Chapter 66: The pride of House Clarence

I watched numbly as the spray of blood spurted into the air.

As Alicia toppled over, I stared at the hooded figure who was standing beside her, a bloody dagger in her hand.

Yeah, despite the mask and huge hood and cloak, I could tell that the assassin was female because of the bulge of her chest. But that wasn't the issue here. More importantly, Alicia was gurgling to her death, blood spurting out uncontrollably from her slit carotid artery and jugular vein. She was barely alive, but at this rate she would bleed to death.

The light had already faded from her eyes and blood was pouring out of her mouth as she slumped down lifelessly. There were mere seconds before she expired fully, the lifeblood pumping out of her ruined neck at an alarming rate.

We can't have that, can we?

Before I even knew what I was doing, I had used Regeneration. I didn't even intend to do it – it was completely on instinct. Well, it didn't matter. While I found Alicia annoying, I didn't hate her to the extent that I would let her die. Any normal guy would help a person who was in deep trouble, unless he or she was some insane edgelord who's all emo and "gaaah, I hate the world and want everyone to be dead." To be frank, such edgy and emo protagonists were even more annoying than Alicia, who was benefiting from a bit of character development.

In any case, with just a subconscious snap of my fingers, I had casted Regeneration and completely closed the fatal wound on Alicia's neck.

"H…huh? I…"

Alicia blinked as she knelt on the ground, clutching her bloodied left arm in confusion. The blood that had stained her uniform sleeve and cloak wasn't from an injury on her arm but rather the blood that had leaked out from her slit throat earlier. Finding herself on her knees, Alicia struggled to comprehend what had just occurred.

"What just…?"

"?!"

Beside her, the female assassin inadvertently took a step back in surprise, her eyes bulging when she saw that her target was still very much alive and completely unscathed.

"What just happened?! Her neck was certainly…"

"Dude…I mean dudette, I know you're in the cutthroat business, but can you not go around cutting throats?"

"!"

The assassin spun around to stare at me. I already had my right hand up and pointed at her, with black magical energy crackling around my finger in cruel delight, just waiting to be unleashed on the target before it.

"Just a tip," I told the assassin. "If you want to make a killing, don't go around killing people."

With that, I unleashed the Doombolt that had gathered momentum around my finger and launched it at the stunned assassin.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The assassin vanished in a dark explosion as she was obliterated by the intense beam of mana. Even though Doombolt was not as powerful as Shadow Lunar Fang, the assassin was of a light build. She had focused on developing her body to be as fast, stealthy and agile as possible, so she wasn't as durable as tank-based classes. As a result, it was an instant kill, with the malicious mana erasing her from the surface of the earth.

Even as the black explosion left a crater and vaporized the assassin, Alicia was swaying unsteadily from the shock and tremendous loss of blood. I might have healed her injury and recovered some of her blood, but she was still in huge shock. Pale and perspiring persistently, Alicia swayed one last time before keeling over.

Even though I had mostly saved her life, I didn't fully heal her. I only closed the wound and prevented her from bleeding to death, but she was still pretty weak from the massive amount of blood she lost, and shock.

I let her fall flat on her face.

Maybe I should have let her die, I thought with a little bit of regret. It would have solved the problem. She was annoying me with that stalkerish and pushy behavior.

It would have been so easy. Wait for her to bleed out, and then dump her body in the river. Reading the comments brought some brilliant ideas on how to get rid of her corpse without getting caught.

Jokes aside, I wasn't that mean. Some people might accuse me of being a douchebag, but I hadn't resorted to murdering random people who were not on my target list. As much as I strongly disliked Alicia, I wasn't going to let her die.

But I wasn't obligated to do more than saving her. I left her lying on the ground, still dazed from the encounter.

"Alicia-sama?!"

A maid with long, brown hair tied into an elegant bun was running along the corridor, dressed in that stereotypical black and white frilly maid uniform. She was panting heavily as she caught up to Alicia, perspiration profusely pouring down her reddened face.

"Are you all right?! Oh Evelyn…that blood…"

"R…Rebecca?"

