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Chapter 46
The Existence of the Temple (3)
“Who is it?”
Elia asked in a sharp voice.
The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t let her guard down.
She placed her hand on the handle of the dagger Lotte had given her and carefully watched the person standing in front of her.
The man wore his robe low over his head.
With his head lowered, he was holding the place on his stomach where Elia had hit him.
Because of the angle, she couldn’t see his face clearly.
But judging by his build and height, he seemed to be a man.
Slowly, he raised his head and slightly lifted the hood covering his face.
Elia stared beneath the robe without relaxing her guard.
The face she saw made her doubt her own eyes.
“It’s me, Lady Elia.”
“…Sir Aaron?”
It was Aaron.
“W-Why are you here?”
“It seems my training wasn’t wasted.”
“You did well.”
Even while Elia was too shocked to speak properly, Aaron calmly praised her.
What in the world is going on?
“It would be even better if you could put a little more strength into it.”
“I thought it was enough during training, but real situations are different after all.”
“No, why are you here?”
Did he not see how confused she was?
Aaron continued speaking as if nothing had happened.
Compared to usual, he was acting even more casually.
It almost looked like he was pretending everything was normal on purpose.
“I was worried about you, so I followed you.”
“You can’t leave Lady Lotte alone.”
“Please go back.”
She couldn’t understand why he had followed her because he was worried.
He should have been staying by Lotte’s side instead.
“My lady is already under the protection of many knights.”
“And you are my wife.”
“How could I let you leave alone?”
He called her “wife” again.
No matter how she looked at it, Lotte had definitely told him to keep using that title.
“This isn’t why I left.”
“Please go back.”
“I can’t do that.”
They kept arguing.
“Go back.”
“I won’t.”
After repeating the same thing over and over, Elia finally gave up.
Aaron clearly had no intention of changing his mind.
If they wasted any more time…
There would be no way to reach the village before sunset.
She didn’t even know how much farther they had to walk.
Even if Aaron wanted to return now, there was no easy way.
So for now, they decided to head toward the village together.
They had to reach the village first if they wanted to call for a carriage to take Aaron back.
“How did you even follow me?”
Since they had to walk together anyway, Elia decided to calmly talk with Aaron.
Even if they complained and argued…
It wouldn’t change the fact that they were together now.
“I was sitting behind the carriage.”
“You didn’t have to go that far just to follow me…”
She had only checked whether the carriage had the Kingdom’s crest on it.
She had never imagined there was another space behind it.
She also couldn’t understand how there had been enough room for Aaron to sit back there.
The day before…
Not long after Lotte and Elia finished talking, Aaron was called to Lotte’s office.
Lotte had ordered him to come immediately.
“Did something happen?”
“I think Lady Elia is going to leave the Royal Castle.”
“Very soon.”
“What do you mean?”
“She said she’s going to look for the Temple.”
“Aaron, do you remember it?”
“I remember it a little.”
“But why is she suddenly looking for the Temple…?”
“Lady Elia has holy power.”
“She says she’s leaving alone.”
“I’m worried about her.”
“She’s going to the Temple because of her holy power?”
“Sigh…”
“It’s a long story.”
Lotte explained everything Elia had told her.
She told Aaron that the incident with the guards had been caused by a demon.
She also said that it seemed the Crown Prince of the Empire had joined hands with a demon and killed the Emperor.
Aaron had personally seen the guards whose eyes had turned completely black and whose hearts were gone.
It was hard to believe.
But he had no choice except to believe it.
It would have been stranger if a demon had not been responsible.
“So…”
“She says she has to find the Temple to defeat the demon.”
“I couldn’t stop her.”
“Even if a demon is targeting Lady Elia, it’s too dangerous for her to leave alone.”
Aaron had experienced the atmosphere of the Rier Empire several times.
He couldn’t help worrying about Elia.
If someone was openly targeting her like this…
Her life would surely be in danger.
Even when they pretended to ignore and avoid her…
They had secretly fed her poisonous herbs.
If things had reached this point…
They would probably become even more direct.
“So…”
“Aaron.”
“What do you think about going with Lady Elia?”
“She said she wants to leave alone.”
“How can I follow her?”
Aaron refused immediately.
Lotte shook her head.
“No.”
