Chapter: 09
I’d been suspicious from the very beginning.
Antonio Squad was known for being simple and brutal—a team specialized entirely in offense.
Even so, every special operations squad had at least one member who excelled in scouting.
Charlie, who had escorted the girls today, was that person.
He had incredibly sharp instincts and a natural talent for keeping watch and searching the surroundings.
If the girls had resisted the kidnapping, Charlie would never have missed the sound.
That led me to another possibility.
Maybe… they hadn’t resisted at all.
The girls looked at Nicola with confused expressions.
Just as I thought. Nicola was the one leading them.
Nicola’s lips twitched.
But she immediately turned her head away and stubbornly stared at the floor.
She had no intention of saying anything.
That’s a problem.
I wasn’t taking the adopted daughter examination because I actually believed I’d get to live as the Guild Master’s adopted daughter.
Once the Guild Master had a biological child, I’d naturally be discarded.
So my real objective in taking this test was something else.
Not to become his adopted daughter… but his number one subordinate.
I had to become so capable that throwing me away would seem like a waste.
That way, when the protagonist’s royal guard eventually came to harvest my organs, he’d help me.
To accomplish that goal, this test had to become proof that I helped expose the ungrateful San Miguel.
I stared at Nicola, who stubbornly refused to look at me.
“I understand. Money is important. If someone paid enough, maybe even honor would be worth selling.”
“…!”
A crack appeared in Nicola’s expression.
Her perfectly straight eyebrows twitched.
“…What did you say?”
“Oh! You misunderstood. I’m not blaming you.”
I quickly waved both hands with an embarrassed smile, but Nicola bit her lip.
“No one would trade their honor for a little money.”
“But you did.”
“…Listen.”
Nicola looked ready to explode.
The other girls glared at me with displeased expressions.
Nothing provokes a prideful noble quite like this.
After all, I’d grown up under a mother who ran a massive merchant company.
As the eldest daughter of House Andres, I’d attended countless noble social gatherings.
After being cast out of my family, I’d survived in the rough marketplace where the toughest people gathered.
In other words…
I was pretty confident in my ability to provoke people with words.
Besides…
This is exactly how you deal with Nicola.
I’d played the game.
I knew Nicola Donati very well.
Nicola Donati
The eldest daughter of Baron Donati.
Her family had fallen into poverty because of the cost of treating her younger brother’s illness, but she had received one of the finest educations in San Miguel Territory as a child.
She possessed immense pride.
Which meant…
If I attacked that pride enough—
“I never sold my honor for money!”
—she’d react exactly like this.
I smiled.
“Then… did you exchange it for your little brother’s life?”
“…!”
Bullseye.
Nicola flinched.
Realizing her mistake, she hurriedly turned away and clenched her fists.
I bent down until our eyes met.
“Your little brother is sick, isn’t he? He has been for a long time. That’s why you needed money.”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And the other girls probably sacrificed themselves for something they valued more than honor.”
“What could you possibly know? I have nothing to say, so don’t try digging any further—”
“I know.”
“…”
“Because I’m the same.”
Nicola and the other girls stared at me with trembling eyes.
I smiled.
“My name is Yustea Andres.”
Shock spread across their faces.
Several of them even gasped.
The Andres family was one of the Empire’s greatest noble houses.
And I, the daughter who had been cast out…
I was practically like a celebrity whose scandal had filled the newspapers.
Almost everyone in the Empire knew me.
They knew what crime I’d committed.
And they even knew how I was living now.
“I’ve done just about every kind of work imaginable. Because I have someone I need to protect too.”
“…”
The girls lowered their heads or squeezed their eyes shut.
Nicola’s lips moved.
After standing silently with both hands clasped tightly together, she finally spoke.
“…Lady Dia. Your mother.”
“You know my mother?”
“The legendary Lady Dia, who built a great merchant company all by herself… she inspired us greatly.”
Nicola quietly stared at me with an unreadable expression.
“Do you think it’s laughable that girls like us admired Lady Dia?”
“No.”
“…”
“My mother also knows there are things more precious than honor.”
Nicola swallowed.
“I… no, all of us…”
Just then—
“That’s enough nonsense!”
A sharp voice rang out as Marina and her search squad appeared.
They had arrived much sooner than expected.
Either Viscount San Miguel or one of his lackeys must have hurried over to report everything.
Of course they were desperate.
If the girls revealed that the fake kidnapping had been orchestrated by Viscount San Miguel, everything would be over.
The proof was written all over Marina’s face.
She was burning with rage.
“We’ve come to take you back. Come out.”
Her tone was overbearing.
The girls instinctively looked toward Nicola.
But Marina was faster.
“I said I’m taking you back.”
She emphasized the word I’m.
A reminder to keep their promise.
