In the meantime, Carson received the child, and the guard standing right in front of her hugged her tightly. At first,
he felt an inexplicable feeling at that sight, but he ignored it and looked after his younger sister first.
“Louis, your brother is here. It’s okay now. Everything’s okay.”
While tightly embracing his younger sister who burst into tears, he quickly began to clean up the surroundings.
After holding his younger sister in his arms, he immediately left Lesonia and headed to Landhill, his own territory.
In the square, a woman who revealed herself as the maid of the Swenden Viscounty found out that the woman who was now unconscious and lying in bed in his mansion was the only daughter of the Swenden Viscounty. The sudden visit of the new lord due to an unexpected incident sent the nobles of Landhill into a state of confusion.
Upon entering the empty mansion, Carson immediately handed a letter containing detailed information to the maid who was with Ines.
He added that she was currently receiving treatment but that her life was not in danger, so he would not allow Viscount Swenden to visit. Then he immediately locked the mansion.
After the commotion, darkness and silence descended on the mansion. He sat by his sister’s bedside and just stared at her for a long time. It was only after he ran his hand through the child’s hair that he realized that his body was shaking terribly. Four years had passed, but his sister had not changed much. It was both delightful and heartbreaking to see her like that. She was a child who had been slow to walk and talk. Did this child grow up because she had been waiting for him all this time?
How much worse must it have been for a child who had never been close to anyone?
The trembling that had started after it was determined that Louis was safe did not subside even after the doctor had visited and told him that there were no other abnormalities besides minor scratches.
If it hadn’t been for that strange woman today, his sister would have died without a fight.
Carson didn’t even know the name of the woman who had saved his sister’s life. Maybe.
‘Ines... Ines Swenden, you say?
The woman who had caused a disturbance on horseback was captured on the spot. The woman was a commoner named Lena Mariere. He had not yet met her, but the knights said that she was heavily drugged and kept talking nonsense.
Carson touched his sister’s forehead once more and moved to where Viscount Swenden’s daughter was.
He entered the room where Ines was lying and turned on a single light to drive away some of the pitch-black darkness.
Although it was clear that she had just finished her treatment and was asleep, Carson felt suffocated again when he saw her. With her eyes closed, she looked much younger than when he had seen her in the square during the day.
He rubbed his empty neck with his dry hand and carefully sat down next to the woman. Then her eyebrows rose sharply and then fell. Then her eyelids slowly rose.
“Are you coming to your senses now?”
He asked, but Ines did not answer.
“Lady Swenden?”
Carson hurriedly got up to call the doctor, wondering if there was anything wrong with her head injury. However, he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a voice.
“I’m fine.”
Relieved by the clear voice, Carson sat back down in his chair.
“This is my mansion.”
“Yes, I know.”
Ines didn’t look around or try to remember the past. Without even trying, she remembered clearly how she had saved Carson’s younger sister and how he had reached out to her and asked her to walk ten steps with him. It was like a revelation from God, and she knew she would never forget those moments for the rest of her life.
When Ines tried to get up, he gently stopped her in a low voice.
“You can’t move yet.”
When she stubbornly moved despite Carson’s words, he came over and placed a pillow behind her back.
“Thank you.”
“Is there anything uncomfortable?”
“Please keep your mouth shut, Your Highness.”
“I’m not a Prince here. I’m just the lord and count of this territory.”
In the Keynes Empire, it was a rule that nobles did not treat each other inferiorly. However, since he was a member of the royal family, it was only natural that he should speak to Ines.
“Just because you’re a Count doesn’t mean you’re not a member of the royal family.”
It was a remarkably neat tone that made it hard to believe that she was a woman who had been sleeping as if dead until just a moment ago.
“Your priority right now is to recover, so let’s talk about that later.”
When he saw Ines nod, he walked over to the window, pulled the curtains, and opened the window a little.
“If you feel a chill, tell me right away.”
Ines stared at him without answering. Meeting her indifferent gaze, he continued.
“The doctor said that you were badly injured, but he had already treated everything. He just said that you had lost too much blood.”
Moonlight poured in behind him as he turned away from the window. Ines thought that it suited him very well.
