Rishe pulled her hood up in the air, rolled herself, and lay on the floor passively.
The fabric of the robe she was wearing looked the same as the fabric she used when she entered the forest. Unfazed by the shards of a glass, the girl got up and unsheathed her sword.
She parried Raulâs dagger with precision.
â!!â
Raul was completely unprepared, and his dagger was flung far away.
The girl turned around, brilliantly repositioned her sword, and plunged straight into the Fabranian knight.
A deafening scream reverberated, and the three remaining knights fell to the floor. Raul watched the series of events in a daze.
âRaul!â
It was only when Raul heard his name so distinctly that he snapped back to his senses.
But it couldnât be.
There was no way she was here, because she definitely drank the tea with the numbing agent earlier. To top it all, Raul couldnât grasp why she came down from the above instead of coming in through the front door.
âDidnât I tell you? I want to help if youâre wanting to save Harriet-samaâ¦But the rescue method cannot be by sacrificing you.â
And she added, as a matter of course.
âThatâs why Iâm here to help you.â
Raul almost felt dizzy at those words.
âAre you okay? Did you get hurt or poisoned earlier? I think youâd better leave for now, and we can discuss this laterâ¦â
âWait a minute. You donât sound very worried, but there are other knights of Fabrania.â
The men who let Harriet escape must not have screwed up enough to be found. If so, the remaining dozen or so knights were still guarding the outside of the church.
âThis church is surrounded. If you donât get out of here quickly, you wonât be safe eitherâ¦â
As if to interrupt Raulâs words, a creak sounded at the church door as it opened. Raul immediately took out another dagger and prepared to defend the girl to his back.
However, it was not Fabranian knights that showed up there, as he had feared.
Youâve gotta be kidding me.
âYour Highness Arnold!â
The girl called the manâs name happily.
Her lips parted and she made the most beautiful smile. Her emerald jewel eyes sparkled as if she was looking at something precious.
The recipient of her gaze was a stoic-looking man.
âWhy are you here? Besides, the Fabrianan guys are stillâ¦â
âIâve already taken care of them.â
Arnold Hein walked toward him and inserted dispassionately.
On the other side of the open door, Raul could see the devastation he implied. All of Fabraniaâs knights seemed to have fainted there.
Thatâs impossible. My men were supposed to stop Arnold Hein on the wayâ¦
âIâm sorry, Raul. I borrowed your bow and arrows and let the others sleep.â
ââ¦â¦.Huh?â
Arnold Hein walked past the speechless Raul and stood in front of the girl, asking her to take off the hood of her robe.
âRishe, are you not hurt?â
âYes. Thereâs not a scratch on me.â
After taking a potent numbing potion, made by a hunter himselfâ¦
They broke through the city where he stationed skilled archers just like that.
The girl smashed the stained glass, fell, and landed on the ground with full marks. It seemed that she didnât suffer a single scratch from her fight against the knights.
And as for Arnold Hein, he took on more than ten knights and annihilated them without even letting them scream to alert Raul.
âNo, no, no. Really, give me a break.â
Raul held his forehead involuntarily.
If Rishe had come through the door normally at least, he wouldnât be so disturbed. He was confident that he would have just gone ahead and committed suicide. But against all expectations, she descended from above.
Thanks to that, he was completely drawn out from his fatal plan.
âYou guys are a couple of monstersâ¦â
His comment made Risheâs cheeks flush red at once.
âW-We are not officially a married couple yet!â
For what it was worth, it wasnât the first time she retorted like this.
She looks so embarrassed.
She stared at him somewhat sulkily. The look on her face made Raul want to cluck his tongue.
Cuteâ¦Damn.
Unfortunately, that was the only dagger left smeared with poison.
Raul felt as if he had been reminded of his naivety, of his conceit that he wouldnât fail.
This is more than just lyingâ¦
***
Part 2 tomorrow