The Lady is a Stalker

But Raven clearly had strange expectations. The Baron, who seemed to be the knight’s master, reappeared and began to interrogate the knight.

 

“Why are you sitting here procrastinating?! I’m telling you to quickly bring back my slave who ran away!” 

 

“Is he a slave? Really? Since when?” 

 

“Just now!”

 

“Are you talking about the carriage accident that happened just now?”

 

“Yes! That guy blocked my path on purpose and caused an accident. Thanks to that, the carriage was damaged and I couldn’t do anything.”

 

“That’s too bad.”

 

“…”

 

Raven burst into laughter at the voice of genuine concern from the hooded noblewoman. Even though she understood the Baron’s intention to give up a commoner’s child, she was deliberately ignoring it. Considering that no attendant came despite such a big commotion, it seemed like the Baron was a higher-ranking nobleman. Despite this, he showed no signs of being discouraged at all. There was also a nobleman like that. Why didn’t he recognize it until now? He thought that if she was that kind of nobleman, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have her by his side when he became Emperor. If she were a noble with the same thoughts as him, he would be a reliable ally in what would happen in the future. While Raven was thinking that, an unidentified noble wearing a hood suddenly asked the Baron as if he was curious.

 

“But why do you keep talking to me informally? Do you know me?”

 

She asked as if she really didn’t know. Raven’s eyes narrowed when he heard those words.

 

‘Nobility is ranked solely based on their status at birth. If she doesn’t know such simple things, he really seems like he’s a noble from the countryside… Should I ask her to come up to the capital? Were there any empty seats?’

 

Raven, who seriously thought about this for a moment, was surprised by his unconventional thoughts. What on earth did he know about that noblewoman? He was out of his mind for a moment. Thinking like that, Raven stared at that direction again. From then on, the noblewoman wearing the hood continued to strangely get on the Baron’s nerves by using honorifics to his knights and speaking poorly of him.

 

“Haha, ahaha…’

 

He didn’t know if she was doing this on purpose or because she really didn’t know, but the situation was so funny that Raven had to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out.

 

“Oh my.”

 

Raven, who had been laughing quietly as he bent his back, finally came to his senses and straightened his back again. It was fun watching her, but he felt like it would never end if it continued like this.

 

“…”

 

No matter what the process of a noble’s fight was, it was ultimately a game of ranking. The momentum was good, but that Baron was not an opponent that a border noble could defeat. Later, after he became Emperor, everything would change, but so far, that was the reality. Raven tried to get to her feet to help her up. She didn’t even take off her hood as she was wearing it. Long silver hair, calm purple eyes. A wind blew from somewhere and made her hair draw a soft curve. Raven didn’t understand the situation for a moment, so he just blinked and watched the situation. The Baron, who recognized her identity, continued to stand blankly until she bent down and disappeared. Raven finally came to his senses after Princess Seravi took the child and left the town.

 

“…”

 

‘The first nobleman I wanted to keep by my side…’

 

It was confusing.

 

“How…”

 

It couldn’t be someone else. She clearly said her own name. He was a little surprised when Serabi’s name came out of her mouth for the first time, but he naturally assumed she was an impersonator. Raven, who had watched Princess Seravi longer than anyone else, could never have thought it was her. But she easily overturned that expectation. And even to Raven, Princess Serabi’s actions did not seem false. Although she seemed a little bothered, she was clearly trying to protect the commoner child. That much was certain.

 

“Which one…?”

 

He stopped and couldn’t leave the spot for a while, as if he was possessed by something.

 

* * *

 

“Ater Forest?”

 

Damian, the second-in-command who had become somewhat familiar with her, spoke as she carefully checked the ingredients brought in today with her now familiar hands.

 

“Yes, that is under the direct jurisdiction of His Highness the Crown Prince, and there are rumors that a different race has appeared.”

 

“A different race?”

 

“I don’t know the details yet. But recently, someone said that they saw the other race kidnapping people and dragging them to the forest. They said it was a huge, black, and scary monster. It could be a threat, so let’s get the facts straight first. It would be better to figure it out and, if that doesn’t work, kill him.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

It’s a different race. Now that she thought about it, this was not the ordinary medieval era, but the worldview of a fantasy novel. It wouldn’t be surprising if different races appeared one by one. Above all, wasn’t there a legendary being right nearby who was said to have killed a dragon with his bare hands at the age of eight? Of course, the legendary anecdote that the Crown Prince killed a dragon with his bare hands at the age of eight was just one of the beautiful stories about the Crown Prince that only circulates among commoners, and they did not know if it really happened. Well, she thought she could believe that he actually beat him up.

