“So much pointless thinking for such a weakling.”

In an instant—so fast it felt like teleportation—Aiger appeared right before him, seized his collar, and slammed him into the ground.

The knight’s body crashed into the sharp wooden splinters and gravel-strewn ground, embedding into the jagged debris.

“A-Aaaagh! Kuaaaagh!”

The knight screamed in agony, his cries ringing out despite all the endurance training he had undergone even before becoming a knight.

Aiger, listening to the desperate wails before him, remained utterly indifferent. He pressed his foot firmly against the knight’s cheek.

“Guh—Kuaaaagh! Agh, ughaaaagh!”

As the piercing screams echoed, two women sat close together inside a house a short distance from the scene.

They watched Aiger’s back—the very man responsible for this wreckage—through what was now a gaping hole in the bedroom wall.

Unlike Lady Mifaro, who sat slack-jawed in shock, her face blank with disbelief, Raylin clicked her tongue at Aiger’s unseen movements.

‘So he wasn’t exaggerating when he said it wouldn’t take long.’

“It’s true.”

Raylin muttered, glancing beyond the ruined wall.

Even though she saw it with her own eyes, the scene still felt surreal, making her let out a dry chuckle. She quickly got back to work, her hands busy.

She was untying the ribbon shackled around Lady Mifaro’s ankles.

Aiger could have sliced through it in less than a second with his sword, but he wasn’t here, and Raylin wasn’t skilled enough to cut it without risking injury.

She gritted her teeth, tugging at the stubbornly knotted ribbon, before suddenly stopping.

‘Wait, there’s no need to cut it off at the ankle. Wouldn’t it be easier to just sever the part connected to the bed?’

Realizing her own foolishness, she promptly pulled a dagger from her coat.

“W-What are you doing?!”

Lady Mifaro, who had been too distracted by Aiger to pay attention, suddenly recoiled in alarm upon seeing the blade glint in the sunlight. She scrambled backward.

“Oh, I’m just going to cut it.”

“W-What? My ankle?! No, more importantly, who are you?”

She was drowning in a sea of confusion.

Until she had woken up that morning, she had been clinging desperately to her dwindling hope, forcing herself to drink tasteless tea.

Afterward, she had been unable to stomach breakfast, simply pushing it aside as she stared blankly at the closed door.

Then, in an unusual turn of events, the man who always left at a set time and returned at another burst into the bedroom far earlier than usual.

Before she could even process her surprise and bewilderment—before hope could fully form at the break in routine—

The wall collapsed.

No, calling it a collapse wouldn’t be accurate.

It had exploded.

The stagnant, musty air was sucked out like a receding tide, replaced by a wave of cold, dry wind that struck her face like a slap.

In the blink of an eye, the kidnapper who had been reaching for her was gone. Staring dumbfounded at the hole in the wall, she suddenly realized someone was standing right before her.

That person said nothing. They simply grabbed the ribbon around her ankle and started working to untie it.

‘Are they trying to free me? Is it… finally over?’

Sunlight streaming from behind the stranger made them glow like they had a halo—until she noticed their attire.

A robe covering the entire body. A hood pulled deep over their face. A mask.

They didn’t look like a knight sent by her family to rescue her.

They resembled the kind of people she had often heard about from the scoundrels outside—the kind who trafficked human lives.

Still in a state of shock, Lady Mifaro only snapped back to reality when the stranger pulled out a dagger. It was as if she had been doused with cold water.

“Who are you?!”

“Ah.”

Raylin belatedly realized she had never introduced herself.

The sight of Lady Mifaro—her lifeless, darkened eyes, her head hanging like a deer caught in a trap—had made Raylin lose her composure in a surge of urgency.

She quickly pulled down her mask and spoke in the calmest voice she could muster.

“I’m Raylin. Raylin Greuga.”

“…Huh? That… mmph!”

Lady Mifaro’s eyes widened in shock, her voice rising—only for Raylin to hastily cover her mouth, shaking her head.

Faced with Raylin’s deep green eyes, darkened by the shadows, Lady Mifaro stiffened, holding her breath.

Raylin gave her the warmest smile she could manage.

The next moment, light returned to Lady Mifaro’s nearly lifeless eyes.

And at last, Raylin said the words she had longed to hear.

