Chapter 90 In the Light Capital… False Accusation!？ Part ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Kanata trudged through a deserted back alley, the unconscious girl still slung across his back like a heavy secret.
It was broad daylight, but the main streets were too risky—they’d draw every eye in the city. And with her being “kidnapped” and all, who knew what kind of stares or whispers would follow?
”Man… why the hell am I stuck doing this?”
He grumbled under his breath, but his steps stayed steady.
The girl on his back was out cold, though every so often she’d let out a soft sigh—like a flicker of relief, or maybe whispering for someone in her dreams.
(Take her to the castle, huh? Well, better than those creeps she was with.)
That’s when it happened, right as he rounded the corner.
A shadow slithered into view ahead of him.
Several figures in deep hoods, blocking the alley like they’d been lying in wait from the start.
”You guys…”
He recognized them instantly. The bunch who’d cornered him on the bustling street earlier, grilling him about a “dark green-haired girl.” He’d flat-out told them he didn’t know anything.
But now, here he was, carrying that exact girl on his back.
(…Yeah. From where they’re standing, this looks bad. Real bad.)
Kanata started to force a bitter smile, opening his mouth to explain.
”It’s not what you think. I was just—”
Smack.
A sharp, dry crack echoed off the walls.
”…!”
Pain bloomed across his left cheek. The girl’s small hand had whipped out from his back, slapping him hard.
”—Liar!”
Her raspy voice stabbed into his ear, trembling with fear, fury, and the raw sting of betrayal.
”You said… you didn’t know me! I begged you… to help me!”
Before Kanata could scrape together a response, the air up ahead shifted—like a storm front rolling in.
From the hooded group, one figure stepped forward—a tall woman radiating cold authority. A longsword hung at her hip, her slender white fingers tightening slowly on the hilt.
A whoosh of tension sliced the air, sharp as a whip crack.
Killing intent rolled off her in waves, visible almost, rising from her boots like smoke.
”…You’re the one who took her.”
Her voice was ice, echoing down the alley.
(…This is the worst.)
Kanata thought it, but excuses wouldn’t fly now. The guy who’d sworn he knew nothing was toting the girl like a trophy, and she’d just screamed “liar” loud enough for the gods to hear.
He was the perp. End of story.
”…Just listen. If you’d let me explain—no, hear me out.”
Kanata raised his hands a fraction, forcing his voice calm. Fighting with a girl on his back? Suicide.
But the women ignored him completely.
The killing vibe sharpened, the wind dying to nothing, silence swallowing even the distant city hum.
Her hand hovered on the sword—seconds from drawing.
(Damn… how do I thread this needle?)
In that razor-edge moment, Kanata scanned for options, hunting a way out that wasn’t words or steel—a third path.
”I’m not the bad guy here. I just saved this girl from the real kidnappers.”
He lowered his hands slow and easy, easing the girl off his back and onto her feet.
At the motion, the girl who’d slapped him bolted forward, throwing herself between them like a shield—hiding her little sister behind her back, glaring daggers at Kanata.
”Remia! Remia!”
”I’m telling you, I saved her,” Kanata repeated, hands still out.
But his words bounced right off the woman with the longsword.
”I don’t buy it. Don’t lie to me.”
She yanked the blade free in a flash, leveling it at his chest—the tip quivering just a hair, hungry for blood.
”Guess talking’s off the table…”
Kanata clenched his jaw, steeling for the fight.
That’s when it came.
”Wait!”
A quiet voice sliced through the standoff like a cool breeze.
Another hooded girl wedged herself between Kanata and the swordswoman—small, but steady.
”We shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Let’s talk this out, okay?”
Her eyes held a calm fire, unyielding.
The alley fell into an odd hush.
The girl introduced herself as Cecilia. Silver hair cascaded to her waist, swaying as she spoke, her youthful face belying the fierce aqua-green resolve in her gaze.
”Fighting won’t solve anything. I don’t think he’s lying. Let’s hear him out first.”
The swordswoman paused, then—reluctantly—sheathed her blade with a slow rasp.
Kanata explained the whole mess under the girl’s burning stare, keeping it straightforward.
”I spotted her getting nabbed by those thugs and stepped in. When they asked earlier? I really didn’t know her yet.”
The woman frowned, but nodded—just barely buying it.
”Fine. But we’ll sort this at the Royal Palace. Street talk doesn’t cut it.”
”Wait, the palace is—”
Kanata started, but her sharp look shut him down.
”This is an order. You don’t get a choice.”
Her tone was steel—cold, immovable.
No way around it. Kanata nodded, falling in with the hooded crew as they marched to the palace.
They passed through the towering castle walls, down echoing halls, until he was shoved into an interrogation room.
The heavy door slammed shut behind him, leaving him alone in the dim space.
And then…
* * *
”Stubborn bastard! Spit it out already!”
That’s how it went down. After they dragged him in for “questioning,” this Kaz Desk guy—the interrogator who’d been introduced earlier in the palace—the smug prick across from him now—started in with torture disguised as an interview.
