~Chapter 34~
The Most Impressive Back View
‘Is it okay to drag this innocent girl into danger?’
Although Eleanor had warned her, Hilda insisted on coming along. So there was no need to hesitate because of her. However, for some reason, Eleanor couldn’t bring herself to say it. A small part of her heart ached, as if being pricked.
“You should definitely go, Miss! That’s why you came out here in the first place! Tobias! Don’t stop, keep going!”
It was Hilda who responded instead. When did she stop trembling? Now, she was boldly giving orders to the coachman, acting like the master herself.
“Hurry up, Miss. I don’t want you to not do what you came here to do because of me. I didn’t come to be a burden; I came because I want to help.”
“…Alright, let’s keep going.”
When Eleanor nodded, Ernst also withdrew from the window and began driving again.
And so, the carriage of House Astria continued down the shady, eerie road. The alleyways they passed didn’t seem like the kind of place where there would be a dress shop.
About ten minutes later.
Neigh!
The horse neighed, and the carriage came to a stop.
“Miss! The road is too narrow, and we can’t go any further! Luckily, the destination isn’t far from here, so you’ll have to walk the rest of the way. Is that okay?”
The coachman, Tobias, opened the small door inside the carriage and spoke loudly.
Looking outside, Eleanor could see that the road was indeed too narrow and cluttered to go any further by carriage.
“Understood. I’ll walk to the dress shop. Wait here.”
“Yes, Miss!”
With Ernst’s help, Eleanor stepped out of the carriage.
Seeing Declan Street with her own eyes, rather than through the window, made it hard to believe it was just 30 minutes away from the city center. The unfinished buildings gave off a bleak atmosphere, and leftover bricks and materials were scattered around. The street was mostly in shadow, thanks to the clothes hung over various parts of the buildings, making the already bad vibe even more eerie.
‘At least at the Merrilbone orphanage, it felt like people lived there.’
Merrilbone had been filthier, with a tense atmosphere from people constantly fighting for food, but at least it had been lively in its own way. If you could call getting hit on the back of the head to steal food “lively.”
“Sh-shall we get going?”
Hilda, clutching her wooden stick tightly, looked at the map and asked. Eleanor nodded, and they started walking, surrounded by the knights.
It would take about ten minutes to reach the dress shop. Eleanor was glad she had worn comfortable shoes, just in case.
There were four knights, including Ernst, escorting them. That was a lot for a short outing. It was only thanks to Eleanor’s good standing with the Duke, after the recent theft incident, that she was allowed to bring so many. Otherwise, even she wouldn’t have been able to request such a large escort.
“Is there really a dress shop in a place like this? Even if there is, I’m worried it won’t be a good one. If they’re going to finish it on time, the tailor needs to be skilled…”
Five minutes into the walk, Hilda seemed to be less afraid, or maybe her obsession with making Eleanor look good was overpowering her fear. She had started worrying about the dress instead of her safety.
“We’ll only know if the dress shop is open when we get there. But given that Damien recommended this tailor, I doubt they’re very skilled. Let’s just hope we avoid the worst.”
“It’s ridiculous, but wouldn’t it be nice if some kindhearted lady suddenly gave up her reservation at Corcos for us?”
“Even if a miracle like that happened, Corcos would probably refuse. They wouldn’t want to upset Damien.”
“What if they made the dress for you secretly?”
“They could do that, but why would they take that kind of risk for me?”
“You’re right… Sighhhh.”
Hilda let out a deep sigh, as if the world was ending.
At that moment, Ernst, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped.
Thunk! Distracted by the conversation, Hilda bumped her forehead into Ernst’s broad back.
“Ouch! I’m sorry! I wasn’t paying attention—”
“Shh.”
Ernst placed a finger to his lips. His eyes, which were like the forest in summer, were sharp with tension.
“Someone’s coming.”
Just as he said, the sound of footsteps could be heard in the distance.
Thud, thud!
And it wasn’t just one or two people. Ernst gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, listening carefully to the approaching footsteps.
At his signal, the Astria knights formed a protective circle around Eleanor and Hilda, watching their surroundings closely.
Soon, men appeared at the end of the alley. They were masked and carrying proper weapons. It was clear what was about to happen.
“Protect the lady!”
As Ernst’s shout echoed, the masked men charged at them.
Clang! Clang!
The sharp sound of metal clashing echoed continuously. Swords cut through the attackers’ flesh, and blood flowed. Screams and groans of pain filled the air, though it was unclear who they came from.
“Aaah!” Hilda, trembling all over, locked eyes with one of the attackers and screamed. She was still clutching the wooden stick, unsure if it would help, as if it were a lifeline.
