Episode 7: You won’t get hit twice. (3)
Giselle has been thinking of several possibilities as to how Elena might have met with such an accident.
Among them was the assumption that there was a traitor within the castle.
Of course, I was suspicious of the escort knight, but I never thought it would be Jamal, who had been protecting Elena for a long time.
“How about it? Would you like to go there too, Confucius?”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Giselle nodded slightly and followed Jamal along with Elena.
They made their way through the crowded streets and found a quiet place, and soon entered a slum.
It took some time to get there, but Elena walked briskly, full of anticipation of seeing new sights.
Although he was a little scared by the gloomy atmosphere typical of the slums, he didn’t seem too worried since he had an escort knight.
Jiselle quietly looked at the other escort knight, Philip.
‘Is this guy part of the gang?’
It was somewhat awkward to see him just walking silently with his face slightly flushed.
In the previous life, Elena, Philip, and Jamal were found dead.
If both of them were traitors, then the reason they died was obvious.
‘I guess he covered my mouth.’
The price of being involved in a dangerous plot to kill the lord’s daughter is not cheap.
Normally, it would be something that would involve risking one’s life, but it seems neither of them thought that far.
“Okay, this is it!”
When the group arrived at the open space, Jamal shouted with some excitement.
Looking around, I saw old, dilapidated houses densely surrounding an empty lot.
Discarded materials and trash filled every street corner.
‘indeed.’
The garbage piled up everywhere seemed like an obstacle and it didn’t seem easy to escape.
Looking closely, it was clearly a human-made arrangement. At first glance, it looked like ordinary trash, but the escape routes were cleverly blocked.
“Hey, what do you mean? It’s just trash.”
Elena frowned. She seemed upset that the atmosphere was not what she had expected after all the time and effort she had put into coming all this way.
Jamal waved his hands urgently as Elena’s voice became sharp.
“It’s because we’re not ready yet. Soon people will come and show us how to finish it.”
“Oh, okay! I’m going back. Let’s go, Oppa.”
Elena is not stupid.
He spoke as if nothing had happened, but his anxious expression was evident.
I had trusted the escort I had known for a long time, but it was understandable to feel suspicious when he guided me to a place full of trash.
“Miss, wouldn’t it be a shame to come all the way here if you leave without even taking a look?”
Jamal blocked Elena’s path and smiled slyly.
Until a moment ago, he had a tense expression on his face, but now his attitude was full of confidence, as if nothing mattered.
“Get out of the way, I’m going back.”
“I told you to wait a moment.”
“Philip!”
Elena looked back at Philip with an angry expression.
But he just went and stood next to Jamal without saying anything.
“Sir, surely not both of them… … .”
Elena held Giselle’s arm tightly with a frightened look on her face.
I had a bad feeling because both of my escort knights were acting suspiciously.
“Why, why are you like this… … why are you doing this?”
She managed to open her mouth, but her voice was shaking slightly.
Jamal laughed as if it was no big deal.
“I don’t hold any grudge against you, young lady. You treated me kindly and I wasn’t a bad escort either.”
“But, why… … .”
He shrugged.
“It’s just that I got a request with good conditions. It’s a bit of a shame that I won’t be able to see you anymore.”
Jamal laughed wickedly, licking his lips with his tongue.
“Okay, I brought the girl as promised! Let’s finish the deal quickly!”
As Jamal shouted, three people appeared from one of the abandoned houses.
A middle-aged man of ordinary appearance and two men who look younger than him.
All three of them had the common impression that if seen in a crowd, they would disappear without leaving a trace. They were rather suitable for hiding somewhere.
The middle-aged man looked around and then asked Jamal.
“Looking at your face, you seem to be the Grand Duke of Ferdium, right? I don’t think you were in the request.”
“Hehe, right. You followed me like an idiot. I’ll give you that as a bonus. It’s a gift.”
“What an unexpected harvest. I think we can get better results. Get ready.”
As the middle-aged man nodded with a satisfied expression, the other two men blocked his retreat.
Elena looked around in thought.
“Jamaal! What the hell is this!”
Jamal smiled and answered as if it was nothing.
