“……Are you all right?”
“…….”
After panting for a moment in surprise, Rachel lowered her head.
“I didn’t see you. I’m sorry, Your Grace.”
“…….”
Only after Rachel had straightened up did he finally release her.
Just as she was about to pass him by, he caught her again.
“Where are you going?”
“Well—”
Rachel hesitated for a brief moment. The truth was, she had no idea how the situation was unfolding right now.
Unlike 「Record」, Aisha Labelyn had already gone home early.
She had no way of knowing whether the Emperor was all right.
She didn’t even know whether the attack would actually take place. Besides, even if something did happen, this man was hardly the right person to ask for help.
“……It’s nothing. I’ll be going now.”
“…….”
When she tried to walk past him, the man once again grabbed Rachel by the arm. Rachel furrowed her brows.
“Your Grace?”
“……I’m not trying to interrogate you like before. I’d just like to have a brief conversation with you. Do you have some time?”
“……!”
Rachel glanced subtly up at the man. Unlike before, his expression was calm.
Was there really anything left for the two of them to talk about?
He was suspicious of her.
She couldn’t answer his questions, so she avoided them.
That had been the nature of their relationship up until this afternoon. Rachel stared toward the garden for a moment before shaking the hand he was holding.
“I’m busy right now. If you send me a letter later, I’ll reply to it. So could you let go of my hand for now?”
“…….”
After staring at her quietly, the man finally released her. Rachel gave him a slight bow in courtesy before hurrying around the corner of the corridor.
Just as she was about to enter the garden.
‘Wait.’
It suddenly occurred to her that this man might follow her. Nathan Valencia was undoubtedly investigating her relentlessly at present.
Then what would happen? Would it really be all right to go check on the Emperor’s safety like this?
The thought crossed her mind for a moment, but after standing there and considering it, she realized it wasn’t such a serious problem. On the contrary, this might be a good opportunity to shake off this man’s suspicions.
She didn’t know what had happened, but the man she had just encountered seemed somewhat gentler than before.
Besides, a situation similar to the fake duke incident had now been created.
Knowing something that would be difficult for anyone to know, without leaving behind any trace of investigation.
‘If I can just give him a convincing explanation at this moment.’
The situation would be turned around. The reason she had kept silent all this time, as well as the man’s suspicions—everything might be resolved all at once.
‘Whether he follows me or not, it doesn’t matter.’
No. Perhaps it would be better if he followed her.
If a swordsman who had reached the realm joined her as an ally, the danger would be greatly reduced.
Rachel ran across the garden, hiding her anticipation.
For now, confirming whether the Emperor was alive was her priority.
Nathan stared at her back as it gradually grew more distant. Unlike himself, he was hesitating.
‘Can I follow her?’
If it had been during the day, he would have followed her immediately without even giving it a second thought. But the conversation between the Emperor and her while they danced a little while ago kept coming back to him.
—Your Majesty. I’m sorry, but I already have someone in mind as a marriage candidate.
“…….”
There was no doubt that the woman was exceedingly suspicious. She had shown a conspicuous wariness toward him and the Valencia family.
On top of that, she avoided the Emperor and most of the nobles.
Nothing had turned up even after investigating her, yet she seemed strangely aware of almost everything.
But when he thought about it.
—Every time I dug deeper, something else kept coming up. To be honest, it was frightening. That’s why I wanted to keep my distance from Valencia. I started thinking that if getting involved with the ducal family meant having to go through frightening things like this, perhaps it would be better to simply marry a young man from a modest count’s family. ……Of course, my parents may think differently.
“…….”
He remembered what she had said when they first met. And also what she had cautiously confessed just now while dancing with the Emperor.
—My parents want me to marry Duke Valencia somehow, but I don’t. I want to marry the person I have in mind and live a peaceful life. I don’t want to get involved with any more high-ranking noble families.
“……She’s never lied, has she?”
That was right. She had never lied.
Even the things she had hidden by calling them secrets were, when he thought about them calmly, not all that serious.
All she had done was know a testimony that left no trace of investigation and that even her physician’s academy classmate had never mentioned.
“…….”
Even now, his instincts warned him that there might be something much bigger behind it all.
But somewhere in his heart, he was beginning to hear another voice.
‘Could I have misunderstood something?’
……In the first place, he couldn’t understand why he had felt such a strong sense of betrayal toward a woman he had only recently met.
“…….”
‘Just once.’
Nathan decided to check one more time.
If she was in such a hurry, something must have happened.
Perhaps this time, he might finally be able to learn the truth behind her suspicious behavior.
Tap—
He lightly stepped forward. In less than a few seconds, he spotted Rachel standing in front of a path.
The moment she began pacing between the pillars with a serious expression, reaching her hands out this way and that as she pondered something—
Nathan noticed that an unfamiliar barrier, one that did not belong to the Imperial Palace, had been spread out here. At the same time, Rachel disappeared as though she had been sucked into the strange barrier.
“……!”
He immediately leaped in after her.
It was an impulsive act, one even he found startling, without any calculation behind it. The instant Nathan was startled by his own actions, a scene unfolded before him that erased all his confusion.
“Your Grace……?”
Behind Rachel’s startled face stood what appeared to be the Borza Kingdom’s delegation, along with hundreds of black-clad assassins attacking the Emperor.
Just what was this woman?
“……Did you arrange this as well, Lady?”
At his suspicious gaze, Rachel made a troubled expression.
“……I only came because I thought it might happen. If His Majesty really is under attack, I thought we should call for reinforcements—”
“……!”
As if to prove her words, several assassins who had been pointing at them charged forward.
Nathan snapped off a thin branch to use in place of a sword.
“For now, let’s talk about this later. I trust you won’t run away this time.”
“……I wasn’t planning to run away anyway. I was thinking of calling the Imperial Knights first, but—”
“Just in case, don’t leave. We don’t know what they might have done outside.”
After saying this firmly, he added,
“……Close your eyes.”
“…….”
Though the warning had come so suddenly, she obediently closed her eyes. He watched her for a moment.
“Die!”
He swung the branch at the assassin who had approached within arm’s reach.
Sword energy shot forth, cleaving the assassins in half.
Blood burst forth, accompanied by an unbelievable display of swordsmanship.
At the appearance of a swordsman who had reached the realm, silence descended upon the space for a brief moment. The Emperor, who belatedly noticed them, burst into laughter.
“Duke! Hah-hah! It seems I’m not destined to die today after all! Hm? And is that Lady Ingrave behind you?”
“……Stay here. I’ll take care of this and be right back.”
Nathan turned toward her as he spoke. She still had her eyes closed, and this time as well, she obediently nodded.
“All right.”
“…….”
He watched her for a moment.
Then Nathan immediately joined the battle.
That was why he failed to see it.
The moment she could no longer hold back her laughter, Rachel smiled.
It was the face of someone who was certain of her victory.
Rachel occasionally raised her gaze to check the situation.
‘There’s no need to call the Imperial Knights.’
In truth, she had never been certain that he would follow her. But assuming that he would, she had prepared both her answers and her expressions in advance, and the result seemed to have gone quite well.
‘When I ran into him, I really had no idea how things would turn out. Everything seemed hopeless.’
This would be a blessing in disguise.
She didn’t know why, but the man before her now seemed sufficiently prepared to believe her explanation.
Now it was time for Rachel to make a choice.
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