Chapter 124
Raylenne counted silently as Elan approached step by step.
One, two, three.
She suddenly sprang forward, charging at Elan. Surprised by Raylenne’s unexpected movement, Elan momentarily let his guard down. Raylenne took advantage of his distraction and bit his hand hard.
“Aagh!” Elan screamed, and in that moment of pain, Langrin and the captain began to move. Elan’s focus wavered, breaking the hallucination spell.
“Now!” Raylenne shouted.
The captain, understanding the cue, raised his sword high and slashed at Elan in one swift motion.
“Ugh…” Elan groaned, collapsing forward with a deep gash in his chest. Raylenne and Langrin sighed in relief.
“Huff…”
However, the sound of approaching footsteps made the three tense up again. Soon, several bandits emerged from the bushes.
“Boss!” The bandits’ eyes locked onto Raylenne’s group.
“You…!” It was clear that a fight was unavoidable. With their limited numbers, they would struggle if more bandits arrived.
“Madam, get behind me,” the captain said to Raylenne. She complied, having no weapons or armor herself.
Raylenne anxiously watched the bandits, wishing for a miracle. She knew that without some extraordinary intervention, it would be impossible for the captain and Langrin to escape unscathed…
Suddenly, the bandits began to drop one by one.
“What the…?” the captain murmured, raising an eyebrow at the strange sight.
Then, someone embraced Raylenne from behind. Startled, her heart skipped a beat, but she immediately recognized the familiar, comforting scent.
“What are you doing here?” The voice was indifferent yet had a hint of gentleness—Aiden’s voice.
Raylenne turned her head without hesitation. Beneath the silver hair blowing in the wind, she saw his ash-gray eyes.
“Aiden…”
“You could have been hurt,” he chided softly, his voice lacking any real anger. Tears welled up in Raylenne’s eyes, spilling over as she clung to him, relieved by his timely arrival.
Burying her face in his chest, she asked, “How did you come back so soon?”
“I had a bad feeling,” he replied.
Raylenne smiled weakly. Aiden often had an uncanny sense of intuition.
He pressed his dry lips to the top of her head. “I’m glad I hurried.”
Raylenne wiped away her tears and hugged him tightly. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” he responded.
For a moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the world, the chill of the night forgotten in their embrace. Then Raylenne noticed the captain and Langrin watching awkwardly, pulling her back to reality.
Her face reddened with embarrassment. She had let others, especially knights, see such an intimate moment.
When Raylenne stepped away from Aiden, he slowly turned his head. The captain and Langrin straightened up under Aiden’s scrutinizing gaze.
“It seems some explanations are in order,” Aiden said. His voice had turned cold and sharp, like the night air surrounding the forest.
* * *
Aiden, having heard the entire story, quickly assembled his troops and swept away the remaining bandits. It was a shame that all his efforts to trade weapons at the southern port of the Empire had gone to waste. The reason he was able to easily eliminate the bandits without even changing his equipment was that he had taken care of their leader, Elan.
Although the situation ended well, Aiden imposed a punishment on the knights. The commander was to undergo a month of penance, while the regular knights were subjected to intense training and salary reductions. They accepted Aiden’s decision, acknowledging their mistakes.
As normalcy began to return, Raylenne unexpectedly received the knights’ gratitude. They credited her for the defeat of Elan. This moment of appreciation was happening now, but without Aiden present, who was out at the time, she felt a bit overwhelmed.
Clap, clap, clap. The sound of applause from the knights in the training ground echoed loudly in the air. Raylenne awkwardly made her way through the crowd. In contrast, the commander wore a serious expression, as if it were only natural for him to be there.
“The prime contributor to the eradication of this bandit group is the Duchess. Had you not courageously attacked Elan, I would have become his puppet and conveyed false information to the castle.”
The commander described Raylenne’s biting of Elan as a “courageous attack.” He turned to her and asked, “By the way, Duchess, you were clearly immobilized by Elan’s hallucination at that time. How were you able to move?”
Raylenne couldn’t respond immediately. ‘…How do I explain this?’
