Chapter 134
“It wasn’t a thief.”
He answered firmly.
Watching him lower his head, brushing his cheek with a pensive expression, Lynette suddenly thought of Eshar. The woman who had once said she didn’t know this man’s true identity, and that, if necessary, she had even considered how to kill him.
‘If leaving the capital doesn’t mean she can rest easy…’
Since they didn’t know exactly who Sillian was, perhaps simply sending him away from the Imperial Castle hadn’t been enough. Maybe Eshar thought that, because he knew about Lynette’s emotional closeness with Euphen, he might one day try to use that against them.
Lynette’s lips parted slightly. It was a sudden thought, but too risky to voice outright. If it wasn’t Eshar, she’d be falsely suspecting someone innocent.
‘It’s not like I have any proof anyway.’
She shook her head, brushing away the thought. There was no need to speak of it until she found a more reasonable cause for suspicion.
Besides, Sillian was an Esper. If they truly saw him as a threat worth eliminating, they would have sent someone capable of standing against him. And Eshar, at least, knew what he was.
The more she thought about it, the more confusing it became.
“What could anyone possibly gain by killing either you or me?”
Sillian gave a faint, bitter smile.
“Since we don’t even know which of us they were aiming for, it’s all the harder to guess who sent them.”
“…”
“We’ll have to reconsider what to do next.”
“What to do?”
“It’s hard to continue traveling leisurely when someone’s after our lives.”
“Ah.”
Right, traveling. She had almost forgotten that part. Perhaps she had no energy left to spare for something so carefree. Lynette nodded faintly.
“Staying in one place is probably more dangerous, so we’ll have to keep moving. Still…”
His fingertips tapped lightly on the table.
“I’ll need to think carefully about how to proceed. We could join a caravan traveling far, but depending on the assassins’ skill, we might only be putting others in danger.”
He mentioned a few other ideas, but none could guarantee their safety. In the end, any movement carried risk.
“It’s better if it’s just the two of us,”
Lynette murmured with a weary sigh.
“I couldn’t stand it if innocent people got caught up in this and died because of us.”
Just imagining such a thing made her stomach twist. It was the sort of memory that would haunt one’s dreams forever.
Sillian regarded her quietly, then smiled faintly.
“I thought you’d say that.”
“Are we leaving again tomorrow?”
“It would be better to rest for a day.”
“What if another assassin comes…”
“They won’t come twice in a row. And even if they do, it’s unlikely they’ll attempt murder in the middle of a busy town. As long as you stay away from deserted alleys, you’ll be fine.”
After finishing his meal, he stood up.
“Besides, I’m a little concerned about your condition.”
“I’m fine.”
“Even so, resting a day won’t hurt.”
His tone was firm, clearly unwilling to compromise. Lynette lowered her gaze slightly.
“I also need to reconsider our route. We don’t know if they’ll strike again or how they’ll move, but we should take the safest path possible.”
“Alright.”
“If anything happens, shout. Or if you need me for any reason…”
“I should knock?”
“Yes.”
He smiled lightly, then left the room.
A few moments later, a servant came in to clear the empty dishes.
Lynette let out a long sigh, sat down on the bed, then laid down with a soft thud.
‘I thought everything would pass without incidents.’
How many days had it been since she left? And already, someone was trying to kill her?
Someone who had been abandoned, with nothing left to her name.
She stared up at the ceiling for a long time before whispering under her breath, almost groaning,
“I don’t understand…”
Before long, the room was enveloped in darkness. Blinking slowly, Lynette drifted into sleep.
She had thought she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep after such a harrowing experience, but perhaps, having lived through something similar once before, her body had grown used to it. Surprisingly, it was a peaceful night.
***
Euphen wiped the sticky blood spattered on his cheek with an irritated motion.
“Your Highness!”
At the delayed shout, the door burst open and several knights rushed in. Euphen tossed his bloodstained sword onto the floor. The men who entered quietly set about cleaning the room once they saw the fallen enemies.
‘It’s getting worse.’
The assassination attempts had begun after he’d joined hands with Eshar, but in recent days, they had intensified. To be precise, since the day Lynette left.
‘Had they known about her?’
If he assumed the attackers were targeting him as an Esper without a Guide, it all made sense. An Esper without a Guide was useless, a broken weapon.
‘Are they trying to wear me down until I collapse, waiting for the moment I finally fall?’
Euphen frowned deeply. No one yet knew that Eshar had awakened. Which meant that if anyone was aware of his current condition, now would indeed be the perfect time to strike, after all, he had personally sent his Guide away.
‘Then what about Lynette? Is she safe now?’
His fists clenched tightly.
Whoever was after the Imperial Prince would not leave alone a powerless woman who had been nothing more than a ‘fake Guide’.
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