“Of course. The image of Your Grace being at the mercy of servants is simply unimaginable.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I am fine. I no longer need to take the medicine Schmitz left me, and I feel perfectly energetic.”

Just as time was passing rather tediously, an alarming sound came from the carriage. And then the carriage lurched and sank.

“Your Grace!”

At the cry of a servant from outside, the look in Hylus’s eyes changed.

“One moment.”

It was not long before he stepped out of the carriage, exchanged a few words with the servant, and returned.

“We will have to get out and ride on horseback.”

“Pardon? On horseback?”

“A wheel has come off, and it seems it will take some time to repair. Waiting here without a plan is not an option. This is a dangerous location.”

At his words, I looked around and realized it was the forest known for the highest number of bandits.

“Even for a young lady, you would know that this place is dangerous.”

The moment I stepped down from the carriage with Hylus’s escort, I caught sight of someone I had so desperately wanted to see.

A man with beautifully warm brown hair like freshly baked bread, someone to whom the term ‘sunshine male lead’ suited perfectly.

It was Siobhan Akane, my favorite character in and the tragic supporting character who never got to be with the female lead.

However, unlike in the original work, Siobhan was not wearing the imperial knighthood uniform but the ducal knighthood uniform.

Siobhan should still be part of the imperial knighthood at this point. His becoming commander of the imperial knighthood came after he met Hesse Herrmann.

Siobhan had been a commoner knight, but he had saved Hylus’s life in a battle Hylus had led, and because of that, he had been admitted into the ducal knighthood despite his commoner status.

Hylus’s influence had played a significant role in allowing Siobhan to enter the imperial knighthood. The greatest reason Hylus had pushed for Siobhan was his distinguished performance in a recent war. Thanks to Siobhan’s surprise attack, the war had been brought to victory and merit had been established, and it was after that Hylus had made it possible for Siobhan to enter the imperial knighthood.

“How do you do, Duchess. I am Siobhan Akane of the Hylus ducal knighthood.”

Just as I was about to greet the long-awaited Siobhan with overwhelming emotion.

Siobhan pulled my hand, which I had extended for a handshake, with considerable force.

From the momentum of it, I was pulled firmly into his arms.

The force was so strong that the word ‘pulled into’ did not quite capture it, and ‘crashed into’ was more fitting. Before I even had time to be startled by his action, the sharp sound of an arrow cutting through the air rang out loudly.

Whoosh!

Only then did I look toward where the arrow had come from, but Hylus and Siobhan’s gazes were already fixed on the source.

Thanks to Siobhan pulling me in forcefully, the arrow embedded itself in the tree behind me.

If it had not been for Siobhan… the arrow would have been lodged not in the tree but in my chest. The moment that thought crossed my mind, fear swept over my body and mind.

My whole body began to tremble at the thought that I could have died.

No.

Pull yourself together. If you fall apart here, you really will die.

“D*mn it, our position is compromised!”

A bandit hiding among the trees shouted to his companions nearby.

“You must get away quickly.”

When I came to my senses, I could see Siobhan pushing my back firmly and Hylus pulling my arm.

“I will take the Duchess and get out of the forest. Come out once things are dealt with.”

At his words, Siobhan gave a brief nod, and at that moment, knights who had been hidden in various spots emerged.

Led by Hylus’s hand, the moment I mounted the horse, a bandit who had been hiding in a nearby tree came down swiftly and hurled a dagger toward the horse’s thigh.

There was no time to dodge or catch it, and the dagger embedded itself deep into the horse’s thigh.

The horse, feeling the pain, began to thrash wildly. It moved so violently that a faint groan escaped from Hylus, who had been holding me tightly to keep me from falling.

Hylus, who had seated me in the saddle first, ultimately failed to mount the horse, and the horse bolted away in agony.

That meant I had to calm the frenzied horse on my own.

But how was I supposed to manage a horse with a dagger lodged in its thigh?

I had never properly ridden a horse in my life. At the hunting competition, I had only needed to shoot arrows from atop a horse that was barely moving, so it had not been difficult.

But this was different. I had to dismount from a horse that was thrashing wildly in pain from the embedded dagger.

