I dodged to the side, feeling the wind from the weapon pass close to my face. I countered with a fast jab aimed at her face. She sidestepped it casually, laughing.
How can this woman be so skilled and agile? I honestly thought that being a woman who tried to be cute and elegant, she wouldn't know how to fight. This will be the last time I judge someone just by their looks.
"Is that all?" she taunted, lunging with another stab, this time toward my side.
This time, instead of dodging, I blocked with my gauntlet. The stiletto scraped against the steel with an unpleasant screech. I did this to get closer to her.
Taking advantage of our proximity, I deflected the stabs she threw at me and lunged at her. I grabbed the wrist holding the stiletto with my left hand, squeezing with all my strength until I heard a crunch. She screamed, in pain and surprise.
My other fist, wrapped in crimson aura, slammed into her stomach.
The air left her lungs with a sickening gasp. Her eyes widened in disbelief. The green aura around her flickered and vanished suddenly. She doubled over, staggering.
I didn't wait for her to recover. A hook to the jaw sent her to the ground, unconscious. Wanting to make sure she couldn't do anything else, I decided to take her weapon; I didn't want her launching a surprise attack if she got up.
I turned toward the other fight. Rossette and Alexander were evenly matched, swords clashing in a deadly dance of gold and blue light. He was technically superior, but she was relentless, using every inch of her body and the environment to her advantage. She was bleeding from a cut on her shoulder, but her expression was fierce.
"!!!!!!ARTHUR!!!!!!"
A crazed scream erupted from Alexander's mouth as he noticed Elizabeth had fallen. All his hatred was now directed at me. Even as a novice, I knew he had just made a mistake.
Rossette saw an opening. She blocked a downward strike with visible effort, deflecting Alexander's sword into the ground where it sank deep into the earth. In the second it took him to free it, she spun and delivered a low, brutal kick to his knee.
A dull crunch echoed. Alexander screamed, falling to his knees, his face contorted in a grimace of agony.
Shouts from the mercenaries were getting closer from the mansion. Time was running out. Elizabeth lay unconscious near me. Alexander was at our mercy. But killing the crown prince… that wasn't just a scandal; it would be a death sentence for both of us.
"Rossette, I think we should call it here and leave."
At that precise moment, a thunder of hooves and shouted orders shattered the night. Before the mercenaries could reach the clearing, a dozen riders clad in the liveries of House Moriarte and House Crimson burst from among the trees, swords drawn, faces hard as steel.
Seriously, the damn reinforcements just arrived. A little later and we would have made it home on our own.
At the head rode Duke Moriarte and, at his side, Duke Crimson. It seemed both fathers had arrived just in time.
"FATHER!" Rossette was the first to shout, excited but not lowering her sword from Alexander's neck.
"What is the meaning of this?" Duke Moriarte's voice boomed across the clearing. His gaze swept the scene: his daughter with a sword at the prince's throat, me bleeding, and Elizabeth completely knocked out a little to the side. The mercenaries who had just arrived ground to a halt upon seeing the reinforcements and the dukes and their guards. They lowered their weapons immediately, confusion and fear replacing their aggression. They weren't prepared to face the highest-ranking nobility.
"These traitors attacked me! Arrest them! That's an order from your prince!"
Damn, even wounded and tired he can still talk. Honestly, this is a complicated situation because the scene really does look like we attacked him.
Duke Crimson dismounted, walking forward. His gaze didn't settle on Alexander, but on me, on my wounds, on the blood, and then on Rossette, unharmed but with a face smudged with dirt and determination.
David approached me. "Son, tell me what happened here. Tell me, why is the Crown Prince kneeling before Rossette, and why are you so wounded?"
"Answering your first question, he and Elizabeth organized our kidnapping. His mercenaries brought us here. They were going to kill us or worse. We were kidnapped when they crashed something into our carriage."
Duke Moriarte's eyes settled on Elizabeth, then on Alexander, and finally on the mercenaries, who looked like they wanted to sink into the earth.
"Your Highness, you are gravely injured and evidently confused. Your accusations are... grave. But those of my future son-in-law and my future daughter-in-law are equally so. And, to be completely honest, my daughter and her fiancé have much evidence on their side. So please, accompany us."
"Yes, Your Highness. The King will be very interested in hearing all accounts of the events, especially yours."
Alexander understood. The color drained completely from his face, mixing with the pain from his knee. He knew he was lost.
The dukes' guards moved with efficiency, disarming and arresting the mercenaries, helping—or rather, escorting—Alexander onto a horse, and carrying the still-unconscious Elizabeth.
David and Joseph approached us. "Rossette, are you alright?"
"Yes, all thanks to Arthur. He's the one who got the most hurt in all this."
