Chapter 29: These are Bandits! Not Toys!

“We have captured them,” Jadenbale said as he returned at dawn.

The group had launched a night assault after learning about the cave in the forest. Despite being outnumbered four to one, the bandits fought to the end. The battle left nearly twenty of the knights injured.

In the heat of combat, five bandits were slain. When over ten knights had been wounded, they realized they couldn’t afford to go easy. Jadenbale then took the charge to kill the first bandit. They had orders to capture the bandits alive—but in the end, they only took half of them prisoner. It was humiliating.

Nevertheless, the knights had fulfilled their duty. Thanks to Elidranthia's healing, the knights could hide the fact that over half of their men were injured.

“Wow… they all fought to the end? They were braver than Lain,” Alicia remarked, her venomous tongue landing a hit on the female knight beside her.

“I said I’m sorry, alright! This was not my main job! I admit I was scared, but I didn’t run! I fought until the end too!”

“Sorry, sorry. I spoke without thinking.” Alicia gave a quick bow. Alicia meant that as a joke. When she caught Lain being flustered, she retracted her joke with an apology. The knights chuckled. Feeling fear in the heat of battle was normal. Most people in Shadowstep were already immune to it, but since this was Lain’s first life and death battle, they understood.

“Argh!!” a knight groaned as Eli worked on setting his broken bone with light magic.

“Alright! You’re good to go,” Eli said, tapping his shoulder.

The knight rotated his arm, feeling had returned to it. No pain. He bowed in gratitude.

“Thank you, Lady Elidranthia. I apologize for our lack of skill. To be wounded by mere bandits, even though we outnumbered them four to one… it’s humiliating.”

“So, are you sure these are the ones?” Eli asked, turning to Jadenbale, who had been observing the captured men in their makeshift prison.

“Yes, Loharn confirmed it. After this, we’ll investigate whether they’re part of a known bandit group. I suspect they belong to an infamous troupe that’s been active in the southern realm—near the Western Frontier.”

“Were these bandits hired by Duke Luca?”

“We shouldn’t accuse a duke without solid evidence, Milady,” Jadenbale replied. Eli nodded. His nuance might have flown over Alicia’s head, but Eli was a smart girl.

“I see…” Eli sighed and turned to leave—only to overhear a soldier whispering to another nearby.

“In their hideout, we found a map, their loot… and living slaves.”

“Slaves?” Eli froze. Her expression darkened.

“They are citizens who were kidnapped and sold as slaves,” Loharn said. He turned away, his brow furrowed and lips tight with frustration. “Many were children—probably taken from nearby villages. I’ll investigate further. Once we can track their family, we shall return them.”

“Huh? But slavery is illegal in Althemer! Who were they selling them to?” Eli’s eyes widened in disbelief. She had thought these bandits were the type to rob the rich or ambush merchant caravans—maybe kill a few resisting guards. But this? This has crossed the line.

“Slavery isn’t illegal in barbarian countries,” Jadenbale said, frowning. “They likely planned to smuggle these people across the border to be sold.”

Elidranthia clenched her teeth, her hand gripping the dagger at her side as she shot a murderous glare at the bandits. She should have killed them. But her father had ordered they be taken alive. So, all she could do was glare.

“Hey… You need me alive, right?” the bandit leader sneered. “Let me live and I’ll give you whatever confession you want. Just hand me the script.”

He chuckled, leaning back against the prison bars. “It was a mistake to come to your shitty little land. I swear I won’t ‘invade’ again. Nothing worth stealing here anyway.”

“Watch your mouth, scum!” Loharn snapped, thrusting his blade dangerously close to the bandit’s neck.

Eli narrowed her eyes. She recognized that look—the relaxed expression, the arrogant posture. She’d seen it before, back in her old life. Criminals backed by someone powerful. Sometimes they were corrupt police. Sometimes they were influential politicians. Either way, these men were too calm. Too smug. That’s how Eli knew they were protected.

“Yes, yes, Milord,” the bandit leader mocked, still grinning. He knew they couldn’t kill him.

Eli drew her dagger.

These bastards wouldn’t confess. Even if they did, who would believe them? And if they lived, they’d find a way to twist things—to slither out of punishment, to cause more problems later.

She should end it. Right now.

The dagger rushed. Toward the man’s chest.

“Eli! Don’t!” Alicia cried out, grabbing her wrist just before the dagger could plunge into the bandit’s chest.

Eli looked at her, breathing heavily, pain written across her face.

“... Yeah. I shouldn’t.” Eli took a few deep breaths before dropping the dagger. It clunked against the stone floor. The room fell silent. Eli reminded herself. She must not act rashly. She wasn’t a queen. This country wasn’t hers. If she killed these bandits—and they really were backed by a powerful duke—she would risk her entire territory… and possibly triggering a civil war. She couldn’t afford that.