Follow Marina’s orders.
That promise.
The threatening voice made the girls shudder.
“Nicola…”
The girls looked at her anxiously.
Nicola slowly stood.
She intended to follow Marina.
I’d expected this from the start.
Even before the test began, I’d guessed Marina and the Viscount had already done something to the girls.
They had probably forced them into a contract.
Or…
They sealed them with a magical oath.
Something like:
You will obey Marina and Viscount San Miguel’s orders in exchange for payment. If you disobey, you will suffer the consequences.
My squad members looked at me in confusion.
“What did they do to the girls?”
“Little Teacher, isn’t there anything we can do?”
I sighed.
“What a shame. I’m sorry, everyone.”
While my search squad ground their teeth in frustration, I continued sadly.
“I guess you’ll have to carry them after all.”
“…Huh?”
“What?”
It wasn’t just my teammates who were stunned.
Marina.
Her search squad.
Even the girls.
All of them stared at me with wide eyes.
I clapped my hands brightly.
“Alright.”
“Let’s kidnap them.”
Did they think only the Viscount knew how to kidnap people?
We could do it too.
“…!”
“…!!”
Marina froze.
Her squad panicked.
Meanwhile, my search squad effortlessly hoisted the girls onto their shoulders and took off running.
“I knew I’d like having Little Teacher around.”
“Let’s go!”
The squad burst into hearty laughter.
“Woooooo!”
Antonio Squad erupted in cheers as they watched through the viewing mirror.
Marina and her search squad were completely dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Yustea’s search squad ran as though nothing unusual had happened.
Some bounded across huge rocks.
Others had the girls cling to their backs while climbing steep cliffs with both hands.
The slope was too difficult for an ordinary fifteen-year-old girl to climb, so Yustea herself was riding on one of the searchers’ backs.
But then something strange happened.
“What’s Little Teacher doing?”
She stretched out her hand and began feeling around the rocks.
Then—
Smack!
“Argh!”
She picked up rocks and hurled them at Marina’s pursuers as they desperately climbed after them.
The attackers tumbled backward, clutching their foreheads in pain.
“Pfft…”
One of the Vice Guild Master’s subordinates accidentally laughed before quickly covering his mouth.
The others immediately shot him warning looks.
The man coughed awkwardly.
“I wasn’t the only one laughing.”
“You were.”
“The corners of everyone’s mouths are twitching.”
“…”
To be fair…
It wasn’t surprising.
Marina’s search squad consisted of soldiers secretly planted by Viscount San Miguel.
Well…
They thought they were undercover.
Everyone else had figured it out long ago.
They were hopeless elitists who couldn’t even hide the fact that they had powerful backing.
Skipping training.
Pocketing military funds.
Ignoring their superiors.
They had infuriated everyone with one shameless stunt after another.
So watching those smug people suffer hardships they’d never imagined was…
Ridiculously satisfying.
Yustea had an extraordinary talent for getting under people’s skin.
Even as she kicked one of Marina’s men away with her foot, she sympathetically said,
“If your wig falls off, I’m sorry. But being bald isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
Of course, Yustea wasn’t the only one gifted at driving people crazy.
Her search squad shared that talent.
Chuckling, one of them added,
“Black beans are good for hair loss.”
Something absolutely unnecessary.
The balding soldier looked utterly devastated.
The Vice Guild Master’s squad lowered their heads, their shoulders shaking.
“Hahaha!”
Antonio and his teammates were practically rolling on the floor with laughter.
Inside the viewing mirror, Marina screamed in fury.
As a result, she and her squad became completely enraged.
“Stop that! Get down here this instant!”
Yustea glanced down at her.
“Then climb up.”
“You’re kidnapping noble young ladies! Have you lost your mind?”
“You did it first. Why shouldn’t I?”
“Y-You…!”
She refused to lose even a single exchange.
Antonio grinned at the Vice Guild Master.
“You can laugh openly, you know. No need to pretend.”
“Be quiet.”
“It’s hilarious, isn’t it? Before the test started, I wondered why she picked only the biggest guys. I never imagined this was her plan.”
“You’re the one who doubted her choices.”
“She’s incredible.”
“That’s not all.”
“Huh?”
The Vice Guild Master looked toward the pale-faced Viscount San Miguel.
The Viscount stood there trembling violently, both fists clenched.
Just as Yustea had predicted, the girls had been bound by a magical restriction.
Its conditions were simple.
Until the examination ends, obey Marina and Viscount San Miguel. You may not testify about anything related to this incident.
But what if someone simply picked them up and carried them away?
Since it wasn’t the girls’ own decision, they had no choice but to go along with it.
The magical restriction became completely useless.
And there was something else.
