Two others were swiftly knocked down by the flat side of swords, pinned and bound tightly.
The whole process was clean and efficient—discovery to capture took mere minutes.
Veer rode slowly to the row of defeated mercenaries.
Her gaze was like an ice spike, sweeping over the pale, broken men.
Fatigue and a deep sense of alienation hung over her. Recently, she had poured all her energy into her role as crown princess, arming herself with heavy duties and cold armor, trying to bury the image that stirred her heart in Raven Territory.
Yet the more she tried to forget, the clearer certain memories became—especially that day when she returned to the lord’s manor, trying to humble herself and reconcile with Eileen, only to catch an unintended glimpse outside: Eileen and that capable female official, tightly embracing inside the office…
That image stabbed her mind like a blade without warning! A sharp bitterness and indescribable agitation clenched her heart, making her knuckles white on the reins and briefly cutting off her breath.
She despised losing control like this!
“Your Highness!” A knight approached with a report, breaking her momentary daze. “Preliminary interrogation shows these are members of the infamous Black Hunt Mercenary Corps from Sol City. They frequently rob lone adventurers and caravans! They just attempted to attack that adventurer team ahead!”
Pressed underfoot, Viper croaked out a plea, trying to lessen blame and divert attention: “Your Highness! Please judge fairly! We… we were just following orders from Captain Bolt—the real culprit! And that ‘Masquerade’ ahead… they had expensive mithril gear! We lost our heads…”
“‘Masquerade’?” Veer’s brow furrowed slightly; the name sounded too deliberate and flashy.
She instinctively looked past the kneeling mercenaries, toward the wilderness beyond.
Not far ahead, the adventurer squad of four, each wearing different styles of butterfly masks, seemed disturbed by the commotion and had reins tightened, turning back with confused gazes.
The white-haired woman leading them wore a mask that covered most of her face, only a few strands of silver hair fluttering in the wind, and behind the mask’s eye holes, her golden eyes appeared to look this way…?
Veer’s gaze and that flash of gold met briefly and unconsciously in the air.
The distance and masks obscured any clear view of features.
But that silver hair… that gold… a faint yet familiar stirring struck her heart like a pebble tossed into still water, creating nearly imperceptible ripples on her deliberately frozen defenses.
Was it… a hallucination? Or the cursed memory just now? Veer’s heart skipped a beat, replaced immediately by stronger irritation and suppressed panic.
No! Impossible! How could she be here? She must be tired and seeing things!
When she looked again, the déjà vu vanished as if blocked by something.
Veer subconsciously exhaled in relief and diverted her gaze, as if the distant figures were a threat as harmless as a flood beast.
She forced herself to refocus on the bandits before her, her voice colder and firmer than before, with a tone desperate to be done with this:
“Enough! Nonsense! Attempted robbery and assault on kingdom citizens, evidence undeniable! Escort them all back to Sol City for strict interrogation and harsh sentencing! I want to see how Sol City’s city guard and adventurers’ guild have allowed such a cancer to fester under their noses! To Sol City—root out this mercenary corps! Such a plague masquerading as thieves must not be allowed to openly exist!”
“Understood!” The knights responded with a resounding roar.
Veer no longer glanced at the adventurer team in the wilderness, treating them as insignificant background.
She pulled hard on the reins, turning her horse’s head decisively: “Disperse! Return to the city!”
The kingdom knights escorted the dejected, wailing Black Hunt mercenaries, their iron hooves kicking up swirling dust, galloping toward Sol City.
Just as Veer turned away completely, the strange magical fluctuation inside Eileen’s body flared again—brighter and clearer this time—as if an invisible thread had been suddenly tugged, with its source precisely the charging knights, especially that dazzling golden hair.
“Hm?” Eileen’s brows furrowed slightly beneath her mask, golden eyes flickering with confusion and realization.
The Weaver’s passive ability must have triggered just now?
Could that lead knight be Veer? What a coincidence! Running into Veer here caught Eileen off guard, but it seemed Veer hadn’t recognized her—thankfully the masks worked!
Eileen watched the blue banner vanish into the wilderness dust and felt a slight relief. She didn’t want to see Veer right now.
“Eileen, was that the kingdom knights just now?” Helga stepped forward, whispering. She had heard of Eileen’s engagement to Crown Princess Wil and the public cancellation—things caused by their own group!
Seeing Eileen’s odd expression, Helga guessed the leading knight might indeed be Crown Princess Wil.
