Chapter 77

It was nearly midnight by the time Adele and I made our move.

Fortunately, Izack’s house wasn’t very far from the castle walls. Having arrived safely near the perimeter, Adele and I looked up at the towering stone battlements.

I pulled the note I had prepared earlier from my inner pocket and began tying it to a stone—one I had picked up on the way here. For the record, the string I used to secure it was fashioned from a strip I’d torn off the hem of my own shirt.

As I wound the cord tight, I whispered to Adele, “You can’t throw it over the wall. It has to land exactly on top of the battlements.”

“I’ve got it,” Adele replied nonchalantly, though her ease only made me more anxious.

“There…” I handed her the stone-weighted message.

The moment she took it, she flicked her wrist and sent it flying. No wind-up, no preparatory stance—nothing. I hurriedly tracked the stone’s trajectory. It traced a perfect inverted U-curve through the night sky.

And then—

Thud.

The faint sound of stone hitting stone echoed from high above.

“Looks like I made it,” she said.

“I… I guess so.”

I had brought several backup notes just in case she missed on the first few tries, but she had nailed it in one go as if to show off.

‘Must be nice, having physical stats like that…’

“Well, good. Let’s head ba—mph!”

Adele suddenly clamped her hand over my mouth and pulled me into the deep shadows. By now, I was starting to get used to this. I simply let my body go limp and trusted her lead. She wouldn’t do this without a reason.

As I crouched there, staying perfectly still, I soon heard the sound of approaching footsteps. It seemed this was the presence Adele had sensed. I shifted my gaze toward the sound.

“…Did you get that? If you spot anything suspicious, don’t try to fight immediately. Just raise an alarm.”

Three hooded figures appeared. The woman leading the conversation seemed to be the superior.

“Circulate the wall three times and then return to the gate. I’ll send the relief shift then.”

“Understood! Loyalty!”

“Loyalty!”

Their discipline was sharp. Once the leader and her subordinates dispersed in their respective directions, Adele finally released her grip on me. I stared blankly at her, still sitting close.

“You don’t need to keep my mouth shut until the very last second. I have some situational awareness, you know.”

“Ah. I wondered why you were so quiet. Have you already adapted?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… but isn’t it more fun to be snatched away like that unexpectedly?”

I shook my head vigorously.

“Not at all. Not even a little bit. And is this really a matter of ‘fun’?”

“Isn’t it always better to enjoy whatever you’re doing?”

‘I’m worried my head is going to roll because you’re having too much fun!’

“Adele, you’re a powerhouse who could probably handle a thousand men without breaking a sweat, so you can afford to be relaxed. But I am the weakest of the weak. I don’t have the luxury to look for ‘fun’ in a situation like this.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

That was incredibly reassuring, but…

‘There’s no guarantee a situation like the one before won’t happen again.’

As I’ve said repeatedly, I hate gambling. I’m not the type to bet everything on a single hand. Though I’ve had to make some risky moves lately, my true desire is to take the safest path possible. No matter how strong Adele is, there’s a limit to how well she can fight while babysitting me. She could end up in danger herself.

I crouched there for a moment, lost in thought.

“What are you thinking so hard about? Weren’t we going back to hide in that basement?”

“I think… I’ve come up with a better way.”

“A better way?”

I nodded absently. The plan was already taking shape in my mind. Yes, this was the way to go.

“Adele, let’s split up here.”

“I think I understand the situation in the lower district now,” Vittorio said abruptly.

“The people of this district have no idea what kind of crisis Denabi is facing, nor do they know the price the castle is paying to overcome it. Instead, they’re just filled with inexplicable hostility. This is going to get complicated.”

Izack turned back, his gaze flashing a fierce warning like a predator lurking in a cave.

“Watch your mouth, Commander of Limone. You know nothing about the lower district.”

“Then explain it to me. Those people who just passed by were hardly worthy of being called ‘citizens’.”

“That’s just their ignorant ramblings, not the collective opinion of the district. Besides, the history of the lower district’s people being denied their rights as citizens of Denabi is very real.”

“Are you from the lower district as well?”

“…Yes.”

Izack loathed himself for the split second of hesitation in his voice. He had always taken pride in his roots, yet in a moment like this, his answer felt like a belated excuse.

Vittorio’s next words pierced through him like a needle.

“Even in the dungeon, you were willing to abandon Shane for the sake of your daughter’s life. You did that knowing he was taking a dangerous risk in her place.”

For a moment, Izack felt as if Vittorio’s hand was actually around his throat. He swallowed a dry breath and came to a halt.

“…Are you calling me selfish?”

“No. I’m simply asking if that is the mindset of those who live in Denabi’s lower district. Is there truly no such thing as loyalty in your hearts?”

Izack answered as if swallowing a mouthful of needles.

“…None.”

But as he tried to walk away again, a voice came from behind him.

“I don’t have any either.”

Izack almost spun around in shock. There wasn’t a trace of a joke in Vittorio’s tone.

“The desires that move people are far simpler than you’d think. But at the same time, humans have a habit of attaching noble names like ‘loyalty’ to them.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I don’t believe in those archaic sentiments. And I trust people who claim to have them even less. Perhaps the people of the lower district are more trustworthy than I thought.”

