Chapter 18

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Contrary to the situation earlier, the big man who sat on the ground tried to back away with an ominous feeling.

However, the purple haired man kicked him hard in the chest, as if he would not allow it.

Even though the big man was in pain, the purple haired man approached without any change in expression and grabbed his hair. The big man’s eyes now showed tears.

“What is it, you’re not at all like you were earlier…….” (big man)

“Of course not. I had to make sure of something then. That’s why I stayed put, even when a bug like you grabbed me by the chest. Well, I got a big harvest, that’s for sure.” (Purple haired man) (*harvest=Ellea)

A smile appeared on the purple haired man’s face as he remembered what had just happened, a smile that didn’t seem to fit the current situation. It was an eerie atmosphere.

‘Yes, it was even more interesting than I thought. That woman.’

Thinking of Ellea for a moment, the purple haired man took something out of his pocket, as if he was going to finish it. It was a dark alley, but the dagger blade glistened with sharpness.

“Please, please spare me once.”

“I’m sorry, but there is no such thing as once in my dictionary.”

Just as he was about to thrust the sword in the big man’s chest without hesitation along with a strange joy from the emotion of the desire to kill, there was a different voice that made him stop his action.

“What are you doing, Chaylen?”

“Oh. You showed up just in time, Arun.”

The purple haired man, or rather Chaylen, turned his head at the voice calling him, and greeted the familiar person with a smile.

“I do not wish you to do this again. If we meet anyone who knows us…………”

“Arun, if anyone hears you, they will misunderstand. They’ll think we’re criminals and runaways.”

In spite of Arun’s worried voice, Chaylen just remained unconcerned. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the situation.

“I’m not in the mood for jokes. Let’s go. You suddenly disappeared, and everyone is looking for you. Don’t you know it’s not the time yet?”

“It’s a shame. Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

At Arun’s words, Chaylen put the dagger back in his pocket and raised himself up.

He then looked coldly at the already unconscious man and walked away. Arun followed him and didn’t stop nagging.

“Why did you disappear without telling me?”

“Just. It’s been a while since I came back, so I wanted to look around.”

“Then just tell me where you’re going in advance. By the way, where did you go?”

Arun shook his head like he was used to it, and Chaylen remembered what happened earlier. Or to be more precise, Ellea, whom he bumped into at the store.

While looking at the weapons in the store, Chaylen happened to overhear a conversation between her and the shop owner.

‘You don’t know anything about presents.’

His mind tried to ignore the words with mockery, but it only lasted a moment, and he had to quickly retract that thought when he saw Ellea handling the dagger.

That move was something that only someone who knew swords could see. She was also a person with tremendous ability.

As soon as he knew this, a curious Chaylen secretly observed Ellea and deliberately reached out his hand just as she was about to grab the dagger as if it was a coincidence.

He wanted to know what she was hiding.

After a few moments of scuffle, he took the dagger, and the woman gave him a look of resentment, but she didn’t have the money to buy it back. With that look, Chaylen bought the dagger as a provocation and left the store.

Then, as he was just waiting for Ellea to come out from the outside, suddenly, a big man picked a fight. He thought about ignoring him, but then he remembered the woman in the store and deliberately grabbed onto the big man’s hand.

‘If what I saw is true…definitely…’

He immediately called for help as soon as he saw the woman come out of the store.

At first she showed no interest, which almost derailed his plans, but fortunately the big man approached Ellea, whom he thought had money.

Since then, Chaylen only watched the show leisurely.

No, to be precise, he was assessing Ellea’s abilities. Then again, it was just as he felt.

‘This is no ordinary noblewoman.’

First of all, Ellea’s movements were very agile. Moreover, she wasn’t afraid at all to take on a much larger man, even in a situation without special weapons.

In fact, she seemed to be rather annoyed by the situation, but she quickly and completely subdued the big man.

This had been expected to some extent, so Chaylen was not too surprised. What did surprise him was what Ellea had said when she looked at him.

At that moment, for the first time, he felt an interest in someone. He wanted to know more about that person.

So he threw the dagger box at her, saying he would see her again.

‘When I see her again, I’ll delve into her thoroughly then.’

“Chaylen, what were you thinking about?”

“It’s nothing.”

‘No matter how much I think about it, I’ll have to look again.’

Chaylen asked Arun as he thought of Ellea’s face.

“Arun, are there any other nobles besides the ones mentioned in the document you gave me earlier?”

“No, that was all.”

“Really?”

‘She looked like a noblewoman.’

While Chaylen pondered Ellea’s identity, Arun’s petulance did not stop.

