A proper posture that suggested systematic training, a well-maintained physique, and the swords strapped to both sides gave off the impression of a young apprentice knight. Could she be a noble?
However, for a noble knight, she strangely exuded a free-spirited and rogue-like atmosphere, making it difficult to guess her identity.
Since Lancelin tended to easily give up on things he couldn’t understand, he stopped thinking. Anyway, he might soon die, so what was the point of thinking further?
“So, what’s your relationship with my aunt?”
“I don’t know either.”
Lancelin, who had answered absent-mindedly, belatedly raised one eyebrow as a realization dawned on him.
“You don’t know who I am, do you?”
Anis rolled her eyes and answered.
“I heard that Aunt Valize was going to protect you for a while. I don’t know what happened, but it seems like the plan got messed up. How about I accompany you until you meet Aunt Valize? I can help too.”
He found it somewhat annoying that this girl, who didn’t even know his identity, was so confidently offering to help with matters she couldn’t fully understand herself.
“Do you stab people in the back when they need help?”
“If necessary.”
Lancelin was dumbfounded, his head still throbbing.
As Lancelin, whose face had turned red with anger, glared at Anis in disbelief, she smiled contentedly.
“Am I that pretty? Why are you looking at me so intensely?”
“Does this look like an intense gaze to you? Where are your eyes even located?”
“In my eyes”
“…”
The annoyingly accurate remark left him momentarily speechless.
Eyes…are indeed in the eyes… Ah, no, that’s not it.
“Do you even know what kind of risks you’re taking so easily offering to help?”
Anis didn’t know him. In his opinion, there was nothing more dangerous and foolish than offering to help a stranger.
Come to think of it, Rust was truly foolish. Sacrificing his life to save a worthless prince who had been replaced by his half-brother.
“Hmm…”
Anis lowered her gaze and thought deeply for a moment, then raised her head to look directly at Lancelin.
“If I have a way of approaching things, it’s not about whether I can or can’t do it. It’s about whether I should or shouldn’t.”
In other words, she was saying she’d do as she pleased regardless of what he said.
“By the way, my name is Anis.”
“Even if you say you’re Valize’s niece, how can I trust you?”
Well, that’s because I’m…uh, a knight’s daughter. You know, chivalry…that sort of thing? I’ve got plenty of that.”
Knights usually had lords to whom they swore loyalty. In the case of Duke Varandian, she had sworn loyalty to King Saint-Jean, so it wasn’t entirely wrong for Anis to claim she was a knight’s daughter.
Anis considered revealing her full name but remembered that Valize had instructed her to keep her identity secret outside the territory of the Grand Duchy of Varandian.
“You don’t even know who I am.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“No.”
“Alright, then. I won’t ask.”
She figured that since she had secrets to hide, others might also have secrets they didn’t want to reveal.
Lancelin was a bit surprised when Anis, whom he expected to pry into his identity, controlled her curiosity.
Anyway, he decided not to reveal his identity. Giving his full name to someone he didn’t trust was a big gamble.
Lancelin, who was sensitive about survival, was afraid and cautious about everything. He tried hard not to show it on the outside.
With no escorts to speak of and no weapons, traveling alone through the south was the worst option for Lancelin, who distrusted Anis. Although she was an unreliable companion, he had no choice.
Reflecting on the deaths of many with a dark expression, Lancelin his brow as if he had tasted something bitter. Averting his gaze, he snapped at Anis, who was standing there blankly.
“I will allow you to accompany me for a while.”
Observing Lancelin’s arrogant attitude, Anis guessed he was at least the son of a lord.
He speaks exactly like the nobility class. What’s the point of hiding his identity when he acts like that?
Lancelin, having briefly regained his composure, soon became haughty and gestured with his chin towards the sword attached to Anis’s scabbard.
“Now, give me your sword.”
“Why?”
“I need some insurance too. You made me drop my sword, so you should take responsibility.”
“Then I’ll have nothing left?”
“It’s better than me having nothing.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. So hand it over quickly.”
Lancelin almost snatched Anis’s sword.
As the heavy steel sword settled in his hand, his anxiety eased. It felt like he had at least secured a minimal chance of survival.
Anis, who was disarmed, looked back at the path she had come. It was eerily quiet, with no one in pursuit. Had the escorts Valize sent taken care of all those threatening the boy?
…At the cost of their own lives?
Anis thought of the dead with a heavy heart.
“Hey.”
Lancelin called out to Anis in a sulky voice. He seemed perplexed by Anis’s sudden silence and blank expression.
Anis shrugged her shoulders to not worry the boy, shaking off her dark thoughts.
“Should we head straight to Golden Mist Village? Is there someone waiting for you there? How many pursuers are there?”
