Chapter 33
“…!”
Brillia flinched.
What? What just happened? That woman clearly had her hands tied behind her too—so how did she suddenly lift her finger to her lips?
She blinked her widened eyes and checked again, but yes, the woman’s wrists were still bound at her waist.
Was she hallucinating? Like she’d just witnessed magic or something…
‘…Magic?’
Brillia suddenly froze mid-thought.
If this were the past, she would’ve brushed it off as nonsense. But not now.
Brillia knew of a mage who existed in this world. A woman known for tying up her black hair high and having eyes red like pomegranates.
‘…No, someone that important wouldn’t be in a place like this.’
She shook her head, trying to dispel the absurd idea.
But the more she looked, the harder it became to deny that this woman might actually be that mage.
Brillia examined the woman again. Though hidden by her hood, her hair was black, and her eyes, briefly visible, were crimson like roses.
No matter how she looked at it, it didn’t seem like they were different people.
She couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. And then suddenly, they made eye contact again.
This time, Brillia didn’t flinch.
Maybe… It was impossible, but what if…?
‘Rosedale?’
Just as that name formed in her mind—
The kidnappers stepped outside, leaving the warehouse.
And then—
“Do you know me?”
A sweet voice, as sugary as pink strawberry milk, came from right beside her.
Thank goodness her mouth was gagged. Brillia had nearly screamed in shock.
The voice continued, unconcerned.
“Ah, sorry if I scared you. You kept staring, so I wondered if you recognized me.”
“…?”
Brillia slowly turned her head. The hooded woman was now right beside her.
But she’d been all the way over there just moments ago. When did she get so close? How were her hands and feet suddenly untied, and where had the gag gone?
As Brillia blinked in confusion, the woman kept chatting cheerfully.
“Teleportation magic is a hassle, so I don’t use it much, but hopping short distances like this is easy.”
‘Teleportation magic? She just said she used magic—then that means…!’
“I bet that’s uncomfortable. I’ll undo it for a moment. But you can’t scream, okay?”
At the woman’s question, Brillia nodded furiously.
As soon as the gag was removed, she felt an immense relief flood through her.
But before enjoying that relief, she had to confirm something first.
“Are you really… Lady Rosedale?”
“So you do know me?”
Rosedale gave her a bright smile in response to the whisper.
The moment her identity was confirmed, Brillia’s face lit up like sunshine breaking through the clouds.
“Is this a sting operation?”
“Nope. We got kidnapped too.”
“…Eh?”
Brillia stared in shock, as if she’d been hit in the head, watching Rosedale smile so innocently.
She must’ve misheard, right? There was no way a mage like Lady Rosedale could be kidnapped just like her.
Still stunned speechless, Brillia heard a man whisper softly.
“Rosie. They’re coming.”
“Mm.”
Rosedale quickly retied Brillia’s hands and gagged her again, wearing a sorrowful expression.
“Just hang in there a little longer, okay?”
“…”
Brillia couldn’t speak, but she nodded.
Even if they were both prisoners, a mage was still different. She clearly had a plan.
Rosedale returned to the man’s side. Before they knew it, both had their hands and mouths bound again.
As Brillia stared at her, Rosedale winked.
The door opened, and the kidnappers returned—but Brillia wasn’t scared anymore.
Because right over there stood the great mage she so deeply respected.
But still…
‘Who’s the man beside Lady Rosedale?’
“She really knows you?”
Lucas asked, watching Rosedale as she returned to his side. His eyes shone even in the dark.
“Yeah. I didn’t get to ask much, but she looked at me and called my name.”
“Well, we’ll get more answers once we get out.”
As the kidnappers re-entered, Lucas and Rosedale quickly returned the gags to their mouths.
Getting kidnapped had gone according to plan.
When they saw someone being dragged off during the festival, the two of them decided to let themselves be taken.
They’d considered taking action right away—but figured these thugs were likely just grunts. To root out the entire organization, they had to get to the source.
So they snuck into the cargo wagon and ended up in a remote village on the outskirts of the capital.
This large, isolated warehouse seemed to be the gang’s base.
“Hrk, mmhh… Mama…”
Rosedale turned toward the sound of sobbing.
A small human child was huddled and crying silent tears. Perhaps they’d learned that screaming wouldn’t bring help—they couldn’t even cry loudly anymore.
Rosedale’s brow furrowed deeply.
Where on that tiny body was there even room to tie anything? The red, swollen marks on those little wrists and ankles stirred cold fury within her.
And it wasn’t just her.
‘Huh?’
She turned to sense a surge of killing intent beside her.
Blue aura was unraveling from Lucas’s fist like threads of fire. Like a dormant volcano, it pulsed with a deadly stillness.
Rosedale’s eyes widened.
‘Hey!’
Put that away before the humans see it!
