The Villainess Returns with a System-Chapter 126: The Swan’s Wake

Esmeralda’s shot sent shivers not only through the foundations of a building that collapsed over a bunch of Blackguards but into the very structure of Prince Liam’s faction.

The Bloody Swan was no longer a simple chess piece between the powers that be; she was a rogue card, a joker whose dance sent ripples through the stagnant waters. She had risen to be the very soul of conflict among the two factions at war: one fighting for an old world that must be preserved, and another fighting to destroy the old and build the new.

It was difficult to distinguish fact from fiction, even for those involved. Prince Liam’s faction and the Royal Guard now see the Bloody Swan as the symbol of the insurgency, the wings that must be clipped, and the mouth that must be gagged. On the other hand, the Kabal did not know what to do in this situation; they had never expected the Swan to be someone from their ranks, and the Court of Sages all pleaded ignorance regarding the Swan’s identity.

Within the Kabal, it was expected to hide the identities of one’s underlings, as each Familia managed by a Sage had its own secrets and confidentiality. Still, the Bloody Swan was too big of a deal, and all eyes were focused on Woodman, thinking that she was a member of his Familia.

On the other hand, Woodman was as shocked as the rest of them, but he had his own suspicions. What he saw that night from Vivian Moore suggested that she was no simple young lady—not that she ever was—but she was far greater of a surprise than what everyone anticipated.

The guns, the ruthlessness, the willingness to kill, and how wildly she acted and reacted. In his mind, he was painting an image where Vivian Moore and the Bloody Swan stood side by side, or rather, were one and the same.

It is natural for House Moore to possess this kind of talent. The House of Industry is surely great enough to survive with talents like these in a world where magic reigns supreme, but the simple notion of Vivian being the Bloody Swan was unacceptable by today’s standards; thus, the idea of the Swan being Vivian’s bodyguard that night was a more predominant opinion.

Woodman wasn’t sure how to act from that point onward. On one hand, he might actually be able to extort Vivian Moore, but on the other, she was already knee-deep in the conspiracy, and it was unwise to make an enemy of a potential ally who was known for her relentlessness against the Royal Faction.

Also, she had the Automaton, which she took as a guarantee for them not to blackmail her with her spellring, and now this big, juicy secret.

Under his mask, Woodman found himself grinning. Finally, another Moore who could play the game right.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Bloody Swan hit the Prince’s faction hard, and since she was now considered part of the Kabal, her wanted status had doubled, tripled, and quadrupled in one single night.

An excellent combatant, that was a given; a trickster with many toys, a skilled gunslinger, and now a magic user.

On her hand alone, four of the core members of the Prince’s faction were defeated in one single night.

Edmond Black suffered the most from both humiliation and injuries, Richard Marshall lost his prized horse to an evil gunshot, Ronald Morgan also lost his horse and his dignity as a Sorcerer, but the one who suffered the most was Ian Grayson.

Ian had the Blackguards under his command, and he skillfully navigated them, using their knowledge of the city, to block the Swan’s escape route. However, what seemed like a cannonball hit the building right next to them and collapsed it on top of their heads.

The losses were insane, but the casualties were almost none. Most of the Blackguards survived by a miracle, and only he was stranded alone as the Bloody Swan descended on him from the sky.

He took his blade and attempted to swing at her, but she was stronger than he was. He was a Bronze-ranked knight, but his combat experience was very lacking compared to how the Swan handled him.

She attacked with a very short blade, cutting his left ear from the side as he parried, then with a kick to his chest, he was knocked off his prized steed.

She then aimed her gun at him and fired, but he used his aura star at the nick of time to mitigate the bullet, yet he felt his ribs breaking. She fired again, and he used his last aura star to block with his hand raised, breaking the bullet’s trajectory from hitting his head, but it still went right through his right palm, leaving a nasty hole.

She was so hellbent on killing him, and if she had used something else, he would have had no means to defend, but right then and there, the Royal Guards seemed to have come from all sides of the streets, leaving her with no option but to run and break through.

Eventually, she escaped by the side of the Ralin, with reports that she jumped into the river and never came out.

