### Chapter 29: Trying to Take Down Carlos
What on earth is that guy doing here? Didn’t he have a parish meeting today?
I frowned in confusion, shoving my right index finger into my mouth and “chomp-chomping” on my nails like a nervous squirrel.
The sky had turned pitch black, and I thought for sure he’d be back at the castle, probably enjoying a lovely dinner made by Lady Catherine. Who would have guessed I’d find him here?
What’s going on? Why is he hanging out with those people? Who are they?
I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
But since he’s here, it’s probably just a misunderstanding, right?
I mean, Carlos would never associate with child traffickers, would he?
“Uncle Hunter, that man in the hat is our Dean,” Aili pointed out, indicating a plump middle-aged man in a black top hat surrounded by a group of attendants, flanked by three neatly-dressed children.
One of their friends must be in that group.
“Look! The weirdly-dressed guy is talking to the Dean! He’s the one who took our friends away!” Lucas exclaimed, wincing from his sore backside but rushing over to point out the culprit.
The man talking to the Dean didn’t exactly look weird at first glance, but his attire was clearly not the standard Gothic style of Winter City. The vibrant colors gave off a retro court vibe—definitely a foreigner.
It seemed Carlos had come here in that war chariot parked in the back.
“…Strange. Why are his guards swordsmen this time? And they don’t even look that strong.”
Not that strong, huh?
Okay then.
I stared at that so-called weak swordsman Aili mentioned. Despite the cold, he was clad in simple clothing, a long sword at his waist, a black cloak draped over one shoulder, and his white hair blended into the snow, lazily leaning against the wall with zero interest in the conversation. He seemed to be aimlessly fiddling with a shiny object, looking utterly bored.
Yeah, I get Aili’s worries. He doesn’t exactly scream ‘trustworthy’ at first glance.
“Should we go over?”
“Not yet! Let’s see what they’re up to.”
The hunters unloaded their weapons for inspection, continuously keeping an eye on the unfolding situation.
After a while, the foreign man turned to the war chariot, calling over the driver to help unload several crates of goods.
A light bulb went off in my head. Those crates looked oddly familiar… but I couldn’t quite place where I had seen them.
The foreign man unloaded them and the Dean summoned several attendants to open them up, likely checking the items inside. Then he walked over and said something, but I was too far away to hear. All I saw was him rummaging around his waist and pulling out a palm-sized cloth pouch, weighing it in his hand before handing it to the Dean.
“What’s that? Coins?”
“The Dean’s about to sell David!”
Without hesitation, the Dean accepted the pouch, bent down to pat the children on their heads, and gently nudged them toward the foreign man. The kids looked really reluctant, gripping the Dean’s clothes with all their might.
“Uncle, they’re about to be taken away! You have to save them!”
Aili’s eyes welled up with tears, and she looked like she was ready to burst into sobs.
Two hunters exchanged glances.
“Think we need to negotiate?”
“Forget talking, let’s just act. The situation is crystal clear.”
“Right! The Holy Church doesn’t allow these people to privately collect coins. That’s enough of a crime on its own. We’ll report back to the Duke later. We just need to grab the kids first.”
“Oh boy! It’s been too long since I had some action; my heart’s practically bursting with excitement!”
The hunter lovingly caressed his jagged, oddly shaped blade, his eyes sparkling like he was gazing at his beloved partner.
“Hey, kids! Stay put and watch me save the day!”
He was about to jump down the steps when I rushed to stop him.
“Wait! I know that swordsman. It’s not what you think—”
“Miss Peilo, you stay put too and don’t go running off!”
The hunter clearly didn’t take me seriously, just flashed me a smile and tightened his grip on his weapon.
“Hey—”
I tried to intervene again, urging them to be cautious. Fighting that swordsman was no joke! But they had no intention of listening, quickly leaping to the ground, signaling each other before dashing toward Carlos and the others.
“…”
“Should we just wait here, sis?”
“Uh, you’re Peilo, right? I’m Lucas. I’m sorry for what I said earlier; that was totally my bad,” the boy next to me fidgeted nervously. But I barely registered his words, my eyes fixated on the hunters getting closer to the crowd. I shouted over.
“Carlos—”
Whether he heard or not, I summoned ice pillars beneath my feet, launching myself dozens of meters into the air, twisting mid-flight to create an ice platform above me.
Pushing off hard, I sent the ice platform crashing down.
