HTMSAE - Chapter 77 < The Trap of the Attempted Murderer of the Pulley >





The Trap of the Attempted Murderer of the Pulley

The cooking began with a thud, and on the other hand, those who had brought stringed instruments similar to the Gitton but slightly larger began to play.

Before the meal even began, the alcohol was passed around, and the warm atmosphere became even more mature. Carson's tent was set up under the largest tree, a little away from the crowd.

That was the best place to see what people were doing. When evening came, Louis returned to the castle with Emma and two knights.

Ines and Charlotte tried to follow her, but the child tactfully refused. The reason was that she would feed the cats as soon as she got back and go to bed right away.

After a long time, Carson also felt quite relaxed. He looked at Ines, who was sitting in front of the campfire, smiling brightly while drinking the wine he had brought. Ines smiled so much that it made him wonder if she was a woman who always smiled so much.

At that moment, the chef appeared in front of him with a very proud face.

There was steaming soup and a simple meal together.

“I showed off my skills today.”

Carson smiled and accepted the food.

“It looks great at first glance.”

“Thank you!”

“Please give the food to those people over there before me.”

When Carson pointed in the direction of the people, the chef turned around. Then he smiled meaningfully at the lord.

“Yes, Sir.”

He answered excitedly and returned to where he had been cooking. As if by magic, the food was ready in no time. The joyful atmosphere in the middle of the forest seemed to be completed with the wonderful and abundant food.

But then, a knight approached Ines and said something, and she followed him. It was just when the food had arrived in front of her.

“Where on earth are you going?”

“Yes?”

Without answering Noah’s question, he tried to eat his food indifferently. However, when Ines continued to not show up, Carson became anxious and had no choice but to get up from his seat.

Thinking that it was time to look around.

“Where are you going?”

Asked Noah, who was eating with him, but Carson didn’t answer and just waved his hand and moved quickly. Since there was no warning, Noah put down what he was eating and followed him.

First, Carson went towards the crowd to meet the maid named Charlotte who always accompanied Ines. However, he couldn’t get to Charlotte. He could hear the servants gathered in a slightly secluded place talking.

“No, didn’t you say she was a noble?”

Ines and Charlotte were the only nobles in the castle.

“I saw you loading the carriage earlier, but it was really impressive. It must have held more than other carriages.”

“Yeah, a while ago, the gardener’s foot got stuck in a rock, so she came with an iron skewer and used it as a lever to free his foot.”

There were exclamations here and there.

“Her face looks like she couldn't lift a pail of milk.”

“That’s right. But haven’t you heard about that? That nickname?”

“Nickname?”

“Attempted pulley murderer.”

“I heard it too. She set up a trap and snared people by their ankles.”

“Just now, the knights were rushing to that maid in that forest.”

“What, why?”

After hearing that, Carson started running to find Ines. He firmly believed that the prey on this mountain today would not be animals, but those knights. He could hear the murmur of people gathered in the distance. A bright light appeared under the pitch-black sky.

“There it is.” 

As Carson ran faster than he had been running, Noah could not keep up with him. Noah thought that something terrible would happen in this forest soon.

When it came to Ines, his master did not care about anything.

As Carson approached, he saw the group standing in a circle as if they were capturing someone. The ones standing at the back were looking inside intently, even on tiptoe.

As soon as he arrived, Carson quickly grabbed the arm of the knight standing behind him. Then he dove inside.

“No, no.”

But soon, a clear voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Sir, that’s not how you do it.”

Ines took the rope from the knight sitting across from her. She skillfully moved her hands to tie a knot. Then, exclamations of “Wow” were heard from around her. She seemed to be absorbed in it, not even noticing that the lord had appeared.

Across from where she was standing, Glenn was looking at Ines with eyes as if he was possessed.

When she laid the knot she had made on the ground and threw the branches that had fallen nearby, the noose rose into the air with a whoosh as if it were alive.

Now the knights began to cheers and applaud.

“Where on earth did you learn this, no, where did you learn it?”

“Just over your shoulder...?”

“We’ve never even seen anything like it, because nooses are forbidden here except for the monstera.”

Ines smiled faintly at the young knight’s question. Most of the knights gathered there had come from Landhill.

“It seems that some people use it secretly.”

“It would be really good for ambushes.”

“It would be good to camouflage it with branches or something.”

“Ines, can you go back to the castle and teach me properly?”

Ines continued to kindly answer the questions that were asked here and there.

“Yes, I will. Uh, my lord?”

The eyes of the people followed Ines’s words. Only then did the knights recognize Carson and move away from her.

“When did you come?”

Asked the leader of the group, who approached him and asked. Carson smiled gently as if nothing had happened. However, Noah knew that he was still catching his breath.

“Yeah, just now. They said you were having fun.”

The woman who had been weaving a noose like a knight commander with a cold face just a moment ago was standing tall among the men with a blush on her face. Carson clenched his molars at the sight.

“Ines?”

“Yes?”

“Have you eaten?”

“Oh... I was just about to.”

“Okay, let’s go down.”

She nodded and approached Carson, and the group also cleared their place to go down.

“No, no. You guys make three nooses here and come down. You have to make them properly.”

They looked bewildered for a moment but soon answered loudly as if in a chorus.

Hearing the big answer, Carson returned to the campsite with Ines.

“Huh...”

Ines, who had been quietly following him, looked up at him at the sound of his sigh.

“What’s the problem?”

“Why is it so hard to feed you one meal?”

“Huh?”

“No, camping today, I mean camping.”

“But everyone is having so much fun. Everyone likes and respects you, my lord.”

“So you’re happy?”

“Of course.”

“Why are you happy when people like me?”

Carson couldn’t help but ask the question, even though he knew it was childish.

“Well...”

Ines raised her head and smiled innocently. There was not a single shadow in their eyes.

“Because you’re my lord.”

Where in the world could there be such blindness? 

Carson stopped walking for a moment and looked into her clear eyes. He liked and hated that blindness at the same time.

When Carson held out his hand, Ines took it without hesitation.

“Three months..."

“Huh?”

“No.”

When they returned to the campsite, Ines’s portion of food had already cooled. Ines greeted Carson and went back to her seat to eat the food that had already cooled down.

Carson, who could not bear to see that, approached the chef.

“Hey, look, your cooking was really good today.”

“Oh, oh, oh. You are too kind.”

The chef straightened his chest, pulling up the hem of his clothes.

“You are too kind because it was really delicious. So... may I ask for a little more?”

“Of course, my lord.”

“Then, while I am at it, I will make a little more for those who have not yet eaten.”

The chef looked around at those words. Then he smiled meaningfully again.

“Yes, I understand. Don’t worry, and go back.”

Carson also patted the chef on the shoulder a couple of times to ask for a favor. Thanks to that, he had to eat dinner twice, but seeing Ines smiling while eating warm food from afar made this hunt a complete success.

While eating the food that was just to her taste, Ines looked up at the sky.

The stringed instruments that people had brought sounded richer than the melody of Giton.

On a night when the stars and moon were neatly arranged, the music seemed to come from far away.

Ines had returned to the past and was enjoying complete peace for the first time.

Ines also vaguely realized that the 'three months' he had softly recited was the day she would return to being a noble.

The thought that she might be able to stand by him in her entirety then tore at her heartstrings.

***

Their peace did not last long.

One day in January, after the year had changed, a messenger from the royal family of the Keynes Empire crossed the border of Monstera.

Ines threw down her laundry and ran to the office upon hearing that a letter from the Keynes royal family had arrived. If she remembered correctly, the Empress's second son would soon ascend to the throne. There was no telling how that would affect Carson.

Before she could even reach his office, an angry voice came from the open door.

"How dare they!"

Ines froze in place.

"Calm down, the messenger hasn't returned yet."

"So what! Are you saying that I should be careful because he might tell me what I said?"

Noah’s voice could no longer be heard due to his chilling momentum. Ines slowly approached the office.

“Damn feudalism!”

“Please calm down and read it to the end.”

“It’s a story that’s worth reading.”

As Ines approached, the knights standing guard greeted her with their eyes. They did not stop Ines. She nodded and pushed the door open slightly, and the sound coming from inside became louder.


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