Chapter 209
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
“…What did you say?”
“Please don’t refuse. Ask Byne to take you to the Duke’s residence. Where did that child Dell go?”
“Why would I trust you to tell you anything?”
“Emilia. Adrian is coming here. It’s better for you to be caught by me. You’re thinking the same thing, aren’t you?”
Emilia squeezed her eyes shut.
“…She went to the bookstore.”
“I’ll make sure the child you care about is safe. Now, go.”
“Wait!”
Emilia tried to grab his sleeve, but Mikhail pushed her into the alley. He quickly pressed his hand to the spot where the sword had pierced him, blocking the alley completely.
His tall frame and large build shielded her from view. Blood stained his hand.
The knights searching for Emilia saw him and shouted.
“Your Grace!”
“Stop making a fuss and go the other way. She ran straight here.”
“I’ll call a doctor immediately!”
“Did you not hear what I just said? Are you going to let someone the King is looking for slip away?”
Mikhail said with a tone of annoyance. Emilia looked at his back, then tightly gripped her dagger and quickly turned to run.
He was trying to arrange her mother’s funeral? Why?
Emilia was confused. She adjusted her hood and pulled it down tight as she stepped out of the alley, looking around.
“Sir Byne!”
At Emilia’s call, he turned and hurried toward her.
“There’s a carriage over there. Get in now.”
Did she really have to return to the Duke’s estate?
“You’d better not think of going anywhere else. A search is underway all over Bartsch. The only safe place for you is the Duke Heinrich’s estate.”
“…”
“You don’t want to put others in danger, do you?”
At his words, Emilia climbed into the carriage.
As the carriage moved, Emilia removed her cloak.
The dagger in her hand was covered in blood. The sticky blood that flowed over her hand made her tremble.
She had thought that pointing the sword at him would make her feel relieved, but she was scared.
She had to admit it in the end.
Emilia couldn’t kill him. Even if another opportunity came, it would be the same.
She curled up in agony.
❖ ❖ ❖
Adrian watched Mikhail, who was receiving treatment.
He had suspected something was off when Mikhail left first on horseback, but now, with the sword wound in his abdomen, his doubts had only grown.
He clearly knew something.
Adrian looked down at Mikhail and spoke.
“Not very Duke-like.”
“I was just careless. A knight should never draw his sword against a woman, right?”
“…A knight? I’m surprised you even have a code of chivalry.”
A royal knight approached Adrian.
“Your Majesty. She’s disappeared without a trace. It seems no one saw her.”
Adrian narrowed his eyes as he listened to the knight’s words.
“They couldn’t find the brown bobbed woman… This is a huge problem.”
“Did you find anything in the burned building? I sent knights to search, but came up empty-handed. It’s embarrassing for the knights.”
“Your Majesty, we did our best!”
“Ultimately, you’ve got nothing.”
The knight clenched his fist at his words.
“According to the knights, a scrap of newspaper was found. Not sure if it’s from the Spiegel newspaper, but it’s likely.”
“After all the stirring up, they’ll probably quiet down for a while.”
“That’s true. It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t catch the ringleader, but at least we’re sure about the brown bobbed-haired woman who knows how to wield a sword.”
“To call her a woman who uses a sword, though, her skill was pathetic.”
“She must’ve caught the Duke off guard with such pathetic skills.”
Mikhail didn’t answer. He was bandaging his abdomen and gave a faint smile.
“I have something to discuss, so let’s go to the estate.”
He nodded lightly. Adrian’s smile grew as he saw Mikhail not refuse.
“This is going to be a long conversation.”
Adrian looked at the backstreets of Delphora.
“I plan to have the knights tear this place apart. It was already a thorn in my side, so this works out.”
Seeing the mess caused by the search in the alley, he smiled in satisfaction.
“I’ll be seeing the Duchess again after a long time.”
Adrian said this while gazing at Mikhail, whose expression remained calm, seemingly uninterested in Adrian’s words.
❖ ❖ ❖
Emilia took a deep breath as the carriage stopped.
She picked up the dagger that had fallen to the ground and slipped it into her thigh holster. The Duke’s estate, which she hadn’t seen in a while, seemed to have a different atmosphere than when she left.
The flowers she had planted had bloomed, filling the garden densely, and the plants soaked from the rain looked fresh and vibrant.
It seemed that life had returned to what was once a barren Duke’s estate.
Emilia watched the maid who came out of the mansion without removing her cloak.
The maid, startled by the unexpected guest, stood frozen, holding a laundry basket, blinking in surprise.
“Oh my! My goodness! Butler! Madam…!”
The maid dropped the basket and covered her mouth. At her scream, another maid, who was shaking out a blanket, turned her head.
“My goodness! Hurry!”
At the maid’s shout, everyone rushed out.
Kartho raised his glasses to check if it was Emilia.
Her hands clasped and her cloak still on, it was hard to recognize her, but there was only one person who would arrive in the Duke’s carriage.
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