Chapter 42

“When, when you said that you were a bad guy a while ago, I didn’t mean that Your Highness was really a bad person. There is such a thing as notoriety, so let’s take advantage of it if possible…!”

“The Young Lady seems to be slow-witted.”

“Yes? No, I’m really good at reading things!”

“….”

“I wonder if my instincts for survival were stronger than others, so my eyesight naturally increased?”

“Then, I guess you have no conscience.”

…No, this guy?

I wrinkled my face as I watched Cain throw the blame belatedly in my face. His eyes, which stared at me like that for a moment, changed in an instant. Feeling stabbed for some reason, I hurriedly waved my hands and replied.

“Oh, I didn’t. I didn’t even curse to myself…!”

“You look like you are having fun, Your Highness.”

…Your Highness?

When I blinked at the familiar voice coming from behind him, Cain turned around with a cold face. Turning around in his arms, I saw Jo Malone standing with the armed men, and I quickly grabbed Cain’s arm.

“Even after the meal was ready, you didn’t come back, so I came to pick you up. However, I never dreamed that you’d be here.”

“You must’ve prepared it well, I apologize.”

“….”

“But, it’s still depressing to lose my eyes.”

Jo Malone, who had a hardened face for a moment at his playful words, smiled and pulled out the sword he was wearing around his waist. Still, Cain smiled at him even though he was pointing the sword towards us and asked, “Would you mind telling me how I should interpret this, Baron Jo Malone?”

“Let’s interpret it as you see it.”

“….”

“Your Highness, you must die here.”

…Was, was there a scene like this?

Thinking that, I gulped as I glanced at Jo Malone’s sword, which seemed as if it would fly towards Cain at any moment.

There was not…

No matter how much I searched my memory, there was no such scene. No… How could it exist in the first place? After all, it was only a one-page introduction in the original story—!

At the same time, in the complicated situation, a screaming voice resounded nonstop inside.

Cain hugged me, who had turned into a puppy, and answered with a relaxed face.

“If only the Baron could do it.”

“Let’s see how long you pretend to be relaxed.”

In response to his leisurely provocation, Jo Malone twisted the corners of his mouth upwards.

On the other hand, I was stamping my feet in this urgent situation. With this number of people, there was no solution. What was he going to do in such a stimulus situation like this…?

Of course, in general, the number of people was slightly higher on our side. However, they were trained soldiers while most of us could not even drink water or eat properly. Consequently, it was impossible to know how much strength they would be able to have against armed privates.

…No, on the contrary, the damage might only increase.

I licked my lips as I watched the shapeshifters swallowing dry saliva. Was I wrong, too? Even if there was no possibility, I should have really persuaded Cain to bring the Imperial Knights…. 

Unexpectedly, the loud shouts of people were heard from somewhere. Perhaps, I was not the only one who heard the sound as the shapeshifters around me glanced around.

“WAAAA…!”

The faint sound quickly grew loud enough to be clear. 

Jo Malone’s face lit up with embarrassment at the loud shouts that came along with the vociferous footsteps.

“What are you doing! Go check it out right now!”

At his command, an enlisted soldier, who was hastily climbing the stairs to the basement, was kicked by the influx of shapeshifters and fell down. The shapeshifters who entered with pickaxes and shovels instead of spears and swords stared at Jo Malone with triumphant faces—no, with anger, and shouted.

“Kill them…!”

After that, it was an instant. The angry villagers rushed into the cellar with no time to pause, wielding weapons at Jo Malone and his enlisted men. In the basement, there was a loud noise of metal hitting metal.

I blinked at the unexpected situation. It seemed that Cain had not expected this situation as well as his forehead wrinkled.

“Sister!”

“Adelia!”

“Enni, Ed!”

Among the shapeshifters fighting the soldiers, Enni and Ed ran through them. I was surprised to see the children appearing in this dangerous situation.

“Why are you here, it’s very dangerous!”

“We persuaded the villagers!”

“…What?”

“We said that we should all work together to save the villagers! Even though everyone was hesitant at first, there were people who wanted to help us, so we came with them!”

“What do you mean, people who want to help?”

Asking that, I noticed that the situation was gradually leaning towards the enlisted men.

In a way, it was natural. After all, the opponent was a trained soldier, and on the other hand, they were just civilians with a pickaxe and a shovel. Seeing that the situation was gradually leaning to his advantage, Jo Malone gazed at Cain and smiled as if he had regained his composure.

“Obviously, this is an unexpected situation for us, although doesn’t it seem like this has been roughly sorted out, Your Highness?”

Cain whispered as he lowered me to the ground since he had been holding me all along.

“Don’t stay away from me.”

When I nodded at his words like a request, he pulled out a sword from his waist and laughed.

“It doesn’t look that way to me, Baron.”

“Even if that were the case, as long as Lord Winder was in my hands, there wouldn’t be a chance that your Highness could beat me.”

“It looks like you left your soldiers there, too.”

“It’s because there’s no shortage of defense.”

“Don’t you think it’ll be the case here as well?”

Jo Malone, who had narrowed his eyebrows as if trying to understand what he was saying, shrugged his shoulders. In his mind, it seemed that Cain’s words were just bluffs.

“That arrogance will end today…!” 

It was at that moment, a man unexpectedly tumbled down the stairs through the open basement door.

No, not just one person…

…Two, three, four… five—?

At the same time, he did not miss Jo Malone, who turned his attention to what had just happened, and struck his sword in an instant. His sword flew through the air and crashed into the ground, and Cain’s sword was pointed at his neck in an instant.

“I think I can keep up the arrogance…”

“….”

“Isn’t that right, Baron?”

Bewildered at the unknown situation, I peered up and saw people coming down the stairs to the basement.

“It’s, it’s the Imperial Knights…!”

…It was exactly the people he said we could not call because there was no evidence.