Two-Faced Princess

Had any of those people witnessed Tanya disappear together with Apollonia’s group?

However, her suspicions disappeared when she saw the expression of the knight commander.

“Oh… you were there. You don’t seem to know that the Lord has been looking for you for a long time. If  you get caught this time, you will never see the light again.”  He laughed meanly.

The task of looking for the princess was only an excuse. They were the ones who habitually invaded homes and did all kinds of evil deeds. As if to prove Apollonia’s judgment, the leader halted the search.

“The Imperial Princess is not here! I found this kid too, let’s go back!” he ordered his subordinates. “Now, say goodbye to your family, heh.”

“No! Not Tanya!”

Ben and Lun rushed along with the old woman’s scream, but the knight kicked them off without blinking an eye.

“If you don’t want to see the old woman die, shut up!”

Seeing the family quiet down immediately, the leader turned around with a satisfied smile.

A low but clear voice rang behind them.

“Did the lord say that the child kidnapped the princess?”

“What are you…? If you don’t want to get hurt…”

“You said you were looking for the princess, so why are you taking that child?”  Apollonia asked again.

She wore a robe that covered her face. The commander was silent for a few seconds before his muscles shook with laughter. He was reminiscent of the monster she met on Mt. Calt.

“Well, since I don’t know the culprit, wouldn’t the child be a prime suspect? This kid is a wanted criminal. It would be good for you to stay quiet,” he said, but the way he leered at Tanya proved that this was never about the kidnapping of an Imperial lady.

“Get your hands off the child. She says it hurts.” Apollonia went nose-to-nose with the knight.

“Huh, it looks like you’re a lost traveller. Here, the word of the lord is law. But, wait…” He peered into Apollonia’s hood, bringing his disgusting smile and breath closer to her.

“Stop.”

“I can’t see well, but your lips and nose look  pretty. If we take them both to the lord together…”

Ignoring Apollonia’s words, he stretched out his big hand toward her face. The moment his rough fingers were about to touch her chin—

Thwack-!

Uriel practically flew, drawing half of his sword to hit the knight’s neck with the hilt. The captain grabbed his neck, falling down with a dull thump. There was a rapidly reddening bruise under his hand.

“Argh! How dare…!” He shuddered and swore as the pain subsided, but found himself unable to finish his sentence at the sight of Uriel’s cold, sharp blue eyes.

Uriel stared back, holding his half-drawn long sword. It was a threat that he could use it at any time.

“You, what the hell are you… …”  He tried to say a few more words, but to no avail, perhaps because of Uriel’s body language. His men looked at him with confused expressions.

Apollonia’s hand grabbed the the edge of her hood. If she identified herself immediately, Tanya would be released. But the moment she tried to do just that, Sid grabbed her hand.

“If you reveal yourself here, rumors will spread in no time,” he hissed.

Her hand stopped.

He was right. If she took off her robes to save Tanya now, the leader would take her right away to Viscount Diaman. If so, the case would be closed with the verdict that it was a simple misunderstanding. They would lose the opportunity to properly air out his sin.

He could also argue that he had made a contribution to finding the princess. Naturally, the emperor would also know about it. It would take more time to get work done.

“Listen carefully.” She took a step toward the fallen, frightened commander. “The child will be released during the day.”

She took another step and stared at the knight who was holding Tanya’s arm.  “But when the child is released, if a bruise is found on her body, no, if even the ends of her hair are harmed.”

Apollonia stopped right in front of the commander and quickly grabbed the sword he was wearing on his side and pulled it out.

Shiing-!

“A—aghh!”

The leader closed his eyes in terror, but the sword did not strike him. However, she pressed the hilt of the sword against his chin and forced his head up. It was similar to what Uriel was trying to do a little while ago, but much less violent.