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Chapter : 5
Before anyone knew it, the man had drawn a sword instead of a bow. He cut down the sniper first, then split the rear ranks of the assassins.
“R-retreat, urgh…!”
Both the man and the Aratus Knights following behind him were terrifyingly strong.
Those who had rendered half of the assassins combat-ineffective in the first charge now rampaged through their ranks, cutting down their throats.
Amid those disciplined movements—
Agatha couldn’t take her eyes off Enoch Aratus. The sharp gray gaze she had briefly met seemed to have struck her mind like lightning.
That strangely blood-scented look lingering in her memory, the hands gripping the sword, and the overwhelming martial prowess that crushed the assassins.
Only then did Agatha realize.
The reason her relatives had rushed into action must have been because of that man.
“Miss, are you all right?”
“…I’m fine.”
Even as she reassured the flustered imperial knights who were belatedly staunching the blood from her split scalp, Agatha kept staring at him as if enchanted.
At last, the man who had finished subjugating the assassins approached with his order in formation.
When his hood fell back, revealing his face, it was unexpectedly beautiful—fitting for a battlefield, yet clearly noble at a glance.
“Are you all right?”
A low, steady voice.
The moment that voice—so precise even in the heart of battle—combined with his sweet features,
Agatha couldn’t stop her ears from burning hot. Her heart was in complete turmoil.
“…Marquis Enoch Aratus?”
“Yes. Pleased to meet you. I am Enoch Aratus.”
Instead of kissing the back of her hand, he removed the cloak he was wearing and draped it over Agatha’s shoulders.
As he stepped closer, heat radiated from his body.
“…Thank you for saving me, Marquis.”
What kind of face am I making right now? Is my voice shaking?
Even amid the confusion, she spoke normally, but her gaze was still fixed on him.
“I merely did what had to be done. There may be stragglers left, so please ride with me while we move.”
Enoch skillfully greeted the imperial knights and brought order to the procession.
Though both were warhorses, Enoch Aratus’s mount was a black horse nearly one and a half times larger than the one Agatha had been riding.
He seated Agatha in front first, then mounted behind her, holding the reins as if enclosing her.
“Sir Basley. Have you informed His Highness the Crown Prince?”
The voice right behind her made Agatha’s back twitch.
“Yes, Marquis. He should be heading this way already.”
“Then we’ll decide the route after we join him. Let’s go.”
Clop, clop—
Their pace was slower than expected. Even with that gentle movement, Agatha felt a throbbing pain and shrank into herself.
When she had fallen from her horse, she hadn’t felt anything.
Now that the tension was easing, the aftereffects were slowly setting in.
Just then, the hand holding the reins lifted slightly and pulled the cloak tighter around her.
“We’re almost there.”
It was a gentle touch, hard to believe it came from a man who had been swinging his sword so mercilessly moments ago.
Not long after, they encountered the Crown Prince’s party, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
“Agatha!”
From afar, Crown Prince Antony Roxiva looked pale. The imperial knights accompanying him formed an even tighter protective formation, keeping watch.
“Your Highness.”
“Your blood…!”
Antony’s eyes hurriedly took in her blood-stained hair and face, her body covered in dust and wounds. Turning deathly pale, he burst out in anger.
“How dare they attack a noble under my knights’ protection! Have they truly gone mad?!”
“Your Highness. Please see to the young lady’s treatment first. I’ll have transport prepared at once.”
The Crown Prince’s aide quickly brought a sofa and summoned a physician.
Supported by Enoch and the imperial knights, Agatha dismounted and received a preliminary examination.
Antony followed, his face tense.
“How is she?”
“The laceration has been stitched. Her life is not in danger, but she has some bruising over her body. She should rest well for at least two weeks.”
“At least it’s nothing too severe. That’s a relief, Agatha.”
By then, Agatha was dizzy from losing so much blood.
They laid leather in a carriage the servants had been riding and hurriedly brought blankets.
Once everything was prepared and she finally lay down, Agatha slowly looked at Enoch through the window. He was receiving praise from Antony, who had been briefed by the knights.