…Should’ve minded my own business.
Kanata’s thought trailed off as darkness tugged at his vision…
Splash.
Ice-cold water hit him like a slap from winter itself, jolted him awake.
”Don’t think passing out will save you!”
Thud! Thud!
Gut-wrenching agony exploded in his solar plexus.
That girl… she was taken by… those men back there. I’m… not… involved.
Kanata forced the words out, hoarse and ragged. How many times had he said it?
But Kaz wasn’t listening—just hammering for a confession, over and over.
From the snippets of chatter during the beatdown, Kanata pieced it together: those thugs? Someone had offed them after he left. He’d knocked them out, sure, but not killed them.
So whoever finished the job? Had to be in on the princess snatch—maybe the ringleader’s muscle.
How is this so damn obvious?
He clung to the puzzle to block the pain, but his thoughts were fuzzing out.
The punches stopped at some point… or maybe he just couldn’t feel them anymore?
Whatever. Doesn’t matter.
Numbness crept in. Vision blurred—someone nearby, talking, reaching for him.
”Don’t… touch me.”
It was all he could muster before blacking out.
”What the hell is this?!”
Enis stormed into the dungeon cell, fury boiling over at the sight.
Chained to the wall: the boy who’d saved Remia-hime. One look screamed “torture,” not “questioning.”
”I ordered you to treat him with respect!”
”Yeah, and that’s exactly what I did—proper hospitality.” Kaz smirked, all breezy. “Kidnapping royalty’s a death sentence, y’know. Even listening to his crap is me going soft.”
”I specifically told you he’s likely the princess’s savior. Hell, I heard it straight from Remia-hime herself—that this boy pulled her out of that mess.”
”Huh, so the princess is awake now? That’s great news.” Kaz waved it off like it was nothing, all smug deflection. “But hey, I was just doing my job, loyal as ever.”
”Forget that—get him down from there, now!”
Cecilia burst past Enis, her voice cracking as she rushed to Kanata’s side.
”I’m so sorry! I’m sorry—hold on, I’ll heal you right now!”
She dropped to her knees beside him as they unchained his limp form, hands glowing with preparatory magic.
”Don’t… touch me.”
He swatted her hand away weakly. But that flicker of resistance drained him dry—he crumpled to the stone floor like a puppet with cut strings.
”No—Rubina-sama, lend me your strength… Heal!”
Soft light bloomed in Cecilia’s palms, spilling over Kanata’s battered body in a warm cascade.
But whatever they’d done to him… it was brutal. Even Cecilia’s renowned healing—famed for mending the gravest wounds in a flash—could only knit a few gashes on the first try.
”Heal! Heal!”
She layered the spells, one after another, until his breathing evened out. Only then could they carry him to a guest room, away from the stink of the dungeon.
”I’m sorry. Truly, I’m so sorry.”
Cecilia lingered by his bedside, clutching his hand as he slept, pouring every last drop of her mana into one final Heal.
…Huh?
When Kanata cracked his eyes, the first thing he saw was an old chandelier—polished to a shine despite its age—hanging from a pristine white ceiling. Nothing familiar about it.
”Unknown ceiling, huh…”
He muttered the cliché for kicks. No cosmic response, no punchline. Lame.
”Hm?”
He shifted to sit up and froze—a weird tug. The source? His hand, wrapped in someone else’s grip.
She was slumped over the bed’s edge, half-dozing with her upper body pillowed on the sheets.
Cecilia, right?
Those aqua-green eyes flashed in his mind—steady, unshakeable. Shame they were hidden now, under closed lids. Gently, he brushed a strand of her soft silver hair aside.
The full picture didn’t click yet, but he could guess: she’d pulled him from that hellhole. Or maybe the princess woke up and cleared his name?
Either way… didn’t matter.
She was here. His body ached way less—proof enough she’d patched him up.
”So… what’s the play now?”
Truth was, Kanata had come to Rubia Dukedom to size it up firsthand—what kind of place it really was. And yeah, he’d gotten an up-close-and-personal taste of one noble’s true colors.
That alone? He’d have no qualms torching the whole damn duchy.
But…
This girl’s probably tied to the Saint somehow.
He needed more dirt on Rubina Faith before locking in a verdict.
Notes:
• Rem – Rem, a timid slave girl, pairs with Mito, her fearful obedience a desperate bid to survive Kanata’s dominion. Appears after raid dungeon.
• Rubia Dukedom – A small nation between Mercuria and Flora, first cited in Chapter 38 during Kanata, Elriese, and Alusia’s dungeon-strategy talk. It hosts one ruin-linked Dungeon targeted because Kanata—following Elriese’s advice and Kuu-chan’s records—seeks control of Dungeons (direct cause) to gain their power (underlying cause); Kanata plans to pressure swift surrender; connection: future conquest; no known direct relationships; defining trait: strategically sandwiched.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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