“He had to get stitches in your wound. He said that your hair would not grow back for a while, starting from the tip of your head, just behind your neck.”
“Yes.”
“Your shoulder and arm were badly injured, too. He said that you would not be able to use your left arm for a while.”
“Yes.”
“And your ankle...”
For a moment, their gazes turned to her feet.
“He said that if you rested for a few days, you would be able to walk without any problems.”
He could not take his eyes off her feet. And he recalled the way he had seen her in Piazza Conero. He had never forgotten that moment when she limped toward him, and his gaze followed her all day.
“Yes.”
The moment his eyes met with hers as she answered, Carson felt a sense of discomfort. But he couldn’t figure out why at all.
It was hard to judge whether this conversation was natural or not in the current situation. She had a strange air about her that made him feel embarrassed.
“By the way, Your Highness.”
“Just call me Count.”
“Yes, Count Raymond. Where is my maid now?”
“She’s been sent back to Swenden Manor.”
“Is she injured anywhere?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, then what happened to the woman on horseback?”
“She...”
Carson thought that for the first time, emotions were entangled in Ines’ face as he talked about the woman. She had always looked completely indifferent when she talked about the wound on the back of her head and when she talked about whether she would be able to walk properly.
“She’s been locked in a secret room in the basement of the mansion. We haven’t even identified her yet.”
“You’re not planning on releasing her right away, are you?”
“Of course.”
Ines nodded. If what Lena, who was not in her right mind, muttered was true, then the person who had ordered this must have been the current Lord of Lesonia.
If she could just reveal that Count Graham was behind the assassination of the royal family, Ines would have a very good weapon.
“Can I meet that woman later?”
“For what... reason?”
Ines, who had said that she wanted to meet Lena in a hurry, bit her lower lip in a desperate attempt to avoid it. It was only natural that Carson’s eyes, looking at her, were filled with suspicion and caution. However, even so, she absolutely could not let Lena go like this.
“Just... curiosity.”
“Do you know her?”
“Who?”
“The woman imprisoned in the basement.”
“How could that be?”
Ines’ large eyes, which had been difficult to lie to her own blindness, rolled around.
Watching him slightly furrow his brow, Ines thought that she had to avoid the current situation.
“Ah...”
When Ines put her hand on her forehead as if she had a headache and tilted her head to one side, Carson’s lips slightly went up.
Watching her awkward acting, he was certain that the woman in front of him knew something. As if she had foreseen the angry horse attacking his sister, there was no hesitation in her movements in the square.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m a little dizzy.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll call the doctor.”
“Please.”
Carson got up from his seat without hesitation and walked to the door. He turned to her while holding the doorknob as he was about to go out.
“I’ve told Viscount Swenden everything. You don’t have to worry about that. And Lady Swenden cannot leave this mansion until you get better.”
He left the room without waiting for an answer. Seeing him say that he wasn’t asking her to stay in this mansion and that she couldn’t leave, Ines could easily realize that she was imprisoned here like Lena.
***
A week had passed since the incident, but Lena had not confessed anything. She simply repeated that she had been running while under the influence of drugs and had done it while not in her right mind. All the enemies who attacked Carson that day were killed. There must have been survivors, but he only heard that they were killed by the security forces.
Even though they were thoroughly searched, there were no marks left on them that could identify them. It wasn’t easy for Carson, who had come to this territory for the first time, to grasp the current situation of all the mercenaries operating in the territory.
He also looked into Ines, but other than the fact that she was the only daughter of a viscount, there was nothing unusual about her. If he only looked at her personal information, Ines Swenden was ordinary, even too ordinary.
“She’ll be here soon.”
When the butler said that Ines would be coming to the office soon, he nodded and approached the office window.
“Ines Swenden, Ines Swenden...”
He tapped his fingers on the window frame and turned to the door at the sound of a knock. Then, his eyes met with the woman who had entered.
She bowed slightly and began to slowly approach him. At that moment, he realized the identity of the sense of discomfort he had felt whenever he saw this woman.
“You said you were 20 years old?”
Carson started asking questions right away without even accepting her greeting. Asking a noble lady about her age was clearly against etiquette.
Although he was respectful to her because they were both nobles, he was a royal family member through and through. So his question did not feel strange at all.
