Chapter 20

Chapter 20

FILSAND WAS ORIGINALLY the capital of a nation whose leaders descended from the ancient Schultz royal family, but when the Velde Kingdom invaded, it fell under the rule of General Darmund. Brother to the king, Darmund later took the title of duke of Filsand.

This all happened some twenty years ago. Many people loyal to the Schultz family fled south, earnestly hoping to retake Filsand someday. They’d staged repeated raids and attacks over the years.

Fifteen years ago, Elisabel Roney Filsandia was born to the duke of Filsand and a Schultz princess.

That Schultz princess, Shayla, had been taken captive by Filsand during their invasion. The duke took her as his second wife in order to increase his legitimacy as ruler of Filsand. Elisabel’s mother hated her husband with all her might.

Luckily, Shayla did not try to impart her hate and resentment onto her daughter. But if a child is raised with that much conflict existing between her parents, it surely has a negative effect.

Nevertheless, Elisabel’s father clearly cared for both his daughter and his captive wife. Their life was not all that different from what had been afforded to his first wife and her children. Elisabel had all the benefits of a noble education. She even had the opportunity to learn magic for self-defense.

Her eldest brother was especially kind to her.

That is why she chose to work as a diplomat for Filsand, where she was raised, instead of on behalf of the Schultz partisans, whom she had never met. And she did, in fact, work extremely hard.

Elisabel had come to Axeholm in the first place for negotiations—the Schultz fighters had taken a castle, one that would require siege weapons to liberate. The dwarves were not interested in human wars, so she struggled to convince them to sell her the weapons Filsand needed, but ultimately, she was successful.

(The main reason negotiations had not proceeded smoothly was all the damage the dwarves had suffered from the beasts. The second reason was that once the beasts were finally gone, the dwarves were busy preparing a ceremony for the mighty wizard in their midst.)

Elisabel was only fifteen years old, but she had already worked as a representative for the duke in her own country, in Land Barthes, and in Shrendal. She had a track record of many successful negotiations.

Of course, she hadn’t always possessed the authority to negotiate on her realm’s behalf. At first, she’d just been sent on missions to lend her name to the proceedings. She was a figurehead. The emissaries and diplomats would take care of business.

However, she understood her own power as an “attractive, innocent, naive girl” well. She had a natural affinity for using that to her advantage.

She achieved impressive results, but not because she came up with ingenious schemes. She had a simple, solid foundation: Make the other party feel good, listen to what they have to say, and make them want to speak to you again. By repeating those steps with the relevant parties at every opportunity, her efforts bore steady fruit.

Through the power of empathy, she closed the emotional divide that existed between negotiating parties. Once folks felt closer together, reconciling their competing interests became far easier. A detachment of the duke’s civil service staff followed her around on her travels, as numerous as they were skilled.

Those who were less fond of Elisabel claimed she deployed her seductive wiles and cried false, cynical tears get her way. Perhaps there was a grain of truth to those rumors, but Elisabel simply believed in using every gift that the gods had given her to get the job done.

***

That is how she ended up working for Filsand, but those who had conquered her mother’s people felt contempt for the blood that ran through her veins. Their insidious harassment never ceased, and there had been more than one occasion where she’d been called a barbarian to her face. Even her relatives, such as her father’s first wife and her second brother, did not hide their hate for her.

And then, six months ago, everything changed.

Suddenly, the position she enjoyed, long preserved by the stability of her parents’ relationship, came crumbling down.

Her mother fell ill, and at the same time, her eldest brother was captured and killed by the Schultz partisans.

The only remaining blood relatives of the duke were her and her second brother.

If Elisabel was hated and deemed incompetent by her father, this probably never would have happened. But his first wife and her second brother feared her, because she had earned her father’s trust as a diplomat recognized far and wide for her abilities.

It didn’t take long before the pressure from her second brother exceeded mere harassment.

It culminated in attempted assassination.