When she glared at him with wide eyes, the aura vanished with a whimper like a scolded puppy. Rosedale, now the surprised one, blinked.
Wait… Since when did aura listen to other people?
Kill-based aura types like Lucas’s are usually hard to control—even by the user. Yet his aura responded to her command like a loyal pet?
As Rosedale blinked in disbelief—
Snrk. A quiet chuckle escaped.
It was Lucas.
His softly creased eyes seemed to say, What are you staring at?
That threatening aura was gone. Once sharp as a blade, it now wagged its tail gently before her.
Just as a smile was about to creep onto Rosedale’s lips—
“Move faster, you rats!”
The kidnappers began dragging the captives outside. Hands and mouths still bound, they only untied their feet.
They lined up the captives like train cars, tying them together to prevent escape.
And just in case, they walked alongside with sharp weapons, keeping everyone terrified into submission.
Lucas and Rosedale complied for now, moving obediently.
The kidnappers were taking them toward a boat moored at a large river.
‘They’re trying to smuggle the captives to another country.’
As for why… Rosedale couldn’t understand. As a fae, such motivations were incomprehensible.
But she knew one thing for sure—it was the kind of thing only very bad people would do.
She glanced at Lucas walking just behind her.
Their eyes met, and he gave a subtle signal.
And at that moment, all the ropes binding Lucas and Rosedale fell away.
“Aaaargh!”
“What the hell?! What’s going on?!”
The moment his restraints vanished, Lucas lunged at the nearest thug, snatching his sword and swinging it.
The ranks broke in an instant. Chaos erupted.
The first attacker screamed, clutching his bleeding arm as he fell to the ground.
“Ah, sorry. I forgot my sword when I left.”
Lucas casually twirled the stolen weapon in his hand, glancing down at the moaning kidnapper.
Beside him, Rosedale studied the sword seriously.
“Hmm. Poor quality.”
“It’s fine. Just a disposable.”
Lucas stopped testing the weapon and turned a chilling gaze toward the rest.
“Won’t need it long anyway.”
“You bastards—who the hell are you?!”
The kidnappers gathered, drawing their weapons.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
“Don’t bother asking. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Lucas adjusted his grip on the sword, preparing to strike.
“Rosie. Take care of the hostages.”
“Can you handle them alone? There’s kind of a lot.”
“Last time, during that beast incident, you helped too much—I couldn’t show off properly.”
Lucas raised his sword toward the approaching gang.
“This time, I’ll do it right.”
In a blink, he was already in front of the kidnappers.
“Gahhh!”
“W-What are you all doing?! Stop him!”
“Hyaaaagh!”
The first man fell with a cry, and then the rest charged Lucas in a frenzy.
Even as they swarmed him in uncountable numbers, Lucas’s expression didn’t change.
He ducked under a sword swing, spun, and slashed across the attacker’s stomach.
Without giving them a chance to regroup, he cut down man after man with overwhelming strength.
His aura, honed like a fine blade, surrounded him. The thugs couldn’t even get close.
“Argh! Who the hell is this guy?!”
“W-We’re sorry! Please, spare us!”
It was pandemonium.
Lucas didn’t let a single one escape—he hurled a sword into the leg of a fleeing man.
“Argh!”
“Where do you think you’re going? You haven’t even paid for your crimes.”
Lucas grabbed any weapon he could and kept fighting.
His body, wrapped in killing aura, was the weapon.
The vicious blue aura sliced through the air, dropping thug after thug.
Like a blue rose blooming alone under moonlight in a dark, deep forest. Dew-kissed and radiant—yet bristling with deadly thorns aimed at all who dared approach.
So beautiful, yet so deadly.
“…”
Rosedale stared in awe at Lucas.
Tap tap. Someone timidly poked her foot.
She turned—and found Brillia standing there, still gagged and bound.
“Oh! Sorry. That must’ve been awful.”
Startled, Rosedale quickly moved her fingers. The ropes binding Brillia’s mouth and arms unraveled like silk.
“Wow. Thank you so much, Lady Rosedale!”
Brillia exhaled with relief, finally able to speak again.
Rosedale smiled and made wider gestures. Her white fingers drew a circle in the air—and ropes on the other hostages unraveled too.
The ropes twirled like dancers, even gently tapping the children’s cheeks to make them laugh.
“Eek!”
As a giggling child’s white face lit up with laughter, Rosedale smiled too—
“Hyaaaagh!”
Thugs from deeper inside the building charged, slashing through hostages like they were mere obstacles, aiming for Lucas.
Rosedale’s expression turned cold.
“Come to me.”
As soon as she whispered, the men rose into the air.
“Wha—?!”
Their limbs flailed helplessly midair.
“Kneel.”
And with that, they crashed to the ground.
Rosedale stared at them with eyes full of frost.
“Now… what’s the best way to punish you all so I feel better?”
