“Are you a good runner?”

Laura took Joshua into her arms, looking like he was about to cry.

Perhaps realizing that the atmosphere wasn’t right, the crying child in her arms quieted down when she embraced him, glancing timidly at the strangers.

“I’m not an excellent knight, but…”

“…?”

“Go to the guards.”

Eric, pointing his sword at the masked figures, spoke. However, there was no response.

As he turned his head, Laura had already run far away with the child in her arms.

“…Oh dear.”

‘Well, I like that one for being quick.’

Eric muttered to himself and raised his sword.

***

Laura kept running. She didn’t even remember what the Marquis had told her.

She just had to protect the child.

Of course, it wasn’t because she had affection and love for someone else’s child.

It was only because of the threat from the Empress, who had said that if the Prince was hurt, she would kill her, and the benefits she could gain by protecting the child.

“Hu, hu… Hu…”

Her breath was almost up to her throat, and the soles of her feet were burning.

Their money should have been used to hire more maidservants rather than be saved. With the money from hosting events like banquets, patrols could have been strengthened.

‘Where are the knights, and what on earth is the imperial guard doing? ’

At a time like this, she felt like she could strangle her father, mother, or even her brother.

Assuming she didn’t die here, of course.

“Is anyone there?”

Laura yelled with all her might.

“Guards! Father! Mother! Brother, you bastard! Somebody come out here!”

“Miss…?”

A maid holding laundry looked at her with wide eyes. Laura’s face turned pale.

“Miss, if you’re on probation, why are you outside? What’s happened to the Prince?”

“Call the guards and the royal guard! Hurry! There’s an intruder…”

Laura couldn’t finish her sentence. It was because of the sword stuck in the maid’s back.

Seeing the fallen maid without strength, Laura couldn’t even scream, and she swallowed her breath.

“Why, why…?”

“Hand over the child, Miss.”

The child cried vehemently. Laura retreated with Joshua tightly in her arms.

“If you hand over the child obediently, Miss, we’ll spare your life.”

“No, I won’t!”

She knew the Empress wouldn’t let her off the hook if she lost the prince.

Whether one dies or not, it’s natural to choose the option that brings greater benefits when one survives.

She tried to think optimistically, but there seemed to be no way out.

There must be a reason why no one appeared when she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Those who were supposed to defend the castle either abandoned their posts while she was trapped in her room, or they had been bribed by the intruders, or they had all been killed.

Laura embraced the child with a face that seemed about to burst into tears.

This was the moment when a prince on a white horse should appear, right? He should come to the rescue of the heroine in a crisis.

However, a prince on a white horse never appeared for those who sought a blinded fool in love.

Laura was too mundane to become the protagonist.

“…If I have to die with the child, so be it.”

The man gritted his teeth and raised his sword.

Laura closed her eyes tightly, still holding the child.

* * *

“Tenere!”

Leonard urgently followed Tenere. However, Tenere did not look back until they entered the castle.

“It’s dangerous. With the guards…”

Tenere didn’t listen to him. She just inserted the arrow into her bowstring.

The taut bowstring was released without hesitation.

The person holding the sword in front of her fell lifelessly.

“Joshua!”

Tenere shouted, paying no attention to the fallen one.

“Brother!”

While running aimlessly to find the child and the nanny, she also pulled out an arrow with her hand. However, there was no response from anywhere.

“Tenere, I’ll do it. You stay in a safe place.”

Tenere finally turned to look at Leonard. And the moment he saw her face, Leonard unconsciously held his breath.

“This is my child.”

“…”

“It’s my child.”

It was a voice barely suppressing sorrow. He had never seen Tenere make such an expression.

Certainly, it might be unstoppable even by the imperial order. Intuition silenced his words.

As she pulled the bowstring again, Leonard finally regained his composure and looked back at the guards.

“Protect the empress!”

The guards rushed towards Tenere upon the emperor’s command. Leonard drew his sword.

In the distance, screams were heard.

* * *

Every noble with a title was a knight.

Eric, as the only son, had trained in swordsmanship and horseback riding since childhood, but he hadn’t wielded a sword for so long that he had no confidence to face the assassin in front of him.

“…Where did you come from?”

“Viscount Hale sent us, of course.”

“You’re going to put the blame on the Viscount?”

