Chapter 16
The Assassin
Startled, I dropped the tray.
Clang—!
The tray crashed onto the floor with a loud noise.
The teacup rolled across the ground, and tea soaked into the carpet.
At first, I didn’t understand what that flash I saw was.
A thin blue line cutting through pitch-black darkness.
That was how it looked.
Then—
“Grand Duchess!”
I heard Renard’s voice calling me.
And the black figure moved away.
The shadowy shape that had somehow reached right in front of me—
Renard had grabbed it by the back of the neck and thrown it.
The figure flew into a corner of the room, and Renard rushed after it.
Soon, the sharp sound of metal clashing echoed through the dark room.
Clang—
Clang—
A familiar sound.
The next moment, Miriet and Evan sparring in the training yard came to mind.
Once I realized it, I saw the two figures swinging their swords at each other.
One of them was Renard.
The other was a man wearing a mask that hid his face.
No… it could even be a woman.
The build didn’t look very large.
Renard’s words from before passed through my mind one after another.
“To protect His Highness from assassins targeting him, I often wore the prince’s clothes and pretended to be him.”
“I’m sorry. You must have been surprised. My body reacted first… there were many attacks from assassins when I slept.”
When I came back to my senses, Renard was being pushed back by the assassin.
Renard… a Sword Master… being pushed back? That can’t be right…
The assassin swung their sword.
Renard’s sword was knocked away.
Cold sweat ran down my spine.
“Gu—guards!!!”
Seeing the assassin rushing toward the unarmed Renard, I shouted instinctively.
The assassin turned to look at me.
Then, in the next moment, they began running toward me.
Their approach felt like slow motion.
It felt like staring into the headlights of a car on the road.
But then—
Renard appeared before my eyes.
His body bent like a bow.
Crimson blood burst behind his back like a fountain, and Renard staggered.
Everything played out like a silent film moving in slow motion.
Sound returned to the world only after I felt Renard’s weight.
“Re—Renard…!”
I collapsed to the floor as I caught Renard, who had fallen over me.
Beside us, the knights from the mansion finally arrived and rushed past.
The assassin turned and started running.
“Ch-chase them!”
“Don’t let them escape!”
“Catch them!”
The voices of the knights chasing the assassin through the window sounded muffled.
Like something heard underwater.
Yet among them, one voice rang clearly in my ears.
“Gr… Grand Duchess…”
Still dazed, I quickly looked down toward the voice.
Renard was looking at me with a face that seemed about to lose consciousness.
He reached out his hand.
I hurriedly grabbed it.
“A-are you okay?! It must hurt a lot! What do we do, there’s so much blood…”
Renard moved his lips as if he wanted to say something.
“Grand… Grand Duchess… Res…”
“What did you say?! I can’t hear you clearly—say it again!”
It felt like something important.
I leaned down quickly.
Renard’s hot breath brushed against my ear.
“Res… your dress… there’s blood…”
When I straightened up and glared at him as if to say that’s what you’re worried about right now?, he grinned mischievously despite being covered in blood.
Then he winced in pain.
A thick gush of blood poured from behind his back.
The already ruined carpet was soaked again.
“…Be quiet. Talking when you’re hurt… it’ll make it worse…”
Unable to hide my distress, I spoke sharply.
Renard smiled again.
Meanwhile, I pressed his back with the hem of my dress—the very skirt he had been worrying about.
Hoping it would stop the bleeding even a little.
Just then, Douglas appeared.
“Grand Duchess? What is all this noi—good heavens, Your Highness…!”
“Call the physician immediately, Douglas! As fast as possible!”
Douglas returned with the physician and several servants.
The servants carried the injured Renard onto the bed.
The physician examined and treated him.
After a while—
“The wound is deep, but fortunately it’s not life-threatening. However, a scar will likely remain…”
Hearing the explanation, I collapsed into the chair beside the bed.
Thank goodness…
If it wasn’t life-threatening for an ordinary person, then Renard would surely be fine.
Mages had stronger recovery abilities than normal people.
The tension drained from my body, and I covered my face with my hands.
Besides, the scar might not even remain.
The only scars on his body were those from childhood before his magic had manifested.
It was truly a relief.
I didn’t want any more scars to appear on Renard’s body.
Especially if they were from saving me.
When I lowered my hands, I saw Douglas also looking relieved.
