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She couldn’t even tell what had happened first, her turning her body or her feet taking the first step. But she gave as much strength to her leg muscles as possible, feeling that her life depended on it. The moment she moved, she immediately noticed a downward flow, the delicate dress she was wearing, was slowing her down immensely. 

‘I’m slow… I’m going too slow.’

Lil desperately looked ahead. The way out was close.

‘Only three or four more steps…’

“Well, if you go out there…”

A sigh burst out. 

The voice reaching her ear sounded close, suddenly a shadow rose from her side and covered her forehead. By his relaxed tone, Lil couldn’t predict what was going to happen next.

‘There’s still some distance…’

But without any time to plan an escape, her body was bent in half. Out of nowhere, her intestines were crushed by an arm wrapped around her waist and her airway was momentarily blocked. 

“…It’ll be no fun.”

The rebound of stopping a running person created a force so great, that Ed had no trouble turning Lil and throwing her against the desk in only one move.

She rushed into a pile of papers, which obscured her vision.  

– Bang – 

Her face hit the surface of the desk. A dull sound rang along with the crumbling of the papers. Her entire head throbbed in shock.

“Didn’t you expect this?”

“Uh, ugh…”

“I couldn’t control it. I’m sorry. Stay still, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Damn it…”

Lil’s voice was muffled due to her face still laying on the desk. The pressure on the back of her head made it almost impossible to breathe and her hair was gripped fiercely.

At first, there was nothing more she could do than hold on to his forearm and grunt in pain. 

“Hm, what should we do about this cute rebellion?” 

“…”

‘Madman, ******* lunatic!’

Instead of answering, she tried to kick his shin. Without knowing where his legs exactly were, she just kicked the air several times. 

– Puck –

Finally, her heel hit something that felt like a leg.

“Should I tie you up? Just like you did to me.”

“…”

“I think that will be fun. Should we try it?” 

‘It’ll be a problem if I get caught.’

Ed didn’t seem to feel any pain, leaving her stunned. Only his forearm, wrapped around her waist, grew stronger. The action pulled her body closer to him.

‘What a crazy pervert.’

“Let go of me, you perv!”

“Shh, do you want to get caught?”

“…”

Moist lips pressed against her earlobe. 

“Shh…”

His breath reached her auricle. The thoughts occupying her mind immediately stopped. It felt like all kinds of bugs were crawling into her ear. It was quite a specific type of horror. It felt terrible, like something with dozens or thousands of legs. 

‘If it’s like this, there’s no chance of winning. I might be alone, but if I’m caught, there’s a high possibility that my crew will be detained as well. The Bell Rock will take a hit. I need to escape.’

“This… Let me go! AHH…!”

Lil screamed madly, her cry was close to that of a seizure.

‘Cesar will be faster than the guards. He’s right upstairs. So, he’ll be fast… he has to be fast.’

Belatedly, Ed covered her mouth.

“Are you crazy!”

Still, Lil kept calling for Cesar. Her vocal cords had rung sharply, but now her screams were muffled by the palm of his hand. 

‘His sensitive hearing couldn’t have missed my screams, especially with this voice.’

“Everyone could have heard that…”

– Crack –

The window broke.

Lil was convinced it was without a doubt, Cesar. At the same time, beyond the terrace, the sound of firecrackers could be heard, signalling retreat. 

A low voice spoke against the background full of noise.

“Let her go.”

Ed got up with Lil in front of him. Thanks to this, her body turned and she could see the fireworks before they subsided.

“Who are you?”

“How dare you threaten her.”

Even though she couldn’t see his face due to the moonlight, Lil felt relieved. 

‘The fireworks went off, so the crew’s retreating by now. If Cesar and I can buy some time, we’ll all be able to escape.’

Ed made a ridiculous threat. 

“If you take one more step, I’ll slit her throat.”

“I told you to let her go.”

Lil laughed inwardly at his weak grip. His large hand was just resting on her mouth. Ed wasn’t trying to kill her, nor stopping her from talking. 

‘Is he really trying to do what he’s talking about?’

Lil snorted.

“Huh? Do you want me to open you up?”

It was an empty threat. Cesar knew it and got closer. This time, Lil kicked her heel back as hard as she could. 

“Let go! Let go! Let go!”

She stomped Ed’s knee and shin countless times, but the kicking didn’t last long. She didn’t even notice that her body was flying through the air, reflexively she tried to break her fall and rolled on the floor.

When she raised her head, two blades clashed with each other. The sound of the colliding swords pierced her ears. 

Both left no gap.

The confrontation heated up quickly. Their fierce afterimage cut through the darkness. In an instant, the calm air became a mess and the dreary silence fell apart. Lil stared at the high-speed swordsmanship that made even the moonlight struggle with illuminating it.

She took a deep breath, stood up with the support from a bookshelf and squinted her eyes. 

‘As expected, Cesar has the upper hand. With his back to the moon, he’s at an advantage. But this isn’t progressing as the quick and easy fight I hoped for. Moreover, there’s no guarantee that the guards will remain silent after hearing the disturbance. We need to get out of here.‘

Without thinking any further, she ran to the desk. She grabbed the papers and documents, which were in a complete mess, and rummaged through the drawers. 

‘We need to go before they change their positions. Like…right now.’

“Cesar!”

Lil rushed towards the open window. She soon noticed Cesar had followed her and jumped over the railing. Ed chased after them and went out on the terrace. In one swift motion, Lil landed, rolled over the grass, pulled her gun from her thigh, and aimed it at the balcony. Ed was about to jump over the railing but stopped. It was because the gun was undoubtedly directed at him. 

She stood up, keeping an eye on Ed, still caught in the sight of her rifle. Ed dropped the sword and raised his hands in the air. Lil backtracked, then withdrew her gun and ran across the garden.

Ed stood silently for a while and eventually raised his head. The wind blew through the open terrace doors, making the glass fragments on the floor sweep like the ocean. Ed collapsed like a captain of a wrecked ship and looked back at the cause of this mess.

‘Did I go too far? Did using too much force make her resistant?’ 

Ed shook his head straight away. 

‘I don’t need to forget that Liloa was a student of the Imperial Military Academy. Being caught off-guard could be the most likely cause of defeat. It wasn’t too much, and it would’ve been funny to think that she was innocent. But why did she feel the need to call for that escort? I don’t understand it at all.’

In an attempt to make sense of what just happened, he tried to recall the situation. 

“…A random intruder…”

Although their encounter was brief, Ed was familiar with that monstrous skill. 

‘That’s why I no longer felt the need to chase after them. There was nothing more to play around with. The swordsmanship used by that man was systematic and precise. It was a naval longsword technique from Lebrun.‘

Ed didn’t even turn his head at the sound of footsteps rushing in.

“There was an intrusion. Are you okay?”

The enlisted private army of the count’s mansion had assembled in a frenzy and immediately checked on their distinguished guest’s safety. The count instructed them strictly as if he’s a high-ranking nobleman from Sesbron. 

Ed completely ignored the guards hovering around him and focused on something else. His thoughts drifted to the man who fought with his face obscured by the moonlight. He already knew who it was. That build, that swordsmanship, and that stern face. He could only identify one specifically talented person. Ed saw the man’s face. He was a man that had fought countless times. 

Ed narrowed his forehead. 

‘What was his name?’

“Cesar…”

As soon as he said it out loud, the final piece completed the puzzle. A vivid memory crossed his mind. However, it took a second to accept it as the unbelievable reality. He couldn’t figure out why he was here with Lil. 

‘Why?’

“Sir Cesar?”

Ed stared in the air like a possessed man.

“Captain Lemoine?”