Alicia was still in shock, staring at the maid in wonder as she approached. Rebecca hastily checked her, and was relieved to see that she wasn't fatally wounded. Weak, yes, a reduced pulse, yes, but in no anger of losing her life.

"You…"

Rage filled her voice as she stood up and faced me. Drawing daggers from goodness-knows-where – I guess they didn't call the stuff under her long, maid skirt drawers for nothing – she reared back and hurled them at me.

With a casual flick of my hand, I smacked the daggers out of the air and sighed.

"You know, it's all right to stare daggers at me, but I would appreciate it if you don't actually throw real daggers."

"How dare you…!"

"How dare I what?" I countered. Rebecca drew more daggers and readied a combat stance, ready to slay me.

Dream on, girl. You're no match for me. I had bested foes several thousand times more powerful than you. With such meager daggers, she couldn't even scratch the first layer of my Redwood jacket, never mind hurt me.

"How dare you try to assassinate Alicia-sama!"

"…how dare I what now?"

I couldn't help but burst out laughing at the absurdity of the accusation. Shaking my head, I suppressed a chuckle.

"Look, lady, if I wanted Alicia-san dead, she would have been dead long ago. And I wouldn't be standing here watching her recover."

"W…wait, Rebecca."

Alicia was clutching her neck and bloodstained collar while trying to piece together what had just happened.

"I…I think Tanaka just saved my life."

"…"

I didn't reply, but Alicia looked at me quietly.

"Did you perhaps use your healing magic on me?"

"No. Evelyn did."

"…"

"Fine, yeah, I did. Thank Hedas…I mean Evelyn that I made it in time."

Come on, if you don't want a stupid answer, then don't ask stupid questions. Who else could have done it? You see anyone else around here?

Oh…yeah. Rebecca was here now.

"Actually, that maid over there was the one who healed you…"

"Huh?! No, I didn't!"

Alicia frowned at me.

"Don't bother lying. Rebecca doesn't know any healing spells."

Damn. Busted.

"Alicia-sama…are you all right?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm fine."

No, no, no. you certainly have a lot to worry about. By the way, I was half amazed to see a real maid in Restia. I didn't think they would exist here, but I guess they did.

"Then…"

While Rebecca fussed over Alicia, the latter turned to the charred remains of the disintegrated assassin.

"Tanaka," she called out to me, her voice authoritative and firm, unlike the playful, flirtatious tone from before. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but was that…quite possibly the assassin who attacked me? And you killed him after healing me? My memories are fuzzy, but I do vaguely remember you fighting the assassin."

"It was her, actually," I corrected. "The assassin is a female…or was, anyway."

"!"

Rebecca stared at the fuming corpse, which no longer resembled a human. Perhaps I had gone overboard with my Doombolt. Hey, at least it wasn't a Bolt of Change – that would have transformed the assassin into a chaos spawn…I mean that which should not be named.

The maid studied the corpse for another few seconds, and then turned to stare at me, flustered and disbelieving.

"So, was he the one who saved you?"

"No, I just happened to be passing by…"

"Yes, Tanaka was the one who saved me, as well as killed the assassin."

"!"

Rebecca's scrutiny intensified after Alicia's revelation. A bead of perspiration rolled down her cheek when she suddenly recognized me.

"You are…the one who defeated the dragon…!"

"No, I didn't do much…"

I sighed and shook my head wearily. People were giving me far too much credit. Certainly I was the one who defeated the ancient dragon and crimson dragon, but that was no big deal.

"Forgive my rudeness! I'm so very sorry!"

Rebecca immediately prostrated herself before me.

"Even though you saved Alicia-sama's life and eliminated her would-be assassin, I was impudent and insolent enough to attack you before confirming the truth! I'm very sorry! I do not know how I can atone for my mistake, but I will pay for it with my life if necessary…"

"You think your life is sufficient to pay for attacking me?" I sneered. The maid looked up wearily, but she had resolved herself for death.

"I know it isn't, but if you have to, please mete out your rage on me and me alone. I will be held responsible for my own actions. As long as you do not blame the Clarence house and visit your anger upon them, offering up my life as penitence is worth it…"

"If you're truly sorry, then just shut the fuck up," I replied, crossed. "I'm sick of listening to your prattling."