In truth, Elan’s method of attack was simple. First, one must not listen to his voice, as it induced hallucinations. Second, one must prevent him from snapping his fingers, as he couldn’t use his abilities without that gesture. So, before heading to the hills, she had packed cotton from her pillow. When Elan showed up, she quickly stuffed the cotton in her ears to block out the sound. That’s why she was able to move when Langrin was tied up like a rope. At that moment, her ears were blocked, rendering Elan’s powers ineffective. Biting her hand was merely an attempt to keep him from snapping his fingers.
However, since she couldn’t reveal this to anyone, Raylenne answered vaguely, “…I guess Elan’s abilities didn’t work on me.”
“How curious. When I heard his voice, my vision changed instantly. It felt like I was in a dream.”
“Ahaha… Perhaps being next to my husband, who is an awakened one, made me somewhat resistant to his abilities.”
Raylenne forced a smile, and fortunately, the commander nodded seriously in agreement.
“Regardless, thanks to you, Duchess, we were able to return safely that day and successfully eradicate the bandits.”
“It’s nothing…”
Just then, Cashwood approached and added, “It’s not nothing. There was a problem with our knights from the outset. We disregarded the Duchess’s warning about the trap. Isn’t that right, Commander?”
The commander widened his eyes momentarily but then nodded in acknowledgment. “I apologize for that, Duchess.”
“It’s alright. Everything needs a catalyst. The knights of Bedisian didn’t dislike me without reason.”
“Still, our actions were against the code of chivalry.”
Raylenne placed her hand on the commander’s bowed shoulders and lifted him up. “I understand, so please raise your head.”
The commander straightened his posture and nodded with poise, addressing the knights in front of him. “From now on, anyone who speaks ill of the Duchess will not be forgiven. Treat her with the utmost respect as the new mistress of the castle.”
“Yes! The knights’ resounding reply filled the training ground.
* * *
Receiving thanks turned out to be such a difficult task. Raylenne let out a deep breath as she walked out of the training ground. Just then, hurried footsteps echoed behind her.
“Duchess!”
Turning around, she saw Langrin standing there, his face flushed as he caught his breath.
“Sir Langrin… What is it?”
“I… I didn’t properly thank you earlier.”
Well… It made sense considering they had fought the bandits that day and returned to the castle to face punishment. It had been chaotic.
“It’s alright. The commander conveyed my thanks on your behalf earlier.”
“No, I ignored your words that day and went alone to the eastern hills. I almost put you in danger, and you even saved me… So, it’s only right that I express my gratitude separately.”
Langrin bowed deeply, his body rigid. “Thank you.”
“…”
“I’m also sorry…”
“Yes, I accept your apology.”
With her gentle tone, Langrin slowly raised his upper body. “Now that I’ve become a member of this household, everyone is as precious to me as family. If this sincerity reached you through this incident, I am satisfied.”
“Duchess…”
Langrin’s eyes glistened with tears. Raylenne felt flustered as she saw a grown man about to cry.
In that moment of uncertainty, a large hand covered her vision. Everything went dark for an instant, but she wasn’t surprised, as she had an idea of who it was.
“Sir Langrin, you may go now.”
It was Aiden, who had returned from his outing.
Langrin, taken aback by Aiden’s sudden appearance, stammered, “Y-yes?”
“It seems you’re allowed to rest like this?”
At Aiden’s calm voice, Langrin straightened up. “Ah, no! Then I shall take my leave!”
As Langrin’s footsteps faded away, Aiden’s hand dropped from her eyes. Raylenne turned to look at him.
“Aiden, why did you cover my eyes?”
Aiden stood before her. “Don’t watch other men cry.”
“…”
“I’d prefer if you only wore a sad expression for me.”
Caught off guard by his unexpected words, Raylenne momentarily froze. Then, she smiled and wrapped her arms around Aiden’s neck.
“Our Aiden is quite jealous. Is that why you kept me from meeting the knights?”
“…”
Aiden remained silent. However, she felt she understood a bit of the mischievous intentions hidden behind his indifferent facade. Raylenne held onto the quiet Aiden for a while longer before finally letting go.