***

It happened a few hours before the Filsand knight had come to Geo’s room.

After negotiations with the dwarves, Elisabel visited a human-friendly restaurant. Her two knightly guards had come along to drink.

“But that sorcerer Geo is crazy,” one said, knocking back his mug.

“Sure don’t want to ever be on the wrong side of a monster like him,” the other man agreed.

Right in front of Elisabel, daughter of the duke, the knights chatted eagerly about the giant stone statue they’d seen on the day of the monster raid—and the sorcerer who’d commanded it.

Elisabel didn’t reprimand them, instead giving a sweet smile as she took small bites of dwarf cookies.

Even though they were her guards, their only role was to protect her along the road and inside of Axeholm. She’d already realized that they’d actually been hired to assassinate her on the way back to Filsand. She figured the order had to have been given by her brother.

These days, there were often undead on the road that passed near the Twilight Wastelands. In rare cases, even daemons would appear. It wasn’t an easy route to traverse, and it wouldn’t be hard to make her death look like an accident.

Killing me after the negotiations with the dwarves were complete… How rich…and so very efficient, brother…

“Miss Elisabel, you saw it, too, right? That big old statue stomped right into battle!”

“Y-yes,” she said. “Admittedly, I didn’t fully understand what was happening…but it truly was amazing.”

That sort of magic ought not to exist. That man holds power the likes of which Sedia has never seen. Filsand cannot help but be wary of him… But what sort of man is he, inside…?

She muttered to herself as she remembered the other day, when she’d seen a middle-aged man at the elevators, grinning licentiously at the woman who had half-wrapped herself around him.

But he did offer his hand to the girl to help her stand up, and he seemed to have a refreshing attitude outside of that. At the very least, he wasn’t a domineering fellow…he might even be a genuinely good person.

She’d traveled all over the world as a representative of the duke, meeting vast numbers of people. Now she took a minute to parse through the list of associates in her head.

“Ahhh…” She sighed. “There’s just no point anymore.”

“Hmm? Elisabel, did you say something?”

“No, it’s nothing. After this round, we’ll be heading back to our rooms, so please go ahead and order whatever you’d like.”

“Is that so?” The knight grinned. “Don’t mind if I do.”

***

Silence reigned.

Almost an hour had passed.

The two knights were face down on the table, sleeping soundly. It seems that my emergency-use medicine came in handy after all.

Elisabel politely called over the dwarven waiter. “I’m afraid my companions have overindulged. Please let them rest here for a bit.” A moment later, she excused herself from the restaurant.

Of course, she didn’t forget to take with her the certificate plates that the knights needed to move around Axeholm.

I don’t really have anything like a plan, but I suppose I’ll just have to improvise.

The castle siege weapons would take a few weeks to complete.

She should have taken the time to carefully construct a plan of action. But here she was, recklessly charging ahead. Truth be told, she was worried that if she waited too long, she’d lose her nerve.

Elisabel was swift-footed, and she quickly arrived at the shelter where guest horses and carriages were kept. Her certificate plate was an expensive one, and it afforded her the same freedoms as native dwarves to move around Axeholm.

She skillfully took the reins from the attendant of the swift horse that had carried her here from Filsand.

And just like that, she had successfully escaped from Axeholm—or rather, from the Filsand knights.

***

“Windstar, I’m sorry, but please hurry… Cloak of Flames!”

Even though she was wearing tights and a dress that didn’t even cover her thighs—hardly ideal for riding—she didn’t have time to care. Her staff, decorated with the star and sword of Filsand, was swiftly engulfed in flames. Its light illuminated the road brightly enough to allow her horse to run at full speed.

She didn’t know whether the Filsand knights—no, her assassins—had started looking for her. It’s not a matter of if, but when. They’re definitely coming… Even if I run away, I’m just extending my life by half a day or so…

“It’s just as my mother once said,” she murmured aloud. “We are all of us slaves to fate…”

She kicked her horse into a full gallop. With a heavy heart, she entrusted her own fate to the animal’s thundering hooves.