Lancelin, somewhat relieved to see Anis return to her cheerful self, replied bluntly.
“I don’t know either. This is the first time the pursuers have shown themselves directly.”
“I think the Golden Mist Village is a bit suspicious too. Let’s continue to the village, but assess the situation at the entrance. Aunt Valize will find us soon anyway.”
Anis offered the horse to Lancelin. Although it could carry both of them, she decided to walk to conserve the horse’s strength.
Lancelin refused, but when Anis tried to force him up, he panicked and mounted the horse. He looked down at the top of Anis’s head as she led the horse by the reins.
Carrying someone on horseback and leading the reins was considered a lowly task. The fact that she did this without hesitation made him wonder if she was just a simple knight’s daughter.
“I’ll travel with you for now, but I don’t completely trust you.”
“Okay.”
“If you betray me or try anything funny, I won’t let it slide.”
“Got it.”
No matter what he said, it had no effect.
“By the way, it’s a bit late to ask, but what should I call you?”
Anis knew the boy was called ‘Lin’, but she wanted to hear the name from him directly.
However, Lancelin ignored Anis’s expectation with an indifferent expression. Seeing that Lancelin wasn’t going to reveal his name, Anis just shrugged and said something else.
“Have you ever read the knight novel ‘How a Knight Lives as a Macho’? There’s a cat… I mean, a companion that travels with the protagonist. How about I call you by that friend’s name? The name is…”
After saying it, she thought that name would be better than ‘Lin’. It was a much more rounded and better name.
Slightly excited, Anis puffed out a breath and continued.
“It’s Chorong. Isn’t it nice?”
“Are you crazy? Call me Lin.”
Lancelin answered immediately with a serious expression. The name Lin was an alias and pet name to hide his real name.
While Anis praised it as a pretty and cool name, still seeming unsatisfied, she tried calling him Chorong, only to be scolded by Lancelin.
“Be honest. Are you an idiot?”
Lancelin spoke irritably, and Anis calmly retorted.
“I often get told that I am smart.”
“Look at yourself now. What exactly is smart about this?”
“Change your perspective. I just temporarily changed the way I see the world.”
When Anis spoke, a bitter laugh escaped from Lancelin.
Anis was currently caught in a trap and hung upside down, wrapped like a cocoon.
While resting briefly for Lancelin who was tired from the long ride, Anis had spotted a bunch of edible berries. Ignoring Lancelin’s warning not to touch anything suspicious, she got caught in a trap.
“It’s a relief it’s not a lethal trap…”
Lancelin muttered.
Somehow, it felt like he was the one cleaning up the mess. What would she do without him? She was like a reckless foal that didn’t know the meaning of danger.
Anis bent her upper body upward, struggling to untie the rope binding her legs.
“I think I can get out if I do it right.”
Clicking his tongue, Lancelin approached Anis, who was making futile efforts. He thought about trying to cut the rope with his sword.
It might not reach, but if he managed somehow…
“Hey, stay still—”
Unaware that Lancelin had come so close, Anis tried to lower her upper body and bumped heads with him. With a loud bang, Lancelin grabbed his head and collapsed on the spot. He saw stars before his eyes.
“You…!”
Crouched down, Lancelin muttered a curse.
“Sorry.”
Anis, seemingly unaffected, just chuckled awkwardly. Lancelin got irritated.
“You blockhead!”
“It’s just a bit hard because it’s full of stuff.”
Anis argued about the correlation between mass and knowledge. Lancelin told her to stop talking nonsense, then focused his dizzy vision.
As Anis obediently let her limbs hang, Lancelin carefully approached, trying to cut the rope without causing injury. But it wasn’t working well due to the height.
“Damn it, it won’t cut.”
“If it’s not working, just leave me and run.”
“…”
Lancelin flinched at Anis’s nonchalant words, then bit his lower lip. It’s quite a talent to consistently say such irritating things.
“I don’t want to survive by sacrificing someone I barely know.”
“Such touching friendship”
“…Shut up!”
Lancelin, his face red, yelled quietly.
That’s when it happened. There was a rustling from beyond the bushes, and a middle-aged man wielding a dagger, looking like a hunter checking his traps, appeared.
“Uh…?”
The man looked flustered seeing the two youths. Although there was no malice, one should not let their guard down in such situations.
As Lancelin gripped his sword, assuming the man was an enemy. The man, noticing their wariness, hurriedly showed his palms and spoke.
“Hey, I’m not a brute who harms kids. I was just checking the deer bait and the trap. That’s my trap, you see.”
The man disarmed himself by throwing all his weapons in front of him. Confirming the lack of hostility, Lancelin did not put away his sword and glared at Anis dangling upside down.