Edmond and Ian were immediately carried to a nearby location where Valentine De Clare was preparing his grand business. The group barged in, and the most competent healer they knew was summoned; undoubtedly, it was Matilda Ambrose, the beloved of the seven charming princes, accompanied by Robert Moore, then followed shortly by Valentine, who came to see why this lot was invading his building. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

The seven and the heroine were all gathered in one place, four of whom were beaten and bruised, but as soon as Matilda started the process of healing, even the most grievous of wounds on Ian started to recover and regenerate.

The group then went silent, with Matilda too scared to ask anything, but it was Valentine who broke the ice.

"So, care to explain?" He spoke as he rested against his personal desk with his arms joined at his chest. "It is bad luck for my most prized customers to enter my Galleria a week before opening all bloodied and beaten, but you even dared drag fair lady Matilda along."

"Don’t you see it is a matter of grave importance?"

Robert Moore tried to retort, but Valentine glared at him.

"You shut up!" Valentine dismissed Robert with obvious hostility, knowing how badly he had insulted Vivian lately.

With obvious dissatisfaction, Valentine looked at the group.

"I’ll deal with you if you don’t stop acting like that." Richard raised his index finger while stepping toward Valentine, with his other hand on his hilt.

"Oh, really?" Valentine turned to Richard with a vicious stare. "I’ve always wanted to carve up a Marshall."

Two short swords suddenly appeared in Valentine’s left and right hands with a golden glow, indicating that they came out of a storage item, and he rotated them very skillfully around his hands, whereas Richard drew out his longsword right away.

"ENOUGH!"

CLANG!

CLATTER! CLANG!

As the two were going for each other like animals, the always calm and collected Prince suddenly waved his hand, and without being able to show a shred of resistance, their swords dropped from their hands with an overwhelming force, almost as if they were controlled by a mind of their own.

Something strange happened, and the two immediately stepped back, their heads lowered to the angered prince.

"I apologize, Your Highness," Valentine said.

"I was rude, Your Highness," Richard said.

The Prince seemed too annoyed to tolerate their squabble at the moment, which he wouldn’t mind any other day. Seeing Edmond and Ian like that made him on edge, as it was all out of his anticipation.

"If any of you know a solution to this, provide it right now. I need something to present to the Court meeting other than chasing ghosts," the Prince spoke with a harsh tone.

Valentine looked at the group and realized that one of their chases after insurgents had gone horribly wrong.

"Only the Bloody Swan’s head on a platter would atone for this debacle, Your Highness," Ian stated, settling back before straightening up, still feeling the phantom pain of his now-healed injuries.

"And how can you do that?" the Prince asked with a demanding tone.

"She used the river as a distraction. If we send boats down the river with no less than a hundred men, we’ll find traces of her," Ian said.

"In the dead of the night? You won’t find a thing," Edmond said, raising his head as he rested his elbows on his knees. "She was well-prepared, and by the morning, all her traces will drift away."

The group seemed depressed, but then Valentine spoke:

"If that’s a problem, use Light Bulbs."

Everyone looked at him with an "Are you serious?" written clearly all over their faces, but no one tried to pick a fight with him, given how enraged the Prince was. It was best to let the Prince vent on Valentine.

"That’s a splendid idea." But then, it was Matilda who clasped her hands and spoke, "Lady Vivian’s lights are so wondrous. When I asked to buy some for the infirmaries to make light at night, her company sent five crates, saying they were for the Plague Efforts."

No one knew when Matilda had become such a big fan of Vivian, but now the Prince wouldn’t criticize Valentine for suggesting to use something made by Vivian.

"My lady, why do you keep calling them Vivian’s Lights?" Robert asked with an icky face. "They are made by that peacock of a man called Bellfield."

"I am sorry, my lord," she smiled awkwardly.

Robert wanted to clear the awkwardness with her, but no one was free to listen to him chirp around her.

"It is a generally good idea," Edmond spoke, but then let out a sigh. "Sadly, it would take time to prepare, and I don’t feel optimistic."

"It’s alright. We’ll do what we can, friend," the Prince seemed to have calmed down and patted Edmond’s shoulder.

"I am sorry for failing tonight, Highness," Edmond said, visibly blaming himself. "I was conserving my power when I dueled her out of worry. If I had fought properly, I would have had her arm, not just grazed her."

"Don’t blame yourself," the Prince spoke to Edmond and turned to Richard. "Prepare your men and take as many of those blasted lights as you can."

"You can take them from right here at the Galleria, Your Highness," Valentine said. "I have placed a big order of..." Valentine paused for a while before saying, "Vivian Lights."

