Chapter 25: Bound and Brought Home

The guild members retreated like a tide, leaving behind only a field of corpses and the ceaseless wails of the wounded.

This assault had sent out the guild’s best fighters and thieves, those who could normally toy with an entire city guard squad single-handedly. Yet here, in this oil shop, they had vanished without a ripple.

Keen’s face darkened further.

Aurora keenly sensed the shift. Either the guild had lost too many men, or her reinforcements had arrived. Either way, it was the perfect moment to reopen negotiations.

“Keen! You can’t break in! Give up!”

She paused, then shouted with deliberate arrogance:

“If you’re smart, send a man to my doorstep tonight to beg for mercy, and we can still talk business. Otherwise, I’ll interrogate your men, find out where your guild’s lair is, and wipe you all out in one go!”

“Of course, I doubt you’ll last that long! A tiger without teeth will soon be torn apart by the lurking hyenas!”

Keen stood on the opposite rooftop, her face ashen with rage.

A subordinate sidled up and suggested viciously.

“Boss, let’s just set the place on fire! Smoke them out!”

Keen backhanded him instantly.

“Set your mother’s fire! If it burns, not only do we burn all bridges, but our wounded lying on the ground will die too!”

Just then, the muffled thud of hooves came from the street corner, growing closer like rolling thunder.

Aurora’s reinforcements had arrived.

If they didn’t retreat now, they’d all die.

Keen gritted her teeth, shot a reluctant glare at the oil shop where Aurora hid, and gave the order.

“Retreat!”

Keen led the guild members in a swift withdrawal, leaving only a few outer gang members as scapegoats.

Soon, dust billowed at the end of the street.

Balian had arrived with the cavalry!

Balian led the charge, his lance tucked under his arm and angled forward, roaring:

“For the Kingdom!”

Behind him, a formation of three rows and two columns of heavy cavalry advanced, men and horses clad in full armor.

“Charge!”

The knights shouted in unison, their warhorses thundering. Behind the formation, a priest raised a staff, and pale golden light cascaded over the riders, a blessing of inspiration, making the horses swifter and the knights’ aura more formidable.

The guild thugs who hadn’t managed to flee turned in terror, seeing a steel tide hurtling toward them.

“Bam!”

A lance pierced the chest of the foremost thug like lightning, skewering him clean through before flinging him away. Another thug was struck head-on by a warhorse, his body flying like a rag doll several yards before hitting the ground with multiple broken bones.

One charge, and the obstacles on the road were swept away.

Good, they made it in time.

Aurora let out a long breath, emerging from the grease-laden shop with her men to rest against a relatively clean wall.

She leaned back, her taut nerves finally relaxing.

“You were born for this line of work.”

Vapgis crouched beside Aurora, genuine admiration in her voice.

Aurora was about to downplay it when the ground suddenly trembled, and a roar exploded from the distance.

“Au, ro, ra!”

It was Marquis Ed.

Aurora’s heart skipped a beat. She turned stiffly to see Marquis Ed on horseback, charging furiously down the street, his face even scarier than Nine-Fingered Keen’s.

The horse ran like the wind, its hooves striking sparks on the cobblestones.

Before the horse could fully stop, Marquis Ed dismounted in a leap.

He grabbed Aurora by the shoulders, shaking her up and down, checking her over repeatedly. After confirming that his daughter hadn’t lost any limbs, his face grew even darker.

He dropped Aurora and glared at her, demanding:

“Explain yourself!”

Aurora’s heart pounded, but she forced herself to meet her father’s gaze and started spinning a lie:

“By the goddess above, your daughter was just out shopping when the audacious guild ambushed me…”

“Shopping?”

Marquis Ed cut her off, his eye twitching.

“You call this shopping?”

He flung his arm, pointing at the corpses strewn across the street, the groaning wounded, and the debris knocked askew by the cavalry charge.

Aurora shrank back, but quickly puffed out her chest and argued.

“I always remember your teachings, Father! Using the tactics you taught me, we suffered zero casualties, killed at least a dozen guild members, and captured several, it’s a great victory!”

Marquis Ed was silent for three seconds.

Aurora thought she had convinced him and was about to press her advantage.

Then she saw the veins bulge one by one on his temples.

“Did they fly to the marquis’s mansion to ambush you, or did you go to their turf?!”

Marquis Ed’s voice suddenly jumped an octave.

“A young girl like you, taking six people into guild territory, getting surrounded by dozens in a shabby shop, are you really not afraid to die?!”

With each question, Aurora shrank lower.

“I…”

“What ‘I’!”

Marquis Ed’s chest heaved violently. He took a deep breath, but his voice only grew louder.

“Why can’t you just stay quietly like other girls and not cause me trouble?!”

