Chapter 16: The Blue dress stained in Red (III).

Chapter 16: The Blue dress stained in Red (III).

Elizabeth's POV

"Makes it all the better to teach you a lesson about underestimating a maid with the duty of protecting the princess."

I could feel Victoria's hold on me loosening, both of her hands placed on the door pushing it with brute force.

"Gragh!" she yells in battle cry pushing the door, making the masked mercenary lose his balance and land his butt on the ground outside of the carriage.

She carries the carriage door inspecting it looking angry and glares at the mercenary after finding something out. "Hmph, no wonder simple dull blades go through it. It's made out of Shimmy wood, only good for decorations, not defending."

Shimmy wood?

I would be laughing at how ridiculous the name sounds but she's right. Most carriages have other strong wood that not even a sword or other metal would easily pierce through it like butter.

Don't tell me...

The slow horses, horrible wood for the carriage- and the coachman convincing me to keep things as it is. The mercenaries calling me a package... this was a planned attack by the Duke.

Tch, inviting me to his daughter's birthday party to cover up an assassination attempt on me how tasteless you are, Duke Damien.

She throws the carriage door towards the man recovering from his fall.

Slam!

"Ugh!" I hear him grunt in pain as Victoria stands up looking outside the carriage, seeing our side win I couldn't help but peek my head outside too.

"Your highness, please trust me that I'll protect you but I can't do it inside in a stuffy carriage." she gets out, stretching her arms to me and I agreed on letting her carry me.

I hug her with my tiny arms and Victoria stares at the man down who still hasn't gotten up from his fall.

"Tch..." The mercenary held his waist, I noticed quickly that he was hiding a dagger underneath his belt- I warned Victoria about an attack. "That hurt you bitch!"

"Victoria!" I yelled out in despair, my maid never lost her focus and watched the mercenary swing his dagger in our direction.

"Hmph."

Victoria has already expected the mercenary to pull out a knife, not needing my warning.

While carrying me in her other arm, her hands swiftly knock the mercenary's wrist before grabbing and clenching it with no mercy.

"Why you-!"

When the blade was on the ground, he tried fighting her in hand-to-hand combat, he punched and punched sloppily looking for a weak spot.

There were weak spots everywhere when Victoria was carrying me, but my protector made sure that I was her priority first. "Hyah!"

Victoria dodged swiftly, keeping me out of distance with his punches and soon she saw an opening by his waist being left unprotected with all his sloppy punches.

My maid stands her ground, once a punch is aimed at her head she places the weight over her leg and slides down dodging the punch with her hand making sure to protect my head from any impact.

"Hngh!" Driving the force that comes with it, she raises up her legs and kicks the masked mercenary in the left direction of the road.

Smack! Slam!

The left direction of the road was covered in trees, Victoria kicked him so hard that he was sent flying and battered to the point I think I heard something breaking and it's definitely one of his bones.

"Hah..." (Victoria) looked tired, she leaned over to me and saw if I was hurt.

"Are you alright, your highness?" she asked me and I was almost close to crying, I'm not prepared for something like this!

"Y-Yeah but-! How about you?! You're the one who's been fighting! How can you worry over me at a time like this?!" I smack Victoria gently by her collarbone, wanting to scold her for thinking of me when really she was the one fighting for her life in line with me being a burden by being held!

"I am alright, your highness. I shall live no need to worry. He was not able to scratch me, predicting his moves were rather easy for some reason he always aimed at my face." (Victoria) tells me and I didn't even notice that should I get trained perhaps I would be as strong as her someday.

"I don't think he liked your face, whoever that is," I tell her looking at the mercenary she destroyed by the tree, they were masked and well- they would be interrogated once we got into my Uncle's dukedom.

Actually... I'm not even sure if that place is safe.

"Hmm... I wonder what he doesn't like about it."

...

The assassins or mercenaries were dwindling in numbers. The guards were having the advantage of using their magic at every chance that they got.

Enchanting their magic into their blade, using their spells to make the environment bend to their will-

"[Earth Magic: Earth Wall]!"

"[Wind Magic: Enchant Blade]!"

"[Water Magic: Healing Water]!"

I watched one guard raise a whole pillar of a wall, using it as a shield against an arrow flying in his direction. The other was using the wind to provide versatile attacks, and the last one acted as support for healing the other's minor injuries.

I wonder why Victoria didn't use hers.

"Victoria, just now why didn't you use your magic?"

"Take a look, your highness, it's not just me, there are other guards who are not using one element inside the forest." (Victoria) motions me to look at Tobias who just fought with this spear. He wasn't using magic just like the other guards.

There was water, earth, and wind- meaning...

