When Britia encountered the bleeding Harty in the forest, in a village in the north, Allendino’s spear was aimed at Sig.
Normally, Sig could easily block or avoid such movements. But he suddenly stood still, staring at an empty space.
“My Lord! Why are you freezing in the middle of a fight?” Evry, who blocked the spear instead, burst out in anger.
“I have a dangerous premonition,” Sig said absentmindedly.
“Because you almost died just now, you mean!” Evry replied, bewildered.
“No, not me. It’s Britia…”
A feeling as if something had happened. Sig’s words trailed off.
“Robert is accompanying her. Focus on the current situation.”
Evry, who knocked down Allendino with the spear, gasped for breath and spoke.
“If you just stay still, you’ll only be a hindrance. It’s best to quickly finish this and go back.”
Agreeing with his words, Sig tried to focus on the fight again. However, the lingering sense of unease still remained in his heart.
It felt like something bad had happened to Britia.
* * *
“Count-nim, why are you here? This is Mr. Devon’s territory…”
When Harty suddenly appeared before her, Britia was puzzled. It had been half a year since she last came here, so she was completely unaware that the ownership had changed.
“Pardon? What did you say?”
He didn’t make a sound, but his lips twitched, causing Britia’s head to tilt. There was something pale about Harty’s face. He couldn’t speak.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt…?”
Approaching a little closer, Britia finally realized that blood was flowing from Harty’s abdomen.
“Oh my goodness! COUNT-NIM!”
She screamed, and Harty collapsed to the ground. Startled, Britia rushed to him, putting her axe down and examining his wound.
“Why… Please snap out of it, Count-nim!”
“Doo…”
It seemed like he was trying to say something, so Britia leaned in closer, listening carefully. Speaking seemed painful, and Harty made an agonized expression. Only the sound of the wind whistling kept coming out.
“Doo, ee…”
“Doo? Axe?”
It seemed like he was trying to say “axe,” but she couldn’t understand what he meant by it.
“Slanford!”
But then, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, a furious woman’s scream echoed.
Britia was startled and instinctively picked up the axe she had placed on the ground. A woman with brown hair and a blood-stained knife emerged confidently from behind a tree.
“You, you’re truly as helpless as your beauty!” the woman shouted upon seeing Britia and Harty together.
“If one is killed, another one follows! It’s like a never-ending chain of troubles tied to your beauty!”
Britia felt overwhelmed by the woman’s intense energy.
“You’re a bad person. You want to share yourself with all those things. But what’s the result? Huh? Look at yourself now!”
The woman looked down at Harty, who was gasping for breath.
“That’s the price you pay for not having him all to yourself!”
The woman’s swirling eyes were frightening.
“Count-nim, who is this woman exactly? Did she hurt you, Count-nim?” Britia whispered to Harty in a low voice.
“Do you think I would do such a thing to my precious lover?”
Upon hearing that, the woman exploded in anger.
“I just want to keep Slanford locked away and have him only look at me, to be seen only by me!”
“Is she really your lover? No, that can’t be,” Britia denied, finding it hard to believe such crazy words. But the woman’s fury grew even stronger.
“I don’t need any obstacles that can’t understand my love. Hand him over.”
The woman twisted her lips into a wicked smile.
“If you don’t like that, you’ll end up like the owner of this lifeless knife, with your breath taken away. Whether one dies or both die, it’s all the same.”
The threatening words made Britia’s spine tingle with fear.
“Get up. Stay away from my man right now.”
“Oh, no. Please…”
Worried that Britia might do as the woman said, Harty urgently grabbed Britia’s arm.
“Slanford, you’ve chosen the wrong person to hold onto. That woman can’t handle you. You’re a man who can only be handled by me!”
Desperately holding onto Britia, Harty’s actions angered the woman, and she shouted.
“Only I, only I can truly understand you and love you. I promise. I won’t hurt you. I’ll protect and take care of you forever. I’ll give you a special love that no one else can.”
Britia found the woman’s excited and heavy breathing frightening. They didn’t know the complicated story between the two of them, but one thing was certain.
That woman was crazy!
Britia gripped the axe tightly and stood up.
“Count Slanford doesn’t seem to want your love, does he?”
Britia tried to speak forcefully, but her voice trembled.
If only I had brought my bow!
But how could she have known that the woman, who had come to the quiet and small forest near the house to gather firewood, would know the future? Britia had only examined unmoving trees and fallen branches with the axe, but now they had to do something somehow.
“Instead of loving you, it seems like he’s afraid of you…”
“Shut up! What do you know?”
The angry woman closed the distance in an instant and swung her knife.
“Ah!”
Britia screamed and swung the axe. However, their movement was too big and had many openings. They narrowly avoided being stabbed in the chest.
