Chapter 6 – Part 22

“Gardner. Stay here with Ruby.”

“Yes.”

“Eli.”

Ruby called out to Eli, but he pretended not to hear her and went into her room, closing the door behind him.

Eli ran his hand over the ripped marks on Ruby’s bed.

One of them was clearly a deep knife wound. He’d probably come in without turning on the light and just plunged the knife in.

The faint marks around the deepest one suggested that the intruder, frustrated by not finding their target in bed, took out their anger by stabbing around.

Eli also checked Ruby’s jewelry box.

Upon a quick glance, nothing seemed to be missing. Perhaps Ruby herself wasn’t the type to keep expensive items.

“If it were a thief, they would have taken this.”

He said it, assuming it was indeed a thief.

Eli’s gaze returned to the bed.

“If this is the case, it seems like they really only wanted Ruby’s life.”

His voice was very quiet—a whisper.

Eli closed the door and stepped out.

“What was there?”

Ruby asked. There had to be a reason Eli hadn’t let her in.

“It was nothing.”

Eli shook his head dismissively.

His expression was less than cheerful, as if he wanted to keep what was going on inside to himself.

“Go back to ……”

At that moment, a loud commotion outside the mansion caught both Eli’s and Gardner’s attention. They looked at each other.

“I’ll go check it out.”

Gardner stepped out of the mansion.

“Is something going on?”

“I think so, but there are other knights, so it’ll be sorted out soon.”

Eli said, putting an arm around Ruby’s shoulders.

Luckily, there was a state-of-the-art broom lying nearby that Dominic had insisted on buying. Apparently the ad hadn’t been entirely wrong, because it was still intact after all this mess.

Eli picked up the broom, just in case.

“It’s for security, just in case.”

He explained this to Ruby, who was getting nervous.

In fact, the knights he hired were all skilled professionals; even if someone managed to enter without being detected, it would be difficult to overpower them in a fight. The knights were survivors of numerous wars and battles, skilled enough to handle any situation. Sneaking in for an attack was their specialty, and facing them head-on would inevitably result in defeat. Moreover, Eli had chosen only the best among them.

But then someone rushed into the manor.

Immediately, Eli pulled Ruby behind his back, out of the intruder’s line of sight. At the same time, he signaled for her to go inside, toward the second floor.

As Eli descended the stairs, the intruder turned his head.

On the way down, Eli spun the broom around to gauge its performance as a weapon.

Not bad.

Someone was going to come in soon anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to buy a little time.

“Aren’t you going to attack me? ”

Eli asked nonchalantly as he descended the stairs and grabbed his broom.

The intruder looked at him like he was crazy. Probably because he was thinking of attacking with a broom.

“I know. It would be embarrassing to lose to a broom when you have a sword as a weapon, wouldn’t it?”

The intruder’s expression changed when they heard Eli’s provocation. They tightened their grip on the knife and swung it forcefully.

Eli swung his broom, not at the sack, but at the brush. The man’s sword slashed through the straw braid, sending it flying.

‘You can’t hit me with a broom…………’

Just as the intruder thought that, Eli struck him hard in the back, sending him sprawling.

The broom in the Eli’s hand had only the bristles cut off, but the sack was still intact. The intruder lunged again, thinking he’d been beaten. If he had lost to the brobroom, Eli had said, he would have been too embarrassed to show his face. Besides, it was his position to deal with.

However, contrary to expectations, the broom did not break and served as a weapon well.

“Are you going to attack me with that skill? ”

“This……!”

At Eli’s taunt, the intruder gripped the knife tightly and swung with force.

The sound of the knife slicing through the air was sharp.

Despite the situation, Eli’s expression remained relaxed. He dodged and blocked the knife skillfully.

“Ugh…….”

In the end, it was the intruder who was hit and fell down.

Both his target’s skill and his weapon were unexpected.

Eli leisurely spun the wooden sack around. He could feel the panic radiating from the fallen invader’s body.

And with good reason.