***

“I’m sorry for coming at night,” the armored soldier told us. “I am a member of the Filsand knights. We have lost track of the daughter of the duke of Filsand, Elisabel. I would like to search your rooms.”

Those words from the other side of the door were completely unexpected. We all looked at each other and found ourselves united in bewilderment.

“That—”

Clara looked like she was going to give a sharp and haughty retort as usual, but I put a hand up to stop her.

“I’ll ask just to make sure…” I said, somberly. “Does anyone here know where the duke’s daughter is?”

Silence.

Of course everyone shook their heads. And of course I had no idea, either. Incidentally, Ted and the three recruits had been assigned to a different section, so they weren’t here. But I had my doubts that they were motivated enough to stir up this kind of trouble.

“We’ll cooperate with the search,” I said. “But perhaps you could please explain the circumstances?”

“Of course,” the knight said.

Upon hearing his gruff reply, my friends all casually picked up their weapons. That felt like good judgment to me. I took my own Staff of Wizardry from Reyha as I headed over toward her.

“I will open the door now,” she declared. “You will treat Lord Margilus with the proper respect.”

After Reyha made her cold remark and opened the door, the unarmed knights came into the room and looked around.

“Ah…please accept our apologies,” said the one.

“She’s not here,” said another.

“Not here, either,” said a third.

“Again,” said an older knight, who I supposed was their leader, “we are terribly sorry for the inconvenience.”

While a number of other knights checked the rearmost bedroom and adjoining chambers (apparently I was being treated as a VIP, so my guest quarters formed a suite), the older knight explained the situation to us.

“We are the Star Shield Knights of Filsand. My name is Adad, true-born heir to a proud knightly lineage. About an hour ago, Elisabel disappeared. The two knights who were guarding her… Well, we have lost contact with them as well. That’s why we’ve taken it upon ourselves to perform a search.”

“Hmmm…” It wasn’t much of an explanation. Perhaps they didn’t quite have a grasp on the situation yet.

“Isn’t it a little bit early to be worried? Axeholm is a big place,” Clara said, irritated, both hands on her hips.

It was a rational opinion. She was cooperating with the search, but considering my position, it wasn’t out of line to level a few complaints.

“Well… No,” said the knight. “You see, the princess is a key person in Filsand, and as such, her life is always in danger. We are under strict orders from the duke never to let her out of our sight, even for a moment…”

Adad’s face was pale, and he was blinking quite a lot. He seemed awfully worried, but I reckoned it wouldn’t be easy to say calm if her life truly was in danger.

This was bad timing. I was supposed to consult with her about trade tomorrow.

Well, even if I wasn’t, a teenage girl’s life was at risk. Even if she was a stranger we hardly knew, we should still be helping.

“Sir Adad,” I said, “if you don’t mind, we would like to help you search for Elisabel. What do you say?”

“What?!” Adad’s eyes goggled, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was it really such a surprising offer?

“Ah, well…that’s quite all right,” he assured me. “We’ve already troubled you enough. It is our duty to keep the princess safe, after all.”

Hmm?

Could they really afford to refuse our help?

The only other knights I knew were the Calbanera Knights, and they were a bit odd… The knights of this world seemed like a fairly inflexible bunch.

“Be that as it may, shouldn’t the first priority be Elisabel’s safety?” I gestured with my empty hand. “I think I know some magic that would be of great aid to your search.”

“Well, err… Forgive me, but I don’t see how getting involved in our business is of any advantage to you…”

“Actually, I had planned to propose some negotiations to her tomorrow. It would be a problem for me if she doesn’t turn up.”

“I see, but even so…”

What was up with this guy? Something about him just oozed suspicious. It seemed almost like these knights didn’t have the princess’s best interests at heart. I wished I had my ESP Medal on me, but it was in my closet with my Infinity Bag.

