A brown carriage without any family crest engraved traveled along the rough mountain road. Drushia chose a carriage rather than a horse to avoid attracting attention.
“How many troops are guarding the Grand Duke’s castle?”
“About fifty territory soldiers are on duty in rotation. The knights dispatched this time are not involved in the duties at the Grand Duke’s castle.”
“Are they knights sent by grandfather?”
“Yes.”
Mihail answered with a haggard expression. His face, pale from carriage sickness, looked quite pitiful.
“Just endure a little longer. We’ll travel by horse from the safe house onwards.”
“Yes….”
Switching to horseback would be no less uncomfortable than the carriage sickness. Knowing this, Mihail didn’t feel particularly fortunate.
Suddenly, at the sound of someone knocking on the carriage, Drushia opened the window. Aegonite, who was escorting the carriage, had approached.
“Your Grace, suspicious men are following us.”
“Are you certain they’re following the carriage?”
“Yes. We’ve adjusted our speed several times, but they’ve maintained the same distance throughout.”
Drushia’s face hardened.
Rumors about the Grand Duke’s territory had already been circulating, mentioning the names of Talion and Igraine. That’s why he was particularly on edge during this journey to the Grand Duke’s territory.
‘And now we have someone tailing us.’
Just a little further ahead was Talion’s safe house. It was a place prepared long ago for travel to and from the Grand Duke’s territory, as knights frequently moved through the area.
From there, they would enter the Grand Duke’s territory through an unofficial route known only to a few of Talion’s knights.
“What should we do?”
“We can’t keep them on our tail. Shake them off.”
“Yes, understood.”
The Aegonite who received the instruction moved away from the carriage. He changed his horse’s direction and began to accelerate at once. It was a frighteningly fast speed even on the rough mountain road.
Nile, who had been following the carriage from quite a distance, tensed at the unexpected sound of approaching hoofbeats.
“My lady, just a moment. Please slow down.”
“What? Why?”
Ashika wondered what Nile was shouting about. But before she could hear his answer, she saw someone riding a horse heading straight toward them.
“What? Isn’t that from the party ahead of us?”
Ashika was also surprised when she spotted the rider. The figure, hunched low on his horse, was closing the distance at a terrifying speed.
The mountain path wasn’t very wide. It was dangerous to suddenly stop the horse or to try to avoid the oncoming rider.
Nile shouted urgently.
“My lady, to the side!”
Ashika’s reaction was a beat too slow. Before she could decide which way to go, she saw the rider drawing his sword.
“My lady!”
The Aegonite recognized the face of his opponent the moment he gripped his scabbard. His hesitation lasted only an instant.
Questions about why Young Duchess Igraine was here and for what purpose she was following Duke Talion vanished from his mind.
Hunching his body even lower, he swung his scabbard wide as he brushed past Ashika.
“Aagh!”
The horse, severely struck by the knight’s scabbard, reared up. Ashika lost her grip on the reins and fell, tumbling to the ground.
The sharp woman’s scream carried quite far. Hearing the fading sound, Drushia knocked on the carriage.
“Stop the carriage.”
Soon the carriage stopped, and the knights who were escorting closely approached.
“Did you hear that too? What was that sound?”
“It sounded like a scream, sir.”
Aegonite had turned his horse around alone to deal with the followers. But the knights were also confused by the sound of a woman’s scream.
“Let me borrow your horse for a moment.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The knight handed over his horse without protest.
A strange premonition crossed Drushia’s mind. With a grim expression, he rode in the direction where Aegonite had disappeared.
The place where the problem occurred wasn’t far. Three horses standing still, a woman fallen to the ground, and another man supporting her.
Recognizing the familiar silhouette, Drushia was astonished.
“Lady Igraine?”
Ashika found it difficult to gather her wits after the shock of hitting the ground. Instead of Ashika, an enraged Nile raised his voice.
“Is it Talion’s chivalry to attack an unarmed woman without warning?”
Drushia’s gaze moved from Ashika and Nile to Aegonite, who sat stiffly on his horse.
“What happened here? Aegonite, explain.”
“I was shaking off the tail, but I had no idea it was Young Duchess Igraine.”
“You didn’t know? Aren’t you a knight? Can’t a knight tell at that distance whether the person is a man or woman, or whether it’s a familiar face or not?”
Nile’s expression grew fiercer as he shouted. However, Aegonite’s face showed no remorse.
