~Chapter 100~
But for all that…
Except for the captain, every other face was new to me.
And honestly, they all seemed kind of… inexperienced.
‘I need to hear what happened.’
I thought about Captain Ista, who was riding behind us.
‘Yeah, honestly, I was glad to see him.’
How could I not be happy to see a boss I thought I’d never see again?
Especially since he was like a second teacher, always looking out for me, and the reason I could get away with being a troublemaker in the Holy Knights.
But that happiness quickly disappeared once it got mixed up with the current situation.
‘Captain Ista doesn’t like the Grand Duke…’
Oh, wait—that was in the original story.
In the original, the captain started hating the Grand Duke because Reina died.
But since I got involved, that never happened, so there’s no reason for him to hate the Grand Duke now.
‘Still, I just have a bad feeling…’
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke seemed to be fighting somewhere else.
I hadn’t seen him or his soldiers at all on the way here.
‘I hope he isn’t pushing himself too hard…’
While I was worrying, Reina kept talking.
“So I went to see him, and he was already getting ready to leave. I thought the Holy Knights weren’t leaving for a few more days.”
“He was getting ready to leave early?”
“Yeah. He said it was a secret, so he didn’t even have a send-off. But I found out anyway.”
‘That’s even more suspicious!’
No wonder he arrived earlier than expected.
They wanted to hold the wedding before the knights got here, but he arrived first.
I trust Captain Ista… but…
‘Why leave early? Especially at a time like this…’
I looked out the window, then back.
‘…He said, “I’ll try to make you like me, too.”’
I started to worry about the Grand Duke again.
Where was he now? Was he hurt? I almost wanted to go find him myself.
Then I was surprised at myself.
‘Am I seriously worrying about the Grand Duke—the one who said he didn’t even like me?’
And was I really suspecting Captain Ista?
‘He would never do something shady.’
After all, he’s the main guy in the story.
If anything, he’d be used in someone else’s evil scheme without realizing it…
‘…And that’s totally possible!’
Suddenly, I felt a shock of realization.
Captain Ista is so honest and sincere—he’s the classic Holy Knight hero.
He loses his first love, gets used in people’s evil plans, gets dragged through all kinds of trouble, and eventually meets the saintess!
‘Wow. This could be really bad.’
If someone sent him here as a pawn in a plan he didn’t even know about…
There’s nothing I can do about that, and it just made me anxious.
Thinking about the Grand Duke’s actions—how much he seemed like Karl—made me even more worried.
He’s hurt now. He’s really sick…
“Elaine? What’s with your face?”
“Huh?”
I must not have been hiding my feelings, because Reina looked at me, worried.
“Were you hurt in the fight earlier…?”
“Have you ever seen me get hurt by a monster?”
“…I’ve never even seen you get hurt by a person.”
“Exactly. I’m usually the one hurting others.”
I brushed off her worries with a joke and took a deep breath.
‘Hang in there, Elaine.’
If I left now, I might miss the Grand Duke.
Besides, Reina was here with me.
‘Yeah, Reina…’
My one and only big sister.
The person who still looked at me like I was a clumsy kid.
‘She ran away from home just so I wouldn’t have a lonely wedding…’
My precious family, who came all the way here just for me.
“Anyway, I was lucky the captain left early,” Reina said.
She quickly grabbed the chance to beg Captain Ista to take her to Saint Portu before Dad noticed. She said she’d pay for everything.
But really, even if she hadn’t asked, Captain Ista would have brought her.
He likes Reina.
“So that’s how I ended up here.”
I looked at Reina proudly and answered honestly.
“Thank you.”
“It’s your business, of course I’d do this.”
But I had to say it anyway.
“But it was dangerous, Reina.”
Reina had never really learned how to use a sword.
Actually, Dad tried to teach her once…
‘…Reina, what is that?’
‘I tried knitting with a rapier.’
‘…Should I knit one for you, too, Dad?’
Our family might be strong, but Reina just wasn’t good with swords.
