“I’ve been a noble since birth, so I don’t know how to handle things like this.”

The other knights snickered at his words and went inside, leaving the carriage and horses behind.

After briefly looking around the carriage, Sir Brahms went inside after giving a tip to the inn staff. Elena, who had been watching the situation with rolling round eyes, felt so anxious that she gulped down water repeatedly.

Creating a temporary unit had been her idea, but she hadn’t expected the knights to be so out of line.

‘I thought they would acknowledge him, if not respect him.’

What to do.

This situation would repeat all the way to the Grand Duchy—could she just stand by and watch?

The knights were at the next table. Sir Brahms had secured rooms and then left with just some snacks.

He seemed to be going out to buy necessary items to avoid any schedule errors.

“He’s doing everything alone.”

After Sir Brahms disappeared, Elena fidgeted with her water glass, upset.

“Did Your Highness expect this too?”

As she asked, Elena noticed the plates he was pushing away.

It was surprising enough that the round table was full of dishes, but there was nothing in front of Rudfelix as he had pushed everything away.

“Aren’t you eating?”

“You should eat heartily instead of me. This might be your last warm meal.”

She traced the route to the Grand Duchy in her mind. Though she knew which way they were going, it was a road not used even by trading companies, so it was unfamiliar to Elena as well.

“So the road is very rough?”

Her fork first went to a salad with thinly sliced fruit sprinkled with a tangy sauce made with flowers.

As the fragrant taste touched her nose and mouth, she momentarily forgot about Sir Brahms’s situation and Rudfelix’s changed demeanor.

“This is delicious.”

A barely visible smile appeared on Rudfelix’s lips as Elena’s hand busily moved across the plate.

Though he didn’t have any particular favorite foods, he knew well which dishes she would reach for. He thought she would like the tangy dishes that were hard to come by, and he was right.

“You eat well.”

“I can eat heartily.”

At Elena’s smile, Rudfelix, still expressionless, poured water into her empty glass.

“You like light dishes, so I wonder if you can fill up properly.”

At those words, Elena put down the apple juice she was drinking and looked over the dishes she had touched. Despite her preference for dishes that weren’t too heavy, she had left traces on most of the food.

“All my favorite dishes are here. This place is good.”

“I ordered them.”

Rudfelix corrected her mistake. It wasn’t that the place was good; he had selected only dishes she could eat.

Elena pretended not to hear and poked at the food with her fork.

“The road we’ve traveled so far is relatively smooth. When we cross the mountains, the cold will penetrate to your bones, and who knows what dangers await.”

Elena, who was tasting the soup that came in the middle of the course, ignoring the proper order, looked up with the spoon in her mouth.

“Is it a road where we’ll have to make do with quick meals?”

Did it mean they would have to make do with whatever they could in the shaking carriage?

In this era where transportation was limited to horses, without special means like magic or unusual items, there were restrictions on movement.

She knew this well, as it was the biggest problem for trading companies. If circumstances weren’t favorable, they might have to sleep outdoors or encounter bandits. But there was something she didn’t understand.

‘It means the road connecting major cities is poor.’

It was a stumbling block that the road wasn’t gradually narrowing as it extended from developed cities within a country.

“Have people been traveling without paving the road until now?”

Elena had worked with neighboring trading companies to make trade routes wide and sturdy.

It was time-consuming work, but once done, it brought great long-term benefits, so she had carefully prepared them.

But the road between the capital and the duchy was rough? Of all places?

“There was no need to do so.”

Rudfelix had the server place a newly brought plate in front of Elena.

“Because it’s not a dangerous road for me.”

“Then it won’t be dangerous for me either.”

Elena slightly pushed aside the soup and took the steak.

“Because I’m with Your Highness.”

The strength left Rudfelix’s hand as he was about to pick up a plate to move it, causing the plate to wobble.

Having barely prevented the food from spilling, he placed it in front of Elena.

“I can certainly protect one aide Elena.”

Rudfelix kept scratching his cheek as if it was itchy, brushing it with his finger and rubbing it with the back of his hand.

“I’ll try to hold up by eating heartily.”

As Elena picked up the entire piece of meat, red sauce dripped onto the plate like blood.

Now he tells her to eat well because it might get dangerous.

“You don’t seem to have handled weapons before.”

Rudfelix looked at Elena’s fingers. They were hands that had held pens rather than swords or bows. There was a thick callus on her middle finger, and her palm was smooth.

“I tried to learn swordsmanship, but I gave up because my skills didn’t improve at all.”

When she first woke up as Elena, there were days when she thought she should be good at something.

She wasn’t full of holy power, nor did she have the constitution of a rare spiritist.

With the sword, she would barely move beyond beginner level even if she kept at it, so she cleanly put it down. But she did have some regrets.

Then one day, Elena suddenly noticed her pretty dress in the mirror.

She realized she wasn’t a penniless nobody. What did it matter if she couldn’t use divine power or infuse mana into a sword?

She was a polished noble lady with a solid trading company.

Instead of unfamiliar weapons like swords, she learned to use the familiar weapon of money.

Elena lowered her hand that had been slightly touching her sleeve.

“I may not handle a sword as well as Your Highness, but I’m confident in protecting myself.”

She had magic scrolls bought in bulk from the trading company and various experimental items received as sponsorships.

“Since Your Highness is familiar with the road, if you help us avoid dangerous places as much as possible, I’ll do my best from there.”

She gave him a thumbs up, saying she believed he was the perfect guide since he traveled this road frequently.

Seeing Rudfelix’s expression sink as he looked at her thumb, she quietly lowered her hand.

“Did I make a mistake?”

“Eat quickly and rest. Rest time is limited.”

“I understand.”

As she picked up her fork again and took a piece of the steak in front of her, Elena found herself watching Rudfelix’s reaction.

‘What did I do wrong?’

She thought she was perceptive, but apparently she couldn’t know everything in the world.

Until they were guided to their rooms with the information that they could rest for about an hour, Rudfelix didn’t say a word. Even when she confirmed that he called Sir Brahms to give instructions and entered her room, he didn’t give Elena a single glance as he climbed the stairs, as if he didn’t need an aide.

As soon as she entered her room, Elena lay down on the bed.

Since it was her first time on this road and she didn’t know how long it would take, she quickly became tired from the vague feeling.

And her fatigue was compounded by her concern for Rudfelix’s feelings, something she never would have imagined when she first became an aide.

When she closed her eyes, she recalled their mealtime earlier.

It wasn’t the first time they had eaten together, but it felt strange, and her fingers itched.

Unable to fall asleep due to these distracting thoughts, Elena opened her tightly closed eyes.

The red light cast on the ceiling resembled his hair.

It wasn’t her imagination that his ears had turned reddish when she said she wouldn’t be in danger because she was with His Highness.

“Should I have asked him to protect me?”

Should she have been an aide who relied on the Grand Duke’s splendid sword instead of saying she could do it sufficiently on her own?

“I don’t know either.”

Elena raised her arm to cover her eyes.

It was natural for her to become his aide and stand beside him as his aide. But why did she feel like she wasn’t just an aide, unlike Senior Quiet? She was perplexed, not knowing what to do with this feeling.