Eileen softly responded with a nod, then withdrew her gaze and smiled at Helga: “Yes, the kingdom knights. Looks like we had a tail behind us after showing off our gear publicly—probably attracted some scoundrels. The knights showing up saved us some trouble.”
Though Eileen wasn’t scared, the team lacked a reliable scout; otherwise, they’d have detected the tail earlier.
Before, Serena had handled scouting, but no one knew where she had gone after the ‘Rainbow Bond’ disbanded.
*****
The fierce wind in the wind-eroded wilderness seemed endless, whipping sand like tiny blades against the edges of a crumbling village.
Low adobe houses huddled against the sandstorms, with withered grass trembling weakly in the corners.
Though not far from Sol City, this place was barren and desolate, as if forgotten by both the kingdom and prosperity.
Not far outside the village, a sparse, twisted deadwood grove moaned mournfully in the wind and sand.
Deep in the woods, several ragged, fierce-looking men formed a circle. The stench of sweat, cheap liquor, and blood clung to them, their eyes murky and greedy.
Among them, a girl about thirteen or fourteen was tied up roughly with coarse hemp rope, her hands and feet bound, mouth gagged, only able to emit despairing whimpers. Her small face was filthy, streaked with tears, and her large brown eyes were filled with terror and lifelessness.
“Damn this ghost wind, it’s making my ears ache!” A toothless bandit spat sandy saliva and rubbed his arms irritably.
“Count yourself lucky, brother.” Another man with a savage scar on his face picked mud from under his nails with a dagger. “If it weren’t for that church’s damned witch hunts stirring up the border, making everyone paranoid, the kingdom knights are so spread thin they can’t cover us. We’ve got plenty of business. Those high and mighty lords only care about catching witches for money and fame, not if we live or die on the frontier!”
“Scar’s right!” A tall, skinny man with darting eyes agreed. “If the church hadn’t caused so much chaos, turning villages upside down and scattering the people—fleeing from famine and war—none of this would be possible. The lord’s tax collectors used to be fierce, now they don’t dare come to this dump!”
“Why?” Toothless Vulture asked, curious.
“Why?” Scar sneered and pointed with his dagger toward a desolate valley deeper in the village, eroded like the devil’s teeth. “Don’t tell me you don’t know? This broken village is the ‘ranch’ for the cursed fairies now. The villagers are no different from livestock waiting to be slaughtered! No one can run!”
At the word “fairies,” the bandits all shrank back slightly. Even the bound girl shuddered violently, her whimpers thick with deeper fear.
“Damn it, don’t mention that thing!” The tall man rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. “Supernatural as hell! At night, you can hear women crying and children laughing in that valley—gives you the creeps! A few days ago, old John from the next village didn’t believe the rumors. He went into the woods to gather firewood, and… never came back! Only found a boot, gnawed clean, with bone fragments inside!”
“At first, they only ate the unborn, now they don’t even spare the living!”
“Eat people?!” Vulture’s face went pale.
“Exactly!” Scar lowered his voice, spinning a chilling tale. “The lord sent two guards to check it out. They found nothing but got scared silly and ran away, saying the place was full of evil energy—even horses refused to enter! This village and the surrounding area are no-man’s land now. Even tax collectors avoid it. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be this comfortable!”
He glanced again at the trembling girl in the middle, eyeing her like merchandise: “Tch, this girl looks skinny. How much do you think she’s worth? Even slave traders might pass.”
“Better than nothing,” the tall man chuckled. “If we sell her south to the mines or kilns, at least we get some booze money. These days, a live body is money, no matter if she’s strong or not.”
“True.” Vulture nodded and reached out to pinch the girl’s face. “Just too thin—if we fatten her up for a few days, might get more…”
Rufi listened silently as they casually discussed her fate like livestock to be butchered. Overwhelming despair washed over her like a cold tide.
Tears streamed silently, mixing with the dirt on her face, leaving filthy streaks.
No one in the village cared; who would come to save her? The kingdom knights? They were legends—how could they appear in this forsaken corner?
She was finished… she would be sold, worked to death in dark mines, rot in worse places, or abandoned in the village to be devoured by the cursed fairies, just like her sister next door.
Then—
A slender, pale hand, almost translucent, silently reached out from the dense shadow of the dead trees behind her.
Cold as ice but gentle and unwavering, it covered her trembling mouth, stifling the whimpers born of fear!
The girl’s pupils instantly constricted!