“Nicola, you don’t have to tell us what happened. If anything I say is wrong, just deny it.”
The Vice Guild Master chuckled.
That clever girl had apparently guessed the terms of the magical restriction from her brief conversation with Nicola.
If they couldn’t testify…
Then they could testify without speaking.
“This isn’t kidnapping, is it?”
Nicola squeezed her eyes shut.
That was agreement.
“Charlie, the man who escorted you, had absolutely nothing to do with this incident.”
“…”
“You boarded the carriage voluntarily because you were threatened.”
“…”
“And the person who threatened you was—”
Nicola looked at Yustea with tear-filled eyes.
It had been no lie when they said they admired Dia, Yustea’s mother.
Especially Nicola.
She collected newspaper articles about Dia and treasured every one of them.
A poor family.
A sick younger brother.
Parents sinking deeper into despair.
Whenever the weight of it all became unbearable, she would open that scrapbook and find strength.
I wasn’t wrong.
The way I’ve lived resembles that strong woman.
Even she once said that suffering had consumed not only her heart but her body.
But if you refuse to surrender, that suffering becomes an opportunity.
I admire her.
I’ll become someone like her.
She had repeated those thoughts countless times.
Yet the person who resembled the woman she admired most…
…was her daughter after all.
Just like your mother… your daughter has given me courage.
And so Nicola finally shouted,
“Viscount San Miguel! He placed us under a magical restriction and forced us to obey his orders!”
She screamed with all her strength.
“He paid for my little brother’s medicine! I tried to refuse, but he threatened that every doctor in San Miguel would refuse to treat my brother if I didn’t accept!”
Nicola stared directly at the broadcasting magic tool floating beside Yustea.
“I never sold my honor for money!”
“Aaaah!”
Nicola suddenly screamed.
The magical formation of the restriction appeared across her body and attacked her.
It was a powerful binding spell created by an expert enchanter.
Its terrifying power surged as though determined to burn the oath-breaker from existence without leaving even a single breath behind.
BOOM!
Lightning exploded.
The squad member carrying Nicola instinctively let go.
“Nicola!”
“Lady Nicola!”
The girls cried out in horror.
But Nicola never hit the ground.
Yustea had instantly leaped down from the squad member carrying her and caught Nicola in midair.
The moment their bodies touched, violent currents raced across Yustea’s skin.
The agonizing pain twisted her face beyond recognition.
Yet she never let Nicola go.
“Little Teacher!”
Her search squad screamed in alarm.
But Yustea stubbornly held Nicola even tighter.
Watching through the viewing mirror, Antonio abruptly stood.
Not just him.
Every member of Antonio Squad.
Every member of the Vice Guild Master’s squad.
Even the Vice Guild Master himself leaped to his feet.
“Let her go, Little Teacher! You’ll die too!”
Then—
Kiiiiii…
A strange cry echoed through the sky.
Two enormous hawks descended from the heavens, circling above Yustea as she held Nicola.
“Hawks…”
Antonio murmured in a daze.
Someone suddenly shouted,
“Sunlight! Abyss!”
“The Guild Master’s hawks!”
Sunlight and Abyss.
The two guardian beasts personally raised by the Guild Master.
Drawing mysterious circles through the air, they landed beneath Yustea.
As they did, a magical formation took shape in the empty sky along the path of their flight.
The restriction surrounding Nicola cracked with a loud crackle.
Then finally—
Crack.
“Woooooo!”
It shattered completely and vanished without a trace.
Antonio let out a helpless laugh and sat down on the steps.
“Talk about perfect timing.”
Yustea’s search squad rushed toward her.
“Little Teacher! Are you alright?”
“Look at me! Are you hurt?”
Still dazed, Yustea slowly nodded.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Inside the viewing mirror, the only face that had turned ashen was Marina’s.
And there was one more person.
Viscount San Miguel had collapsed onto the floor in terror.
His lips trembled.
“T-The Guild Master… Why… why would the Guild Master…”
“He must have been watching.”
The one who answered was Vice Guild Master Lorenzo.
He strode toward the Viscount.
Antonio followed behind him, rubbing the back of his neck.
The two men looked down at the trembling Viscount.
“Now that everyone has witnessed even the magical restriction itself, you have no way out.”
“You shouldn’t be getting out of this anyway.”
Antonio crouched, grabbed the Viscount by the collar, and flashed a savage grin.
“That torture you promised Charlie…”
“You can enjoy it instead.”
The Viscount crawled backward on his hands, staring desperately at Vice Guild Master Lorenzo.
“W-Wait… hear me out. I… I mean…”
“I’m afraid not.”
“V-Vice Guild Master…”
“We’ve always been quicker with actions than words.”
The Vice Guild Master’s sword slowly came to rest before the Viscount’s eyes.
