PET 08

Chapter 08

 A Chance Encounter from the Past

After welcoming the knights, Stella returned to her room and sat alone at her desk. Lost in thought, she tapped her fingers lightly against the tabletop before finally stopping.

“It’s definitely him. Don’t you think so too, Rai?”

As if Rai also remembered Kainzis, the bird answered with a cry. Stella lowered herself onto the desk and began recalling memories that time had never managed to fade.

“Well, Rai and I were both still young back then.”

Even so, Stella still remembered every detail of that day vividly.

*

Ten years ago, Stella’s carriage was traveling from the capital toward the northern duchy estate.

The carriage was already nearing the North, and according to the coachman, they would arrive the next day. Stella’s young body was exhausted from the long journey, so she felt relieved knowing it would soon end.

At least, she did until the carriage entered a dark forest.

That day, in an effort to arrive at the North more quickly, they had pushed past the villages without stopping. As a result, even after night had fallen completely, the carriage continued through the forest.

Looking outside into the darkness, Ella asked the coachman anxiously,

“When do you think we’ll reach a village?”

“I believe we’ll arrive soon.”

Since there were only three people traveling together, Ella could not relax while riding through the forest at night, worried that something might happen.

Noticing her anxiety, Stella tried to reassure her.

“He said we’ll arrive soon, so don’t worry too much, Ella.”

“Yes, my lady.”

But the moment Stella finished speaking, the carriage suddenly came to an abrupt halt without warning, throwing both Stella and Ella off balance.

As soon as the carriage stopped completely, Ella immediately checked on Stella.

“My lady, are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. What about you, Ella?”

“I’m alright too.”

The moment Stella regained her composure, she tried asking the coachman what had happened.

“What’s going on all of a sud—”

But her words never finished.

The carriage door flew open without warning, and before Stella could even process the situation, someone barged inside and pointed a sword directly at Stella and Ella.

At the sight of the blade, Ella instinctively shielded Stella behind her.

But the man’s threats continued.

“Get down now. If you try anything stupid, your heads will roll.”

Under the threat, Stella and Ella obediently climbed out of the carriage.

Outside, the coachman was already kneeling on the ground before what appeared to be the man’s group. Stella and Ella were shoved from behind by the armed man and forced to kneel as well.

After confirming everyone was outside, the man immediately began searching the carriage.

Stella carefully observed the people surrounding them from the corner of her eye.

Though the darkness hid their faces, their ragged appearance, scar-covered bodies, weapons, and the way they searched the carriage made it obvious.

‘Bandits targeting passing carriages.’

Just as Stella expected, they were thieves who ambushed defenseless travelers to steal valuables.

Usually, they would hide in the mountains and suddenly appear when they spotted a passing carriage, forcing it to stop before subduing the confused passengers.

While the group focused on the carriage, Stella quietly whispered so that only Ella and the coachman could hear.

“You must never tell them who I am. Especially my status.”

Instinctively, Stella knew her identity could not be revealed.

The moment they learned she was a daughter of House Adin, something even worse would happen.

And more than anyone, Stella knew Ester would sooner abandon her than come to save her.

Meanwhile, after thoroughly searching the carriage, one of the men threw all the belongings before Stella.

But inside were only Stella and Ella’s modest luggage and the birdcage Radin had given her.

Without caring about the bird inside, the man ruthlessly tossed the cage onto the ground as well. Startled, the bird flapped wildly inside.

The bandits clearly looked disappointed by the lack of valuables.

“What the hell? That’s all there is?”

“The outside looked expensive enough.”

Eventually, their attention turned toward Stella and Ella.

Ignoring young Stella entirely, one of the men grabbed Ella’s chin and examined her before speaking.

“Then let’s just take this woman instead.”

If things continued this way, there was no telling what would happen to Ella.

Perhaps she might even lose her life.

Unable to stay still, Stella grabbed the man’s arm as he tried dragging Ella away.

“No. Ella is my family.”

The man shoved Stella away harshly without caring that she was only a child.

Unable to withstand his strength, Stella fell hard onto the ground.

Ella wanted to run to Stella, but the man still held her tightly.

