Chapter 6 (Part 3)

Hemann had never seen this side of Theodore before.

The Grand Duke he served was usually gentle. He was kind to his servants and would quietly let things go even if he was angry.

Seeing Theodore so enraged was unfamiliar to Hemann.

“Hemann, I won’t let this go.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“I feel like I’ve been too complacent with my work.”

Theodore roughly opened the back door.

The pressure was so strong that the handle broke, and the door cracked.

“If anything happens to Lady Meia… it won’t end with that man’s death.”

***

“Do you have a lot of slaves? This is my second question.”

“Yes… we do.”

Meia stood up.

Soon, an hour would pass. Then one of the two knights waiting outside the fabric store would surely open the door, and if they discovered that she and Aethon were missing, they would have gone to inform the Grand Duke’s household.

Luinz, unable to say anything, just looked at Meia anxiously.

Ice began to spread from beneath Meia’s feet. The ice started to climb up Luinz’s thighs.

Luinz began to scream in agony, and Meia cast a spell to block his screams from reaching outside.

“Spare… me… ack, please… ack!”

Unable to move his frozen body, Luinz writhed in pain from the cold, while Meia watched him indifferently.

Luinz felt immense fear from her gaze. The reality that he might die terrified him.

He pleaded, crying for his life.

“Please don’t kill me… ack. Please!”

“Your hands and feet are losing sensation, aren’t they?”

“Yes, yes! Please spare me.”

“This isn’t what I’m curious about.”

Meia felt no sympathy for the pitiful sight of Luinz begging for his life.

He was a villain who had tried to kill her. She was merely stronger than the villain, making her the ‘villain’ in his eyes.

“Surely there were people who begged you to spare them, crying and pleading. But you ignored their pleas, didn’t you? How does it feel to be on the other side?”

“Please spare me… I was wrong! I was just following orders.”

Meia had already anticipated that Luinz wasn’t the mastermind behind the human trafficking ring.

Human trafficking organizations aren’t run by those who are just good at exerting violence.

Luinz and the subordinates she killed were likely the lowest-level members, only knowing how to control people with violence, to be used and discarded.

“Even if you were following orders, your crimes have exceeded the permissible limit.”

“I was… wrong… ack.”

“Why should I listen to you? I see no reason to spare you. You’re just noisily begging for your life.”

“If you spare me, I’ll tell you everything! Just protect me.”

The ice forming beneath Meia’s feet stopped climbing up Luinz’s body.

White steam came out of his mouth with each breath. The ice had stopped climbing, meaning his life was spared for now. But he didn’t know when the devilish woman might change her mind.

“If you hold on until someone arrives, you’ll live. If anyone comes in…”

“Please… spare me. I was wrong.”

“Oh… right. You said no one would come here…”

“Hic… sob. Someone will come. They’ll come soon. Sob, sob. They are coming to inspect the slaves themselves.”

“They?”

Luinz trembled and cried, but soon his tears turned into ice crystals.

“Hic… There’s a secret door to the basement. There are people and children to be sold there. Beastmen and men… hic.”

“I don’t know who ‘they’ are, but I doubt they’ll come in this situation.”

“Please spare me. Forgive me.”

Suddenly, Meia started tearing her sleeve. Then she ripped the hem of her dress and messed up her silvery hair, making it look like a bird’s nest.

Luinz couldn’t understand Meia’s sudden actions.

“A predator hides its prey from other predators.”

Meia smiled brightly with her eyes curved gently.

Soon, the ice created by her magic began to solidify around Luinz.

Luinz started to scream in fear, but as his throat froze, no sound came out.

Meia approached the freezing Luinz and whispered softly.

“Don’t worry! If someone comes, you’ll live.”

*   *   *

If people were asked about the characteristics of Florence, the southern sea territory ruled by Theodore, they would all answer the same: “It’s a hot region.”

However, as Theodore ran through the alleyways after bursting out of the fabric store, he felt a cold sensation in the wind.

And he sensed familiar magic in that wind.

Pointing to the source of the magic, Theodore spoke to Hemann.

“Hemann, it’s that red building on the right!”

“I’ll bring the knights. Please wait, Your Grace!”

At Hemann’s words, Theodore spoke with a desperate face.

“Hemann, that might be too late! I’ll go first, bring the knights.”

Theodore ran with all his might towards the red building, praying that Meia was safe.

Arriving in front of the red building, Theodore sensed her magic emanating continuously.

“She’s here.”

Theodore drew the sword from his waist and slashed diagonally across the red building’s door.

Thunk. Crash!

The sliced door shattered like a mirror hit by a stone. Feeling something strange, Theodore examined the broken door.

‘It’s frozen.’

As soon as he stepped through the broken door, Theodore saw Meia.

“Lady Meia!”

“Grand Duke Theodore?”

With a face that looked like he might cry, Theodore approached her immediately.

Seeing Meia’s torn skirt, ripped sleeves, and the blood-stained dress, Theodore felt immense anger. His insides boiled like a volcano about to erupt.

Meia quickly spoke, seeing his fierce gaze.

“Your Grace. This isn’t my blood. I’m fine. Aide Aethon was stabbed protecting me. This blood is his. I’m not hurt.”

At Meia’s words, Theodore finally looked at the fallen Aethon. Seeing the blood soaking his clothes, he realized how serious the injury was.

“I stopped the bleeding with the holy water I had. But he lost a lot of blood, so we need to get him to a physician quickly.”

Theodore just hugged the speaking Meia tightly.

“I was worried! Why did you leave with Aethon without me? I was so, so worried!”

His body trembled, conveying his emotions.

Theodore briefly released Meia from his embrace and sighed after checking her all over.

“You’re not seriously hurt. Thank goodness…”

His eyes reddened, looking as if he might cry.

“You have no idea how I felt.”

“Thank you for coming to save me, Grand Duke Theodore.”

“Do you know how much I searched for you? I had no clue where you were, running through the alleyways until I sensed your magic and found you here.”

Meia looked up at Theodore, gently touching his reddened eyes.

“You should have brought the knights!”

“I didn’t expect this to happen.”

Nodding in understanding, Theodore pointed at Luinz.

“Understood. And that man?”

“He’s part of the human trafficking ring. There were about a dozen of them… Aide Aethon was stabbed protecting me, and I lost control of my magic due to fear… When I came to my senses…”

“Did you kill them all?”

Meia nodded with a pained expression. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

“They froze solid and shattered… This is the first time I’ve experienced something like this. It’s so scary.”

Theodore hugged Meia again.

How scared she must have been! Thinking of her surrounded by those terrifying men after Aethon was stabbed made him feel like all the blood was draining from his body.

“You did well to kill them. You did the right thing, Lady Meia. If you hadn’t killed them first, you might have suffered greatly. It’s okay. It’s all over now.”

Theodore comforted her, patting her back.

“It’s okay. Thank you for enduring without getting hurt. I’m so grateful that you’re a mage, Lady Meia.”

Theodore, following his heart, continued to hold Meia tightly without moving.

He kept patting her back, praising her for bravely fighting in such a scary situation.

He worried that she might hear his heart pounding loudly near her ear, but he didn’t want to push her away. He tightened his arms around her, not wanting to lose her again.