Viscount Leon was on the verge of exploding. Would you rather die than marry me? He caught the derisive smirks of the surrounding knights out of the corner of his eye, which only fueled his fury.
"Miss Catherine, since you've chosen this path, I will report back to Grand Duke Kerrac exactly as things stand," Leon spat out before storming off.
He decided to let the Grand Duke handle his own daughter. He didn't believe for a second that Catherine wouldn't come out if her father commanded it. Once she was married into his family, he promised himself he'd properly deal with her for the public humiliation she'd caused him today.
"This..." Catherine faltered. She hadn't expected him to go straight to her father. This was even worse; if her father came personally, she would have no power to resist.
"Where are the rescuers? Why aren't they here yet?" She whispered to herself. "Hurry up, or I won't be able to leave tonight."
As she spoke, a dozen small sparks appeared in the night sky above the mansion, drifting slowly. These were hot air balloons carrying airborne soldiers and an elven sniper squad. Elisa, the commander of this operation, was currently aiming her compound bow at the area around Catherine's room.
"Prepare for descent," Elisa said coldly.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Soldiers immediately began waving glowsticks—items Lucas had brought from Earth specifically for nighttime communication. The air bellows on the balloons were eased, and the vessels began their slow descent. Ropes were tossed down, targeting the perimeter of Catherine's quarters.
The soldiers, armed with swords and crossbows, began their rappelling descent under the cover of the elven snipers.
"Attention: first wave of archery support before we touch down," Elisa said, drawing three long arrows from her quiver and flexing her fingers.
"Understood!"
A signalman relayed the command. Elisa watched the soldiers descend; when they were about three meters from the ground, she released her string and commanded, "Action!"
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
A dozen long arrows sliced through the night, accurately pinning themselves into the chests and throats of the patrolling knights below.
Thud! Thud!
The airborne soldiers dropped the final three meters, rolled to absorb the impact, and sprang up with military crossbows already in hand, efficiently neutralizing any remaining hostiles in the immediate vicinity.
"Enemy att—urk!"
A soldier wiped the blood from his sword and sprinted toward Catherine's room, kicking the door open with a resounding BANG!
"Miss Catherine?" The soldier asked, his eyes sweeping the room.
"That's me," Catherine replied, dazed by the sudden intrusion.
"We are here on the City Lord's orders to take you back. Please follow us immediately," The soldier said sternly.
"Right, yes!" Catherine nodded frantically, grabbed one of the bundles from the table, and pulled Tina along as they ran out.
Outside, Catherine saw the corpses on the ground and hesitated for a moment before lifting her chin and jogging past them, forcing herself not to look. Two specialized cloth slings were dropped from the sky.
"One for each of you. Get in immediately!" The soldier shouted, holding the bags open.
Catherine didn't ask questions; she climbed right in, and Tina followed suit. The soldier gave a hand signal to the sky, and the hot air balloons began to climb. Once the slings were five or six meters off the ground, the soldiers secured the hanging ropes around their own waists, and the entire group ascended rapidly.
By the time the knights from other parts of the estate arrived, they found only a courtyard of bodies. There wasn't an enemy in sight.
*
Minutes later, Grand Duke Kerrac and Grand Duke Benson arrived with Viscount Leon. Their faces were grim as they stared at the carnage.
"What happened? Where is the enemy? Where are the intruders?" Kerrac roared. When had the mansion become so porous that enemies could waltz in, kill his men, and vanish?
"We... we don't know," The knights stammered, heads bowed in terror.
"Where is Catherine?" Kerrac demanded.
"Master... the Lady is gone," The butler reported, trembling.
"Gone?" Kerrac's eyes widened, and he let out a low, icy growl. "Find her. If you don't find her, don't bother coming back."
"Yes, Sir!"
"It seems, Kerrac, that our marriage alliance is off for now," Benson remarked, frowning. His experienced eyes noted that every corpse had been killed with a single, professional strike. This made him wary; someone had stolen Catherine right from under their noses at the most critical moment—it felt like a deliberate warning.
"I will get to the bottom of this," Kerrac said, looking toward the Royal Palace with a cold sneer. "Have we really come this far just to retreat? Don't you think that would be a waste?"
He assumed this was the First Prince's doing—a warning or a reminder of who was in charge.
"Hmph," Benson grunted, also looking toward the palace. "Let's leave it at that for tonight. Your estate is clearly not safe."
"Fine. Just make sure you keep a tight grip on your knights. Don't let them be swayed by others, or we're all dead," Kerrac warned.
By skipping the Prince's banquet, they had already signaled their defiance. They intended to stir the pot while the Prince's foundation was still shaky, hoping to rise amidst the chaos.
"Just find your daughter," Benson tossed back before leaving with a dark-faced Leon.
"Investigate everyone in this house," Kerrac hissed to his butler. "Find out which traitor let this happen on my watch."
His alliance had been sabotaged before it could even begin. Without the marriage to bind them, the core of the pact was in shambles—and Catherine was nowhere to be found.
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