“Anyway, it’s still a secret about us, so please be careful. There’s still a lot to organize.”

“Okay. I’m looking forward to that day, too.”

Chaylen looked around the peaceful street and disappeared with Arun into the crowd.

***

The journey to the capital was followed by a time of rest, during which Ellea tried to avoid spending as much time with Terban as possible.

And so time passed and it was the night before they reached the capital.

She felt even more tired, as she had been traveling in a carriage for most of the day and had not been able to relax since she was with Terban.

‘Still, tomorrow will be the end of that.’

She was a little relieved at the thought of having reached the end of her itinerary. Because when she got to the Imperial Palace, she wouldn’t be alone with him like she was now.

Ellea, who was lost in thought at the night sky, was about to enter the inn to rest until tomorrow, heard a familiar voice.

It was the knights of Rubain, leaning against a tree in the dark, conversing with each other.

She tried to walk unconcerned, but could only stop at the subject of the conversation they were having.

“It only takes a moment for a person to fall to the ground. You see, no one would have thought that Sir El would die like that.”

“He got what he deserved, didn’t he? Honestly, I can’t believe a commoner is the head of the Emperor’s direct knight order. It was going to end up like this from the beginning anyway.”

The knights were openly talking about El.

Of course, Ellea had expected to hear something like that after she died, but hearing it directly like this naturally didn’t feel good.

But since there was no reason or qualification for her to step in, she had no choice but to just stand there and listen.

They didn’t stop there, not knowing that Ellea was nearby.

“No, he should know his opponent. He can’t compare himself to a noble young lady, can he?”

“Were he envious of Lady Shanil? He should know his place.”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know what might have happened with His Majesty if Sir El rose to that position…………”

Eventually, as the words continued to cross the line, Ellea couldn’t take it any longer. They have tarnished the pride of the knight without knowing how much effort she had made.

Ellea stepped out of the darkness and approached the knights who had been gossiping about El. Suddenly, when Ellea approached, they, who were talking about El, straightened up as if nothing had happened.

“What is the matter with the Princess all of a sudden………..”

“Aren’t you Rubain knights?”

“Yes.”

When she suddenly asked such a question, the knights looked dumbfounded.

“But why would you speak so recklessly about your Captain? Is that the attitude of the knight?”

When Ellea seemed different from usual, the knights couldn’t open their mouths.They felt overwhelmed by the way her eyes changed in an instant.

When the knights were unable to answer anything, Ellea did not stop there.

“Furthermore, it undermines Rubain’s prestige to speak so recklessly. It is good to know that words are much sharper and more fearsome than that sword you are carrying. If you don’t want this to be your last mission as a knight.”

Ellea’s kind and quiet appearance so far has long disappeared. The knights bowed their heads immediately in surprise.

“I’m sorry, Princess.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind in the future.”

At the knights’ polite apologies, Ellea regained her usual smile.

“Anyone can make a mistake, but remember, it won’t happen twice. I, for one, look forward to seeing what your reaction will be when this story gets to His Majesty.”

At her warning, the knights greeted her and moved away. Ellea let out a low sigh.

She had no choice but to say this, but it was obvious that they would feel strange when she suddenly stood up for someone named El.

‘I wanted to do it right.’

Ellea steadied her mind like that and immediately looked at the empty sky and said,

“You can come out now.”

After a few moments, footsteps approached her.

When it got closer to some extent, she turned to the side and her eyes met with Bandel, who was also watching the whole situation without missing a beat.

As he looked at her with a firm expression without saying anything, Ellea first brought up the situation earlier.

“Since they apologized, I let it slide once.”

“How did you know that I was angry?”

“Anyone can tell by the expression on your face.”

Ellea had been watching Bandel for a long time, so she knew what he was thinking just by looking at his expression and eyes. Moreover, when she heard what the knights said, she could predict some of the actions he would show.

Bandel, on the other hand, didn’t understand the actions of the princess directly involved in that situation. It was something she could just ignore.

“Why did you do it? I don’t think the Princess knows much about what’s going on.”

“Of course I don’t know much and it may seem rash, but I really meant every word I said earlier. I couldn’t just overlook belittling the efforts of others.”

Hearing Ellea’s words, Bandel forgot that he was in front of the princess and couldn’t help but laugh. Of course it was an empty laughter.

“I think it’s a little surprising that the Princess stepped up for Rubain knights when it wasn’t even involved with the Zevenica Empire.”

“It’s good.”

“Huh?”

Perhaps Bandel didn’t understand the sudden saying that it was good, he looked full of questions.