WRG 33

Yuriela didn’t know this, but her first meeting with the Duke of Baraota did not happen at the moment she was unjustly imprisoned on the charge of killing her father.

It was about a year before that incident.

The Duke of Baraota, disguised as a squire, once trailed a caravan that was suspected of kidnapping people and selling them as slaves. During that investigation he was suddenly ambushed and injured in the leg.

“Um, are you all right?”

By chance he had become separated from the other knights. While leaning against a tree to catch his breath, someone spoke to him.

“Who is it?”

Because the attack had happened only a short while before, he raised his sword with a voice full of caution.

“Oh — I didn’t mean to frighten you. It looks like you’ve hurt your leg. This area is sparsely populated.”

When he looked up, a woman was peering down at him with a worried face.

“The sun will set soon. The sun sets quickly in this region. If you don’t mind, may I help you?”

He nodded, thinking that a frail woman like her couldn’t possibly harm him.

“Can you stand? If you go a little further there’s an empty cabin with no owner. Let’s move you there for now.”

He rose carefully and followed the woman. The woman, with deep blue eyes, kept glancing back to check his condition as if she were genuinely worried.

“Right over there.”

Just as she said, a somewhat shabby cabin appeared.

“This used to be where an old couple lived, but both of them passed away, so it’s just an empty house now. It’s tucked away so no one usually looks for it. You can rest here. Oh, my name is Yuriela.”

Yuriela opened the closed door as if it were second nature and went inside. She took a small box down from a shelf.

“I’ll put some medicine on it.”

“You seem very practiced.”

“I come here often.”

“No — I meant you seem practiced at treating wounds.”

At that, Yuriela gave a short “ah” of realization, then focused on treating him without saying anything else. She gave the impression she didn’t want to answer questions.

While she concentrated on treating the wound, the bruise revealed by the sleeve pushed up over his arm answered the question for him.

“Is the village far? I don’t remember it being such deep mountains.”

“This village is so small that everyone knows each other’s faces. So when I saw you I could tell you were from somewhere else. If someone from elsewhere is alone on the mountainside, and their leg is injured, that means they’re probably being chased by someone.”

“What if something happens because of that?”

“Well… I didn’t think that far ahead. I just couldn’t leave an injured person like that.”

Saying that, Yuriela smiled gently.

Helping others without expecting anything in return, especially while she herself wasn’t in a good situation, isn’t easy — yet Yuriela answered as if it were nothing at all.

“By the way, is there anyone I can ask for help?”

“Can you find someone in the village named ‘Kade’? I’ll pay handsomely.”

“That’s not difficult, so you can keep the payment. But doesn’t it feel stifling to keep your face covered like that?”

Yuriela had her hooded robe draped to avoid exposing her identity; that’s why she asked.

“I have no choice but to hide my face.”

“I see. I’ll go fetch some food, then.”

“It’s getting late, so stay here.”

Since the sun was setting beyond the window, it seemed risky to go down the mountain and come back up alone.

“It’s fine — I come here often. Staying here is less inconvenient… Rest well.”

“All right, please.”

Yuriela said she’d be right back and left.

Baraota closed his eyes, thinking she probably wouldn’t return.

‘I was careless. If I miss their trail, how many more victims will there be… just thinking about it gives me a headache.’

Time passed, and by the time the night was fully upon them, Yuriela returned with bread.

“Sorry. I’m late. Something came up.”

Baraota was surprised — he hadn’t expected that she would bring food for a stranger at night. Also, she now wore a cloak that partially hid her face.

“Here. I’m sorry, this is all I could bring.”

“You’re feeding me, so you have no reason to apologize.”

Even from her appearance it was clear she wasn’t wealthy. Bringing a few loaves would have been a burden.

“Thank you.”

For some reason, Yuriela didn’t leave; she sat down in a corner.

“Is it all right to not go home this late?”

“Ah, will I be a bother if I stay?”

Yuriela asked anxiously.

“No, it’s fine. But are you usually so concerned about what others think?”

“Huh?”

“I’m the one receiving help. If you told me to leave, I’d leave immediately. So why do you keep watching me?”

