Chapter 16
016
Early morning.
Henesstia awoke alone at that quiet time just before sunrise, when the sky was painted in deep navy blue.
“Riad Ingel…?”
Her tousled hair a mess, she looked around drowsily, but he was nowhere to be found.
He hadn’t returned since he left the room last night for “some business”… Had he been out all night?
Now that she thought about it, he’d never said he’d be sleeping in this room. He hadn’t even told her to wait for him.
Blinking blankly, she slowly sat up and looked around the room. There wasn’t a trace of another presence.
“Should I… be waiting here?”
Since he hadn’t left any specific instructions, she was unsure what to do and ended up just pacing the room aimlessly.
The stillness of the morning felt strange.
As the sky brightened a little more and the pleasant scent of dew-covered grass began to fade, the faint sound of people stirring beyond the window finally reached her ears.
Henesstia wandered near the window for a bit, then turned back to the door.
She stood in front of it for a long moment, staring at the handle with quiet resolve before slowly reaching for it.
Creeeak… The door opened gently. Henesstia cautiously peeked her head out through the small crack.
And—locked eyes with a man standing right beside the door.
“……!”
This was the top floor of the inn. She had assumed no one would be here, especially with how quiet everything had been. The sudden sight of someone startled her so badly, it was almost as if her heart had dropped.
Her eyes widened in shock.
The man, caught off guard as well, looked slightly awkward for a moment. But then he straightened up, placed a hand over his chest, and gave her a respectful bow.
“…I greet you, my lady. I am Bron Calife.”
Bron Calife—a name Henesstia recognized.
A m*mber of the famed Calife family, known for producing scholars, and none other than the second division commander of the renowned Evgenia Knights.
She hesitated at first, surprised to be formally greeted after so long, then slowly opened the door a bit more and extended her hand.
She wasn’t sure if she should, and she regretted the gesture even as she did it. But the knight—Bron, with red hair and green eyes—responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, bowing to kiss the back of her hand.
“It’s a pl*asure to meet you, Henesstia…”
She swallowed.
“…Henesstia Ingel.”
“It’s an honor to be in your presence, my lady.”
He received her introduction with flawless courtesy. Something about his polite demeanor made her feel the tension ease from her chest.
The scene she had feared last night hadn’t come to pass.
There was only a man with composed manners, standing quietly with his eyes lowered in front of her.
It wasn’t as intimidating as she had imagined. His refined attitude especially made it feel less so.
Emboldened, Henesstia cautiously spoke.
“Why… are you here?”
Bron offered a slightly awkward smile and answered.
“I was merely following the Count’s orders—to keep watch and protect you, my lady.”
“…Where is the Count now?”
“He’s in the temporary command tent. Shall we go?”
Shall we go? Did that mean he expected her to go out and find Riad herself?
Whatever her silence meant, Bron took a step back, creating space for her to step outside.
In the end, Henesstia walked into the hallway.
“I’ll escort you.”
They exited the inn and passed by two buildings—one for lodging, the other for dining. Her face betrayed her unease.
She stared at the back of the red-haired knight ahead of her.
He said a temporary tent… but how far is it supposed to be? Why are we going this far?
Her anxiety was mounting, when Bron glanced back and spoke with a gentle voice.
“There weren’t many knights who accompanied the Count to the Baron’s territory, but still, the inn couldn’t accommodate them all. So, a temporary command tent was set up last night. The Count is currently… hm, working out a shorter route back to the Count’s estate with the other division commanders.”
It was a kind explanation.
“…I see.”
She nodded briefly, and with that, silence fell between them again.
The quiet felt awkward. She almost started biting her nails again but caught herself and bit the inside of her cheek instead.
It was already torn and sore.
Thankfully, they didn’t walk much farther before the tent came into view in the distance.
As they approached, she thought she could hear the low murmur of voices from within.
“Count! I’ve brought the lady!”
At Bron’s loud call, the quiet chatter inside stopped abruptly.
Footsteps approached with firm, long strides, and then the tent flap was thrown open.
He must’ve flung it back hard, because her hair fluttered in the breeze.
“…Why are you here?”
Dressed simply in a light shirt and trousers, Riad appeared in the entrance like a wall of solid presence.
As he spoke and looked down at Henesstia, his brow furrowed.
It wasn’t the kind of expression that said he was annoyed—it felt sharper, heavier, almost grim. His golden eyes, slightly shadowed, held a cold edge.
W-Was I not supposed to come?