“Yes, that is correct.”
he felt an inexplicable feeling at that sight, but he ignored it and looked after his younger sister first.
“Louis, your brother is here. It’s okay now. Everything’s okay.”
While tightly embracing his younger sister who burst into tears, he quickly began to clean up the surroundings.
***
After holding his younger sister in his arms, he immediately left Lesonia and headed to Landhill, his own territory.
In the square, a woman who revealed herself as the maid of the Swenden Viscounty found out that the woman who was now unconscious and lying in bed in his mansion was the only daughter of the Swenden Viscounty. The sudden visit of the new lord due to an unexpected incident sent the nobles of Landhill into a state of confusion.
Upon entering the empty mansion, Carson immediately handed a letter containing detailed information to the maid who was with Ines.
He added that she was currently receiving treatment but that her life was not in danger, so he would not allow Viscount Swenden to visit. Then he immediately locked the mansion.
After the commotion, darkness and silence descended on the mansion. He sat by his sister’s bedside and just stared at her for a long time. It was only after he ran his hand through the child’s hair that he realized that his body was shaking terribly. Four years had passed, but his sister had not changed much. It was both delightful and heartbreaking to see her like that. She was a child who had been slow to walk and talk. Did this child grow up because she had been waiting for him all this time?
How much worse must it have been for a child who had never been close to anyone?
The trembling that had started after it was determined that Louis was safe did not subside even after the doctor had visited and told him that there were no other abnormalities besides minor scratches.
If it hadn’t been for that strange woman today, his sister would have died without a fight.
Carson didn’t even know the name of the woman who had saved his sister’s life. Maybe.
‘Ines... Ines Swenden, you say?
The woman who had caused a disturbance on horseback was captured on the spot. The woman was a commoner named Lena Mariere. He had not yet met her, but the knights said that she was heavily drugged and kept talking nonsense.
Carson touched his sister’s forehead once more and moved to where Viscount Swenden’s daughter was.
***
He entered the room where Ines was lying and turned on a single light to drive away some of the pitch-black darkness.
Although it was clear that she had just finished her treatment and was asleep, Carson felt suffocated again when he saw her. With her eyes closed, she looked much younger than when he had seen her in the square during the day.
He rubbed his empty neck with his dry hand and carefully sat down next to the woman. Then her eyebrows rose sharply and then fell. Then her eyelids slowly rose.
“Are you coming to your senses now?”
He asked, but Ines did not answer.
“Lady Swenden?”
Carson hurriedly got up to call the doctor, wondering if there was anything wrong with her head injury. However, he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a voice.
“I’m fine.”
Relieved by the clear voice, Carson sat back down in his chair.
“This is my mansion.”
“Yes, I know.”
Ines didn’t look around or try to remember the past. Without even trying, she remembered clearly how she had saved Carson’s younger sister and how he had reached out to her and asked her to walk ten steps with him. It was like a revelation from God, and she knew she would never forget those moments for the rest of her life.
When Ines tried to get up, he gently stopped her in a low voice.
“You can’t move yet.”
When she stubbornly moved despite Carson’s words, he came over and placed a pillow behind her back.
“Thank you.”
“Is there anything uncomfortable?”
“Please keep your mouth shut, Your Highness.”
“I’m not a Prince here. I’m just the lord and count of this territory.”
In the Keynes Empire, it was a rule that nobles did not treat each other inferiorly. However, since he was a member of the royal family, it was only natural that he should speak to Ines.
“Just because you’re a Count doesn’t mean you’re not a member of the royal family.”
It was a remarkably neat tone that made it hard to believe that she was a woman who had been sleeping as if dead until just a moment ago.
“Your priority right now is to recover, so let’s talk about that later.”
When he saw Ines nod, he walked over to the window, pulled the curtains, and opened the window a little.
“If you feel a chill, tell me right away.”
Ines stared at him without answering. Meeting her indifferent gaze, he continued.
“The doctor said that you were badly injured, but he had already treated everything. He just said that you had lost too much blood.”
Moonlight poured in behind him as he turned away from the window. Ines thought that it suited him very well.
“He had to get stitches in your wound. He said that your hair would not grow back for a while, starting from the tip of your head, just behind your neck.”