"Ah…I'm very sorry!"

What did I just say?

Fortunately, Rebecca said nothing after that. It was Alicia who spoke up, kneeling before Rebecca.

"Please, Tanaka. Spare Rebecca's life. She was only trying to protect me."

"Why are you assuming that I plan to take her life? Do I look like some sort of murderer to you? If she wants to pay for her sins, then she's not allowed to run away by giving up her life. She has to work to pay it off."

The two girls looked immensely relieved at my comments. Drawing a deep breath, Rebecca faced me.

"So how do I atone for my sins?"

"For starters, keep your mistress under control." I jabbed a finger at the stunned Alicia. "She's annoying me. As a noble from the Clarence household, she should learn to stop harassing or stalking people and accept no as an answer."

"I admit that is a failing of mine since I am responsible for her education."

…wait, what?

I couldn't help but frown. So Rebecca was responsible for raising and educating Alicia? Not the parents themselves? They left everything to the servants?

Remember, this is a completely different world from Earth, or Japan. Their traditions, customs and cultures are totally different.

Reminding myself that I was in Restia, I nodded.

"Then repent for your mistake by correcting that failing. Don't run away by taking your own life. Take responsibility for your mistakes and correct them. Begging for death is just a cowardly way of running a way without confronting your own sins and actually taking responsibility for them. The only way to take responsibility is to rectify your mistakes."

"Noted." Rebecca hesitated and studied me. "For someone so young, you seem so wise."

"No, I'm just ripping off quotes and life lessons from manga and light novels."

"..."

The two girls exchanged glances.

"See? I really want to marry him."

"I would approve of your marriage and strongly recommend you to your father…"

"STOP!" I yelled. "Quit that! I have no intention of marrying Alicia-san! I don't like her at all! Can you stop this nonsense already, or I'll really, really snap and do something that will cause you two to live in fear for the rest of your lives!"

"…sorry."

I sighed and shook my head. Glancing at the charred pile, I decided to change the question.

"Why the hell are people sending assassins after you? Did you piss someone off, Alicia-san?"

"Of couse not!" Rebecca snapped. Oh, so the maid was biased and blind to the faults of her beloved mistress.

"The answer is simple, really."

Alicia trailed the bloodstains on her uniform, a dark smile forming over her pretty face.

"House Clarence already stands out as it is. And then their daughter goes out and slays a dragon to save the princess's life."

I was the one who slew the dragon, though. Two dragons, in fact.

Despite bitterly thinking that, I kept my opinions to myself and allowed Alicia to continue bragging smugly.

"It's likely that we'll receive more territory as a reward."

What?! Why the hell are they the only ones to receive such rewards?! What about me?! I'm the one who did most of the work, you know!?

"And people don't seem to be pleased about that." Alicia shook her head as she raised her bloodied left hand in a flippant gesture. "So it wouldn't be strange for them to send me a few assassins as a gift."

"O…Ojou-sama…"

Rebecca clutched her long skirt desperately, but she offered no rebuttal. As for me, I scoffed at the choice of gifts. Rather than assassins, wouldn't an explosive letter or a bomb in a parcel disguised as a gift be a more effective way of killing her? These enemies really didn't have any imagination. Then again, none of them probably watched television since such things didn't exist in Restia.

Alicia had turned away, and her voice turned cold as she determinedly raised her bloodied right hand in anger.

"I don't know who they are, but they will pay for ever conceiving the notion of trying to assassinate me."

"Yes," Rebecca agreed. "I'll inform your father right away."

"No, Rebecca. Please don't mention this to my father."

"!"

Rebecca swallowed at the order, looking unsure as she watched Alicia slowly saunter back to the academy halls.

"Is that really fine?"

"I'm the daughter of Clarence."

Yeah, so what? One of these days, she was going to get herself killed with her recklessness and incompetence.

"A problem of this scale, I can solve it by myself."

Like hell you could. Have you forgotten who had to save your life when you got your throat cut?! If I wasn't around, you would have died minutes ago, bleeding to death pathetically like a bitch in heat as blood gushed out of your neck…

"This is a problem beyond your capabilities, Alicia-sama!" Rebecca argued. "Your very safety is at stake here! I cannot allow you to be reckless…"

"You know as well as I do that they will keep sending assassins after my life," Alicia interrupted.

