Chapter 69

This time, it's a story from Nonna's side.

A few days before Nonna was to go to the ranch, a servant from Yorana-sama's house came to deliver a letter to Nonna.

Nonna herself received it in the garden while playing with Ash and Berry.

"I have come to deliver a letter addressed to Miss Nonna Asher from the Haines family."

"Thank you. Please convey my thanks to Yorana-sama."

"Understood."

The sender was obvious even without looking.

The envelope only had an 'M' written on the back, but the only person who sends letters through Yorana-sama is Mills.

The note had no seasonal greetings, and the date and main text were written right away.

'On this day, I have a day off. Unless there is an emergency, I am free until evening. If you can make it, meet me at the pond in the square at twelve. I'll wait for an hour, and if you don't come, I'll go elsewhere.'

"If you don't come, I'll leave... Hmm..."

Nonna was looking forward to it, but the night before the designated day, Jeffrey said, "No."

There was no way to tell him, "I can't go." She didn't even know if she could ask Chester to relay a message.

If she asked her parents, Mills would get in trouble, she imagined. Why was it forbidden outright when it was just training? Why was it okay to train with Miles but not with Mills? Probably because Mills is in the Third Knight Corps, she thought, (even though I wasn't asked to join the Third Knight Corps).

From Jeffrey's tone, she felt it was better not to defy him, so she said, "I understand," but she didn't really agree.

"My friends are my choice."

Nonna decided to defy Jeffrey's instructions for the first time.

She trained with Miles without weapons, wiped the sweat off, and left the ranch.

Wearing a white shirt and black pants like a commoner, Nonna put her golden braids inside a cap and headed for the square at a pace almost like a run.

Mills wore a black shirt and dark gray pants. His light brown hair was combed back, revealing his forehead.

He looked like a completely different person from the one who wore a black knit cap on 'that day,' and he looked like an ordinary young man on the street.

"What do you want to do? Start training right away? Or do you want to eat something if you're hungry?"

"Let's eat! I want to try a place I don't know."

"Sure, let's go to a place I like."

Mills believes Nonna is a commoner.

He thought Victoria was a commoner too.

He can't imagine a viscountess's wife 'temporarily helping with the Third Knight Corps' work and serving as the shadow of the Empress.'

He didn't report to Mike and the chief that he was meeting Nonna, thinking he would be scolded.

(We're just training), he told himself as an excuse, but part of his heart was occupied by the desire to see Nonna, which he unconsciously avoided.

The southern district, where commoners live, is filled with a variety of shops.

Nonna lived in the southern district until she was six but hardly ever left the house. After being taken in by Victoria, she grew up in the eastern district, which is the noble area.

She only came to the southern district to shop on the main street with Victoria, so this was the first time she walked around freely.

(Wow! This skewer shop looks delicious.)

(Ah! I wonder what this sweet-smelling stall is.)

(I want to try the stew from this stall!)

Mills led her to one of the cheap shops for workers.

"Here. A senior took me to this place. It's cheap, has a lot of food, and is delicious."

"Wow!"

It's a place that Nonna, as a noble, would never have a chance to visit, but she was excited.

"Do you like this kind of place?"

"Yeah, I love it! I like it more than pretentious places."

"Good to hear."

Mills, who had never eaten with a girl before, was relieved.

They ordered stew, grilled meat wrapped in flour, and fruit water, and at the end, they had apples cooked on an iron plate with sugar.

Neither of them ate to the point of being full, considering they were going to train later.

"Alright, let's walk to the training ground to work off the food."

"Sure."

"Is it okay if we take a shortcut? We'll have to climb over a wall."

"Sure."

Nonna's face was expressionless from trying too hard not to grin. This was the first time she had so much fun since leaving the Shen Kingdom. She was as excited as when she went to the Subaru Forest.

They climbed over a wall at a dead-end alley, walked through the backyards of houses, and climbed over another wall... and there Nonna stopped.

"Mills, did you hear that?"

"Yeah, it sounds like a woman's scream. Maybe some idiot husband is beating his wife."

"Shouldn't we help?"

"What's the point of helping just now? They'll go back to the same thing once we're gone."

"But..."

Then a thin, high-pitched woman's voice was clearly heard.

"Stop! Stop it! Fred is going to die!"

The woman's scream was followed by the laughter of multiple men.

Nonna gave Mills a reproachful look. Mills sighed, as if to say, "Can't help it," and climbed up to the second floor of the house from the damp backyard.

Nonna followed, grabbing onto the eaves and climbing up.

They climbed to the roof and moved to the room where the voices were coming from. They could still hear the woman's screams and the men's voices.

"What do you want to do, Nonna?"

"Go in through the window and help the woman."

"What about Fred?"

"Helping Fred is Mills' job."

"Huh? Oh, well, okay. Nonna, do you have any weapons?"

"I don't have any, but I'll manage."

"You're kidding, right?"

"I don't lie."

She grinned and, without waiting for a response, Nonna fluidly moved from the roof to the eaves above the third-floor window, then to the eaves above the second-floor window where the voices were coming from.

"Hey!"

He called out softly, but Nonna kept moving.

(We should go in together), he thought and quickly followed.

Nonna tore her handkerchief in half and wrapped it around both hands using one hand and her teeth.

(If the glass is broken but the window frame won't open, you can prevent hand injuries by breaking the glass and reaching in to unlock the latch), a technique she learned from Chester.

"Let's kick the window and go in. Mills, okay? Three, two, one, now!"