“Yes.”
“Your shoulder and arm were badly injured, too. He said that you would not be able to use your left arm for a while.”
“Yes.”
“And your ankle...”
For a moment, their gazes turned to her feet.
“He said that if you rested for a few days, you would be able to walk without any problems.”
He could not take his eyes off her feet. And he recalled the way he had seen her in Piazza Conero. He had never forgotten that moment when she limped toward him, and his gaze followed her all day.
“Yes.”
The moment his eyes met with hers as she answered, Carson felt a sense of discomfort. But he couldn’t figure out why at all.
It was hard to judge whether this conversation was natural or not in the current situation. She had a strange air about her that made him feel embarrassed.
“By the way, Your Highness.”
“Just call me Count.”
“Yes, Count Raymond. Where is my maid now?”
“She’s been sent back to Swenden Manor.”
“Is she injured anywhere?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, then what happened to the woman on horseback?”
“She...”
Carson thought that for the first time, emotions were entangled in Ines’ face as he talked about the woman. She had always looked completely indifferent when she talked about the wound on the back of her head and when she talked about whether she would be able to walk properly.
“She’s been locked in a secret room in the basement of the mansion. We haven’t even identified her yet.”
“You’re not planning on releasing her right away, are you?”
“Of course.”
Ines nodded. If what Lena, who was not in her right mind, muttered was true, then the person who had ordered this must have been the current Lord of Lesonia.
If she could just reveal that Count Graham was behind the assassination of the royal family, Ines would have a very good weapon.
“Can I meet that woman later?”
“For what... reason?”
Ines, who had said that she wanted to meet Lena in a hurry, bit her lower lip in a desperate attempt to avoid it. It was only natural that Carson’s eyes, looking at her, were filled with suspicion and caution. However, even so, she absolutely could not let Lena go like this.
“Just... curiosity.”
“Do you know her?”
“Who?”
“The woman imprisoned in the basement.”
“How could that be?”
Ines’ large eyes, which had been difficult to lie to her own blindness, rolled around.
Watching him slightly furrow his brow, Ines thought that she had to avoid the current situation.
“Ah...”
When Ines put her hand on her forehead as if she had a headache and tilted her head to one side, Carson’s lips slightly went up.
Watching her awkward acting, he was certain that the woman in front of him knew something. As if she had foreseen the angry horse attacking his sister, there was no hesitation in her movements in the square.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m a little dizzy.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll call the doctor.”
“Please.”
Carson got up from his seat without hesitation and walked to the door. He turned to her while holding the doorknob as he was about to go out.
“I’ve told Viscount Swenden everything. You don’t have to worry about that. And Lady Swenden cannot leave this mansion until you get better.”
He left the room without waiting for an answer. Seeing him say that he wasn’t asking her to stay in this mansion and that she couldn’t leave, Ines could easily realize that she was imprisoned here like Lena.
***
A week had passed since the incident, but Lena had not confessed anything. She simply repeated that she had been running while under the influence of drugs and had done it while not in her right mind. All the enemies who attacked Carson that day were killed. There must have been survivors, but he only heard that they were killed by the security forces.
Even though they were thoroughly searched, there were no marks left on them that could identify them. It wasn’t easy for Carson, who had come to this territory for the first time, to grasp the current situation of all the mercenaries operating in the territory.
He also looked into Ines, but other than the fact that she was the only daughter of a viscount, there was nothing unusual about her. If he only looked at her personal information, Ines Swenden was ordinary, even too ordinary.
“She’ll be here soon.”
When the butler said that Ines would be coming to the office soon, he nodded and approached the office window.
“Ines Swenden, Ines Swenden...”
He tapped his fingers on the window frame and turned to the door at the sound of a knock. Then, his eyes met with the woman who had entered.
She bowed slightly and began to slowly approach him. At that moment, he realized the identity of the sense of discomfort he had felt whenever he saw this woman.
“You said you were 20 years old?”
Carson started asking questions right away without even accepting her greeting. Asking a noble lady about her age was clearly against etiquette.
Although he was respectful to her because they were both nobles, he was a royal family member through and through. So his question did not feel strange at all.
“Yes, that is correct.”
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