Meanwhile, Eleanor stood behind the knights, calmly observing the situation. She had been through similar situations before, so her demeanor remained composed.
‘We may be outnumbered, but we won’t lose,’ she thought.
The attackers were somewhat trained but not as skilled as the knights of Astria. Ernst, in particular, was performing exceptionally well. He effortlessly deflected all attacks while making sure his own strikes hit their mark. He was always so impressive—it seemed almost a waste for him to be just a bodyguard.
Even if the attackers had backup, the situation wouldn’t change, unless their numbers increased significantly.
As she predicted, one by one, the attackers fell. The knights of Astria sustained minor injuries, but nothing severe.
‘It’s over,’ Eleanor thought.
The remaining four attackers also seemed to realize this. Suddenly, two of them turned and ran away.
Then, something unexpected happened.
“Chase them!”
“Yaaah!”
Three of the Astria knights ran after the fleeing attackers.
It was an unthinkable action. They left their posts without Ernst’s orders. Even a rookie knight wouldn’t make such a mistake.
In a situation where more enemies could appear at any moment, three knights ran off to capture just two attackers, abandoning the lady they were supposed to protect?
It was behavior far beyond reason.
“Alfie, Jayden, Seb! Return immediately!” Ernst urgently commanded.
But the three knights ignored him and kept running.
Ernst stood alone, looking utterly shocked. They had trained and worked together for a long time, so he seemed deeply affected by their betrayal.
Even Eleanor, who had remained calm until now, couldn’t hide her surprise.
‘They’ve already turned the knights?’
These were people who had accompanied her on many trips instead of her father or Damian. She knew them by name, had joked with them, and one of them had even secretly told her that his true loyalty was to her, not to Damian.
Of course, she had never expected them to take her side. But they had turned much sooner than she had anticipated.
Damian wasn’t that capable on his own. Nora must have instructed him on what to do.
“Miss! Get back to the carriage!”
There was no time to be lost in shock. More attackers were quickly approaching from the direction the three knights had disappeared.
There were four of them. Ernst, now alone, would struggle to protect both Eleanor and fight off the attackers.
So, the best option now was for Eleanor and Hilda to run in the opposite direction while Ernst stayed behind to fend off the attackers and catch up later.
“Stay safe,” Eleanor said quickly before turning and running, grabbing the frozen Hilda along the way.
Her long skirt made it difficult to run quickly. Ignoring the fact that her legs were now exposed, she hiked up her skirt and ran as fast as she could. She had to escape quickly to avoid becoming a burden to Ernst.
After running for a while, her breathing grew heavy, and sweat trickled down her back.
Beside her, Hilda was in a similar state, her labored breathing mixing with the sound of their footsteps.
“I found her! It’s the lady!”
Just as they neared the carriage, a masked man suddenly appeared from an alley. His timing was perfect, as if he had known Eleanor was heading toward the carriage.
‘This is bad…!’
The man was so close that there was no time to escape. Turning around to flee was no longer an option.
The man’s gloved hand reached toward her quickly. Eleanor instinctively stopped in her tracks and reached inside her coat.
At that moment, someone pushed her.
“Run, miss!”
Thwack!
With a sharp cry, Hilda swung her wooden stick and struck the man’s arm.
Having been pushed, Eleanor fell to the ground and stared upward in a daze.
A small, trembling figure stood in her line of sight.
“I’ll handle him; just go!” Hilda yelled as she continued to wildly swing the stick at the man. Though clearly terrified, she refused to back down and stood in front of Eleanor.
Without a doubt, it was the most memorable sight Eleanor had ever seen.
“You little…!”
The masked man shook his arm, numb from the blow, then quickly grabbed Hilda’s wooden stick.
“No…!”
Having never been trained in swordsmanship, Hilda was easily disarmed.
The wooden stick clattered to the ground, bouncing off the walls as it rolled away.
Just as the man’s large hand reached for Hilda’s neck, Eleanor acted.
She scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it directly into the man’s eyes.
She had done this countless times as a child, and it hit its mark perfectly.
“Aaah! My eyes!”
The overconfident man screamed in pain, clutching his face. While he was distracted, Eleanor pushed herself off the ground and reached inside her coat again.
Even though she had many knights with her, she hadn’t come unprepared. Knowing it could be a trap, she had brought a small weapon just in case.
Her hand found the small dagger she had hidden in her coat’s inner pocket.
With a swift motion, she stabbed the man.
“Arrgh!”
She felt the thin blade pierce through the man’s thin leather glove and sink into his flesh.