He had a clear smile on his face while looking at the annoyed Robert and the smiling Matilda.

"Good. Go with that, Richard. I’ll leave the chase to you."

As the Prince nodded and finally felt relieved, the usually quiet voice of Ronald Morgan spoke:

"I am sorry, Your Highness, but... may I ask Sir Edmond... you injured that Bloody Swan villainess, am I right?"

Hearing Ronald’s question, everyone turned to him with narrowed eyes.

"Yes," Edmond gave a short reply with his eyes fixated on Ronald.

"May I see it?" Ronald stepped towards him with his hands up. "Your blade?"

No knight would casually hand their weapon to a Sorcerer, but since it seemed he was onto something, Edmond took off his saber and its scabbard and handed it to Ronald, who received it with two hands very respectfully.

He held the hilt and drew the blade to see a red tendril covering its brightly chromatic steel.

"That’s blood... and it is still fresh. Perfect, I may say," he said, and his lips curved up with a smile. "I think I know how to hit Swan from where she can’t expect."

"Magic?" the Prince asked.

"Yes, a specialized spell someone I know can use, Your Highness," Ronald replied, bowing his head and putting the blade gently on the coffee table at the center.

"Summon him now."

Without hesitation, the Prince gave the order.

"Her," Ronald corrected him before explaining, after a heavy sigh, "It is my sister’s specialty."

Everyone blinked, but it was Matilda who tensed up all of a sudden. That reaction was only noted by Valentine, who was looking at her rather than being interested in the bloodied blade.

"Beatrix?" Ian muttered after hearing them mention his fiancée.

"Yes. My sister Beatrix specializes in magic that uses blood as a medium," Ronald explained while looking at nowhere. "Grandfather quite favors her for this ability and teaches her himself."

"This is good news," the Prince said with a smile. "Send a servant and summon her."

"Sadly, I can’t do that," Ronald shrugged with a wry smile. "My sister and I aren’t on talking terms."

"Use my name then," the Prince said.

"That would cause problems, Your Highness. Even you can’t summon the Daughter of Count Morgan in the dead of night," Edmond spoke.

"Then?" The Prince turned from Edmond to Ronald.

"The safest bet is to get a message for her... somehow... that Sir Ian Grayson, her dear fiancée, was injured by a villainous criminal, and we have the blood of the criminal to track. She will find her way here by herself, I am sure of it."

Speaking of his sister that way, all eyes turned then to Ian, seeing him in a different light as someone beloved dearly by his fiancée. Ian had an awkward smile, as the times he had met Beatrix could be counted on one hand. It felt rather... strange.

But if Ronald said so.

"Lady Matilda, if we might inconvenience you..." The Prince turned to Matilda, who almost panicked as she knew he would ask her to be that messenger.

Beatrix and Matilda were of the same age and shared the same classes in the Academy, both being Magic major students. But...

"Please, excuse me, my Prince. This is out of what I am capable of... totally," Matilda started acting jumpy right away.

Seeing that, no brows were left unfurrowed. Her reaction was simply the strangest.

"Something the matter, my Lady?" the Prince asked.

"Yes, my Prince," Matilda said, her expression seeming down. "Lady Matilda and I never got along. She sees me as her rival and acts rather..."

Matilda struggled to find the words, but Ronald saved her:

"My sister and Lady Matilda aren’t on talking terms as well. They competed fiercely at the Magic Class, and their animosity is renowned in the magic circles."

"I didn’t compete or anything, my Lord," Matilda pleaded, almost at the brink of tears. "I am not even a competitive person."

"Of course, my Lady," Ronald smiled and shrugged. "My sister is the one doing the competition as usual."

"Fine," the Prince said. "Any suggestions on who to send them?"

After a moment of silence, Edmond spoke:

"I’ll send Edith. Only a Black can visit the Morgans uninvited, and I had my sister on standby with some tasks to finish."

Hearing said, the Prince let out a sigh of relief.

"That’s good to hear," he said and turned to his people. "Lady Edith will summon Lady Beatrix, Richard will go to the river with the Lights to conduct a search, and Valentine, excuse us, but since we are here..."

"You are welcome to my Galleria any time, Highness."

Valentine gave a gentle bow, but his eyes were rather fixed on Matilda.

Finally, the winds were going for once in the direction the Prince wanted, and he could now chase after the Bloody Swan.

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