“Well? My job is to bring the young lady here. After that, they’ll figure out what to do. Either sell her into slavery or kill her.”
“What, what?”
When Elena was too shocked to speak properly, Giselle stepped forward.
“You sold us out. Do you think you can get away with doing something like this within your territory?”
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Despite Jiselle’s warning, Jamal didn’t seem too worried.
“We’ll just take the money and run away. We’re sick of this beggarly territory where we fight every day. Aren’t there many people who leave Ferdium besides us?”
“But I won’t cause an accident and leave like you guys.”
“The Grand Duke wasn’t originally in the plan, so think of it as bad luck. Well, the maids didn’t come with you because the Grand Duke was there, so the Grand Duke saved a few people. You’ve been causing trouble all your life, but you’ve done some good things before you die. Hehe.”
“I was unlucky… … .”
Jiselle smiled incomprehensibly. Here Jamal shook his head, resigned.
“Anyway, I’m sorry. My conscience pricks me a little, but there’s nothing I can do.”
But contrary to his words, his expression did not seem apologetic at all.
Jamal approached the middle-aged man, grinning. Philip’s expression was darker than usual. He seemed to feel a little guilty.
Jamal looked around at the middle-aged man and frowned slightly.
“Your hands look so light. If you’re just joking, it’s no fun. You know we’re both knights, right?”
Then the middle-aged man took out a piece of paper from his bosom and shook it.
“You must be worried. Wouldn’t it be a hassle to carry that much money around? It would be easier to use a letter of credit from the Northern Merchant Association when exchanging large sums of money.”
“Tsk, gold is nice. There won’t be any problems when exchanging it, right? If you mess up, I’ll kill you for sure.”
The middle-aged man nodded with a smirk.
“Don’t worry. It won’t be a problem. I promise.”
When the middle-aged man confirmed it, Jamal took the paper as if he had no other choice.
The moment he tried to draw up his mana to check if it was genuine, he opened his eyes wide when he saw the words written on the paper.
[Digald Ball Invitation]
The paper was a worthless invitation to a ball in another fiefdom.
“This kid!”
The moment Jamal was about to draw his sword in anger.
Phew!
Suddenly, a middle-aged man took out a dagger and stabbed Jamal in the stomach.
“Ugh, crap!”
“I picked it up on the way here, but it looks like you don’t like it. Do you not like balls very much?”
As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, he moved his dagger again.
Phuuk! Phew! Phuuk!
The middle-aged man, who had stabbed Jamal’s body several times in an instant, stepped back slightly and continued speaking.
“I’m not lying. If you guys die here, there’s no problem at all.”
“This son of a bitch… … tricked us… … .”
Jamal staggered, holding his stomach, and fell over.
As dangerous as it is, Jamal and Phillip have thought a lot about the possibility that something like this could happen.
However, they were confident in their abilities as knights and went ahead with the job, and eventually ended up being fooled by the middle-aged man’s trick.
“Eww!”
Philip, who was standing next to him, could not contain his anger and drew his sword and lunged at the middle-aged man.
Chaang!
The middle-aged man quickly drew his sword and easily blocked the attack.
After exchanging a few quick words, the middle-aged man looked a little impressed.
“It’s pretty good.”
As a knight of Perdium who fought in frequent battles, Philip was quite skilled.
But the middle-aged man was a man of power far above him.
Scratch!
As the middle-aged man drew more mana, Philip soon had his throat cut in vain.
“Krrrrr.”
Philip fell to the ground, spitting out blood. The middle-aged man approached him with an indifferent expression and decapitated him with certainty.
Then he approached Jamal, who was bleeding profusely and dying on the boat.
“S, save me… … .”
Jamal begged for his life as he lay dying.
“Sorry, I just like things neat.”
“You son of a bitch… … .”
“Anyway, thank you for your hard work. I hope you accept the gift well.”
The middle-aged man cut off Jamal’s head again without expression.
The middle-aged man who had dealt with the two men took out a pipe from his bosom and began to light a cigarette.
“Whew… … I guess smoking at a time like this is the most delicious. Should I finish it now?”
He looked back at his siblings, blowing smoke from his mouth.
Elena held Giselle’s arm tighter. She was trembling with tears in her eyes.