I needed to find the softest spot possible and jump off…

Just as I gripped the reins tightly and looked around, I spotted a bandit not far away with a bow aimed in my direction.

But I was not the type to die here without doing anything.

Before jumping off, I yanked the horse’s reins with all my strength toward the direction where the bandit was.

The moment I leaped off, the arrow the bandit had aimed embedded itself swiftly into the horse. In its pain, the horse began charging rapidly in the direction of the bandit.

The horse, having crashed into the bandit, sank to the ground as though exhausted.

Having jumped off the horse, I paid no mind to the impact from the fall or the dirt on my dress, and simply ran to the horse that had sunk down where it stood.

The horse, looking weary and overcome with pain, made me feel sorry for it, and I gently stroked its nose.

“I’m sorry.”

The arrow was fortunately not embedded too deeply and could be pulled out, but the dagger lodged in the thigh was another matter.

All I could do here was to keep the poor horse from losing any more blood.

I took the quiver from the unconscious bandit and tore the bandit’s upper garment to tie it tightly around the horse’s thigh.

“Both you and I, let us make sure to see each other alive.”

Leaving the horse behind as it hung its head weakly, I ran into the undergrowth.

I had no idea where Hylus was, but I simply ran forward. Because it was undergrowth, the dress clung to me annoyingly with every step and made rustling sounds.

“There she is!”

Thinking the dress would prevent me from running properly, without hesitation I pierced the dress with an arrowhead. And once more without hesitation, I tore along the hole that had been made.

Both legs were exposed, but I did not care. What mattered right now was surviving.

I had only just met my favorite character, and it would be too unfair to be separated from him so soon.

I hid behind a large tree and steadied my breathing. No matter that I had learned archery, I had never shot at a person, so my hands did not easily reach for the bow.

Rustle.

Swish.

The sound of approaching people, two of them. If I had to choose between dying here or killing, the answer was obviously the latter. I drew the bowstring back hard, turned my body quickly, and released.

Whoosh!

The arrow cutting through the air struck the bandit squarely in the forehead, and the approaching bandit collapsed on the spot. And just as I turned to deal with the remaining one, Siobhan appeared. He quickly took care of the last one.

“Duchess!”

“Duck!”

Spotting a bandit chasing from behind Siobhan, I shouted for him to duck. And once more I drew the bowstring back hard and released.

Thanks to Siobhan swiftly ducking at my shout, the arrow struck the bandit dead on.

“Are you alright, my lady?”

“Sir Akane.”

“Please feel free to call me Siobhan. Duke Hylus is coming from behind.”

“Very well, Sir Siobhan. Let us get out of this forest first.”

Getting close to my favorite character is something that has to come after staying alive, isn’t it? With the imperial knight Siobhan by my side, there is nothing to fear.

Just as I was about to move away with Siobhan’s support, a bandit who had been hiding somewhere came charging rapidly. Siobhan, who had not been able to look to the side in time, was sent flying by the bandit’s powerful force.

The blade, held by the bandit who had taken a fallen comrade’s sword and was charging with killing intent, was aimed directly at me.

The arrow. I need to grab an arrow quickly…

There was no time for Siobhan to come running, and no time for me to grab an arrow, as the blade drove toward my chest.

And at that very moment, a brilliant flash of light burst forth.

The intense light erupted with a yellow hue and then turned violet, entering my body.

The bandit, whose eyes were seared by the powerful light, clutched at his own eyes and rolled on the ground.

But my eyes were unharmed.

The source of the light was the communication stone I had received from Hylus. I had made it into a necklace and worn it inside my dress, and it had been split by the bandit’s blade.

Thanks to the communication stone, I was spared from being pierced by the blade, but the pain spread fully through my chest.

The split communication stone lost the distinctive glow of a magic stone and returned to being nothing more than an ordinary rock.

Whether from the pain or the light, my mind grew hazy, and soon I could not hold onto my senses. Just as I was about to collapse, Siobhan came running swiftly and caught me.

“My lady!”

I could see Hylus, who had arrived before I knew it, but I could not tell whether it was a dream or reality. I simply wanted to close my eyes quickly against the surging fatigue and pain.

***