Translator: Nox

43 - Chapter 43

“Ryan!”

Eloise called his name with all her might. The sound of a horse galloping towards them could be heard.

“Damn it!”

The deserter holding her looked at Ryan, who was rushing towards him, at a loss for what to do. He arrived in an instant and leaped off his horse.

Thump!

He and the deserter became a tangled mess, rolling on the ground.

In the darkness, the two men threw punches at each other like madmen. They rolled around, not knowing who was on top or who was on the bottom.

Then, a sharp glint of light flashed through the moonlight filtering through the leaves.

Thwack!

With a sickening sound, the dagger plunged into the ground. It was buried deep, making it difficult for the deserter to pull it out easily.

The moment the deserter managed to pull out the dagger, Ryan kicked him off with all his strength.

“Ugh!”

With a groan, the deserter rolled to the side. The places where he had been punched ached, but Ryan didn't care and continued to throw punches and kicks at the shadowy figure in the darkness.

‘I have to make him drop the dagger.’

The first thing he had learned when he joined the army was to never fight someone with a weapon empty-handed.

<There are people who believe that if you learn martial arts, you can subdue someone with a weapon. They are idiots who have never fought properly. That's only possible in novels! A single sword can never be defeated, even if you train for a hundred years! So, if you see someone with a weapon, you have to take it away from them, no matter what. If you don't, you'll end up dead!>

The ill-tempered instructor had said, poking the recruits' shoulders with a wooden sword.

<Now, if anyone wants to argue with me, you can come at me with your bare hands right now. Of course, I'm going to beat you all up with this. But if you can knock me down, I'll give you a bottle of Highland whiskey.>

At those words, the recruits' eyes went wild. They grabbed each other by the collar, arguing over who would go first.

But an hour later, the training ground was full of patients rolling around after being hit in their vital points with the wooden sword.

At that time, Ryan also clutched his shoulder and sat down, realizing.

The only way to deal with someone with a weapon was to take that weapon away.

That was the only way.

In terms of physical condition, Ryan was obviously at an advantage.

But it wasn't easy to deal with someone who was attacking with such desperation.

Again, their bodies intertwined, and the dagger flashed.

While rolling around in a chaotic mess, Ryan looked to the side, searching for Eloise.

‘Where’s Eloise? Did she escape?’

He recalled what had happened at the mansion earlier.

When he finally managed to calm down the commotion among the underground workers, Ryan was a mess.

As always, fights between those who use their bodies end up drawing blood.

This time was no different. When he went down, blood from their noses and mouths was already splattered all over the floor.

Ryan immediately jumped between them. It wasn't a fight that could be easily stopped, but when Ryan's lip was cut by someone's fist, everyone stopped moving and silence fell.

No matter how friendly he was, he was the employer and, as others often said, a member of the upper class.

If Ryan had been displeased, they would have bowed their heads in front of him and wouldn't have dared to speak to him casually.

So, it was only natural that everyone froze when he was punched.

But Ryan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and chuckled.

“Well, did that wake you all up?”

After that, the workers' fight fizzled out.

They had brains and common sense, so they couldn't keep fighting after punching their employer in the mouth.

Of course, Mr. Palmer was horrified and glared at the workers.

“You guys! What are you doing! How dare you…!”

“It’s okay, Mr. Palmer. Anyway, I’m glad everyone quickly regained their composure. What on earth happened?”

In any case, he had to figure out what had caused this mess and who was more responsible.

“Well, that bastard is messing with my wife…”

“You guys!”

Mr. Palmer was horrified again and tried to stop them as they continued to use vulgar language, but they were all uncontrollable.

They explained to Ryan why they had no choice but to throw punches, hoping he would take their side.

Eventually, Ryan was able to go back upstairs after a long time.

‘It took too long.’

Eloise must still be waiting for him upstairs.

Anxious, he took the stairs two or three at a time, quickly heading to the first floor.

But Eloise, whom he had expected to scold him for being late, was nowhere to be seen.

“Lady Eloise?”

Was she tired of waiting and sitting in the Reception room? Or did she like horses so much that she went outside to give them an apple as an apology?

As Ryan looked around for Eloise, he soon saw his coat on the hall stand.

Ryan's eyes widened when he saw the note on top of it.

“Oh no…!”

He rushed outside, but only one of the two horses that the coachman had prepared remained with the coachman.

Ryan shouted at the coachman.

“If Lady Eloise said she was leaving, you should have stopped her! What if something happens to her on her way back to Feltham alone at this hour! Have you forgotten that a deserter is on the loose?”

Ryan, who had never raised his voice to his employees before, shouted so loudly that even Mr. Palmer, who was following behind, was surprised.

The coachman, at a loss for what to do, replied in a subdued voice.

“I tried to stop her, but Lady Eloise said that the deserter had already been caught, so it should be fine…”

“The deserter has been caught?”

“Yes, yes! I only heard the news today. Anyway, now that he's been caught, the road will be safe again. There hasn't been a single attack in the past few years other than the ones he caused.”

The coachman continued to speak urgently.

“And Lady Eloise left a long time ago. If she went at full speed, she should be almost near Feltham by now. She took Eclipse, who is familiar with the night roads, so you don't have to worry too much.”

Then, the coachman seemed to be subtly hoping that he would go inside.

Not only the coachman.

Mr. Palmer, who hadn't even wiped the blood from his mouth properly and was wearing a torn coat, looked at Ryan and opened his mouth.

“The coachman is right. It's been a long time since she left, so she should be arriving soon. Sergeant, you should wash up too, so why don't you go upstairs and rest? Besides, you've been moving around a lot during the day, so you must be tired.”

As Mr. Palmer said, he was tired from the labor during the day, and even more tired from trying to stop the fight earlier.

He was starting to feel drowsy, his eyes feeling heavy.

So, it would be nice to go upstairs, wash up, and go to sleep.

Ryan looked outside. The day was clear, but it was a night when the moonlight wasn't very bright because it was past the full moon.

He looked at Feltham for a moment, then threw the coat he was holding to the coachman and said.

“I’ll be back. Don’t wait up, just go to sleep. I’ll put the horse away.”

With those words, Ryan immediately got on his horse and set off.

He heard Mr. Palmer and the coachman calling from behind, but he ignored them and sped down the road to Feltham.

As he rode down the road, which seemed darker than usual, he thought.

He had to see Eloise Suberton safely in the arms of the people waiting for her.

It was his duty and his right.

Even though the road was dark, he rode without stopping. The horse seemed to understand his heart, not slowing down even in the darkness.

Then, when he was about halfway there, as he approached the forest that he always thought was particularly dark, he heard the sound of a horse neighing from the opposite direction. And soon, he saw a horse running towards him alone, bleeding.

It was the horse that Eloise had ridden.

From that moment on, Ryan didn't remember how he had run.

The next thing he remembered was Eloise in the darkness, holding a rock in a disheveled state, and a man with a dagger facing her.

And then, this happened.

The deserter climbed on top of Ryan with all his might.

Now, he wasn't aiming for Ryan's face. Knowing that this was his last chance, the deserter raised the hand holding the sword again, aiming for Ryan's neck, which he couldn't avoid.

The moment the flashing light was about to move.

“Ryaaaan!”

Along with Eloise's voice.

Thud!

A dull sound echoed in the forest. A moment later.

“Ugh…”

The deserter on top of Ryan rolled his eyes back and slowly fell to the side.

And behind him stood Eloise, holding a large rock the size of half a person's head.