Chapter 275

Rosemary was being attacked by an Abnormal Bird in a life-or-death moment.

Kurt and his party waited anxiously in the carriage, silently anticipating their arrival at the destination.

Breaking the tense silence, Count Astram spoke first.

Kurt warned the powerless Count that going to a place infested with monsters would only put him in danger, but Count Astram insisted on coming, unable to wait safely while his daughter was in peril.

“Can you… save my daughter?”

“Honestly… I can’t guarantee her safety.”

“That’s absurd! Someone of your skill can’t possibly fail to defeat a single Abnormal Bird!”

Count Astram shouted in anger, but Kurt shook his head and explained.

“It’s not about whether I can defeat the Abnormal Bird. I can defeat it. But what I’m saying is whether I can save Rosemary unharmed. By the time she’s attacked, the soldiers rush to the Count’s Mansion, and we hear the news and arrive at the scene, significant time will have already passed.”

Kurt implied that even if he defeated the Abnormal Bird, it might already be too late by the time they arrived.

No matter how skilled Kurt was, he couldn’t save those who had already become the monster’s prey.

Realizing the implication, Count Astram’s face turned pale.

“But… you saved an adventurer from the Demon’s Hand, and they survived for a week!”

“That was because the Demon’s Hand had a peculiar habit of toying with its prey without killing them immediately. It wasn’t due to any skill of mine. And the chances of the Abnormal Bird having such a peculiar nature… are honestly not high.”

“Then…”

“That’s why I told you to wait at the mansion.”

With that, Count Astram fell silent, as if his soul had left his body. Kurt and his party also had nothing more to say.

The carriage headed toward the outskirts of Astram, where the Abnormal Bird had attacked, in silence.

…

When the carriage arrived at the outskirts of Astram in a gloomy atmosphere, they saw that the battle they thought would have ended long ago was still ongoing.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Kang!”

“Ugh…!”

The battlefield was littered with fallen soldiers who had been guarding Rosemary.

Only Rosemary remained conscious, but unlike Yuri, she was a typical noble lady with no combat skills.

Her fate was sealed the moment the soldiers fell.

If not for one person who intervened.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Kang!”

“Kang!”

Seeing the battlefield, Kurt’s party and Count Astram finally realized why Karina had been missing.

…

During lunchtime, when Rosemary stormed out of the restaurant, it wasn’t noticeable, but someone else had been even more mentally shocked than her.

That person was Karina.

While everyone had their reasons for being shocked during lunch, Karina’s mental shock was on a different level.

Count Astram was just having a bad day with his usual hobbies.

Kurt was shocked by the noble family’s meal standards, but it was something he could quickly get over.

But Karina’s shock was different.

She had left her hometown and come to Astram, working as an adventurer for years to build her reputation.

All to earn a noble title as an adventurer.

But if the noble lady she aspired to be was nothing more than a fantasy inflated by storybooks.

What had she been working for all these years?

It was a shock that negated her entire life.

Like a soldier who had been serving diligently only to find out they hadn’t even been officially enlisted.

In that state of shock, Karina quietly left the restaurant while everyone was distracted by Rosemary.

She wandered aimlessly until she saw Rosemary running out of the mansion with soldiers.

Without thinking, Karina followed her.

Rosemary was the first “proper” noble lady Karina had met.

She wanted to confirm with Rosemary.

She rationalized that Count Astram must have misunderstood, hoping Rosemary would tell her that the noble lady fantasy wasn’t a lie.

But as she followed, the unusual atmosphere around Rosemary made her hesitate to speak.

Perhaps deep down, Karina already knew.

That Count Astram’s words made sense.

It was impossible for someone as frail as Rosemary to clean and cook in such a large mansion.

Yes.

A proper noble lady would live a life far less exposed to physical labor than ordinary people.

So Karina followed Rosemary to the outskirts of Astram but couldn’t bring herself to ask her anything.

Before she knew it, Karina was lost in her own thoughts.

What snapped her out of it was a girl’s scream.

“Kyaaaah!”

Only then did Karina realize the situation around her.

She saw the fallen soldiers, Rosemary with a wounded leg, and an Abnormal Bird attacking her.

Without thinking, Karina’s body moved before her mind.

…

Standing in place of the fallen soldiers, protecting Rosemary.

That was Karina.

“Ugh…!”

“Kang!”

“Kang!”

Karina was a Silver Rank Adventurer.

Her strength far surpassed the unconscious soldiers of the Count’s Mansion.

That’s why she could withstand dozens of the Abnormal Bird’s attacks.

But that was all.

The Abnormal Bird’s rank was Silver.

And Karina’s adventurer rank was also Silver.

But monster ranks are based on a four-person team, not an individual.

Meaning, it takes four Silver Rank Adventurers to defeat one Abnormal Bird.

Karina was only holding out because she was a top-tier Silver Rank Adventurer and a frontline warrior.

“I can’t hold out much longer! Run while you can!”

“But then you…!”

Karina urged Rosemary to flee while struggling against the Abnormal Bird.

Despite her fear, Rosemary couldn’t bring herself to abandon Karina.

Even though she had been rude during lunch, Karina had still risked her life to save her.

Rosemary’s sharp words had been due to recent events, but she wasn’t inherently cruel.

She couldn’t leave Karina to face danger alone.

“I’ll be fine! I’m a Silver Rank Adventurer! I can take care of myself!”

Karina forced a smile, but it was clearly a bluff.

Seeing Rosemary’s expression, Karina realized her bluff hadn’t worked and smiled wryly.

“Then how about this? You go to call for help. I can’t defeat this monster alone, so go and bring reinforcements. As the lady of Astram, you can surely bring soldiers.”

“Alright… I’ll bring help! Don’t fall until then!”

Finally persuaded, Rosemary nodded firmly and, despite the pain in her leg, hurried toward Astram.

But at that moment.

“No need for that.”

A voice, not loud but clear, cut through the noisy battlefield.

It was a voice Rosemary had heard recently.

Before she could remember where,

“Kwaang!!!”

A terrifying explosion shook the ground where Karina and the Abnormal Bird were fighting, the impact strong enough to reach Rosemary.

The ground trembled, and the sound was deafening.

Was it a passing Archmage’s spell?

Or had Astram’s soldiers fired a siege weapon to save her?

No.

It was Kurt.