Chapter 157
In the Ragselve family, even coachmen receive training similar to that of apprentice knights.
So when someone suddenly blocks the road like this, the proper response would be to immediately stay alert and turn the carriage around.
However, the coachman simply stared at the person blocking the way with a shocked expression.
That was because the rider in front of the opposing carriage bore the emblem of the Imperial Knights on his chest.
“The Imperial Knights? What business brings you to a place like this…?”
The Imperial Knights only move for the sake of the Imperial family.
Which meant that a member of the royal family was present here right now.
“Sir, what’s going on?”
Startled when the carriage suddenly stopped, Luska poked her head out and, upon seeing the knight blocking the way, shouted,
“Huh? Sir Aiden!”
Though the forest was growing dark, Luska recognized him immediately and waved cheerfully.
“Hi, Luska. It’s been a while.”
Aiden waved back at her.
Since Luska had frequently visited the palace and often met the Emperor from a young age, the two knew each other well.
Luska got down from the carriage and walked over to Aiden.
“What brings you all the way out here? Could it be…?”
Luska looked toward the carriage behind Aiden.
The Emperor sometimes wandered around the capital.
Security was stable, and since he was extremely strong himself, he often went alone.
However, every time he did, the Imperial Knights would make a huge fuss, shouting, ‘Do you really trust us so little?!’, forcing him to take them along.
‘Did he come to see Evie?’
With that hopeful thought, Luska looked closely at the carriage—
“Hello?”
A completely unwelcome face appeared from inside.
“I waited here for so long. We finally met.”
The person smiling brightly with her face poked out was Eve.
* * *
“……”
“……”
Inside the carriage, complicated gazes crossed back and forth.
It couldn’t be helped.
The people inside could hardly be called close, even out of politeness.
Among them, two people didn’t even try to hide their discomfort.
Irene and Izriella.
Irene glared at Izriella with an expression like she had bitten half a bug, while Izriella avoided that hostile stare and instead looked at Evie, who was sitting beside Irene.
Evie, feeling Izriella’s gaze, kept looking at Eve instead.
The two boys had momentarily stepped aside from this tangled exchange of looks.
The atmosphere was awkward, but the carriage wasn’t quiet.
“That’s because Dad said I could buy whatever I wanted. So I bought everything I liked. Madam Krebel was so shocked…”
No matter the mood, Eve kept talking nonstop.
Aiden swallowed a sigh as he looked at the atmosphere inside the carriage through the open window.
Eve had spent the entire morning touring the capital after leaving the palace.
Since she wasn’t officially recognized yet and there were security concerns, they had planned to move as quietly as possible.
But—
“My dad is the Emperor! Why should I have to wait?”
At Madam Krebel’s shop, Eve had shouted loudly enough for everyone inside to hear.
As a result, the idea of moving quietly had completely failed.
Not just the clothing store—everywhere they went, Eve openly announced that she was the Emperor’s daughter.
At first, Aiden had been flustered. Then irritated.
And in the end, he felt a bit sorry for her.
‘It’s because she hasn’t been officially recognized.’
Since Clois still hadn’t acknowledged her publicly, the child—though ignorant—must feel deeply anxious.
Still, Aiden couldn’t blame Clois.
He himself found it hard to feel attached to Eve.
He was an Imperial Knight.
One who swore absolute loyalty and obedience to the Imperial family.
So regardless of how he felt, he had to protect Eve with his life.
Others should have felt the same—but…
‘Hilde was furious, wasn’t she?’
After the pond incident, Hilde had been removed from Eve’s guard detail.
Normally, that would have been humiliating—especially for someone as strict as Hilde.
“Ah, take my place and suffer instead.”
Yet after receiving her disciplinary order, Hilde had handed Eve’s duties to Aiden with a refreshed expression and headed straight to the training grounds.
At first, Aiden hadn’t understood why.
But after spending a full day with Eve, he understood Hilde’s feelings.
‘This isn’t right.’
Once Eve was officially recognized, they would have to protect her for the rest of their lives.
They should have been pledging loyalty already…
Aiden shook his head.
‘Forget these useless thoughts. We need to hurry back to the palace.’
Originally, Eve’s schedule for the day had ended with a visit to Count Aradman’s villa.
She said she wanted to retrieve some belongings, so they stopped by—but when she came back from her room, she was holding only a neatly wrapped small candy container.
“Now that I look again, there wasn’t really anything worth taking.”
That alone was fine.
But then—
“The Ragselve Marquis’s estate is nearby, right? I want to go there too.”
There was no stopping her.
