CHAPTER 25
She took out the gloves from her pocket, put them on, and carefully picked a few mushrooms.
She picked up a sharp stone and began to crush the mushrooms into small pieces.
Slime oozed from the crushed caps, and soon they crumbled into powder.
She wrapped the pieces in a handkerchief and hid it inside her sleeve.
Then she roughly tousled her hair and dirtied her clothes.
Whew, all set! Let’s give it a try.
She staggered toward the thugs.
“E-excuse me, could I ask for directions?”
“Who’s there!”
As soon as they saw her, the thugs drew their weapons in alert.
So unfriendly.
She clasped her hands and tried to look as pitiful as possible.
Her voice trembled as if she were about to cry.
“P-please calm down! I just got lost and have been wandering around here. Please, help me.”
“Lost? Then what were you doing coming this deep in the first place?”
One of the thugs asked a sharp question.
She forced out tears.
“The coachman took the wrong road and argued with me, then left me here. Sob…”
Tch, maybe that last sob was too fake.
The thugs exchanged glances, seeming to debate what to do with her.
Whatever they decided, as long as one of them came closer, that was enough.
After pretending to hesitate, she suddenly stumbled to the side as if twisting her ankle.
“Ow, I can’t move…”
She made a pained face and pretended to rub her leg, secretly clutching the rolled handkerchief inside her sleeve.
Luckily, one of the thugs frowned and walked toward her without noticing.
“Tch, what a bother. Well, now you’ve got no choice but to come with us—”
The moment he grabbed her shoulder, she threw the mushroom powder into his face.
Take that!
“Keh! Huff, wh-what, ugh!”
The thug inhaled the powder off guard and fell to his knees, clutching his stomach.
The toadstool’s effects were abdominal pain and paralysis.
Judging from how he couldn’t move an inch, it worked perfectly.
“Oh my goodness! Are you all right?!”
“What the hell? What did you do?!”
“I didn’t do anything! He just suddenly—”
Before she could finish, the remaining two thugs came rushing toward her in panic.
As they closed the distance, she quickly threw more powder at the one in front, then lunged at the one behind and rubbed the rest across his face with the handkerchief.
“Ack! What is this?!”
“Aaargh! My eyes! My eyes—!”
The thugs rolled on the ground in agony.
She flung off her gloves and hurried into the hut.
Inside, children bound and gagged stared at her in terror.
“Kids, it’s okay! I’m here to save you!”
She shouted while untying the ropes and gags of the nearest child.
“Free your friends and run outside one by one! If you keep going down the right path, you’ll find houses!”
Then a thought struck her.
“Is one of you named Anna?”
“Mmph, mmph!”
A child at the back reacted.
She quickly rushed over.
“Your brother’s name is Tommy, right?”
“Hic, y-yes! Yes, that’s right, uuhh…”
When she removed the gag, Anna burst into tears she had held back.
Her pale face showed how much she’d suffered.
“Tommy’s been waiting desperately for you. Let’s go meet your brother.”
“Sniff… okay.”
Anna bravely wiped her tears and nodded, then went to help another friend.
The other children hesitated but soon followed her lead.
Wow, what brave kids. Group project geniuses, all of them.
Thanks to them, she managed to get every child out within minutes.
After checking that no one was left inside, she stepped outside—
“What’s going on here? Were you attacked?! Who the hell did this—”
Just her luck, one of the thugs’ companions appeared.
Their eyes met, and silence fell.
She thought of the saying, *“You can’t spit on a smiling face,”* and gave him a bright smile.
“Hello. I’m just a lost traveler. Mind if I pass through?”
“You think that’s gonna happen?”
Yeah, didn’t think so.
The new thug drew a club from his waist and eyed her warily.
“Hiyah!”
“Uagh!”
She dodged as the thug swung his club.
A desperate struggle began—him trying to land a hit, her fighting to stay alive.
Whoosh—
“Ugh!”
The club narrowly missed her head, but she lost her balance and fell flat on the ground.
The thug smirked like a victor and approached.
She quickly reached out a hand.
“Wait! Let’s talk about this. I have a husband at home—sweet like a bunny.”
“So what?”
“And a mother-in-law like a deer, and a father-in-law like a cat. If I die, they’ll all starve!”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“It means—why the hell did you kidnap kids and lock them up, you lunatics?!”
You’re the criminals, so why am I the one begging?!
When she shouted in anger, the thug twirled his club.
“That all you’ve got to say?”
“Not done yet! You bastards targeted orphans thinking no one would care, right? Don’t make me laugh. There’s always someone who worries about them!”
