Chapter 24: Me? A Nuisance Villainess?
The dusky night had fallen.
In the distance, the hoot of an owl echoed.
By now, the palace staff were likely busy wrapping up their day.
Chefs were pouring their hearts into preparing a grand evening feast.
Maids bustled about to ensure everything was ready for a comfortable night’s rest.
It was a scene I dearly missed—warm and cozy.
At this moment, even Jerome’s cold and indifferent expression might make me chuckle.
Yes, anything would be better than…
Being tied to a tree alongside an unconscious Leonard, illuminated by the blazing light of a roaring bonfire.
“Ugh…”
At that moment, Leonard let out a faint groan.
“Sir Leonard, are you awake?”
“…Your Majesty.”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“……”
“Your head might hurt a bit. When you passed out, the bandits took out their anger on you.”
“You’re saying I passed out?”
Leonard’s eyes wavered for a moment.
It was the first time I had seen him look so shaken.
But he quickly returned to his usual composed demeanor.
“What happened?”
“It’s all my fault.”
I sighed
and thought back to what had just happened.
As Leonard and I were leaving the cabin, we were unexpectedly confronted by a group of bandits.
Though there were many of them, I wasn’t too worried.
After all, by my side was Leonard, the Empire’s Knight Commander and the future mastermind.
Indeed, Leonard quickly dealt with five bandits in the blink of an eye.
Even with many enemies remaining, Leonard showed no signs of faltering.
He was elegant and confident, like a hawk hunting its prey.
The problem was me.
Somehow, a hooded man had snuck up and pressed a blade to my throat.
“Because they threatened me, Sir Leonard had no choice but to drop his wooden sword.”
And in that instant.
A poisoned dart shot out from the shadows of the forest and struck his body.
Leonard collapsed immediately.
“It’s really… all my fault.”
I couldn’t help but sigh.
When I read novels, the thing I found most frustrating was the helpless female lead.
Yet somehow, I had become that very character.
If I hadn’t been captured, Leonard could have easily defeated the bandits.
But Leonard seemed more surprised by something else.
“A poisoned dart?”
“Yes. I overheard them say it was coated with a sleep-inducing poison strong enough to knock out a giant beast.”
Given that he’d been struck multiple times with such darts…
Even the infamous villain couldn’t have remained standing.
“…A poisoned dart.”
Leonard’s eyes darkened as he murmured.
“I apologize. I failed to properly guard Your Majesty.”
“No, it’s not your fault.”
Please, just blame me instead.
Oh, woe is me, the nuisance female lead.
Wait, no.
I’m not the female lead.
Sigh. Woe is me, the nuisance villainess…
Anyway, we were brought back to the cabin and tied to a post together.
The only small consolation was that neither Leonard nor I were seriously injured.
As I was explaining the events to Leonard, a booming voice interrupted.
“Take good care of them. I’ll sell them for a good price, so don’t damage the goods or you’ll pay for it.”
A hulking one-eyed man with an eyepatch glared at the bandits.
He appeared to be their leader.
His name was Cola, wasn’t it?
“What will you do with them, Brother Coleman?”
Ah, so it wasn’t Cola, but Coleman.
“There’s a slaver I know well. The woman’s quite pretty, so she’ll fetch a good price.”
“What about the man? We don’t need him, do we?”
“You don’t get it. Recently, noble ladies have taken an interest in refined hobbies.”
Coleman grinned wickedly as he looked Leonard up and down with a chilling gaze.
“With a face like that, there’ll be plenty of demand.”
Slavery. A good price.
They spoke so casually about trading people.
It made my skin crawl.
“Your Majesty, please don’t worry. I will handle this,” Leonard said in a low voice.
“I trust you’ll handle it. But… are you alright?”
I pointed toward the bonfire.
Leonard’s desk and bookshelf, filled with memories of him and his sibling, had now become firewood for the bandits’ campfire.
“…I’m fine.”
He offered a calm smile.
“This isn’t the time to dwell on my memories. First, we need to escape.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
It wasn’t as though I hadn’t tried to escape.
Before Leonard woke up, I had struggled with the ropes, trying to loosen them.
But it was no use.
No matter how hard I tried, the ropes wouldn’t budge.
After an hour of struggling, all I had to show for it were sore wrists and bruises.
So please, don’t waste your energy.
These ropes aren’t tied the usual way.
“I tried my best too, but the ropes are just too tight…”
I was about to suggest finding something sharp to cut the ropes when—
“I’ve untied it.”
“…What?”
“I’ll untie Your Majesty’s ropes now. Please hold still for a moment.”
Wait. You really untied it?
But if you could undo it so easily…
What have I been doing all this time…?
A short while later.
The bandits, gathered near the bonfire, had begun a drinking party.
They celebrated capturing excellent “merchandise” to sell to a slaver.
As they laughed, drank, and made merry, one by one, they passed out.
“This is the perfect time to escape while they’re drunk. Follow me carefully,” Leonard whispered.
