Despite Ariana’s dissuasion, Louis insisted on seeking guidance from Cyrus. Cyrus briefly lifted his eyes to lock gazes with Ariana.

“Do you want to become stronger?”

A hint of mockery laced his question, causing Ariana’s face to flush.

A girl whose body had been severely weakened due to malnourishment wanting to become stronger was naturally a laughing matter.

“Do you even need to? If you go to Dongryeong and become a princess, there will be dozens of knights to protect you.”

“Well, I’m not sure if knights will sincerely protect a princess who appears out of nowhere.”

“Whether you crawled up from the earth or fell from the sky, if you’re their princess, they will naturally try to protect you.”

Ariana did not reply.

‘Would the knights of Dongryeong protect me?’

She had her doubts.

Subordinates naturally follow their lord’s heart. If the Eastern Emperor doesn’t think highly of Ariana, why would his subordinates?

Even if she managed to convince the Eastern Emperor to allow her to become a princess, she had no plans to let her guard down. That would only be the beginning.

Cyrus, who had been staring intently at Ariana, finally spoke.

“Fine.”

“What?”

“I’ll train you.”

Seeing Ariana’s skeptical expression, Cyrus smirked.

“Why that look? Do you doubt my ability to teach you?”

“How dare I question your competence? It’s just that I know knights usually don’t share their skills with others…”

“Firstly, I’m not a knight but an emperor. And you can’t learn my skills anyway. You can use magic because you’re clever, unlike the commoners of Bukryeong, right?”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“I’ll teach you some self-defense skills you can perform with that dagger you possess.”

Ariana was surprised that he was willing to so easily teach her self-defense. However, his playful eyes gave away his feelings.

‘He has free time on his hands. There’s really nothing else to do until we depart.’

She decided to gratefully accept his offer for training.

After all, she had many debts to repay him, and adding one more wouldn’t make a difference.

Neither Ariana nor Cyrus noticed Louis watching them with a contented smile.

+++

According to Rachel’s plan, the carriage of the Bronthe family should have left Soryeong by now and entered imperial territory. But they were still stuck in a small town beyond the Weipun Mountains.

Days earlier, upon hearing that the second princess’s carriage had gone missing, soldiers returned with the body of the coachman after a search.

“We couldn’t find the second princess and her maid. We’re still searching, so you should see them soon.”

At that point, they had expected to soon find Ariana’s body. However, news the next day chilled Rachel’s heart.

“We found bandit corpses at the bottom of the cliff. Their condition is too bad for identification, but perhaps the second princess might have escaped!”

While the soldiers reported joyfully, neither Rachel nor Jacob could share the sentiment. It would be problematic if Ariana returned safely.

Secretly, Rachel hired mercenaries to find and eliminate Ariana.

Though she expected news soon, they had not found Ariana or even the maid after five days. They couldn’t comfortably proceed to the Empire having lost a daughter.

Maybe they should consider turning back.

“Aren’t we going to miss the social season in the Empire if this continues?”
Helena murmured aimlessly, while Victoria sat quietly with dark eyes. Jacob had left in anger last night, asking, “Is this your idea of a good plan?” and had not returned since.

‘Why has it come to this?’

The once joyful and noble Bronthe family was falling apart.

+++

When they finally left the cave, two men were waiting for them at the entrance. One was a handsome man with bright blond hair and green eyes; the other had black hair and affectionately gray eyes.

“Noah, vice-captain of the Black Knight Order, greets you.”

The man with black hair approached and bowed.

Though startled, Ariana gracefully bent her knee briefly and stood back up.

“I am Ariana.”

“My name is Isaac. Isaac Ferron.”

Isaac Ferron, the continent’s greatest alchemist.

His fame preceded him, so she examined his face with curiosity.

Isaac Ferron was even more beautiful than the rumors suggested. His hair, reaching down to his ears, suited him well.

Noah spoke.

“We won’t be traveling on a road from now on, so a carriage wasn’t prepared. Do you know how to ride a horse?”

“I can ride a horse, but…”

Ariana found his question puzzling, as she had expected their journey together to end here.

Sirus shrugged when she looked at him.

“It’s on the way, so you’re welcome to join.”

Ariana had originally thought she could take a carriage all the way to the empire.

It was only when she was put into a different carriage on the morning of departure that she had an inkling of Rachel’s plot. From then on, she hadn’t thought about anything beyond survival.

Now, in a situation where Rachel’s people were searching for her, it would be better to travel with company.

Facing Sirus, Ariana spoke.

“I’m not sure how to repay your kindness.”