All she could do was meet his gaze, already caught, and not look away.
“Cedric! Bring my robe!”
Riad’s sudden shout startled her, and her lashes trembled involuntarily.
A commotion followed from inside the tent, and then a white-haired man popped out from behind him. After handing over the robe, Riad draped it directly over Henesstia’s shoulders.
“It might not be cold, but what were you thinking, bringing her here like this, to a place crawling with knights?”
His sharp voice, fortunately, wasn’t aimed at her.
The fury passed her by and landed on Bron. The knight lowered his head respectfully, hands clasped behind his back.
Only then did she realize Riad wasn’t angry at her.
Relieved, Henesstia unclenched her hands, which had been gripping tightly enough to make her shoulder throb again.
“No one came even after I waited… and I didn’t have any clothes to change into…”
She glanced at Riad, who stood guard at the tent’s entrance, her fingers twitching where they had clenched near her chest.
“We’re reworking the route back to the count’s estate. The other knights are tending to the horses and wagons.”
She nodded slowly, signaling she understood. His eyes narrowed slightly.
“We’ll be leaving right after the meeting. Think you’ll be ready?”
“…How much longer will it be?”
“Not too—”
He stopped mid-sentence, crossed his arms, and tapped one finger rhythmically before asking suddenly,
“Do you like carriage travel?”
The question was so out of the blue that she reflexively shook her head.
As far as she remembered, the longest carriage trip she’d taken had been just over ten days.
Of course, that record had been broken when she was dragged to the Baron’s estate right after the wedding… but those memories were too hazy to count.
“I don’t particularly enjoy it.”
What she remembered most was how exhausting it was to be in a carriage all day.
Sure, the scenery was nice—for a few minutes at most—but then it became dull. Sitting stiffly in an uncomfortable seat for hours was tedious and physically draining.
It might have been manageable when she was healthier, but now… she wasn’t so sure she could endure such a long journey.
“Is that so? Yesterday you said you were fine with overnight travel, though.”
She nodded slowly.
“…Damn.”
“Why… are you saying that?”
“Because it looks like we really will be traveling overnight.”
Just like yesterday, Henesstia had no particular opinion about overnight travel.
In fact, she thought not doing it on such a long journey was inefficient.
But Riad didn’t seem to share that view. He ran a hand through his hair, looking unusually troubled.
“It’s ridiculous coming from someone who said just yesterday that we wouldn’t be traveling at night, but… there was a landslide near the Altra Mountains.”
The Altra Mountains were a massive range on the way to the Count’s estate. If they couldn’t pass through, they’d have to take a massive detour.
So what now? They’d either need to turn back or find another unblocked mountain path—but as far as Henesstia knew, there was no other maintained road through the area.
Just then, someone called out from behind Riad.
“My lord~ rather than keep the lady standing outside, wouldn’t it be better to invite her in?”
The voice was light—almost cheeky—and unfamiliar. Pulled from her thoughts, Henesstia instinctively moved closer to Riad.
“To be honest, this is something the lady should decide, isn’t it?”
Still unsure of who was speaking, Henesstia glanced around Riad’s shoulder.
He didn’t respond immediately.
“……?”
By the time she looked up at him again, Riad turned around and lifted the tent flap.
“Come in.”
Henesstia hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.
As she ducked under his arm and entered the tent, a subtle chill greeted her.
“Think of it as an opportunity to make introductions—never a bad thing.”
It was easy to guess who these “introductions” were meant for.
Inside the tent, aside from herself and Riad, stood four men. One of them was Bron, who had accompanied her—but the others…
Riad stepped up behind her.
“Have you all forgotten your manners?”
The man standing near a spread of maps—stern-looking, with a noticeable beauty mark under his eye—was the first to drop to one knee.
The others followed almost immediately. Even Bron did the same.
“…Ignis Theo, commander of the 1st division of the Evgenia Knights.”
“Cedric Retina, 4th division commander.”
“Edin, 5th division commander. It’s an honor to meet you, my lady.”
“I greet you again, 3rd division commander Bron Calife.”
Their movements were smooth and precise, each with a hand to their chest as they knelt. It was unfamiliar, but Henesstia recognized it.
It was the same gesture knights had made when she was five and first assigned her personal guards. The same salute knights gave to Heron every time new recruits joined the Ardin duchy.
And it was the same gesture she should have received from them the day before.
She turned slightly to glance at Riad—but he was already watching her.
