The female mercenary continued speaking as her men kept us surrounded. “Martin de Hierro, the illegitimate son, has become the new head of House Hierro.”

“Liar! Martin would never do that!”

“I’m not lying. He is your half brother, my lady.”

She tossed the handkerchief behind her and pulled out a note. “Word came just a moment ago. Sadly, a fire broke out at the mansion, and the entire marquis’s family perished. Sir Martin, who lived outside the mansion, for-tu-nate-ly survived and has become the new lord!”

Adria kept shaking her head. To her, the story was impossible to believe. “No. No. No.”

“You don’t have to believe me. I only told you because it seemed a shame for you to die without knowing anything.” She sounded sympathetic, but her eyes were full of delight. Was this what you called a psychopath?

I found it hard to believe too, but if she was telling the truth, it answered all my remaining questions. If even one member of the marquis’s family survived, an illegitimate son could not inherit the house. If Adria, the eldest daughter, was alive, she would surely inherit it.

I still wondered how a fire could have left no one in the mansion alive, and how they could have installed the illegitimate son as heir the moment it happened. But I felt I had heard nearly everything I wanted to know.

“Well, then.” The female mercenary turned her gaze on me. “Who’s this little brat? That young master’s servant? Oh dear, did you fall behind while waiting on that useless young master?”

Huh? She didn’t know who I was? Of course she didn’t. Hardly anyone in the territory even knew my face, so how could these people? In that case... could this work?

I gave my sword hand a slight shake, as though it were trembling. Then I bowed my head to her. “I-I don’t know anything. P-please spare me.”

It had been a long time since I’d put on a voice, and it wasn’t easy. Still, I pleaded with the female mercenary as pitifully as I could. “Please. I’m begging you.” Adria stared at me in shock, but I threw myself deeper into the act.

“Oh, you poor thing.” The mercenaries surrounding us looked uncomfortable, and the woman clicked her tongue softly. Could my acting actually be working?

“I really am sorry. But we can’t let you live. Blame the master who got you caught up in this.” Hah. My mistake for getting my hopes up. Just like with Adria, that psychopath seemed to enjoy using words of comfort to plunge people into despair.

“What a waste of effort.” I sighed and straightened up. The female mercenary’s eyes widened. “Heh. What an idiot.” Adria’s mocking voice came from beside me. My foolish act seemed to have snapped her out of it.

“We can find out for ourselves whether she’s telling the truth. Let’s focus on getting back first.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” Adria tightened her grip on her sword.

“Ho, ho, ho. What an amusing little boy.” A chilling laugh reached my ears. It was the female mercenary. “I was looking forward to hearing what sort of sound the young lady would make when she died, but now there’s another child I want to hear. How should I kill you to get a pretty sound?”

Had I drawn too much attention? She was licking her lips as she looked at me. Even the mercenaries recoiled, apparently repulsed by the sight. Had that opened a gap?

I quickly scanned our surroundings and asked Adria, “Was that illegitimate son the reason you took an interest in me?”

“Ah! That was part of it, but... Wait, is this really the time to ask?” Adria played along nicely.

As we spoke, I kept signaling to her with my eyes. She signaled back while answering to show she understood. Three. Two. One. “Now!”

At my word, Adria launched herself backward.

WHOOSH!

She moved like lightning. Her acceleration ability had come into its own.

“Stop!” the female mercenary shouted in surprise. I charged at her. One look told me she was both their leader and their strongest fighter. If Adria was going to escape, I had to keep this woman occupied.

As I ran, I steadied my breathing, drawing air in time with my stride. Then I held my breath and drew up the power hidden deep inside me. This was no time to hold back a final move.

I released the power rising within me—mana—throughout my body, into my arms and legs, my muscles and nerves. My narrow field of vision widened, and I could breathe freely again. Time slowed. I could see every fine hair on my enemy. This was mana, the power that let me, still a child, fight a knight on even terms.

The enemy was upon me in an instant. I swung my sword with all my strength. I saw her startled eyes shift, felt her arm move and her sword swing. Then I caught the faint light enveloping her blade. Damn it. She was stronger than I’d expected.

CLANG!

My sword was knocked aside. Luckily, I hadn’t lost much in strength, and my blade hadn’t broken. But there was no overcoming the difference in weight. “Ngh.” Driven back a few steps, I raised my sword again and rushed her.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

I dodged the blades I could, deflected the ones I couldn’t, and pressed in close to swing my sword.

“What are you? Are you a dwarf, not a little brat?” I’d never heard of them. Were there other races here? She had the wrong idea, but I didn’t care what she mistook me for as long as I could buy time.

Fighting her felt like walking a tightrope over blades. After trading blows for a while, I sprang back. That should do it, right? It hadn’t been long, but it was enough time for Adria to escape. No mercenary in the direction she’d taken looked capable of stopping her acceleration ability. She must have gotten past them.