Eli sighed and walked away. The anger still boiled inside her, but she knew she was helpless. The knights followed her one by one. No one desired to entertain these bandits anymore.

Alicia, however, didn’t leave. She stared at the bandit.

“What a creepy bitch. Her eyes were totally messed up. How can you even serve someone like that?” the bandit scoffed. “Hey, girl. I know someone in the capital who’d pay you a lot. Instead of rotting away in this nowhere town, how about working with us? Or better yet—be my adjutant. I’ll give you half the loot on our next raid.”

Alicia was about to follow them. But the bandit leader had to push his luck.

“She was seriously going to kill me, wasn’t she? That chick’s insane. You shouldn’t stick around her. She’ll betray you one day—just like all nobles do. Trust me, I know. I served one once too. Snake in human skin. Cast me out like trash and even sent assassins after me.”

That was the last straw.

“Listen here, you little shit,” Alicia picked the dagger and held the bound bandit by the scruff of his neck. “I just saved your sorry ass, and that’s how you repay me? By mocking her?”

“Elidranthia is a kind girl, alright? She might be a little psycho, but she can’t help it! She just needs someone to lead her down the right path!”

The bandit’s offer didn’t interest Alicia in the slightest. Sure, she acted like a moneygrubber on the surface—but what she really craved was recognition. She wanted people to see her, to acknowledge her worth. Getting rich was never the end goal. It was merely proof that she was valued.

She aspired to be a hero and to get rich. A ridiculous dream in her past life. But now? It just might be possible. No, it was a foregone conclusion. She was a level 8 mage, after all.

“Oi. You can’t kill me, right?” the bandit said with a grin, but sweat started pouring from his head. “I’m your valuable intel, remember? Don’t you want to know who sent me to kidnap your dear old dad?”

“I can’t kill you,” Alicia said, tilting her head while smiling. “But I can stab you a few times, right? You don’t need hands or feet to confess. Besides, you’re just going to lie, aren’t you? I need the truth.”

The bandit’s earlier smugness vanished. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

“Hah!” Alicia plunged her dagger into his palm. Then, with a grunt of effort, she began sawing off his pinky finger. Daggers weren’t meant for cutting through bone, so it took time and force. Blood sprayed onto her maid uniform. But eventually, the pinky dropped to the ground.

“ARGH!!! I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Stop it!!” the leader yelled. His composure was gone in an instant. He realized the maid and her master were both psychos.

“I heard screaming. Alicia, what’s going on in here?” The prison door swung open.

“Erm…”

“... What are you doing?” Eli blinked, stunned for a moment. Jadenbale and the others followed close behind her. Alicia turned away, avoiding the judgmental stare Eli shot her.

“Uhh… I was… punishing him. No—educating him! I may have gone a bit overboard. Could you, um, fix his finger? Tee hee…”

“You’re the one who said killing was bad earlier…”

“Killing is bad! But education isn’t! He’s a bandit, right? People punish their kids when they do something wrong, don’t they?”

“I see…” one knight chuckled. Alicia was always full of surprises. One would wonder why this method hadn’t crossed them until now. The answer was simple; they weren’t trained to. There was another division of knights specialized for this. Most of the knights here were combat knights, so they knew nothing about torture.

“Should we make an example of them? Bandits are usually hanged, but we could settle for a few lashes. Maybe a missing limb or two. That’s lenient, really—considering they tried to kill a knight.”

“Ah.” Eli nodded. She suddenly remembered: this was a medieval world, not a modern one. Prisons weren’t for punishment—they were just holding cells. Real punishment came later: forced labor in the mines, flogging, or execution.

Eli realized then—this country didn’t run on laws. The nobles were the law. And corporal punishment wasn’t just common here… it was expected.

“This isn’t punishment—it’s interrogation!” Eli declared, raising her hand. “We need to find out who sent these bandits first. Yes, my father told us to keep them alive, but it’s fine to mete out some pain, right?” she added. “Ah, I want to practice my healing magic as well. You may cut off their arms or gouge their eyes. As long as you don’t kill them, it’s fine. I will fix them.”

She had no experience with torture, but she had overheard enough from other departments about how to coax confessions from criminals.

“Yes. Since their sentence has yet to be decided, we can frame this as an interrogation,” Jadenbale said with a nod.

Elidranthia grinned. In medieval times, it was common to use torture during interrogations.

“Wait! Wait! I’ll confess!” the bandit cried. “I was sent by a secret organization! That’s all I know—I swear! The mages were with them! They’re a big organization. You shouldn’t mess with them!”