Suddenly, I wondered whether the knights had caught the assassin.
“Douglas, any news from the knights yet? It’s been quite a while.”
“They’re still chasing. No one has returned yet.”
“Then send more knights. Search the entire capital if necessary and catch them. Whoever it is, I won’t let them go. At dawn I’ll contact the Cowell family. If my father steps in, it’ll be much easier to find not only the culprit but also the one behind them—”
But at that moment—
I noticed Douglas flinch at the words ‘the one behind them.’
A frown formed on my face.
Just then, I felt someone grab me.
Looking down, I saw Renard—who must have regained consciousness—staring at me with hazy eyes from the anesthetic.
He was holding my little finger.
“I’m fine. The physician said I’m fine. So leave the rest to Douglas… and go back to your room and rest. There’s no need to contact your family. Douglas will handle everything.”
I was about to say that I would help too.
After all, he got hurt saving me—
But then something felt strange.
It felt as if both Renard and Douglas subtly hoped I would stop pursuing the assassin.
Renard, who never lets things slide… why would he…
Then the original story came to mind.
In the gladiator arena, Renard’s specialty had been trading flesh for bone.
Letting an enemy strike his arm so he could stab their heart.
Could it be… he deliberately let himself get hurt to save me… to win my favor?
Considering Renard’s usual tendency not to value his own body, it wasn’t impossible.
Seeing Douglas rolling his eyes nervously made it seem even less like a misunderstanding.
After reaching that conclusion, I naturally pulled my little finger out of Renard’s grasp.
Renard stared at me with wide eyes.
“Then Your Highness is fine now, correct? Douglas, please escort the physician back.”
Everyone seemed startled by the sudden coldness in my tone.
But I didn’t move.
“I said escort him out. Was what I said difficult to understand?”
Sensing something dangerous in the air, quick-witted Douglas hurried out with the physician.
The heavy door closed with a loud thud.
Renard’s pleading gaze followed them.
* * *
Renard felt uneasy.
Until just a moment ago, everything had been going perfectly.
Like sailing with a favorable wind.
He had thrown himself in as planned and saved Elose.
His life wasn’t in danger.
The boy he had hired as the assassin had indeed been skilled.
If the opponent were too weak, pretending to lose would have looked suspicious.
But the boy had played his role perfectly.
Renard had even been considering recruiting him as one of his own.
Then suddenly, Elose sent Douglas away.
Her pale lavender eyes—usually like spring lavender—had turned colder than frost.
Renard glanced at the door.
Douglas, quick-witted as always, had already sensed the situation and fled.
Renard silently vowed revenge on Douglas later.
Then those icy lavender eyes fixed on him.
Only then did Renard realize he was sitting there bare-chested, his bandages wrapped around him.
He swallowed nervously.
Elose spoke.
“Hurting yourself just to show someone else…”
“……”
“…is stupid.”
“…Grand Duchess?”
Renard immediately understood.
She had realized it.
His scheme.
His plan to become her guardian angel.
But then—
He saw that the area beneath her eyes had turned red.
Renard panicked.
“Gr-Grand Duchess…?”
His heart tightened painfully.
It was the first time someone had cried because he was hurt.
Elose wiped the tears gathering in her eyes and glared at him fiercely.
“Promise me. From now on, you won’t use your body as a weapon or a shield. You won’t treat it like a tool. Can you promise that?”
“Grand Duchess…”
“Promise me. If you don’t… I’ll never see Renard again.”
“Promise…”
“……”
“I promise…”
Renard replied slowly, still unable to believe she was crying because of him.
Elose nodded.
Then Renard gently took her hand.
“Please don’t cry, Grand Duchess. When you cry… I truly don’t know what I should do.”
That was the honest truth.
“…It’s driving me crazy.”
That too was the truth.
Elose couldn’t understand the real meaning behind those words.
Renard slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding.
Even his own mother had seen him only as a tool for revenge.
Yet Elose was holding back tears because he was hurt.
The very ice sculpture who normally didn’t react at all to his touch.
What he should do for someone like her—
Renard truly didn’t know.
After hesitating for a long moment, he pulled Elose closer and sat her on the bed.
Carefully, he lifted himself and embraced her.
Soft moonlight fell over the two of them.
Like a curtain gently covering them.