By the time Izack tried to process those words, the stinging pain in his mind had already vanished. Instead, he was left with a new puzzle.

‘This guy… is he trying to compliment me? Or is he just being sarcastic?’

Adele looked back the way she had come.

There was no way she could still see Shane, but she found herself doing it anyway, knowing it was a futile gesture. She was still wondering exactly how she had allowed herself to be talked into this.

She had originally intended to never leave Shane’s side.

“You certainly have a knack for persuading people… I’ll have to watch out for that,” she muttered.

She recalled the words Shane had spoken to her.

“Adele, you need to go back to Malik’s place.”

“That sounds like you’re telling me to go alone. I’m misinterpreting you, right?”

“You’re not. You’re the only one going.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Even so, this is for the best.”

“What am I supposed to do back with that Malik person? And more importantly, what do you plan to do? If even a single citizen recognizes you, you’ll be in grave danger.”

Adele gripped Shane’s hand tightly. Shane didn’t even attempt to pull away; he seemed to have grown accustomed to her physical strength.

He spoke calmly. “If a search party comes tonight, they’ll head for Malik.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I figured that’s how Izack would judge the situation. Wandering aimlessly through the vast lower district to find us is a fool’s errand. Plus, they have to avoid a full-scale armed conflict with the locals. The ideal move would be to find Malik to pinpoint our location or secure his cooperation.”

“Then you should just come with me.”

“Didn’t we already see what the situation is like around that building?”

Shane’s point left Adele speechless. Still, she clung to her stubbornness.

“I’ll just take them all out.”

“That is exactly what I want to avoid. I told you—those people are also citizens of Denabi.”

“……”

“And Adele, I don’t want to see you get hurt, either.”

“I won’t get hurt.”

“If you were alone, perhaps. But could you say the same while trying to protect me?”

That hit home for Adele. She remembered the fight in front of Malik’s building earlier that day. Shane had revealed his hidden magic then, and Adele knew exactly why: he had moved to take out the crossbowman aiming for her.

She would have dodged it anyway, of course, but…

Then Shane had said, “Besides, I’m a man too. I might be useless, but I’ve got some pride. I’m not thick-skinned enough to dump all the fighting on you and expect you to guard my safety on top of it.”

That remark had caught her off guard.

‘Hmph, that was actually a pretty good line.’

She had immediately thought about using one of her wishes right then and there, and she was so busy imagining what those wishes might be that she barely heard the rest of what he said.

As a result, Adele found herself being nudged along by Shane toward Malik’s building.

“Oh, I just thought of another wish—”

She turned back to say it, but Shane had already vanished.

“He got me.”

She had finally figured out exactly what she wanted him to do, too. Adele had no choice but to keep walking. She almost turned back several times, worried about him.

However, just as she was hesitating for the fifth time—

Clink.

The sound of metal. It was unmistakably the sound of a blade brushing against the side of a scabbard. It was faint, but Adele caught it instantly. She strained her ears.

‘At least five people. All highly trained, by the sound of it…’

The noise drew closer. Adele intended to identify the newcomers before slipping away, but it was already too late.

‘They’ve noticed me, too.’

Adele and her opponent lunged out almost simultaneously. Adele was impressed by the skill reflected in the stranger’s reflexes. This was an enemy she wouldn’t be able to shake off without killing.

‘Things might get a bit messy, Shane,’ she thought, swinging her mace.

But then…

The face her mace was leveled at was a familiar one.

“You’re…”

It was Izack.

“Ah… he was right.”

They had only been separated for a short while, yet just as Shane predicted, Adele had run into Izack near Malik’s building. The search party really had been heading for Malik.

“…Hunter. Why are you alone? Where is that brat?”

“Uh, well…”

Adele hurried to explain the situation, but she quickly realized something: she hadn’t actually listened to Shane’s instructions very carefully.

‘Well, I remember the last thing he said, so I guess it’s fine.’

She gave up on the explanation. A much better idea had occurred to her.

“Let’s head to your house first.”

‘I’ll wait for you back in the basement of that house.’

That was the last thing Shane had said as he pushed her away. Or so she thought…

“You said he’d be here! Why isn’t he!?”

“Uh…”

Shane was not in the basement. He was nowhere to be found in Izack’s house.

Izack rounded on Adele. “What happened!?”

“He said he’d be here. He definitely said…”

“Dammit!”

Leaving the panicked Adele behind, Izack kicked the door open and stormed out. The other search party members followed close on his heels.

Adele remained in the house alone, her mind racing. But the only thing that kept surfacing was the worst-case scenario, rearing its head without a shred of evidence.

“No… I finally found him. This can’t happen…”

Adele moved to follow the search party outside. However, an uninvited guest was already waiting there.

A sound like thunder cracked.

When Adele rushed out the door, she saw a soldier impaled by an arrow nearly a meter long, and the rest of the search party surrounded.

Standing there was a gentleman wearing a monocle.

“Hello. You’re the bodyguard from earlier. That must mean Shane is here too.”

It was Malik.

“Why don’t you hand over your young master? If you do, I’ll let you all leave in one piece.”