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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: The Reason for That Feeling, I Don't Know.
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She leaped from the moving carriage, tucked into a ball, and rolled across the ground. Ariana snapped her head up, and the legs of a black horse came into view.
The knight on horseback muttered in a slow, low voice.
“What is this? Some child just jumped out to welcome me?”
The assassins realized they had messed up upon hearing the sound from behind them.
A girl with sky-blue hair and an expensive dress had jumped from the cargo carriage as if escaping, making it clear that no excuse would be plausible.
The assassins reacted quickly.
They abandoned the carriage and attempted to flee.
The light-footed assassins tried to push off the ground and leap away. But there was one thing they had overlooked.
Swish—!
It wasn't just the assassins who were quick to react.
The man on the black horse also quickly assessed the situation, drawing and throwing his sword the moment the assassins pushed off the ground.
The longsword cut through the air sharply and flew with precision, burying itself in the back of the assassin who had tried to escape first. The sword pierced his skin and tore through his lungs in an instant.
The assassin fell to the ground with hardly a sound.
The other assassins fled without looking back, even as their comrade lay dead.
Knights and soldiers near the castle gate blocked the assassins. Some assassins tried to scale the castle wall using ropes, but the knights were already rushing toward their escape routes.
The clash of swords, screams, and shouts echoed through the quiet area near the castle gate. People attempting to leave the gate cringed and ran far away.
The assassins fought well, but they were not strong enough to face multiple knights at once. The man on the black horse shouted.
“Leave two of them alive!”
The man dismounted his horse. Calf-high black boots. An uncreased white uniform, even after riding. A blue embroidered tiger face on his chest.
Only then did Ariana realize who the man was.
‘Jeor White.’
A man with a delicate jawline, narrow eyes, and dark indigo hair looked down at Ariana. He studied Ariana's face with interest before asking.
“You’re lucky. You would have been dead if I hadn’t been here.”
Ariana quickly stood up and bowed respectfully.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Yes, you should be grateful. It’s rare for a righteous knight to appear by such an astonishing stroke of luck right in front of those who were trying to kidnap the Eastern Princess. You should thank God. Shall we pray together?”
“...Pardon?”
“But when you think about it, the very fact that you were in a situation where you could be kidnapped by such dangerous people in the first place is a reason to resent God. Shall we curse God together?”
Ariana was speechless, staring blankly at Jeor. He was difficult to deal with, in a different way than Cyrus.
‘What on earth is this man talking about?’
Seeing Ariana blink, Jeor smiled faintly.
His face, which seemed cold when expressionless, softened the moment he smiled. His already narrow eyes narrowed further, making him look as if he were closing them.
“It seems the situation over there is resolved. What do you want to do? I’m going to torture them; do you want to watch?”
To him, who discussed torture in a casual tone as if inviting her for tea, Ariana returned a gentle smile.
“Yes, if you grant me the opportunity, I will gladly enjoy it.”
Jeor’s smile deepened.
“You’re an interesting child, aren’t you? Did you come to reclaim the position of Heir Apparent?”
“Pardon?”
“Your face is even prettier than I imagined, your bearing is elegant, and you even have the courage not to fear torture. Indeed, you would suit the Eastern Heir Apparent position better than I.”
Ariana truly couldn't understand what this man wanted to say.
“I would not dare covet the Eastern Heir Apparent’s position, Your Excellency.”
“How do you know who I am? I don’t recall telling you my name.”
“Perhaps for the same reason Your Excellency knows me.”
“Ah, yes, that’s true. Understood.”
Jeor extended a hand gloved in white toward Ariana. She gazed for a moment at the hand extended as if inviting a noble lady to dance, then gently placed her own upon it.
The two walked with light steps, as if heading to the center of a stage, toward the spot where a bloody battle had just taken place.
+++
Two assassins had survived. The two men, who appeared to be in their thirties, glared at Jeor with blazing eyes.
As soon as they were captured, they tried to bite down on the poison hidden in their mouths, but Jeor’s subordinates forcibly opened their mouths and extracted the poison. It was Jeor who pulled out their teeth to prevent them from biting their tongues.
Ariana stood upright beside Jeor, watching the entire process.
Jeor said, removing his blood-soaked gloves.
“Alright, now that it seems you’ve passed the point of dying, shall we talk honestly about who sent you? Who wants to talk? I’ll praise the first one to speak.”
“I can’t sh-shpeak, sh-shir.”
The assassin’s pronunciation was slurred due to missing teeth. Jeor turned to Ariana and asked.
“Did you know that pronunciation gets bad when you don’t have teeth?”
“I’m learning a lot thanks to you.”
“Right. I’m an excellent teacher.”
Jeor looked back at the assassin with a satisfied expression.
“Alright, I’ll name a few people I suspect. If I’m right, raise both hands high. Ah, you’re tied up, so you can’t. Then nod your head. You can do that much, right?”
When the assassins didn’t respond, Jeor kicked them in the ribs.
“Cough!”
