I Met You at the End of the Run - Chapter 4

She had read about it in books. The dangers of horseback riding. What happened to people who fell off horses? The fast speed made her vision blur, and the sharp wind noise was also loud. The sudden touch of the man’s hand made her dizzy, and even her memories became hazy.

“If you don’t trust me, try falling off.”

The strength in Leon’s hands that had been holding her tightly loosened. Even before they had completely let go, her heart plummeted. The scene of falling off the horse and being crushed under its hooves flashed before her eyes, making her dizzy.

Instead of pleading with Leon, Diane grabbed Muspel’s neck again. And she hurriedly whispered. Please, she begged, just slow down a little, just a little.

Whinnying softly, an amazing thing happened. Despite the fact that it was running on its master’s orders and that it loved running so much that once it started, it rarely slowed down, it began to gradually reduce its speed after understanding Diane’s words.

“What’s this? Why is it doing this?”

The cloud of dust that had been trailing behind them dispersed, and the sound of the wind subsided. At some point, it no longer felt like Diane would fall off even if she raised her upper body.

“Has this beast gone mad too?”

Leon pressed his heels into Muspel’s sides a few more times, but the horse didn’t even pretend to listen. Instead, it raised its hindquarters defiantly.

While this action was directed at Leon, the consequences were fully borne by Diane.

The sound of tearing cloth was particularly loud because everything else had become quiet. Diane’s clothes, which had barely been holding together, were completely split in two. The skirt part precariously hung on her hips, while the top rode up, clearly revealing her stomach and lower back. Especially on her back, even the piece of cloth wrapped inside was exposed.

“Ugh, don’t look. It’s because the clothes are too old… Br-brother.”

Ending every sentence with ‘brother, brother’… I told her we should just be a married couple… Ah, would it have been even more problematic if we were a couple? Leon shook off the various idle thoughts in his head and stopped the horse.

“F*cking bastards, calling this clothes…”

“No, why are you cursing at the clothes as if they’ve done something wrong…”

She knew the words weren’t directed at her, but she was the one hearing them. Diane glanced at Leon, who had jumped off the horse, while feeling the torn parts of her clothes.

Could she sew it back together? The cloth was torn so widely that if she tried to pull it up, her calves would be exposed. It would be nice if she could get some other fabric… As she thought this, she glanced intently at the guard uniform Leon was wearing.

Leon, unable to guess what she was thinking, maintained his uncomfortable expression and stretched out his arm. To Diane’s eyes, the sleeve of Leon’s uniform looked quite sturdy.

“Why are you just staring? Aren’t you getting down?”

“Huh? Ah… Yes, um.”

She answered, but she couldn’t muster the courage. The horse was much higher than she thought, and even though Leon was tall and had wide arms and sturdy cloth, there was no trust between them.

“Why are you wasting time on unnecessary things? I’m already in a foul mood.”

Why would he be in a foul mood, when the escape had been easy and there were no soldiers chasing them?

Thinking that she might have chosen the wrong person, Diane began to wriggle her body down. However, Leon, as if he couldn’t bear it anymore, pulled her arm. After a brief moment of feeling like her body was floating in the air, when she came to her senses, she was in Leon’s rigid embrace.

“Th-thank… you.”

“Not really.”

The awkward atmosphere made her unconsciously use polite speech. Leon put Diane down on the ground and adjusted the horse’s saddle. While listening to Leon scolding Muspel, asking if it had taken some medicine, Diane checked her condition again.

Anticipating this, she had packed a needle and thread. It might not be enough, but if she had some fabric, she could manage somehow…

Leon, who had now started tapping Muspel’s hooves, seemed to have calmed down a bit after seeing Muspel’s bowing reaction, and turned around.

Seeing Diane’s awkward expression, startled as if she was caught stealing, Leon furrowed his brow. After thoroughly examining her appearance up and down, he opened his mouth with a bitter taste.

