“Torre, remove Mrs. Holly’s shackles,” I whispered sharply. “Master Robin should be unable to use his magic at the moment thanks to Defi; that’s why Lord Nazel hasn’t fallen prey to his mental magic. I’m sure he will be fine.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am! Hmph!” Torre swiftly destroyed Mrs. Holly’s shackles with brute strength.
Mister Henry hugged the now-free Mrs. Holly.
“Are you injured, Holly?”
“No, I’m not, dear. Both Lord Solis and I are unhurt.”
Now that we’d rescued Solis and Mrs. Holly, Master Robin started getting even more shaken.
“My plan to eliminate Nazelbart and run away...” In his panic, he reflexively raised his arm, and his knife slipped out of it, flying toward Mrs. Holly.
“Watch out!” I cried. I hadn’t reinforced her body; she’d be in danger if she got stabbed. I can’t make it in time! I looked at her in desperation. Not even Lord Nazel could stop this.
However, the knife pierced right into Mrs. Holly’s body...then cleanly came out the other side, falling to the floor.
“Hmm? What?” I was confused, unable to understand what had just happened.
“Holly’s magic is called slip through. It’s a rare kind that allows her to pass through walls and such. I believe she just used it,” Mister Henry explained.
“Wow!”
Apparently, Mrs. Holly had used her magic the moment the knife came into contact with her, letting it slip through her.
That’s an incredible magic! I felt like the magic enthusiast Emilio would be delighted to hear about it.
I’d been incredibly worried, but I was glad that Mrs. Holly came out unscathed. Defi was the only hostage left now.
We all moved away from Master Robin so as not to get in Lord Nazel’s way. Master Robin kept trying to use his magic on Lord Nazel over and over, growing more panicked as it was secretly nullified by Defi, who was feigning ignorance.
“Come on, why?!”
Now that the hostages had been freed, Lord Nazel mercilessly used his plant magic to go on the offensive. Green vines slowly spread out and twined around Master Robin. He struggled to break free, but he was no match for the countless vines. They gradually covered his entire body, eventually turning it into a green lump. I could hear him shouting something in there, but I couldn’t make out the words.
“Phew, it’s finally over.” After safely capturing Master Robin, Lord Nazel picked up the knife from the floor, then destroyed the shackles and fetters on Defi, the one who’d helped by negating Master Robin’s nuisance of a magic.
Defi seemed a bit exhausted, probably because he’d been treated roughly after initially resisting.
“Are you all right?” Lord Nazel asked.
“Y-Yes. My apologies. I removed the seal on Robin’s magic for the second time. If I hadn’t given in to his threats, your son wouldn’t have been abducted,” Defi replied, looking full of remorse.
“You protected the life of the man keeping watch on your cell, right? Besides, you also negated Robin’s magic and protected me, so I don’t blame you. In the end, both Solis and Mrs. Holly came out fine,” Lord Nazel said in a gentle voice.
Defi had also had the option of willingly helping Master Robin, secretly lending him a hand, and the two of them returning to Myzahn together. For a spy, perhaps that might have been the correct course of action. However, he hadn’t done that.
“Thank you, Defi. Thanks to you, Lord Nazel and everyone else was saved,” I said.
“Lady Agnes?” Defi looked at me in bewilderment. It seemed that he was expecting us to blame him. “I...just didn’t want to be a hindrance to you. Lady Agnes, you were kind even to me, the Myzahni spy who helped Robin escape. I’ve never been treated that way even back home. This time, I just happened to be able to trick Robin because he still thought my magic was ordinary release.”
“That’s your undeniable achievement. I truly thank you.” I clutched Defi’s hand in both of mine.
“Whoa, Lady Agnes!” Defi shouted in a panic, looking embarrassed, then I heard Lord Nazel loudly clearing his throat behind him. “I’m all right, so you should go be with your husband and son,” he said after hurriedly moving away from me.
Like he told me, I carried Solis in my arms and moved to Lord Nazel’s side.
A short time later, Mister Henry and the rest, who were near the room’s entrance, were looking toward the doorway and told us that reinforcements had arrived. There hadn’t been any opportunity for us to call the other soldiers over, but Mister Henry had apparently turned this house pure white using his color change magic, and the soldiers who’d spotted it found it strange and came down to check. The white color had made it stand out even during the night.
