10 (6)

Water droplets kept falling. Mihoff counted them. This made it the 6,321st time, and then another droplet was born again on the ceiling. It would take quite a while before it fell. Acts like this were not meaningless to Mihoff.

Since being confined here, her sense of time had grown distorted. To avoid losing her judgment, she had to do at least this much. Strangely enough, the inside was hot. It was hot enough to make her miss swinging her sword in the rain-soaked battlefield. Both of her arms were locked in sturdy manacles, and iron chains bound her legs. Even though she was a Sword Expert, with both hands sealed like this, escaping from here was impossible.

‘Magnificent. Reiner Linsia, truly magnificent.’

Linsia was her original name. However, to shoulder the family, someone had to take on the role of a man. That burden had fallen to her. She changed her name, and from then on lived as Mihoff. Her surroundings were filled with filthy, crumbling bricks.

Those who did not know she was a woman had thrown her into this place. Then again, considering how ruthlessly she had charged across the battlefield, the soldiers escorting her had looked at her with terror-filled eyes.

Just one man came to mind. Probably the only man in her entire life who had looked at her without emotion. Pontina Louis. The culprit who had turned her life into a complete mess. She had never expected Marquis Gangpireu to lose. Still less had she expected to be captured herself.

‘The tactics were perfect. Marquis Gangpireu’s response wasn’t bad either. So what went wrong? A mage? No. Something more fundamental. The other factors were similar—no, we were even more advantaged. The difference in commanders. Yes. That’s the only thing I can think of.’

Mihoff moistened her cracked lips with saliva. Meals had not been properly delivered, and she had dried out completely over time. Just enough food arrived to keep her from dying—utterly wretched scraps. Her stomach churned; it was nearly mealtime. Her sense of time had collapsed, yet her biological clock astonishingly remembered the meal schedule.

A typical meal was a single piece of rat meat and a bowl of pale, overboiled soup of unknown origin. It was nowhere near enough to sustain life. If she had not been a mana user, she would have starved to death already. She knew full well they were deliberately starving her to keep her sealed.

‘Escape… only one chance.’

She had only one opportunity. Hidden on her body was a needle as thin as a thread. If the person with absolute authority over this place came to see her, and she could seize him, she might be able to escape. To others it would be an ordinary needle, but for Mihoff, it was enough to commit murder.

Step. Step.

It was the old jailer who always brought her meals. His face reminded her of someone from the past, stirring old memories. If she encountered that jailer while escaping, she decided she would grant him a swift, painless death. The torchlight flared and flickered almost frighteningly. And his hands were empty.

‘What does this mean?’

The old jailer swept the torch around the cell, illuminating Mihoff crouched behind the iron bars. Then his lips moved.

“Soon, Duke Louis will come to see you.”

He glanced around nervously. Though this was solitary confinement, the old jailer clearly did not want other guards to catch him. After checking all around and confirming they were alone, he continued.

“Judging by your eyes, it seems you still have venom in you despite your young age. I’ve heard the rumors—you’re a remarkable swordsman. Too fine a person to die in a place like this. Please, do not do anything strange to the Duke. The Haidek House you served has completely fallen.”

“What… do you mean? Fallen? Don’t tell me Louis advanced all the way to the city of Ohus?”

“He did. The god of war, Mars, conquered everything, took Ohus, and there made Marquis Gangpireu’s sons kneel.”

Mihoff’s pupils dilated. She had been far too complacent. She had never imagined that even after winning the war, Louis would advance that far.

“The Prince-King… would never have agreed to that.”

“The Prince-King tacitly agreed, and they say he is even hosting a grand banquet for Duke Louis. That’s all I have to say. Do not hasten your own death.”

Just as the old jailer was about to leave, Mihoff shouted.

“Then what about the other cities?”

“They were occupied. They are now cities of House Pontina.”

She realized with a crushing shock that she herself had been trapped at the bottom of a well. She only knew how to wield a sword; of how the world turned, she knew nothing beyond killing. Even if she escaped, where could she go? And what of her younger sister… ah, had her sister already died?

“Hey!!! You there!!!”

There was no answer. Once again, only Mihoff remained in the prison. The droplets that had been gathering fell once more onto the floor. That made it the 6,322nd time.

As several more drops fell, a drastic change occurred in her state of mind. It was inevitable—hearing such words from the old jailer, whom she had thought at least somewhat decent, had lowered her guard. Had anyone else told her this information, she would have dismissed it as a lie at once. No… perhaps she herself was simply too exhausted to judge clearly.

She had rarely faced mortal danger in her life, and after taking up the sword, she had never once felt truly threatened—never been driven into a corner like this.

Then she heard footsteps from above—the very cause of her predicament. Along with the old jailer came several men. Aside from the jailer, every step sounded trained and orderly. Once more, torchlight flickered. Without realizing it, she touched the hidden needle.

“It is Duke Louis. Show respect, criminal.”

It was the familiar voice of the old jailer, but his tone was entirely different from before. The moment he finished speaking, Mihoff’s gaze fixed on a man wearing a luxurious coat made of beast hide. It was Louis.

Louis looked at her, dried up like a withered branch. Yet her eyes were still alive. At this state, however, Louis could deal with her even alone. He had not forgotten the lesson Dekal had taught him. At first he had not been certain, but looking at her chest, it seemed he was right.

“Take her out. I intend to have a conversation.”

“Yes, sir.”

The jailer opened the door and brought her out. She did not resist, allowing herself to be led away. Soon they reached a small room. Louis sat first, and soldiers filed in one by one, taking their positions. Last came the jailer who had dragged Mihoff along. The jailer left, and when the vacant-looking Mihoff heard Louis command, “Sit,” she immediately took a seat.

Louis judged that her gaze was still unsatisfactory, but in truth, the opposite was the case. Mihoff, despite using a false name and living as a man, was still a woman. In many ways, she was still too young not to feel drawn to a man capable of completely overwhelming Marquis Gangpireu.

That said, she was a woman who knew nothing of men except how to cut them down. Even if she was pretty, it was obvious how she would view a man. On top of that, her state of mind was deeply complicated.

After all, she had just heard that Marquis Gangpireu, whom she had served, had fallen utterly. She had not even been able to gather her thoughts about her sister’s safety or what she should do next when Louis appeared before her.

Silence flowed as though time itself had slowed, and Louis spoke first.

“Is the prison comfortable?”

“…Of course not.”

“While you were in prison, I was dining in the city of Ohus, where House Haidek resided.”

He had expected her to be subtly surprised, but seeing how calm Mihoff remained only made Louis desire her more. It was no exaggeration to say that what stood before him was the most valuable possession Marquis Gangpireu had owned. Louis had no intention of remaining where he was; securing a Sword Expert was critically important.

“…..So Marquis Gangpireu is completely ruined.”

“Indeed. As I swore in my oath, I burned his family crest. And do not forget that you could have been burned along with it.”

This was the first time she had heard that the family crest had been burned. Her pupils widened. Louis smacked his lips.

‘So, you finally react.’