“Well, it’s hard to pronounce! Hurry up! Cut off some hair, or a finger if you prefer!”
At Eleonora’s shouted command, three knights stepped toward me.
“Hey! Hands off! Do you guys even realize what situation you’re in?!”
“You’re the one who doesn’t get it!”
One knight glared at me.
“You’re just hired mercenaries, aren’t you? You heard her just now. Do you really think this kidnapping will go smoothly? You think you can escape after listening to this idiotic noblewoman?”
At that, the knights hesitated.
Their expressions grew uncertain.
“There’s still time for you to turn back.”
“Don’t listen to her! You’ve already committed the crime—kidnapping a duke’s daughter is punishable by death! It’s too late to back out now!”
“‘Already committed’?! You’ve completely committed at this point!”
“Are all noblewomen in your country like this?! I’m definitely not fleeing to Muro Kingdom anymore!”
“Excuse me! That’s offensive! I am the only one like this!”
I reached for Eleonora, but before I could grab her, a knight stepped forward and blocked me with his sword.
One of them, clearly growing impatient, had drawn his blade.
“Enough. We just need the money.”
With the cold steel pressed against my throat, I froze but locked eyes with the knight in defiance.
Seeing that I had finally shut up, Eleonora moved behind me.
“You should’ve just behaved from the start. I only need enough money to escape with my mother.”
She grabbed a fistful of my hair, gesturing for the knight to proceed.
The moment he lowered his sword to cut it—
I yanked Eleonora’s arm and threw her straight into the knight.
“Kyaaah!”
As the knight stumbled trying to catch Eleonora, I swept his legs out from under him—
Then ran.
I dashed into a wide clearing, quickly assessing my pursuers’ positions.
Two knights were already right behind me.
I suddenly stopped and spun around.
Using the momentum—
I brought my left hand down in a sharp chop, striking the first knight’s neck.
“Two!”
The second knight swung at me from the right—
I blocked his fist with my right elbow.
“One!”
I spun around and delivered a sharp roundhouse kick with my left leg.
“Eight!”
Dodging every incoming attack, I landed precise strikes, giving my opponents no time to draw their swords.
The Annovazzi Ducal House was renowned for its martial arts, which utilized a combination of 80 different forms in combat.
Odd-numbered forms were for defense, even-numbered for attack.
Each movement was adapted to the opponent, sometimes combining techniques for maximum effectiveness.
Among my five sisters, I was the best at memorizing and executing these forms in real-time—which was why, until my brother was born, I had been the heir.
I landed a powerful downward headbutt from above, knocking one knight to the ground.
As soon as I touched down, I followed up with a heel drop on another.
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