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369. Lena Ep – Trial

The fight escalated.

Uncle Oberg blew the whistle to call the thugs as soon as he got a punch from Sir Neil.

Is there no law enforcement in this city? Thugs openly brandishing cold weapons. I asked Sir Barin. Though it was a bit of an impolite question.

“Can you handle all of them?”

“Yes.”

Sir Barin answered simply, staying by my side.

Even Sir Wendy was crossing his arms, as if Sir Neil was going to take on those dozens of thugs by himself.

I decided to raise the stakes even higher.

“Don’t kill them.”

“Sure, as you command.”

“Kill them! Those bastards!”

What followed was a melee.

I had a rough idea of how strong the knights were.

But since I usually only saw knights sparring with each other, I could only guess from what I read about their strength against commoners, and the results exceeded my expectations.

Sir Neil didn’t even draw his sword.

He swung the scabbard around and knocked down every thug he encountered. It seemed the thugs finally realized what was happening to them.

“A-a knight!”

“Shit, we’re screwed.”

Still, since no one was dead, maybe that’s why they didn’t run away, despite losing their will to fight. Sir Neil took them down as easily as if he were hitting training dummies.

“O-Oh, Uncle Oberg. What do we do?”

“Damn it! Everyone move aside!”

Then Uncle Oberg stepped forward again. As he tried to say something, Sir Neil looked back at me. I nodded.

“Hey, knight. What do you want… ugh!”

– Whack whack whack whack whack.

Sir Neil didn’t care about formalities and started beating him up.

How dare he call a princess crazy!

If things were normal, this would be a severe crime punishable by execution. But I didn’t want to kill him. “Gak!” Colorful candies spilled out of Uncle Oberg’s pockets as he collapsed with a groan.

“Ugh… why…”

“Ah! P-Princess!”

I approached and picked up a piece of candy to eat.

A cheap, sweet taste that made my tongue tingle.

But I didn’t hate it.

Uncle Oberg looked up at me with a confused expression, his eyes wide. It was a mix of pity and amusement that made me chuckle softly.

“This is a payment for calling me a crazy woman.”

“……”

“Didn’t you get hit enough?”

As he protested with his eyes, I gave him a warning.

If he hadn’t understood, something unfortunate might have happened, but luckily he shook his head.

“No, it’s my fault.”

“Good.”

“Then may I ask what brings you here, my lady…?”

Uncle Oberg asked as he struggled to get up. Hmm. Come to think of it, this wasn’t quite the approach I had in mind. But it couldn’t be helped.

“You said you’re from the Rauno Family? I need a place to stay tonight, so invite me to your mansion. I’d like to meet your boss as well.”

Santian Rauno.

In truth, I came to see not the boss but his grandson.

I was curious if the boy who loved me blindly in my dream truly had feelings for me. I didn’t want to believe he would expect anything from a beggar like me, but I came to confirm if it was merely infatuation based on looks.

Dreams, I wonder if they’ll match up this time.

Unlike the countless nobles who confessed false love, would that boy truly love me genuinely?

Honestly, I had no expectations.

*

“My lady. From now on, Sir Wendy will provide close protection for you. I will guard the area with Sir Neil.”

On our way to the Rauno Family mansion, Sir Barin whispered to report.

It seemed he deemed close protection necessary since we were entering enemy territory.

I gestured in a circle with my hand to signal permission.

Click clack.

By the time the glances of the thugs surrounding us stopped bothering me, we arrived at the mansion. An old man who seemed to be the boss came out to greet us at the front gate.

Despite being the head of a mere group of thugs, he had a dignified air about him.

In response to his polite greeting, I nodded back.

Extending my hand would be rude unless I revealed I was a princess.

“Thank you for hosting me.”

“Not at all. I heard my men were rude to you, my lady. I apologize for the lack of management.”

“I see.”

“Please come inside. We’ve prepared a small tea for you.”

We were led into the mansion. But Sir Barin would sometimes stop and hesitate.

“What’s wrong?”

“My lady. The path is too complicated. I feel like I won’t remember the way back if we go any further.”

“Ah~ it’s okay.”

“Right. Sir Barin, you tend to be overly meticulous about everything. If need be, we can just take them all down and leave.”

Sir Neil chimed in. Sir Barin’s thoroughness was why my brother made him the captain of my guard, but it certainly was excessive at times.

I reassured him that there wouldn’t be a fight. Deep down, I did have some confidence in that.

I roughly remembered the layout of this mansion.

I also knew the old man waiting for us in front was deliberately leading us on a detour. Whether it was the reception room or the boss’s room, if he wanted us to go quickly, we would have crossed through the direct route five times already.

How annoying.

But I guess this is just their method of dealing with an unknown outsider. They were probably buying time for the family to escape.

I vaguely recalled that there was a passageway in the basement of this mansion. I had escaped through there before.

Led by Santian Rauno.

That dream had left a vivid imprint on my memory. At the same time, I remembered how hard that boy fought to protect me.

The last few decades of that dream were confined to a hazy vision.

My eyesight had declined to the point where I could only survive by feeling my way around, and the boy who became my husband cherished me immensely. Despite enduring hardships and the constant fear of being caught, he would tell me,

“Your brother will be safe. I will do my best. I’ll definitely find him and make sure you meet.”

He consoled me. Although I didn’t think he managed to help me find my brother, his devotion was truly heartwarming for a wife who was almost completely blinded. Even if it was just a dream.

Sigh.

I almost felt teary. This deep immersion can be harmful.

I lifted my head and wiped away my tears. As we arrived in the reception room, the Rauno Family gathered.

