Rosily’s eyes remained still, but her neck tilted slightly to the left. She held a brown branch in her hand and gave it a flick. The alley was less than 3 meters wide, and she alone blocked the way.
The thief shifted his right foot back by about half a step, but he maintained a facade of ignorance.
A smile suddenly appeared on Rosily’s previously expressionless face. She rapidly flicked the grayish-brown branch she had casually plucked.
Though it wasn’t even as thick as her pinky finger, Rosily swung it with such force that it let out a sharp whistle.
The thief was stunned for a moment, then screamed in terror.
“Aaaah!?”
A horizontal gash appeared across the bridge of his ordinary-looking nose, a full 3 millimeters deep.
However, only a small amount of blood seeped out, leaving the wound a vivid shade of crimson.
The thief staggered back, cupping his face. His palms weren’t stained red; there was only a thin line of blood. This meant the strange attack hadn’t sliced through his skull—it had only peeled back a layer of skin.
But this realization didn’t make him feel any better. Looking at the beautiful young girl before him, he began to panic.
“What do you want?” the man asked in a trembling voice. “Who sent you?”
The faint smile on Rosily’s face gradually faded. She tilted her head slightly and spoke with a cold gaze.
“Even if you can change your body’s shape, alter your face, or even mask your scent, you cannot change your Magic Power!”
Her orange-red pupils reflected the man’s terrified expression. He turned around, intending to flee, but as soon as he turned, he saw a 1-meter-long gash carved into the adjacent wall by something invisible. Rubble pelted his face, and when he reached out to touch his neck, he found another streak of blood.
The man jumped in fright. He had nearly died just now!
“Don’t—don’t kill me! I’ll give you all the money for my life, okay!?”
The man was truly terrified. He realized he couldn’t win, couldn’t escape, and his disguise couldn’t fool her eyes. Thus, according to the rules of the underworld, he planned to buy his life.
Rosily lowered the hand holding the branch and looked at the fellow with confusion. She simply wanted to teach him a lesson.
‘If he gives me the stolen money, am I supposed to return it all one by one?’
‘What a hassle!’
While she was lost in thought, the man proved he was a true thief with his nimble movements. In a few quick motions, he packed up the stolen valuables he was carrying and threw the bundle toward Rosily.
Whoosh! Clatter, clatter— The bundle exploded in mid-air.
The man was stunned by the sight. Rosily’s gaze remained locked onto him, completely unconcerned by the expensive Pearl Necklace that had been severed by her Sword Qi or the Gold Coins and rare Gems scattered all over the ground.
Rosily lightly gripped the branch and made a few slashes through the air. A series of tiny bloody gashes burst open across the man’s body.
While it wasn’t excruciatingly painful, the sensation of being cut dozens of times in an instant made him scream uncontrollably.
“Aaaaaah!!!”
“Oh ho, not bad.”
Rosily glanced at the fellow slumped on the ground and then at the branch in her hand. A smile reappeared on her face.
She had mastered the Swordsmanship Cang had taught her.
Though she had learned it a while ago, this was the first time Rosily had performed such precise control of her Magic Power.
The thief’s skin was merely sliced, causing blood to seep out, but there wasn’t a single life-threatening wound. It seemed Rosily’s dozens of Sword Qi strikes had been a great success.
‘Tsk, though I don’t really want to admit it, I did learn this from Estelle.’
Rosily muttered under her breath, then suddenly turned her head to look behind her. The people who had been chasing the thief earlier had finally arrived.
Dressed in white shirts, gray vests, and black pants, they looked aggressive. The thief had led them in circles around the area for a long time, and they had run all the way here after hearing the screams.
“Help! Help me, gentlemen! This woman is trying to kill me!”
The thief cried out at the sight of them, scrambling to get up and run, but Rosily struck his leg again.
Slash! Rosily pursed her lips, a bashful expression appearing on her face.
‘I accidentally used too much strength.’
“Hold it!”
One of the men behind Rosily stepped forward and called out.
These people chasing the thief seemed to be the subordinates of some Noble or wealthy merchant, and they possessed some degree of strength.
They hadn’t intended to meddle in others’ business. The girl was so beautiful that she didn’t look like someone who would kill indiscriminately; on the contrary, the guy lying on the ground was likely a villain.
However, their scalps went numb when they saw Rosily’s foot step over the Pearl Necklace.
“My God, isn’t that Missy’s…”
“This is a disaster!”
They were referring to that Pearl Necklace.
Each pearl wasn’t a smooth, simple sphere; they were carved with intricate patterns, displaying exquisite craftsmanship.
The leader of the group stepped forward, intending to grab Rosily’s shoulder, but she avoided him with a quick side-step.
