Chapter 16

Whoosh-

The earth’s axis shook and the wind blew. The thick layer that covered the back of the wagon scorched and burned voraciously that it was impossible to make out its shape.

“Cawk! Cawk!”

The iron cages that contained the pet birds flew out of the carriage as lightly as if they were feathers, and fell with a thud to the floor.

Lestia captured the unreal scene in her silver eyes without blinking once.

It was an amazing feast of magic, so much so that she forgot all about her nail-scratched and tingling cheeks, and her sore throat.

And the warm light.

“Light…?”

A faint, flickering butterfly appeared before Lestia’s blurred vision.

It was the butterfly that Lysian had made using his magic for her not long ago. How could this be here?

Lestia felt as if these things were a dream.

But it wasn’t a dream.

“Hey! Are you okay?”

Lysian ran over to Lestia, who was crouched in the corner of the wagon. The dark night sky was colored with glittering golden butterflies.

The light he created in the dark always made Lestia forget her fears. It did then. And it is the same now.

“Master Lysian……..?”

Lestia smiled.

She was very happy.

She was happy to see Lysian again. She was happy to see everything again.

So Lestia smiled as she slowly looked at each of the three men who appeared before her, starting with Lysian.

“Brother Mathias! Brother Joel….thank you for saving me. I’m so happy.”

However, the expressions of the three men looking at Lestia were hardened.

They couldn’t greet their sister as happily as Lestia did, who was tied up in a thick rope, her face was bleeding, and her voice was hoarse with joy.

So they decided to do what they could do best.

“Ahhhh!”

The runaway horseman and porter screamed in unison.

It was like a cold wind cutting through their bodies. It was Joel’s magic.

He closed his mouth tightly and used his wind magic to gather all the fleeing people in one place.

They struggled, each grabbing the ground and the trees to keep from being swept away by the tremendous wind, but to no avail.

They were brought in whole, along with the rocks and trees they had so desperately grabbed, and piled up in the same place like luggage.

The men were so terrified by the inhuman force that they trembled, unable to utter a single word of help.

Joel approached them and spoke to them gracefully.

“Let me see the scars on my sister’s face… there are five in total, so you just have to pay them back 10,000 times.”

The green eyes, laden with blue, made a beautiful crescent moon shape. At the same time, the wind whipped around and began to furiously claw at the bodies of the men.

“Whoa! Aaaaah!”

The men screamed as they bled.

The men were bleeding and screaming because they were suffering like crazy from the horrible sensation of the wind rushing past them like nails.

“How dare you did this to my sister!?”

Mathias also stepped forward and joined Joel.

Before they knew it, spiky rocks magically created was floating around Mathias.

He was on the verge of shoving the rocks down the men’s throat right away and holding his breath.

“Joel, Mathias, we have to keep them alive.”

Lysian, holding the tired Lestia in his arms, burning the ropes that bound her body, and said in a low voice.

“We must find out who is behind this, and why did they kidnap her.”

At that, Joel immediately stopped the spell of the wind that had been wielding like a whip.

“I was about to lose my reason.”

“Outrageous!”

Mathias spoke angrily, tossing away the magical rocks.

He then walked over to the horseman and grabbed him by the chest, hitting him in the cheek with his fist and shouting.

“Say it! You bastard! What is my sister doing here?”

“Ugh …… eh …… that’s… that’s… that’s ………..!”

“Who is it! For what purpose? Is it the imperial family? Why was my sister in the imperial carriage?!”

“That’s… that’s…! I’ll tell you.”

The horseman opened his mouth to say something. But….

“Ack! Ack!”

Without saying a word, he spat out a stream of black blood. At the same time, his body hung like a log as he struggled against Mathias’ hand.

“What is it?”

Mathias nervously pulled the horseman’s body closer.

Pupils that unraveled easily.

The horseman wasn’t breathing.

“This bastard….are you dead?”

At Mathias’s words, Joel furrowed his brow and looked around quickly.

“Ah!”

“Gasp!”

Not only the horseman, but the other men were falling down, coughing up black blood.

“It’s….”

Mathias and Joel approached to learn more about their condition.

But the men quickly turned to dust and scattered into the air, as if they had never been there before.

“What the hell is this?”

Even a single piece of clothing or a single hair turned to ashes without leaving any evidence.

It was troublesome. They couldn’t get anything out of the men.

The wagon that had carried Lestia was still there, but it was unknown whose it belonged to.

