“…Are we being followed?”
Suddenly, here?
Unlike me, who was flustered, Ian calmly scanned the surroundings, speaking in a composed tone.
“It happens occasionally. I expected it. Since I accompanied His Majesty to the separate palace, the Emperor’s faction must be displeased. As you know, they see me as a dangerous figure.”
“…”
“Still, I thought they’d ambush us on the way back. This is a bit earlier than I expected.”
…What is he even talking about?
I listened to Ian’s words, but I couldn’t fully grasp the meaning.
To be precise, I understood the situation, but it just didn’t make sense to me.
Why were the radical Emperor’s faction acting like this? And why had Ian expected it?
Can’t they just let Elisio and Ian be a nice, peaceful sibling pair?
Besides, no matter how I looked at it, the Emperor seemed to be very fond of Ian, almost one-sidedly.
It was so absurd that I nearly laughed in disbelief.
On the other hand, Ian seemed very familiar with this situation.
“It’s best to quietly shake them off. There are too many people here to deal with them.”
The arm holding me tightened slightly.
Suddenly, I found myself completely enveloped by him, causing me to shrink back.
“Stay close to me. My apologies.”
With that, Ian swiftly pulled me closer, pressing me against his body, and began to move quickly through the crowd.
Despite the narrow and dark square, filled with people and without any lights, he navigated it with surprising speed.
Thanks to him, I had to escape in his arms, avoiding the unnoticed hostility pursuing us.
Once we escaped the square, Ian entered a deserted alleyway.
To be exact, it was a dead-end alley.
‘Wait, why did we come to a dead-end?’
My face went pale, but Ian seemed to have a different idea.
He placed me in front of the wall and spoke.
His voice was calm, without a trace of tension or urgency.
“There aren’t too many of them. I’ll take care of it quickly, so just stay against the wall and don’t move.”
With that, he turned around and drew his sword.
And as if that was a signal, assassins, their faces covered by masks, began to appear from the end of the alley.
Their eyes glimmered ominously in the darkness.
‘…They really came?’
Seeing the weapons in their hands, I felt the blood drain from my body, my entire being going cold.
The reality of the situation, which I had momentarily dulled because of Ian’s calmness, hit me all at once.
“Duke, be careful…!”
“Stay against the wall, my lady.”
Ian’s voice was overly calm, as if he had experienced such situations countless times before.
Unable to say more, I pressed my back tightly against the wall.
‘That’s why he brought us to a dead-end.’
While an open space might be more advantageous for fighting or escaping, it was full of risks when it came to protecting someone.
Meanwhile, tension hung thick between Ian and the assassins.
Perhaps because of the menacing aura emanating from Ian’s sword, none of them dared to make the first move.
It was in that moment.
“You might want to close your eyes.”
Ian lightly leapt, disappearing from my sight, and in the next instant, slashed the chest of the nearest assassin.
“Urgh!”
Crimson blood splattered in front of me, and I reflexively shut my eyes tight.
But even with my eyes closed, the thick, metallic stench of blood assaulted my nose.
What followed was chaos.
The sharp sound of blades and weapons slicing through the air, the clash of metal, the sound of flesh being cut, low groans, and the dull thuds of bodies hitting the ground all tangled together in a cacophony.
With one final chilling sound, everything went silent.
“…”
When I cautiously opened my eyes, Ian was sliding his sword back into its sheath, standing amidst a pool of blood.
The nauseating smell of blood was so thick I had to force myself not to look down.
Ian turned slowly and met my gaze.
“I was going to tell you it’s safe to open your eyes now.”
He shrugged, as if to say there was no need anymore.
“Are… you okay?”
I stammered, trying to put strength in my legs that felt like they would give out any second, and he nodded.
“As you can see.”
“That’s a relief, but…”
What on earth is happening?
I knew from the books that Ian had faced countless assassination attempts, but seeing it with my own eyes was an entirely different matter.
‘If he’s this unfazed by it, just how many times…?’
As I struggled to steady myself, Ian’s eyes widened in alarm.
“My lady, watch out…!”
Before he could finish his sentence, a thin hand shot out from the seemingly empty wall and grabbed my neck.
“You should never have let your guard down.”
Then, I heard a scratchy, unpleasant voice in my ear.
‘A person came out of the wall…?’
I stiffened and rolled my eyes to look at the person who had caught me.
It was a man wearing a dirty black robe and he is laughing.
A dark blue magic circle was rippling ominously from the wall he had emerged from.
‘It was a wizard…!’
Meanwhile, Ian, whose expression had been distorted with a murderous expression, pulled out his sword again.
“Let her go.”
“Hmm. I came here because I was worried about sending only the assassins, but fortunately, it’s not too late.”
The wizard, who pretended not to hear Ian’s words, clicked his tongue and scanned the corpses scattered on the floor.
“They say you’re pretty capable people in this world, but I guess the client is very disappointed. Well, now that I’m here.” And the very next moment, something cold and sharp touched my neck.
“argh…!”
“I don’t feel sorry for the Grand Duchess, but I can’t help it.”
The wizard, who had fixed his dagger, let out an unpleasant laugh.
“The rumors were true. I never thought it would be true when I heard that the Grand Duke was close to the Grand Duchess.”
“Can’t you let this go…?”
“If you don’t want to lose your breath, you’d better stay still, Grand Duchess.”
He warned nervously, as if he was annoyed.
At the same time, the cold blade cut my skin thinly, and blood flowed out.
The wizard raised his head and looked at Ian with dark eyes under his robe.
Ian’s relaxed expression from before had disappeared, and his face was pale and bloodless.
His gaze was fixed on my neck, where blood was flowing.
Oddly enough, when I saw that face, my complicated mind calmed down.
‘…I can’t even control my expression. It doesn’t suit me.’
The wizard, who noticed Ian’s agitation, twisted the corners of his mouth and smiled.
“Put down your sword, Grand Duke.”
‘… This is a big problem.’
The situation was not good.
If it were the Ian I knew, he would really put down his sword.
As long as there was a ‘hostage’ in front of him, Ian Cloud’s actions were almost set in stone.
‘That can’t be done.’
I didn’t know what this wizard would do the moment I put down my sword.
I desperately began to read the situation.
Fortunately, the opponent was a wizard.
He was holding me tightly with his skinny arms, but his strength wasn’t as great as I thought.
‘I think I can turn my body to the other side and escape. The problem is this sword…’
I lowered my gaze to examine the sword aimed at my neck.
The icy blade was flashing fiercely.
‘It’s a little dangerous, but… .’
Because he was a wizard, he didn’t seem to be someone who could immediately target a vital point like the assassin a little while ago.
And… .
My gaze turned to Ian on the other side.
Even in an urgent situation, his sharp eyes calmly settled down and waited for an opportunity.
‘I can trust that guy.’
If I just make an opening, he’ll do something.
I thought back to the self-defense techniques I learned in college.
Okay, I only have one chance.
I took a deep breath and bit the arm around his neck with my teeth.
“Kkwa!”
A short scream erupted and he flinched back.
I didn’t miss that moment and struck the man’s chin with my elbow.
“Ugh! You crazy woman!”
The wizard raised his sword with a scream of pain.
And just as he was about to stab me in the neck, I quickly rolled my body and escaped from his embrace.
Swish. The dagger that had struck me grazed my collarbone deeply, spraying blood.
“Ouch!”
My body rolled on the floor with a groan of pain.
‘That’s it!’
I suppressed the throbbing pain and shouted at Ian.
“Now!”
♧♧♧
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