“…You may rise.”
As if waiting for that cue, the knights rose without hesitation.
They really did look like the gallant knights from a bard’s song—men fit to lead the empire’s greatest order.
It was the kind of scene that would make any noble maiden blush and swoon.
But Henesstia was no longer an innocent young lady.
Though they were respectful, their expressions couldn’t completely hide their discomfort.
Ignis, for one, didn’t spare her so much as a glance after standing, and Bron, still smiling inexplicably, merely watched his comrade.
The man with stark white hair and red eyes tried to mask it, but the sharp glint in his gaze revealed clear hostility toward her.
They were all massive—comparable to Riad—and their sheer presence made it hard to breathe.
‘It’s… fine.’
She was used to this.
The only relief was Edin, the one with similarly pink hair, who offered her a soft smile, free of any disdain.
“If the introductions are done, get back to your tasks.”
Riad’s arm slipped around her waist from behind.
It was so casual, so smooth, that she almost didn’t realize she’d just been pulled into a rather intimate pose in front of everyone.
Her face flushed red.
She turned quickly, about to call his name, when Edin suddenly spoke up.
“Then… I’ll go wait outside.”
He gave Henesstia a small bow and left the tent.
Riad hadn’t given any order, and there was no prior warning, so she couldn’t help but stare after him in surprise.
Was something… going on?
The only one who’d shown her any warmth was gone, and that made her feel oddly unsettled.
Riad’s hand slowly dropped away. Swallowing her rising nerves, she gathered the courage to ask what had been on her mind.
“Then… what will we do?”
Instead of replying, Riad handed her a map.
Lines were drawn in various colors across the parchment.
She recognized the red one.
“Is this… the route to the Count’s estate?”
“That’s right. If we take this path, it’ll take about fifteen days. With the landslide around the Altra Mountains, the detour could take even longer.”
“……”
Henesstia’s face paled.
“But if we take a rougher route, we could make it in less than ten days.”
He raised his finger just above the red path and pointed to a black line.
“This one might still take about ten days. On horseback, it would be five.”
She blinked at the black route, clearly shorter. But the path was tangled with mountains—more than the usual route. No wonder Riad called it rough.
“It’s the shortest option that still allows for a carriage.”
With that, Henesstia realized—Riad was giving her the choice.
A safer, longer route—or a quicker, harsher one.
“Is the rough path… that dangerous?”
“Probably. And there are no villages along the way, so we’ll have to travel overnight.”
She had steeled herself for that. But the next part was harder to accept.
“There may also be wild animals or bandits. We could end up in a fight.”
Vivid images filled her mind—beasts with sharp teeth and claws, and bandits with cruel expressions and heavy axes.
The idea of a shorter travel time was tempting… but the thought of conflict…
Of course, the knights wouldn’t lose to mere beasts or thieves—but Henesstia instinctively placed a hand over her aching shoulder and hesitated.
Maybe the long, safe road really was better.
She began to lift her hand toward the red route… and then her eyes met Ignis’s.
He stared silently at her—then turned his gaze away.
Even in that small gesture, there was unspoken pressure.
A second map lay before him—one that clearly detailed the rough, fast route.
‘He said it would take five days on horseback if I weren’t here.’
To knights who’d just returned from war without a scratch, that route wouldn’t be difficult at all.
And if they had to slow down and detour because of her… the resentment they’d feel—she didn’t even need to imagine it.
Her mouth felt dry.
Just as her finger hovered near the red line, she quickly redirected it to the black path.
“I think… it’d be better to go quickly.”
Before Riad could say anything, she rushed out her reasoning.
“I’d rather get there fast than spend so long in the carriage.”
It’s something I can endure.
When she thought about it, no matter how rough the road got or what happened along the way, she’d be staying inside the carriage. So there wouldn’t be a problem.
Still, even as she spoke, Henesstia glanced up to gauge Riad’s reaction.
He was focused on the map, not looking at her.
‘Why… isn’t he saying anything?’
The silence started to gnaw at her.
Then, with a sudden thump, Riad dropped the map onto the table.
Henesstia instinctively followed the movement of his hand with her eyes.
“Come to think of it, traveling overnight doesn’t sound so bad.”
A warm hand touched her cheek.
“Ah—”
She gasped from the sudden contact, but before she could think more, he smiled—and her gaze followed his automatically.
A soft breath brushed across her face.
“Since we’ll be alone… in the tent.”
He twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers and looked into her eyes.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
