The Saintess and the Villainess

Chapter 68

Corvina was attempting to give off a much stronger sense of bravado then she actually felt.

The voice of her Uncle Ulrich echoed in her head. Sometimes it's less about how good you are at fighting, and more about how good your opponent thinks you are at fighting.

In truth, Corvina had been terrified when Anne had been yanked away from her. She hadn't even realized until that moment just how horrifying the idea of never seeing Anne again was.

But she didn't have time to panic. Anne was in danger.

Corvina got up to run in the direction she thought the kidnapper had headed in. She quickly kicked off her high heels, which were difficult to run in, and began to remove her stockings even while she continued to stumble forward.

Finally, she took her knife out of its sheath on her thigh and half-cut, half-tore at her skirt until it was a length where it was no longer getting in her way. She couldn't risk the long skirt getting caught on anything and slowing her down or tripping her up at a key moment.

Then she was finally able to focus her full attention on finding Anne.

They were in a hedge maze, which meant it was difficult to navigate, but Corvina had seen the shadow carrying Anne head further towards the middle of the maze, not away from it, so that at least gave her a direction to head in.

As Corvina ran, exploring dead end after dead end, she also listened carefully for any hint of where Anne and her assailant might be.

Eventually, she heard voices.

"Tell me!"

"I'm not..."

Corvina couldn't understand much more of what was said, but she recognized Anne's voice, and that narrowed down where she might be.

Finally Corvina found them in a dark dead end. The kidnapper was holding Anne up by her lapel and had a dagger held to her throat.

Corvina saw red.

Without thinking she was already throwing the knife.

When it only knicked the kidnapper's ear, Corvina clicked her tongue in annoyance. She'd meant for it to land in the soft spot of the back of his skull, piercing directly into his brain. If only she hadn't been neglecting target practice lately.

Nevertheless, she readied her sword and projected as much confidence as she could, as if the missed attack had been part of her plan all along.

"That was just a warning," she said. "Get away from the Saintess or prepare to meet the Goddess."

The kidnapper looked at her, an annoyed expression on his face. Or her face? Based on the slender figure, the kidnapper might be a woman, and Corvina knew quite well how dangerous women could be. Not that it mattered either way. What mattered was that this person was threatening Anne.

"You've interrupted our conversation," said the kidnapper, launching into an attack.

The strike was swift, but straightforward, and Corvina was able to move on time to block it. The kidnapper jumped back again immediately.

A smart move. Technically Corvina had the advantage based on weapons range alone, but that didn't matter as long as the kidnapper kept herself out of Corvina's range as much as possible.

But nothing would happen as long as they remained in a stalemate. Corvina took a risk and lunged forward. The kidnapper dodged aside and leapt forward, attempting to stab Corvina in the side while she was open, but Corvina had anticipated this and she quickly brought her arm back in a sideways swipe, hoping to catch the kidnapper in their own forward momentum. But the kidnapper managed to change tactics mid-lunge and dodge back out of the way again.