TYND 75

TL: Motokare

Scree~

Chi-chi climbed into the pouch and settled beside Rothy. The two weasels poking their heads out of the fur pouch didn’t look like they were about to set off for a bloodbath. They looked absurdly adorable.

With the two weasels strapped to his chest, Theon leapt straight into the portal. 

“Aaaaaaaagh! Help me!”

“Wh–what? What’s happening?”

“We’re under attack! Run!”

The Mandate’s headquarters had collapsed into chaos and confusion, and adding Theon and Rothy into the fray brought a new level of fear to that confusion. Everyone they encountered on their way to the underground prison fell before they even had a chance to scream. One swing of Theon’s blade, and it was over. Now and then, the archmage weasel lashed out his tiny front paws, casting invisible spells to support Theon’s advance. 

The Black Lion Knights also entered the battle at full strength. It’d been a while since their last skirmish, and since their opponents were dark mages, they remained vigilant until the end. Subduing strong opponents without killing them was difficult. But since many dark mages cursed themselves to trigger curses upon their deaths, the knights struck to disable, not to kill. They would sever their limbs or knock them out to incapacitate them…Then the dark mages from Bluetri would finish them off. While The Mandate had systems in place to respond to surprise attacks, they couldn’t properly counter opponents of the calibre of Bluetri and the Black Lion Knights.

Theon smoothly reached the prison where the children were held.

“It’s warded. There’s no need for you to step in, Lord Rothy. I’ll handle this.”

While Chungnip began dispelling the barrier, Theon sheathed his sword and checked on the weasels nestled inside the furry pouch. 

“Rothy, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Screeeing~

Rothy’s fur was pure white. So was Chi-chi’s. They must’ve shielded themselves with magic since not a single drop of blood had spattered on them. 

“I told you this wasn’t something you needed to see. You should’ve stayed inside.”

Screeeing~

“I can’t be hurt. No one can wound me.”

Screeeing~

“I understand. You’re worried about me just like I’m worried about you.”

Theon brushed his fingers gently over the small head of Rothy’s weasel form. Rothy leaned in, letting the soft fur press against his hand. The knights catching their breath whispered from a distance.

“Is he talking to the weasel? Is that some kind of magic from His Grace too?”

“It must be love. More importantly, His Grace was absolutely terrifying today. I swear, my hair stood on end. He’s never been this brutal, even on a battlefield.”

“He’s been looking tense these past few days. Like really, really angry.”

“But it’s not like him to be this furious just because children got kidnapped.”

“You bastards, what the hell do you think His Grace is?!”

Theon heard them clearly but chose to ignore it. 

“The ward’s broken!”

“Start moving them through the portal.”

“Yessir!”

Chungnip and the knights released the children from the cells. However, the freed children all had dazed looks on their faces. Each bore faint curse marks and had lost their sense of self under brainwashing magic. 

Screeing…

The weasel Rothy whimpered softly and wriggled out of the pouch. When Theon placed him on his palm, it waved his front paws. A mist glowing with brilliant green light seeped into the children. The curse on them was now lifted. The brainwashing wouldn’t wear off immediately, but specialists were already waiting at the archduke’s estate, so they’d gradually return to normal given time.

Theon checked over each child personally as they crossed through the portal with Rothy in hand. Thankfully, none appeared to be in critical condition.

Meanwhile, reports came in confirming that all children from other branches had been rescued as well. Having completed the most important part of the mission, it was now time to proceed with the complete destruction of The Mandate.

“Rothy, don’t stick your head out this time. You can sleep if you want.”

Screeing~

Through telepathy, Rothy’s reply could be heard.

—I can’t do that. Theon’s working so hard… I want to help too.

“You’re helping by sleeping.”

—But If I sleep while people are getting hurt and dying, that’s a problem too. You should be concerned if that’s so because it means there’s something wrong with me mentally.

“You’re right. Then play with Chi-chi.

—I can’t do that either… If I play happily while people are getting hurt and dying, that’d make me a very strange and bad person…

“This is an exception.”

Theon gently stroked Rothy with one finger. The soft white weasel leaned into the touch and nuzzled against his hand.

He seems to be feeling better.

It was good that all the children were safe because if even one had been seriously harmed, Rothy would’ve blamed himself and felt crushed. 

Theon tucked Rothy back gently into the pouch. 

Scree~

Chi-chi perked up instantly and started grooming Rothy enthusiastically. 

The Mandate collapsed in a single night. The assassin guild that boasted a hundred and twenty years of history was throroughly destroyed for the crime of touching the Northern Archduke’s spouse. 

Tsudeyfa returned with the head of Avindior, the guildmaster of The Mandate, dangling his head by its hair before placing it down in front of Theon. 

