Chapter 78
Although Elaria looked cute with her proud expression as if telling him to trust only her, a desire arose in him to lead her at least once. Especially since he did not know when they would be able to go out together again.
“It would be nice if there were a place where we could have dinner…”
They had almost filled up on snacks, but he thought it would be even better if there were a place where they could sit together and enjoy the scenery.
As he followed the crowd, he realized the street he had entered was lined with stalls selling various meat dishes, and he stopped walking. It would be good to come back here with her and look for a decent place.
Just as he made up his mind and turned around.
It was only for an instant, but he sensed killing intent and froze, and a burning sensation struck his side. By the time he realized what it was, the dagger had already plunged deep and been pulled back out.
“…F**k.”
He had trained in swordsmanship with Lucian, but he had no real combat experience. Regretting that he had let his guard down because there were escort knights, he hurried to look for the one who had stabbed him.
Whether an assassin had been hired, the work was not amateurish. Unable to find any trace, he cursed and clutched his side.
“Kyahhh!”
A woman passing by noticed his condition and screamed. People nearby quickly surrounded Noctis.
“Someone’s hurt here! Someone call a guard!”
“Oh no, he’s bleeding badly!”
People who had approached to help hesitated when they noticed that his clothing was not ordinary. They exchanged looks among themselves, unsure what to do.
Noctis realized their reaction and tried to force himself to stand. But perhaps the dagger had been coated with poison, because his body would not obey him.
Then he saw the escort knights, who had realized the situation late, rushing toward him. Feeling relieved, he sank back down. But worried that Elaria would be frightened, he knew he could not lose consciousness yet.
As he forced his eyes open with the single thought that he had to say something to the escort knight, a firm and dignified voice rang out from afar.
“All of you, step away from my husband!”
The people surrounding him startled and stepped back. Only then did Elaria come into Noctis’s view. Her face was pale as she ran toward him.
At the estate, she always tried to maintain the dignity of a duchess, but for him, collapsed on the ground, she did not hesitate to drop to the street and pull him into her arms.
“Honey, it’s alright… I-I’m here.”
At her words, Noctis felt his consciousness grow distant. In that short time, she had already shocked him several times, and he felt as if he might die of heart failure rather than poison.
But…
“I think I’d be fine even if I died…”
‘My husband’ and even ‘honey’.
It was not the lonely end he had always imagined, and a faint smile formed at the corner of his lips. Elaria let out a scream-like cry when Noctis quietly closed his eyes.
“No, open your eyes! Please…!”
One of the escort knights hurriedly brought a physician. They quickly cleared out a nearby shop and performed first aid there. Throughout it all, Elaria never let go of the hand she was holding.
If she let go of this hand, it felt as though Noctis would truly go somewhere far away.
She stayed by his side without even breathing properly. Quietly, until the ducal carriage arrived to take them.
* * *
The rumor that Duke Asiel had been the target of an assassination attempt at the festival reached the emperor’s ears. He declared that not only the one who had dared attempt to kill a duke from a founding noble family, but all accomplices as well, would be captured and executed.
There was a reason the emperor issued such a direct command.
It was because of the weight of the ducal title. The current hierarchy was beginning to collapse under the influence of wealth. In such times, the fact that a duke, and not some lesser noble, had nearly been assassinated in the middle of a festival was not merely an attempted murder.
It was an act that directly denied the order and authority of the empire.
Moreover, since it had occurred at a festival crowded mainly with commoners, a proper example had to be made. It was a stern warning not to dare disrupt the order of class.
The emperor’s declaration spread rapidly. Upon hearing the news, Baron Silvaris went into seclusion.
Inside his study, with all the curtains drawn, the baron muttered anxiously while shaking his leg.
“After spending such a hefty sum… Surely they won’t trace it back to the client…”
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