“Sir Adad,” I intoned flatly.

While I stared him down, new knights burst into the room.

One of them murmured something unintelligible into Adad’s ear, too quietly for us to overhear.

“I see,” said the elder knight, seizing on the distraction. “Understood. My thanks.”

Meanwhile, I turned my disappointed expression toward Reyha and made eye contact with her. It seemed that the faithful and competent dark elf understood what I was about.

“Excuse me, Master Margilus,” Adad said, a little too quickly. “It seems that we have now ascertained the princess’s whereabouts. We’ll be headed out to retrieve her. Please let me apologize again for this intrusion.”

Clearly uncomfortable, Adad hastened out of the room, and the knights followed.

***

“What was that?!” Clara growled. “I feel like I just watched a jester’s farce! Suspicious, a tragedy in five acts!”

“It didn’t look like he had Elisabel’s best interests in mind at all,” Ild said, calm by contrast.

It seemed we were all thinking the same thing.

“‘I found the two guards,’” Reyha said, in an oddly masculine tone. “It looks like they were drugged. The princess seems to have escaped from Axeholm by horse. We are preparing to give chase now.’”

“Huh?”

“That is what the messenger whispered into Adad’s ear, my lord.”

Reyha seemed a bit proud of herself for repeating the message in a young man’s voice, just like the knight’s. She not only had a good ear, she was also a master thespian.

“Well done, Reyha.”

“Thank you.”

But what did this mean?

It really seemed like those knights wanted the princess dead… At the very least, there was a reason she’d broken out to flee alone.

“But this has changed the situation completely,” I muttered. “Actually, I don’t even know what the situation is anymore.”

I sat back down on the sofa, shaking my head. Until now, we’d thought the duke’s daughter was missing and that there was some sort of enemy of her father’s pursuing her. But if the knights were the ones after her life…that meant a civil dispute in Filsand.

But there were many different kinds of civil disputes.

“Do the knights simply have a grudge against her? Or is the duke trying to off his daughter?”

“We don’t have enough information to know for sure,” Clara answered, deep in thought.

All my friends were puzzled.

“Tell me your opinion,” I said. “Do you see any benefit for us in saving Elisabel?”

“That’s tough.” Clara massaged her forehead. “If she is violating some Filsandian law, then it will hurt us to protect her. On the other hand, if an enemy of the duke is trying to kill her, we could win the duke’s favor by rescuing her.”

“No matter what the situation is, I think the largest benefit lies in ensuring her safety. Blood relation to a ruler is quite significant,” said Ild.

“Don’t ask me,” rumbled Lade.

Reyha’s answer was predictable. “I will do whatever you say, my lord.”

We didn’t know the exact situation, and therein lay the dilemma. If I were to make suppositions based on the knowledge we did have, I would say the girl was unlucky, and there was a villain trying to kill her. If we were to explore additional possibilities, it could be that Elisabel was a murderer, or had betrayed her own country in some way.

In other words, we wouldn’t know the truth about the princess if we didn’t try to save her.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s change the question. Do you think we should help Elisabel?”

“Well, of course we should,” said Ild. “She’s just a girl, and around the same age as Mora, is she not?”

“Put another way,” I pressed, “do you think we can afford to abandon her?”

“Just do whatever you want,” Lade said.

“I will do whatever you say, Lord Margilus,” said Reyha.

My friends answered exactly as I expected them to. Frankly, I thought that we should save her.

But I was no longer only a magic user. I was now also the lord of Castle Getaeus and steward of three villages. I could not afford to be in political opposition to the duke of Filsand.

“Hmmm…”

The knights already knew the faces of me and my friends. If we did save the princess, and it caused harm to the duke, it would be a huge problem.

While I was deep in thought, Clara spoke up, sounding frustrated. “What are you waiting for? Don’t we already have our answer?”

“Do we?”