“Miss, did this man take the items on the ground?”
“…”
Rosily found the question strange. She recalled that the money and jewelry on the ground had indeed been thrown by the thief.
So, she nodded.
The man was quite burly, standing nearly 1.9 meters tall. He looked down at everyone, making the space feel cramped and narrow, and his presence blocked what little light reached the alley. The thief wanted to argue his case, but he was suppressed by the man’s aura.
“Very well. I must ask you to hand this man over to me, Miss.”
The burly man’s expression was grim, causing cold sweat to run down the thief’s back. This man hadn’t been among the group chasing him earlier!
Seeing the man’s ferocious aura as he bypassed the girl and headed straight for him, the thief thought to himself, ‘I’m doomed. I’m going to die here!’
But Rosily stepped in front of him, tilting her head back to meet the man’s eyes.
“Do you intend to kill him?”
“Beautiful Miss, you should be heading to school now.”
The burly man wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, he politely advised Rosily to move aside. This thief was their target. If Rosily hadn’t been so beautiful and wearing the Sequoia Academy uniform, he wouldn’t have been so patient in telling her to mind her own business.
Rosily had no intention of moving, causing the atmosphere to suddenly freeze. Her behavior confused everyone present, especially the blood-stained thief.
She looked like she wanted to torture him to death a moment ago, so why was she trying to save him now? It didn’t make any sense.
Then, Rosily spoke calmly.
“This is my catch, so I must be the one to deal with him.”
In her eyes, these people were trying to steal her prey. Coupled with the killing intent radiating from the burly man, she knew he intended to kill.
‘Trying to snatch food from my mouth?’
‘Then let me see if you have the ability!’
Their auras clashed. Rosily appeared small and delicate, holding only a small twig, but her aura wasn’t weak in the slightest.
In fact, when facing the burly man, her expression remained incredibly calm, as if she held all the cards.
The burly man knitted his thick brows. He was about to force his way past Rosily to beat the pathetic thief—who was currently crawling toward the corner—to death.
However, his gaze shifted to the wall around the corner as several Bladed Knights emerged. They immediately hoisted the thief off the ground.
The thief’s legs went weak as soon as he saw them, allowing the two Knights to drag him away.
A young Bladed Knight said to the burly man, “Go back to wherever you came from.”
The burly man’s face darkened. He watched the thief being dragged away, unable to do anything but watch.
He glanced at Rosily with a sharp look.
Once the pearls from the necklace were collected, he turned to leave.
Rosily spoke coldly.
“You were thinking about something unpleasant just now, weren’t you?”
“Miss, I suggest you hurry to school,” the burly man replied dismissively.
But Rosily was serious. After letting go of the branch, the silver-gray Longsword, Roots of the World, appeared in her hand at her command. The sight startled everyone present.
The burly man suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back. He quickly turned to face Rosily. Seeing her holding a Longsword with a terrifying aura, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
“What do you think you’re doing!?” he shouted urgently.
‘Is this really someone from Red Pine City? Is this how the people here behave?’
Rosily gripped her Longsword, ready to strike.
She didn’t believe in letting grudges fester!
“Wait!”
One of the Bladed Knights from the City Guard ran out, trying to stop Rosily, but her sword had already been swung.
For a split second, the burly man felt his life hanging by a thread. Fortunately, someone stepped in front of him and blocked the strike.
It was the Bladed Knight who had called out for her to stop.
He removed his Helmet, revealing his face. Unfortunately, Rosily didn’t recognize him, though he was the eldest son of a Viscount.
Ande glanced at his hands and then looked at the blonde girl across from him.
She possessed an extraordinary beauty, but her indifferent expression made Ande feel that Rosily had an inhuman quality about her.
‘A beautiful but dangerous flower…’
He lowered his sword and said, “Killing someone here will only bring you more trouble.”
Rosily fell silent for a moment. With a cold snort, she leaped onto the roof. She remembered a note in the notebook Enya gave her: ‘Nip trouble in the bud.’
Just now, she had clearly felt that the man had redirected his hatred toward her, which was why she had acted.
Standing on the high ground, she looked down at the pale-faced burly man.
Even though her strike had been blocked, it had shattered the man’s will to resist.
However…
Rosily glanced at the black-haired youth. She didn’t look kindly upon him either. Tilting her head up, she spoke coldly to the people below.
“Hmph. Remember this: my name is Scarlett!”
With that, she instantly vanished from their sight.
After running for some distance, Rosily suddenly stopped on a courtyard wall. Sitting on the adjacent wall was a black-haired girl with a ponytail, looking at Rosily with an exasperated expression.
“Lady Rosily, I was just passing by. How could you shift the blame onto me like that?”