Chapter 56
“The Kidnapping Plan”
Kingdom of Schemes and Shadows Arc – Part VII
The summer heat had finally softened into a gentle evening warmth.
The light that painted the academy’s stone paths was tinged crimson, casting long shadows of students returning to their dormitories.
Behind the main grounds, however—
In the shadow of an old warehouse, several masked men were gathered.
They were the same group that had failed in their attack a few days prior.
This time, their numbers had doubled—nearly ten men assembled.
“Losing our chance to kill the Outsider was a setback…”
“But if we kidnap the duke’s daughter, we’ll have leverage.”
“Lutia Roselia. Once she’s our hostage, Kai Cross won’t be able to act.”
Their low whispers drifted through the cooling night air.
At that same moment—
Lutia was walking through the academy courtyard.
She squinted her sapphire eyes against the fading sunlight and suddenly stopped.
“…I can smell it.”
In the next instant, ten masked men burst out from between the trees.
They raised daggers and staves, surrounding her.
“Lutia Roselia! Come quietly!”
“Move and you’ll get hurt!”
But Lutia’s expression showed nothing but mild boredom.
“My, my… you’ve brought quite the crowd.
But—”
She drew her rapier.
The blade caught the sunset’s glow, glimmering red like liquid flame.
“—the likes of you could never stop me!”
A flash.
Lutia’s sword shimmered once, and two masked men were hurled backward—
their swords clattering to the ground beside their smoking cloaks.
“She’s too fast!”
“So this is the duke’s daughter’s power…!”
Three others responded at once, unleashing spells.
Fire, lightning, and ice arrows rained toward her in a storm.
“Annoying.”
Lutia raised one hand.
Flame devoured flame.
Lightning dispersed into the sky.
Ice melted into harmless droplets.
Her cold blue eyes glinted with disdain.
“You were the ones who pointed your blades first.
So surely, you’re prepared to be stained with your comrades’ blood.”
The men staggered backward.
But Lutia’s steps were relentless.
Her rapier’s point danced, touching each man’s throat—
stopping just shy of piercing flesh.
She could have ended them.
Instead, she gathered more mana, the air trembling around her.
“This is the consequence of what you’ve sown.”
Blue flames spiraled up around her—
the Ultimate Flame Magic: Inferno Nova.
A forbidden spell that turned everything it touched into ash.
The masked men went pale.
They could neither run nor scream.
And then—
“Wait!”
A sharp voice cut through the roaring magic.
A transparent wall of light spread around them all, sealing the courtyard like an invisible dome.
The raging fire slammed against it—and stopped.
Behind Lutia stood Kai.
He held one hand aloft, calmly murmuring formulae.
“Absolute Defense: Absolute Shield.
…They ain’t my students or my people, but burning ’em to cinders feels wrong somehow.”
“Kai…!”
Lutia turned, eyes filled with anger and confusion.
“They tried to kill me! You don’t need to spare them—”
“I do.”
Kai’s voice was quiet, steady.
“I’m a teacher. Showing mercy’s part of the job.”
The flames were absorbed into the light barrier and vanished like mist.
The masked men collapsed to their knees, trembling.
Yet the realization that they were still alive brought a strange relief.
They looked at one another.
“He… saved us?”
“By the hands of Kai Cross, our enemy…?”
“Were our orders… ever right to begin with…?”
Doubt took root—hotter than any fire Lutia had conjured.
“Go.”
Kai’s words were short.
“Don’t forget your homework. I’ll be grading your answers next time.”
The men hesitated, then threw down smoke bombs and vanished into the shadows.
Only scorched earth and lingering heat remained.
Lutia stood there, breathing hard, her rapier still trembling in her grip.
Anger still burned faintly in her eyes.
“…Why did you stop me? They were after my life.”
“Yeah.”
Kai smiled faintly.
“But my job’s to nurture people.
Enemy or not—if someone still has the capacity to learn, they ain’t ready to be burned away.”
Lutia was silent for a while.
Then she sighed softly.
“…You really are unfair.”
And then, without warning, she wrapped her arms around his.
“But… that’s exactly why I love you.”
Their shadows stretched together beneath the crimson twilight, merging into one.