They both looked at me, David with a big smile and Joseph with a nod. Finally, they noticed I'm injured. So please, help me.
"Come, that wound needs attention, and we have a long night of explanations ahead of us before the King."
I looked at Rossette. She looked back at me, exhausted but victorious. The nightmare was over. The battle, however, had moved to a different arena: that of politics and the court.
∆∆∆
The journey back to the palace was a silent, tense procession. Alexander, pale and sweating, was escorted on a litter by his own father's guards, a fact that must have burned him more than his shattered knee. Elizabeth, now conscious but gagged after an attempt to scream more accusations, traveled with her gaze fixed on the ground, without even the strength to summon her aura.
Though if she did, she'd be completely subdued by all the guards around. I, on the other hand, was covered in bandages with medicine on them to help my body heal quickly.
The great doors of the royal palace opened for us, but not for a celebration. The news had already spread like wildfire. Courtiers with curious and alarmed faces crowded the hallways, whispering among themselves as our grim procession advanced toward the throne room.
The King was already on his throne, his face a mask of impassive granite. Beside him, the Queen, pale, twisted a handkerchief in her fingers. The royal council, including the other important nobles, formed a solemn semicircle behind them. The atmosphere was so heavy it was hard to breathe.
We stopped in the center of the room, under the scrutinizing gaze of everyone. The guards deposited Alexander before the steps of the throne, where he collapsed, unable to stand. Elizabeth was forced to kneel beside him.
"SILENCE!" The King's roar cut through the air like a whip, making the entire room shudder. His gaze, laden with icy disappointment and fury, swept over his son, then Elizabeth, and finally settled on Rossette and me. "David. Joseph. Explain this... spectacle."
David stepped forward. "Your Majesty, tonight, my son Arthur and his fiancée, Lady Rossette Moriarte, were kidnapped by mercenaries on their way back to Crimson Manor after the ball. They were taken to a safe house in the northern woods with clearly hostile intentions."
"Fortunately, the young Arthur managed to defend himself and free my daughter, demonstrating exceptional courage. Upon arriving with our guards, we found His Highness the Prince and Lady Elizabeth at the scene, apparently... overseeing the operation."
The King scrutinized Alexander.
"IT'S A LIE! THOSE TWO ATTACKED ELIZABETH AND ME FIRST WITH THE CLEAR INTENT TO KILL US!"
Will this King believe him? After all, he's his son, and I don't think he'll try to leave him without an out.
"Stop shouting." At that moment, Alexander shrank back in fear. "Alexander, if they are lying, answer me this one question: What were you and Elizabeth doing in such a remote place after the party ended?"
Alexander was speechless. That was the only question that mattered, as they shouldn't have been in such a secluded forest. At that moment, Elizabeth stood up.
"We were just taking a stroll together. After that, we were attacked by Rossette and Arthur along with those mercenaries."
At that moment, David stepped forward. "Then, Lady Elizabeth, are you saying they hired mercenaries to crash into themselves, injure themselves, then beat you up, and when they left the house, they all together hurt you, who just happened to be taking a walk exactly where they were kidnapped, all while you were carrying weapons?"
"I, uh—" Elizabeth could only stammer.
"Alexander, do you have anything to add?" The prince opened his mouth, but the words died on his lips. He saw the evidence. He saw the dukes united against him. He saw the cold determination in his father's eyes. There was no way out.
He lowered his head, defeated.
The Queen sobbed, bringing the handkerchief to her mouth.
The King closed his eyes for a moment, as if bearing the weight of the entire kingdom. Then he opened them, and his gaze was iron.
"Lady Elizabeth, for conspiracy to kidnap and the potential murder of members of the high nobility, you are under arrest and will be imprisoned pending a trial." Elizabeth's screams were quickly muffled as the guards took her away.
Then the King turned to his son. "Alexander, Crown Prince of Pomelia. Your foolishness, your arrogance, and your attempt to use force against your own subjects... are unforgivable."
The room held its breath.
"You are unworthy of your title. Effective immediately, you are disinherited and exiled. You will leave Pomelia at dawn and never return."
A collective gasp ran through the room. It was a brutal sentence. Alexander turned ashen, looking at his father with absolute disbelief and horror. He had lost everything.
"Lord Arthur and Lady Rossette, I deeply regret everything my son has caused. As a father, I hope you can forgive me for not raising my son better."
It was over. We had won.
As we left the hall, escorted by our parents and the astonished murmurs of the court, Rossette moved closer to me.
"Exile. A fitting end for someone who wanted to impose it on us."
I nodded. The system in my vision blinked softly.
[Mission: Change the Villainess's Ending – COMPLETED] [Reward:3000 SP, 5 Stat Points, [???] – Return to World of Origin Activated]