It was suspicious from the start.
Antonio's group was known for being simple and brutal—a squad specialized in offense.
Still, there were always members skilled in specialized tasks.
Today, Chari, who had guided the girls, was one of them.
Her instincts were sharp, and she had a talent for vigilance and searching.
If the girls had resisted the kidnapping, Chari would never have missed a sound.
So it was possible there had been no resistance at all.
The girls looked at Nicola with confused faces.
As expected, Nicola led the girls.
Nicola moved her lips slightly.
But then she quickly turned her head and stubbornly stared at the floor.
She wouldn't say a word.
That's a problem.
The reason I was testing my foster daughter wasn't because I truly thought I could live as the head's foster daughter.
If anything, the head would naturally discard me once he saw his own child.
So the real purpose of this test lay elsewhere.
Not to be a foster daughter, but to become the top subordinate.
I had to perform so well that they'd consider me too valuable to discard.
Only then could I help when the protagonist's personal guard came to strip me of my talents.
For that purpose, this test had to help drive out the ungrateful San Miguel.
I stared at Nicola, who stubbornly avoided my gaze.
"I understand. Money is important. With enough money, even honor can be sold, right?"
"…!"
A crack appeared in Nicola's expression.
Her perfectly straight eyebrows twitched.
"…What did you say?"
"Oh, don't misunderstand. I'm not blaming you."
I waved my hands hurriedly, and Nicola pressed her lips together.
"You can't trade a few coins for honor."
"But you did, didn't you?"
"…Hey."
Nicola looked furious.
The other girls also gave me displeased looks.
There's nothing like this to provoke a proud noble.
After all, I had grown up under my mother, who ran a prominent organization.
As the eldest daughter of Marquis Andres, I frequently attended high-society gatherings.
After being kicked out of my family, I had to roam the notoriously rough market streets as if they were my home.
In other words, I'm quite confident in the art of clever speech.
And…
Nicola responds well to provocation like this.
I knew it from playing the game.
Nicola Donati.
Nicola DonatiEldest daughter of Baron Donati.Her family fell into poverty due to her younger brother's illness, but she received one of the best educations in San Miguel.Prideful to the extreme.
So, if her pride was provoked this way…
"I didn't sell my honor for money…!"
It was entirely predictable that she would snap like this.
I smiled gently.
"Then, did you trade honor for your brother's life?"
"…!"
Bingo.
Nicola flinched.
She looked startled, turned her head, and clenched her fists.
I bent my knees to meet her gaze.
"Your brother is sick, right? For a long time. That's why you needed money."
"…I don't understand what you're saying."
"Other girls likely sacrificed themselves for something more precious than honor too."
"What do you know? I have nothing to say, so don't try to pry…!"
"I know."
"…."
"I feel the same way."
Nicola and the other girls looked at me with trembling eyes.
I smiled.
"I am Eustea Andres."
The girls stared at me in shock.
Some of them even drew in a deep breath.
The Andres family is a powerful noble house.
And I, cast out from such a family, was like a celebrity splashed across the society pages.
Most of the Empire knew me.
They knew my crimes.
They knew how I lived.
"I've done everything at least once. I have people I need to protect too."
"…."
The girls either bowed their heads or squeezed their eyes shut.
Nicola moved her lips.
After a long moment, her hands tightly clasped together, she slowly spoke.
"…You're Dia, right? Your mother."
"You know my mother?"
"Dia, the legend who raised the organization alone, impressed us greatly."
Nicola stared at me impassively.
"Do you find it funny that we admired Dia despite our situation?"
"No."
"…."
"My mother also knows that some things are more valuable than honor."
Nicola swallowed hard.
"I… no, we…"
Then it happened.
"Enough nonsense!"
Marina and her search squad appeared with sharp voices.
They had arrived much faster than expected.
It seemed that either the Marquis of San Miguel or his underlings had eagerly reported the situation.
They must have been in a hurry.
If the girls revealed the fake kidnapping involved the Marquis, it would have been disastrous.
Marina's face was flushed with anger as proof.
"We're here to take you. Come out."
Marina's tone was overbearing.
The girls looked at Nicola, unsure what to do.
But Marina was faster.
"I said we're here to take you. Me."
Emphasizing me meant they had to comply.
The girls flinched at her threatening voice.
"Nicola…"
The girls looked at Nicola, waiting.
She rose, indicating she would follow Marina.
I knew from the start it would fail.
Before the test began, I had expected Marina and the Marquis would have manipulated the girls somehow.
Probably bound by a contract, or perhaps…
Enchanted by magic.
They would obey Marina's orders in exchange for payment. Otherwise, they'd face consequences.
My search squad looked on, bewildered.
"What did they do to the girls over there?"
"Little Teacher, isn't there a way?"
I sighed.
"It's unfortunate. I apologize to all of you."
While my squad bristled with frustration, I continued with a sorrowful expression.
"You'll have to carry them carefully."
"Huh?"
"What did you say?"
Not only my search squad was surprised.
Marina and her squad, even the girls, stared at me wide-eyed.
I clapped my hands lightly.
"Now, let's kidnap them."
Kidnapping isn't just for the Marquis.
We can do it too.
"…!"
"…!!"
Marina froze, and her search squad was flustered.
Meanwhile, my squad lifted the girls and started running.
"I like that Little Teacher is straightforward."
"Alright, let's go."
My squad laughed heartily.
"Waaah─!"
Antonio, watching the scene, shouted in excitement.
Marina and her squad were aghast.
But Eustea's squad didn't care; they carried the girls without issue.
Some leaped over rocks with the girls on their backs, others climbed slopes with both hands, carrying the girls.
The slope was too steep for fifteen-year-old girls, so Eustea herself was also carried by a squad member.
