CH 20

Later that night…

Once Inglis was done with her business in the prep room, she left the castle. Rahal’s lodging was the Marquis’ unused villa located on a hill, a bit farther from the castle. Inglis walked up there, all alone at night. She didn’t wear the gown from the party, instead, she wore the light armor of an apprentice knight.

Inglis had forgone wearing her own personal equipment that was stored back at the Eux mansion and had decided to wear the ones in the castle’s barrack because she didn’t want to cause concern for her mother. The reason that Rahal had wanted this to be done this very night was so that Inglis couldn’t flee. However, this was actually favorable for Inglis since she wanted this over and done with, with her mother none the wiser.

Rafinha had kicked up quite a ruckus until the very end, saying that she couldn’t possibly let Inglis go alone but Marquis Wilford literally cried and stopped her. Therefore, Inglis managed to sneak out on her own amongst all the ruckus.

「Now then—What should I… do~」

Of course, she never planned to simply offer herself. For sure, Rahal too should’ve expected as much. But then again, maybe not, it seemed like being a Highlander had gone way over his head, he was now full of himself and overconfident and possibly thought that this much was enough to win Inglis over.

Even if that was the case, there should be at least some ace up his sleeve. Plus, there was also that big man with an iron mask. Ada also said that Rahal had produced fire out of nowhere and killed Sir Shioni with it. That was most likely sorcery or something similar. Which could very well be the reason that he believed himself to be stronger. Either way, Inglis only hoped that he would be able to show just a bit of resistance. If Rafinha’s wish could come true, then all the more hers should be, as well.

「Hmm?」

As she approached the villa where Rahal should be waiting and the gate came into her sights, she saw the figure of a man standing in front of it. It was the big man in the iron mask who served Rahal. After Inglis had closed the distance between them, she gave him a polite salute.

「Good evening. I am Inglis Eux. I have come due to the invitation.」

After saying that, the man opened the gate without uttering a word. The gate opened with a loud shriek and then the man turned to face Inglis, signaling with his neck for her to follow after him.

Inglis decided to obediently follow the man at a distance. The front yard leading to the main building wasn’t that large but the trees lining the path were all well-groomed and watered.

For a moment, their footsteps were the only sounds echoing in the darkness of the night. Halfway through the path, the man stopped on his tracks.

「?」 「I’m so… rry..」

A cracked voice, no more than a hush, was all that she could hear. Although his looks imposed fear, it seemed like he had more decency than the master he served. While he didn’t say anything during the whole ordeal, he had felt deeply ashamed of Rahal’s conduct.

「Thank you very much for the consideration. However, please, don’t mind it.」

Inglis awarded the man’s back with a smile.

「……」

The man didn’t respond at all and resumed his gait. Then, as they reached the end of the path, a silver flash tore through the darkness. The slash that appeared from the tree’s shadow hit the man in the front of Inglis.

「!?」

Its power and speed were extraordinary. Two lines of silver light chopped off the big man’s head in an instant. 1

「Fast…!」

It was a splendid slash. Even though Inglis felt sorry for the man, she was more fascinated by the incoming sword. Her body shivered in excitement. 2

The owner of that swordplay was a beautiful girl with blond hair and blue eyes. She didn’t proceed to attack Inglis, only approached her with quick strides.

「You’re… Ms. Eris?」

The Hyrule Menace she met during the night banquet. She left after she got angry at Leon for introducing her to Inglis and Rafinha. What was she doing here?

「Yes. Hey you, it’s fine already. Go, run.」 「…Are you here to save me?」 「Well, yes. I heard it from Leon. You’re Raphael’s cousin, right? All the more reason I can’t ignore this.」

This had been rather unexpected for her, Inglis had thought that she hated them.

「Thank you very much. However, I cannot back down now. After all, I don’t know what will Mr. Rahal do if I don’t go.」

There was no doubt that the Marquis and the people of Ymir would be accused for assassinating the inspector. Obviously, that must be stopped.

「You think I’ll just watch you become that man’s plaything under my own nose? Treasure yourself more! I’ll manage the rest!」 「What and how will you do? Are you perhaps going to kill Mr. Rahal? That’s too dangerous. You will only jeopardize this city and everyone in it.」 「…It’s nothing you should be concerned with. Just, go! Home!」 「I can’t.」 「You’re a girl who can’t listen to others! Fine, if you move another step, I’ll have to attack you. If you don’t want to end up like that, then listen to me and go!」

By all means, a Hyrule Menace like her threatening a little girl like this was nothing short of shameful. However, this was done to protect this little girl named Inglis. Eris felt sorry for scaring her like this but the girl seemed to have a head made of stone, and Eris didn’t have enough time for this. Inside, Eris apologized to her. Outside, she pointed her swords at her.

「Fu… fufufufu」

However, the response Inglis showed was completely different from what Eris expected. She laughed. So daringly, so delightfully. 3 From the depth of her eyes, a bottomless will to fight began to set ablaze. The cutesy image she held all this time had vanished, taking a 180 degree turn into something else in an instant.

「Thank you very much. So you’re saying, one more step and we can have a match?」

That smile she wore was truly charming, and it was delightfully sparkling. 4