Chapter 35

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Permeating Warmth (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Despite Ariana's dissuasion, Rui persisted in asking Cyrus for lessons. Cyrus merely lifted his eyes and gazed intently at Ariana's face.

“You wish to grow stronger?”

At the question, which held a hint of mockery, Ariana's face flushed.

Anyone would inevitably scoff if a girl, whose body was emaciated from not having eaten properly, claimed she wanted to grow stronger.

“Is there a need for that? When you go to the Eastern Territory and become a princess, there will be dozens of knights to protect you.”

“Well, I wonder if there will be any knights truly willing to protect a princess who appeared out of nowhere.”

“Whether she crawled up from the earth or fell from the sky, if she is their princess, they will naturally try to protect her.”

Ariana did not respond.

‘The knights of the Eastern Territory protect me?’

She didn't think that would be the case.

Vassals tend to follow even the heart of their liege. If the Eastern Duke doesn't look favorably upon Ariana, would his vassals do so?

Even if she somehow managed to persuade the Eastern Duke and secure the princess's position in the Eastern Territory, she had no intention of letting her guard down. That would be just the beginning.

Cyrus, who had been intently observing Ariana's face, opened his mouth.

“Alright.”

“Pardon?”

“I will give you lessons.”

Seeing Ariana's skeptical expression, Cyrus lifted one corner of his mouth.

“I'm offering to teach you, so why that expression? Do you doubt if my skills are sufficient to teach others?”

“How could I possibly doubt Your Highness's skill? It's just that I understood knights traditionally do not pass on their techniques to others…”

“First, I am a Duke, not a knight. And you wouldn't be able to learn my techniques anyway. You're intelligent, so you must know that only natives of the Northern Territory can use magic, correct?”

“Yes, I know.”

“I'll teach you a few techniques to protect yourself with that dagger you carry.”

Ariana was surprised that he was willing to teach her self-defense so easily. However, she could guess his true intentions from the playful glint in his eyes.

‘He must be doing this because he has too much time on his hands. There's nothing else to do until we depart anyway.’

In that case, she decided to gratefully accept his offer to teach her.

She already owed him a mountain of favors, having received so much help from him; adding one more wouldn't make much difference.

Ariana and Cyrus didn't realize that Rui was watching them with a pleased expression from nearby.

+++

According to Rachel's plan, the Bronte Ducal Estate's carriage should have left the Western Territory and entered Imperial lands by now. However, they were currently stranded in a small city beyond the Wayfan Mountains.

A few days prior, soldiers who had gone out to search after hearing that the second duchess's carriage was lost, returned with the coachman's corpse.

“We were unable to find the bodies of the Second Duchess and her maid. We are still searching, so you should be able to see them soon.”

At that time, they still expected to find Ariana's body soon. But the news that arrived the next day sent a chill down Rachel's spine.

“We found the bodies of bandits at the bottom of the cliff. Their condition was terrible, so we couldn't ascertain the exact circumstances, but it's possible the Second Duchess escaped safely!”

The soldiers reported gleefully, but Rachel and Duke Jacob, upon hearing the news, could not rejoice. It was a situation where Ariana must not return safely.

While Rachel told the soldiers to take good care of her daughter, she secretly hired mercenaries to find Ariana.

She expected news to arrive soon, but it had already been five days, and they hadn't found Ariana. Not even the maid who was with Ariana.

In a situation where she had lost her daughter, she couldn't comfortably proceed to the Empire.

Perhaps they would have to turn the carriage back like this.

“Aren't we going to miss the social season in the Empire at this rate?”

Helena whined, oblivious to the situation, while Victoria sat silently with dark eyes. Duke Jacob had stormed out last night, furious, asking, “Is this what you consider a good plan?” and hadn't returned yet.

‘Why did it turn out this way?’

The happy and noble Bronte family, which had been without problems, was falling apart.

+++

When they finally emerged from the cave, two men were waiting for them outside. One was a handsome man with bright blonde hair and green eyes, and the other had black hair and charming grey eyes.

“Greetings to the Duchess. I am Noah, the vice-commander of the Black Knights.”

The black-haired man approached and bowed his head.

Ariana was taken aback but gracefully curtsied.

“I am Ariana.”

“I am Isaac. Isaac Peren.”

Isaac Peren, the continent's greatest alchemist.

Having heard much of his reputation, she examined his face with a sense of wonder.

She had heard that Isaac Peren possessed a face as beautiful as a woman's, but seeing him in person, he was even more striking than the rumors suggested. His hair, falling to below his ears, suited him well.

Noah spoke.

“From now on, we will be traveling off-road, so we couldn't prepare a carriage. Does the Duchess know how to ride a horse?”

“I can ride a horse, but…”

Ariana was puzzled as to why he was asking such a question. She had expected to part ways around this point.

She looked back at Cyrus, and he shrugged.

“It's on our way, so you might as well join us.”

Ariana had originally thought she would be able to travel by carriage all the way to the Empire.

On the morning of their departure from the estate, it was only when Ariana was placed in a different carriage that she began to suspect Rachel's scheme, and she was so focused on survival that she didn't think about what would happen next.

