Chapter 36

“Ah euk…”

Prillance groaned. Her body, which had been in the air for a moment, dropped hard in the carriage. Still, it was fortunate that she had not fallen out the door, which was currently wide open.

However, that didn’t mean she was safe inside the veering carriage. She managed to get up and grab hold of the carriage’s seat. She tried to stabilize her wobbly legs but ended up collapsing on the floor once more.

“Lady Weiand!”

At that moment, she heard Ver’s voice. She tried to answer to express the relief of hearing his voice, but it wasn’t easy.

“Lady!”

When he couldn’t hear Prillance’s response, Ver’s anxiety grew. He made the horse run faster.

Barely holding onto the carriage’s seat, she heard Ver’s voice draw closer.

After riding the horse at a faster pace, Ver finally saw Prillance in his line of sight. She seemed to be precariously holding on to the seat of the rocking carriage. One of her legs was dangerously about to fall off. His only comfort was that she seemed to be holding up well.

“The horse is running so wild that it will be hard to pull its reins.”

Carl, a knight from the Weiand family who came with him, spoke out. The horse was wildly running along the narrow path. And soon, even that path was about to disappear.

Once it entered the forest, the horse will try to avoid the trees. From there, the carriage will crash into the tree and break into pieces. It was obvious that Prillance would get hurt if that happened.

“Help the coachman try to turn the horse towards the path as much as possible. I will save Lady Weiand.”

“Yes, sir.”

The three knights ran ahead of Ver and turned the direction of the horse as close to the carriage as possible. However, after a certain distance, they couldn’t get any closer due to the unruly behavior of the horse.

“Are you able to stand up?”

After sticking the horse to the side of the carriage as close as possible, Ver shouted. Prillance lifted her head for a moment, but she could not stabilize her head and body’s position properly in the shaking carriage.

“I just need your hands! I, I promise to grab hold of it!”

Ver held the reins with one hand and stretched out the other. She tried to reach out, but it wasn’t easy. The carriage was still running towards the end of the path.

Ver drew the horse closer to the carriage. Because of the narrow path, the horse hit the carriage and made a small cry, but time was running out.

Ver reached out to the open carriage. His hand kept hitting the tottering carriage. However, he had no time to worry about it.

“Lady!”

At his voice, Prillance came to her senses. When she raised her head, she could see Ver’s outstretched hand. She saw Ver stretching out his hand without hesitation, even as the carriage struck his hand.

She shook her head to regain her consciousness. Then she stood up and stepped toward his hand, trying to hold on to anything she could.

“Just…a little bit more…”

She moved forward little by little, focusing on his hand. Whenever the carriage shook, she paused for a while, but she did not stop.

She managed to reach the door, but it became harder to balance her body due to the swaying movement and the strong wind caused by the speeding carriage.

Still, her extended hand barely reached Ver. The two’s hands briefly grazed each other. The feeling of almost but not quite reaching his hand felt cruel.

“It is more dangerous. We will look for an opportunity while saving the coachman first!”

He heard the voices of the knights shouting from afar. To make matters worse, at the end of the path was a forest. He could no longer run alongside the carriage at that point. Their voices were also heard by Prillance, who was barely standing.

Prillance, standing precariously, came into Ver’s view. And the sight of Ver trying to keep up with the carriage’s speed also came into Prillance’s eyes.

For a brief moment, they looked at each other without saying anything. Around them, the sound of the still-rocking carriage and the urgent sound of the horses’ hooves could be heard.

Between the noise, no conversation was made. However, the two nodded toward each other as if they knew what the other was thinking.

Between the two, there was only unspoken faith in each other.

Prillance took a deep breath. The situation had not changed, but looking at the unfaltering man, her mind strangely became calm.

Holding the carriage so she wouldn’t fall, she took a few steps back before running and then leaping toward him.

With Prillance’s leap, Ver stuck as close to the side of the carriage as possible, adjusted the horse’s speed, and quickly released the reins. Then he reached out to Prillance, who jumped into his arms.

