Episode 70
“For the Captain!”
“For the Black Armor Company!”
“And for the lieutenant who got beaten like a dog by the Captain!”
“Shut up, you bastards!”
The victory against the bandit alliance and mercenaries was nothing short of spectacular.
Afterward, they dismantled the toll stations and removed the chains blocking the waterways. What awaited the Black Armor Company was a celebration filled with fervor.
In Hamburg, the free city of the Empire and the artery of continental trade, everyone was celebrating and praising the Black Armor Company’s triumph, chanting their name.
The bravery of the Black Armor Company, and the incredible feats of their captain, Dale.
The infamous and ruthless reputation of the “Black Prince” would soon spread across the Empire, carried by the merchants’ ships and along the waterways.
Amidst the festival’s heat, Dale found himself lost in thought. He stood apart from his men, who were busy indulging in drink and meat, each with a woman or two by their side.
He calmly reviewed the results of his battle that day.
“The combination of formulas wasn’t bad.”
The formulas he added in battle… “Black Barrel,” “Gatling Style,” “20mm.”
These were weapons centuries ahead of cavalry charges, and even high-circle mages couldn’t easily match their destructive power.
Moreover, the shadow parasites that emerged from them added to the chaos.
Though not comparable to the true “out-of-standard” powerhouses, Dale’s growth was undeniably extraordinary.
Just then, a voice broke his reverie.
“Come to think of it, Captain, I’ve never seen you drink.”
Sir Yones, thoroughly inebriated, turned to Dale with a curious look.
“How old do you think I am?”
Sir Yones tilted his head, puzzled by the question.
“I promised not to touch alcohol until I’m twenty.”
“Oh, is there a particular reason for that?”
“Just because.”
There was no point in explaining the rules of another world to someone from this one.
“Haha, that’s something.”
Sir Yones shrugged, still not understanding, and took another swig of his drink.
“Ahh! This is the life! Ahhh!”
Watching him, Dale muttered to himself as if it were someone else’s business.
“The drink’s drinking him.”
It was an unimaginable defeat.
The mercenaries, who had so confidently promised victory, fled without a trace. In their retreat, they looted and pillaged, leaving his lands in ruins.
For Count Robert, the leader of the bandit alliance, it was the worst possible outcome. The collapse and disbandment of the alliance were inevitable.
To think they would lose to a mere hundred mercenaries. No, that wasn’t it. They hadn’t lost to just any mercenaries.
It was that monster. The tales of the “Black Prince” were no exaggeration.
As Count Robert led his ragged troops back to his domain, he bit his lip in frustration.
“Well, well, what do we have here?”
A shadow unexpectedly blocked Robert and his soldiers.
“Keeping a lady waiting? That’s no way for a noble to behave.”
A mysterious woman with long, blood-red hair stood before them. She wore a seductive, blood-red robe and a pointed hat. A woman drenched in red.
“I thought I’d made the trip for nothing, but it seems I arrived just in time.”
Count Robert’s face froze at the sight.
“I was so bored waiting, I thought I’d die!”
The woman with the blood-red hair smiled sweetly.
“Could it be…?”
Count Robert glanced around. Despite being a ragtag group, he still had cavalry capable of fighting from horseback. The archers still had arrows.
“She’s… the Red Tower Witch.”
Without hesitation, he shouted.
“Kill that witch immediately!”
It wasn’t hard to guess her identity. She was undoubtedly from the “Central Government’s” punitive force. An enforcer of the Empire, a red mage from the Red Tower.
“Attack now! Kill her before she can cast a spell!”
Count Robert shouted. They were only a few meters apart. The knights charged, and the archers loosed their arrows.
“A witch? That’s quite rude to a lady.”
The woman with red hair extended her arm, unfazed. At the same time, red magic surged from beneath her feet.
The world turned crimson.
But soon, they realized it wasn’t the world that was drenched in blood. Count Robert’s retinas burst, and blood tears streamed down his face.
“Aaaah, aaah!”
Count Robert screamed in agony.
“I can’t see! I can’t see!”
“It’s burning! Please, spare me!”
Blood tears poured from all around. Retinas burst or burned, and they writhed in pain.
“Oh dear, my brother is too much.”
The woman with red hair shrugged as if it were someone else’s problem.
“Sending me to deal with such vermin, it’s truly too much.”
The festival’s fervor continued for several more days.
After all, the city had narrowly escaped a dire threat. The gratitude of Hamburg, the free city of the Empire, towards the Black Armor Company’s mercenaries was beyond words.
The mercenaries, unaccustomed to such luxury, were overwhelmed.