“Yeah? Then I’d better make sure there’s no one left to worry. Starting with you!”
The thug lifted his club high above her head.
She raised an arm to shield herself and clenched a stone in her hand.
If I don’t pass out from this hit, I swear I’ll smash his skull with this rock!
* * *
After hearing multiple reports of Matthias’s repeated escape attempts, Aizen came up with a simple solution.
Eliminate the cause.
At first glance, the cause seemed to be Jena, but he knew there was a deeper reason.
Anna’s disappearance.
If that was resolved, Jena and Matthias would stop meeting altogether.
And maybe Matthias will calm down a bit too.
Things had been awkward between them since he had made the boy cry last time.
Aizen couldn’t understand why his nephew was so angry, but he tried his best to fill the void left by his parents.
“Your Grace. Based on our investigation, the girl named Anna doesn’t seem to have simply gone missing.”
Ralph, who had been tracking the case on Aizen’s orders, spoke with a grave expression.
“It appears Hans Orphanage and Julia’s Boutique struck a deal to sell orphaned children to illegal slavers.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, over ten children from Hans Orphanage have vanished like Anna. It seems Julia’s Boutique wasn’t the only accomplice.”
Slavery was banned under imperial law.
But those blinded by greed or trapped in old customs still traded slaves in secret.
Aizen knew this well, which was why, upon becoming Duke, he had made it clear that any illegal acts would be met with no mercy.
Yet now—
“How dare they—”
Deceiving his eyes and committing slave trading under his jurisdiction?
His violet eyes burned with rage, and his jaw clenched tight.
“They dare pull this filth in Kalard territory?”
And against children, no less.
Aizen slammed his hand on the desk and issued a cold command.
“Arrest everyone involved and find the missing children immediately.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Ralph bowed deeply—then the office door burst open.
“Uncle!”
Matthias ran in, crying, and threw himself into Aizen’s arms.
“Uncle, it’s terrible! Lady Kreutz is in danger! Please, you have to save her!”
“…What?”
Aizen looked up in shock, then turned toward Greta, who had followed behind.
Greta explained with a grim face.
“Your Grace, my lady went after the carriage that kidnapped the child and has gone missing. We need help.”
“What?”
Aizen’s brows furrowed sharply as he grasped the situation.
A civilian woman had gotten caught up with violent human traffickers.
Greta bowed, blaming herself for leaving Jena alone.
Then Matthias stepped forward, trembling.
“It’s m-my fault. I asked Lady Kreutz to find Anna…”
His small shoulders shook violently.
Aizen took a deep breath and knelt to meet his nephew’s eyes.
“Calm down, Matthias. I’ll handle this. You stay here and wait, all right?”
“Sniff… okay…”
That woman just had to meddle.
If Jena got killed by slave traders, both her life and the Kalard family’s future would be ruined.
He had to rescue her before anything happened.
“Ralph, gather the knights. I’ll go to Julia’s Boutique and find out where she went.”
“I’m coming too.”
Greta followed close behind, and the two rushed out.
“Welcome to Julia’s Bout—!”
“Tell me where you sold the child.”
A cold blade pressed against the shopkeeper’s neck.
She gasped and trembled but tried to feign ignorance.
“W-what? I-I don’t know what you mean…”
“I already know. I don’t have time for lies. Speak. Where did you take the kidnapped children?”
Aizen tightened his grip on the sword.
A drop of blood ran down where the edge grazed her skin.
“If you keep denying it, I’ll carry out judgment in the name of the Duke of Kalard.”
“…! P-please, spare me!”
The woman collapsed, trembling at the deadly authority in his voice.
From her confession, Aizen learned about the hut and stormed out of the shop.
As he mounted his horse, Greta tried to follow, but he stopped her.
“Share the location with the knights.”
“It could be dangerous for you to go alone, Your Grace.”
“Me?”
He gave a faint, dismissive laugh.
“Hardly.”
Leaving Greta behind, he galloped forward, his thoughts fixed on Jena.
If that delicate, snow-like face got even a scratch…
Any husband would be furious.
In the distance, he spotted Jena stumbling to avoid an attack.
With a sharp sound, he drew his sword.
As the thug raised his club high, Aizen hurled his blade without hesitation, aiming for the man’s shoulder.
“Kraaagh!”
The steel pierced flesh, and the thug dropped his weapon in pain.
“My lady!”
“…My husband?”
Jena’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of her slender, tree-like husband standing there—a lone bloom in the chaos.
