However, Cloud took them all at once with his long sword, then pulled out the dagger hidden in the handle and stabbed the knight running from behind in the abdomen.
The dagger he swung with his left hand instantly knocked down several knights.
“damn.”
Alexia, who was watching her subordinates falling from their wounds, quietly she uttered harsh words. Unknowingly, the smell of blood began to linger in the air.
No matter how large their numbers were, the rank knights were no match for Cloud. Even though they were all excellent knights belonging to the Imperial Guard.
They were only able to bind Cloud’s feet temporarily.
“… … “I think my only opponent here is you, Lord Dexen.”
Cloud opened his mouth grimly with a face covered in blood. It was true. Alexia swung her sword, which was much heavier than a normal sword, towards Cloud.
Huh. The sound of a heavy sword cutting through the air was unusual.
‘… … After all, she’s an amazing woman.’
Although she had a hard time blocking her sword, this time it was a bit too much for Cloud. It wasn’t the right time to reminisce, but she couldn’t help but think of the words of her older brother who worked with her.
Bayfold, who had sparred with her many times, always said this. ‘Alexia Dexen’s sword has a power that cannot be put into words.’ He praised her several times.
It wasn’t that he looked down on her because she was a woman, but Cloud flinched as the sword struck him with more force than anyone he had ever faced.
But that was only for a moment.
If Alexia had strength, Cloud had agility.
After dealing with her heavy attacks a few times, He began to see a pattern, and rather than dodging the sword, he chose to move his body quickly to avoid it.
That was the moment he was rarely evading Alexia’s blade.
One knight who still had the energy to fight gritted his teeth and charged toward Cloud with his sword. She hurriedly blocked his attack with the dagger in her left hand, but Alexia was not one to miss this opportunity.
In an instant, Alexia’s sword struck Cloud.
He hurriedly turned his body to avoid the attack, but unfortunately, he could not dodge it completely, so Alexia’s sword cut a large vertical cut around Cloud’s right eye.
“… … shit.”
He couldn’t die here like this.
He had a family to protect. They were his brother’s relatives, but since there was no longer a Bayfold in this world to protect mother and daughter, he had to survive and protect them.
He used a secret weapon hidden in the sole of his shoe.
When Cloud hit the heel of his shoe roughly on the ground, a huge explosion of sound and light suddenly erupted. It was a magic flashbang.
When Alexia, who had been unable to come to her senses for a while due to the sudden explosion of sound and light, came to her senses, Cloud had already disappeared.
“Follow the blood trail!!”
Those who were not seriously injured hurriedly followed the blood trail that Cloud had spilled, but by the time they reached the back alley outside the building, even the blood trail had stopped and disappeared.
“… … shit!!!”
Alexia was furious. Even though so many people were injured, nothing was gained. It was a defeat to look down on Cloud.
“Take care of the wounded. hurry!”
The healers that Alexia had on standby quickly began to use healing magic on the injured people.
Fortunately, since she was serving the only prince of the empire, there were many excellent healers. As long as she held her breath, she could most likely be saved.
‘No, I haven’t gained anything at all.’
There was one certain piece of information obtained through this incident.
Byron Lionel Vito Pheles, the eldest son of the Emperor rebelled and disappeared. It was true that he had returned.
* * *
“… … Laura, what’s going on?”
Ayla, who was eating the stew Laura brought her, asked cautiously.
It’s already been a few weeks since she was locked in a motel room and living quietly.
No, in fact, she put Laura to sleep once and secretly left the room, but she only returned with a few blank pieces of paper and a writing utensil from the lobby on the first floor of the inn.
Either way, Winfred’s quest to become crown prince was drawing to a close. He would be exploring uncharted strongholds and fortifications in a matter of days.
But the atmosphere was strange these days. Both Laura and Capella were just next to her in silence with worried faces.
Even Laura, who was busy finding fault with Ayla whenever she got the chance, has been feeling low these past few days. She doesn’t even say the nonsense she always does.
“… … no.”
After saying just that, Laura bit her lip tightly again. Her eyes were full of worry, and even tears were welling up in them.
There was definitely something going on, but it wouldn’t normally be a big deal. Neither Laura nor Capella would open their mouths at all, so she had no way of knowing and it was just frustrating.
