Chapter 29: The Attack — Part 3

The door ahead burst open, and two gardeners ran out.
One of them held a machete in his hand.

Tom, who was unarmed, took Mother from the knight and ran toward the house at incredible speed.
Incredibly fast.

Mother was being carried like luggage.
It looked quite different from a knight’s graceful princess carry.

Of course, she was furious, but this was hardly the time.

Do your best, Tom, I cheered silently.

Behind him followed Nick, brandishing the machete and scanning the surroundings.

The knight who had carried Mother turned back, joining the other to repel the pursuers.

Only then did I realize we had been chased.

Why were they chasing us?

I glanced back again and understood.
The gates were closed.
Since when?

Unable to escape outside, the criminals were trying to seize hostages.

If either Mother or I were captured, no one on our side could act freely.

At the gate, one knight stood fighting against a wagon attempting to break through.
He appeared to be wrenching the reins from the driver and releasing the horses.
Two horses were already racing wildly across the grounds.

Brother and Brian-sama faced the man directly.
The others were chasing after me.

I had to run.

As the steps before the door loomed close, the door opened and Lloyd emerged.

“My lady, lower your head!”

At his shout, I crouched.

A pumpkin flew over my head.
Potatoes and cabbage followed, overtaking it, and then a pot spun through the air at tremendous speed.

What is this!?

I looked up in bewilderment.
This atmosphere was entirely different.
Was this another dream?

On the landing stood Chef John at the front, with the kitchen staff behind him, hurling vegetables and pots with full force.

Behind them stood the laundry women, sturdy and dependable.
They took turns throwing washing bats and washboards with surprising power.

Our household knights were shouting, “That’s enough!” as they moved to stop them.

While I stood momentarily transfixed, Lloyd pulled me up the steps and inside the door.
Bell slipped in closely behind.

“What about Mother?” I asked.

“She has entered safely through the back entrance,” Lloyd replied.

The door was bolted firmly shut.

So that was why Brother had been delayed.

After hearing Lloyd’s report, Brother had judged that victory was assured as long as Mother and I were not taken hostage.
The plan had been to return us to the house before commencing capture.
If timing faltered, they needed a way to secure our escape.
Thus, physically strong servants had been gathered.

Brother’s strategy had succeeded perfectly.

The two gardeners, accustomed to carrying heavy tree stumps, had been assigned to transport Mother.
Gardeners, it turned out, possessed many weapons.
The machete was the most powerful, but they also carried throwing tools—
sharp knives and shears tucked into their work belts, which they could throw with remarkable accuracy.

“Maria runs fast.
She can make it on her own.”

Brother had apparently said that.
True, but it still irritated me slightly.

Once all doors and windows were secured, the outside sounds dulled.
The ground-floor windows were fitted with iron grilles, so no one could break through.

Still, I could not stop worrying.
There were nine of them.
We had six, including Brian-sama.
Was that enough?

As I trembled anxiously, a knock struck the door.
Everyone inside nearly jumped.

We all held our breath, waiting for a voice.

“Hey, it’s over.
Open up.”

Brother’s voice.

Lloyd immediately reached for the bolt, then paused.

“Is Mike safe?”

“Yeah, he’s safe.”

Who is Mike?

Lloyd answered my questioning look.

“A password.”

He opened the door.
Brother and Brian-sama stood there.

Across the grounds, Tom and Nick were binding the fallen criminals with rope.

“Brother, I am so glad you are safe.”

Brother glanced sideways at Brian-sama.

“The Vice-Captain stepped in.
It was easy.”

“Thank you very much, Brian-sama.”

Then I turned to Brother.

“Is everyone else unharmed?
No injuries?”

“Yes.
Aside from that man, the rest were tavern-hired thugs.
No real skill.
We captured them with minimal harm since we needed information.
They likely never expected resistance.
If we had not heard your warning, it might have been dangerous.”

He paused thoughtfully.

“No… that’s not it.
We were fortunate.
With this method, I would not have noticed.
Even if I had, I would have dismissed it as cargo delivery.
That man would have threatened Mother or a maid into guiding him, killed them, taken the target item, and walked out calmly.”

A chill ran through me.

“We captured him.
Knocked him unconscious.
We will interrogate him later.
By the way, when Mother mentioned Grandmother’s fan, he changed immediately.
Was that the item he sought?”

“Yes.
Most likely.
He seemed to be searching for a jewel with an eye pattern.”

Brother handed me a cloth pouch.
Inside were the stolen accessories, the fan, and the perfumed sachet.

“They were in his coat.”

I took my usual fan and examined the pivot closely.
It was silverwork shaped like a flower bud the size of a fingernail.
Within the bud was something like clear glass.
Even if told it was a cat’s eye, only a few millimeters were visible—impossible to tell.

“We will need it dismantled to know for certain.
Mother seemed familiar with it.”

So we decided to ask her first.

Before that, I thanked everyone rushing about in cleanup.

When I promised, “There will be a feast and wine tonight,” their faces lit up with cheers.

Brother added,

“John, keep it hearty but simple—roast whole meats.
Plenty of it.
Those skewers you made before were excellent.
Open the wine freely.
Thanks to all of you, several lives were likely saved today.”

The servants were jubilant.

In stark contrast, Mother, resting in her room, was in a foul mood.

“What on earth was that?
Such treatment is outrageous!
To carry me like an object!”

“Mother, they were criminals posing as the Marquis House.
If they had entered, you might have been killed.
No—most likely, you would have been.”

“What?
But those goods?
Would thieves bring so much cargo?”

“The visible boxes may have been empty.”

Brian-sama said gently.

Mother fell silent.

I, too, realized that we had never looked inside the stacked crates.