‘She doesn’t even have much of a relationship with Luska—why is she doing this?’
At least the Aradman villa was close to Ragselve territory.
So coming this far was manageable—but…
‘I’m dead when we get back.’
As soon as Eve saw the children, she started making a scene, insisting they all go play at the count’s villa together.
Before Aiden could even say it was inappropriate, Arcel firmly refused.
Naturally, Eve immediately started crying and throwing a fit.
If only it had ended there.
“I’ll tell Dad everything! I’ll tell him Evie told them not to play with me!”
The blame suddenly—and unfairly—turned toward Evie.
Evie’s face turned pale.
She was already sad that she hadn’t seen Clois since the pond incident.
If Eve said something like that, Evie feared the Emperor might avoid seeing her even more.
In the end, Evie said she would go alone—
And immediately, the other three said they would go too.
The proud look on their faces at that moment…
Feeling he had to step in, Aiden allowed them to stay at the villa for exactly one hour.
Eve complained, but when Aiden reminded her it was the Emperor’s order, she couldn’t push further.
An awkward tea time followed at the count’s villa—no one even understood why they were there.
As soon as the hour passed, Aiden immediately took the children and left.
‘We need to return to the marquis’s estate quickly.’
Sending Eve back to the palace was important—but before that, he needed to separate her from these children.
While Aiden sped up with the other knights, Eve continued boasting endlessly.
Naturally, her gaze stayed fixed on Evie.
“So I went to all the most famous places in the capital today.”
Showing off what she had bought, Eve pulled out a beautifully wrapped box from her pocket.
“This is for Dad. I bought him a gift too. He’ll be really happy, right?”
At that, Evie flinched.
She slowly reached into her pocket.
The very first chestnut she had opened was still there.
The biggest, unblemished, shiny chestnut.
‘I was going to give this to His Majesty…’
Compared to the pretty gift box in Eve’s hand, the chestnut in her pocket looked pitiful.
Seeing Evie’s downcast expression, Eve felt a sense of victory.
In a good mood, Eve took out the candy container she had brought from the villa.
“This is really expensive. You can all have one.”
Unable to refuse, the children accepted the candy.
Izriella ate first and said with a strained smile,
“The mint flavor is… very strong.”
“Yeah. Why aren’t you eating?”
Staring angrily as if questioning their refusal, Eve left Evie no choice but to swallow the candy.
Irene also reluctantly put it in her mouth, then whispered quietly to Evie,
“The one you bought is a thousand times better.”
She meant it.
It barely tasted like candy—more like medicine. The mint was so strong it made her tongue sting.
Eve handed candy to Arcel and Luska as well, then ordered Izriella to give some to the coachman.
Next, she called out to Aiden, who was riding alongside them.
“Sir, you eat one too!”
“Ah… yes. Thank you.”
Though he said so, Aiden’s face showed no gratitude.
Still, thinking it might help clear his head, he bit into the candy—
“Ptooey!”
He immediately spat it out.
Then, turning pale, he shouted,
“Everyone, spit it out!”
Eve looked at him in shock.
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
Spitting even his saliva like someone who had bitten something filthy, Aiden shouted urgently,
“Lady Eve! Where did you get this?!”
A child couldn’t withstand the genuine anger in a knight’s voice.
Tears welled up in Eve’s eyes as she answered weakly,
“Noma gave it to me…”
The moment she said that, Izriella—who had eaten first—collapsed forward.
Not just her.
Evie and Irene also lost consciousness and slumped over.
And then—
Hiiiiiing!
The horses reared violently as the coachman fell sideways while holding the reins.
The large carriage shook wildly—
Crash!
It overturned onto the side of the road.
“Lady Eve! Kids!”
As Aiden and the knights rushed to stop their horses and open the overturned carriage—
Whoosh!
A sharp pain struck Aiden’s shoulder along with the sound of something slicing through the air.
“—!”
He instinctively drew his sword and took cover beside the carriage.
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
Groans sounded everywhere as arrows continued to rain down.
He glanced at his shoulder.
It wasn’t a normal arrow.
A powerful crossbow bolt was embedded deep into it.
‘Damn it.’
When he tried to move his arm, it was clear—his bone was broken.
Worse still, the pain felt strange.
‘Poison.’
At that moment, someone walked out from the forest.
A tall woman with long hair.
But Aiden felt something unsettling about her.
Though she appeared female, there were unmistakably masculine traits in her body.
As his vision blurred and he lifted his head—
“Siren…”
“It’s been a long time, Sir Aiden.”
Grinning, Siren stood before him.
