Letâs be calm. Think calmly about where Caesar would have been taken if he was kidnapped.
âHe must have been taken to a brothel.â
Leonardâs eyes widened at my confident reasoning.
âA b-brothel?â
âDuring the festival, thatâs the only place that doesnât open in bright daylight.â
âHelena, do you think His Highness was taken by someone?â
âItâs not a thought, itâs a conviction.â
I couldnât explain the ominous presence that suddenly disappeared, so I just cut it short.
There is an alley leading to the brothel on the path to the place where the carriage will stand. It must be.
âThen letâs go find the Viscount and take him home!â
Leonard exclaimed urgently. But I havenât moved yet.
âBrother, go to the Viscount. I will go straight to the brothel.â
âWhat?! Itâs too dangerous!â
âIf heâs not there, we need to find another place and move on quickly.â
âThen itâd be better if I go there!â
Leonard said with a serious expression.
Mm. I donât know. I know you mean well, but I donât want to send such a pure brother to such a place already.
âIt would be better for Brother to bring the Viscount. You are faster than me.â
âButâŠ!â
âBrother. When did I ever talk nonsense?â
Iâm always right.
Leonard grew up without any doubt about that proposition. Eventually, Leonard nodded and bit his lower lip.
âPromise me you wonât do anything dangerous, Helena.â
âOf course.â
There is no one who hates doing dangerous things as much as I do now.
In the end, Leonard accepted my opinion. Leonard went to find Hamilton, and I split for the brothel.
âIn the end, I canât relax in this life either.â
If you donât get through after making me suffer like this, Caesar, I wonât let you go.
Suppressing my nervousness, I ran downhill.
***
The brothel is located in the lower part of the city.
The road was narrow, winding, and without the sun, there was a musty smell everywhere.
âAs expected, itâs quiet as if the mice died during the day.â
All the shacks along the alley were tightly closed. There is no sign of movement.
âCome to think of it, there have been quite a few times in my past life when I begged the prostitutes.â
Itâs about my days as a vagrant. Prostitutes were generous, and they often handed out high-quality sweets.
âThe girl who used to be in prostitutesâ village ascended to the throne of emperor. In my previous life, I went through all sorts of strange things.â
I feel sentimental for no reason. Of course, neither the place nor the situation seems to be suitable for memories.
At that moment, a roar was heard from inside the alley.
I hurried to the building where I heard the sound.
âThe door is locked.â
Naturally, the door was locked. The windows were also shuttered, so I couldnât see inside. While contemplating, a shout broke out again inside the building.
âI have to go through the back door.â
Usually brothel buildings have a back door. Itâs a trick to avoid crackdowns.
Itâs bound to be in an inconspicuous place that ordinary people canât easily find, butâŠ
âItâs funny that I, who used to be vagrant, is looking for the back door of a brothel.â
I crawled through the narrow gap between the buildings and found the back door. The back door was also locked with a padlock, but that much is easy to open.
The door was carefully opened and the air inside was cool. It was a structure in which narrow rooms were lined up on both sides, and the hall was the innermost large room.
I sneaked into the large room and peeped through the gap in the door.
â⊠There he is.â
Caesar was in the room.
His hands are tied, sitting in the corner. Looking at the condition, it didnât seem like he had been assaulted.
Next to Caesar, two men in their mid-30s were standing and talking.
âIsnât stabbing to death the quickest and easiest way?â
âYou idiot, thatâll make it look like heâs been murdered. It should be disguised as an accident.â
âThen what should we do?â
âUmm⊠Letâs throw him into the river. Since the rainy season is just over, the river must be full, so itâd look like he was washed away while playing by the water.â
âOh, thatâs a good ideaâ.
What do you mean good, bad guys?
I canât believe youâre discussing how to kill a child in front of him. Isnât it pitiful for a child who is only 14 years old yet? You barbarians.
âHey, you bastards! If you touch my body recklessly, you will all die!â
Caesar, tied up, shouted in a hoarse voice.
That courage is admissible, but I donât know if itâs an act that will help the current situation. Besides, the red around the eyes makes it look like heâs scared.