“Who would have expected that someone of the Young Duchess’s standing would be following another’s carriage?”
“Aegonite, enough!”
Drushia quickly dismounted and approached Ashika. However, Nile blocked his path and placed his hand on his sword.
“I am Duke Talion. Let me first check if she’s injured.”
“Oh, so you’re the master of that ruffian knight?”
Upon learning his identity, Nile responded with an even sharper tone.
But Drushia didn’t notice the other’s hostile attitude. Right now, he could only see the woman sitting on the ground.
“Please don’t come any closer.”
Nile moved his body as if ready to draw his sword at any moment. Only then did Drushia take note of Nile, who was blocking his path like an obstacle.
“Who are you? I don’t recall seeing someone like you among Igraine’s knights.”
“Ah, yes. I’m not anything like a knight. I’m just the Lady’s attendant. The Lady is already startled enough, so please be on your way without frightening her further.”
“Shouldn’t we first check if she’s injured?”
Drushia’s patience was also at its limit with the continued interference. Despite the menacing aura he emanated, Nile didn’t budge.
Ashika, who had been catching her breath, finally lifted her head. Her spinning head found its place, and the two people confronting each other came into view.
“Nile….”
“My lady, are you alright?”
“Help me… up.”
Nile responded quickly to her whispered, small voice. He grabbed Ashika’s trembling arm to help her up and visually checked for wounds.
Drushia’s gaze followed the movements of the two.
‘What is this?’
He’s neither a knight nor someone she’s known for long, yet his manner toward Ashika is without restraint. An uncomfortable feeling crept up from deep inside Drushia’s stomach.
“Lady Igraine.”
“Duke Talion.”
Ashika barely collected herself and let go of the hand she had been leaning on Nile.
“I didn’t expect to meet in this way.”
“Are you hurt?”
“Since I can move on my own, I suppose I have no injuries. By the way, Baron Delfino.”
At Drushia’s gesture, Aegonite dismounted and approached. His stiff face showed neither remorse nor guilt.
Ashika was incredulous at this shamelessness and spoke coldly.
“Even if you wanted to kill me, wasn’t this method too stupid?”
“I didn’t know it was Lady Igraine.”
It was a forced excuse. Aegonite’s face turned bright red.
It was an action taken unconsciously, driven by hostility in a situation that required instant judgment. He knew what he had done was wrong.
Ashika was now fully aware. A sense of crisis at having nearly died and anger toward the opponent surged within her.
“Seems like you were hoping my neck would break and I would die, but too bad you failed.”
It was obvious mockery. But neither Aegonite nor Drushia had anything to say. No empty words—with bad luck, she really could have died.
“Shouldn’t we check for injuries first?”
“Are you trying to give medicine after causing the illness? I’ll take care of my own body.”
Though her appearance was a mess from rolling on the ground, her tone of rejection was icy. However, Drushia didn’t back down.
“There’s a safe house nearby. There’s a healer there too. It would be better to go together.”
“Knowing someone might be after my neck? I’ll decline.”
“Look, that’s….”
Drushia grimaced and glared at Aegonite.
Aegonite’s claim that he didn’t recognize his opponent was clearly a lie. But it was Drushia who had ordered him to shake off the tail without checking. Who could have imagined that Ashika would be following his carriage?
He should have been questioning why she was following him, but all such thoughts vanished from his mind.
“So you’re planning to ride a horse back in that condition? It takes more than a day just to reach the nearest village. Can you even ride a horse in that state?”
“It’s better than being surrounded by Talion’s knights who are desperate to get their hands on me.”
Despite her trembling hands, Ashika held her head high. That attitude wasn’t surprising to Drushia, which both reassured and frustrated him.
“I promise that no one from Talion will be a threat to Lady Igraine. So stop being stubborn.”
It would be unreasonable to ride a horse again right after such a severe fall. She may not have been injured, but she had suffered a great shock.
“Aegonite, go and turn the carriage around. We’ll escort Lady Igraine to the safe house. As for your punishment…, I’ll deal with that later.”
Drushia’s face was cold as he gave the order. Aegonite mounted his horse with a complicated expression and quickly left.
Ashika couldn’t insist on refusing anymore. The sun was already setting, and she needed to find a place to rest.
A while later, the carriage that had gone ahead returned. Drushia helped Ashika into the carriage, and Nile followed behind with the knights. Though his face was full of discontent, he couldn’t argue against the priority of Ashika’s need for rest.