“Let’s say we did abandon Elisabel and somehow won favor with the duke in so doing. Later, when we hear that she was killed, won’t you be full of regret, wondering how things might have been different if you had only been there to do something?”

Hmm. I’d said something pretty similar to Clara in the nest. I couldn’t compare daemons to our fellow humans, but…she was right.

“Okay. I’ve made my decision. We will rescue the princess.” I stood up.

As I expected, Clara and Reyha both nodded.

“Change the way you think about things like this,” said Ild. “Regardless of whether Elisabel is the duke’s ally or enemy, apprehending her will be worth something.”

“Isn’t that more or less what I said in the first place?”

“Those knights only said that there was a possibility that someone had it in for her. We just need to believe that and protect her in good faith.”

“It looks like you’ve finally started thinking like a proper aristocrat,” said Clara. I thought I was just being mature about the whole thing, but Clara looked pleased with herself.

Privately, I reaffirmed my belief that dividing society into classes was the opposite of good.

“In any case,” I said, “before we go back to Castle Getaeus, shall we head on to Filsand?”

Ild, the veteran merchant, ignored my attempt at being crafty and expressed his opinion about our next move. “If we bring her back to our castle, we might be thought of as kidnappers. And it’ll be a pain if we are held by a subordinate of the duke on top of our obligations to the warrior clan. Resolving talks as quickly as possible is ideal. It looks like we’ll need to rely on Sedam’s stewardship back home a little longer.”

Either way, we had to negotiate trade with the duke of Filsand. If we can succeed at saving his daughter and win favor with him, we may have an advantage in any negotiations. Though the opposite is also a possibility.

“When exactly did we decide we were going to Filsand?” Lade had been watching in silence, looking grumpy. But now that he’d spoken up, he didn’t exactly sound like he was outright opposing the trip. I hoped he at least thought it was a good thing that we were trying to save a girl’s life.

“Perhaps it seems a bit arbitrary on my part…but I guess it’s the only way. I choose to believe that we’re doing the right thing.”

“So, the first step is to protect Elisabel and get her to safety. The best-case scenario would be if the knights don’t distract us.”

I gripped my staff. “Now, let’s move. We’re off to save Elisabel.”

In my head, I imagined discovering the duke’s daughter as she fled in the dark. I was already searching for a spell that would help us catch up with her.

***

According to the information in the conversation between the knights, Elisabel had fled from Axeholm. The problem was that we were at least one hour behind her, and we didn’t know which direction she was headed in. Also, we had to think about how to track her.

Ild weighed in first. “The only routes along which you could escape from Axeholm are the road heading northwest toward Yulei Village, or the road heading northeast toward Filsand. So it’s one or the other…”

“If it’s the duke who’s after her, then it would make sense for her to take the northwestern route,” Clara said.

I picked a few spells based on the opinions of Ild and Clara. At the same time, I allocated roles to each of my friends.

If Sedam were here, we could have thought of an even better plan…

“First, Ild, you meet up with Ted and the others. Then, tell the knights that we’ll be searching for the princess on our own. Emphasize that we are doing it in good faith and that we figure it can’t hurt. Then tell the dwarves, too.”

“Understood.”

“Clara, coordinate with the dwarves to search inside Axeholm just in case. There is a possibility that she faked her escape.”

“I see… Understood.”

“This is just a precaution, but Reyha, you take the northeastern route. If there are no signs of horse travel, please come back immediately. There may still be some surviving rust beasts out there. Be very careful.”

“As my lord wishes.”

Finally, I looked at Lade, who wore his usual sullen expression. “Lade.”

“What now? This has nothing to do with daemons. I don’t need to listen to your orders.”

“No, it’s not an order, it’s a favor. Can you stay here and protect everyone if it comes to that?”

Lade stayed planted on the sofa, holding his sword. He dropped his head a little, and parted his lips in a sigh. “I’ll just be sleeping here in my room. If anyone sirs up trouble, I’ll handle them as I see fit.”