âHey, canât you be quiet? Are you still talking without understanding the situation?â
A man got nervous and kicked the stuff piled up next to Caesar.
The object was broken with a crash. Caesar trembled in fear.
That was the sound I heard outside. Well, given that I found the location thanks to it, I think I can commend Caesar a little more.
âAfter kidnapping, they want to kill him and disguise it as an accident⊠Itâs definitely not just a gang of robbers.â
Sheesh, I should have been more careful. This is because my mind has been relaxed as my peaceful daily life continues these days.
âIf theyâre thinking of dropping him into the river, they wonât move right away. Iâll have to wait until Hamilton comes.â
Theyâll take advantage of the darkness to move, so I still have time. If Caesar is safe, there is no need for me to step in. Itâd be annoying too.
Thatâs what I thought.
âHeâs noisy, should I just kill him now?â
Ugh.
âOh, didnât you say we better throw him into the river?â
âYeah, but what if we throw him alive and he comes out alive?â
Crap, heâs a grumpy and meticulous guy.
âShould I strangle him to death? Wait, no. Will it leave a hand mark? Should we suffocate him?â
âCover his head with something like an envelope?â
âWouldnât it be easier to press it with a pillow?â
The men started seriously discussing the murder weapon. At this, Caesar became completely pale and trembled.
âIâm doomed. I canât wait until Hamilton arrives.ââ
I became impatient.
Whether itâs strangulation or suffocation, it can be done in an instant. Waiting for Hamilton, Caesar will die first.
âItâs too difficult for me to deal with both of them right now.â
I have no choice but to reduce the number somehow.
Letâs lure one out, deal with one in the meantime, and quickly run with Caesar before the other comes back.
Whoa, good. Perfect.
Having made a plan, I moved towards the entrance of the building.
A few wooden chairs caught my eye. Once I smashed the wooden chair, I picked up the leg of the chair.
âItâs light, but itâs not bad to swing.â
Alright. Weapon acquired. I broke all the visible household items and windows with it.
The loud sound of the crash shook the entire building.
âWhatâs this sound?â
The men were startled by the sudden noise and started to look around. I quickly went into an empty room, crouched down and hid.
âHey, go out and see whatâs going on.â
It was fine.
A man went out to the entrance to see the situation. In the meantime, I ran to the big room where Caesar was.
âYou, who are you?!â
Bewilderment flashed on the face of the man in the room at my appearance.
Since there is a difference in height, it is reasonable to aim for a vital spot from the beginning.
âFirst, the knees!â
âHa!â
âArgh!â
The man, who was in a hurry, fell down after being hit on his knee by the leg of the chair I swung.
These days, I gained quite a bit of stamina while training with Leonard. Even if it wasnât broken, it must have made a crack.
Of course, the attack must not stop here. I quickly changed the direction of my attack and hit the head of the man who was at eye level.
âAaaaah!â
The man collapsed completely with a scream. Blood flowed from his head.
Crap, I think my arm muscles are going to break. As expected, there is still a limit to the 10-year-old body.
âH-Helena?â
Caesar was just looking at me with red eyes full of tears, as if he had not yet figured out the situation.
I grabbed his arm and raised him and shouted.
âWhat are you doing? Wake up, come on!â
âOh, right!â
Caesar got up in a hurry. His hands were tied and it was difficult to balance his body, so I grabbed one of his arms and helped him.
âHere, through the back door!â
âYou guys, what are you doing?!â
Tsk, are you back already?
The man who went to the entrance found me and Caesar running away.
We canât delay any more time. I donât know when the one lying down in the room will wake up.
âRun, Caesar!â
As long as we get out of this building, it will be easier to run or hide. If we go out on a crowded road, we may be able to ask for help.
Need to get out somehow. All I have to do is get out.
With that in mind, I opened the back doorâ
âOh, whatâs this?â
â⊠Damn it!â
Thereâs one more?!
When I opened the back door, a bigger man than the previous two men stood as if he was about to enter.
He was so big that there was no way to get around him that was blocking the door.
âHey, catch them!â
The man who was chasing us from behind shouted.
âWhat? Did you try to run away? You cute things!â
What to do?
