Chapter 80: The Choice is Yours
I was always on alert, but one can never be too careful. So, I always brought two Heilon knights as escorts whenever I went out. Both were acquaintances. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Today was no different. I rode in the carriage while the two knights followed on horseback. Since our pace wasn’t very fast, I opened the window and chatted with the knights outside. They were friends, so they often joked with me.
“If our miss gets a scratch on her body, he’ll kill us.”
“Miss, you’re not going to walk around recklessly like you did in Heilon, are you?”
That wasn’t a joke; it was blatant criticism.
“Wait a minute, gentlemen, when did I ever walk around recklessly?”
That was a very unfair evaluation! I always worked hard in Heilon. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Miss Fiona, um… Should I call you Lady?”
“Call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Then, Miss it is.”
One of the knights, Isaac, grinned. “Well, Miss, you didn’t just walk around recklessly.”
“I was working hard.”
I corrected him again.
This time, Sir Liander, the other escort, became skeptical. “As I recall, didn’t Miss catch mercenaries and soldiers on the second and fourth walls like you were catching mice?”
“That was because I was ordered to sort out the affairs.”
The places where I was stationed were primarily on the second and fourth walls. Due to the special circumstances of those areas, there was naturally more friction between the mercenaries and soldiers. At that time, many argued with me simply because of my appearance as a young girl. So, I had to show them who had the upper hand. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Isaac pretended to applaud. “At that time, Miss Fiona was the best. Smiling like a cute little girl while grabbing men as big as me.”
“Re… really?”
It was a bit different from what I remembered.
“I think I still treated them with basic courtesy, though.”
Sir Liander, who was gentler and older than Isaac, gently corrected my thoughts. “Miss Fiona, just smiling and using honorifics with your opponents doesn’t necessarily mean what you did was polite.”
Isaac then added, “Sometimes, that behavior of Miss scares me even more. In a sense, it’s more terrifying than Our Lord…”
“….”
Scarier than Abel?
Wait, wasn’t that a bit too much? Moreover, how could they say that when my personality was better than Abel’s? Yes, I was proud to say that. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Isaac glanced at my expression and quickly changed his words. “Oh, Miss, I’m not criticizing you. Well, some people are okay with it and even fall in love with that.”
“Fall in love, you say…”
I didn’t know who those people were, but seeing how convincing Isaac was, it seemed such people truly existed. Falling in love with someone who dealt with mercenaries like they were rats? They must have very unique tastes. And apparently, there were more than one such person.
Suddenly, Isaac looked around and then closed my carriage window with a stiff face.
“What’s going on?”
“Someone is approaching.”
The carriage squeaked to a stop. I almost fell but managed to balance myself. Fortunately, the carriage wasn’t moving too fast. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
HIINGG—!
A harsh wailing sound of horses rang out.
“What the heck!”
It was Lord Liander’s shout.
Something must have happened. I opened the window that connected to the coachman’s seat.
“…”
And then I quietly closed it again. The coachman was dead. His neck had been pierced by a dagger. After assessing the situation, I opened the carriage door.
“Miss!” Isaac screeched. “Please, stay inside!”
I laughed softly. “I really haven’t gotten used to being escorted yet.”
If I were an ordinary noble girl, I would certainly have followed his advice. That would have been the right thing to do in this kind of situation. But having been on the battlefield and commanding soldiers, I had often been both protected by them and in the position to protect them. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. Maybe that was why it didn’t fit my personality to watch quietly while someone fought to defend me. I couldn’t help but feel responsible as their superior.
Looking around, I saw men surrounding the carriage.
Were they assassins?
“It’s that woman! Catch her!”
I reconsidered my assumption. That kind of action wasn’t typical of assassins. There was a high chance they were mercenaries.
“Sir Isaac, Sir Liander. Just do as you normally do.”
When a mage used their magic, there was often an unavoidable delay. I had a short delay, but a delay nonetheless. Because of this, I usually had a soldier or knight by my side to assist me when using magic.
Sir Liander, who had drawn his sword, let out a short sigh. “Miss Fiona, I think you need to understand the concept of being escorted first…”
He meant I should do whatever I wanted.
I flicked my fingers with a smile. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
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