Index, still unable to shake off Stelle, was unable to swing his sword in the cramped carriage.
Seizing the opportunity, I quickly approached Index and struck down hard on his wrist.
“Ugh…!”
Then, I picked up the sword he dropped and gripped it tightly with both hands. Without hesitation, I thrust it forward.
Thud—
An unfamiliar sensation made my hand tremble. I shut my eyes tightly because I couldn’t bear to look at the gaze above me.
I poured all my weight into the sword, desperate to survive.
“Ugh, ugh…”
“Stell! Get away!”
“Yes, yes!”
As Stelle released his neck and quickly backed away, his bloodshot eyes glared at me, and he reached out his hand in an instant.
“Gah!”
Stelle hurried to the carriage door and touched the lock to open it.
But she seemed so tense that she fumbled and couldn’t open the door right away.
I gripped the sword tightly and didn’t let go. He began to tighten his grip around my neck even more.
“Miss Ariadeline!”
Bang!
Finally, the door opened. I looked at Sir Maicher and threw the sword I was holding out of the carriage.
“Index!”
I saw the fury blazing in Sir Maicher’s eyes. In an instant, he swung his sword at Index.
Swish—!
Ah, indeed, a knight is a knight. I had trouble even piercing his neck a little, but…
Thud.
As Index collapsed, the hand that had been choking my neck naturally loosened its grip. I leaned against the carriage sofa and began to cough.
“Miss Ariadeline, are you alright!?”
Sir Maicher supported my body. Blood was flowing from my shoulder, and there were red handprints on my neck.
“I’m… fine…”
I trembled as I tried to focus my mind. I felt dizzy from the amount of blood I had lost, but I managed to summon my divine power.
As I slowly began to hum a tune, I felt the divine power gathering along with my voice.
“Ha…”
I exhaled a heavy breath as the sensation of my skin healing gradually took over. The faces of both Sir Maicher and Stelle began to show signs of relief.
When the humming stopped, the bleeding had nearly ceased, and the wounds were almost healed.
I straightened up and asked the two of them, “Are you both hurt?”
“No! Thanks to you, Miss Ariadeline.”
Stelle replied cheerfully. It’s good that no one else was seriously injured. I sighed and looked down at Sir Index’s body lying on the carriage floor.
“…He said he had been a member of the Denaves Knight Order for over 15 years, right?”
“…Yes. So I never expected something like this to happen.”
“Index was definitely targeting me.”
I thought deeply. Index had clearly mentioned it was for “that person.” Who could that person be?
Could it be Princess Yermondi?
But Princess Yermondi had her own schemes. Just looking at the invitation she sent me was enough to tell that.
It seemed a bit contradictory that she would plan to kill me before her birthday while having other plans in place.
‘It means there’s someone else trying to kill me.’
But why? Until now, I had been quiet, and then suddenly this happened?
I furrowed my brow, lost in thought, and Sir Maicher, who was watching me, spoke up.
“I think it would be best to get out of here for now.”
“Ah, understood.”
“I’ll drive the carriage. It might be uncomfortable, but we need to take the body…”
“To investigate, we have to bring it with us. It’s alright. I can endure it.”
Sir Maicher nodded, then firmly locked the carriage door and took his seat at the coachman’s seat.
The carriage began to move again. I covered Index’s body with a blanket that was inside the carriage.
“Ah, Miss Ariadeline!”
Stelle gasped and huddled closer to me. I clenched and unclenched my hands. The sensation of stabbing someone still lingered in my palms.
A chill ran down my spine. I squeezed my hands tightly and bit my lip.
‘It’s okay; it couldn’t be helped. It’s okay…’
If I hadn’t stabbed him then, I might have died. I shut my eyes tightly.
Even with my eyes closed, it felt like his gaze was lingering.
Time passed, and we returned safely to the mansion. However, upon seeing our state, the mansion was thrown into chaos.
The servants rushed to inform Carlothian of what had happened, and I was supported by the maids and taken to a room.
“No, what is happening?”
“Index did that?”
“A-are you hurt? Are you injured anywhere?”
The maids, seeing my blood-soaked dress, began to frantically check my body.
“Ah, I’m fine. Really.”
I decided to change out of the blood-soaked dress first. As the maids were taking off my dress, the door suddenly burst open.
“D, Duke, what are you doing coming in now?!”
It was Carlothian. He pushed through the maids blocking the way and pulled back the curtain that had been drawn for me to change, striding toward me.
The maids hurriedly tried to cover my body with the curtain.
Carlothian’s face was pale.
What’s going on? I’m the one who got stabbed, yet he looks like the one who was hurt.
Since I had lowered my dress to my chest, my blood-stained shoulder was fully visible. He examined my shoulder with trembling hands, confirming that there were only bloodstains and no actual wounds before pulling me into his embrace.
“…Um, Carlothian, I’m fine. I’ve already healed.”
The hand holding me was trembling. So…
“I’m sorry, but your eyes are scary.”
Out of anger.
I looked up at Carlothian, who was holding me tightly, and was taken aback. I had never seen him like this before.
He looked like a demon from hell…
Anyway. If I showed this face in the temple now, it seemed like they would start a purification ritual, claiming it was evil.
I could sense a beast-like growl in his breathing.
“It’s unfortunate that Index died at Maicher’s hands.”
“Why? If we had captured him alive, would you have tortured him yourself?”
“It would have been better to make him wish he were dead.”
“…No, that’s scary.”
I embraced Carlothian back to calm him down. He rubbed his lips against my injured shoulder and then held me close.
“Everyone out.”
At his command, the maids hurriedly left and closed the door.
Carlothian seemed to have no words for me as he slowly rubbed his lips against my injured shoulder and then pulled my hand toward him.
“Did it hurt a lot?”
“It hurt a bit, I guess.”
“…I’m sorry.”
I opened my eyes wide in surprise.
“Why are you sorry?”
“Because I chose the knight myself.”
He gritted his teeth. It seemed his pride was hurt by the fact that he hadn’t realized there was someone in his knight order, among those who had been with him for over ten years, who would betray him.
Hmm, I stroked his hair and said, “People can make mistakes at any time.”
“That mistake almost got you killed.”
“No, don’t worry too much. Even if I die, I’ll just come back in time. You know that, right?”
At that, his face momentarily stiffened. Wait, did I say something wrong?
“So, are you saying it’s okay for you to die right now?”
“Um, well, I guess so? More than others?”
“……”
He started glaring at me with a terrifying look. What did I do wrong now? I felt a bead of cold sweat forming and shifted my gaze around.
“Ariadeline.”
“Uh, yes?”
“Let me try to explain something to help you understand.”
“Okay.”
Carlothian pressed his forehead against mine and began to explain softly.
“First of all, do you know where your ability to return comes from?”
“Uh, I’m not sure… maybe it’s because of black magic? Dorothea said she sensed black magic from me at the temple.”
“That’s right. But what state are you in now?”
“I swallowed a holy artifact and gained divine power… Oh.”
I opened my eyes wide. Then I asked him, “Are you saying that I might not be able to return?”
I love it,