“Sorry…but thank you.”

If I were only to judge by his words, it was hard to say if he really meant to cooperate or not, but I thanked him as if he cared. Even after all his grumbling, he did help us in the battle against the rust beasts. He’s not a bad guy.

“So, you’re going on the northwest route?” Lade inclined his chin. “I wonder if you can find one girl in the dark of night.”

“I’ve got an idea about that.”

***

A few minutes later I cast Fly and soared away from Axeholm.

Axeholm itself was illuminated with countless lights, but after I’d traveled northwest for only one minute, it was already so dark that I couldn’t even make out the shape of a road. If she was riding a horse here, it must be a pretty reckless journey.

After flying for a few more minutes, I caught up with a group of knights galloping on horseback through the night. I used Physical Boost to improve my eyesight and was able to confirm that they were indeed the Filsand knights. It seemed they hadn’t found her yet.

I passed the knights, but I didn’t find the girl ahead of them.

If Elisabel really was trying to escape from the knights, then there was a significant possibility that she would hide in the shadows of rocks or bushes to take advantage of the dark. If she’d used sleeping drugs (or something like that) to make sure she could get away, then she probably had a plan worked out.

A worse possibility would be that she’d taken some side path and gotten lost.

I stopped in the air to look around in.

“Hoo-hoo!”

Before I had paused even for a moment, a single owl flew toward me. It hooted and then looked around. I’d been waiting for this.

Of course, it wasn’t just an ordinary owl. It was a moon owl that I’d summoned using Create Monster, a respectable Rank 4 monster. I’d sent nine of these moon owls out to hunt. The birds boasted not only great night vision, but also keen intelligence.

I followed the moon owl and found a horse and human figure collapsed on the road. At first, I thought there was a torch, but when I looked closer I saw that a staff lit with magical flames had fallen, serving as a perfect beacon.

There was no time to worry over the details, but in this state I could have just flown by myself along the road and found her eventually.

I hurried to land and quickly approached her, confirming that the person I’d seen from above was a young, blonde girl.

Definitely the princess, but I couldn’t relax. She was in a bad way.

“Urgh…”

Even with the illumination of her staff, riding hard through the night was too reckless, and she’d reaped the consequences. The horse’s hoof had probably gotten caught on a rock along the curve. The white horse had spit up bloody foam, and by this point, it wasn’t even twitching. The girl’s limbs were twisted, her skull was cracked open, and blood soaked her form.

I remembered another horse-riding accident that had happened just a few days before and felt even worse.

By the illumination of my Staff of Wizardry, I could see the tracks where the girl had been desperately crawling, even with her broken limbs.

“H-hey,” I called out to her. “Try to hold on!”

I prayed that she was still breathing, and put my ear to her half-opened mouth.

I could hear wheezing.

It was a faint breath, but a breath all the same.

“Okay. You’re going to make it.”

The ten seconds it took me to conjure my spell felt like an eternity. Luckily, before her breath stopped, I was able to cast Complete Recovery.

“Huh?! A-aaahhh…!”

All the wounds across her head and fractured body closed, and her arms and legs straightened to their original form, but the shock of the accident and the fear of impending death weren’t so easily shaken.

She clung to my robe and let out a needless moan of distress. Her cute face was muddied with tears and fresh blood. It seemed like she hadn’t recognized me yet.

“It’s okay,” I consoled her. “You’re okay now.”

“Uhhhn…ahhh… Agh! Father!”

I had no choice. I hugged her trembling body and stroked her back. I ended up covered with hacked-up clots of blood that seemed to have been clogging her trachea, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.

“Ahh… Ahh… I…ahh?”

About a minute passed. The girl’s breath steadied, and I could see the light of consciousness returning in her blood-red eyes.

She also finally noticed who was holding her and stroking her back. She suddenly jumped up. “Y-you…!”

