The soldiers with their bodies on fire screamed in agony.

“What, what are you doing!”

While Count Trow’s knights shouted in confusion, the Snake Knights looked up with their mouths hanging open. A golden magical barrier was shimmering around the entire building.

“Damn it! Fall back!”

“What? We just set the fire!”

“That barrier is deflecting the flames!”

The flames that rose from the oil barrels lunged at a knight who had turned to see what was happening.

“Argh!”

“That idiot!”

While everyone scrambled in confusion, the sound of hurried footsteps came from both sides of the alley.

“Catch those bastards!”

It was the Piert knights and Ruyan Piert. As soon as Karai successfully activated the barrier, they had rushed in to capture everyone in one fell swoop.

A Snake Knight shouted in panic, “Why is Ruyan Piert here!”

Neither Count Trow nor the Snake Knights were fools. Before starting this operation, they had checked countless times for any sign of Ruyan Piert.

‘There are some Piert knights around, but we can sacrifice a few of Trow’s soldiers and escape.’

‘Seems like we can complete the job with minimal casualties and get away.’

But why was Ruyan Piert here now?

Ruyan swept back his angelic platinum blonde hair. A smile spread across his relaxed face.

“Do you know what it means to be a Sword Master?”

“Son of a—!”

Swallowing the rest of the curses bubbling up from deep in their stomachs, they began to flee.

***

Ruyan Piert pursued them like a demon incarnate.

His bright platinum hair rippled in the wind created by his movement, and his green eyes flashed, never losing sight of their target.

While others might find him beautiful, those being chased certainly didn’t.

‘He looks like an angel but acts like this—it’s terrifying!’

‘Why isn’t he even breathing hard! Why is he smiling like a madman!’

It was a sight they feared seeing even in their nightmares.

“Aaahhh!”

One of Count Trow’s knights, overcome with terror, jumped into the river.

“That one!”

“Leave him to me, brother!”

Helix, who had somehow caught up to Ruyan, carried Leah on his back as she confidently said:

“You need to chase the others!”

“Right. I’m counting on you!”

Ruyan quickly disappeared, busy pursuing the others. Leah, securely riding on Helix’s back, shouted: “Helix, let’s go to the middle of that bridge!”

“Got it!”

Helix adjusted his grip on Leah and dashed forward like an arrow.

“Blub, blub!”

The knight splashed desperately in the icy water.

Standing in the middle of the bridge, Leah focused intently on him. The wind swirled around her fingertips.

Whoooosh…!

The sound of wind was powerful. Leah’s eyes widened at the stronger-than-expected output.

‘After Helix released all that mana earlier… I must have gotten stronger too!’

She wanted to turn around and shower him with kisses for being such a blessing, but right now she needed to fish the man out of the water.

‘I’ll finish this quickly!’

Leah unconsciously channeled her concentration.

Wheeeeee!

“Urrrgh!”

Suddenly caught in the wind and lifted up, the knight flailed his legs in surprise. Just as Leah was about to put more strength into her fingertips—

“…Achoo!”

A sudden sneeze burst out!

“Ack!”

The knight fell back down with an ungraceful scream.

Splash!

“What was that?”

People walking along the riverbank and crossing the bridge stared with wide eyes.

“Did someone push him?”

“No, it looked like he was being lifted up before.”

“But there’s no rope? What’s going on?”

People gathered at the riverbank, whispering among themselves.

Helix, however, showed no concern for the spectacle or the stares. He simply draped a thick cloak over Leah’s shoulders, looking worried about her.

‘So warm.’

Leah straightened her shoulders. The weight of the cloak settled heavily on them, and she suddenly felt the reassuring presence of Helix standing behind her.

With a calmer mind, she extended her hand.

Wheeee.

The wind magic from Leah’s fingertips wrapped around the knight and lifted him up. She looked much more skilled than moments before.

“Hnnng…”

Wrapped in wind, the knight trembled in midair. Having been dunked in icy water in the middle of winter, he had good reason to shiver.

But his ordeal wasn’t over. From a distance, Ruyan Piert came running and shouted:

“Leah! Did you catch him?”

“Eek!”

The knight, dangling in the middle of the bridge, instinctively curled up.

“That’s a Trow family knight, right?”

At Ruyan’s words, the expressions of the spectators on the riverbank and bridge changed instantly.

“What? A knight from Count Trow’s family?”

“What evil deed is he up to now? That villain!”

***

Tremble, tremble. The knight’s heart shrank under the public’s glaring eyes.

“N-No, I’m not!”

But who was he dealing with? Ruyan Piert—face of an angel, talent of a demon, and personality of pure chaos.

Ruyan wouldn’t tolerate the lie the knight uttered to save himself.