Now, with Rachel's people searching for Ariana, it would be better to have companions than to travel alone.

Ariana looked at Cyrus and said,

“You've shown me such kindness; I don't know how I'll ever repay this accumulated debt of gratitude.”

“Haven't I told you? You can repay me over your entire lifetime.”

Ariana dismissed his words, but Noah and Isaac couldn't hide their astonishment. The two men stared at Cyrus with their mouths agape before noticing Rui standing nearby with a pleased expression.

Rui's eyes were saying:

‘Look at this. Doesn't it seem like our current liege would even personally prepare a lady's bedchamber?’

Cyrus patted the neck of the black horse beside him and said,

“You said you could ride a horse, but how proficient are you?”

“I won't be a hindrance.”

Ariana had naturally become skilled in riding because she had to travel all over the continent to assist the Third Prince.

Cyrus swung himself onto his horse and said,

“I look forward to it. If you find it difficult, you're welcome to complain.”

“I will cry if necessary.”

As Ariana took the reins, Rui stepped forward to help. But it was an unnecessary gesture.

Ariana mounted the horse with immense grace, as beautiful as a painting. Sitting upright without the slightest fear, she gave off an intense impression, like a god of war.

Isaac clicked his tongue in admiration.

“I didn't think she was an ordinary girl… but she truly is peculiar. How can a girl who was confined to the estate know so much? Her demeanor also seems stranger the more I observe it.”

“She is a lady, not a girl, Sir Isaac.”

Rui corrected Isaac and mounted his horse, and Isaac and Noah also mounted their respective horses.

As Cyrus began to ride, the rest of the party followed behind him.

Riding through a mountain covered in trees and bushes, where there was no discernible path, was difficult, but Ariana followed closely behind Cyrus.

‘So fast.’

The horse Cyrus rode was incredibly fast, almost flying, even while leading the way.

Knowing that riding well on such rough terrain required not only the horse's ability but also the rider's skill, Ariana couldn't help but be amazed by Cyrus's horsemanship.

Isaac, who was riding behind to protect Ariana, said to Noah,

“His Highness is riding slowly.”

“It must be to save the Duchess's face.”

“It's love.”

“Yes, it is love.”

The reticent Rui merely watched the backs of the man and woman riding ahead with a pleased expression.

+++

Before her death, she had often ridden horses and grown accustomed to it, but with this body, it was simply too difficult. Her untrained muscles screamed in protest, and her arms ached as if they would break.

However, Ariana didn't show any signs of discomfort and silently followed behind Cyrus.

When they reached a stream, Cyrus stopped his horse.

“Let's rest here.”

Ariana, unaware that Cyrus rarely rested until he reached his destination, sighed in relief and dismounted her horse.

Her body, which had barely recovered during their rest in the cave, began to ache again.

She glanced at Cyrus's face, but he showed no sign of fatigue at all. On the contrary, he looked refreshed, as if he had just returned from a leisurely stroll.

‘I envy him…’

She envied his strength.

If only she were that strong, she would have nothing to fear.

Just then, Isaac approached and asked,

“Duchess, are you tired?”

“I'm fine.”

“I have some good medicines. Just a moment.”

Isaac rummaged through his bag and pulled out a few vials of medicine.

“First, this is a medicine that makes scars disappear if you apply it to wounds, and this one restores your stamina.”

“Thank you for your concern, but I'm alright.”

Ariana didn't want to incur any more favors from Cyrus. However, Isaac insisted, pressing the vials into Ariana's hand and saying,

“I'm different from His Highness. My heart is as vast as the ocean, so I don't count every favor I bestow upon a lady as a debt.”

“Sir Isaac.”

At the words that disparaged Cyrus, Rui shot him a stern look, and Isaac, with an "oops" expression, quickly added,

“Of course, His Highness only shows a heart as vast as the ocean to the Duchess…”

“Stop with the unnecessary talk, Isaac.”

At Cyrus's warning, Isaac shut his mouth and rolled his eyes.

Cyrus pushed Isaac's shoulder and said,

“Take it. There's no poison in it.”

“I didn't think that, Your Highness.”

“Then what's the problem? Use whatever you can. This fellow is foolish, so he's easy to take advantage of.”

Cyrus patted Isaac's shoulder and said. Even after being called foolish, Isaac smiled brightly.

“That's right, Duchess. So please take the medicine. It works well even on scars that have already healed, so apply it before it's too late.”

“Yes, but… Isaac, I'm not the Duchess.”

“Yes, yes. I know.”

If he knew, why did he keep calling her 'Duchess'?

Every time she was called 'Duchess,' Ariana felt uncomfortable. She was anxious that Cyrus might suddenly snap, telling them to 'Stop with the pointless teasing!'

After resting briefly by the stream, they rode again, and when the sun had fully set, they arrived at a small lakeside and decided to make camp.

While Rui and Noah prepared a meal with the game they had hunted on the way, Ariana took out the vial of medicine she had received from Isaac.

The vial, smaller than her palm, was filled with a green liquid.

Ariana confirmed that Cyrus wasn't looking her way, then opened the vial and poured the medicine into her mouth.