 

“Is your shoulder okay?”

 

“It still hurts.”

 

There was no way such a monster-like thing could get through without breaking his shoulder as he grabbed it with all his might. Her left shoulder was somehow healed, but the condition of her right was a bit more serious. She must have been caught wrongly when he caught her. Even the doctor was speechless when he saw her wounds. She was told that she would have to live with only her left arm for the time being and see how things progressed, but in the worst case scenario, she would never be able to use a sword with her right hand again.

 

When the second-in-command heard this news, he started making a fuss, but he kept his mouth shut as if he was shocked by her calm reply, ‘I’m left-handed anyway, so it’s okay.’ He looked at her like she was a very strange creature, but she said she was fine. It’s a bit unfair that his right shoulder was damaged, but she looked fine on the outside, and in the worst case scenario, she couldn’t make a sword, but there were no problems with her daily life. She didn’t want to escalate matters unnecessarily, so she was keeping it secret from others for now. Members of the National Assembly were also strictly prohibited from joining. Because she knew that if she complained to the Crown Prince that it was because of him that this had happened, he would not give her an ounce of sympathy, so she decided to just keep quiet.

 

“Anyway, the only one who can deal with this race is the Commander-in-Chief. Quite a few people, including the Commander, will be away from the base for a while.”

 

“How many days will you be gone?”

 

“About fifteen days?”

 

It’s pretty long. Then she could rest for a while.

 

‘Ah, I guess I’ll take this opportunity to go away on vacation for 15 days.’

 

“Please take care of yourself.”

 

She pretended to be worried, suppressing the smile that was about to slip out. If she went to a hot spring that was said to be good for relieving wounds and soaking in it, wouldn’t her injured shoulder feel better? She was working hard to relieve the fatigue she had accumulated and making vacation plans in her head, when Damien spoke in a bewildered voice.

 

“Are you going safely? You’re going together too.”

 

“-yes?”

 

She raised her head as the words came out as if they were obvious.

 

‘I? why?’

 

Why should she go when they were going to subdue a different race? To begin with, her combat ability was extremely close to ‘0’, and even one of her arms was now broken. It’s okay if it got in the way. She couldn’t think that she would be helpful in subjugating a different race.

 

“Did you not see the condition of your subordinates when you were sick?”

 

There was a time when her shoulder was damaged and she had to miss work for two days for treatment. The shrine, which was difficult to see, didn’t make a fuss as it came and went. The situation was so serious that there was no time to worry about the soldiers’ meals. She thought someone would take care of it. But two days later, when she went to work at Distian feeling a little better, everyone was waiting for her, looking like a corpse. Except for the crown prince, he seemed more energetic now that she was gone.

 

“Are you going to starve us for fifteen days?”

 

“Even when I was playing and eating next to the crown prince, you took turns at the table.”

 

She argued in an aggrieved voice, but the deputy commander did not even listen to her. Rather, he spoke while digging his ears as if he was annoyed.

 

“If a soldier criticizes you, you go, why are you talking so much?”

 

“…”

 

The words she tried to reply to his words got stuck in her throat. She closed her mouth with an annoyed expression on her face.

 

* * *

 

As soon as the crown prince saw her in the group of punitive forces, he frowned.

 

“…Why princess?”

 

“Unlike the commander, your subordinates are willing to die even if they starve for just one meal.”

 

“…”

 

Raven looked like he had a lot to say, but when the second-in-command said that it was for the sake of his subordinates, he did not mention her any more and kept quiet. She was deliberately turning her head, pretending not to hear the conversation between the two people. She had no choice but to participate in the cross-species subjugation team, but she wanted to avoid getting involved with the crown prince any further. Thus began the subjugation of different races, the goal of which was to be careful not to become involved with the crown prince. She had no choice but to walk to the place where she could use the portal. 

 

The procession of soldiers marching in two columns with their military uniforms closely drawn was enough to attract people’s attention. The youngest prince was riding a horse at the front, and she followed the vanguard on foot at the end of the line furthest from him. Even if they were in the same group as the crown prince, the subjugation party consisted of over 50 people, so fortunately, he and she would never have to face each other alone. 

 

When she looked around, everyone was carrying a lot of luggage, but she was the only one dressed very lightly. When they arrived at the entrance to the forest, it was already dark, so they decided to leave at dawn the next day and the punitive force decided to stay at an inn. That night, she was so nervous at the thought of meeting a different race that she couldn’t sleep.

 

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