“There’s a guard post just past that forest path. I’ll steal some necessary items from there. Wait here.”

“…Alone?”

“You want to come along?”

“Of course.”

As if he had heard something ridiculous, Leon snorted. It was obvious that if she appeared before the soldiers in her current state, it would be difficult for her to return alive. With Leon there, that wouldn’t happen, but in someone’s imagination, she would be violated and suffer unspeakable things multiple times.

“Just wait if I tell you to wait. That rock over there looks good, you won’t be seen if you sit behind it.”

“We have a contract, and it’s still a long way to the Kingdom of Avead, we shouldn’t separate already.”

“No, who said we’re separating? I’m just telling you to wait for a moment, what are you thinking?”

“Isn’t that the same thing? What if someone comes while I’m alone and I cough or something and get caught?”

“Well, that’s…”

You should just hold it in… The reason his words trailed off was because of Diane’s actions as she clung to him. He could tell she had seriously misunderstood something, but he almost burst out laughing at her touch as she rubbed his shoulder like she was trying to persuade him. It was clearly an action meant to emphasize their sibling relationship.

“Even if I hide, I’ll hide nearby.”

“……”

“Where I can see you, brother… Okay?”

He had heard that innate bloodlines don’t disappear, but this woman must have been adopted. While the King of Avead was known for his dignity in political affairs, despite being somewhat promiscuous in his relationships with women, this girl didn’t resemble him at all, almost raising doubts.

If Leon hadn’t known about Diane beforehand, he wouldn’t have believed she was a princess even if she had appeared before him.

At least she seemed to know that the word ‘brother’ was effective. Who was it that said, no brother can win against his sister?

“Sigh, alright…”

In the end, Leon started walking down the forest path with Diane. The reason for not riding the horse was that it would be too conspicuous, and the forest was quite dense.

It was fortunate that Muspel, who had been with him all his life, was a clever beast. Leon had roughly led it to a waterside and was now checking the outside from the bushes near an old-looking guard post.

This was a place Leon had been to before. He had been captured here and dragged to Roam Castle, so it was also the last place where he had caused a commotion.

“……”

In his memory, a blurry image of himself swinging a sword and charging appeared. Angry muscles writhed between his torn shirt. Blood flowed over them, soaking everything around. Pushing away those who blocked his path, cutting down those who rushed from behind…

Eventually, he jumped into a luxurious carriage. Bright red blood splattered on the golden carriage window, and when his hand returned, it held a nobleman’s head.

He seemed to be shouting something, but nothing could be heard. As if he had completed his long-cherished desire, or conversely, as if filled with regret for not being able to finish it, darkness descended upon him as he sat powerlessly on the ground.

And in that darkness, there was someone. It was blurry and hard to see, but they seemed to be crying, or perhaps trying to say something. However, the intense headache that followed cut off any further associations.

The momentary breathlessness eased as the headache disappeared. What had happened after that…?

The pitch-black darkness circled around him like a cloud before disappearing, and the sound of Muspel’s neighing, trying to help him as he lay on the ground, was quite loud. Eventually, he was dragged away by the Roam Castle knights who appeared afterward, leading to today.

“Those bastards.”

At this sudden outburst of his true feelings, Diane, who was crouching beside him, flinched. Thinking she should probably calm him down, her hand was slowly approaching his shoulder.

“Don’t even breathe and stay still.”

Leon, stopping her movement, left this command-like statement and emerged from the bushes. Diane, with both hands tightly covering her mouth, nodded in response to Leon, who wouldn’t even see it.

Watching Leon’s gallant back as he left to steal, Diane thought he fit in well here. Why did he say he disliked being a knight? It didn’t seem difficult to imagine him standing at such a guard post wearing armor.

Curling up more due to the cool breeze, Diane watched as Leon finally entered the guard post. No one stopped him, probably thanks to his guard uniform. Anyway, it didn’t seem like he had lied, so she obediently stayed in her place.