Now it was my turn. I just had to find an opening and get out of here... I whipped my head around, then froze. Two mercenaries lay fallen in the direction Adria had run. Just as I’d expected, she had broken through the encirclement. But the other mercenaries hadn’t followed her. And Adria hadn’t made it far.

“What took you so long?”

“How was I supposed to know it would be that narrow? More importantly, you nearly ruined everything!” The man answering her was the one who had commanded the mercenaries beneath the fortress. He was walking toward us with one thick arm wrapped around Adria’s neck. “Ghk. Ghk.” Dangling from his arm, she could barely breathe.

“I was counting on you, boss. You know I’d be able to tell you were coming.” She tapped her nose with a finger. I couldn’t help sighing.

So things didn’t work out like they did in novels or movies. Nothing was going according to plan. The arm around Adria’s neck was enormous, seemingly twice the size of his other arm. It definitely hadn’t been that thick when I first saw him. He’d stripped off all his armor except his trousers, and he was covered in dirt, just like us. What he’d said just now, and the way he looked... “Don’t tell me—body transformation?”

“Oh, clever. Was there a kid like you in the ducal house? Hmm. I think I heard the illegitimate son was about your age...” I’d said only a few words, and he’d arrived at the right answer. He seemed much smarter than me, a genius only in name. Damn. My luck really was rotten this time.

The enemy had brought exactly the right abilities, and their timing was perfect. “What, do they have a prophet?” I muttered in frustration, more to myself than anyone else. A strange look crossed the man’s face. He immediately gave an order. “Kill that boy! Now!”

Then he tightened his grip on Adria’s neck. “Ghk!”

“Don’t think of running. If you do, the young lady dies.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “You’re going to kill her anyway, aren’t you? Besides, the young lady and I aren’t particularly close.”

“I don’t know how you got that skilled at your age, but you must be guarding her. If you care about your honor, you won’t simply run.” He glanced at a wound on his other arm. “The knight and the maid we met beneath the fortress put their lives on the line to stop us, too.”

“Ghk! Ngh!” Even as she struggled for air, Adria thrashed wildly. “Can I play with him a little longer?” the female mercenary asked. “I’m still upset he almost got the better of me.”

“No! We don’t have time.” Clicking her tongue, she approached.

This was bad. Running was the right answer, but it didn’t look easy. And if I ran and left Adria to die, I doubted I’d sleep well afterward. Still, what else could I do? Those who could survive had to survive. Feeling guilty, I looked at Adria one last time. She was looking at me, too. Our eyes met, and she shouted desperately, “Ghk. Ghk. R-run!”

Thank you. That was my plan. I was about to turn away after that last farewell when Adria did something I hadn’t expected. “Ah!” She opened her mouth wide and bit her tongue. Blood poured out like a waterfall. As it spilled from her mouth, she looked at me and smiled.

“Tch. She killed herself.” Startled, the man threw Adria aside and charged at me. The female mercenary ran behind him, and the others raised their swords. “Not going to run?” the man asked, stopping in front of me.

I was still looking at Adria, sprawled on the ground. She was already dead. Damn it. What a pointless thing to do. I’d tried to look impressive and only gotten someone else hurt.

“What’s wrong with him? Has he completely lost it?” The female mercenary peered at my face with amusement. Ah, right. Maybe I had lost it. I was so furious I felt on the verge of going mad.

“The young lady sacrificed herself for nothing. Skilled or not, you’re still a child.” The man raised his sword. “What a shame,” the woman said, licking her lips as she watched me. “If only we had time, I could have played with you a little longer.” I wanted to indulge myself and give them all the fight I could, but there was still something I needed to ask.

“One question before I die.”

“Hm?”

“Who do you two work for? I doubt you serve that illegitimate son.” My calm voice made the man look puzzled, but he didn’t answer. “None of your business.”

He moved to swing his sword again, but luckily, there was someone loose-lipped beside him. “Oh, what does it matter now? I can’t say who we normally work for with the others here. Right now, we work for Count La Palma. Satisfied?” It was enough. She’d probably only said it to toy with me, but it helped plenty.

I lifted my head and looked at the man swinging his sword and the woman smiling beside him. I burned every detail of their faces into my mind, down to the finest hair and each eyebrow. I would never forget them. The sword swept past.

SLICE!

My view flipped and sank lower and lower. The forest and sky blurred, then went dark. Complete darkness. Silence. And then light poured in.

[You have died. Restarting from the autosave point.]

When I opened my eyes, I saw the small hands of a six-year-old child. I had come back again—to the day we sent the second duchess away.

I clenched my fist. My hand had turned pale blue, but I felt no pain. I had plenty of time. I would change the future. This time, though, it wasn’t so I could survive.