“I… got you.”

After hearing his voice, Prillance opened her tightly closed eyes. She saw Ver holding her with one arm tightly. Soon, he wrapped his other hand around her waist, securing his hold on her.

When they felt each other’s warmth, they felt relief. So as not to fall, she immediately hugged Ver. The warmth they felt in their chest spread to their whole body.

But that moment of relief only lasted for a moment. Ver looked ahead and hurriedly pulled the reins.

Neigh!

The horse whinnied at the sudden tug and lifted its front legs to change direction. However, it was too late to avoid the tree that was in front of them.

Ver quickly wrapped Prillance around him to protect her. Receiving the impact from the collision at a constant speed, the sound of Ver’s back hitting the tree could be heard.

“Heut…!”

And there was a sound of a painful moan he could not hide.

Crash!

It was the sound that followed after Ver hit the tree. Then came a loud bang.

When Prillance opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the shattered carriage.

The carriage she had been riding had hit a tree – its shape beyond recognition. Part of the Jaguar pattern, which was engraved on the carriage, was splintered.

Fear enclosed her whole body again as she realized that she could have been like the broken carriage in front of her. Still, Prillance couldn’t take her eyes off the smashed carriage. Suddenly, a rough but warm hand covered her eyes.

In that warmth, she realized – there was no need to worry about the shattered carriage. Because of the warmth that held her tight, she knew she was safe. He held her in a protective embrace, as if to cover her from any pain that could harm her.

“Are you alright?”

Prillance, rustling in his arms, tried to confirm Ver’s well-being. However, it was not enough to release the strength that firmly held her.

“…Are you hurt anywhere?”

Ver asked, refusing to disentangle her from himself.

“I’m fine. Rather…”

“…That’s a relief.”

Loosening his grip on her, Ver’s face returned to its usual form. No, he was checking her more carefully than usual to see if she was hurt anywhere.

“Rather than me…”

“Are you alright?” (knights)

Due to the approaching knights, Ver’s gaze turned toward them. One hand still enveloped Prillance’s waist tightly.

“What happened to the horse?”

“We had to kill it.”

At Carl’s reply, Ver’s gaze turned to the slumped horse. He could see the scars left on the horse’s body which had run wild for a long time.

“Go back and report to Marquis Weiand.”

Ver turned his head and ordered.

He felt sorry for the poor horse, but he didn’t want to show it. Prillance experienced something horrifying because of that horse.

“Yes, sir.”

When Carl and Dino stepped back to retrieve the horse’s carcass, they saw Ver’s back as they moved away on a horse.

The area where Ver’s clothes should have been had been torn by the tree, revealing a wound. Even though his wound from hitting a tree with a toxic surface at a considerable speed was bleeding quite a bit, his face remained unchanged.

“Commander…”

Hearing the call of the knight, Ver turned his head and noticed where the knight’s gaze directed towards.

Ver shook his head and moved away. Carl figured that Ver didn’t want Prillance to know about it.

In the place around them, only the sound of the horses’ hooves could be heard.

Prillance’s eyes saw the wound on Ver’s arm. The wound evidently came from trying to save her.

“You…got wounded.”

She tried to reach out, then clenched her small fist. The wound was likely to become more inflamed if she touched it.

“This much is fine.”

Ver spoke with an indifferent face, gently pulling her arm and letting Prillance lean against his chest.

“You can rest for a little bit.”

The arm that held her, his existence she was touching, was like a strong foundation.

“…Thank you, Viscount.”

Her tiny murmuring voice rang loudly in his chest. Perhaps because her tension had eased, her eyes lost its focus and soon, she fell asleep. The small movements Prillance regularly made calmed his mind.

He wanted to praise his past self for his decision to become a knight of Marquis Weiand. Without that decision, who would have noticed the dangers around Prillance quickly? Would she have been saved? Just imagining it felt terrible.

“So please, let me stay by your side.”

No matter what, he would keep her safe. A smile sat on Ver’s mouth as he watched her sleep.