Should I fight? Do you have no choice but to fight? But now Iâm 10 years old? Right now, Iâmâ
âItâs probably impossible for me to fight at ease.â
âIâll kill you here so you canât run away!â
Oh, dear.
Belatedly, my vision was blurred.
The huge man standing before us was seen pulling out a sword worn on his waist. Itâs none other than me standing right in front of a man.
No, it was me.
âHelena!â
The manâs sword cut was Caesarâs back, who threw himself before me.
âAhhâŠ!â
Caesar collapsed in front of me as if he were collapsing. The red blood from his back quickly wet his clothes.
The more the blood drained from his body, the colder it felt in my body.
â⊠Whoa.â
Whatâs happening now?
Did these scumbags just hurt Caesar? In front of my eyes?
How dare you?
âHey! Why did you cut that one? We have to disguise it as an accident!â
âUh, is that so?â
âDamn it, everything went wrong! Who are you?! Where the fuck did you come from?!â
The man who followed me grabbed my hair and threatened me.
My blood is cooling down. My head became cold like a lie.
Whoa, seriously.
I canât do it this way.
âHaa, in this life, I was trying to live a peaceful and lazy life without fighting or killing anything.â
âWhat? What are you saying, this.. Ahh!â
The arm of the man holding my hair was bent the other way. This is because I hit a manâs arm with the legs of the chair I was holding.
The sudden excessive movement made my muscles hurt as if they were tearing apart. It hurt, but it didnât hurt.
Iâm so angry, I donât feel any pain.
I gripped the leg chair with strength.
âYou are all dead.â
***
Leonard really did his best.
I think Leonard and Hamilton arrived really quickly. It would have been impossible to arrive any faster than that.
However, I was just a little quicker than them to clean up the three pieces of trash.
âAll of this⊠W-What happened?â
Hamilton entered the building and muttered with a bewildered face.
Itâs a mess in the building.
There was nothing left intact. Some were broken while fighting, and others were broken by me who was angry.
âOne in the big room, one in the hallway, and the other in front of the back door.â
I explained to Hamilton, pointing here and there in the building with the dagger I took from the big guy.
âSome may have died.â
I said so, wiping the blood splashed on my face with the back of my hand, and thought for a moment and corrected it.
âNo, they might all be dead. Iâm sorry. I havenât been able to control myself yet.â
The 10-year-old me was not in a situation to fight with ease. If I make a mistake, I will be overpowered. In the end, regardless of whether the opponent dies or not, I have no choice but to fight back with all his might.
Originally, beating in moderation is harder than killing.
âS-So⊠are you saying youâve dealt with them all?â
âHelena, are you okay? You didnât get hurt, did you?â
Unlike Hamilton, who stammered in embarrassment, Leonard calmly checked my safety first.
Aww, as expected of my angel-like brother. Seeing Leonard, I feel like Iâm melting away.
âYes, Iâm fine. I think I will suffer from muscle pain for a while.â
âWait. Muscle pain? Do you think it makes sense? Princess, what the hell is your identity?!â
Hamilton yelled at me. Looking at me with eyes as if he was looking at a monster.
Well, that would be a normal reaction. The Duke took me for granted and forgot about it.
I shrugged one shoulder.
âIâm just a genius.â
âWhatâŠ?!â
âMore than that, Caesar was hurt a lot more than that. I laid him down in the room over there. Please take care of Caesar first.â
Hamilton seemed to have come to his senses just then, and rushed to the room I was pointing to.
âThe security guards will come soon. Sorry, I was late. Itâs a relief that youâre safe.â
Leonard held my bloody hand tightly and said with a face almost crying.
Seriously, why is my brother so nice? It makes me want to act like a baby.
âBrother. I canât walk.â
âIs that so? Then Iâll give you a piggyback ride.â
Leonard quickly showed his back.
I jumped as if I had been waiting and hung on Leonardâs back. As I leaned on his back, I fell asleep.
âItâs been a really long day.â
Itâs annoying and tiring. Although my body is already aching all over.
However, Caesar did not die.
Heâs still alive.
So it wasnât a bad day. Letâs think like that.
I fell asleep leaning on Leonardâs body temperature.