“I’ve come to rescue you.”

Lady Mifaro couldn’t hold back her tears.

Raylin removed her hand from her mouth and gently wiped her damp cheeks.

“Let’s go home now.”

Lady Mifaro nodded.

And nodded again.

Though her blurred vision wavered from the endless stream of tears, the green eyes staring straight at her remained clear.

She let out a hoarse, broken sob.

“Yes. Let’s… go back.”

Raylin cut the ribbon that was tied to the bedpost.

The ribbon around Lady Mifaro’s ankle was still tightly wound like a shackle, but it could no longer restrain her.

Thus, Lady Mifaro finally escaped the old, narrow bed she had been miserably confined to and finally set foot on solid ground.

“Ah…”

Her legs gave out, causing her to stumble. Raylin caught her arm and pulled her close, gently patting her back.

“Lean on me. Can you walk?”

“Yes. Yes, I can.”

As Lady Mifaro’s weight shifted onto her, Raylin steadied herself, bracing her legs to support them both.

She worried for a moment, fearing that her naturally weak body might also make her stumble, but fortunately, she held firm.

One step, then another.

Though they both longed to get away from this place—no, from that deranged kidnapper—as quickly as possible, their steps were slow.

Raylin’s mouth felt dry and impatient, but there was no other choice. Carefully, she watched the unstable floor to avoid tripping, only to suddenly lift her head.

The silence outside was unnerving.

Could it be that Aiger had already killed that knight—

“Still alive, I see.”

Before she could finish her thought, Aiger had already closed the distance between them and scrutinized Lady Mifaro from head to toe, his voice pitiless.

Raylin looked up at him, exasperated, but before she could say anything, he added, as if making an excuse,

“Her limbs are intact, there’s no smell of blood, and she’s conscious. That’s more than enough to say she’s fine.”

As Raylin’s gaze grew icier with each word, Aiger instinctively shut his mouth. Just then, a blade came at his back, and he effortlessly deflected it.

Clang!

Though it was a mere flick for Aiger, the attacker was unable to withstand the force and skidded backward.

Before the dust swirling at the knight’s feet had even settled, a desperate voice rang out, laced with the sharp edge of metal.

“My lady!”

Barely managing to block the powerful counterattack, the knight wavered yet held his ground. His heart felt as if it would burst at the sight of his young lady in the clutches of such an unthinkable intruder.

“Release her at once!”

Hearing the knight’s desperate cry, Raylin muttered with an incredulous expression,

“Anyone would think we’re the kidnappers here.”

Aiger let out a brief chuckle but soon cleared his throat and spoke sternly.

“This isn’t the time for jokes.”

‘It wasn’t a joke, though…’

Raylin swallowed her grumbling and met Lady Mifaro’s gaze.

Within those fiercely burning eyes, she saw a dangerous glint, a barely restrained madness that warned her not to interfere. Without realizing it, Raylin gave a small nod.

At that moment, Lady Mifaro’s pent-up rage erupted like a volcano.

“Don’t give me that bullshit!”

Gone was the fragile girl who had meekly whispered about going home just moments ago. Her furious voice roared through the air, shaking everything around them.

It might have been her imagination, but in the narrow alleyway, her “bullshit!” seemed to echo.

Yet she did not stop there.

“You were the one who kidnapped me! Even grinding you to dust wouldn’t be enough—!”

A stream of expletives, shocking to hear from a noblewoman, flowed from her lips like rapid-fire.

Aiger turned around with a dumbfounded look, while Raylin unconsciously stepped back from Lady Mifaro.

The knight, the target of this verbal onslaught, went pale as his jaw quivered.

Even the tip of his sword trembled violently, betraying the sheer magnitude of his shock.

“…So don’t you dare call my name with that filthy mouth! Shut up! Just shut up forever! Haa… haa…”

Having unleashed a colorful torrent of curses, Lady Mifaro finally took a deep breath, leaving behind an eerie silence.

“All those insults I overheard from outside were quite useful. I suppose there’s something to learn from everyone.”

‘Well, she’s not wrong, but… Does that apply here…?’

Raylin found herself momentarily lost in thought. Under similar circumstances, maybe she too would have… Hmm…

As she wrestled with her confusion, a heavy silence settled between them before Aiger finally spoke.

“Are you done?”