Chapter 18. Rescuing Eris Onee-san from the Scummy Noble’s Predicament
[Sister Eris’s Perspective]
Just then, with a sudden deafening roar, the carriage overturned.
The horses neighed in distress, and a tremendous impact and sharp pain assaulted me.
“Kyaaaahhh!? W-What was that!?”
If there hadn’t been a defensive magic spell protecting the passengers, I would have been seriously injured.
To see what had happened, I hurriedly crawled out of the carriage.
“Hyaahahaha! Eris, how dare you reject my proposal!? After I, the great me, went out of my way to like you, dammit!?”
Then, an enraged young noble stood there imposingly, accompanied by a large group of men.
“You’re Gordon!? Don’t tell me this was your doing!?”
Gordon is the eldest son of Count Orchival, the lord of the neighboring territory.
He’d said things like, “Aah, Eris. You are so beautifuuuul!” and proposed to me, but he wasn’t my type, so I turned him down immediately.
And now, for some reason, he was here, leading nearly a hundred rough-looking men, surrounding me menacingly.
“Ahahahaha, that’s right! You’re saying that I, a magical genius, am not your type!? Just ’cause you’re a little cute, you got all conceited! That’s why I hired these bandits to teach you a lesson! Well? Have you finally understood a little of my greatness, haaah!?”
“Gordon, are you an idiot for doing something like this!? My father won’t stand for it. This will mean war with the Schwartz Earldom, you know!?”
“It won’t! I’ll dispose of all the witnesses, and then I’ll sell you off to a slave trader, see!?”
I-Is this guy serious?
I felt a sense of terror looking at Gordon’s bloodshot eyes.
“Lady Eris, run—gyaaahhh!?”
The guards and the coachman were being beaten mercilessly by Gordon’s henchmen.
I never imagined someone would dare attack me, the daughter of the lord, within the Schwartz Territory.
“Uhyahahaha! This feels soooooo good! Holding the power of life and death over the woman who rejected me, yeeees!”
Gordon looked up at the sky, exploding with delight.
“Lord Gordon! There’s another prime girl here, yeees!”
“Ahya! Can we have some fun with this one!?”
“Huh…? Isn’t this Servia, the fake saintess banished from the royal palace? Why’s she wearin’ such a fancy dress?”
When Servia crawled out of the carriage, Gordon and his men’s lewd gazes focused on her.
“Stop it! This girl is my younger brother’s precious fiancée, you know!?”
“Eris-neesama? No, I’m alright, so… You’re the one in danger, Neesama, please step back.”
I hid Servia behind me, protecting her.
Servia, despite the situation, seemed to be trying bravely not to make me worry.
“His younger brother’s fiancée, huh? Hey, hey, I heard from my father, who’s deeply trusted by the royal family, you know? Weren’t you, the Schwartz Earldom, supposed to be abusing this girl under Prince Leon’s orders? No way… Hyaaaahahaha, this is priceless! You intend to defy the royal family’s wishes, do ya!?”
Gordon burst into idiotic laughter.
“My luck’s turning around, yeeees! This is a righteous battle to punish the Schwartz Earldom for ignoring the royal family’s orders! With this just cause, I can crush the Schwartz Earldom and take their territory for myself, can’t I!?”
“Wha-!? If you do that, a lot of people will get hurt, you know!?”
“Like I care! Ahahahaha! As long as I’m happy, that’s all that matters to me!”
Wh-What is this?
I was aghast.
A sense of despair, like the ground beneath my feet was crumbling and I was falling into an abyss… We had just decided to become a real family and find happiness together, and now this.
The people of the Schwartz Territory will also suffer terribly.
“Oh? Is little Eris-chan crying? Hyaahahaha! Well then, let the revenge time begin! You guys can do whatever you want with that fake saintess. I’ll be having my fun with Eris!”
“Uhyaa~! Lord Gordon, you’re so generous!”
“So moviiiiiing! We’ll follow you for life!”
At Gordon’s declaration, the ruffians burst out laughing boisterously.
“Hah… Is that all you have to say? If you intend to harm Eris-neesama and the Schwartz Earldom, I will show no mercy.”
Servia turned her resolute eyes towards Gordon and his men.
“Wha-!? What are you saying, Servia? Don’t tell me you intend to fight when you can only use 【Petit Fire】?”
I know Servia has been training in magic, but… I really don’t think she’s skilled enough to stand up to Gordon and his henchmen.
C-Could it be that this girl gained some weird confidence from participating as Cain’s assistant in his Magical Beast subjugations?
Daaahhhhh! Th-This is bad!
“Hyaahahaha! 【Petit Fire】, you say? A shitty small fry who can only use magic of that level dares to defy me, a genius magician?”
Gordon burst out laughing even harder.
“Ahahahahaha! Quite the reliable partner you’ve got there, Eris, eh? There’s still time, you know? Say ‘I love you, Lord Gordon,’ and kneel before me! If you do, I might just let you live as my mistress. Well? How ’bout it?”
“Wh-Who would ever say that to someone like you!? My younger brother Cain is strong, you know! He’s been defeating high-rank Magical Beasts one after another! If you lay a hand on us, Cain won’t stay silent, you hear!?”
“Cain, huh? I’ve heard rumors he defeated some incredible Magical Beast, but it’s gotta be fake, right? There’s no way that piece of shit could pull something like that off! In fact, I’ll tear him limb from limb right in front of you!”
It was at that moment.
“Anyone who insults Brother Cain, I will not forgive! 【Albidus Fire】!”
“Huh!? Gyaaaaaaaahhh!?”
As Servia unleashed her 【Petit Fire】 magic, the entire area became a raging sea of fire.
“Huh? Wh-What is this power…?”
Gordon and his men were screaming and rolling around on the ground.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Such a wide-range, high-power fire spell… I don’t think even a court magician could use something like that so easily.
“What is this magic!? With hardly any chanting… This can’t be real!”
“I-Is it that fake saintess’s doing!? Kill her!”
However, Servia’s super firepower attack seemed to have only further enraged Gordon and his men.
They all tried to attack Servia at once.
“Kuh, it can’t be helped. Then, no more holding back…”
It was at that moment.
One of the ruffians screamed and was sent flying.
Eh?
“Servia! Eris-nee-san, are you alright!?”
“Bigyaaaah!?”
“Wh-What the!?”
Wha-!? It’s not just one of them!
As if an explosion had occurred, muscular men were sent flying through the air and slammed onto the ground.
The one charging into the group of men, sending them flying with overwhelming force, was…
“Cain!?”
“Brother Cain!”
Kicking the men aside, the one who stood before me was my beloved younger brother, Cain.
Eh? N-No way. I knew he was getting stronger at an incredible rate, but I never imagined he was this strong…
“You bastard! I’ll kill you!”
The men surrounded Cain and swung their battle-axes down. But Cain, with a single swing of his sword, sent them all flying.
Th-That’s a whole different level of power.
“Wh-Who are you!? Do you know who I am? I am the great Gordon Orchival!”
“Cain Schwarz. Have you forgotten my face, Gordon?”
“Wh-What…? You’re that shitty small fry Cain? Your aura… you’re like a completely different person!”
“You laid your hands on Servia and Eris-nee-san… I’ll send you straight to hell!”
Cain, who said that as he readied his sword, looked incredibly cool.