She preferred embroidery and parties anyway.
For someone like her, a road full of monsters was really dangerous.
‘Still, she came all the way here for me. That’s what makes me grateful.’
How scared she must have been.
With teary eyes, I looked at Reina, but she just smiled and hugged me like she used to when we were kids.
“But it was worth it.”
“…”
“Because I got to see my sister like this.”
For some reason, those words made me choke up.
I patted Reina’s back and sniffled a bit without meaning to.
“…Hey!”
“Wait!”
“…Who are you…?”
There was a commotion outside.
‘What is that?’
As I gently pushed Reina behind me and stood up, the carriage window slid open.
Captain Ista was right outside, riding his horse, looking in at us.
“What’s wrong?”
“It looks like the Grand Duke’s soldiers are returning ahead of us.”
“The Grand Duke’s soldiers?”
‘Good thing I didn’t get out to look for the Grand Duke.’
I really would have missed him.
‘Is the Grand Duke with them?’
As I poked my head out the window, Captain Ista pushed my head back in and shut the window.
“Stay inside. It’s dangerous.”
“What? Um, excuse me?”
Dangerous?
Did he forget I’m supposed to be the Grand Duchess?
I don’t need to hide—I need to see if the Grand Duke is hurt or not.
While I was stumbling in confusion, a loud noise came from outside.
“…si…”
“…kan!”
Clang! Clatter!
There were the sounds of heavy armor clashing.
The air was thick with tension.
‘What now?’
I blinked, not knowing what was happening, and Reina squeezed my hand tightly.
Thud!
The carriage door swung open.
On instinct, I reached for my musket.
“…Your Grace?”
Despite being injured, the Grand Duke appeared, covered in monster blood, looking fierce.
He was radiating so much power, it was almost overwhelming.
‘With that mask on, he really does look like a monster.’
Even my hand, reaching for my weapon, froze in midair.
I found myself looking over his whole body, checking if he was hurt.
‘You’re so weak, Elaine.’
Even while thinking that, I quickly scanned him from head to toe.
“Elaine.”
The Grand Duke’s restrained voice rumbled through his dragon-head mask.
What’s with this heavy atmosphere?
My question was answered right away.
“…Is the Grand Duchess in there?”
“Yes, Your Grace just saw her go in…”
“Why is she here and not at the mansion?”
“I don’t know, sir!”
“Could the capital nobles have taken her hostage…?”
Outside, I heard Jeremy and the Grand Duke’s soldiers talking in shocked voices.
‘Now that I think about it…’
‘This situation could look like the nobles sent by the Emperor kidnapped the Grand Duchess.’
Normally, there’d be no reason for the Grand Duchess to be here.
It was a huge misunderstanding.
And honestly, it was my fault for sneaking out without saying anything.
A pang of guilt hit me.
“Wait, I can explain everything.”
“…”
“It’s all a misunderstanding…”
“Come here.”
The Grand Duke reached out his hand to me before I could even finish.
His hand was soaked in monster blood.
But before I could grab it, he hesitated and pulled his hand back, wiping it on his already-bloody cloak.
Now his cloak was just as dirty, but he tried anyway.
‘…Was he wiping his hand so he wouldn’t get blood on me?’
I wasn’t sure if I felt embarrassed or something else, but my ears got a little hot.
Meanwhile, things outside kept getting more serious.
It was so tense, it felt like sparks were flying between the Grand Duke’s soldiers and the Holy Knights.
“Sigh.”
In the end, I just sighed and stood up.
“Fine, let’s go together.”
“…”
“And tell your soldiers to back off.”
I’d finish talking to Reina once we got back to the mansion.
As I put my hand on the Grand Duke’s arm, his dragon mask looked up, almost surprised.
“Hurry.”
He stepped back obediently, like a well-trained puppy.
But just as I started to step down from the carriage—
“Ah!”
Suddenly, my waist was grabbed and I was lifted into the air.
The Grand Duke had picked me up as I was about to get out.
well-trained puppy lmao