her youth really showed in moments like this. I was willing to bet that the master found this side of her quite charming.

“Well then, good night.”

The moment the madam was about to take off her robe so she could lie down, however...she was interrupted by the sound of the bedroom window being smashed to bits.

“Eek!”

“Madam!”

Rain and wind steadily rushed into the room through the broken window. It was as if the storm outside had swallowed up even her very own chambers.

Every single maid in the room rushed to huddle around the madam. It would be our job to protect her if something came hurtling in from outside.

“Whew! What is this, some lucky guy’s harem?”

“Man, that’s a duke’s manor for you! Even his maids are a bunch of hotties.”

It was then that a handful of burly men came climbing in through the broken window, making those crude remarks as they did. There were four of them in total.

“Why, you miscreants!” Mother shouted before blowing the alarm whistle she always carried on her person.

We maids formed a protective circle around the madam. Nobody was reaching for their concealed weapons just yet.

I swiftly retrieved the dagger from under the madam’s pillow and handed it over to her, whispering into her ear: “Hide this under your clothes.”

She gave a tiny nod, stowing it away under her nightgown. Now, if worse came to worst, she would be armed and able to defend herself.

Oh, won’t somebody please come help us?!

Unfortunately, I heard an alarm whistle sound from somewhere else within the manor. I could hear the sound of more glass shattering too. Did the bandits break in through several different parts of the mansion?! What shall we do?!

Courageous girl that she was, the madam leveled an imposing glare at the intruders with those big sapphire eyes of hers.

Is our only option to wait for help to arrive?

“Is that the lady of the house? Looks like we’ve found ourselves the perfect hostage.”

The men drew closer, grins plastered across their faces.

Should I put myself in danger to fight them off? I gripped the dagger under my clothes, bracing myself for the worst.

Fortunately, that was when my mother’s sharp voice echoed through the room. “I should inform you that if you were to lay even a finger on our Madam, there are members of Flür’s chivalric order who wouldn’t take that lying down. Not just any knights either—their most elite squad would come for you.”

“’Scuse me?”

“What are you babbling on about?”

The men briefly faltered before demanding an explanation.

“If you plan to flee with the madam as a hostage, the chivalric order will chase you to the ends of the earth—and the moment you’re caught, you will never see the light of day again.”

“Wha...?!”

“Hah! Some threat. Those good-for-nothing knights never managed to catch us before, so why should we be afraid of them now?”

“Until now, you’ve only had to deal with ‘ordinary’ knights going after you.” The man had pulled himself together enough to threaten her right back, but Mother didn’t so much as flinch. “The knights protecting our Madam are in an entirely different league. Once you get a taste of their abilities for yourself, it will be too late to regret it.”

“Tch... Whatever! We’re still gonna keep you guys hostage until we’re done looking for loot in here!” The man gave an irritated click of his tongue.

Now they were clearly going to think twice before absconding with the madam or hurting her in any way. Mother’s attempts at negotiation were a success.

“Tie them up,” the leader spat bitterly.

“Sure thing.”

All the men who had been hanging back crept toward us with lengths of rope in hand.

I slid my dagger back into its hiding place. It wouldn’t do for them to find me out.

Never suspecting that we had concealed weapons, the men bound each and every one of us with the rope.

“Just you wait—I’ll slip out of this in no time!” the madam muttered under her breath. There was a fire in her eyes. True—our madam could undo these amateur knots in two seconds flat!

I was relieved to see that she seemed to be holding up just fine.

It was at that moment, however, that one of the manor’s knight-guards flung open the door and appeared on the scene. “Madam! Are you all right?!”

Does this count as good timing? Or bad?

“Oho, we’ve got ourselves a regular hero, don’t we! Listen up, buddy—we’ve taken custody of your precious duchess. We’ll give her back to you as soon as we’ve looted this mansion for all it’s worth. Until then, you’d better sit on your hands and wait.”

“Ugh...” Chagrined, the knight-guard chewed on his lip.

“Go round up all the servants in the mansion. The wind and rain are gonna be a pain if we stick around here, so find us a big, open space to shove everyone into. Did you hear me? Get moving!”

“...Understood.”

The knight exchanged glances with me and Mother before leaving the bedroom behind.

Perhaps you’re wondering exactly what that look implied. You see, it was a signal that he was on his way to tell Rohtas, Bellis, and Father about our current situation. Those three would then break off from the rest of the servants to deal with this emergency. By now, they were no doubt working behind the scenes to save us, with our most elite knight-guards in tow. Master Fisalis had surely been notified by this point as well...which meant word must have reached Sir Corydalis’s ears too.

I know they’ll come for us. Hang in there just a little bit longer, Madam!

After some time, another one of the bandits barged into the bedroom, accompanied by the same knight-guard from before. They ordered us to move to the parlor, where they had apparently gathered up the rest of the servants.

We moved out, forming a protective circle with Madam Fisalis in the middle. While we walked, the madam worked steadily at loosening up her binds. What a smart girl, making sure to do it where the enemy can’t see.

Every servant in the manor had indeed been herded into the parlor—well, allegedly. Rohtas, Bellis, Father, and a few knight-guards were conspicuously absent from the crowd, but the bandits had no way of knowing that.

“Is this everyone?”

“Yes, sir,” replied a servant wearing Rohtas’s jacket (in short, our decoy butler).

We were all gathered in one place now. I sidled as close to the madam as I could.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a matter of time now.”

“I know. Rohtas and the rest of the guys will get us out of this mess somehow.”

“Master Fisalis will come for us too, no doubt.”

“Yeah. I believe in him.”

I offered the madam a few words of encouragement in a voice too soft for anyone else to overhear.

Worry not—Master Fisalis will most certainly come for us! And Sir Corydalis will be right there with him, of course!