Eric sneered and gripped his sword tightly.

Whether it was a conversation or a provocation, he had to buy time until Laura and Joshua could escape.

‘I’m sure they are not the only ones around Viscount Hale’s mansion .’

After sending Laura, anxiety arose, but there was no way that there could be more of them where the guards were staying.

Even if there were many trees for cover, the main gate was wide open.

“Guard! Father! Mother! Brother, you bastard! Someone come out here!”

A familiar voice echoed from afar.

Since there was no sound of the child crying, they must have gone quite far, and the voice was loud.

At the same time, the fact that he hadn’t encountered any guards along the way made him feel unnecessarily anxious.

“Seriously, why would we let the young lady go?”

“Oh, was that the young lady? I thought it was some brat.”

“Our young lady is good at acting too.”

The laughter echoed mockingly. Eric’s heart sank.

Yes, one or two of them might chase after Laura.

But they all stayed close to him.

‘…These guys can’t be the only ones here, right? ‘

Then what about Joshua? What about her?

Eric, hiding his bewildered expression, spoke up.

“You guys, do you know this is treason? How dare you aim for the Crown Prince?”

“Isn’t it funny for the son of a traitor to talk about treason? Moreover, that kid is not even an official Crown Prince yet.”

“Our master, Viscount Hale, said so. If we get rid of that kid and the empress, the young lady can become the empress.”

The assassins jeered. They meant to blame the whole thing on Viscount Hale, who wanted to take the empress’s place.

‘Ridiculous. Where does he have the money to do that in such a small territory? ‘

Eric couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. However, the assassins didn’t seem to care whether he believed it or not.

Eric swung his sword towards the approaching enemies. However, facing four assassins alone was too much.

His determination to hold out until the guards arrived seemed feeble. Perhaps it was because he thought resisting was useless.

Blood spurted from his torn coat. His vision blurred, and his head was dizzy.

Thud.

His body fell onto the cold, snowy ground. Laughter echoed from above.

As if to signal the end, someone raised a sword high.

Somewhere, the sound of hooves seemed to be approaching.

* * *

“Swooooshh!”

The sound of something sharp piercing through the air echoed. However, she did not feel any pain.

Laura cautiously opened her eyes. The sword fell from the man’s hand, and the bulky figure with an arrow lodged in it collapsed to the ground.

Thud. Only after the sound did Laura raise her head. Her legs gave way.

And what approached from a distance was…

“Your Majesty, the Empress.”

Why did a person she despised so much feel so welcoming?

Clip-clop, clip-clop, the sound of hooves hitting the ground drew closer.

The child in her arms waved towards her mother.

“Mommy.”

“Yes, Josie”

Tenere smiled gently at the child. Then, without saying a word, she stood with her back to Laura.

With her disheveled hair and clothes covered in dirt and dust, Tenere looked somewhat unkempt. But the person on the large horse who mounted seemed towering.

Tenere pulled out an arrow and aimed at the assassin.

Swoosh, swoosh. The movements were swift, as if she didn’t even bother to aim properly, but with each release of the arrow, cries of pain echoed from the intruders.

Laura stared blankly at the child in her arms, who was squirming. The Imperial Guards protecting her, the emperor directing knights from afar—none of them registered.

A black horse is racing swiftly, and a woman is pulling the bowstring without hesitation.

Only a clear anger etched on her chilly profile was visible.

‘I must be crazy…’

What was I thinking? It could have been my neck stuck to that arrow.

With the Imperial Guards present, it didn’t take long for the invading intruders to be defeated.

Tenere approached Laura with the still-strung bow and the arrow.

“Lady Hale”

“I, I didn’t do anything…….”

Rather than expressing gratitude, Laura’s immediate response was to defend herself. It was because of the bow in Tenere’s hands. Laura gave the world’s most innocent look and sobbed.

“I… I just… I saw someone suspicious, and then there was a maid I hadn’t seen before, and then the Marquis….”

“The Imperial Guards must have gone to meet us. The emperor was also with me, so don’t worry now.”

“Sob, hoo…”

Tears streamed down her dirty face.

Tenere took the child from her, and Joshua clung to his mother’s neck, seeming delighted to see her after a long time.

“Thank you for protecting my child, My Lady.”

Tenere said, stroking the child’s back. Laura could only sob helplessly.