“Ugh!”
Even as the assassins screamed, Jeor didn’t stop smiling. As if their screams were excellent music, he continued to kick them.
It was when they were losing even the strength to scream.
CRASH—!
The guard post door burst open roughly.
“Ariana!”
Russell and Pelos rushed in.
Just before Russell, who had charged in, could pull Ariana into an embrace, Ariana spoke.
“Eastern Duke.”
At her voice, as cold as frost, Russell stopped dead in his tracks. His arms, which had been reaching out to embrace her, brushed only empty air before falling uselessly.
“I am safe. Thanks to the Eastern Heir Apparent’s help, nothing happened to me.”
“What do you mean, ‘nothing happened’?! Your wrist is all scraped!”
Pelos shouted roughly, grabbing Ariana’s wrist and shaking it. Pelos shaking her arm hurt more than the rope scrapes.
“Uncle. Will the princess’s arm just fall off like that?”
At Jeor’s remark, Pelos was startled and let go of Ariana’s wrist.
“Oh, did it hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“Anyway… Jeor, why did you bring her to a place like this and show her such a horrible sight?”
“Uncle, are you already showing favoritism? Well, yes. The princess is pretty and I’m not, so you’ll naturally show favoritism. But if you do it too openly, I’ll cry. I’ll bawl.”
“Come here, Ariana. You don’t need to see things like that.”
Pelos seemed used to Jeor’s remarks, as he ignored his words and gently put an arm around Ariana’s shoulders, leading her outside. Russell, who had been standing stiffly, went and stood next to Jeor once Ariana left.
Jeor glanced at Russell and said.
“She’s pretty. More than I heard.”
“Yes, she is pretty.”
“She’s cold. More than I imagined.”
“I made her that way.”
“Yes, well. First, let’s get these guys to talk. If all goes well, wouldn’t it help in the custody trial?”
+++
Pelos put Ariana in a carriage and took her to Chase Castle. All the way there, Pelos fretted.
“Are you truly alright? Hmm? Your wrist is so scraped… We need to call the physician as soon as we arrive.”
“I’m fine. This kind of thing heals quickly even if you leave it alone.”
“Why do you keep saying you’re fine! It’s all red and swollen!”
When Ariana pursed her lips, Pelos flustered.
“No, were you surprised? Your uncle just has a loud voice… I’m sorry.”
That wasn’t the reason.
Ariana focused her gaze and stared at the injury on her wrist, hoping to make the tears welling in her eyes recede.
The injury on her white wrist was nothing. Even though it had bled badly, and the part that had been tightly bound was swollen red, this was truly nothing.
Ariana had suffered far worse injuries than this in her life. There had been times when she almost died, and times when injuries had festered so badly that the affected area had to be cut out because they couldn’t be treated in time.
Had anyone ever worried so much about her injured body then?
No.
Because Ariana was someone who could endure it. Because she was born for it. Otherwise, she was useless.
She hadn’t known that someone could worry so much about such a minor injury.
She was bewildered. Unsure what expression to wear, what answer to give, or how to respond appropriately.
So she kept her mouth shut and merely stared at her injury.
Pelos, thinking she had been scared speechless, kept muttering apologies until they arrived at the castle.
“I truly never dreamed such a thing would happen in the Western Territory. We should have been more careful… Were you scared? I’m so sorry, Ariana. From now on, I’ll assign several stronger knights to you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
The tenderness in his deep voice was so warm that Ariana finally couldn’t hold back and closed her eyes tightly.
The carriage arrived at Chase Castle. When she alighted from the carriage, Ariana was speechless again. Everyone at Chase Castle had rushed out and was waiting for her.
From the former Eastern Duke and Duchess to Duke and Duchess White, the valets and ladies-in-waiting, the footmen and maids—all watched Ariana descend from the carriage with eyes full of anxiety and concern.
‘It’s really nothing.’
She hadn’t expected the Western Duke to let her go so easily.
The Western Duke was a suspicious man. No matter how young Ariana was, he would surely believe that since she had been brought into his family, she must know at least one secret of the Oblen family.
Moreover, Ariana had been abused.
If this incident escalated and became the talk of the town, even the Emperor would surely frown and distance himself from the Oblen and Bronte families.
Kidnap her and bring her back before she could speak, and if that failed, kill her.
That was the kind of thought the Western Duke would have.
She had always expected that she might be kidnapped or severely injured enough to die. That’s why she always kept a dagger hidden, one in her pillow and one on her body, even when she slept.
So it was nothing. It was something that could happen at any time.
But why were these people acting as if it were such a huge deal?
She hadn’t died, she wasn’t severely injured, nor had she been released after torture, so why were they making such a fuss?
Why was the former Eastern Duchess hugging her and crying? Why were the former Eastern Duke’s eyes so red? Why was Duke White so angry he was shouting?
And why did she keep feeling like crying?
‘I really don’t know.’
Ariana quietly closed her eyes, held in the old woman’s warm embrace.
‘I really don’t know.’