When the escort formation had been reorganized and they were about to depart,
Agatha parted her dry lips.
“…Marquis.”
Her voice, as fever began to rise, was faint as the wind. Yet the man caught it easily and rode closer.
“Yes, my lady.”
“…I’m sorry I won’t be able to keep our appointment all of a sudden. When my fever goes down, I’ll send you another invitation—would you come to see me then?”
Once I wake up, many things will surely happen.
Perhaps something so serious that hiring guards won’t even be an option. Yet even so, Agatha found herself wanting to see this man again.
To repay him, and even if things miraculously settled and she could hire protection—
She hoped she could see him once more.
As Enoch quietly looked at her, a faint smile formed at the corner of his lips.
“Even in a situation like this, that’s what you’re worried about?”
…She thought she heard that.
But with the fever rising, she couldn’t be sure she’d heard correctly.
“Rest for now, my lady. I’ll await your message.”
Having obtained the answer she wanted, Agatha finally closed her eyes. Soon, the carriage jolted and set off.
While Agatha, having fainted from fever, was transported straight to the imperial palace,
Crown Prince Antony Roxiva entered the emperor’s study together with Enoch Aratus.
The emperor, who had been handling state affairs with the chancellor and several ministers, couldn’t hide his fury the moment he heard the news.
Bang!
“An attack?! What about Agatha? What has happened to Lady Agatha?!”
He didn’t even care as his chair toppled backward.
It was true he had used the situation of the Nobilis family to his advantage, but in truth, if Agatha died, the one most troubled would be the emperor himself.
All that immense wealth and territory would pass entirely into another nation’s hands!
“Please calm yourself, Your Majesty. Lady Agatha was safely rescued here by Marquis Enoch Aratus. She was injured somewhat, but not to the extent that her life is in danger.”
“Oh, Marquis Aratus! Your merit is great indeed!”
Having immediately praised Enoch, the emperor soon failed to contain his boiling anger.
Even if intrigue among noble houses was tolerated, this was a large-scale attack right before the emperor’s eyes, and in the imperial hunting grounds no less.
That such an attack occurred in broad daylight was infuriating enough—yet they dared to strike while Agatha was under the protection of the imperial knights.
“Have they lost their minds to commit such heinous acts in the capital where I reside? Have I been too merciful all this time?”
“Your Majesty! You must uproot that lawless group at once and make an example of them!”
“The interior minister is right, Your Majesty. To attack a noble protected by the imperial knights, and in broad daylight at that! You must immediately seize the attackers and those behind them and punish them severely!”
“Summon the minister of war! At once!”
The emperor immediately called for the captain of the guards, the minister of war, and the director of intelligence, ordering them to capture the perpetrators and the forces backing them.
It was a declaration that this time, he would never let it pass.
After granting Agatha, who was staying in the Crown Prince’s palace, a residence suitable for recuperation and assigning several imperial physicians and healers to her, the emperor spoke with a sigh.
“This is why I was against that divorce. What am I to do with my eldest daughter who doesn’t understand my heart?”
At those words, Crown Prince Antony’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He, the ministers, and even Enoch—who had just returned to the capital—knew what the emperor was getting at.
“Crown Prince, does Agatha still say she has no intention of marrying?”
“Father. It has only been two months since the young lady’s divorce. It would be hard for her to have found a new beloved in that time.”
“Only two months? It’s already been two months. Look at what happened today. If Agatha had been married earlier, would something like this have happened so easily? If she had a husband whose forces she could rely on, they would never have dared to launch such an open attack, fearing retaliation!”
The emperor’s argument was not without merit. And the fact that he said this meant no different from declaring that he would once again shortlist candidates for a husband who pleased him.
“I should look for a suitable match for my eldest daughter.”
“Father. When the time comes, won’t Agatha choose her own partner?”
“The situation is urgent, and Agatha is ill. And can’t I at least help? I am, after all, her godfather in name.”
“……”
Beside Crown Prince Antony Roxiva, whose expression was openly darkening—