“If you follow her first…”
“Lady Elia won’t be able to turn you away.”
“So prepare everything beforehand.”
“Then simply follow her when she leaves the Royal Castle.”
“Following her without her permission…”
“Then…”
“Are you going to let Lady Elia go alone?”
“I…”
Unable to refuse after Lotte kept pushing him, Aaron packed his things and quietly watched Elia’s movements.
He had already moved Zakar, who had been guarding Elia’s room, to the center of the castle.
So Elia was able to leave through the back gate of the Royal Castle without much trouble, carrying her bag on her back.
You should take care of your own wife.
Lotte’s words echoed in his ears.
Many guards had been placed nearby.
But since Elia didn’t seem to be in immediate danger…
None of them paid attention to where she was going.
I’ll have to lecture them when I return.
Watching for enemies was important.
But they also needed to know where the person they were protecting was and where that person was going.
They clearly needed more training.
Aaron ordered the knight beside him to call Lotte.
Then he quickly followed after Elia.
Fortunately…
She wasn’t walking very fast.
He caught up to her in no time.
“Lady Elia!”
The moment Lotte came running while calling out loudly…
Elia stopped and turned around.
Aaron avoided her gaze and quietly walked toward the carriage that had already been prepared.
Knock. Knock.
He casually knocked on the carriage.
The coachman, who had been sleeping under a small cover on the driver’s seat, quickly woke up and straightened himself.
“Stay ready.”
After giving the coachman that short order…
Aaron climbed into the back of the carriage.
It was normally used for carrying luggage.
But he had occasionally sat there while protecting the rear.
So it wasn’t unfamiliar.
He untied the ropes holding the rolled-up cover.
Then he lowered it and hid himself behind it.
From there…
He quietly listened to Elia and Lotte talking.
“When did you prepare this?”
Hearing Elia’s voice coming closer…
Aaron held his breath.
He hadn’t expected her to leave the Royal Castle this soon.
If Lotte hadn’t urged him…
He would have had no choice but to watch Elia leave.
Thankfully…
Everything had already been prepared.
So he was able to follow her as planned.
He didn’t know what Elia would think after finding out.
But he couldn’t simply stand by and watch his wife walk toward death.
“Yes.”
“You’re not leaving forever, right?”
As soon as Lotte finished speaking…
The carriage began moving.
Aaron finally relaxed a little.
He slightly lifted the cover and looked outside.
A crow?
Normally…
Crows flew high above the trees.
But this one was flying at the same height as the trees.
Or even lower.
It felt strange.
Aaron narrowed his eyes and watched it for a moment.
Then he looked away.
Just as every person was different…
Perhaps there were unusual crows too.
He decided not to pay any more attention to it.
It seemed to be matching the carriage’s speed…
Which felt odd.
But since it didn’t seem threatening…
He ignored it.
Eventually…
The carriage stopped.
Aaron got off first.
Then he hid behind the carriage and waited for Elia to walk farther away.
If the carriage had already left…
She wouldn’t be able to run away or argue with him.
He had also told the coachman to leave only after Elia was far enough away.
When the carriage finally started moving…
Aaron took that as his signal and stepped out.
Even though he walked slowly…
His longer stride quickly closed the distance between them.
The carriage was already gone.
There was no longer any reason to hide the fact that he had followed her.
So Aaron carefully placed his hand on Elia’s shoulder.
“Ugh.”
It didn’t hurt very much.
But her reaction was much faster and sharper than he had expected.
The sound escaped him because he was surprised.
Not because the blow itself was especially painful.
“Who is it?”
Hearing Elia’s cold voice for the first time surprised Aaron for a moment.
But he calmly answered without showing it.
“It’s me, Lady Elia.”
“…Sir Aaron?”
The sharp look in Elia’s eyes softened the moment she recognized him.
Seeing that…
Aaron felt a strange emotion.
He realized he had never looked at Elia’s expression this closely before.
It felt unfamiliar.
Yet strangely familiar at the same time.
After arguing for a while…
Just as Lotte had expected…
Elia finally gave up trying to send Aaron back.
The two of them continued toward the village together.
Aaron suddenly stopped walking.
His eyes slowly moved upward…
Toward the crow sitting on a tree branch above him.
So it wasn’t my imagination.