“I’m helping you sha…”

“Helping what?! Letting a 19-year-old girl risk life and death, have all the men in the Olivia family died off?!”

His shout echoed down the entire street.

A few knights discreetly averted their eyes, pretending to check their horseshoes.

Vapgis had already slipped to the corner, wishing she could disappear into the bricks.

Aurora opened her mouth, trying to say something.

Marquis Ed’s voice suddenly dropped.

“Do I have to come collect your corpse before you’re satisfied?”

The weight of those words stunned Aurora into silence.

Marquis Ed closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

After a long moment, he opened his eyes and turned to Balian.

“Balian.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Tie her up. We’ll deal with her at home.”

Balian hesitated.

He looked at Aurora, then at Marquis Ed, making sure he hadn’t misheard.

Then he untied a spare rein from his saddle and walked slowly toward Aurora.

Standing before her, rope in hand, he suddenly didn’t know how to proceed.

His mind told him this was an order and must be carried out. But another voice deep inside said, you’re about to tie up Aurora.

His gaze fell on her wrist, smudged with soot, her sleeve rolled up to her forearm, revealing a sliver of fair skin.

What would it feel like to grab that wrist?

Realizing what he was thinking, Balian’s ears burned.

“Um… Miss, please extend your hands.”

Aurora sneered.

“Dream on.”

Balian stole a glance at Marquis Ed. The man’s gaze was ice-cold, clearly saying, if you dawdle, I’ll tie you up too.

Gritting his teeth, Balian stepped forward and seized Aurora’s wrist.

The moment his fingers touched her skin, the sensation was softer and warmer than he’d imagined. Her wrist was so slender that his hand almost enveloped it completely.

Balian’s mind went blank.

Forcing himself not to dwell, he twisted her arms behind her back, wound the rope twice, and tied a knot.

His fingers trembled slightly; the first knot slipped, and he had to start over.

Once her hands were bound, the next step was getting her onto the horse.

Balian bent down, slid one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, lifting her horizontally.

She was lighter than he’d expected. Through her clothes, he could feel her body heat, hot with anger, and her rapid, shallow breaths.

Certain soft sensations he shouldn’t notice pressed against his breastplate through the thin fabric.

Balian took a deep breath, strode to his warhorse, and set Aurora sideways on the saddle, letting her lean against him.

He mounted, one arm around her waist to hold the reins.

The position forced him to encircle Aurora completely; her shoulder and back pressed against his breastplate, warmth seeping through the cloth.

“Balian, just you wait! When I get back, I’ll, mmmph!”

Aurora was still cursing.

Balian pulled a neatly folded handkerchief from his pocket.

He’d tucked it in that morning, thinking Miss might need it while shopping.

He never expected to use it like this.

He hesitated for a moment, then crumpled the handkerchief and stuffed it into Aurora’s mouth.

“Sorry, Miss.”

The world finally fell silent.

Bound and gagged, Aurora could only seethe with those violet eyes.

Balian stared straight ahead, forcing his breathing to remain steady.

His arm around her waist unconsciously tightened, then, realizing what he’d done, he quickly loosened it.

Marquis Ed glanced at them, nodded in satisfaction, and turned to give orders.

“Fall in. Bandage the living and take them; leave the dead for the city guard.”

His gaze swept the crowd and landed on Juliet’s maid outfit. His brow furrowed even more.

“All related persons, not a single one left behind, bring them all.”

The knights obeyed. Soldiers searched the battlefield, hastily bandaged the wounded guild members, and strung them together with ropes. Captured weapons and crossbows were bundled onto horsebacks.

At the street corner, Vapgis and Juliet exchanged glances.

“Aurora’s screwed. What do we do?” Vapgis whispered.

Juliet lowered her voice. “How should I know? I just got out and you dragged me everywhere!”

A knight approached, hand on sword hilt.

“You two, come with us!”

Juliet exploded on the spot.

“Come with you?! I’m the famous bard Juliet! If you illegally detain me, be prepared to be sung about in every street and alley!”

Mid-sentence, she suddenly remembered that she was currently, probably, an escaped fugitive. Her voice cut off.

She cleared her throat and quickly put on a bright smile.

“Cooperating with an investigation is every loyal subject’s duty! Let’s go, let’s go!”

Vapgis sighed helplessly.

The group set off in a grand procession.

Marquis Ed rode at the front, his face like stone. Knights escorted the prisoners and two “related persons.” Juliet walked in the middle, still chatting with a bound guild thug, asking if he had any legendary experiences to turn into ballads.

Bringing up the rear was Balian.

In his arms, Aurora twisted in futile resistance, making muffled noises.

Balian tightened the reins and stared ahead.

He was wondering just how many ways Miss would find to get back at him when they got home.

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