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Huh? So we haven’t met before. When I felt like I’d seen him before, maybe it was just my imagination.
“Eh? Ah. Pleased to meet you too,” I said reflexively. The man chuckled to himself.
“You’re a peculiar girl,” I heard him say, this time from much closer by, and when I raised my head I saw he was right in front of Cezar.
I saw Cezar’s body stiffen, as he grew even more wary of the man.
The man stared right at me with gray eyes.
“Looking at your abilities and your circumstances, it really wouldn’t be strange if you belonged to our side.”
“What are you talking about?” Cezar asked in a suspicious tone of voice.
But I felt that I somehow understood the man’s meaning. That’s right. I, Katarina Claes, originally belonged to their side—the bad guys.
On the game screen I’d seen in my dream, it wasn’t Sarah who’d commanded those men to attack Maria and Cezar, but Katarina. Despite possessing little magical ability—and not being particularly bright either—she was able to become the prince’s fiancée. Later, she grew jealous of Maria for growing closer to the prince. After her torment of Maria gave way to criminal acts, she was banished from the kingdom. Then, after getting her hands on Dark Magic, she stood before Maria as an enemy once again.
That was the kind of person Katarina Claes was. However, when I coincidentally remembered my past life, everything around me started to change. Today, I was not only not exiled, I had become friends with the romanceable characters and even the protagonist herself.
But perhaps because the game still compelled me to do so, I had gained a Dark Familiar and possessed Dark Magic. And I had just used that power to hurt people. It was just as the man said. I’m...
“Don’t let him rattle you. It’s all right.”
I looked up at Cezar, surprised by what he’d just said—it was almost as if he could read my mind. He looked back at me steadily, a strong resolve in his eyes.
“I don’t know why you’re so shaken right now, but you don’t have to listen to anything that guy has to say.”
“Who are you calling ‘that guy’? That’s rather rude, Your Highness,” said the man in response, shrugging as if this were supposed to be some kind of joke. It looked like he knew not only my identity, but Cezar’s as well.
“What did you come here for? Didn’t you say you weren’t going to appear in public?” Cezar asked the man.
So Cezar knows who this man is too?
“Well... As a rule, I usually don’t, but it all depends on the time and situation. This was an emergency, after all,” said the man.
Then the man started to move. Cezar braced himself, but the man leisurely walked right past us, and effortlessly lifted up Sarah in a bridal carry.
“This girl alone is not an expendable pawn, so I’ve been told to come and collect her when the situation demands it,” said the man with a grin as he held Sarah in his arms.
“This girl alone is not an expendable pawn”? So that means these other men are all expendable?
“Bye for now,” said the man. Still carrying Sarah, he casually stepped forward to leave.
His attitude was so casual that I almost said, “Goodbye,” myself.
“You think I’ll just let you walk away?” said Cezar, grasping his sword and glaring at the man.
Even though I was behind Cezar, I still felt a shiver go through me when I heard the former mercenary acting serious. But the man was unaffected, wearing a foolish grin on his face.
“I’ve heard rumors about your skills with a sword, Your Highness, but if you try to strike me from there, I’ll be able to unleash my magic before you reach me. I have the advantage. Though I may not look like it, my magic is quite powerful.”
No sooner had he spoken these words than a gust of wind blew through the room. It was so fierce a gale that I couldn’t keep my eyes open and closed them while protecting my face with my hands. When the air finally calmed and I opened my eyes again, the unconscious men who’d been lying on the ground had all been thrown up against the wall, and Cezar was holding Maria in his arms. It looked like he’d rushed to protect Maria from the sudden wind.
I knew I could count on him.
However, that man—who had just been in the room with us—was nowhere to be found. The man—and Sarah—had gotten away from us.
When Cezar realized this, he tutted quietly in frustration, but soon seemed to collect his wits.
“I’ll carry Maria Campbell to a safe location. After that, I’ll tie these men up,” he said, before immediately springing into action. I also snapped out of my stupor, and decided to help however I could.
After Cezar had carefully moved Maria and her mother to a safe location, I put a sheet I’d brought with me over them. They both had color in their cheeks now, and were breathing normally. That was a relief.
Then Cezar took some rope and started to tie the men up. I offered to help, but he refused, saying it was dangerous. He told me to call for outside help instead.
I took out the magical tool Raphael had given me. After I was done calling for help, I popped my head back into Maria’s room to find that Cezar had neatly tied the men up.
Cezar read from my expression that I was worried about the men’s condition.
“Their lives aren’t in danger,” he assured me. “They don’t even seem to be badly injured.”
As the one who’d put the men in that condition, I was relieved.
While we were discussing that, our backup crew finally arrived. It looked like Cezar had also called for help, as Cezar’s servant, Janne, had come too. There was also a doctor among the reinforcements, who swiftly examined Maria and her mother, before turning to the men we had captured.
Luckily(?) the men had woken up by the time help arrived, so they were able to walk under their own power as they were taken away. Given how energetic they were in cursing us, it seemed like Cezar was right, and they weren’t badly injured. I was, once again, relieved.
The sound of the men cursing us woke up Maria and her mother, and we shared in our delight that they were now safe. They told us that Sarah and her men had suddenly broken into their home. They had immediately knocked down Maria’s mother, whereupon she hit her head and fell unconscious. When she heard the commotion, Maria came out of her room, only to be bound by Sarah’s Dark Magic.
This all took place in the blink of an eye. We had arrived at Maria’s house only moments afterward.
Thank goodness. If we’d arrived even slightly later, what might have happened to them? Just thinking about it made me shudder.
Immediately after I took the men down, I was worried about whether or not I’d seriously injured them, but after hearing what happened to Maria and her mother, I began to think that I could have gotten away with hurting them a little.
Next, Maria thanked me profusely.
“Just when I thought everything was hopeless, I heard your voice, Lady Katarina. Then I thought it was worth holding on a little longer.” Apparently, my voice had gotten through to her.
Regarding my use of Dark Magic, I had been terrified when I lost control, and had a terrible sense of guilt. But when I realized it had allowed me to save Maria, I thought that I should at least be glad about that.
Now, as for the guards who’d been secretly sent to watch Maria, they had all been rendered unconscious, before being thrown into some bushes to hide them from view. There were traces of Dark Magic having been used on them, so it was decided that they should undergo a proper examination at a hospital.
It was decided that Maria and her mother should also have another close examination, so they were taken to hospital, while Cezar and I went to the Magical Ministry to be questioned about what had happened.