“Ah—”

Ella almost called out “My lady,” but remembered Stella’s warning and immediately bit her tongue.

Afraid they would truly take Ella away, Stella desperately shouted,

“I’m already from a fallen family! You saw it yourselves—the carriage looks fancy, but there’s nothing inside. We don’t even have guards. So please, just let us go.”

The moment Stella finished speaking, the bandits burst into loud laughter that echoed through the forest.

More accurately, they were mocking her.

To them, her words sounded laughably naive—just the desperate plea of a noble child who knew nothing about the world.

“You must still be too young to understand, so remember this well. Human beings are worth more than objects.”

With that, the man tried to drag Ella away by force.

At that moment, the only thought in Stella’s head was that she had to stop him.

So she ran forward recklessly and clung to the man’s leg.

“No. Don’t take her.”

“This brat really wants to die, huh?”

When Stella showed no sign of letting go, the man finally drew his sword.

Even in the darkness, the blade gleamed sharply as it aimed directly for Stella’s neck.

Stella closed her eyes, bracing herself for the pain that was about to come.

‘After finally deciding to change the future… is this really the end?’

But just before the sword could strike Stella, another voice interrupted.

A completely unfamiliar man’s voice—not one of the bandits.

“You blocked the road and now you’re doing this?”

The bandits turned toward the newcomer, and Stella opened her eyes to look at the person who had stepped into the situation.

A lone man sat atop a horse, speaking calmly despite the danger surrounding him.

“Who the hell is this guy?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask.”

The bandits quickly sized him up.

The black horse he rode and the clothes he wore clearly looked expensive.

Immediately, they approached him while threatening him with their swords.

“Hey, mister. Hand over everything you’ve got. Do that, and we might spare your life.”

At the bandit’s words, the man slowly looked over them before his gaze passed Ella and the coachman and landed on Stella.

At that moment, Stella knew this man was their only chance to escape safely.

So she desperately pleaded,

“Please help us.”

At Stella’s words, the man dismounted his horse and drew the sword at his side.

Seeing this, the bandits laughed mockingly.

“You look like some noble brat, so you’d better just hand over your valuables like we said. Otherwise you’re gonna regret sticking your neck into this and—”

But the bandit never finished speaking.

Before his sentence could end, the man had already moved forward and struck the bandit’s hand precisely, sending the sword flying into the distance.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the bandits froze for a moment before charging him all at once.

From afar, Ella and Stella watched anxiously.

The bandits greatly outnumbered him.

But Stella’s worries quickly proved unnecessary.

Without even changing his expression, the man overwhelmed the bandits one by one with absolute skill.

Stella couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight.

‘Amazing.’

His swift movements.

The way he handled his sword effortlessly.

His agility in reading and avoiding attacks.

Even Stella, who knew little about swordsmanship, could tell his ability was extraordinary.

After defeating the final bandit, the man pointed his sword at the apparent leader’s throat.

“If you don’t want to die here, take your men and disappear.”

At the cold warning, the leader immediately nodded.

He had clearly realized the man’s skill was on an entirely different level from theirs—and that this was someone fully capable of killing him without hesitation.

In an instant, the bandits vanished.

The forest grew quiet once more, leaving only the man and Stella’s group behind.

Standing beside Ella, Stella approached him to express her gratitude.

“Excuse me.”

At her voice, the man sheathed his sword and looked toward Stella.

Only then did Stella finally get a clear look at him.

Even in the darkness, his silver hair stood out distinctly, neatly falling over his forehead.

In contrast, his navy-blue eyes, dark as the night itself, held a strange coldness and indifference as they looked at Stella.

Most of all, although he was older than Stella, he still didn’t seem fully grown.

‘He can’t be more than five or six years older than me.’

The thought passed quickly, and Stella immediately thanked him.

“Thank you so much for helping us. Thanks to you, we avoided disaster.”

The man silently looked at Stella for a moment.

She was far too young to be wandering a place like this at such a late hour.

Then his gaze shifted toward Ella and the coachman behind her.

‘That’s their entire group?’