“Your Grace, If I hadn’t been a dark mage, I’d be dead. This bastard laced his limbs with thirty-two separate curses.”

Tsudeyfa shook his blackened hands and exaggerated his plight. 

The dark mages had certainly been a great help in this matter. If not for Bluetri, Rothy and Chungnip would’ve had to block the dark mages’ curses by themselves, and even with one of them being an archmage, it would have been impossible to block every curse in sight. 

“You’ll keep your promise, won’t you, Your Grace?”

“We’ll withdraw immediately. Take whatever that’s left and do as you like with it.”

“I love how straightforward you are. Excellent! Please call on us again if something like this happens. Oh, speaking of which, what about Toran? Word is that the royal family secretly found a guild with deep knowledge of cursecraft. I kid, I kid… No need to glare at me like that. Well, it’s the first time I’ve got a hard-on for someone who isn’t a mage.”

Theon hurriedly covered Rothy’s ears when Tsudeyfa said ‘hard-on’. That made weasel Rothy cocked his head in confusion.

“Setting up the portal will take thirty minutes. Please have a rest until then.”

The temporary portal would be destroyed if the number of users exceeded the limit. Since they’d prioritised evacuating the children and the wounded, the rest of the party needed to reinstall the portal to move. While Chungnip and the knights worked on it, Theon spoke to the weasel in his palm. 

“Rothy, you can release the spell now.”

The weasel gave a quick nod. 

At the same time, Theon’s face shifted from the ordinary one he had been wearing back to its original form—that chiselled, cold face of the Northern lord. The rest also regained their real appearances.

The reason they had transformed their faces wasn’t to hide their affiliation with House Falsen. Dark mages found it easier to curse someone if they knew the target’s face. That was the only reason for the disguise. Now that The Mandate had been completely subdued, there was no need to maintain the transformation. 

“Do you prefer this form?”

Screeing~

“Very well. Stay like that as long as you want, as long as it isn’t straining you.”

Scree~

Weasel Rothy flopped onto his back on Theon’s palm and thoroughly rubbed his white fur against the thick wrist.

Scree!

Chi-chi too, scrambled up Theon’s arm and plopped down beside Rothy. His hands were large enough to easily hold two such tiny weasels. Theon wanted to stroke Rothy but couldn’t because his other hand was holding his sword. He hadn’t yet sheathed his blade. Neither had his subordinates. 

“Don’t lower your guard! Ophelia, straighten up!”

“Yes Ma’am!”

Zey moved between the knights, giving firm reminders. The knights spread out in a circle, maintaining surveillance in all four directions. By now, news of The Mandate’s annihilation would’ve reached Ken Bane’s ears.

No, more than enough time had passed for that.

However, Ken Bane wouldn’t have time to come here. That was because Yilaine Reina Bane had invaded with her private army, backed by the nobles of Givarche. He wasn’t a fool, so he’d know that those who attacked The Mandate were on the same side as Yilaine Reina Bane. The chances of him showing up at the ruined Mandate base were slim. Even so, they kept their guard up and waited for the portal to be rebuilt.

—Theon… are you going to kill Ken too…?

“Rothy asked while curling against Chi-chi. 

“That’s for Duchess Yilaine to decide. Not me.”

—I didn’t know Ken would do such a bad thing. He wasn’t originally a bad person…

“He just hid his true nature well all this time.”

—Really…? How could he hide it so well……?

Rothy sniffed dejectedly. 

Theon wanted badly to give this little puff of white fur a comforting squeeze but settled for stroking him with his thumb and forefinger. He too, hadn’t expected Ken Bane to go as far as abducting eight hundred children. 

To think he’d sink to that level of depravity.

Ken Bane was a year older than Theon and had joined the war a little after him. In those days, those pale blue-grey eyes held a conviction for peace, along with a sense of duty and purpose. But slowly, those eyes lost their light. Now, they were dull, bleached of everything they once carried.

—When we return, let’s go to the chapel… Let’s pray to Seará for Ken’s redemption. 

Redemption? Would that even be possible?

Even if Yilaine chose to forgive him, he couldn’t. 

To begin with… Yilaine wouldn’t forgive him either. Ken Bane had cursed the crown prince, the first in line for the throne, and killed him. Granted, that crown prince was a coward who fled the battlefield and lived by sucking the lifeblood of his people, and when he died, countless citizens of Givarche rushed into the streets cheering.

But no matter how disgraceful he was, he’d still been Yilaine’s only older brother. He was also the big brother who had reassured her just by being there when they were young.

More importantly, what royal would ever let someone who’d assassinated the heir to the throne live?