Chapter 2.2
Roseline, who avoided the large hands that stretched out toward her, poked a blade into the floor and turned the carpet upside down, and the knights who rolled down the stairs stumbled and fell.Â
The sun gathered at the end of the sharp three blades. The light reflected on the blades was so intense that it stung the knight’s eyes. On the armor of the knights who had fallen on the floor, Roseline jumped up.
The captain of the knights had been relaxed—Roseline was merely a young lady—but then he was quickly embarrassed by the sudden turnaround of events, causing them to fall behind their strategy.Â
The captain has a good physique and ample strength and the knights seem to be dominant in numbers, but such numbers would only be advantageous in a large stadium. In a cramped stairwell, it was rather inconvenient to have more people. The radius of their attacks was limited to not hurt their troops, but there have been a series of accidents trying to counterattack Roseline, who jumps and stabs and escapes, aiming for a gap between them.
But if it were a real war situation, I wouldn’t be so helpless, the captain thought.
At best, he did not seem to expect that a strategy would be needed against a noble Lady. He was unaware how much he overestimated himself. Roseline quickly and efficiently went after the knights’ wrists and neutralized them. Over time, she had done about twenty wrists.
“Save me, Roseline!”
Roseline heard her mother scream.
“Stop, Lady Crimson Rose!”
Looking back in the direction in which Roseline heard the captain’s voice, she saw her mother and brother sitting on the floor with a blade pointed at their necks.
“Roseline, please! Please save us.”
“My dear sister…”Â
Alfons was sobbing.
“Have you taken my mother and brother hostage?”Â
It seemed that the captain himself was aware that hostage-taking was something that only rascals would do. But now, it was before his face to fulfill the order of the Empress.
“If Lady Crimson Rose had not resisted, neither your mother nor brother would have been threatened.”
“Roseline, I told you not to disobey Her Majesty’s knights! What’s going on with you?”
Her dead father committed a crime, the Empress’ knights made a mess of their mansion, and the captain took hostage of her mother and brother, and her mother’s resentment was consistently directed at Roseline.
“You don’t want to lose your mother and younger brother when you’ve lost your father.”
There was no profound bond between the family members. It had been a long time since Roseline had given up hoping for the affection of her parents. But that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t matter if Roseline lost her family in front of her.
“…please let mother and Alfons go.”
When Roseline laid down her sword, the captain’s stiff face finally loosened. He looked pitifully at the knights still tangled and groaning in pain and turned away.
“Bring the Lady Crimson Rose.”
* * *
“Don’t you dare go to the capital, my dear!”
The knights whose wrist was wounded by Roseline’s blade could no longer hold the sword. They grabbed Roseline by the hair and dragged her outside to vent their anger. With her body tied to the rope, Roseline could not resist as she received their kicks helplessly.Â
“Ouch!”
“Don’t yell at me before I pull out your tongue.”
“You were so wild before, and now you’re frightened? You don’t even say a word.”
The sneers around Roseline overgrew. She had become a sinner, shamelessly dragged on the streets. Roseline cried reluctantly, “Even if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been able to work as knights for long anyway.”
“What?” The knights were confused.
The men looked puzzled by her unexpected response. Even Roseline did not know that she would remain calm even in this situation. Did they think she’d cry or beg?
“You punk!”
Agitated, the knights battered Roseline with more kicks and sprayed sand in her eyes. They pulled her hair harshly and beat her mercilessly as she collapsed to the ground. They despised her attitude.Â
Until one moment, where the knights displayed horror in their faces, each stuck frozen to the ground as if they had seen something scary. Roseline noticed she was no longer receiving their abuse.Â
“Is it the knights of the Empress?”Â