Boom—
With a loud bang, it shattered into pieces as my small frame dove straight into the gathering crowd.
“Take this!”
Two hunters, brandishing their weapons, charged toward Carlos in a classic pincer attack.
Zzz—
A few sparks flickered around Carlos as he remained lazily poised, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
“Wait!”
In the next moment, a cold glint flashed.
Just as the situation grew dire, I soared above the hunters’ heads, flipping in mid-air to kick the long kn*fe out of one of their hands.
Surprised by the force, the hunter stumbled backward, allowing the blade to spin in the air and land in the snowy ground.
Before I even landed, I quickly erected an ice wall to block the attack from the other hunter.
Simultaneously—
Whoosh!
A sword sliced through the air beside me, trimming several strands of my hair, and struck the ground with a thud.
Thud—
A deep gash appeared in the snow.
“P-Peilo?!”
The hunter gawked at me, his face pallid as he glanced down at the scorched wood of the ground, rendered speechless.
If it weren’t for the girl who kicked him off-balance, he would’ve been sliced in half by that move.
That swordsman, who looked like he just woke up, was horrifyingly fast; he moved faster than any human should. Who on earth was he?!
I was sweating bullets, grateful my instincts kicked in just in time to avoid getting struck. Had I not dodged, it wouldn’t just have been a haircut I was worried about.
“Silvya, what have you done?!”
Carlos’s unusually stern voice jolted me.
“Silvya?! You’re…?”
The hunter seemed to finally piece it together, his face a mask of shock.
At that moment, I was too flustered to deal with him; I timidly turned to face the furious Carlos, and for a second, I almost shivered in fear.
I had never seen him this angry before.
“S-Sorry! It was an accident—”
“Accident? Do you have a d*ath wish? Get over here!”
With my head down, I slowly shuffled forward, obediently standing in front of him.
“Do you even realize how dangerous that was?!”
“I … messed up…”
I fiddled nervously with my fingers.
Carlos jabbed a finger at my head, punctuating each word with a hard poke.
“What were you thinking? Trying to test out if your head’s harder than my sword or something?”
“Ah, that hurts…”
“You know it hurts? You nearly had your head chopped off just now!”
“You idiot! Who runs up to block a sword like that?!”
“What were you thinking? Have you lost your mind?!”
Carlos got more worked up, practically spewing saliva in my face.
I felt incredibly wronged.
I knew how fast his sword was; I did! But these two hunters charged in like clueless buffoons. If I hadn’t intervened, their heads would have surely taken flight the moment Carlos drew his sword.
Of course, I didn’t want to see that happen, so my body instinctively reacted. I didn’t have time to think it through.
Now I saved the day but still got yelled at! Irritated and hurt, my emotions flared up uncontrollably.
“Don’t yell at me!”
I glared back, shouting.
“You think you have the right to argue?!”
“I apologized already! Why are you yelling at me?!”
“Apologized? If I hadn’t reacted quickly, you think you’d even get the chance to apologize?!”
“You… can’t yell at me!”
I gritted my teeth, my chest heaving, fighting back tears.
Maybe it was my teary-eyed look that softened Carlos’s expression. He took a step closer, reaching for my neck.
“Don’t touch me!” I shoved his hand away and backed up, glaring at him.
“Hold still! Let me see if you’re hurt,” Carlos insisted, inching forward again. I shot him a dirty look as he brushed aside my hair, revealing a faint red mark on my otherwise pristine skin.
It was the trace left by the lightning that had grazed me while dodging that sword.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not your business.”
“If you do that again, I swear I’ll chop off your head.”
“Be my guest!”
Carlos stared at me for a moment, a smirk creeping onto his lips. He leaned into my ear and whispered, “You’re wearing that white lace today.”
“None of your… you!”
I widened my eyes in anger, fuming at this shameless swordsman.
“j*rk—!”
I slammed my forehead into his chest, sending him stumbling back a few steps.
In that instant, my desire to take him down was palpable.
If it weren’t for all the people around, I might have lost it and tackled him right then and there.
Ugh, I was so pissed off.
“Um, sorry to interrupt. Mr. Carlos, what’s going on here?” the foreign man said, cautiously stepping forward with a grin.
Carlos shrugged, pointing at me.
“You’ll have to ask her.”
“Uh, this beautiful miss, could you enlighten me about what exactly is happening here?”