But something was strange.
What is Little Teacher doing?
She reached out and touched the rocks.
Then…
Snap!
[Argh!]
She threw stones at Marina's search squad, who were reaching out wildly to catch her.
They fell, clutching their foreheads in pain.
"Puh-hah…!"
One of the sub-leader's squad members couldn't help laughing and quickly covered her mouth.
The others gave her a glare.
"I wasn't the only one laughing, right?"
"You were."
"Their lips are twitching."
"…."
It was understandable.
Marina's squad were soldiers planted by the Marquis of San Miguel.
They thought we had infiltrated secretly, but their cover had long been blown.
They were elite, yet flawed: skipping training, pilfering funds, ignoring superiors.
Watching such crafty people struggle so utterly…
Delightful.
Eustea had a talent for provoking fury.
While pushing Marina's squad members with her feet, she murmured,
[Sorry if your wig comes off. But hair loss isn't shameful.]
She spoke kindly.
Yet Eustea wasn't the only one skilled at unnerving people.
Her squad shared her talent, laughing and teasing Marina's bald squad member further.
The sub-leader's squad members bowed their heads, shoulders trembling.
"Uh-hah!"
Antonio and his squad rolled with laughter.
Marina screamed in fury inside the magical realm.
Her squad became completely enraged.
[Stop this! Come down immediately!]
Eustea glanced at her.
[You come up.]
[Kidnapping young ladies… Are you sane?]
[You did it too. Why can't I?]
[…!]
Not a word more.
Antonio smiled wryly at the sub-leader.
"You can laugh openly. Why pretend otherwise?"
"Shut up."
"Fun, isn't it? I wondered what would happen when only the big players were chosen, but I didn't expect this."
"You were the one doubting the choice."
"Truly amazing."
"That's not all."
"Huh?"
The sub-leader glared at the pale Marquis of San Miguel.
He trembled, fists clenched.
As Eustea predicted, the girls were bound by magical constraints.
The condition:
Follow Marina and the Marquis' orders until the test ends. Do not testify about the incident.
But if the girls were carried away?
Their will didn't matter; the constraints became irrelevant.
Furthermore…
[Nicola, you don't have to speak of the incident. Just refute any false claims.]
The sub-leader chuckled.
The clever girl had already guessed the constraints from her brief conversation with Nicola.
In other words, if you can't testify, act as if you aren't.
[This isn't kidnapping, right?]
Nicola closed her eyes tight.
She agreed.
[Chari, who escorted you, is unrelated to this incident.]
[….]
[You voluntarily entered the carriage due to threats.]
[….]
[And the one who threatened you—]
Nicola gazed at Eustea with tears in her eyes.
Her admiration for Dia, Eustea's mother, wasn't false.
Especially Nicola.
She had clipped articles about Dia and treasured them.
When her impoverished family, sick brother, and parents' worries weighed heavily on her, she drew strength from that scrapbook.
I was right.
My way of life resembled this strong girl's.
Even she had times when suffering gnawed at her body, yet if she didn't submit, it became opportunity.
I admired her. I wanted to be like her.
But the one who resembled the admired figure most…
Was your daughter.
Your daughter gave me courage, just like you.
And so I could shout:
[Lord San Miguel! He magically bound us to obey!]
Nicola screamed.
[He accepted money for my brother's medicine! He said if we didn't, no doctor in San Miguel could treat him!]
Nicola eyed the magical relay tools floating around Eustea.
[I didn't sell my honor for money…!]
Kyaa!
Nicola screamed as the binding magic attacked her.
A powerful enchantment crafted by a skilled magician.
Its terrifying power flared, threatening to erase any who broke the contract.
Kraang─!
Lightning struck, and the squad holding Nicola lost her.
[Nicola!]
[Nicola!]
The girls screamed in panic.
But Nicola didn't fall.
Eustea swiftly caught her from the squad member she had been clinging to.
Her body shook violently against Eustea's.
Eustea's face contorted in agony, but she never let go.
[Little Teacher!]
The search squad gasped, but Eustea stubbornly held Nicola.
Antonio rose in shock.
Not only him: Antonio's squad and all sub-leader's members, including the sub-leader, jumped up.
[Let go, Little Teacher! You'll die too!]
At that moment, a strange cry echoed.
Two enormous hawks appeared in the sky, circling above Eustea holding Nicola.
"Hawks…"
Antonio muttered, entranced, as someone shouted:
"Sunlight, Abyss!"
"The head's hawks!"
Sunlight and Abyss, the protective beasts raised by the head himself, traced strange arcs and landed beneath Eustea.
A magical formation formed along their trajectory, enveloping Nicola's binding in crackling energy.
Finally…
Crack.
The formation shattered completely and vanished.
Antonio laughed weakly, sitting on the stairs.
"What timing, huh?"
Eustea's squad ran to her.
[Little Teacher, are you okay?]
[See? How is it? Huh?]
Eustea nodded, still dazed.
The squad sighed in relief.
Only Marina appeared corpse-like within the magical realm.
And one more: the Marquis of San Miguel, who collapsed to the floor in fright.
His lips trembled.
"Th-the head… the head…"
"You saw it all, I suppose."
The sub-leader, Lorenzo, answered.
He strode toward the Marquis, Antonio massaging his neck behind him.
They looked down at the trembling Marquis.
"All of you witnessed the evidence of the magical binding; there's no escape."
"Escape? Why would I?"
Antonio crouched, grabbing the Marquis' collar, smiling.
"Consider this a taste of the punishment you were planning for Chari."
The Marquis stumbled back, pleading:
"L-listen to me. I… I mean, I…"
"Sorry."
"Sub-leader…"
"We always act faster than words."
The blade of the sub-leader came dangerously close to his face.