Chapter 91
Kyle was a sharpshooter, so with his excellent eyesight, finding Eileen was no problem. It was a shame he hadn’t hit her heart, but that was fine too. If she survived by luck, he could bring her to his side later and make use of her healing abilities.
The fortunate thing was that no one would ever guess that the emperor, who had carefully maintained the image of a devoted lover, would be the one to shoot a duke’s daughter. Only Raymond, who alone saw through his temperament and true intentions, was consumed by rage.
“Kyle.”
Raymond approached the emperor, blind to everything else. The man who had once observed proper etiquette was nowhere to be found—only a man dreaming of revenge remained.
“Let’s withdraw.”
“All forces! Retreat!!”
Having achieved his initial objective, Kyle had no intention of maintaining this increasingly unfavorable battlefield any longer. When he gave the order, the commander raised his voice to relay it to all allied troops. The imperial soldiers began to fall back, taking up defensive positions instead of pressing their attack.
However, Raymond had no intention of letting him leave quietly. He gestured for a subordinate to bring his horse and immediately began chasing after Kyle as he fled.
Hmm. Where am I?
“Miss Duke’s Daughter. Are you awake?”
I blinked several times to clear my blurred vision, and an urgent voice reached my ears. Soon my sight sharpened, and I saw Coa’s worried face, with the clear sky behind her.
I’m lying down. So… did I get hit by an arrow?
When I touched the shoulder where the impact had struck, it was completely fine. If not for the hole torn through the fabric, I might have mistaken it for a dream.
“We finished all the treatment during the five minutes you were unconscious, Miss.”
When I tried to sit up, Coa supported my back and helped me raise my upper body. It seemed I had been lying with my head resting on her lap. Feeling a dizzy sensation, I pressed my forehead and slowly opened my mouth.
“So I fainted.”
“Yes.”
“But what happened to the fight? And Raymond?”
Come to think of it, this was still wartime. As my sense of reality gradually returned, I hurriedly looked around. Judging by the atmosphere, fortunately it seemed to have ended before the second fortress fell.
“The enemy has retreated. But His Grace the Grand Duke—”
“What about Raymond?”
Had he been badly hurt while I was unconscious? My heart sank.
“When he saw that you were struck by an arrow, he became extremely agitated and is chasing the retreating enemies. We tried to stop him and tell him to come back, but it was no use.”
“What?”
For the commander of the army to fall into a panic was truly disastrous. If things went wrong, he could end up losing the entire rebel force he had painstakingly raised.
“Where is he? Take me there.”
“Even if it was only for a short time, you lost consciousness, so you need to rest.”
“Doesn’t it seem like every second counts right now? I’m right, aren’t I?”
“…I will escort you.”
Coa seemed to think this was the only way to stop the Grand Duke and quickly agreed. We hurried down beneath the ramparts and mounted a horse. I wrapped my arms around Coa’s waist from behind.
“I’ll ride fast, so please hold on tightly.”
“Okay.”
“Hyah!”
Coa drove the horse faster than ever before. Contrary to her concern for my condition, the wind against my skin was painful from the speed. That alone showed how urgent the situation was.
Raymond. Calm down. Please.
Don’t get hurt before I get there.
Though my voice couldn’t reach him, I prayed fervently, desperately wishing only to arrive as soon as possible.
“We’re here, Miss.”
As the horse slowed, I lifted my head, and a strange scene unfolded before my eyes.
Raymond was swinging his sword at Kyle, while the soldiers standing beside Kyle protected the emperor and fought against the Grand Duke. Because of Raymond’s overwhelming rage, Kyle couldn’t even draw his sword. The Grand Duke’s subordinates also moved to confront the enemy in order to protect him, but they couldn’t approach too close to the Grand Duke.
And in one corner, the finest horse Kyle had been riding lay thrashing on the ground with an injured leg.
Countless imperial soldiers were unable to withstand Raymond’s violent movements and swordsmanship. Even from his back, he looked to be in an extremely agitated state.
“Eileen!”
At that moment, Adrien spotted me and came over. He too had come out to fight.
“My goodness. What on earth is going on?”
“Don’t even ask. It seems His Grace has gone deaf.”
When I let out a sigh, Coa and several of the Grand Duke’s subordinates shook their heads. Adrien, who was with us, felt the same way.
Though there was some distance, I shouted Raymond’s name as loudly as I could.
“Raymond. I’m here. Raymond!”
“Your Grace! Miss Duke’s Daughter has arrived!”
“Your Grace!!”