The intruder had overlooked the fact that if they clashed head-on, the wooden handle would have broken. But Eli avoided direct confrontation with the knife while dodging and blocking the blows. Instead, he aimed to protect the weaker parts of the broom from the force of the knife.

His opponent, caught off guard, was only too eager to lunge.

Gardner, now inside the manor, knocked the knife out of the attacker’s hand with his foot and brought his own knife to the attacker’s throat.

“What shall we do?”

“Take him away and tie him up.”

“Yes.”

Since they couldn’t interrogate the intruder in Ruby’s presence, the plan was to take Ruby back to the mansion first before questioning her.

As Gardner led the intruder out, the mansion fell silent again.

“Are you okay?”

Ruby asked as she came down to the ground floor and checked Eli’s body.

“Yep. I’m not even hurt.”

“I was really… surprised.”

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, having been surprised by Eli’s sudden descent with only a broom.

She hadn’t moved hastily out of concern that Eli might be inconvenienced by her presence. But whenever she heard someone getting hit, she couldn’t help but worry if it was Eli.

“Were you worried?”

Ruby nodded, still hugging Eli in frustration.

“It’s nothing.”

Eli reassured her, patting her head gently as if to say that such incidents had happened several times before. This made Ruby suddenly curious.

* * *

The Duchess of Miles arrived late at night, having left immediately after receiving word from Devens.

“Are you sure it’s settled?”

The Duchess of Miles asked her husband in his office.

“It is settled.”

“……And how big will Arlen’s wedding be?”

“That is being arranged. It seems there’s strong opposition from the Marquis of Tules.”

“It has to be! It should be as big as when His Majesty married the Empress.”

The Duchess of Miles said it firmly.

“I can’t have her marrying second best to anyone, and our honor is at stake here.”

“I understand.”

The Duke of Miles’s position wasn’t much different, since he was doing it anyway.

“If they say they can’t do more, then ask them to do at least as much as they did for the Empress. His Majesty likes Arlen enough to keep seeing her, so express that sentiment. If you can’t do it, I’ll write the letter.”

“No. I will see His Majesty and the Marquis of Tules tomorrow. You must attend to more pressing matters first.”

“That’s what I’ll do. We only have two months, and it’ll be tight to match the dresses and jewelry.”

As Lady Miles was about to leave, she turned around and kissed her husband’s cheek.

“By the way, I’m back.”

“Welcome home.”

The two held each other for a moment.

“You must have been tired after traveling all that way, so get some rest.”

“You, too, don’t push yourself too hard.”

They greeted each other affectionately and headed to their rooms to prepare for a busy tomorrow.

* * *

By the time Eli and Ruby left the manor, the intruders had been taken away by the knights.

They made it safely back to the mansion.

As soon as they arrived, Ruby examined Eli’s body.

“You’re really not hurt.”

Eli’s words didn’t convince Ruby, and she let go of his arm only after checking him over.

“When did you learn swordsmanship?”

“I took sword lessons when I was younger.”

Ruby knew that all noble boys were taught swordsmanship. But Eli seemed more skilled than average.

“After my father died, there were many people who wanted to kill me.”

Seeing the question in Ruby’s eyes, Eli explained.

“Who? You?”

Eli nodded.

“The younger heirs are easier to kill. Without me, the only heir is gone, so the other nobles would have a chance.”

He said it casually.

“Did you sleep well at night?”

“I only slept after finding and handing over the person who tried to kill me to my mother.”

“And you didn’t have a knight.”

“At first, my mother didn’t know, and later she thought it was a way for me to become stronger.”

At first, when young Eli caught an assassin alone, Marie worried about him first. But as Eli became accustomed to catching assassins, she became more interested in testing his strength.

“Your mother?”

“Yes.”

His seemingly casual answer only made Ruby’s face grow serious.

Eli watched the look on her face and wondered what else was going through her little head.

A moment later, Ruby pulled Eli into a tight hug.

“……Why?”

“You did well.”

“……Thank you.”

Thanks to that experience, he had kept Ruby safe today, but he also liked Ruby being worried about him, so he unconsciously accepted the comfort.

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories