I pretended to be a maid on an errand and came out of the room with an empty tray in my hand.
The two knights standing guard in the hallway paid me no attention. They seemed preoccupied with their card game.
They were imperial knights who had been assigned by Kavala along with his maids, and they were probably assigned to watch over me rather than protect me.
I walked past them and down the stairs.
Perhaps because the imperial knights were not enough, the knights of Callius stood guard from the floor just below.
I spotted a familiar redhead among them and approached him.
I was wearing Lamia's clothes and had my head covered with a hood, but he recognized me somehow, and his eyes widened as soon as he spotted me.
"Your Highness..."
"Shhh."
I quickly put my index finger to my lips and signaled for silence.
“The royal knights must not know.”
I grabbed his sleeve and dragged him down the stairs without any hesitation.
Although I had calmed down a lot thanks to Lamia, my body was still shaking slightly.
The red-haired knight asked secretly.
“What’s wrong? You’re shaking.”
“There is someone suspicious.”
"Yes?"
“The servant who just came up to my room! You’ll recognize him right away because of his unusually shaped eyebrows.”
The red-haired knight looked puzzled.
“I was standing on the landing the whole time, but no one except the maids came up to the floor where Her Highness the Princess was.”
“...!”
I was speechless with embarrassment. I stammered and asked.
"Above, is there only one staircase leading upstairs? And a window? He could have come in through the window. Or he was hiding in another room..."
"Aren't there imperial knights upstairs? If anyone showed signs of being suspicious, wouldn't they have stopped them?"
"My escort knights are people I've never seen before. I don't trust them."
To begin with, I'm not even sure if they're really royal knights or not.
The red-haired knight, hearing my words, looked confused, then narrowed his eyes and tilted his head as if he was suspicious.
“But where are Your Highness’s maids and why did you come down alone?”
I flinched involuntarily at the look of distrust.
Because the faces of the other people who laughed at me were superimposed on the face of the red-haired knight.
“They said she was crazy.”
“She lost her mind?”
“She keeps lying as if she’s obsessed with something.”
The laughter of those who gossiped and laughed at me.
The gaze of people who pretended to trust me in front of me, but then shrugged their shoulders and deceived me when they turned around.
The violence suffered by Viscount Pelsus was dismissed as hallucinations, illusions, or lies.
All those memories weighed on me.
'This person doesn't believe me either.'
A feeling of helplessness spread throughout my body, as if nothing I said would work.
But.
'If I just leave it as is because they don't believe, I'll just end up repeating the same miserable life I had.'
I opened my eyes wide and glared at the red-haired knight.
“Do you think I’m crazy, too?”
He was greatly taken aback by my direct question.
“Yes? Oh, no, that’s not what I meant...”
"Even if you say I'm mad, I'm here now as the Marchioness of Rodrian. As the Marquis's knight, you have no right to take my words lightly."
I gave him a firm order.
“Go to Marquis Rodrian immediately and tell him what I said.”
"Hey, calm down for now. I'll speak to the captain."
It was a strange answer.
I frowned and glared at him.
"If you don't want to tell the Marquis, I'll tell him myself. Where is he?"
Did my momentum seem quite fierce?
The red-haired knight, who had been acting quite mature until now, said with a sad expression.
“No. That’s not it. The lord hasn’t returned yet, so Bren... no, Viscount Creep went to look for him. That’s why I was trying to report to the commander in a hurry... I absolutely don’t think Your Highness has gone mad…!”
“...!”
No matter how young he looked, he was much bigger than me, and I was shocked because it was the first time I saw a man wearing armor cry.
'Did I misunderstand?'
Even though I was standing in this cold hallway, my face felt hot.
I said, trying my best to act as if nothing had happened.
"We don't have time to waste time like this. Marquis Rodrian could be in danger. Please report this to your superiors immediately."
That moment.
Callius was outside the Abene's outer walls.
The blizzard that had started as soon as the sun set was now raging quite fiercely.
The wind blocked my vision, making it difficult to see even an inch ahead.
But Callius rode his horse through the snowstorm as if he were used to it.
The white horses of Ronheim were very large and resistant to the cold, so they moved forward without any hesitation.
Callius, who had reached a deserted place, dismounted from his horse with a calm expression on his face, as if he had come for a walk.
He reached for the bag he had hung on his horse's saddle.
At that moment, a long sound that sounded like the wind or a child crying echoed through the air.
Aaaaaaaaaa!
Whioooo!
Callius chuckled.
“Why did you come all this way to complain?”
He took something out of the bag.
It was a fish that was extremely difficult to obtain in the northern cities, even though it was dried fish.
“Yes, here’s a special dish.”
He threw the dried fish far away.
Then, something flashed past his vision, blurred by the snowstorm.
“I’d like to get you some fresh ones someday, but... that’ll be a bit difficult.”
Callius muttered, reaching into his bag again and grabbing a few dried fish in one hand.
He was about to scatter it when he suddenly stopped moving.
“...?”
In this place filled with only the sound of the strong wind, there was a faintly alien sound mixed in.
It was the sound of footsteps in the snow.
The sound was coming from the direction Callius had passed through.
'Three? Four?'
It was hard to believe that the crowds of people in this bad weather, at this late hour, and in this remote location were a coincidence.
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword with a hardened face.
Hey!
Niaaaa!
The strange wind noise he had heard a moment ago was echoing around Callius.
"Sorry for the late introductions. This is Hawick Blago. I got a briefing from Alex. He said he saw someone suspicious."
The red-haired knight, who introduced himself as Alex, hid me in another safe room and brought the knight commander.
The Knight Commander was a man of honest appearance with hair cut short enough to show his scalp.
'It feels like the rock is moving.'
If a golem, a monster described in legend as being made of rock, were to transform into a human, would it look like this?
Even the thick cloak he was wearing couldn't hide the curves of his muscular body.
“Lord Hawick.”
I spoke calmly.
"I know his identity. He's a very dangerous man. I think he's been following us since the capital. Is Marquis Rodrian still there?"
“Count Creep has gone to look for him, so he will be back soon.”
His expression was very indifferent, perhaps because he was a person who didn't show much change in expression, or because he didn't sense the seriousness of the situation.
“Please rest assured. Other subordinates are searching both inside and outside the quarters for the man Her Royal Highness spoke of."
I said forcefully.
"I heard the Marquis of Rodrian went out alone. He might be in danger. Where on earth did he go?"
Hawick frowned as if in trouble.
“Your Highness, the cats are here now.”
He stopped talking.
I thought I had misheard something, so I tilted my head slightly and asked.
“What did you just say, Lord Howick?”
“Ahem.”
Hawick coughed, unable to hide his discomfort, and answered reluctantly.
“The lord went to check on the cats.”
“A cat?”
“Yes, the snow cat.”
I didn't mishear.
I couldn't believe it, so I asked again.
“So, by cat... You mean that small carnivore I know?”
“Yes, that’s right. A small carnivore.”
I looked back and forth between Hawick and Alex.
"What cat? Why did he suddenly go to check on a cat? Where is the cat? What kind of cat is it? Did he have to go now? What is it? Did it go to a friend's house to play? Or is it a stray cat?"
A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind.
Hawick and Alex were calm yet serious, not knowing whether they knew my confusion or not.
The two whispered to each other while looking at my expression.
“The cats must have starved a lot while he was away, Captain.”
“So it looks like he went to feed it in a hurry.”
Alex looked out the window.
“The snowstorm is so intense right now.”
"Hmm."
Hawick nodded.
'What, is this the kind of conversation we're having right now?'
I was about to get angry at them, but Hawick reassured me.
“Don’t worry, my lord will be safe.”
“Aren’t you going to send people to look for him?”
“His Excellency has ordered that the safety of Your Highness the Princess, be given top priority.”
The Knight Commander's face, as he spoke, showed no sign of concern for Callius. Alex, standing beside him, was no different.
'No matter how good Callius' swordsmanship is,'
Judging by the fact that he ordered his subordinates to search, it seems that Hawick wasn't ignoring my words.
'Why on earth is it so peaceful...?'
The two knights standing guard in the hallway paid me no attention. They seemed preoccupied with their card game.
They were imperial knights who had been assigned by Kavala along with his maids, and they were probably assigned to watch over me rather than protect me.
I walked past them and down the stairs.
Perhaps because the imperial knights were not enough, the knights of Callius stood guard from the floor just below.
I spotted a familiar redhead among them and approached him.
I was wearing Lamia's clothes and had my head covered with a hood, but he recognized me somehow, and his eyes widened as soon as he spotted me.
"Your Highness..."
"Shhh."
I quickly put my index finger to my lips and signaled for silence.
“The royal knights must not know.”
I grabbed his sleeve and dragged him down the stairs without any hesitation.
Although I had calmed down a lot thanks to Lamia, my body was still shaking slightly.
The red-haired knight asked secretly.
“What’s wrong? You’re shaking.”
“There is someone suspicious.”
"Yes?"
“The servant who just came up to my room! You’ll recognize him right away because of his unusually shaped eyebrows.”
The red-haired knight looked puzzled.
“I was standing on the landing the whole time, but no one except the maids came up to the floor where Her Highness the Princess was.”
“...!”
I was speechless with embarrassment. I stammered and asked.
"Above, is there only one staircase leading upstairs? And a window? He could have come in through the window. Or he was hiding in another room..."
"Aren't there imperial knights upstairs? If anyone showed signs of being suspicious, wouldn't they have stopped them?"
"My escort knights are people I've never seen before. I don't trust them."
To begin with, I'm not even sure if they're really royal knights or not.
The red-haired knight, hearing my words, looked confused, then narrowed his eyes and tilted his head as if he was suspicious.
“But where are Your Highness’s maids and why did you come down alone?”
I flinched involuntarily at the look of distrust.
Because the faces of the other people who laughed at me were superimposed on the face of the red-haired knight.
“They said she was crazy.”
“She lost her mind?”
“She keeps lying as if she’s obsessed with something.”
The laughter of those who gossiped and laughed at me.
The gaze of people who pretended to trust me in front of me, but then shrugged their shoulders and deceived me when they turned around.
The violence suffered by Viscount Pelsus was dismissed as hallucinations, illusions, or lies.
All those memories weighed on me.
'This person doesn't believe me either.'
A feeling of helplessness spread throughout my body, as if nothing I said would work.
But.
'If I just leave it as is because they don't believe, I'll just end up repeating the same miserable life I had.'
I opened my eyes wide and glared at the red-haired knight.
“Do you think I’m crazy, too?”
He was greatly taken aback by my direct question.
“Yes? Oh, no, that’s not what I meant...”
"Even if you say I'm mad, I'm here now as the Marchioness of Rodrian. As the Marquis's knight, you have no right to take my words lightly."
I gave him a firm order.
“Go to Marquis Rodrian immediately and tell him what I said.”
"Hey, calm down for now. I'll speak to the captain."
It was a strange answer.
I frowned and glared at him.
"If you don't want to tell the Marquis, I'll tell him myself. Where is he?"
Did my momentum seem quite fierce?
The red-haired knight, who had been acting quite mature until now, said with a sad expression.
“No. That’s not it. The lord hasn’t returned yet, so Bren... no, Viscount Creep went to look for him. That’s why I was trying to report to the commander in a hurry... I absolutely don’t think Your Highness has gone mad…!”
“...!”
No matter how young he looked, he was much bigger than me, and I was shocked because it was the first time I saw a man wearing armor cry.
'Did I misunderstand?'
Even though I was standing in this cold hallway, my face felt hot.
I said, trying my best to act as if nothing had happened.
"We don't have time to waste time like this. Marquis Rodrian could be in danger. Please report this to your superiors immediately."
***
That moment.
Callius was outside the Abene's outer walls.
The blizzard that had started as soon as the sun set was now raging quite fiercely.
The wind blocked my vision, making it difficult to see even an inch ahead.
But Callius rode his horse through the snowstorm as if he were used to it.
The white horses of Ronheim were very large and resistant to the cold, so they moved forward without any hesitation.
Callius, who had reached a deserted place, dismounted from his horse with a calm expression on his face, as if he had come for a walk.
He reached for the bag he had hung on his horse's saddle.
At that moment, a long sound that sounded like the wind or a child crying echoed through the air.
Aaaaaaaaaa!
Whioooo!
Callius chuckled.
“Why did you come all this way to complain?”
He took something out of the bag.
It was a fish that was extremely difficult to obtain in the northern cities, even though it was dried fish.
“Yes, here’s a special dish.”
He threw the dried fish far away.
Then, something flashed past his vision, blurred by the snowstorm.
“I’d like to get you some fresh ones someday, but... that’ll be a bit difficult.”
Callius muttered, reaching into his bag again and grabbing a few dried fish in one hand.
He was about to scatter it when he suddenly stopped moving.
“...?”
In this place filled with only the sound of the strong wind, there was a faintly alien sound mixed in.
It was the sound of footsteps in the snow.
The sound was coming from the direction Callius had passed through.
'Three? Four?'
It was hard to believe that the crowds of people in this bad weather, at this late hour, and in this remote location were a coincidence.
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword with a hardened face.
Hey!
Niaaaa!
The strange wind noise he had heard a moment ago was echoing around Callius.
***
"Sorry for the late introductions. This is Hawick Blago. I got a briefing from Alex. He said he saw someone suspicious."
The red-haired knight, who introduced himself as Alex, hid me in another safe room and brought the knight commander.
The Knight Commander was a man of honest appearance with hair cut short enough to show his scalp.
'It feels like the rock is moving.'
If a golem, a monster described in legend as being made of rock, were to transform into a human, would it look like this?
Even the thick cloak he was wearing couldn't hide the curves of his muscular body.
“Lord Hawick.”
I spoke calmly.
"I know his identity. He's a very dangerous man. I think he's been following us since the capital. Is Marquis Rodrian still there?"
“Count Creep has gone to look for him, so he will be back soon.”
His expression was very indifferent, perhaps because he was a person who didn't show much change in expression, or because he didn't sense the seriousness of the situation.
“Please rest assured. Other subordinates are searching both inside and outside the quarters for the man Her Royal Highness spoke of."
I said forcefully.
"I heard the Marquis of Rodrian went out alone. He might be in danger. Where on earth did he go?"
Hawick frowned as if in trouble.
“Your Highness, the cats are here now.”
He stopped talking.
I thought I had misheard something, so I tilted my head slightly and asked.
“What did you just say, Lord Howick?”
“Ahem.”
Hawick coughed, unable to hide his discomfort, and answered reluctantly.
“The lord went to check on the cats.”
“A cat?”
“Yes, the snow cat.”
I didn't mishear.
I couldn't believe it, so I asked again.
“So, by cat... You mean that small carnivore I know?”
“Yes, that’s right. A small carnivore.”
I looked back and forth between Hawick and Alex.
"What cat? Why did he suddenly go to check on a cat? Where is the cat? What kind of cat is it? Did he have to go now? What is it? Did it go to a friend's house to play? Or is it a stray cat?"
A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind.
Hawick and Alex were calm yet serious, not knowing whether they knew my confusion or not.
The two whispered to each other while looking at my expression.
“The cats must have starved a lot while he was away, Captain.”
“So it looks like he went to feed it in a hurry.”
Alex looked out the window.
“The snowstorm is so intense right now.”
"Hmm."
Hawick nodded.
'What, is this the kind of conversation we're having right now?'
I was about to get angry at them, but Hawick reassured me.
“Don’t worry, my lord will be safe.”
“Aren’t you going to send people to look for him?”
“His Excellency has ordered that the safety of Your Highness the Princess, be given top priority.”
The Knight Commander's face, as he spoke, showed no sign of concern for Callius. Alex, standing beside him, was no different.
'No matter how good Callius' swordsmanship is,'
Judging by the fact that he ordered his subordinates to search, it seems that Hawick wasn't ignoring my words.
'Why on earth is it so peaceful...?'
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