“Aargh!”

Startled by the sound, he ended up spilling the pot on the floor.

He looked up at the sky with sharp eyes. The one that made the loud noise just now was a large-winged hawk. As the hawk flew towards the man, he extended his folded arms and grumbled.

“Ah, what’s this? Who’s bothering the great Emlyn with a letter again? …Huh?”

But the man’s expression suddenly changed when he saw the letter tied to the hawk’s leg.

The man looked at the name written on the envelope of the letter with an interested expression and said.

“…It’s from that interesting young lady of the Yusten ducal family, isn’t it? Hmm, I should go inside and read it slowly.”

Emlyn hummed a tune as he took the letter and went into the cottage. He had a feeling that interesting things were about to happen.

* * *

The next dawn.

I left the Yusten mansion with the carriage prepared by the Duke, three knights, and Annie. After finishing my conversation with Danae and Leonard in the reception room the day before, I returned and stayed up all night, falling asleep as soon as I got into the carriage.

A few hours later, I woke up to Annie’s voice rousing me.

“Young lady. The carriage will soon arrive at Colbertz Castle.”

At those words, I immediately put on my robe.

Soon, the coachman knocked on the carriage wall and said.

“Young lady, Miss Annie. We’ve arrived at Colbertz Castle. Your backs must be sore from sitting for so long, why don’t you come out and take a breather!”

“Okay, I will.”

After getting out of the carriage and glancing at the Duke’s knights surrounding us, I pretended to whisper to Annie. Annie looked around for a moment and then approached one of the knights.

“…Excuse me, sir knight?”

“What is it, Miss Annie?”

“…The young lady says she’s feeling a bit unwell. Could I accompany her to fix her makeup in that chapel over there for a moment?”

Understanding the implied meaning of going to the restroom, the young knight nodded gruffly.

“Ah, yes. Go ahead. I’ll accompany you.”

“Thank you, sir knight.”

The chapel, which also served as an inn for traveling nobles and knights on missions, was bustling with people even on a weekday. When I gestured towards a shabby guest room, the young knight paid the fee. I gave him a slight nod as he opened the door for me, and then entered with Annie.

As soon as the door closed with a click, the door to the servant’s bedroom attached to the guest room opened. A blonde woman with a similar build to mine, wearing a veil and nun’s habit, came out.

“Kayla, it’s been a while.”

“Have you been well? Come on, take off your dress quickly. Annie, you help too.”

“Alright.”

After a brief greeting, the woman and I immediately took off our clothes. I changed into the nun’s habit she handed me. Finally, as I put on the black veil, Kayla, who had already changed into my dress, put on the hood of the robe and said.

“You can leave 10 minutes after Annie and I go out the door.”

“You must return by dawn tomorrow, young lady!”

Kayla and Annie spoke in barely audible voices before going outside. I leaned against the door, waiting for their footsteps to disappear. A moment later, I carefully opened the door and went out, heading into a secluded alley past the chapel’s back door with my head lowered.

“…Ugh!”

Just then, someone grabbed my shoulder. I was so startled that I had to cover my mouth to stifle a scream.

“Last time you disguised yourself as a maid, and this time as a nun?”

Hearing Duke Haven’s voice, I shouted in relief.

“…Duke! You scared me! Why did you come all the way here instead of waiting at the meeting place?”

“In case something happened on the way to the meeting place. Shall we go now?”

As the Duke urged me with his arm around my shoulder, I blushed slightly as I matched his quick pace. Although it wasn’t the time to feel this way, my heart raced at the sound of his pounding chest against my face and his pleasant scent. When we reached the Duke’s carriage, Roger and Gwen, armed with mithril armor, daggers, and axes, spotted us and greeted.

“Duke, young lady of the Duke!”

“Over here!”

I quickly slipped out of the Duke’s embrace while nodding a greeting to them and said.

“It, it takes about two hours from here to the Aikan snow mountain region, right? Let’s hurry.”

“…Right.”

The Duke frowned as if something displeased him, but soon got into the carriage. After confirming that we were both on board, the carriage departed quickly. This caused my body to sway as I was distracted taking off my veil.

“Aargh!”

At that moment, the Duke, sitting opposite me, reached out and wrapped his arms around me. After examining me for a moment, he asked worriedly.

“Are you alright?”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

“…Hah.”

Sighing at my embarrassed appearance, he moved to sit right next to me and put his arm around my shoulder.

“This mercenary carriage has terrible suspension. You could get hurt if you move carelessly, and your head might shake, causing motion sickness, so lean on me like this.”