“These are my family. Here is my wife, and these are my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson.”

Everyone bowed politely. But my gaze was fixed on the boy, who had a sullen expression.

Curly hair inherited from his mother and a forehead resembling that of his father. A round tip on his nose.

He wasn’t particularly handsome.

He might be decent among commoners, but…

“Of course, look doesn’t matter.”

I tore my eyes away from Tian. I would learn about him gradually, but I decided to voice my disappointment.

“Is this all of your family?”

“Yes?”

“I heard you’re the Rauno ‘Family.’ It can’t be that everyone present is all there is. If you’re going to introduce them, please do it properly.”

I remembered the people of the Rauno Family. As a lonely orphan and beggar, how happy I was among them.

When my brother said he would be adopted by Marquis Tatian’s family, I was so shocked I fell ill and comforted myself by saying goodbye to each family member one by one.

I wanted to meet them. I wanted to know why they were so dear to me in my dreams, but Santian made a grumpy remark.

“Why? Are you planning to kill them all?”

“No, not at all. It’s just…”

“Isn’t it true? That man beat up Uncle Oberg and our uncles. He’s the enemy! He won’t even reveal who he is while wearing a hood. Why even introduce him? By now, he should have fled!”

“I’m sorry, my lady. My grandson doesn’t know better…”

“It’s nothing. He’s right.”

“Yes?”

It wasn’t that I agreed with the kill comment, but the atmosphere of the family in front of me turned icy.

In my dream-induced haze, I failed to consider how tense these people were feeling. I berated myself and took off my hood.

My brother had insisted I wear it tightly. But was that even reasonable?

“Um…”

As I removed the hood, familiar reactions came forth. Eyes lost for words and an awkward silence that felt heavier as they tried to conceal their reactions.

It was because of how I looked.

Bland phrases like “I didn’t know such a beautiful lady existed” followed, and I replied with the usual “Yes, thank you.”

While it soothed them, it made me feel worse.

Why? Do I look harmless just because of my appearance?

Even though I hadn’t introduced myself yet, the moment they recognized me based solely on looks was comically absurd, and I felt the impulse to order their deaths.

Of course, I managed my emotions well this time. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any nobles left alive in our country. I am grateful to my two brothers, Lean and Eric.

Feeling a strange resentment towards myself, I stared at the boy.

Would you also judge me by my appearance and fall in love with me? Or would you approach with ulterior motives and weave lies to deceive me?

Every person I had met so far fell into one of those two categories. And the boy before me was no different…

“Tch. So? Who are you?”

He spoke curtly, blushing. Perhaps his pride was wounded as a child.

That was rather refreshing, so I decided to be honest. Originally, I intended to keep my identity hidden, but…

“I’m Reriana de Yeriel, kid. I’m of royal blood from Conrad.”

The day I leave here, you will either form a deep bond with me or die.

Sir Barin began counting the number of people.

*

“What about the princess?”

“Is she going to sleep now?”

Sir Neil came to relieve the guard. Sir Barin, who was on watch, stayed motionless for a moment, and Sir Neil sat down next to him on the stairs.

“Ah. Orville is so cold. When will I be back home?”

“Maybe around next year.”

“Next year again? You said the same thing last year, didn’t you? Back then, the mission was clear, so I accepted it, but this time there’s no end in sight.”

“That’s true.”

Sir Barin nodded, as if acknowledging. As Sir Neil said, this mission was different from when they escorted Prince Eric to the Aisel Kingdom.

Barin, Neil, and Wendy had received a call from Prince Lean on their way back from their escort mission.

He instructed them not to report their destination and to come to Baron Monarch’s territory, but upon arrival, they were given the absurd task of “stealth.”

The order was to escort Princess Reriana into Belita Kingdom secretly.

– “Why? Isn’t Prince Lean going to Orville too? Shouldn’t you just go together?”

Sir Neil questioned, as the prince’s orders were somewhat irrational. Prince Lean calmly explained.

– “I’m going to meet Princess Chloe of House Tatalia. I’m going to discuss a marriage alliance, and if Princess Reriana tags along, wouldn’t that raise suspicion? I don’t want to commit a diplomatic faux pas like trying to marry off my sister to their prince.”

– “Isn’t secretly entering already a faux pas… So what is Princess Reriana going there for?”

– “She has something important to do in Orville. You’ll have to ask Reriana for the details.”

And that led to our current situation.

The prince’s party entered properly through the gate, and we crossed the border between Baron Monarch’s territory and Count Peter’s territory, escorting the princess.

We passed through easily, as if agreements had already been made. With the token of Marquis Tatian, it was essentially like blindfolding ourselves and playing pretend.

Sure. Well, whatever.

As a royal knight, I must serve without complaints.

However, I couldn’t understand the princess’s actions.

She didn’t answer when asked why she was going to Orville, and her behavior here made no sense either.

At the very least, revealing her real name was troublesome. Now I had five people to deal with who will need to die.

Sir Barin let out a slight groan, voicing this doubt. Sir Neil scratched his chin and said something unexpected.

“Don’t you only have two sons?”

“Three.”

“Oh, that’s why. I think I can relate because I have a daughter.”

“What do you mean?”

“When my daughter fought with her boyfriend, she had the same expression as the princess. She thought, ‘I can’t trust these boys, so I have to put them to the test.’ What is this? Hey! Where are you suddenly going?”

“I’m going to sleep. And stop saying ridiculous things and stand guard properly. I’d rather not lose my head for disobedience when we return.”

Sir Barin walked off, leaving Sir Neil staring at his back as he muttered.

“Truly, so rigid.”