* * *
“Thank you for your help, Your Majesty,” Dana said, her face pale as she barely managed a polite farewell. “I will take my leave now.”
Just as she turned to leave, she was startled. It was because emperor Yustio’s grip had caught her forearm. The strength of his grip made Dana let out a short groan.
“Ah.”
His grip immediately loosened and then released.
“Your Majesty?”
Did he just grab me? She couldn’t believe the brief contact and asked, “Your Majesty, do you have anything else to say?”
After a moment of silence, Yustio sighed deeply before speaking.
“Return with Ignis Windsor.”
“Pardon? But he was supposed to meet with Your Majesty…”
“It’s finished. We’ve had enough conversation, and I have decided to pardon him at the request of Duke Windsor.”
“…”
“So, accompany him back.”
Enough conversation? That couldn’t be. It seemed like it had only been a minute or two.
Dana quickly grasped his intention. He thinks Raios is going to do something. A chill ran through her. That’s why he’s sending Ignis with her.
Right. Raios wouldn’t just let me go easily. Just moments ago, he tried to abduct her in front of many people. If the emperor hadn’t appeared, she would undoubtedly have been dragged away and locked up somewhere by Raios.
Would Raios really just stand by and let her go home peacefully? It’s impossible. He would surely try to abduct her by force. To prevent the holy trial from proceeding.
Yustio was sending Ignis immediately for that reason. He couldn’t personally assign guards without risking a direct confrontation between himself and Raios, which could spark a rebellion.
“Then.” Yustio’s gaze, which had lingered long over her face, fell away as he turned. “Return safely.”
* * *
Bang! Raios kicked open the door to his office as if to break it down. Count Cedric, who had been waiting, jumped up from his seat.
“Your Highness…”
Raios’s stormy steps halted. Inside the office, the former Emperor Wilhelm was sitting on a sofa, waiting.
“You’ve come, Crown Prince.”
“…And why are you here again?” Raios paused briefly but continued on. He walked past Wilhelm to plop down in the chair at his desk, where his fingers soon found their target in the drawer: a thick black cigar.
“I heard the holy trial is convening, Crown Prince.”
“So I have heard.” Raios exhaled smoke casually in response. “And?”
“I wanted to congratulate you on your annulment engagement.”
“There’s nothing to congratulate.” Raios eyed Wilhelm with a look that bordered on a glare, emphasizing each syllable. “I will never annul my engagement with Danae.”
“Then you should have preserved your chastity.” Wilhelm mocked with a face that found it all too amusing.
Suddenly, Raios’s jaw tightened. Wilhelm stood up briskly from the sofa and walked towards Raios.
“Last night. I went to your bedroom to have a word with you, but I turned back. You were having a very good time with your second fiancée.”
Bang! Wilhelm slammed his hand on the desk, leaning towards his son.
“You were violating the chastity clause.”
“…”
“Just annul it willingly. Otherwise, I will stand as a witness in the trial myself.”
For a moment, Raios’s dark eyes darkened further as if sinking into an abyss. He lifted his gaze, biting out each word low. “You better not do that.”
Detecting the threat, Wilhelm chuckled derisively and then snatched the cigar from Raios’s mouth. “Presumptuous brat.” He pressed the cigar against Raios’s hand on the desk. “Too presumptuous.”
Sssss. The flesh sizzled as the cigar end burned.
Wilhelm continued calmly while grinding out the cigar on his son’s hand. “A mere black crow dares to squawk. Raios, do you want to be whipped like when you were a child?”
Count Cedric watched the scene with a face gone pale. Yet, Raios’s expression showed no sign of flinching, too accustomed to this kind of abuse.
Satisfied with his son’s submission, Wilhelm chuckled, throwing the cigar into an ashtray. “Annul your engagement with Danae Windsor smoothly. Otherwise, I will testify myself.” He gave his son’s burnt hand a quick glance and a smile before leaving the room. “You should get along with this father, Crown Prince.”
“…”
There was no answer until the end. Satisfied, as if he thought the fear had made Raios retreat, Wilhelm smiled contentedly and left the room.
Thud. As soon as the door closed, Count Cedric rushed over. “Your Highness, are you alr—”
“How many shadows can we deploy right now?” Raios cut off Cedric’s words.
“Pardon?”
“How many shadows are available for immediate use?”
The mention of shadows hardened Cedric’s expression. Shadows were not part of the crown prince’s personal guard. No, they weren’t even knights. They were human weapons.
“Most of the shadows are deployed across various locations. We can mobilize about ten or so immediately…”
“Deploy all forces to ambush Danae Windsor’s carriage.”
“Pardon? Your Highness!”
“By any means necessary.” Raios sighed as if speaking cost him a great deal, rubbing his eyes with the hand burned by the cigar. His voice was weary. “Bring Dana to me.”
Cedric hesitated before speaking. “That would be impossible, Your Highness.”
“What?”
“Lady Danae is accompanied by Ignis Windsor.”
Raios’s lips tightened, but he conceded. “If he’s with her, then taking her by force is impossible.”
Thank goodness. He has regained his senses.
But a moment of relief for Cedric was shattered by Raios’s next command.
“Then send a shaman.”
And it was an even worse command than before.
