MPBAGS Chapter 5

"Did you wait long?"

Donau stopped right in front of the sacrifice and crouched down. The eyes still glaring fiercely at him without dying were blazing. Donau thought she was a bit impudent.

He brought the knife to her throat. He wanted to prepare it to the demon's taste if possible. Demons surely liked things drenched in blood. Blood beaded and flowed from the thinly drawn line. Donau was thoroughly excited by this delicate yet artistic work.

And just as he was repositioning the blade—a tremendous roar erupted and dust swirled inside the house.

Had the door been torn off? Damn, did someone report to the guards? Hell. He might not be able to beat an adult man, even if he could handle a young girl.

Coughing and hacking, a figure approached through the dust. The first thing that caught his eye was a pure white dress no different from nightclothes. And the next thing his gaze fell on was equally colorless, pure white hair.

"Evangeline Rohanson?"

His relief that instead of a robust adult man, a sickly young lady he could probably overpower with one hand had appeared was brief. The moment he finally met those bright red eyes, Donau drew in his breath.

Revere and worship. Turn the earth and welcome the angel of light who shall descend to the world.

From somewhere, the sound of a trumpet came.

Crazy! What the hell is this?

I left the door I'd shattered with a light kick—showing just how shoddily it was made—behind and entered the house to find Donau holding a knife to the throat of a bound girl. This crazy bastard!

No, I just came to catch a thief who ran off with my super badass otherworld overpowered summoning circle, so why has he evolved from thief to kidnapper! Don't level up on your own!

"Kanna!"

Henna, who followed behind me, looked at the bound child and was horrified. Kanna? Judging by her knowing the name, is she Henna's acquaintance? Could she work at the mansion? Henna was beside herself, covering her mouth and shedding tears. What do I do—they must be close!

Donau was becoming increasingly unforgivable. The only person I've gotten friendly with in this otherworld is Henna, and of all people, he kidnapped Henna's friend? I won't let you get away with this. I'll show you the cruelty of a romance fantasy villainess.

Just as I made that resolution, the other side seemed to recognize me too.

"Evangeline Rohanson?"

Donau called my name and started trembling. Is this heinous criminal bastard who stole someone's belongings and even kidnapped a child scared of me? Must be because his crime scene was discovered, right?

Surely he's not scared because Evangeline Rohanson is some ultimate villain whose name alone makes people piss themselves. ...Right? Wait, am I not just a villainess but the strongest villain mastermind in this worldview! I don't need that setting!

Sigh... My head's a bit dizzy, but that's not what's important right now. Human rescue comes first.

"Did you call for me?"

I never knew being a villainess would be useful in times like this. Cringe-inducing, but suppressing the goosebumps, I just raised the corners of my mouth and smiled. The important thing is, the eyes don't smile. Villain smile—real easy, right?

The knife Donau was holding caught my eye. A line had already been drawn on the kid's throat where the blade had grazed. What should I do in situations like this?

I think detectives usually say things like "Put that knife down and let's talk." What would we even talk about? What common ground do Donau and I have? Ah, there is one thing.

"Did you take good care of my summoning circle?"

I carefully softened my words to avoid provoking the criminal. ‘Take good care’ my ass! He stole it! Come to think of it, why did this bastard steal my magic circle and not even summon anything but kidnap people instead? Now that I think about it, I'm pissed.

"So... you, you're the owner of that summoning circle?"

"Obviously. That's why I came looking for you like this."

Look at this bastard playing innocent! Stole it from my room and now he's playing dumb—shameless as hell. Well, of course someone shameless enough to steal things and kidnap people would be like this.

I wanted to spew all kinds of vulgar curses, but I desperately held back because of the young-looking hostage. The summoning circle was important, but a human life was more important.

"If you want something, tell me. Return that kid and I'll grant it."

Of course, I meant I'd listen with my ears.

I'd listen with one ear and let it out the other, but for now, I had to pretend I'd really grant it. Listen to the criminal's demands, exchange for the hostage first, and then afterwards, slap handcuffs on his wrists or whatever. No handcuffs in the romance fantasy world? Then I'll bring down the hammer of justice.

"Make me, make me filthy rich!"

Right. What else would be the reason for stealing someone's stuff and taking a hostage? It's all about money.

The problem was I had no money right now. I just came out to catch a thief—why would I bring money? If that was the goal, he should have left a note telling me to prepare money! Doesn't even know the basics of kidnapping!

"A fortune? Fine. How about Count Rohanson? I'll make you a count."

So let's just smooth things over with words. Right now, all I have is Evangeline's body and status. I have to use even that. Evangeline Rohanson is an only daughter, so if someone marries into the family, they'll become a count, right?

Let me set aside for a moment the question of whether this is a romance fantasy worldview where women can become family heads, or a patriarchal romance fantasy where they have to bring in a son-in-law for a man to inherit.

"Count Rohanson? Yes... I like it. It'd be good to steal that damned Count's position."

