~Chapter 106~
“On the second floor… aren’t you scared?”
Seeing Nathan’s trembling eyes, Ancia smiled even brighter on purpose and moved closer to the window.
“There’s a pile of haystacks under here. It might hurt a little, but we won’t get injured.
If we go out this way, we’ll also be close to the stables.”
The noise inside grew louder and sharper screams could now be heard.
There was no more time to hesitate.
Ancia climbed onto the window frame first, and Nathan held her with both hands. He lowered her as much as he could before letting go, but her feet couldn’t reach, so she tumbled down onto the haystack.
Nathan panicked and quickly jumped after her, running to her side—but she was already covered in dirt.
“An!”
“Ugh… I thought I’d hand over my shawl at the next inn, but like this… huh? Since it’s the North, it cleaned up nicely. Maybe that’s why snow rabbits are so white.”
“That’s not the problem. Are you alright? You’re not hurt?”
“I’m fine. But Brother, the way you jumped down from the second floor—you looked like a real knight. It was so cool.”
“Haa, you really are…”
When Nathan lifted her, surprised at her lighthearted joke, he noticed her body trembling. She had only been pretending to act bright.
So Nathan continued with the playful mood she wanted.
“Maybe because I’ve gotten lighter, jumping from the second floor feels easy these days.”
“You should still eat properly. You’ve gotten too thin.”
“Do I look ugly?”
“No. You look like a poet… and very handsome.”
Whispering silly words, the two reached the stables. Hearing the chaos of the inn even from here, they urgently mounted their horse and rode away.
Behind them, the noise grew distant, and no sounds of pursuit followed.
After running along the road for a while, they came across a broken bridge. Instead of plunging into the black forest, they chose the faint moonlit path that followed the river.
But the path wasn’t smooth.
They had to detour around piles of rocks, and with only moonlight to guide them, they inevitably got lost.
The horse startled at the cries of beasts or monsters, bolting wildly and almost throwing them off.
It all meant one thing—they had strayed far from Gwinted.
Still, escaping immediate danger was their priority.
But no place suitable for rest appeared. Nathan, holding drowsy Ancia so she wouldn’t fall, grew anxious.
He was proud she had endured this much. Compared to her frail health back at the Count’s house, it was almost a miracle. Still, he feared she might collapse at any moment.
Holding the person he had to protect gave Nathan the strength to stay sharp even in this hopeless situation.
“Please, just hold on a little longer.”
He knew the foaming horse needed rest, but the constant howls in the darkness wouldn’t let him stop.
On the mountain slope, where it was hard to even find direction, fear began to creep in.
And worse—Ancia’s body grew hot, as if burning with fever. Touching her forehead, Nathan felt cold sweat.
“An, are you alright? Ancia!”
“Mmm…”
Her only response was a faint groan. Nathan’s panic grew. The horse refused to move further, stamping in distress.
“An, please stay awake. Just a little longer. You can’t lose consciousness.”
At that moment, hoofbeats approached. Nathan, desperate, shouted toward the sound.
“We’ve lost our way! Do you know the direction to the nearest village?”
It could have been a bandit. But the sound was only one horse. If it came to it, he’d fight and flee.
“Follow the moon. Keep your eyes on the tallest mountain.”
The voice was beautiful—so beautiful it startled Nathan.
He hadn’t imagined the rider in the darkness would be a woman. Yet her voice also felt strangely familiar.
Though she had already given directions, when Nathan hesitated, the woman rode ahead. His exhausted horse, unwilling to move earlier, followed hers obediently.
All the way, she said nothing. Nathan, busy holding the unconscious Ancia and guiding his horse, had no room to speak either.
At last, as dawn’s faint light brightened the path, Nathan realized they were on a proper road again.
The woman pointed to the side.
“There’s a woodcutter’s shelter along that road. You can rest there, and if you keep following the path, you’ll reach a village.”
Grateful for both rest and direction, Nathan’s face lit up.
“Thank you so much. Please tell me your name, so I can repay you properly.”
“No need. Just… leave the village before the snow falls.
Farewell.”
Before he could even ask her name, the woman urged her horse and vanished. Wrapped tightly in her robe, Nathan never saw her face.
He could only thank fate for this meeting and rode on in the direction she had shown.
Meanwhile, the Black Knights were busy with a monster-hunting mission, scouring the mountains of a nearby lord’s domain. The messenger boy struggled to catch up.
After several tries, he finally delivered the flag of the Duke’s house to Arthur, who spotted it just before setting out again.
But Richard was not with them this time. Unlike usual, he had stayed in the village, negotiating with the local lord.
The greedy lord had been abusing the Duke’s household—taking advantage of low commission fees, demanding compensation under false pretenses, and using the knight order like cheap labor. The Duke’s aides had signed these contracts carelessly, without checking properly.
Richard had discovered this and put a stop to it himself, confronting the lord directly. They signed a new contract—no more unfair bargains.
Once that matter was settled, Richard mounted his horse, intending to join the knights. But on his way through the village, he noticed something strange—everyone was holding the same newspaper.
Uneasy, he bought one from a stall.
“The Beautiful Duchess Disappears With Her Fiancé.”
There were other duchesses in the world, but the faint sketch printed in the paper resembled only one person—Ancia.
“No… that’s impossible. Ancia should be safe in the mansion with the maids.”
Even so, anxiety gnawed at him.
Just then, Arthur rushed over, pale and sweating, holding a letter.
Richard’s heart clenched as he tore it open. The messenger accompanying Arthur explained the rest in trembling words:
After Margaret left, Nathan Leslie appeared through the gate.
He and Ancia went out together in a carriage.
Only the maids and guards returned.
The Duchess never came back.
Richard’s blue eyes turned so dark that the messenger bowed deeply, trembling.
He tried to steady himself. He remembered the last time—when he had feared losing her, yet she had returned safely, filling his arms with warmth and love.
She wouldn’t vanish. She couldn’t.
Nathan Leslie was not a mere “former fiancé” as the papers said. He was just the son of her guardian, someone she had grown up with like a brother.
What angered Richard was not jealousy—it was that this had happened while he was away, and that even the royal family might be involved.
He refused to believe the rumors.
“Your Grace…” Arthur called carefully, sensing the storm in him.
Richard, lost in thought, spoke coldly.
“Prepare the knights. The elite order. We ride for a long journey.”
Arthur blinked. “A long journey? To where, my lord?”
“East. To the Count of Leslie.”
