Episode 27

I knew I should turn and run, but my body froze, unable to move.

All I could do was take a few steps backward and close my eyes.

Just before I closed my eyes, I thought I saw a sword descending towards my head.

I felt someone grab me from behind, and I thought I was dead.

But instead of pain, I heard the sharp clash of swords and the harsh sound of someone breathing heavily near my ear.

Someone had grabbed me from behind and blocked the sword that was about to split me in two.

As I turned to look, I saw a familiar side profile and familiar eyes. Then, my body spun around.

He hid me behind his body and split the man who had clashed swords with him in half.

“Aiden?”

I called his name as I looked at his broad back and black hair, but Aiden didn’t turn around or respond; he just kept swinging his sword.

The men, now faced with an unexpected obstacle, attacked him all at once, and Aiden faced off against five men while keeping me hidden behind him.

Time passed with nothing but screams and groans, and Aiden stood in front of six corpses, breathing heavily.

I couldn’t bring myself to call his name again and stayed silent, holding my breath.

I felt like I had just seen a mad dog.

Was this what Tito had referred to when he talked about the berserker he never wanted to see again?

Could he go mad without his master’s command? If so, would I also be in danger?

I was debating whether I should run away when Aiden slowly turned around.

Meeting his glowing red eyes in the dark was more terrifying than seeing the man draw his sword earlier.

“Do you even realize your position, Your Majesty?”

The content of his words aside, his fierce demeanor made it seem like he might swing his sword at any moment.

Do mad dogs talk? Should I answer him? Or should I run away?

“Even His Majesty the Emperor didn’t wander around so defenselessly. Especially someone like you, who is targeted by so many enemies. This is practically asking to be killed.”

I concluded that it was best to run away.

As I started to back away, having reached that conclusion from Aiden’s irritated words, he suddenly stopped talking and looked at me with a peculiar expression.

He stared at me for a long time, then took a deep breath and sighed before speaking in a subdued voice.

“Do you have any idea how worried I was when I saw you walk into that alley?”

Contrary to my fear that he had gone mad, Aiden’s eyes reflected anxiety and concern.

It was strange, but seeing him anxious actually reassured me.

When he was rampaging like a mad dog, he was terrifying, but now he seemed more like a large dog whining out of concern for his master.

“I was surprised too, Duke Aiden. Where did you come from?”

Aiden responded with an incredulous expression.

“Is that really important right now?”

“It’s not.”

“Exactly. If you got separated from the knights, you should have stayed put. Why did you go into the alley—”

“Thank you. For saving my life.”

I interrupted his grumbling with my gratitude. I tried to keep my composure, but my voice trembled with the last words.

He probably didn’t notice, since I had my sleeve covering my mouth, but my hands had been shaking since earlier.

I thought I was going to die, but thanks to him, I was saved.

In that moment of extreme fear and helplessness, his appearance made me feel so grateful I almost cried.

But I couldn’t cry in front of the “dog,” so I forced a smile.

As I smiled at my savior, who had been left speechless, his fiery red eyes wavered.

Earlier, Vitrain’s blue eyes had wavered with embarrassment and confusion.

But Aiden’s red eyes showed surprise and an unidentifiable emotion.

Aiden looked at me with a complicated expression, a mix of what seemed like sympathy, regret, and maybe even joy, and then he reached out his hand.

His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he touched my trembling hand.

Aiden carefully but firmly held my hand and said,

“I will protect you. There’s no need to be afraid.”

I could still hear Aiden’s rough breathing in my ears from the moment when the sword had come down towards my head.

He must have been watching from afar and rushed to save me.

Was it a dog’s duty to protect royalty, or did he do it because of our deal?

Whatever the reason, Aiden kept his word, and Lian turned out to be a liar.

I looked down at my hand, which had stopped trembling within Aiden’s larger one, and then lifted my head.

“I will trust you.”

Saying I didn’t trust him earlier had almost made me cry, but now it felt like I was proposing to him.

Aiden’s eyes widened in surprise, and he blinked, twitching the corners of his mouth.

With a face that seemed to be debating whether to roll over and show his belly, he replied, trying to keep a straight face.

“Well, do as you wish.”

His effort was so endearing that I pretended not to notice his quivering smile.

Glancing past the joyous dog, I saw the corpses strewn about.

They had called me “Your Majesty the Empress.” They weren’t just some random thugs; they had infiltrated the festival to target me.

Assassins.

If that’s the case, Lothania might be in danger too.

“Duke Aiden, Lothania disappeared with Henry Senwood. You must find the Crown Princess—”

“We’ve finally found you.”

As I spoke, another group of men appeared from behind.

Aiden immediately changed his expression and pulled me closer.

Looking at these new men, it was clear they were different from the ones before.

“Not alone, huh?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The men, looking like street thugs with shabby clothes and hastily donned masks, approached us with an air of arrogance.

“Hey there. We heard you’ve got some money. What the—what is that?”

“They, they look like corpses, boss!”

They weren’t just pretending to be thugs; they truly were.

The thugs, who had planned to extort us through violence, froze at the sight of the bodies Aiden had just dispatched.

Their eyes darted between Aiden’s blood-dripping sword and the corpses, and fortunately, they seemed to make a wise decision.

“L-let’s go.”

“Go where?”

Aiden asked, casually flicking the blood off his sword.

Though I couldn’t see his face, standing beside him, I was sure that his gaze was intense.

The thugs, on the verge of tears, glanced at Aiden, who continued to swing his sword menacingly.

The ominous sound of the sword cutting through the air echoed through the alley, giving the thugs a moment of reflection on their lives.

“Boss!”

“Your Majesty the Empress!”

Their fate was sealed when the royal guards, who had been searching for me, burst into the alley and quickly subdued the thugs who had been bitten by a rabid dog.

Aiden sheathed his sword and approached the thugs, who were now kneeling in a row.

He placed his foot on the knee of the thug leader and pressed down, asking,

“I heard you said someone had money?”

“Ugh. Yes? Ugh. Me?”

“You told her that, didn’t you?”

“Yes, yes! I did.”

The thug leader flailed, trying to answer despite being crushed under Aiden’s foot.

Seeing the madness begin to cloud Aiden’s face, I took a cautious step back.

“Who did you hear that from?”

“The rumor was everywhere! Ugh. They said a lady in a green dress with a dog mask and brown hair had a lot of money!”

“There must be a source for the rumor.”

“I don’t know! It was just a rumor among us! Ahhh!”

The thug leader screamed, sweating and crying.

Aiden finally lifted his foot before the thug’s knee could shatter, then turned to me, the lady in a green dress with a dog mask and brown hair.

“I don’t have any money.”

Seeing his intense gaze, I quickly confessed.

Aiden stared at me, seemingly processing my words.

Just as he was about to speak, Lothania’s voice called out from a distance.

“Duke Aiden, get rid of these men.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Aiden and the knights swiftly dealt with the thugs and the bodies.

I then walked out of the alley, ensuring that Lothania wouldn’t see anything gruesome.