“…I, I’m fine! I don’t get motion sick or anything. I’ve been fine riding in cargo wagons all this time.”

“That’s not comparable to riding a cargo wagon on the smooth roads of the capital, is it? It’s fine, just lean back and rest. With your body, even walking through the rough snow mountain region will be quite difficult.”

“That’s true, but… Won’t this be uncomfortable for you too, Duke?”

I spoke hesitantly. The Duke looked at me with slightly narrowed sharp eyes and said.

“It’s not uncomfortable at all, so just stay like this. Don’t regret it later.”

“…”

“…Ah, don’t tell me you’re doing this hoping I’ll carry you all the way to the Saint’s Forest?”

“N-No! Of course not!”

“Then lean back properly so your head doesn’t shake. I’m going to take a short nap on the way to the snow mountain region.”

Dismissing my words, the Duke slightly tilted his shoulder before closing his eyes and leaning back against the backrest. I glanced at his sharp profile with his eyes tightly shut, the tips of my ears reddening.

‘…His tone is so blunt and cold, but his actions are overflowing with consideration.’

He was completely different from Leonard, who only spoke kindly. Perhaps that’s why my heart keeps fluttering at his actions like this.

I bit my lower lip hard.

‘…Don’t misunderstand. This person only needs me for his revenge, and so do I. That’s really all there is to it.’

So I shouldn’t get excited by his every action like this. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to calm my heart.

Not knowing that the Duke, who had opened his eyes at some point, was stealing glances at me with a strange look.

* * *

Some time later.

I felt the carriage, which had been shaking rapidly all along, come to a stop. As I opened my eyes slightly, the Duke spoke as if he had been waiting.

“Looks like we’ve arrived.”

“Seems so.”

I unconsciously shrank back as the wind seeping through the window felt cold. The Duke took off his robe and handed it to me.

“Put this on.”

“…What about you, Duke? Won’t you be cold too?”

“Don’t worry about me. This level of cold doesn’t bother me at all.”

“Thank you. …Please tell me anytime if you get cold. I’ll give it back.”

The Duke, who held out the robe again as if that wouldn’t happen, waited for me to put on the robe completely before helping me out of the carriage.

Then Roger, who had already gotten down from the driver’s seat and was waiting for us, said.

“It will take a good two hours or more to walk from here to the Saint’s Forest. Will you be alright, young lady of the Yusten Duke?”

“No problem. I’ll just think of it as a long walk after a while.”

“Gwen over there will stay close to protect and assist the young lady of the Duke. So please speak up anytime if you feel tired.”

At those words, Gwen approached and briefly kissed the back of my hand.

“Knight Gwen, it is an honor to escort such a beautiful lady. Please be sure to tell me if you find walking difficult. I’ll carry you.”

“…Haha, thank you for the offer.”

As I laughed awkwardly, the Duke frowned as he stared at me and Gwen for a moment before cautioning.

“That will absolutely not happen, so just walk while watching your surroundings carefully. The Aikan snow mountain region is crawling with monsters like dire wolves, radons, and banshees.”

“Yes, Your Grace. I will take responsibility for protecting the young lady of the Duke, so Your Grace should take care of yourself first.”

As Gwen retorted with a grin, the Duke’s frown deepened. Roger elbowed Gwen’s shoulder and pointed to the uphill path leading to the snow mountain.

“Stop with the useless talk and move quickly! Your Grace, young lady of the Duke! This way.”

After that, we began climbing the snow mountain. The branches growing densely were covered in snow, and the path was frozen, making it very slippery. As I was slowly climbing the slope, holding onto frozen branches, I ended up slipping and falling.

“Aargh!”

“Young lady of the Duke!”

Gwen urgently reached out to me. However, before his hand could reach me, the Duke, who had rushed over, wrapped his arms around my waist as if snatching me. The Duke looked down at me and said.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. I’m not hurt at all.”

“Really, my heart is about to stop for reasons other than being an Aura user.”

The Duke placed me on a relatively less slippery spot. Then, holding my hand interlocked, he turned to Gwen and said.

“Sir Gwen, you walk in front. The young lady of the Duke and I will follow behind you.”

“…Pardon? Then who will protect Your Grace’s back?”

“I may not be able to use Aura, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use a sword. I can protect myself and the young lady of the Duke sufficiently even in my current state, so you just guide the way well.”

“Tch. Yes, I understand.”

Gwen answered the Duke’s words while pouting his lower lip. He poked the ground with his sword, looking for safe spots to step on as he moved forward one step at a time. As the Duke was about to follow him, he suddenly turned to me and said.