-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Spreading Warmth (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ariana froze.
Unable to even blink, she stared at the scene unfolding before her.
‘My Lord? Who? The Northern Duke? Rosalyn’s? Why...?’
Cyrus remained cold, even with a bloodied Rosalyn before him.
“Only 32. You’ve grown weak. Has your skill diminished from playing the role of a maid?”
“I was negligent. I will accept any punishment.”
Rosalyn offered no excuses, even though she had been unable to fight properly due to protecting Ariana.
“Very well, then...”
As if he would punish her immediately, Ariana instinctively rushed forward and blocked Rosalyn.
Cyrus cast an indifferent gaze at Ariana.
“What are you doing?”
“Rosalyn was injured protecting me.”
“If you get injured to this extent just protecting one person, you cannot serve as the Black Knights’ Commander.”
The mention of the Black Knights made her gasp.
“Rosalyn... is the Commander of the Black Knights?”
“Yes. And her name is Rui.”
“Rui...”
Only then did Ariana understand why Cyrus had seemed pleased when praising the maid.
“You assigned Rosalyn—no, Rui—to me.”
“...”
“Were you helping me?”
“What if I was?”
Ariana took a deep breath.
Now she understood how things were truly unfolding.
The new maid. Seemingly naive but clever, appearing greedy for money yet never coveting Ariana’s possessions. A maid who had acted as Ariana’s right hand in an unusual way.
As expected, no one helps Ariana without reason.
The Northern Duke desired something from Ariana, and that was why the ‘maid’ he sent had acted as her right hand.
Once she assessed the situation, her wavering eyes solidified, and her crumbling heart hardened.
Ariana spoke calmly.
“I had a plan that I could execute and achieve results on my own. However, it’s true that matters were made easier thanks to Your Highness sending this woman, so if Your Highness requests my assistance in the future, I will certainly help.”
“How can I trust a promise made for the future?”
“Right now, I have no power to help Your Highness at all. And Your Highness wouldn’t consider using me in my current state, would you?”
“Clever.”
“Your Highness is so elusive; you could come to collect this debt wherever I am. I will certainly repay your kindness. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Cyrus blocked Ariana’s path as she stumbled away. Ariana swallowed a sigh and looked up at him.
“The sun is setting. You may always have a plan, but your plans won’t work on wild animals.”
His words were true.
Ariana herself had been wondering how to escape this forest after nightfall.
The setting sun painted the sky in shades of orange. Night falls quickly in the mountains, and soon it would be too dark to see an inch in front of her.
Ariana knew that when in a situation where help was necessary, asking for it was also necessary.
She didn’t want to be entangled with the Northern Duke anymore, but she couldn’t ruin things because of such feelings.
“I request your protection.”
“Good. I won’t count this as a debt.”
+++
Ariana spoke.
“As soon as the Duchess arrives in the city beyond the mountains, she’ll inform the guards about me. She’ll probably say she didn’t realize I wasn’t following because I stopped the carriage on my own. The guards will be coming this way soon.”
“I see.”
“A little past the ledge below that cliff, there’s a cave. That cave connects to the other side of the mountains.”
“You were confined to the Ducal Estate, yet you know the geography better than I do.”
“Because I’ve always been planning my escape.”
Just as Ariana expected, Cyrus didn’t press further.
At Cyrus’s nod, Rui moved.
After pushing the mercenaries’ bodies over the cliff, Rui took a rope from her pack and wound it around her hand.
“It would be best if Your Lordship went down first.”
“No.”
Cyrus took the rope from Rui.
“You carry Ariana down.”
“Yes.”
Ariana also thought it would be better to be carried by Rui than by Cyrus, but she was concerned about Rui’s injuries.
“I can just jump down.”
At Ariana’s words, Cyrus frowned.
“Do you only ever think of dying?”
“I won’t die. I can jump well.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
As Cyrus nodded, Rui wrapped her arm around Ariana’s waist.
“Excuse me, Princess Consort.”
“Pri-Princess Consort...”
While she was flustered by the unexpected title, Rui held Ariana firmly and leaped from the cliff, her other hand gripping the rope.
Unlike when Ariana had fallen alone previously, the two landed safely on a ledge halfway down the cliff.
“My Lord, we have arrived.”
The slack rope was pulled back up the cliff, and then Cyrus leaped down alone. Ariana sighed at how lightly he landed.
‘To think jumping down this cliff was so easy. I was prepared to die.’
Just as Ariana remembered, there was a cave on the ledge halfway down the cliff. Its entrance was small and hard to spot, but the cave widened as one went deeper inside.
Before entering the cave, Cyrus whistled. A snow-white eagle flew down and perched on Cyrus’s shoulder.
Cyrus tied a note to the eagle’s leg, sent it off again, and then entered the cave.
Ariana and Cyrus walked side by side, with Rui following behind them.
Ariana walked, feeling the dark, damp cave wall with her hand.
There was only one path to the lake inside the cave, so there was no need to light a torch.