The situation was already under control by the time they arrived, but at least we could ask the soldiers to carry Master Robin.
“Now, everyone, the storm will get more and more intense from here on. Let’s quickly return to a safe location,” Lord Nazel instructed. The manor and the prison were among Sutrena’s “safe locations.”
We got on our mountbeasts and left the residence. I carried Solis in my arms and got on Geni with Lord Nazel. Geni didn’t seem to feel the weight of having a baby added on his back. The rain and wind were as severe as before, but Geni flew safely, showing concern for Solis.
“Thank you, Geni. You’re so kind,” I said, to which he replied with a happy noise.
Solis had exhausted himself from crying and was now sleeping soundly. Mister Henry and Mrs. Holly rode behind the soldiers, while Defi was behind Torre.
It was decided that Defi no longer needed to be imprisoned, and it would be best to keep him away from Master Robin, so he would be living in the estate until the day he would be handed back to Myzahn. Although it would be more like house arrest...
Master Robin had his magic sealed again and would be imprisoned again. He kept screaming and resisting on his flight to the prison, but he quieted down after a brawny soldier put him in a joint lock. After the negotiations with Myzahn, Prince Leonardo would take him back to the capital.
“To be honest, I’d rather they took him back to the capital right away,” Lord Nazel muttered in a tired voice, and I agreed. I didn’t want to go through such a terrifying experience again.
Geni continued flying in the stormy night sky, and we made it from the town center to the estate before long. Kelly and the maids greeted us, and we headed straight to the bath to warm our cold bodies. Solis had conveniently just woken up too, so he was taken to the baby bath, which he wasn’t very fond of. After coming out of the bath, I met up with Lord Nazel and Solis again in the living room. Lord Nazel was checking the situation outside through a gap on the plant-covered window. Everyone seemed to be asleep by now, so I used my magic to reinforce the air around the estate.
“It seems that the wind and rain will be the strongest at dawn. Let’s rest a bit while we can. We did everything we could,” Lord Nazel said, and I nodded in affirmation.
“I’m sure that we’ll still be busy after the storm has passed; rather, we’ll be even busier. I’ll sleep with Solis in a separate room. Please get a good night’s rest in the bedroom, Lord Nazel.” I turned my attention to the sleeping Solis.
“Then I’ll go with you.”
“But Solis might start crying in the night. You might be unable to sleep...”
“Don’t worry. I feel calmer when I’m with you two.”
We took Solis along with his cradle and moved to the bedroom. Our baby was sound asleep. I could hear the sound of the wind from beyond the window, which Lord Nazel had covered in plants as a countermeasure against the storm.
“I wonder if Geni and Dunk are okay. I’m also worried about the vegetables in the field,” I said. I’d be shocked if all the tubers ended up getting blown away.
“You reinforced the stable so much that it’s even safer than an ordinary house. The mountbeasts can also create barriers, so I think they won’t be bothered even during the storm. Besides, you reinforced the air around the whole estate earlier, didn’t you? The vegetables are also protected.”
“I hope so.”
If our people’s fields suffered damage, we intended to distribute our vegetables for food. Therefore, it would be ideal if as many of them as possible still remained after the storm.
A flash of light shone through a gap in the covered window and thunder rumbled in the distance, making me reflexively shrink into myself.
“Come here, Agnes.” Lord Nazel, who knew about my fear of lightning, spread his arms wide and called me over.
I did as he said, and when I walked close enough, he took me into a gentle embrace. That alone relaxed my mind a little.
“We need to wake up early tomorrow, so let’s go to bed soon,” he said.
“All right.”
We moved to the bed side by side. More lightning struck, and the thunder echoed, shaking the entire manor.
“I wonder if the loud noise will startle Solis and wake him up,” Lord Nazel said.
“He seems to be sleeping peacefully for now.” To think he could still sleep even under these circumstances... He was much stronger than I was.
Lord Nazel wrapped me up in an embrace to reassure me. Listening to the sound of his heartbeat made my stiff body gradually relax from the relief.
“It’s all right, Agnes. Your magic will protect everyone.”
“Lord Nazel...”
Soothed by his gentle, beautiful voice, my consciousness drifted into the land of dreams. Solis might have taken after me in his ability to fall asleep so easily...