For the eldest son of a duke, it was a familiar scene, but not for the mercenaries. That’s why, when Dale slipped away from the festival’s heat to walk the city’s night streets alone, he was surprised to hear a voice.
“Oh my, what a surprise!”
The voice was familiar and ominous.
“Isn’t this Prince Dale?”
Dale turned his head.
On the bridge spanning the river through the city stood a silhouette wearing a blood-red pointed hat. A woman in a seductive, blood-red robe, with blood-red hair. A woman drenched in red.
‘Lady Scarlet…’
Scarlet Eurys. The master of the Red Tower and the sister of the infamous “Marquis Eurys.” He knew her notorious name and identity well.
“May I ask the lady’s name?”
“Oh my, how adorable.”
Feigning ignorance, Dale asked politely, and Lady Scarlet laughed with delight.
“I heard the Snow Elf is smitten with a man, unable to think straight…”
She continued with amusement.
“Who would have thought her taste would be for such a young boy.”
”…”
“It’s practically a crime.”
At her words, Dale’s expression turned cold.
“Do you have any particular business with me?”
“Of course.”
Lady Scarlet nodded with a smile.
“Who would have thought I’d meet the young prince of the Saxon family here.”
She didn’t bother to hide her allure, loosening the robe’s fabric.
“I’m quite curious about the technique that captivated that stubborn Snow Elf.”
”…”
“Is a man’s worth truly not visible at first glance?”
She glanced at Dale’s lower abdomen, smiling seductively.
“Perhaps it’s a skill beyond his years…”
“I don’t understand your intentions.”
Dale replied calmly.
“Oh my, is there another ‘Blue Courtesan’ fawning over the Saxon family?”
“Any further…”
Finally, at Lady Scarlet’s provocation, Dale spoke coldly.
“I won’t forgive any insult to Lady Sepia.”
“Lady Sepia, is it…”
Lady Scarlet laughed with delight.
“There’s no relationship more prone to passion than that of a teacher and student.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“I heard the stories the city folk are telling.”
Despite Dale’s warning, Lady Scarlet continued unabated.
“They say you led the Black Armor Company and single-handedly defeated the main force of the bandit alliance?”
Lady Scarlet exaggeratedly shrugged.
“It’s a gallant and impressive tale that would make any lady swoon.”
Like brother, like sister.
”…”
“So it’s understandable why she’s so captivated.”
Lady Scarlet closed the distance, reaching out to touch Dale’s cheek. Her fingers moved like a snake, teasingly.
“I don’t know who you’re calling a ‘courtesan.’”
Dale sneered coldly at her movements.
“Haha, any woman would become a back-alley courtesan before the Saxon prince.”
Lady Scarlet laughed, feigning innocence.
“She’d cast aside her dignity and pride… and willingly spread her legs before the prince.”
She whispered, lightly biting Dale’s earlobe.
“How about it? A night of pleasure incomparable to that of a ‘Blue Courtesan’──.”
But the conversation went no further.
A chilling wind swirled from beneath Dale’s feet. Before she knew it, Dale had a blade of ice poised at Lady Scarlet’s cheek.
“Oh my, how cold.”
However, Lady Scarlet remained unfazed.
“I don’t mind a cold man,” she said with a sly smile.
Without a hint of hesitation, she pressed her cheek against the icy blade pointed at her.
”…!”
Blood trickled down from the cut, and Dale quickly stepped back, alarmed. Lady Scarlet let out a delighted sigh, as if savoring the moment.
”…It’s late. I should be going.”
There was no point in exchanging more words with her. With that, Dale turned away.
He focused on the magical presence he felt behind him as he increased the distance between them. When he finally glanced back, Lady Scarlet was nowhere to be seen. Only then did he allow himself a deep breath, thinking to himself.
“Why on earth did that crazy woman come here?”
He spoke the unvarnished truth aloud.
Some time later, as the Black Armor Company celebrated a major victory in Hamburg and returned safely to the Duchy of Saxony, an unexpected visitor arrived.
A royal envoy had come to hire the Black Armor Company, no less.
“Have you heard the rumors from the island of Britannia?”
The envoy asked with a smooth smile.
“Are you referring to the story of the Maiden of the Castle?”
The Duke of Saxony inquired, to which the envoy nodded.
“Ha, the Maiden of the Castle. How can we believe such a tale without proof?”
The woman wore a crimson hat and smiled seductively.
“Moreover, His Imperial Majesty wishes to settle accounts with that wretched harlot.”
Lady Scarlet, a high elder of the Red Tower and a 7th-circle sorceress.
Seeing her, only one thought crossed Dale’s mind.
“Why on earth did that crazy woman come here?”
Once again, it was the unvarnished truth.