Traveling through an isolated forest in such an eye-catching carriage without guards—it was almost inevitable that bandits would target them.

“Are there only three of you, including the young lady?”

“Hm? Yes.”

“And you’re traveling this late without guards?”

Stella could not answer.

What noble lady traveled such a long distance without any escort?

Thinking about it now, safely making it this far had already been incredibly fortunate.

‘Perhaps the Duke wished I’d die on the way here.’

Meanwhile, noticing Stella’s mood darken noticeably, the man sensed there was some sort of circumstance behind it.

But he chose not to ask.

Instead, he said,

“I’ll accompany you to the village ahead.”

Startled by the unexpected offer, Stella looked up at him.

She knew it was shameless to accept such kindness, but after looking at Ella and the coachman, Stella accepted his offer.

She truly did not want to go through something like that again.

After gathering their scattered belongings, Stella and Ella climbed back into the carriage.

Once everything was ready, the man mounted his horse and rode ahead, and Stella’s carriage slowly followed behind him.

Inside the carriage, Stella finally relaxed enough for her hands to begin trembling.

Noticing this, Ella gently held Stella’s hand.

“My lady, it’s alright now.”

Only then did Stella notice Ella’s injured hand.

She had promised to protect her, yet Stella had failed.

Because she was still too young and too weak.

“I’m sorry, Ella. You got hurt because of me.”

“I’m alright. More importantly, we were lucky to meet such a good person by chance.”

After calming herself, Stella carefully took the frightened bird out of its cage and examined it.

Thankfully, it did not appear injured.

“I’m sorry. You must have been frightened too.”

Stella gently stroked the bird resting in her hands, and the bird accepted her touch without resistance.

Looking at the now calm bird, Stella thought of the man riding ahead of them.

‘But who exactly is he?’

Still wondering about him, the carriage safely reached the village.

The coachman went to tend to the carriage, while Ella left to find them lodging for the night.

As a result, Stella and the man ended up alone together.

“Thank you so much for today. I don’t even know how to properly express my gratitude.”

“I merely did what anyone should.”

At his words, Stella’s gaze drifted toward his sword.

At the same time, she remembered the way he had defeated the bandits earlier.

And also Ester’s swordsmanship she had once watched back at the ducal estate in the capital.

Forgetting entirely that he was a stranger, Stella suddenly spoke.

“Today, I was too small… too weak… and because of that, I couldn’t protect someone precious to me.”

Despite Stella’s sudden confession, the man simply listened quietly.

“If I become able to use a sword like you… can I become strong too?”

Stella asked with complete sincerity.

After today’s events, one desire had become even stronger within her.

She wanted to become strong like him.

Strong enough to protect the people precious to her with her own hands.

At that moment, Ella’s voice called from behind Stella.

“My lady, I found a place for us to stay tonight.”

As Stella turned toward Ella, the man mounted the horse beside him.

Stella watched silently for a moment before realizing he was about to leave.

So she gave him one final farewell.

“Thank you very much.”

But what returned to Stella was not a simple response to her gratitude.

“Whether you become strong or remain as you are depends entirely on how much effort you put in—not on swordsmanship itself.”

With those final words, the man rode out of the village.

Stella stood there silently, watching until he completely disappeared from sight.

‘It depends on how much effort I put in…’

For Stella, who had only just escaped her past, those words engraved themselves deeply into her heart.

Along with a new determination.

‘I’ll definitely become strong.’

*

Riding away from the village, the man retraced the road he had come from.

But in his mind lingered the words of the small child he had rescued by chance.

The tiny girl, far smaller than the sword he carried, had asked him how she could become strong.

It was not the kind of question a noble lady should ask.

‘Or maybe she isn’t really a noble lady, considering she was traveling without guards.’

There had been desperation in the child’s eyes.

A desperate wish to become stronger.

To survive.

So he had given her his own answer.

Though honestly, he did not expect much from it.

‘Not sure she even understood what I meant.’

Thinking that, the man let the encounter drift from his mind.

Never imagining that the casual words he had spoken without expectation would end up changing the course of a young girl’s life.

Leaving the encounter behind, the man urged his horse onward toward his destination—the capital.