"That's exactly why…"

"I know. But I plan to capture the next assassin and then interrogate him to find out the identity of the mastermind."

And how are you supposed to do that? Firstly, I had doubts that Alicia would actually succeed in capturing an assassin alive even if she somehow miraculously survived a second assassination attempt. Secondly, even if she succeeded, how was she going to extract the information from such trained assassins? Torture?

"I will definitely make them regret it."

"I think you'll be the one regretting your recklessness in the far future."

"I agree with Tanaka-sama."

"It's useless, Rebecca. I have already made up my mind. How can I succeed my father as the head of House Clarence if I can't even solve a trivial issue like this?"

Girl, this was definitely not a trivial issue…

"Alicia-sama, please reconsider. This is not something you can handle on your own. We need to alert our retinue…"

"Like I said, Rebecca, I don't want to. I will catch my assassins with my own hands."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

Alicia smiled. "I plan to bait them out, and then subdue them."

"That's too dangerous."

"Of course. But that's what life is about. We have to take risks or we'll never be able to win."

"Not this kind of risks!"

"Ahem." I cleared my throat. "As much as I want to leave, I think the two of you should hold this discussion at home."

"Tanaka-sama is right." Rebecca nodded reluctantly. "We should return home as soon as possible."

"…yeah. I need to do some preparations at home too." Alicia had no choice but to agree too.

I glanced at the surroundings and frowned. It might just be me being paranoid, but somehow I felt like we were being watched. By other assassins? It wouldn't surprise me if the rival noble houses hired multiple assassins.

Why stop at one? They knew that a single assassin might fail, after all.

"I'll escort you girls home for now."

"Eh?! Thank you!"

Alicia was delighted. Rebecca bowed politely and gratefully.

"I appreciate your assistance very much. Please, allow me to express my gratitude."

"Sure! Let's invite Tanaka to stay over for the night! Rebecca, arrange a room!"

"No. I will not be staying over." I was firm. "I have prior appointments and things to do. After I escort you home, I will be returning to the academy to settle my personal matters."

Damn it, I came here to see Nagano Nanaka, but now I ended up being sidetracked by this. I had no choice but to make a round trip and return to the academy after this.

As expected, Alicia was disappointed.

"Eh?! I don't mind if you stay over for the night, though!"

No, but I mind. Now quit that or I might seriously change my mind. I had much better things to do than to babysit a spoilt noble girl. I still had to meet the Iron Knights and get my revenge on Kobayashi.

"Well, let's go."

I was on a schedule and I didn't want to waste any more time, so I glanced at Rebecca and beckoned for her to lead the way.

*

Fortunately, the Clarence mansion wasn't far from the academy. We managed to reach the heavily guarded gates before I knew it.

Stopping in front of the gates, I bowed before stepping back to watch the two girls enter Clarence territory.

"Eh…come on…just for tonight? Please! At least let me introduce you to my father!"

"Look, I don't know how many times I've to repeat myself, but I have no intention of becoming your fiancé."

"Eh!? Why not?! Am I not good enough?!"

More like I wasn't good enough for her. The truth was, I didn't even like her that much. I found her pretty annoying. I might have warmed up to her slightly because she was less bitchy and condescending than before, but that didn't mean I would suddenly develop romantic feelings for her. This wasn't some light novel where such convenient bullshit happened.

"At least have dinner with my family! I should at least do that much to express my thanks to you for saving my life."

You think I didn't see that move coming? I knew that was a trap to lure me into the confines of her mansion and foist the whole marriage thing upon me.

"Come on…I really want you to be my husband."

"I'm sorry, but that's impossible. After all, he's my fiancé."

All three of us jumped at the sudden voice. While Alicia and Rebecca were absolutely astonished, I frowned when I realized I recognized the familiar voice.

"…Lilith-san? What are you doing here?"

Turning around, I gaped as the gorgeous, red-haired vampire queen stepped out from the shadows, focusing her intense gaze on a trembling Alicia.