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~Chapter 8~
For a moment, it felt like she was standing in a desert. Or in the imperial audience hall. It felt as if she were wandering somewhere in her past.
At that moment, a trace of confusion flickered in those sharp eyes.
The blood-red eyes were the same as ever.
But now, he looked almost surprised. Only then did Rachel gradually become aware of reality. Next to her, Becky looked startled, and in front of her, Sir Hoffman was calling her.
“Miss? What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“Slowly, try to breathe.”
“Haa…”
Rachel, who had been unconsciously holding her breath, quickly inhaled.
She thought she was fine.
But now she saw she wasn’t fully okay, even after coming back. Sir Hoffman, watching her anxiously, asked quietly,
“Should I turn the carriage around?”
He was frighteningly perceptive—almost as if he had a supernatural ability. In the past, she’d never realized it.
Rachel smiled and reassured the worried knight and Becky.
“It’s all right. I think I just felt a bit carsick. If we open the window, I’ll be fine.”
“……”
“Don’t worry, Becky.”
Inside, she was a mess, but it wasn’t to the point she couldn’t endure. And today, she couldn’t possibly turn back.
She had to negotiate an important price and discuss the engagement’s annulment.
If she went home now, things could spiral out of her control.
Sir Hoffman nodded as he watched her.
“Understood. The national trade caravan has almost passed, so we’ll start moving again, slowly. Agreed, Sir?”
“Of course, Sir Hoffman. We’ll be departing now.”
The Valencia family knight signaled to the coachman. The carriage began to move slowly.
From outside, she could feel a gaze she knew all too well.
But Rachel did not look back—not even once.
Once that gaze disappeared, she finally felt her stomach begin to settle. She was still in the Valencia carriage, but after everything, this didn’t seem so bad anymore.
Becky, seeing her color improve, added worriedly,
“If you feel worse, please say so right away, Miss.”
“I’m fine now. I guess I just wasn’t used to the carriage.”
“That happens. Maybe next time you should take one of our family’s carriages, Miss.”
Rachel smiled silently and watched the Valencia estate draw closer.
Even now, she thought—once this was all resolved, she should never even look at the Valencia side again.
Meanwhile, the Mercenary King, Nathan, was rubbing his startled face as he watched the carriage disappear.
That pale, ashen face lingered in his mind.
He’d meant to give a warning, thinking it was like the persistent gazes he’d felt ever since entering the capital.
But he’d ended up venting at the wrong person.
“….”
Which noble family was she from?
As he recalled the emblem on the carriage—
“What is it, Mercenary King?”
The representative of the national trade caravan, the Marquis Marapo, who was also his charge, called out.
“It’s nothing.”
Nathan turned his horse and rode back to the Marquis, filing the emblem away in his memory.
A golden ring, with a coiled dragon inside.
It was one of the Four Grand Ducal Families—Valencia.
‘Was she a daughter of the Valencia family?’
She wasn’t, of course, but Nathan, uninterested in the world of nobles, had no way of knowing if Valencia had a daughter or not.
Maybe, if he had the chance, he’d go apologize.
At first, her gaze was so persistent.
But after their eyes met, her blue eyes seemed to dim and grow distant—a lost woman.
He never put much meaning in such things.
“….”
But this time, it stuck in his mind for some reason.
While he was lost in thought, the trade caravan reached the imperial city. He managed to shake off the Marquis, who insisted on bringing him to see the emperor, and was just about to leave the palace when—
“Captain.”
“Bale?”
He was surprised to find his lieutenant here, in an unexpected place.
He’d received reports a few days ago that nothing unusual had happened.
But a few members of the company were waiting nearby as well.
“What is it?”
Bale came closer and whispered in a low voice.
“Someone’s investigating you, Captain.”
“….”
Fwoosh—
Energy radiated from Nathan’s feet, forming a barrier. The glances and sounds around them were instantly cut off, as if by a knife.
“Tell me more.”
Bale, long used to such things, continued his report calmly.
“Some unknown people visited your house in Bernoulli Castle. They were making inquiries everywhere, and apparently they took the midwife who helped your mother give birth.”
“…The midwife?”
A midwife?
Since becoming Mercenary King, plenty of nobles and nations had investigated his background, but none had ever tracked down his mother’s midwife.
Nathan suddenly recalled the persistent gazes he’d felt since arriving in the capital. Those eyes still followed him from a distance.
‘Maybe it’s just as well.’
With that, he dismissed the barrier and took his horse’s reins. Bale looked bewildered.
“Captain?”
“Go on ahead. There’s somewhere I need to stop first.”
“Right now, sir?”
Nathan immediately extended his senses, using his <Stealth> ability to locate those hiding nearby. They weren’t far.
The leader of the group—
‘That way.’
Just about two hundred meters.
He pinpointed exactly where the shadow was hiding and adjusted his gloves. It had been grating on him for a while.
A gaze that followed him—never coming closer, never going away.
He’d let it slide because of his escort duty, but he was never someone to ignore such things.
Besides, it was because of that gaze that he’d made a mistake with that noblewoman.
Just as he was about to spur his horse—
Suddenly, someone stepped out and blocked his path.
“Mercenary King, are you Nathan?”
“….”
Embroidered with a golden ring and a coiled dragon.
Men wearing the emblem he’d seen all day approached and bowed.
“Greetings, Mercenary King. I am Geeks Emelo, aide to the Duke of Valencia. Do you have a moment?”
Nathan looked at them for a moment, then relaxed his posture.
“What’s this about?”
“The Duke of Valencia wishes to speak with you about something urgent. Could you accompany us for a while?”
“If it’s not urgent, can it wait?”
For a moment, that noblewoman’s face flashed through his mind, but he pushed it aside.
If it were her herself, it would be different.
But right now, the matter of those suspicious eyes came first.
The aide studied Nathan’s face, then whispered in a low voice.
“It concerns your mother. It’s extremely important—are you sure you want to refuse?”
“…!”
Nathan stopped moving.
He looked down at them without a word. The aide, meeting his eyes, felt a cold sweat running down his back.
An oppressive stare pressed over his entire body.
After watching in silence, Nathan was finally convinced the aide meant no insult or threat. Only then did he nod, his dark energy fading.
“All right. I’ll listen.”
“…Thank you.”
The aide bowed deeply.
Nathan took his reins back from Bale. Bale glanced warily at the Valencia group and whispered,
“If anything happens, use your whistle, Captain, all right?”
Nathan chuckled. For a swordsman at his level, only an army could be a threat.
If there’d been any such movement, he would have noticed by now.
Besides, he had some suspicions already.
“Go on ahead.”
“Yes, sir.”
Bale and the others departed.
Nathan’s expression, so gentle with his own men, turned cold as he looked at the Valencia aide.
“Lead the way.”
“…This way, please.”
The aide led him off. Their destination was the Valencia estate, inside the inner city.
