"That's enough, you commoners. I am a duke, recognized by this kingdom. Even your jumped-up prince consort would show me proper respect if he stood before me. As a duke, I now command you: kneel and surrender at once, and come with me to confess before the Queen. Otherwise, once word of today gets out, you'll face the wrath of every noble house in this kingdom."
Watching Ebar, all bluster and no substance, still failing to read the situation and resorting to threats, Sorano said nothing. She simply walked past Lucy, plucked the whip from her hand, and turned back toward him, her presence suddenly heavy with menace.
Crack.
Without warning, the whip lashed out, tearing open the skin on Ebar's ugly face. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his cheek and howling in pain.
"A duke, is that right."
Crack.
"A jumped-up nobody, is that right."
Crack.
"The wrath of the nobility, is that right."
Crack.
She punctuated every phrase with another crack of the whip, holding nothing back, and it wasn't long before Ebar was reduced to a wreck, sobbing and begging for mercy over and over. But Sorano showed no sign of stopping. She kept at it for a solid ten minutes, until Ebar was barely conscious, before finally tossing the whip aside and pausing to catch her breath.
Looking at the blood soaked whip lying carelessly on the ground, Lucy winced and looked away, a pang of genuine regret in her chest. That was her weapon for self defense, and in its current state, she wasn't sure she even wanted it back.
"Sis Sorano, maybe ease up a little? I mean, we were the ones who broke into his house first. Beating him this badly seems a bit much."
"Hmph. You think he's some upstanding citizen? Behind closed doors, he's been in bed with the dark guilds for profit more times than you'd believe. Even if we'd never shown up today, that pompous duke's title of his wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway."
Sorano laid out one of Ebar's lesser known secrets without hesitation, stripping away his facade entirely. If they hadn't already known Ebar was no innocent man, Fairy Tail, as a properly licensed guild, would never have taken on a job involving theft from someone else's household in the first place.
After steadying her breathing, Sorano turned away from the now thoroughly subdued Ebar and gave Lucy and Meredy their instructions.
"I'm going to notify the local law enforcement and have them come take him into custody. While I'm gone, search the estate. Try to find solid evidence of what he's been up to."
Then she fixed Lucy with a pointed look and added, "And if I catch you pocketing anything else from this estate while I'm away, I won't be nearly as understanding next time."
Called out directly, Lucy flushed with embarrassment and shame, bowing her head and mumbling a quiet "yes ma'am."
Satisfied, Sorano said nothing more and strode quickly out of the estate. Once she was gone, Meredy and Lucy worked together to tie up the unconscious Ebar, then split up to search the rest of the estate.
Meanwhile, the commander of the city guard, who'd received Sorano's report, wasted no time and led his men to surround the entire estate. Technically speaking, the city guard had no authority to arrest a noble without prior clearance. But then again, Fairy Tail had none other than Prince Regent Kabe standing behind them. As far as the commander was concerned, he had no idea who this "Duke Ebar" was. He only recognized one man worth respecting: His Highness, Prince Kabe.
It didn't take long before the city guard, working alongside Lucy and the others, turned up solid evidence of Ebar's dealings with the dark guilds. Everything that followed was straightforward. Ebar was taken into custody to await the Queen's judgment once the commander reported the matter to her, and the estate was placed under the city guard's temporary control while they continued searching for further evidence.
As for Sorano and the others, recognized as the concerned citizens who'd reported and helped apprehend the criminal Ebar, the commander personally and quite generously handed them a substantial reward.
The three women took their reward money and returned to find Kabi, who was still anxiously waiting for them.
"Here, this is for you. Take it."
The moment they arrived, Sorano dropped Sunrise down in front of Kabi.
"Wait, I... didn't I ask you to destroy it? Why did you bring it back?"
Kabi's hands trembled as he picked up the book, the one work his father had been most ashamed of, from the coffee table.