Negotiation established. The trade conditions must have been acceptable. Well, it's a count, right? With money and power as a one-plus-one deal, there's no way he'd refuse.

"Shall we make a deal now?"

Hurry and hand over Henna's friend to me!

I was waiting to receive the hostage when suddenly Donau, flushed with excitement, laughed and swung the knife around, heading toward the girl. Wait, what, what are you doing!

"Stop. What are you doing?"

"Finishing the deal..."

Ah. So he was trying to untie the hostage's bound hands and feet himself? Phew. Thank goodness. I let out a sigh of relief and watched, but Donau made me uneasy. Is he really untying her? He's not going to stab me in the back, is he?

This won't do. I'd better untie her hands and feet myself. First, I need to receive her.

"I'll do it, so bring that knife here."

Donau frowned but obeyed well. Now is it finally the hostage exchange? But Donau came toward me holding the knife.

C-could I have offended him? Because I spoke informally? Or was it the command? Or is it a crime that I worked so hard acting like Evangeline Rohanson!

I don't know what it is, but instead of calming him down, I seem to have provoked him.

I'm screwed, aren't I? No, stay calm. Turn this into an opportunity. What matters is that Donau is focusing on me instead of the girl.

"Henna. You save the child."

I spoke ventriloquist-style. I spoke incredibly quietly, afraid Donau might hear, but Henna must have sharp ears—she nodded slightly to show she understood.

I'll draw the aggro. Villainesses are aggro-pullers by nature. Just trust me.

"You know what. Making you a count was a lie."

"What?"

"You believed that? Idiot."

Good. Nothing makes people angrier than being given something and having it taken away. I deliberately sneered at him. Ah, my stomach hurts from laughing too much. It hurts, so my laughter stopped.

Isn't it a bit strange to suddenly become serious? But since it's already strange, I decided to go out confidently.

"Why should I grant your wish?"

"Weren't you summoned for that?"

I wasn't! How could I have known Henna's friend Kanna was captured and come looking! I just came to catch a thief!

"I only came because of my summoning circle."

Donau had nothing to say and hung his head low. I thought he was silenced by being caught off guard, but listening carefully, he was endlessly muttering something.

"...This isn't right, this isn't right. Something's wrong. I did everything the same. I did what I was told, so what's lacking? Evangeline Rohanson. I did everything you told me to. Why doesn't it work for me? I can do it too. I could have become that damned count too. Please don't look at me like that. You too, do you think I'm pathetic too? Don't look, you de-demon b*tch..."

It sounded pretty crazy to listen to. Well, a sane person wouldn't kidnap his colleague's friend.

Donau, who had been muttering for a while, suddenly raised his head. His eyes had completely lost it.

"The preparation was perfect, so why."

Donau, staring into empty space like someone possessed by a ghost, suddenly whipped his head around. Henna was working hard trying to untie the knots on the rope binding Kanna's hands and feet.

"It won't come undone. What do I do? Why won't this come undone?"

Henna's face was covered in tears. With her hands shaking like aspen leaves, there was no way the intricate knots would come undone.

"No, no! My sacrifice!"

Donau shouted, and hearing that sound, Henna hugged Kanna tightly to protect her.

Donau flailed and stretched out his arm. He seemed so rushed he couldn't even see the floor properly, and the candle caught by Donau's foot rolled across the floor.

The kids will get hurt at this rate! My heart grew urgent. At that moment, Donau completely turned his back to me. You can't expose the back of your head in front of an enemy! I didn't miss the opportunity and struck Donau on the back of his head.

Gasp! I thought wrong! I should have aimed for the nape, not the back of the head! It was just so round and looked so good to hit. Still, it was effective. Even though I hit barehanded, Donau staggered and collapsed to the floor. I passed Donau and headed toward Henna.

"Move aside, Henna."

Looking at her trembling hands, it seemed faster for me to untie it than Henna. Henna, who had been squeezing her eyes shut, carefully opened them and moved aside.

As expected, Henna must have fumbled because she was tense—when I touched the rope a few times, it came undone easily. Just touching it made it snap apart.

"It's okay now."

One problem solved. My heart couldn't take this spectacular incident, the first I've experienced since possessing into this otherworld.

"Kanna."

Henna, who had moved aside, pulled the girl into her arms.

"Sister..."

"Are you okay? How did you get caught! I told you not to be outside! And your body only just recovered!"

"I'm sorry, sister... I didn't know I'd get caught by someone like this. I was waiting for you..."

"I'm sorry too, Kanna. Thank goodness you're safe. Thank goodness I'm not late."

So they weren't friends but family. Watching their affectionate scene made my nose sting. I want to hug them together too, but I was a villainess with presence just moments ago, so joining this touching situation would break my character, right? I gazed at distant mountains and dried my tears.

Even if I can't cry with them, I want to help.

"Your name is Kanna, right? What should I do with Donau?"