15. Stellaria’s Relief

The clock was ticking, but we just had to do what we could.

First thing was first—Madam Fisalis and I, her personal attendant, undid the ropes binding our hands. Of course, we were sure to drape the loose cords back over our wrists to fool our captors.

Once we were done wriggling free, the rest of the maids followed suit. Slowly but surely, everyone’s bonds came undone.

Now the only thing left to do was wait.

Mother kept casting glances toward the parlor’s peephole. Beyond it was a secret passageway from which one could keep an eye on the room. It was harder to spot from the parlor side, but if you looked closely, there was indeed a tiny hole visible in the wall.

If anything were to happen outside, someone would likely give us a signal from that secret passage. Never one to miss a detail, Mother continued flicking her gaze ever so casually in that direction. She was being subtle enough about it that the only ones liable to catch on to what she was doing were us servants.

After some time had passed, my mother finally mouthed the signal: They’re here.

I gave her a small nod of acknowledgment, then spread the news to the girls around us one by one.

Well then, we’d better prepare ourselves to stand and fight at any moment!

There had been four men in the parlor, but two of them had left to see what was going on outside and never returned.

“Those two still ain’t back yet? The other guys need to get their asses in gear too. If we don’t make our getaway soon, we’re gonna get caught.”

“Everyone sure is taking their sweet time today. You think it’s ’cause this mansion is so damn big?”

“If the law catches up to us, we’d better take these hostages and run.”

“Good thinking.”

The two men left in the parlor were getting more and more frustrated with each passing moment. Evidently, they’d already forgotten Mother’s warning.

All of this wasn’t looking good for us—it wasn’t just the thieves who were starting to feel nervous.

Tweeeeee!

And that was when there came the sudden blare of an alarm whistle. Right on cue, three different groups burst into the room all at once: from the still-curtained window facing the garden, a handful of knights dressed in the uniform of the Royal Guard; from the door leading to the dining room, Bellis and another one of the manor’s knight-guards who had gone his own way earlier; and from the door to the secret passage, Rohtas and Father.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Madam Fisalis!”

“I hope that didn’t give you too much of a scare, Madame!”

“Rohtas! Cartham!”

Our team of hostages promptly sprang into action. Taking our concealed weapons in hand, we rose to our feet and formed a circle around the madam.

As the last line of defense between Madam Fisalis and the bandits, I kept her wrapped firmly in my arms.

“See?” I said to her. “We knew help would come!”

“I never doubted it for a second!”

A smile overtook the madam’s face. The true heroes of the hour still had yet to arrive, however.

“Dammit!”

“Calm down! There’s nothing to worry about—we’ve still got the rest of our team!”

The men brandished their daggers in a panic. How foolish—by this point, the game was as good as won. They certainly didn’t know when to quit.

Then, right as we and the Royal Guard were squaring off against the bandits...

“What do you think you’re doing in my house?!”

“Sorry, but this is the end of the line for you!”

All of a sudden, Sir Corydalis and Master Fisalis were standing right behind the two thieves, the tips of their blades pressed to the backs of the villains’ necks.

The bandits’ eyes went wide, each of them letting out a wordless squeak of terror.

“Cercis!”

“Cory!”

When we instinctively called out their names, our sweethearts responded by shooting reassuring smiles in our direction.

“Sorry it took us so long, Vi.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Ria.”

I knew they would come for us!

They told me and the madam to close our eyes and ears, but we weren’t about to take that particular piece of advice! I wanted to bear witness to Sir Corydalis’s heroics myself. The same seemed to go for Madam Fisalis—and once it was all over and done with, she even gushed, “That was insanely cool, you guys! What a feast for the eyes!”

In any case, the two knights crushed the competition. They didn’t give the enemy so much as a moment to strike back. In the blink of an eye, both thieves were laid out before their feet.

Back when I was working in the royal palace, I’d caught glimpses of Sir Corydalis practicing his swordsmanship or hand-to-hand combat on numerous occasions, but there was nothing quite like having a front row seat to the action. Why, his technique was stunning enough to make me weak at the knees.

“Ria! Are you all right?!” Upon rushing over to my side, the first thing Sir Corydalis did was start fussing over me.

“Yes! Thank you for coming to save us. Oh, if only the storm hadn’t gotten so terrible, none of this would have happened...”

After the initial rush of relief I’d felt the moment help had arrived on the scene, an aimless sense of frustration had welled up within me. I bit down hard on my lip.

“Thank you for rushing here with Master Fisalis, Sir Corydalis. It’s all thanks to you that everyone in the manor made it out all right,” said Mother from beside me, dipping her head in a bow.

“We were just lucky that we’d strengthened surveillance around the city, and that we received word from the manor pretty quickly. Though I have to say, when I heard that Ria had been taken hostage, I was nearly scared to death.” Sir Corydalis brushed his hand against my cheek, a grateful smile on his face.

Looking at him up close, I could see that his hair and his uniform were both sopping wet. To think he weathered this awful storm just to come to my rescue! Goodness, and here I thought I couldn’t fall for him any harder.

“Really? I was confident you would show up to save me, so I never worried for a second.”

“Of course I’ll always drop everything to come save you when you’re in trouble! I think it’s about time we took our leave, though. You must be tired too, Ria. Go get a good night’s sleep.”

Before we knew it, it was well past midnight. The storm had died down at some point during the excitement; it was now little more than a light drizzle.

Seeing as he just braved a storm and fought off a pair of thieves, Sir Corydalis must be feeling exhausted himself. I’d better let him go so he can—

“Oh no! You two are all soaked!”

“Hm? Oh, yes—we had to rush home, after all. I wore a raincoat, but with how hard the rain was coming down, it didn’t keep me dry.”

“We need to hurry up and get you a change of clothes! No...we need to get you warmed up, or else you’re going to catch a cold!”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t give me that! Rosa, go draw a bath. Cercis, you and Corydalis need to get in there together this instant!”

“Huh? Why together?”

“You’ll both get warm faster that way!”

“I’d rather get in with you, not him!”

What had interrupted my train of thought was a curious exchange between Madam and Master Fisalis.

My fiancé and I exchanged knowing glances.

“Uh, you know what, I’m good—”

“Oh, looks like it’s ready. Well, off you go—and take all the time you need! I’ll get you both a change of clothes.”

Though Sir Corydalis attempted to put his foot down, a strained smile on his face, that headstrong madam of mine completely ignored his protests, going so far as to drag the pair off to her chambers herself!

“Seriously...?” came the men’s disgruntled chorus.

* * *

“Oh, what was I thinking?!”

Not long after she had thrown Master Fisalis and Sir Corydalis into the bath, the madam suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth in horror.

“What’s the matter?”

“Er, well...I shoved them into the same bathtub without giving it too much thought, but looking back on it, I should have had Corydalis bathe in a different room, huh?”

“Oh...”

You just realized, Madam?!

“That tub can fit two people for sure, but I bet it’ll feel a little cramped.”

And that’s the part that concerns you?!