Cezanne stretched put his arm and pulled Elaine, who was hidden behind Sophia, towards him.
“Dame Sophia, let me introduce you, this is Dame Elaine. You probably recognize her from earlier at the welcoming ceremony.”
“Oh, I didn’t even notice you were there. Nice to meet you Dame Elaine.”
Sophia’s eyes widened as is she really hadn’t known that Elaine was there, even though it was obvious that wasn’t true. Elaine nodded her head without much change in her expression.
“Yes, its nice to meet you, as well, Dame Sophia.”
Sophia’s eyes twitched slightly. Even though it was obvious she wanted to argue, Elaine was unconcerned, which irritated Sophia even more. Without even realizing this face, Elaine continued.
“Would you excuse me then? The vice-commander had called me to the office earlier.”
Elaine then walked away, leaving Cezanne, who seemed to be suppressing his laughter for some reason, and Sophia, who was staring at her intently. Even as she walked away, countless eyes followed her like a swarm of flies.
Rather, she was more concerned about the reason Lowell had called for her. It should be related to becoming Ash’s bodyguard, right?
“It was nice that it hadn’t snowed for a while, but now it’s snowing again.”
Elaine’s gazes turned to the window as she heard one of the knights nearby complaining. White snowflakes were fluttering down like powder. It must have started falling hours ago as the trees outside the window were covered with quite a bit of snow.
She turned around and stepped outside. She still had a bit of time as Lowell had only said that she should come before evening fell. It might have been an unnecessary whim, but she just wanted to feel the snow.
A pure white landscape appeared before her eyes. Something cold landed on her cheek and quickly melted. She raised her eyes and looked up at the sky. A cool, grey sky. It was her first winter since she had woken up. Her first snow.
“Ash, look at that, it’s the first snow.”
“Wow, it’s so pretty!”
“Shall we build a snowman together?”
“Yeah!”
“Okay, lets make it look really nice and show it to your mom and dad!”
In the end, the day after they had built the snowman, Ash had caught a cold. Elaine smiled faintly as she walked through the snow, reminiscing about the past.
Tap, tap, tap
The faint sound of a horse’s hooves could be heard through the snow. As she turned around, she saw a black horse charging straight at her from the snow-covered hills nearby.
“…!”
Even though the large horse was charging straight at her, she stood still and just opened her eyes wide. The horse that was running as if it was going to barreling through her, suddenly stopped in its tracks, right as it was about to hit her. Then, like a gentle sheep, he blinked his clear eyes and nuzzled his head against her shoulder.
She spoke to the horse, unconsciously stroking its neck.
“Hey, why are you alone? Where did your master run of to?”
Animals were always friendly with Bella. Often, you would find them following her in an unusual way, similar to this black horse in front of her.
“…Do you also feel the traces of Bella within me?”
Huff
The horse made a throaty sound. It seemed like the answer was yes, and it made her feel slightly sad.
“Nix.”
At that time, Elaine felt someone’s presence along with a low-pitched voice. Had the owner of the horse come to look for it? Thinking it was so, she turned around and froze.
Hair that resembled the night sky and serene purple eyes. Standing before her was a man, more frigid than the falling snow.
“Ash.”
She called his name in a daze. She was just thinking of him, and he suddenly appeared before her eyes. She wondered if it was a dream, and without realizing it, the hand that was brushing the horse’s mane lost all strength. As her touch slowed and fell away, the horse shook its head in disapproval. Elaine who then came to her senses belatedly lowered her head.
“I greet the Duke.”
He glanced at the dark horse that was begging for her attention, then at the woman. After standing still for a moment, he slowly opened his mouth.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen Nyx approach someone other than me.”
“This is your horse?”
“Yes.”
Ash took a couple of steps forward, approaching the horse. Nyx, who was pressing into Elaine’s arms, perked up its ears and wagged its tail at Ash.
“Wasn’t your name Dame Elaine?”
Elaine’s eyes widened for a moment at the sudden question. She was surprised he remembered who she was. She nodded her head slowly.
“That’s right.”
“I heard you volunteered to be my bodyguard.”
“…”
“I would advise you in advance, it’s better to quit now.”
He spoke in a casual tone, as if he was asking her if she had eaten yet. She clenched her fists involuntarily. She knew the other knights didn’t want to be his guard, but why was he saying this? Why did she hear those words from his mouth?
“I don’t understand what you mean by that.”
“You haven’t heard the rumors about me?”
“…”
“Looking at your expression, it seems as if you don’t know. I guess you haven’t heard from the vice commander yet?”
“Was this what Lowell was going to tell her when he had called for her? When Elaine didn’t answer, Ash tilted his head.
“The position is not as easy as you think. On the contrary, it’s very dangerous.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
She was already half guessing this, based on the reactions of the knights she had seen in the lobby. A position that even the powerful Philres Knights are reluctant to take, she didn’t know exactly what it was, but she had made the assumption that it would be very dangerous. However, such things were not a problem for Elaine, who possessed powers beyond what was normal.
“It doesn’t matter… Even though you might lose your life?”
“That, too…”
Ash shook his head, interrupting Elaine.
“Your opinion is not important. What is important is proven ability and sound judgement. How many people do you think want me dead? A hundred? A thousand? No, maybe every citizen in this kingdom would welcome it with opened arms.”
“…”
“Do you have the ability to handle that many assassins?”
