“Is that how you feel?”

Noah inwardly clicked his tongue. To blatantly say that the man was smitten might have been disrespectful, but he couldn’t think of a more fitting word.

The nobles were already busy spreading rumors that the young lord had fallen head over heels for the beautiful Lady Ines Swalden. While it wasn’t true, his behavior certainly gave Noah the impression of a man deeply in love.

Speculations were rampant.

Some said that Prince-like individuals were volunteering to become the Lord of Landhill just to win over Lady Ines Swalden. Others said that he had moved the Swalden family to Landhill to marry her…

Furthermore, Lady Swalden had even saved Princess Luizianne, making it odd that a novel hadn’t been written about them yet.

Ironically, the main subjects of these rumors remained indifferent.

Noah simply stood back and let the rumors spread. The stories wouldn’t reach the young Lord’s ears anyway.

If his lord settled down soon, it would lessen one of Noah’s worries, so it wasn’t a bad thing.

Then, Carson suddenly stopped on a steep downhill, causing Noah to bump his forehead against Carson’s shoulder.

“Ouch.”

It was a good thing the man was so large that even a hard bump didn’t knock him over, but his shoulder was exceptionally hard.

“Are you all right, my Lord?”

“Do you need to ask?”

Ignoring the question, Carson stared off into the distance, deep in the forest.

“Is that woman Ines Swalden?”

Noah looked and saw a woman coming down the mountain, her movements hardly fitting for a noble lady. She blended with the forest in her brownish-green dress.

She moved like a squirrel darting through tree branches. To his eyes, she was unmistakably Ines Swalden.

His lord’s deep sigh sounded right beside him.

“I should call her Ines the Troublemaker, not Ines Swalden.”

At those words, Noah felt a chill. The affectionate nickname coming from Carson was a shock. Was this the cold, Carson von Raymond he knew?

Noah scrutinized the back of Carson’s head as he ran off like a tiger, presumably to catch the troublemaking squirrel.

Ines frowned all the way down. Her father had said that more knights than usual were in the mountains, yet she hadn’t seen any.

It was strange, but fortunate.

“What are you doing here, Lady Troublemaker?”

At the sudden call of her name, Ines stopped. She looked up to see a man who had no reason to be here. She felt like she had seen a mirage.

“My… Lord?”

“As you see.”

“Why are you here?”

“I should be asking you that.”

“Ah, I was taking a walk…”

At her absurd response, Carson spread his hands and looked around. Noah, panting, came running up behind him.

“What a great place for a walk.”

“The weather was good, so I was walking…”

She knew he wouldn’t believe her, but she had no better excuse. Thankfully, she was far from the place where she had been planning something, but she couldn’t feel relieved.

He looked at her for a moment, shook his head and extended his hand.

“Since you won’t answer me anyway…”

Ines stared at his outstretched hand. His broad palm and long fingers were perfectly placed. His hand alone was soothing to look at.

“Take my hand. It’s dangerous for a woman to go down alone.”

“I’m fine. I can go down by myself…”
I understand. I’ve seen from afar that you can navigate down a path like this on your own.

Ines’s ears flushed slightly, embarrassed. If he had watched her from a distance, he must have seen all her actions, which were neither aristocratic nor elegantly feminine.

So she said nothing more and obediently placed her hand in his outstretched one. Carson gripped her hand tightly and began to walk slowly. Then he started speaking in a low voice.

“But, Ines.”

To hear him better, Ines had to move closer.

“I no longer intend to leave you alone. I aim to show you that being in such a dangerous place by yourself is not okay.”

For a moment, she could not comprehend the meaning of his words.

“So hold my hand tighter.”

Though she did not fully understand, Ines did as he instructed and gripped his hand more tightly.

Throughout the descent, he never once let go of her hand. In the narrow, difficult paths, he took the lead; in places with many rocks and where slipping was possible, he pulled her closer by pulling his arm toward his chest.

By the time they descended the mountain, twilight was falling. He invited her to join him on his horse, which he had stationed at the entrance to the mountain.

Carson effortlessly helped Ines onto his horse and walked beside her, holding the reins.

“I was planning on contacting you tomorrow.”

The clopping of the horse’s hooves was the only sound in the quiet road. The earth seemed heavier than other days, preventing dust from rising.

“I feel I need to tell you why I’m here today.”

“Ah…”

“Since we’ve met like this, I will tell you now.”

When he fell silent for a moment, the sound of crickets chirping filled the air. It seemed like it might rain at any moment.

“I have found out what Count Graham is after.”