“You’re not hurt anymore,” I tried to reassure her. I struggled to sound as friendly as possible. I figured she must be deeply suspicious of me.

“Y-you are the wizard… Lord Margilus, right?”

“That’s right. I am the magic user and lord of Castle Getaeus, Geo Margilus. Are you the daughter of the duke of Filsand?”

She looked wary… Actually, she looked like she had no idea what to make of this. At least, that’s what I’d gotten from our brief interaction so far. This girl was definitely intelligent. She’d called me a wizard at our very first meeting, not a sorcerer, suggesting she might have investigated me in advance and filed the information away in her head.

“Yes…that’s right. I am Elisabel…Roney…Filsandia…” She still had a perplexed expression on her face, but she grabbed the hem of her dress and curtseyed…then looked around for a moment. “Ah! No! Windstar! Windstar…! Aaah…!”

Once she noticed the still horse, she dropped to the ground and wailed. Flustered, she picked up the staff she’d dropped and checked herself over.

“So, I was thrown from Windstar…but my bones… Why am I still alive…?”

Was it her instinct as the daughter of a duke to, even now, try to keep her appearance pristine? Moving almost automatically, she took a cloth from the saddlebag on the white horse and wiped the fresh blood from her face and body.

As she did that, she seemed to be retracing her memories to try and recall the situation up to that point. “I don’t have any wounds… Nor broken bones… Was it you…?”

Her beautiful face was turning pale. I nodded in response to her question.

“Yeah. You were seriously hurt. I’m sorry I didn’t ask, but I healed you.”

“I see…”

***

“Hoooo…” The young, pigtailed girl let out a long sigh, weary enough to sound like an old lady. “Lord Margilus… Why are you here?”

She didn’t ask why I’d saved her. Her distrust of all men ran deep. But what concerned me most were her eyes. My aunt’s eyes had looked the same way when she lost her entire family to a single accident.

I was silent.

What could I say to convince her to let me rescue her? The most ideal outcome would be if she told me everything, but unfortunately, my enhanced hearing told me that the Filsand knights were getting closer. They would likely arrive here in about five minutes.

“There’s something I must tell you immediately,” I said.

“What is it?”

I used my white, glowing Staff of Wizardry to gesture back toward the road from which she had come. The torches of the knights were drawing near. The girl didn’t fail to notice, and looked at me with fear in her eyes. It seemed she understood that I had somewhat grasped the nature of her relationship to the knights.

“As lord of Castle Getaeus, I believe it will be beneficial to me to rescue you. If you help me, I will do everything in my power to save you.”

“Well.” She looked like she had heard a familiar song. With her long background as a diplomat, I thought it would be more believable if I used the language of political benefit to convince her, and it looked like I was right. I mean, it wasn’t a complete lie.

The only problem was…did she really want to be rescued?

As expected, Elisabel started waving her wand as if unsure. “I…”

“Hmm?”

“I have been cast away by my father and second brother. They want me dead. Until moment ago, I believed there was nothing left for me to do but die…” She continued quietly, as if talking to herself. “But…I never understood the truth of how fearful death really is.”

A wall of torches was gradually approaching. We didn’t have much time left. Behind Elisabel’s red eyes, I could see another emotion besides despair…or at least I hoped so.

“Now I know. I don’t want to die bearing my mother’s grudge, not knowing my father’s true intentions…”

“I see…”

“Hear me, Lord Wizard. To put it bluntly, I would like to propose an individual alliance.”

Of course, she didn’t completely trust me yet. But she had made the decision to use me, and be used by me, to survive. It looked like I would be taking Elisabel under my protection, and delivering her to her father, the duke of Filsand.

“I humbly accept your proposal.”

“I may not be of much use to you, but I look forward to working with you.”

She stood up straight and bowed like the lady she was.

Traces of blood still sullied her dress and hair, but she remained wholly beautiful all the same.