“Pardon? Your Highness, but!”
“No more words. Send that barbarian shaman.”
Raios stared at the cigar in the ashtray. The cigar that barely kept him sane, that momentarily numbed his immense fear, anxiety, and restlessness. If not for this barbarian’s cigar, he couldn’t have borne the fear etched into his very soul. Now, he needed the shaman who made those cigars. Not for the cigars this time.
“Ignis Windsor is currently suffering from amnesia, right?” His brain, hidden under black hair, spun rapidly.
Raios knew too well the discord between Ignis and the Windsor family. That Ignis had been brainwashed into a blank slate was also known to him.
“Then show him. Show him what the Windsors have done to him.” Raios laughed menacingly. “Tell the shaman to restore his memories.”
* * *
In the returning carriage, Dana asked Ignis, “Do you know how to shoot, Lord Ignis?”
“No.”
“I heard you’re skilled in martial arts.”
“Don’t remember.”
“Really? Nothing at all?”
“Yeah. Don’t know.” Ignis replied curtly, closing his eyes. “Stop bothering me.”
Dana suppressed a sigh of frustration. What a mess. Even the emperor didn’t know this far. It was a brief meeting, so perhaps he wasn’t aware that Ignis had forgotten how to shoot.
Ignis, having lost his memory, seemed to have forgotten all his martial skills. So, if something happens, I have to handle it myself. She could only rely on her weapon. A silver revolver, .44 caliber, 7-round. This was all she had–no, wait a minute. Where were they?
Dana’s thoughts were interrupted as she glanced through the carriage window at the dense trees passing by. They had taken a different path.
“Hey!” Dana shouted out to the coachman outside. “I requested to avoid this road. Why are we here?”
The coachman was leading them toward a different location than what was discussed.
Why are we heading into the forest!
After a previous ambush in this forest, Dana had sworn never to use this path again. Though that incident ended up being a staged act by Ignis, this time, it was different. Raios could really be planning an attack! They needed to escape quickly.
Dana pounded on the wall towards the coachman. “Hey! Can’t you hear me?”
The coachman gave no response, continuing in silence. Could he have been bribed? Or could it be—
“What’s all the fuss about?” Ignis opened his eyes, annoyed. “If the coachman takes a wrong turn, we’ll just have to take a detour. Why make such a noi—” His words stopped abruptly.
Dana had suddenly lifted her skirt. From the leather holster tied to her white thigh, she effortlessly drew a gun.
“Hey, hey!” Ignis gasped, pressing himself against the seatback. “Are you crazy!”
“Pardon?”
“Y-You, a noble lady, flashing your, your fair thigh like that, s-so casually exposing!”
“…”
It was unbelievable. But there was no time to care about such things. Especially since her other thigh had another revolver attached to it. She had taken to carrying two revolvers because reloading was cumbersome.
“Huug.”
Ignis let out a strange groan. Then, suddenly, he twisted his body, rattling the carriage as he stiffened, turning his entire body away from her.
“…” Dana was dumbfounded.
Even Ignis’s neck and ears had turned bright red. Was he reacting like this just because he saw her thigh? ‘That’ Ignis? The one who had shamelessly pleasured himself in front of her, looking her straight in the eye?
He’s like a completely different person.
Thanks to this, Dana was certain. The person before her was not the Ignis of the past. Only his foul language and rude attitude remained similar. He couldn’t shoot, didn’t know martial arts, and apparently, didn’t even know about women, making him seem naively innocent. Therefore, he was of no help.
“Lord Ignis.” Dana checked the rounds in the cylinder. “If anything happens, stay behind me.”
In exchange for taking care of Ignis, she had secured Viego’s cooperation. So, she had to protect him by any means necessary.
“Do you understand?”
Ignis turned his head slowly with a look of utter disbelief. “What kind of nonsense is that?”
“If a crisis arises, just stay behind me,” Dana declared solemnly. “I’ll protect you.”
Was it so absurd? Ignis looked at her as if he had lost the ability to speak. But there was no time for explanations.
“-!”
Neigh! A shrill neighing sound echoed. The carriage jolted as if it had come to an abrupt stop, shaking Dana violently into Ignis’s chest.
Ouch! Her nose hurt, and her vision flashed. How could a person’s body be as hard as a rock!
“Hey, are you okay?”
Just as Ignis reached to help Dana up, the carriage door was forcibly opened.
“Lady Danae Windsor.”
Cold air flowed in. There was no time to think. Dana pushed Ignis’s bulky frame behind her and raised her gun.
“Good eve—”
Before the greeting was finished, Dana had already fired. Bang! But the bullet was stopped by a translucent barrier. Magic?!
Thud. The bullet ricocheted. Heading back in the direction it came from, towards Dana’s face—
The bullet was returning. In that fleeting moment, time seemed to slow down. The bullet approached, closer and closer, until…
It’s going to pierce me through. At the thought, suddenly, a hand reached out from behind and blocked her vision.
“…”
Gulp, Dana swallowed hard. She then blinked.
Right in front of her nose, Ignis was clenching his fist tightly. Realizing what had happened, streams of blood flowed down from his grip. He had just… caught the bullet with his hand?
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Oh, great, they’re all horrid! Time to pop smoke