I, Coa, and the Grand Duke’s subordinates all shouted with all our strength. But no matter how much we yelled, it seemed our voices couldn’t reach his ears at all.
No matter how I think about it, this looks like he’s gone berserk because of the medicine I gave him back then.
If that’s the case, it’s all or nothing.
I dangerously strode straight onto the battlefield. The Grand Duke’s subordinates tried to stop me, but Coa raised her hand to halt them. Then she quietly followed beside me, as if she had sensed my resolve.
Adrien also took his place silently at my side. Coa on the left, Adrien on the right—an invincible combination was formed.
Coa and Adrien raised their swords and cut down the enemies so I could approach Raymond. Like Moses’ miracle, the experience of a path opening through the enemy ranks was both novel and thrilling.
“Raymond!”
I called his name from less than ten steps away. But as if completely gone, he only continued swinging his sword like a madman.
Then there’s only one way!
I steeled my resolve. Like a wild boar about to charge, I scraped my feet against the ground, warming up.
“Coa. Protect Raymond.”
“Yes.”
At the same time as I shouted, I kicked off the ground and shot forward like a bullet. As I accelerated, my running speed became incredibly fast. In response, Coa’s arm movements also sped up. And I charged straight into Raymond’s broad back, like something unstoppable.
“Guhk!”
Raymond’s body, struck by my full-body tackle, pitched forward. At the sudden intrusion and rapid shift in the situation, everyone—enemy and ally alike—was left dumbfounded.
This is my only chance. I have to get out of here before the enemies regain their senses.
I hoisted the unconscious Raymond up in my arms and began running back the way I had come.
The enemies, whom I had expected to recover quickly, were instead even more shocked, to the point their eyes nearly popped out. Some stood frozen like statues, mouths agape. Allies were no exception to this uniform reaction.
“Hurry, please!”
“Got it. Hyah!”
I placed Raymond onto the horse I had ridden in on and called to Adrien. He held on firmly so the Grand Duke wouldn’t fall and began to ride.
Next, my next task was already decided. I went over to the emperor’s horse, which had been lying sprawled in a corner. When I applied saliva to the wounded area on its leg, the injury smoothly healed. The leg that had been thrashing in pain stilled, and the horse sprang to its feet. Perhaps happy that it no longer hurt, it let out a vigorous “Neigh!” toward the sky.
“Could you give me a ride?”
“Neigh!”
As if answering, the horse stomped powerfully. Coa and I hurriedly mounted the emperor’s horse and galloped toward the fortress.
The enemies, who had been dazed by the bizarre situation until now, finally began to come to their senses one by one.
“Th—there! They’re stealing His Majesty’s horse!”
A few cavalrymen chased after us, but true to being the emperor’s horse, the distance only grew wider instead of narrowing. We deliberately took a longer route to draw attention away from the unconscious Raymond. Thanks to that, it felt like we were enjoying a proper drive for the first time in a while.
Even after shaking off the pursuers, we continued riding joyfully and entered a small forest path. Then we stopped briefly by a lakeside ahead to give the horse some water. While the horse lowered its head to drink, Coa and I stood beside it, watching.
“This horse, you know—it has an amazing ride comfort.”
“Indeed. As expected of the emperor’s horse.”
“Oh? Then should we keep it?”
I had never intended this when I healed it. But after riding it once, I grew greedy. The human heart, honestly. Is this why car dealerships let you take test drives to boost sales?
“You are qualified, Miss. You healed this fellow’s leg perfectly.”
When Coa stroked its mane, the horse shook its head, seeming pleased.
“Alright. It’s my war trophy, so it’s mine. Then what should we name this guy?”
“Since it’s yours, Miss, you should name it.”
“How about Hyiingi?”
“Th—that name is a bit…”
“Then how about Puhu?”
“That’s also… rather strange.”
“Hm. Really? I’m pretty good at naming things.”
I named Okhee, and I named Gwangho too. After being rejected twice, I fell into deep thought, when Coa casually offered a suggestion.
“How about Kenzis?”
“Kenzis? That’s such a splendid name.”
“A splendid horse deserves a splendid name.”
As she said that and stroked the mane once more, Kenzis bobbed its head as if responding to her touch. It really looked like it understood what Coa had said and liked it.
“Alright. Since he likes it, we’ll go with that name.”
“Thank you.”
“For what? Thanks to you, I got to enjoy a great ride too.”
After all, a beginner rider can’t ride alone anyway.
Up until that point, I firmly believed—without a shred of doubt—that even if it was my horse, I could only ride it with Coa there.
But looking closely… doesn’t Kenzis seem to like Coa more than me?