"Fire... He's a fire magic user?"

Victoria nods telling me that I was right, raising her hand so suddenly and swiftly behind.

"!!!"

Smack!

I turned around hearing something fall down, it was another mercenary who tried sneaking behind our backs.

"You... Did you know he was going to stab us from behind?" I ask her and she stays silent, turning around.

"Yes, because our instincts never betray us, your highness. The reason I don't use my earth and water magic is because I don't need magic to destroy these low leveled mercenaries that are out to get you." (Victoria) tells me as she looks down on the man trying to run away by crawling.

Victoria put me down on the ground, bodies were everywhere, all were dead and their throats were slit. The guards sheathed their swords, seeing that there was only one more man left crawling.

"May I ask a favor, your highness? Please, cover your eyes and ears and go back into the carriage. Don't look unless I tell you alright?" (Victoria) instructed me and I... could only follow her.

I couldn't stomach the scene.

"B-Be safe." I hugged her leg, and that's when I noticed that there was a cut going through her maid uniform... and blood dripping out of it.

It stained a part of my blue dress, the whole time she was carrying me I didn't notice that she was wounded. "Wait Victoria your leg-"

"Please, there is no time. I... don't want you to see or hear what I'll be doing. My friend would be sad to know, you've been exposed to such dangers like this she would never forgive me." she pleads, kneeling down to my level holding my shoulders, and the other guards surrounding us looking ashamed.

"O-Okay..." I hurriedly walked away from the scene, and the guards followed me inside the carriage- I stood idly right by the horses we brought.

"Mrrph..." One noticed my depressed presence, it lowers its head for me to pat and I was thankful for the horses we brought were trained in a battle to not flee at the sense of danger.

Victoria was talking to the other guards looking so angry and... just she seemed like a different person in battle. I wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation but- it seems that they were out of earshot for me to hear.

...

Third person's POV.

In the bloody scene... the route to the Duke's mansion was delayed due to an ambush sent by an unknown person but the maid knew it was all that bastard Damien's orders.

She needed evidence to prove him guilty in a trial- the last living mercenary would be enough to speak for itself in court.

Tobias, who was familiar with Victoria Crumwell's line of work, wanted her out of interrogation and just cared for the princess instead.

"No need to dirty your hands- Sir Crumwell- It's our duty now to interrogate the mercenary." (Tobias) walks over, saluting to Victoria, her eyes looking empty as she answers Tobias to back off.

"Soldier, your request is declined. I want to hear the answers of who ordered them to attack the princess with my own ears and I would like to break their fingers limb from limb until they tell me who it is." (Victoria) walks over to the hostage, holding its face with force and leaning in close.

"Tell me who sent you. I might spare your life, go on."

"..." The mercenary looked at his dead accomplices and spat at Victoria's feet.

"Tch!"

It was a clear message that he won't be telling anything of use- not until they try torturing him when they get back into the castle.

"It would be unwise to leave him, the carriage is still salvageable to use. Put him in the trunk- and... where is the coachman?" (Victoria) looks around seeing that the coachman was gone, with all the fighting and her mind occupied keeping the princess safe- she didn't have time to see where everyone went.

The guards looked around at the bodies all over the ground, it was all the mercenaries dead and no longer breathing- the coachman's body was not in them."S-Sir Crumwell it seems that he has fled from the attack."

"So it seems." (Victoria) sighs, looming over the mercenary before sitting down and holding one of his hands. The mercenary tries struggling to kick or punch her but the guards all went behind and held him down.

Victoria, impatient and angry, started pulling out one of his delicate fingers and slowly...

Snap...

She snaps it, bending his pointing finger in half until pain takes over and it looks like he won't be using it anytime soon.

"AGH! WHAT THE HELL?! AGHHHH! THAT HURTS!" The mercenary wanted to move and kill the maid that was in front of him but he couldn't be bound by the rope.

"So you can speak, that's good." (Victoria) smiles, letting go of his hands and the mercenary was on the verge of tears seeing his finger looking bent. "There's more where that came from when I get you in a cell, trust me you have nineteen more chances before you become of no use to me."

"AGHHH IT BURNS! IT'S PAINFUL ITS-" The man screamed all he can, but soon he was gagged with a dirty cloth before being dragged up by one of the guards.

"Well done. We will continue our journey in the Duke's estate, those who have been injured you have ten minutes before we leave so make sure to cast your first-aid spell but... anyone who gives mercy to our little friend over here will answer to me." (Victoria) looks at the mercenary's feet before standing up, and walking calmly to the carriage not being fazed by what she did to the man.

"..."

Every guard that witnessed the scene, was horrified and learned to never mess with a former military general even if she's a maid now.