I nodded in agreement.
The wrists that had been bound by ropes stung, but now was not the time to dwell on the pain.
“You’re injured.”
At that moment, Leonard noticed my wounds and spoke.
Looking at my wrist, he tore his sleeve and wrapped it around my wound.
“Don’t worry about it. Escaping is the priority right now.”
“For me, this is the most important matter.”
Despite his firm tone, his touch as he wrapped my wound was gentle and cautious.
Then we resumed our steps.
Snore. Snore.
Carefully, like stray cats, we tiptoed past the snoring bandits.
Most of them were drunk, and only a few were standing guard.
Even those guards were nodding off near the bonfire.
“We’re almost there. Just a little farther.”
It was then.
“What? The prisoners are gone.”
“What?”
“Both of them disappeared!”
“What? That guy woke up already?”
“The poison dart should have knocked out even a beast the size of a house for a week! And he took over ten of them and is still fine?”
“Is he a monster?”
Soon, the one-eyed Coleman shouted.
“You fools! Do you have any idea what will happen if we lose them? Get out there and bring them back!”
At once, the bandits poured out of the cabin in a frenzy.
If only they had noticed a little later…
My heart raced.
At this rate, we were going to get caught again.
“I’ll hold them off. Your Majesty, you must go ahead…”
Leonard spoke with a resolute expression.
In his hand was a crude sword that seemed to belong to the bandits.
When had he picked that up?
It was then.
Boom!
A massive flame erupted behind the cabin, almost like an explosion.
Naturally, the bandits chasing us turned their attention toward the fire.
“What’s that?”
“An explosion out of nowhere…”
“Did someone throw something weird into the bonfire?”
“What could cause green flames like that?”
“Damn it! There’s a lot of stuff over there.”
“You guys, go handle the fire. The rest of you, chase those two runaways!”
The sudden explosion threw the bandits into disarray.
During the commotion, Leonard and I managed to escape the vicinity of the cabin.
“A drunk bandit must have spilled some strong alcohol into the bonfire. We’re lucky. Let’s use this chance to get away,” Leonard said.
But I couldn’t focus on his words.
Near the cabin, I had spotted someone.
It was a figure cloaked in black robes, and for some reason, their appearance seemed familiar.
“Your Majesty?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s go quickly.”
I ran as fast as I could, probably faster than I ever had in my life.
Unfortunately, the bandits were faster.
“There they are!”
“You wretched scum! Just wait until I catch you!”
The sounds of heavy footsteps and angry shouts closed in from behind.
“We can’t make it.”
Leonard stopped, his expression grim.
“Sir Leonard?”
“Go on ahead, Your Majesty. I will…”
Shing.
He unsheathed the sword once more.
“I will protect this place.”
“Sir Leonard…”
“Do not worry.”
Turning toward me, Leonard smiled warmly.
“No matter what happens, I will protect Your Majesty this time.”
With a blade glinting under the bluish moonlight, Leonard’s determined figure was both earnest and heartbreakingly beautiful.
I acknowledged his resolve—
“Sir Leonard…”
“Go, Your Majesty…”
—and promptly rejected it.
Grabbing Leonard’s arm, I bolted down the mountainside with him in tow.
“Run!”
“Your Majesty, I appreciate your concern, but please trust me this time. I won’t make the same mistake…”
Though Leonard sounded flustered, I didn’t let go of his arm.
“I know. You won’t be taken down by a poison dart again.”
He wasn’t just strong but also clever.
He certainly wouldn’t be defeated easily.
“But no matter how skilled you are, it’s meaningless if I get captured, isn’t it?”
“If we continue this way, we’ll be surrounded.”
“Don’t worry. If my hunch is correct…”
“There they are!”
“You scoundrels!”
The bandits had closed the distance, now just a step away.
And then—
“Flames, arise!”
A soft voice rang out from nearby.
Suddenly, a wall of green flames erupted between us and the bandits.
“W-What?!”
“F-Fire!”
“Where did this fire come from…”
“A magician!”
A slender figure clad in robes emerged from the shadows of the forest.
Leonard’s gaze sharpened as he spotted the robed figure.
“That person…”
I gave Leonard a playful wink.
“You see, I do have my own sources of trust.”
Of course, I hadn’t expected his appearance.
But regardless of how it happened, the shocked look on Leonard’s face was quite satisfying.
As much as I wanted to enjoy the mastermind’s surprised expression a bit longer, escaping took precedence.
Even as I ran frantically, I glanced back.
Was it a coincidence?
Through the vines and the flames, my eyes met those of the robed man.
Beneath the shadow of his hood, he wore a faint smile.
That smile and his gaze…
‘Go on ahead. I’ll follow soon.’
That’s what it seemed to say.
I nodded slightly.
‘I’ll leave it to you, flower lover.’
Ah. I can’t call him a flower lover anymore.
I thought he was just someone who loved flowers…
But he turned out to be an extraordinary magician.
—
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