“The bastards had an imperial badge!”

Even that badge was missing. Therefore, there was not enough evidence to be certain that they were imperial people.

The three Verchesters, except Lestia, gritted their teeth in anger.

** *

“Oh, my God! Lady! What is this!”

Dora had a miserable face as she looked at Lestia when she returned to the mansion. The scratches from the nails hurt as much as her own scrapes.

Recently, she was relieved to see the bruises that remained on Lestia’s body slowly fading away, but now there were new ones…and they were on her face.

“How could you do this to you……..!”

Dora stared at Lestia’s brothers with a resentful gaze.

Her little Miss had three older brothers and what were they doing letting this happen.

Lysian, Joel and Mathias looked at each other, slumping like children.

“No, it’s Dora. I’m fine.”

But Lestia smiled brightly, seemingly unconcerned.

Her clear, untainted smile made the scars stand out even more.

“Oh, Miss. I’m not okay at all.”

Dora fussed and came back with a first aid kit. Then she sat Lestia down on the couch and applied medicine to the wounds.

“Ah….”

Lestia let out a small moan due to the stinging of the medicine.

Then the brothers flinched at the same time.

They felt bad when Lestia made an unpleasant sound.

It was all the more so because she never showed any signs of pain until she returned to the Verchester mansion.

“Liti, Liti…!”

Mathias walked over and knelt down in front of the couch where Lestia was sitting, as if he could no longer stand it.

Then, looking up at her with a tearful face, he said,

“I’m so sorry, Liti. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have left you there………..”

Then he smashed his forehead into the armrest of the couch where Lestia was sitting.

“I need to be punished! It’s my fault you’re in this mess, how come I’m not even the one who got hurt!”

“Brother Mathias! Please stop!”

Lestia rushed to stop him.

“I’m fine! It’s just a little scrape.”

Joel said coldly, narrowing his eyes at Lestia’s words.

“Don’t stop him, Lestia. Mathias really needs to be hit or he might not come to his senses.”

Lysian nodded at Joel’s words, and Mathias continued to bang his head as if he agreed.

“Yes. I deserve to be beaten.”

“Please don’t do this, brother Mathias! I’ll get angry if you don’t!”

Eventually Lestia raised her voice. Mathias looked at Lestia with a tearful expression on his face, his forehead turning red.

“Liti ……you’re so kind. You want  me to stop because you’re worried that I’ll get hurt.”

The tearful voice of a man much bigger than her was funny and cute, and Lestia couldn’t help but chuckle and make a joke out of it.

“No, brother Mathias. I stop you because I think the couch’s armrest will hurt more than brother’s head.”

The air around them sank quietly at the joke.

Lestia’s eyes widened. Did she make a bad joke? She was trying to relieve the tension. But did she make a mistake?

“Hahahaha, you’re right.”

Suddenly, Lysian burst into laughter, as if he couldn’t take it anymore. At the same time, Joel and Mathias started laughing one after the other.

“That’s right. Hahahaha. The couch’s armrest will hurt more.”

“I didn’t think of that. I’m sorry about that. Liti.”

Earlier they were silent at the same time and then suddenly started laughing at the same time.

Lestia couldn’t figure out why her brothers were doing this, but they had such nice smiles on their faces. Then her small hands reached out and held Mathias’s hand.

“Oh, brother Mathias. Thanks to you, I had a great time today. The sightseeing was very nice and I enjoyed shopping. The cotton candy drink was really good, too! It’s a shame that I couldn’t finish it.”

“Liti…….”

Lestia’s sudden words brought tears to Mathias’s eyes.

With that, Lestia thanked Joel and Lysian as well.

“And thank you all for coming to my rescue. I’m not really sure what happened, but I’m glad to be able to tell you this now.”

Joel and Lysian were confused, not knowing how to react to this small, sweet sister.

“Lestia …”

“Hey, you’re so……..”

But Mathias didn’t hesitate and hugged Lestia tightly.

“Liti, Liti! I love you!”

However, Dora, who had been watching them closely, spoke.

“Young Masters need to leave now! I have to make sure the Lady is not hurt anywhere else!”

Eventually, the three brothers were forced out of Lestia’s door side by side.

And as soon as they were out of Lestia’s bedroom, the smiles on their faces disappeared.

The first thing Joel did was admonished Mathias in a low voice.

“…… Mathias, you should not have taken Lestia outside so carelessly. It’s not safe to take the kid to the casino with you.”