Ayla sighed and took another large spoonful of stew into her mouth. It was impossible to force her to open her mouth.
It seemed like the moment to start using sleeping pills again, which she hadn’t used in a while, was approaching.
That night. Capella had been by her side all evening and left the room for a moment to replace Laura.
Ayla hurriedly retrieved the box Winfred had given her and took out the sleeping pills she had hidden, waiting for Laura to come to her room.
She also didn’t forget to put a drop of sleeping pills in the water bottle in her room.
‘There really isn’t much left now.’
Considering how little they had made in the very first place, the sleeping pills were almost depleted.
Actually, it didn’t matter since she didn’t have any more use to do once she left this city.
And after a while, Laura came into the room with a dark expression.
“… … Go to sleep quickly. miss.”
Laura, who took care of her bed, spoke in a gloomy voice. The atmosphere was somehow difficult to put into words.
“huh.”
It was when Ayla had no choice but to put her head on the pillow and pretend to fall asleep.
“Huh, huh.”
Laura started to cry. She muffled her voice as if she was trying not to make any sound.
‘… … ‘What’s going on?’
She couldn’t help but be confused. What is going on in Daejo?
After shedding tears for a long time, Laura drank water from the bottle containing sleeping pills, probably because she was thirsty.
And not long after that, she fell into a deep sleep.
‘… … ‘I’m worried.’
She can’t believe that bitter Laura is crying so sadly. She wonder what’s going on.
Ayla secretly left the room and went to Byron’s room to hide her presence.
She thought it would be the fastest way to find out what was going on.
And just as she expected, Byron’s anxious voice was heard from his room.
“What about the cloud? Any news?”
Cloud？ Now that she thought about it, Ayla realized that it had already been a few days since she had seen Cloud and carefully opened the door. One of Byron’s subordinates, whom she had occasionally seen, was bowing his head with an embarrassed expression.
“Yes, my lord.”
“It’s already been a few days… … . “You weren’t caught, right?”
“Yes. That doesn’t seem to be the case. It seemed like they were looking for Cloud-sama as well. From what I heard, it seemed like Cloud-sama was injured, so I wonder if it’s wrong… … .”
At his report, Byron nervously bit his lips with his only hand.
Ayla, who was looking at that scene, couldn’t figure out what this was talking about, so she just opened her eyes.
‘The cloud hasn’t come back for several days? What’s going on?’
“… … Mobilize as many people as possible to find Cloud. If he is dead, at least bring his body.”
Byron spoke in a dark voice, and the attendant began to approach the door, saying hello and saying that he would follow his orders.
‘Oh no, I need to avoid this quickly.’
Ayla quickly walked away from the door. She wanted to get more information, but there was no way.
Ayla returned to her room, took out the paper and writing utensils she had hidden, and sat down next to the table. It was to organize the situation.
‘Cloud’s job was to kill Winfred.’
If he went on a mission and did not return for several days, there was only one possible scenario. He ran into the imperial guards protecting Winfred.
Cloud was a cautious person. Moreover, he was a quite strong knight.
She had only taught her how to wield daggers, but she happened to watch her simultaneously swinging two different-length swords. Even in my second life, she still recalls the terrifying feeling from that moment as if it were yesterday.
Ayla herself thought that she was a step above Cloud, but that was limited to hiding and infiltration.
Even though he was a level below her, and with his skills, he would never have been discovered hiding outside the building.
Still, it was obvious that something major had occurred if a cloud of that magnitude could do harm to individuals.
‘Did they infiltrate the building? Then, will Winfred be safe?’
What if Cloud became impatient and sneaked into the building to harm Winfred after being told to stay in a safe place and not wander around alone?
The first thought that came to mind was whether Winfred was safe.
‘Safe, I will do it. ‘There’s no way he would neglect his only prince’s security like that.’
Apparently, something like this never happened in the past life. So, this means that it happened because of something Ayla changed when she returned to the past.
‘… … Is it because I gave information to Winfred? If so… … ‘It could be a trap.’
A trap deliberately set to catch Cloud.
It was a possibility.
‘Anyway, what happens to me if Cloud doesn’t come back?’