“Oh, the Reapers, huh… They showed up early this time,” Alicia said. “Damn. He was so easy to break.”

“yeah. I barely had to use my mana.” Eli said.

“... Who are you? How do you know that name?” The captured mage beside the bandit leader narrowed his eyes. “They said you were just the daughter of some impoverished knight…”

“Alicia, was it one of your prophetic dreams again?” Jadenbale asked.

“... I don’t know anything,” Alicia replied with a shrug. “Just that they’re bad people.” She flitted her eyes away.

Jadenbale believed her. After all, there was no way a mere knight’s daughter could know about an underground organization that even Count Shadowstep and his intelligence network couldn’t uncover.

Nothing was known about the Reapers—their hierarchy, their methods, or their employers. Only rumors circulated: that they moved in the shadows, to kidnap, to kill, to make people vanish.

That was common knowledge among knights like Jadenbale.

But Elidranthia knew Alicia was lying.

Still, she appreciated the discretion. Alicia was hiding something—she’d grill her about it later.

“You’re lying,” Eli said, her eyes gleaming at the bandits. “Let’s cut off his arm.”

“But then we won’t be able to use him for labor later,” one knight pointed out. “Um… are you really willing to use your healing magic for bandits?”

“Yes. I don’t know if I can reattach their limbs. It’s fine to practice, right? Just make sure they don’t die,” Elidranthia said, her eyes glowed red. This time, the bandits knew they had screwed up. “For now, I want you to investigate their hideout. We must rescue anyone else they’ve kidnapped.”

Her smile betrayed her true motives. The red glow in her eyes as she looked down at the bandits sent shivers through even the most hardened knights. It had been a long time since Elidranthia had felt this way.

These bandits reminded her too much of the superiors she had once served under as a child soldier—cowards who abandoned their troops when things got rough, sacrificing pawns like her without a second thought. Eli had tried to cope, telling herself it was thanks to their betrayal that the FBI eventually took her in. But deep down, the hatred lingered. Still burned.

“Argh!! I swear, that’s all I know! What else do you want from me!"

Wails and screams reverberated the dungeon. The knights outside, the passersby in the crossing had heard them. But once they knew these bandits kidnapped children and sold them as slaves, any sympathy for them faded.

“We got what we needed, Lady Elidranthia—he gave us the location of their hideout. Should we stop?” Jadenbale asked.

“He broke rather easily, didn’t he? And for just an arm. Do you think he’s lying?”

“We can’t be sure unless we investigate the hideout ourselves.”

“Fine. We’ll hold on to his testimony. Move on to the mages—maybe we can learn something about how this secret organization operates. Let’s move on to other bandits.”

Several hours later.

Fifty dismembered limbs later—severed, reattached, and severed again—Elidranthia had pushed the prisoners to their limits. But even after such brutal interrogation, the mages and bandits gave nothing of value.

“I swear! That’s all I know!” one of them cried. “A Reaper contact reached out before the mission. We were paid in points, not gold! We don’t know where they’re based or who’s really in charge! I’ve told you everything! You have to protect me—they’ll kill me if they find out I talked! The Reapers don’t forgive leaks!”

“You’re mages! Why the hell are you working for criminals?” one of the knights barked. “Is the pay from legitimate work not enough? How damn greedy are you people?”

“I was poor,” the mage said, his voice shaking. “And once you’re in, there’s no way out. I swear! I have a mountain of debt left by my parents. If I don’t keep working, I’ll never be able to pay it off!”

“Debt?” Alicia perked up, her curiosity piqued. The mage’s story hit uncomfortably close to home.

“It’s from gambling. My dad made me a co-signer for his addiction when I was still a kid. Now I’m chained to his debt.”

“He’s from Duke Luca’s territory. The laws there are different—we can’t help him,” Jadenbale said bluntly.

“I understand,” Elidranthia replied, her voice cold. “It’s not like I’d forgive him anyway—not after what he did to those captives.” She tightened her grip on her dagger. Tragic past or not, it didn’t excuse the crimes he’d committed. And in a way, it stirred something inside her—because she, too, had blood on her hands. She, too, had once been desperate.

As she prepared to sever another limb, a sharp knock rang from the prison door.

“Lady Elidranthia,” a soldier from outside came in. “Count Shadowstep has returned. He requests that you, Alicia, and John accompany him to the capital immediately. The preliminary trial is about to begin.”

“Really? Good!” Eli turned toward the messenger and smiled.

The blood on her face and hands, mixed with the glow of her crimson eyes, sent the poor man tumbling backward in fear as he fell onto his backside.

“Alright! Let’s go!” Alicia said cheerfully, completely unfazed.