"To think I'd actually take this kind of wound from a child..."
Mist had used [Shadow Sneak] to make an emergency retreat to her room in the royal capital.
A child who appeared in the middle of a commission.
Their meeting was probably coincidental, but afterward he had clearly provoked her—his intent to interfere was unmistakable.
So she had immediately activated [Shadow Magic], sprouting a blade from the shadow behind his back and piercing his heart.
For someone who talked so big, he turned out to be nothing special.
Still, the shadow blade that materialized without a sound in the blink of an eye—
to
dodge
it was simply
impossible.
As his body crumbled and gave way, an adventurer's tag briefly came into view.
Bronze rank.
Unlucky bastard.
He picked the wrong fight.
Or maybe he'd been dazzled by this duchess's beauty and tried to show off.
He mumbled, trying to say something.
Out of a fellow adventurer's mercy—she'd hear out the last words of this poor Bronze.
Not that there was anyone waiting to hear them.
Then, without warning, the sensation of something stabbing into my chest with a squelch shot through my body.
What the—when? Who was it?
The kid I thought I'd killed had gotten back on his feet.
Come to think of it, when he'd been moving his mouth, had he been chanting some kind of spell?
Either way, it wasn't a fatal wound, but it was a pretty deep gash.
I had no idea what trick he'd used, but this wasn't the place to push myself.
So I decided to use Shadow Dive to slip through shadow space and escape for now.
◇◇◇
This was my room in the royal capital.
It used to belong to some noble, but after they fell from grace it became an empty manor, and I bought the whole place.
There was even a hidden chamber, which I used as my base for Shadow Dive.
Conveniently enough, that hidden room was the previous owner's... playroom.
Couldn't be more perfect.
I drank one of the high-grade potions in the room and let my wounds heal.
The duke's daughter I'd abducted was looking at me with a face that said she had no clue what was going on.
"Well then, shall we begin?"
"What exactly do you—"
"What do you mean 'what'? A man and a woman stuck in one room—there's only one thing to do, sweetheart."
"What are you going to do?"
"Too much education really makes you dense, huh? I'm talking about making babies. It's not like you don't know what that means."
"I don't have a fiancé yet, you know. Are you saying you'll become one?"
Like hell the guy who becomes your fiancé is gonna assault you and then toss your naked self into the city square.
"You don't need to be engaged to make kids. Well, even if you do get knocked up, it's got nothing to do with me."
It's not like I enjoy throwing innocent, sheltered girls into horrible situations, but it can't be helped.
Just curse your luck for being born as a duke's daughter, why don't you.
I've got no objections to sleeping with a beautiful girl.
The moment I reached out toward the duke's daughter—
A figure suddenly appeared.
I couldn't make out their form properly.
All I could see was a faint golden glow in their left eye.
And then they took the lady's hand and vanished without a trace.
◇◇◇
Man, that got my heart racing.
And no, not from arrhythmia or anything.
I'd activated the "Presence Concealment" skill before teleporting, and without giving Lady Nina a chance to protest, I teleported us out immediately.
We arrived at the overturned carriage.
Mist hadn't killed the servants, so I figured I'd just grab them all and bring them back together.
I hadn't exactly gotten Lady Nina's permission, but if I didn't hurry, there was a chance Mist had some means of tracking me or Lady Nina.
So I teleported the carriage and all the servants in one go.
Our destination was the Raging Duke's estate.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse][Divine Eye][Sword God][Gentleman Thief][Dark Magic][Rock-Iron Magic][Holy Magic][Spacetime Magic][Scorching Heat Magic][Freezing Ice Magic]
Rank: Bronze
Thank you always for reading😊