“Did you think I’d ask twice?”

He drew his sword with lightning speed and slashed through the air.

“Hieek!”

Ruyan’s cold blue sword energy grazed the knight’s side.

The disguise worn over his leather armor and uniform was revealed. Even at a glance, it was clearly the uniform of Count Trow’s knighthood.

“Still going to deny it?”

The knight couldn’t answer Ruyan’s question. He had fainted from fear.

“Let’s hang him upside down!”

“Dunk him in the river!”

The spectators began to shout. Leah nodded.

“Then shall we act according to public opinion?”

She dusted off her hands.

Splash!

“Blub blub!”

The knight, forcibly awakened, flailed in the water.

Wheeee.

Leah’s wind magic wrapped around him again and lifted him up.

“Hang him upside down!”

“Dangle him and shake him!”

“Hang him and beat him!”

With increasingly demanding requests, the knight was suspended upside down in the air beneath the bridge. With a pale face, he pleaded:

“P-Please spare me! Please save me!”

“Will you tell us everything?”

Leah asked quietly. Her voice was gentle but threatening.

“W-What… Aaaah!”

When she flicked her finger, the knight swung like a pendulum. With each swing, his head came closer to the stone railing of the bridge.

Dong… dong…

Just then, bells rang from a nearby bell tower.

Doong…

It was the most terrifying bell sound in the knight’s life.

‘If this continues, I’ll swing like that bell and crash into the bridge!’

He would die. His head would surely crack open.

Dooong…

The knight was overcome with terror.

“I-I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”

The knight began to spill everything in front of the people gathered on the bridge and riverbank.

The distribution of fake medicine. Adding poison to fake medicine.

When medicine distribution was blocked, they sprinkled special poison received from the Empire everywhere.

And just now, they had tried to set fire to the Piert laboratory to make it look like Leah had started the fire!

***

The aftermath of the confession was significant.

“Let’s kill Count Trow!”

“Hang the Count!”

“His son should be hanged beside him! He’s just the same!”

People gathered on the riverbank and bridge shouted. A middle-aged man stepped forward and yelled:

“They spread fake medicine, and my mother couldn’t even get proper cold medicine before she died! I must avenge this grudge!”

“Right! Right!”

A middle-aged woman also stepped forward and shouted:

“Let’s go even if all we have is the strength to swing a frying pan! My sister collapsed from the poison they put in the fake medicine! She has four nephews and nieces! I want to at least pull out that Count’s beard!”

“What beard? We should pull out all his hair!”

An elderly man who used to be a security officer also became excited.

“Trying to set fire to a ward with patients! Is that something a human would do?”

A boy who had switched from the Peirlily Fan Club to the Flame of Peiren Fan Club clenched his fist.

“Trying to slander our great mage—may they be cursed by mana!”

As the uproar continued, unexpected facts emerged.

“They deserve divine punishment! My sister was hit by Yan Trow’s carriage on the street a few months ago… They took her away saying they would treat her… but she returned as a corpse.”

It was a high, bitter voice filled with resentment. A young girl who still looked adolescent said:

“They said they tried to treat her but she died from severe injuries. But… my sister’s body was fine except for one broken arm and leg! The doctor said so too. The cause of death wasn’t the carriage accident. She was strangled to death!”

The girl shouted, trembling with anger.

“That Yan Trow hit my sister with his carriage, kidnapped her, r*ped her, and killed her!”

It was an injustice she couldn’t speak about because the perpetrator was a nobleman. As people opened their mouths in surprise at this unexpected story, someone interrupted.

“That eldest son of the Trow family! He’s capable of that and worse!”

It was an elderly woman with white hair.

“I’ve been doing laundry for twenty years, going around those places that send women to clubs or whatever! All the women there cursed him! They said whenever a naive newcomer arrived, he would call for her and she’d come back half-dead! They said he treats women’s lives as less than flies, playing with them and killing them!”

Shock and anger spread through the crowd. Someone shouted:

“Count Trow treats our commoner lives like flies, and his son is just the same!”

“Devils! They’re devils! They should be torn apart!”

“Let’s hang them high! Hang them and stone them!”

“I’m going to spit in their faces!”

The roar of the angry crowd!

“Leah.”

Helix whispered.

“We can’t leave them like this. They’ll soon turn into a mob.”

“M-Mob?”

He nodded.

“The atmosphere is heading that way. Soon they’ll grab torches and transform into a mob rushing toward Count Trow’s residence.”

Cold sweat ran down Leah’s back.

“…They won’t just neatly transform into a mob, march in a straight line to Count Trow’s house, beat only Count Trow and Lord Trow, destroy only the Trow mansion, and then disperse, will they?”