“It’s probably a habit.”

As she answered and stood, the cloak that had been hiding Yuriela’s face slipped to the floor.

“Your face…”

“Ah.”

Yuriela hurriedly turned away to hide her face.

“…Who did this to you? The one who hit you.”

“I just tripped.”

The wound was not from falling; it was undoubtedly the mark of having been struck by someone.

But since she did not want to talk about it, he did not press the matter further.

“Oh — I couldn’t go to the village because it got so late. I’ll find this ‘Kade’ at dawn tomorrow.”

“Thank you. I’ll definitely compensate you.”

After that, an awkward silence settled. Night deepened.

“I should go now.”

“Are you sure you can go down the mountain alone?”

“Yes. I told you — I come here often.”

Yuriela smiled as if to reassure him. It was a sincere smile, without pretense or ulterior motives.

“Then sleep well.”

Baraota didn’t lie down on the worn bed until after Yuriela had left. Then he fell asleep.

The next morning, Yuriela kept her promise.

She brought Kade to the cabin. She said she had errands and left after giving something that could be eaten for breakfast.

“My lord duke, are you all right? I searched for you since last night; I was so anxious because I couldn’t find a trace of you.”

“I’m fine. By the way, what about those people?”

“We succeeded in clearing them out. As expected, it was the work of Count Greco.”

“Just as I suspected. Find out about that woman.”

“The one who brought you here?”

“Yes.”

When he left the cabin and looked into Yuriela’s situation, it was nothing like he had expected.

“She’s the third daughter of Viscount Longo. She’s had a hard time since her mother passed. The eldest and second daughters were given in arranged marriages; now it’s just the father and the youngest living at home. It’s well known in the village.”

“What do you mean?”

“All the daughters are apparently abused by their father. He beats them every day, and they wear cloaks to hide their faces. Since they’re nobles they can’t get decent work, so to pay off their father’s gambling debt they embroider and sell things.”

The more he heard, the more ridiculous it became.

“The elderly couple who used to live in the cabin where Your Grace stayed took pity on Miss Longo. If the father’s violence got too bad, they’d let her rest at their place.”

Only then did he understand why she was familiar with the isolated cabin on the mountainside.

“That father is no parent. To use his daughters as tools… What about compensation?”

“They refused. They said any money would just increase the father’s gambling debts.”

“Post someone in the village. So if something dangerous happens you’ll be notified immediately.”

“Understood.”

Afterward, reports about Yuriela occasionally came in, always accompanied by her portrait.

When those reports arrived he would nonchalantly put them aside, yet the image kept drawing him back: those blue eyes that had looked at him with concern. He found himself looking at the portrait again and again.

“How foolish.”

He knew it was foolish to worry and long for someone who was merely a passing acquaintance, yet he couldn’t stop himself.

“Duke, it seems she’s in serious trouble.”

Then he heard that Yuriela had gotten into trouble.

“She’s been imprisoned on the charge of killing her father.”

When he heard that, he was stunned.

Even if Yuriela had killed her father, he thought she shouldn’t be taken away like that. The law had not protected her when she’d been suffering at his hands.

Baraota went to see her — not disguised as the hooded knight, but openly as the duke.

“Are you Yuriela Longo?”

Yuriela, imprisoned, nodded with lifeless eyes. She looked as if she had given up everything.

“So you’re the one who killed your father with your hands. Doesn’t look like it.”

“…I did want to kill him, but I didn’t. What will happen to me now?”

In Yuriela’s voice there was neither fear nor even the slightest hope.

“Normally it would be the death penalty. Under imperial law, a father marrying off his daughter isn’t illegal.”

Yuriela’s fists trembled fiercely. It wasn’t a trembling of fear.

It was rage.

“How can that be legal when the person doesn’t consent? It’s no different from selling your child. How can… and my father’s death was an accident!”

Thinking of her sisters, Yuriela’s face twisted in pain.

“Here’s an offer. Marry me and I’ll get you out of here. I’ll find your family, too.”

Seeing her face, the words slipped out of him before he could stop them.

He had intended only to clear her name, to help, but the words came out differently.