Chapter 32
The man turned his head to see who was gripping his arm so tightly.
As he locked eyes with the pitch-black gaze filled with murderous intent, his entire body froze.
“W-what the…?”
Seeing the man turn ghostly pale, Elinor let out a baffled laugh. He acted like nothing could scare him when it came to women—
And yet, he couldn’t move a muscle when faced with another man. Pathetic.
“Yahin.”
Yahin, who had been glaring down at the man with frightening intensity, turned his head sharply at her call.
Just a second ago, his eyes looked like they could tear a man apart. Now, they blinked innocently as if none of it had happened.
“Hold him tightly.”
Yahin nodded without a word and twisted the man’s arm behind his back.
The man screamed in pain, but no one came to help him.
“If you don’t want to break something, don’t take a single step from where you’re standing.”
At Elinor’s chilling warning, the men stiffly froze in place. It wasn’t like adjusting their posture would’ve made a difference—she just didn’t bother telling them that.
After casting a silent, threatening glare at each of them, Elinor turned around. Vanessa, who had been standing behind her, holding her shoulder, flinched.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah… yes, I’m fine.”
“Those bastards kept hitting your shoulder—isn’t that the one you hurt before?”
Vanessa’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected Elinor to remember which shoulder was injured. But indeed, it was the same right shoulder she had hurt in the mountains.
“Yes, but… it’s fine. They didn’t hit it that hard.”
Vanessa bowed her head awkwardly. While she was truly grateful for the help, she was also embarrassed to have been seen getting pushed around.
Once again, Elinor had come to her rescue.
It wasn’t like she was in a position to be constantly helped by Elinor, yet it kept happening. Frustrated with herself, Vanessa took a step back. Elinor didn’t try to cross that line.
She wasn’t the type to force herself into places she wasn’t wanted.
“So, why were you fighting?”
Still, Elinor figured she should know the reason behind the fight, especially since that was what led her here.
Before Vanessa could answer, the man being held by Yahin suddenly shouted.
“Ugh, seriously! We were just passing by, and that Vanessa girl came over and started a fight!”
Elinor’s eyes narrowed. People who feel guilty tend to get loud. Judging by how he was trying to stop Vanessa from speaking, he clearly had something to hide.
“Vanessa just picked a fight for no reason?”
“Yes! We’re innocent!”
Another man, who had been silent until now, stepped in enthusiastically.
Oh? That made it even more suspicious.
They were all insisting Vanessa was the one who started it. They looked just like thieves caught red-handed.
“Vanessa isn’t someone who’d start a fight for no reason.”
Elinor firmly denied it based on what she knew of Vanessa.
Sure, she had once thought otherwise, but later learned there had been a reason behind it. So with these men, it was even more likely there was a good reason. They didn’t seem like the kind of people she’d want to get involved with voluntarily.
“Vanessa, what happened with these men? Can you tell me?”
“I told you, she just started a fight—!”
“Yahin, knock him out. He’s too loud.”
Still gripping the man tightly with one hand, Yahin approached another man. With a gasp, the man collapsed in fear. Seeing the sudden silence, Elinor calmly said, “You don’t have to.”
She hadn’t really meant for Yahin to hit anyone. She just wanted to scare them into shutting up.
Yahin wasn’t her knight, and she didn’t want to make him use violence on others.
“Want to move somewhere safer to talk?”
Vanessa, still tense and staring at the men, shook her head. She had been alone before, but now with Elinor and Yahin here, she felt safe.
She lowered the hand that had been gripping her shoulder and pointed at the men.
“My lady, these men are the ones who caused the wild animals to come down into the village. When I confronted them, they turned violent.”
“……These men?”
Hearing the unexpected revelation about the true culprits made Elinor’s eyes flash. Vanessa looked her straight in the eye and nodded.
“They hunted the animals’ young. That’s why the parent animals came down from the mountain.”
“Ugh, so what?! There’s no law in the territory that bans hunting baby animals!”
One of the men shouted in protest. He wasn’t wrong—Oklahoma’s laws didn’t prohibit it.
But it was customary not to hunt young animals.
It wasn’t surprising that these immature-looking men ignored such an unspoken rule.
If it had been illegal, they’d be in real trouble by now.
As if reading her thoughts, Vanessa continued.
“But smuggling those animals after hunting them? That’s illegal.”
The men’s faces turned ghostly white. Smuggling? That was illegal. Elinor’s eyebrows twitched.
“Do you know where they smuggled them to?”
“Lubin. And over there, hunting baby animals is illegal.”
Elinor stroked her slender chin. According to Oklahoma law, game animals had to be officially registered and traded. Now they’d broken another territory’s law as well.
“Why did they sell to Lubin?”
“There’s a trend in the Duke of Tess’s domain lately—stuffed baby animals are secretly popular. A merchant group in Lubin caught wind of it and hired these men to make a profit. Since hunting baby animals isn’t illegal in Oklahoma…”
The mention of the Tess Duchy instantly brought Sinclair Tess to mind. The most aristocratic young noble Elinor knew.
No way would such a man ever condone that kind of cruel trend.
To Sinclair Tess, proper noble conduct had nothing to do with the butchery of young animals.
So that’s why it was trending “in secret.”
The moment he found out, the duchy would be in uproar.