“Was your plan to escape to the other side of the mountains through here?”
Cyrus’s voice echoed resonantly inside the cave.
“Yes.”
“You’re fearless in such darkness.”
“Darkness doesn’t scare me.”
“Ah, yes. You weren’t afraid of darkness. Then what *does* scare you?”
“Right now, Your Highness is what I fear most.”
“Shocking. I’ve been helping you all this time.”
“You’ve burdened me with so many debts. Just thinking about what you might ask of me in the future makes my heart clench.”
The thought of having escaped Rachel’s clutches, for now, lightened her heart somewhat. Although various dangers would follow on her journey to the Eastern Territory, she didn’t want to think about them right now.
“To think your heart reacts to thoughts of me. I didn’t realize you thought of me that much.”
“With Your Highness, beautiful as if the Moon God himself descended, standing before me, how could I think of anything else?”
“You truly are good at lying. By the way, are your feet alright?”
Only after he pointed it out did she realize the pain.
She had been injured so much while fleeing that she ached all over. The tension she had been holding onto finally released, and sleep overwhelmed her.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re even good at telling unnecessary lies.”
The next moment, Ariana’s body floated upwards. Cyrus had lifted her into his arms.
Ariana squeezed her eyes shut.
Why did this man always act so unexpectedly?
“Your Highness. Are not Your Highness’s arms precious, meant for vanquishing foes?”
“Does that mean you don’t want to be held by someone like me, and I should put you down while you’re still being polite?”
“Please don’t waste your precious strength on me. I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“I’m curious how someone like you, who doesn’t even bat an eye at a man’s corpse, would act when you don’t know what to do with yourself.”
“Does Your Highness not have many matters to consider for the peace of the Northern Territory?”
“So, does that mean I should put you down immediately and not harbor useless curiosities?”
Rui, following behind the two, didn’t know what expression to make.
She had heard quite a bit from Isaac, but she hadn’t expected it to be this much.
Rui, who had served Cyrus for a long time, had never seen him act this way towards a woman before.
‘My Lord seems to become a little... less sharp when he’s with a woman he adores.’
Being clever, Rui didn’t show her emotions outwardly like Noah. She merely followed quietly behind the two, as if she wasn’t even there.
Ariana’s chattering voice seemed to slow and grow softer, then stopped completely.
Only the soft, even sound of her breathing could be heard.
Cyrus spoke in a low voice.
“Rui, check ahead.”
“Yes.”
Rui quickly moved forward along the path. After walking for a while, a wide space opened up, revealing a lake.
Rui checked for any dangers nearby, then returned to Cyrus.
“There’s a lake. It’s safe.”
“Good.”
“The Princess Consort has missed meals yesterday and today.”
“It would be best to let her sleep and then feed her. She probably wouldn’t have an appetite if she’s tired.”
“Should I go ahead and prepare?”
“Yes.”
After Rui left, Cyrus looked down at Ariana, asleep in his arms.
People usually wear a peaceful expression when they sleep, but Ariana was not like that. Even in slumber, her shoulders were stiff, and a deep furrow was etched between her brows, as if she had fallen into hellfire.
Cyrus wondered if Ariana ever cried, but more than that, he wanted to see her smile brightly as she had before.
‘She handed over something valuable to me.’
Thanks to Ariana, he had obtained a letter related to a past incident.
‘As compensation, I’ll make you smile.’
It seemed Isaac and his subordinates were misunderstanding Cyrus’s feelings, but that didn’t matter.
Cyrus had found Ariana to be of use, and so he intended to watch over her until she was fully ‘ripe.’ Ariana was not a woman who would reveal what she had simply by being threatened or having her leash grabbed.
Therefore, he had to treat her carefully and with preciousness. Until the day came when he could use her.
+++
When Ariana awoke from her sleep, the first thing she smelled was a savory aroma. The delicious scent brought on the hunger she had forgotten.
Her stomach rumbled.
“Seems you’re hungry.”
Startled by the voice beside her, she sat up, realizing a thick blanket was wrapped around her.
Only after smelling the damp air and scent of water did she recall what had happened before she fell asleep. She had definitely been talking while nestled in Cyrus’s arms.
‘Did I... actually fall asleep in his arms?’
Her face flushed hot at the thought of having slept defenselessly in his embrace.
“Is this the cave lake?”
“Yes.”
“How long did I sleep?”
“About four days?”
“That long?”
“Just kidding.”
Ariana glared intently at Cyrus.
In the cave by the lake, glowing mushrooms grew everywhere, emitting light. His pale face glowed faintly in the mushrooms’ blue light. His silver hair also shimmered with a sky-like blue hue.
Cyrus brought her a plate and spoke.
“You slept for about three hours. I haven’t put any poison in it, so you can eat it without worry.”
“Thank you.”
A few slices of well-grilled meat lay on the plate. Ariana gazed down at the delicious-smelling meat, then a sudden question came to mind.
“Where did you get the plate?”