It was scary to see someone’s throat cut in front of me, but I was also afraid that the same thing would happen to me.
“Oh, brother! Let’s run away!”
Elena grabbed Giselle’s arm again, suggesting that they should somehow escape, but Giselle shook her head.
“It’s okay, let go. You’re secretly strong, aren’t you?”
“Let’s run away quickly!”
“If there are only three people, there is no need to worry.”
Jiselle smiled and tried to pull her arm away, but it wouldn’t come off easily.
“Do you exercise? Why are you so strong?”
“what?”
Elena looked bewildered.
The middle-aged man who had been watching quietly also chuckled.
They say that the Archduke of Ferdium is a bit of a savage, and it seems that he really is.
Whether the enemy laughed at him or not, Jiselle released mana like thin threads, stretching it out in all directions.
If it were my previous life, I would have been able to make the entire space I could see my own territory, but since that is not possible now, I just scattered my mana in strands.
‘Thinner and wider.’
Not just anyone could manage mana like this.
Even the most skilled knights do not know this technique, and even if they do, they live without even knowing how to do it.
This is a technique that can only be used by those who have the ability to freely control mana and surpass limitations.
Although Jiselle’s body had not yet grown, her experience and knowledge were already at that level.
Even if the amount of mana is small, there is no problem in managing it delicately.
‘There are no others besides these three.’
Nothing gets caught on the thread of mana.
Giselle, who was certain that there were no more hidden people, carefully released Elena’s hand from her tight grip on her arm.
“What is your name?”
The middle-aged man answered Giselle’s question by clearing his throat.
“… … As a courtesy to the nobles, I will tell you my name. My name is Frank. You can complain about it in the afterlife.”
“That’s not the name of the area. Who are the people who ordered this?”
“I don’t know about that.”
As Frank nodded, the two men blocking his escape route came closer.
One of the men asked Frank.
“How should we handle this?”
Frank thought for a moment, then spoke businesslike.
“Beheading is too ordinary, so just sculpt the whole body. Let Count Ferdium see it and be angry. Don’t forget to keep it alive as much as possible. It looks pretty when it’s writhing in pain.”
“All right.”
Heart pounding.
The moment she heard those words, Jiselle’s heart started to beat loudly.
Painful memories that had tormented him his entire life came flooding back into his mind.
Seeing Elena’s corpse, returned in a miserable state with her entire body mangled, Giselle cried and felt nauseous.
The last image of Elena I saw at that time remained vivid in my mind and I could not forget it until I died.
‘I never forgot it even once.’
Blood rushed to the tips of my head and my face began to feel hot.
How long has it been since I’ve been this excited?
Although it was forbidden to get excited before a battle, Jiselle gave herself over to the emotions that were raging. Her hands began to shake slightly and her breathing became more rapid.
Frank snickered at the sight.
‘You’re a total idiot.’
Just by looking at her slightly trembling hands, you could tell how poor her skills were.
But one thing that is bothering me is… … .
‘Are you laughing?’
Even in this situation, his mouth was smiling. His eyes were dazzling with frightening madness.
But what could someone with such poor skills as Giselle do? Frank ignored his uneasy feelings and urged his men on.
“I guess he really is as crazy as they say. Let’s get started.”
The two men came a little closer to Giselle.
Elena took a step back hesitantly.
“Oh, brother!”
She was so worried about Giselle that she couldn’t even run away and could only scream at him.
At that moment, Giselle spoke softly.
“I finally met you guys.”
“what?”
“I missed you. I really did.”
“What is this kid saying now… … .”
Jiselle’s hand shot out like lightning and grabbed one by the neck.
“Ugh, crap!”
Phew!
His fingers dug into his neck, piercing it completely. Blood gushed out and began to soak his clothes.
“Ugh, keeek… … .”
The man trembled, dropping his sword.
With hands covered in blood, Giselle slowly pulled the man towards her face.
A voice full of joy rang out.
“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to meet you. I’ve been dreaming of this moment my whole life.”
Jiselle threw her hands back without hesitation.
Phew!
The corpse of a man, his throat torn off, lay sprawled on a pile of garbage.