Taking a step back from the woman, Britia felt tears welling up. What kind of mess was this?
Britia used to gather firewood in this place with Devon’s permission just a year ago. Every penny was valuable, so they saved money by doing that. They don’t have to rely on others anymore, but now they are facing a big problem again. They decided to go back to the forest to try to reduce their living expenses.
Her brother, Crave, used to tease her about liking free things too much and warned her she might end up bald if they continue like that. Britia regrets not listening to Crave’s advice. It’s too late now, and she’s not just worried about going bald but also about being killed right here.
The woman who appeared thinks Britia made a mistake by choosing Slanford. She noticed that Britia was trembling in fear and that they were not skilled in handling the axe. She saw this as an opportunity to attack and easily kill Britia and take Harty with her.
As the woman approached Britia, intending to strike them with a knife, Britia managed to block the attack with the blade of their axe, narrowly avoiding being stabbed in the chest. However, in the process, the woman’s knife grazed Britia’s left hand, causing her to drop the axe in shock.
Vulnerable and trying to retreat, Britia took a step back. But the woman’s arm holding the knife was longer, and just as Britia thought she would be stabbed, the woman’s knife hit a rock, making a clanging sound, and flew away. Startled by the sudden turn of events, the woman looked around.
When a man from the forest came running, the woman instinctively grabbed Britia’s arm and used it as a shield. Robert, the man who threw the stone, drew his sword.
“Kyaaaa!”
Britia screamed upon seeing Robert. Could it be that this man is also one of Harty Slanford’s crazy stalkers?
Unbeknownst to Britia, Robert had been secretly guarding her ever since Sig left the capital city. To Britia, it was just a situation where a stranger with a knife was charging at them.
“Duck!”
In response to Robert’s shout, Britia’s body moved before her mind could process it. She quickly crouched down, and Robert’s sword tip landed on the neck of the woman who had been using Britia as a shield.
“Drop your weapon,” Robert said, and the woman reluctantly let go of Britia’s arm.
“Well done. Now step back three paces,” he commanded, switching the sword to one hand. The woman retreated without a word. Robert smirked and pretended to sheathe his sword, but instead, he swiftly reversed his grip and struck the woman’s neck with the hilt.
The woman collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Robert confirmed she had passed out with a calm expression and sheathed his sword.
“Are you alright? We’ve been enjoying peace for a while, but something like this happened,” Robert said, relieved that a disaster was narrowly avoided.
He wondered if it was okay to reveal that he had been secretly following Britia, as Evry had instructed him. It was a crisis situation, so it should be fine.
Robert tried to think positively, but negative thoughts crept in.
Evry had explicitly told him never to take his eyes off Britia. Yet, Robert had let his guard down, and it was his own mistake.
He had been on edge when Britia left with an axe. He wondered what they were going to do.
But seeing Britia fiercely chopping wood in the forest for an hour, he couldn’t help but relax. However, he knew that Evry wouldn’t accept such excuses.
He dreaded the upcoming lecture.
If Evry were to ask about it, he thought he might ask her to speak kindly. Robert scratched his head, looking cool, and turned towards Britia.
“By any chance…”
Robert, who had been smiling innocently, couldn’t continue his sentence and widened his eyes. A trickle of blood was coming from the back of her hand.
“Could it be… did that woman do something to your hand?”
No, it’s nothing. I might have just gotten a scratch while working with the wood.
Robert pointed at the woman with a glimmer of hope, but Britia, feeling wary of the stranger, nodded her head.
Covering his eyes with one hand, Robert let out a deep sigh.
‘If even a single drop of blood is spilled from Lady Britia, you’ll have to spill buckets of blood,’ echoed Evry’s words in Robert’s mind. This wouldn’t end with a mere lecture.
Was it only Evry? What about the others who jeered, claiming they only had an easy job guarding you? What about those knight wannabes who begged to be your escorts and ended up getting beaten?
Robert took a long breath and put his sword in its sheath, approaching Britia.
“Lady Britia, may I briefly look at the wound?”
But he couldn’t bring himself to hold her hand, so he gently touched her outstretched back of the hand. He mentally counted how many buckets of blood he would have to spill.
One bucket, two buckets…
“Um, thank you for your help. But, who are you? Do you know me?”
Britia asked cautiously.
“I am…”
Robert choked. At least it seemed like it would be several buckets of blood spilled. How could anyone survive losing that much blood?
Even if Evry were to save him, he couldn’t overlook the disgrace. In the worst case, he could be demoted to a failed knight for not even being able to do a simple task properly.
He thought it would be better to die than to experience such humiliation.
“I am someone who will soon die.”
With bloodshot eyes, Robert said mournfully.
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