Without waiting for Mills' response, Nonna hung from the eaves of the second-floor window, swung her body to build momentum, and kicked the window glass with her feet, jumping inside. Two seconds later, Mills broke the adjacent window and jumped in as well.

"What the hell are you doing!" The four men who rushed at them were easily taken down by the two of them with their bare hands.

Nonna helped the woman, and Mills pulled the man, Fred, to escape.

The woman's legs were slow, and Fred was also moving sluggishly.

Two more men, who seemed to be accomplices of the ones they had taken down, appeared from somewhere and started chasing them. Nonna and Mills stood ready to face them, but the men were wielding knives.

Mills also took out a knife, but the man they had helped, Fred, clung to Mills, saying, "Stop! Murder is a serious crime. I just want to escape!"

Nonna, following Victoria's teaching to not kill unless her own life was in danger, only aimed to knock the men unconscious, but the knife-wielding men were serious. Mills, with Fred clinging to him, was shouting, "Stop! Let go!"

"Dangerous!"

The woman they had helped shouted, and Nonna, to help Mills, silently jumped in front of the man who was about to stab with a knife and kicked him in the stomach.

The man grunted and fell. The other man who tried to stab her was knocked down by Nonna's elbow to the chest.

"Let's go."

Mills called out, and the four of them ran again, but the woman stopped in the middle of the way.

"I'm going back home. Let's cancel the elopement. Fred, come with me to my house. If I seriously ask my father, he will surely allow our marriage. We don't need to elope, and my father will help with your debts too."

"No way. My father won't allow a man with debts."

"But let's try. I'll beg too."

After this exchange, Nonna and Mills decided to escort the two to the main street as a precaution.

The woman's home was not in the capital but in a farmhouse a little outside the capital's outer gate.

"I want to thank you for helping us, so please come with us."

"No, we don't need thanks. We have to... go."

"Please. They might come after us again. Besides, Fred was beaten and kicked for a long time. If he can't move on the way, I won't be able to do anything. Most importantly, I want to tell my father what Fred went through. If my father hears that Fred almost lost his life, he might help. Please."

Unable to refuse the woman's plea, Nonna and Mills exchanged, "What should we do?" "Well, we have no choice but to go," and the woman called a carriage.

The four of them got into the carriage on the main street of the capital, and the woman said, "Please take us to Fitter Village."

"Fitter Village...?"

"Yes, my father is the mayor of Fitter Village. He oversees the nearby farmers on behalf of the lord."

"Hmm, sounds impressive."

When Nonna said this, the woman proudly added, "Our family is a large farm."

Nonna had noticed from the beginning, but the woman's fine clothes surprised her.

(She must be as wealthy as the house we lived in in the Shen Kingdom), Nonna thought.

"Nonna, it will take at least three hours to get to Fitter Village. You'll be late getting home."

"I don't want to leave and have something happen. They might come after us. I'll go back as soon as I drop them off."

"Umm..."

"Even if I get scolded when I get home, it's okay. I want to help these people properly."

"Is Nonna's mother strict? She seems strict."

"Hmm. She's usually very kind, but she might be angry this time."

The woman, who had been watching their conversation, introduced herself.

"I'm sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Rosalie. You two are really strong."

"Yeah, I guess."

The four of them were in the carriage, but the conversation didn't end there.

About two hours into the journey, Fred started groaning, holding his stomach.

He was bent over and couldn't even speak.

Fred muttered, "Maybe my internal organs are damaged," and Rosalie panicked, "What should we do? There's no doctor in Fitter Village."

In the end, the carriage had to return to the capital.

※………※………※

Chester was informed, "Nonna is at our house with Mills," and Victoria and Jeffrey were listening to the two of them.

"So, we looked for a hospital in the capital. But because it was night, we were turned away at the door or asked to pay a very high price upfront, so we couldn't get treatment. Rosalie said she didn't have that much money. We were looking for a hospital that would treat him, and it got this late."

"What happened to Fred?"

"He was fine. But Rosalie was crying, saying, 'What if Fred dies?' So I stayed with them until the end. Mills told me to go back, but since I suggested going to Fitter Village, I thought it would be unfair to go back first."

Mills looked down, embarrassed. Victoria began to speak in a lecturing tone.

"Nonna, people who are kicked or beaten so badly that their internal organs are damaged usually can't run and escape right away. They can only crouch and breathe shallowly."

"Huh?"

Victoria explained to Nonna, who didn't understand what was being said.

"Maybe Fred was faking it."

"Why would he need to fake it?"

"A man with debts. A woman who looks wealthy. The people who were beating him might have been Fred's accomplices."

Nonna's face showed genuine surprise. Jeffrey had a grim expression the whole time.

"No way. Why would he do that?"

"What do you think, Mills?"

"After the doctor examined him, he walked out briskly, which I thought was strange. But I didn't want to get involved further, so I didn't tell Nonna. I'm sorry."

Jeffrey, who had been silent, spoke for the first time.

"Nonna, could Fred walk...?"

"Yeah. He said he was told to rest, but he was walking."

"I see."

Nonna, with a serious expression, asked me.

"Mom, if Fred and those guys were accomplices, what would happen to Rosalie?"

"By now, Rosalie might have been taken to Fred's accomplices. Fred probably never intended to elope and called her to such a place to get her family's money. That's what I think. But if they kill her, they won't get the money, so she won't be killed."

Victoria then turned to Mills.

"Since you've come this far, Mills, you now know my true identity."

Mills looked even more downcast, and Nonna realized her big mistake.