“As far as I know, young Lord Tess detests that kind of thing. If he finds out, we’ll be caught in the backlash too, just for being a supplier.”
She intended to ask Lydia to prevent that, of course—but Elinor said it aloud so the men could hear.
The higher the noble rank, the more afraid country folk tended to be.
As expected, the men’s faces turned ashen. They were now criminals who had broken laws in three territories.
Lubin, part of Viscount Duvar’s land, and the Tess Duchy—both ranked higher than Oklahoma, a mere barony.
“If either Lubin or the duchy requests an extradition… well, there’s not much we can do. Especially if it’s the Tess Duchy.”
Elinor shrugged and smiled brightly.
Lubin wouldn’t want to escalate the issue since it involved the duchy, and she’d make sure the duchy didn’t either, thanks to Lydia.
But the men didn’t know that.
Until a verdict was passed, they could spend all their time trembling in fear.
The men dropped to the ground and bowed deeply.
“P-please, my lady! Spare us!”
“We’re sorry! Truly!”
“Please forgive us just this once! We won’t do it again!”
Elinor looked down at their terrified faces with no trace of amusement.
They’d strutted around acting tough toward a single woman—and now they were groveling in fear.
Should she really send them to the duchy and let that oh-so-noble young man handle the punishment?
The thought was tempting. Sinclair would crush them slowly and gracefully.
But they were Oklahoma’s citizens, and her aunt was the lord. Her will came first.
“Lisa, can you call the guards?”
Elinor spotted Lisa pushing through the crowd and made the request.
Lisa glanced around the chaotic scene and decided calling the guards was indeed best.
As they waited for the guards to arrive, Elinor sighed and looked at the men.
“Beyond the crime—you should feel ashamed. Just because someone’s an orphan, or a woman, or just a baby animal, doesn’t mean you can abuse your power and feel proud. Vanessa came after you all on her own, without even relying on the baron.”
The men’s faces turned red. At least now they seemed to understand how shameful they were.
Soon, the guards arrived and shackled the men. Elinor revealed her identity and ordered their detention.
Upon learning she was the baron’s niece, the guards puffed up and replied, “Yes, ma’am!” with booming voices.
Once the situation was resolved, Elinor was bombarded with scolding from Lisa—for not waiting for her to arrive.
“I couldn’t help it. Vanessa was in urgent need.”
Elinor defended herself awkwardly. Lisa glanced at Vanessa and said nothing more.
Just then, the carriage they’d arranged earlier pulled up right on time.
“Let’s go back to the estate.”
Lisa loaded the goods into the carriage and urged Elinor to get in.
But Elinor retrieved a small box she had placed in the carriage earlier.
“Wait. I have something to give Yahin.”
She waved at Yahin, who stood a few paces away. He approached quickly.
“This is for you. A gift.”
“…?”
Yahin accepted the box with a confused look. Inside were the fountain pen and notebook Elinor had bought earlier. As he opened it, his confusion deepened.
His expression asked: Why give this to me?
“It’s a thank-you gift. You gave me a letter and flowers, remember?”
She had long noticed how worn-out his notebook and pen were—like they could snap at any moment.
She had planned to get him new ones, and the opportunity came today.
“Use this from now on, okay?”
Yahin quietly pulled out the notebook and pen, eyes on Elinor’s smiling face.
On the first page of the soft leather-bound notebook, he wrote:
— Thank you. Lady Elinor.
His shaky handwriting stood out all the more through the fine nib of the fountain pen.
“My name’s the first thing written in your new notebook. What an honor.”
Elinor looked up at him, smiling.
His coal-black hair reminded her suddenly of Leopold, and then of the gift he had sent—
Blue roses and ruby shoes.
While Yahin caressed the notebook and pen with a bashful face, he noticed a flicker of something in Elinor’s blue eyes.
“…?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, thank you for helping today.”
She was probably still bothered by the extravagant gift from before. Shaking it off, Elinor shifted the mood.
“If it weren’t for you, I would’ve had to hit someone and face the consequences. Thanks to you, I skipped the hitting part and still made them pay. Thanks.”
“…Thanks, Yahin.”
Vanessa hesitated before stepping forward to thank him too. A faint smile appeared on Yahin’s face.
“And thank you as well, my lady. Truly.”
Vanessa turned and bowed respectfully to Elinor. Her long hair slid down like wings.
Even after straightening up, she kept her head slightly bowed. Elinor couldn’t tell if it was humility or insecurity.
She turned to Lisa.
“Lisa, can we stop by Lake Nifla before heading back?”
“Why?”
“Because I want to see it?”
Ignoring Lisa’s disapproving glare, Elinor turned to Vanessa.
“Vanessa, want to come to Lake Nifla with me?”
“M-me too?”
Surprised by the sudden invitation, Vanessa asked again.
“Yes, let’s stop by together. I really want to go.”
What sounded like an invitation became a gentle insistence. Elinor smiled boldly. She really wanted to go with Vanessa.
“…All right.”
Vanessa nodded slowly. From the cave to today, she had received a lot of help from Elinor.
There was no longer a reason to avoid her.
They weren’t close friends—but they weren’t enemies either.
Even if the relationship was still awkward, Vanessa no longer found it hard to face Elinor because of her old insecurities.
“Great. Off to Lake Nifla, then.”
Following Elinor’s lead, they parted from Yahin, and the carriage took them toward Lake Nifla.
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