The Villainess Captured The Grand Duke - Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Suddenly, before she could fully grasp the unfolding situation, a violent noise split the air, parting the smoke like a tidal wave.
“Get down.”
Even in the midst of the chaos, a familiar voice resonated clearly in her ears. At the same time, Jess’s hand covered her eyes with an alien substance.
His touch was firm, almost as if he was squeezing her eyes out. As she struggled, Jess hid her behind him and calmly said,
“Please wait.”
With a thud, the intense liveliness of the beasts abruptly disappeared. When Jess finally put her down somewhere after flipping the dust, the sky, previously yellow with upturned dust, gradually regained its blue hue.
The training ground was a complete mess. All five horses, with the insignia of the Imperial Knights, lay lifeless, ruthlessly slaughtered. In the center of the hollow, Raygrain lay.
Hollow eyes. Silence, empty and void of everything. It was a stillness that contained nothing.
This sight was completely different from moments ago, causing Scheuer’s heart to sink heavily. She had seen those empty eyes before, during the campaign in the North when they returned after suppressing the rebellion.
He had a quiet disposition, not someone who revealed a darkness so deep that it could send shivers down one’s spine.
With no reaction from him, Scheuerr suddenly released Jess’s arm she was holding onto tightly. It was dangerous. She couldn’t afford to reveal this side of him here in the Central region.
“Your Majesty!”
Scheuer rushed down the hill overlooking the training ground. The smell of animal blood stung her nose. Whether he heard her voice or not, Raygrain turned his head. Her figure was already absent from his two eyes.
It seemed she had to pass beyond the corpse. As she raised her arm to push aside the bodies, Erina blocked her way.
“Did you not hear the command? We were ordered to capture them alive, it was specified they were to be caught alive.”
“He’s alive. He’s a human.”
Ignoring her firm words, Scheuer shouted to Sefic, who was assisting the injured knights,
“Sefic, go to my room and bring all my chamomiles. If he refuses to give them easily like before because of the Prince, take them forcibly.”
“What? Y-yes, understood!”
Holding the bouquet of flowers to her mouth, Scheuer stepped back. Erina blocked her path. Clutching her dress tightly, Scheuer sprinted towards her and, with forceful momentum, stepped on the squishy corpses.
A gruesome scene, several times larger than her own body, was left behind, and it was torturous to witness. As she closed her eyes briefly, Erina spoke again.
“Now, by violating the treaty in the North….”
Scheuer ignored her words and called out to the injured Imperial Knights.
“Save him! Carry him carefully! The chamomiles are essential! Be sure to protect them!”
As the Imperial Knights hurried to comply, Scheuer turned her gaze to Erina.
“I don’t care about the treaty right now. My priority is to save his life.”
***
A familiar sensation washed over him. To brandish a sword just to cut words. It was truly impulsive. The black object cast a giant shadow over her as it soared above, and it was in that moment that Jess’s skill became apparent. Despite knowing his abilities, his body moved before his mind could catch up.
All the troublesome emotions he had felt disappeared in an instant. It felt comfortable, yet there was something unsettling about it. The familiar voice calling him urgently echoed in his ears. It wasn’t properly registered.
Why did he draw the sword? Why did he have to be in the center? Countless question marks swirled through his mind.
In an instant, familiar floral scents accompanied a shadow casting over the blue sky. He reacted without thinking, and before she knew it, his hand had already moved. As his slender body was embraced, the things echoing in the empty room became clear.
An unknown face—Scheuer—held a bouquet of flowers in front of him. Only then did the surroundings come into focus. It didn’t take long to deduce that the soreness he felt was due to her jumping into the pit.
He resembled a moth that threw everything into his emotions. Why did it have to be this way? Memories from that time, when he had the same question, resurfaced.
When he heard the news of his father heading out to subjugate demons and being in high spirits, his mother had embraced him without showing any signs of sadness and said,
“Now it’s my turn.”
He didn’t understand it at the time. The sense of duty that he always had to protect the North had been ingrained in him since he could understand language. It was natural, and while he felt obligated, he didn’t know the reason.
The emotion he felt at that time was similar to now.
Raygrain criticized the busy activity in the forge.
“You’re being reckless.”
His eyes scanned Raygrain’s entire body. Scheuer, holding a wet bouquet of flowers, muttered, ” Duke all right? “
“Only a few scratches won’t let you survive in the North.”
“Are you okay?
“I’m fine. I made you worry unnecessarily.”
She seized his neck tightly, her eyes teary, conveying anger. She shook him vigorously with thin force, expressing her anger to the point of almost being random.
“Erina told me to bring flowers, but Eireina didn’t!
He stood still for a moment in front of the pit that he had dug with the sword. When Raygrain, gazing intensely at her face, momentarily stopped, Scheuer, feigning ignorance, only rolled her eyes cautiously.
Strangely, it was appropriate for her to act this way at this moment. He found comfort when he saw her acting freely and expressing herself rather than scrutinizing his reactions.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
He draped her over his shoulder with one arm.
***
Scheuer was able to meet Jess again, displaying a somewhat embarrassed demeanor. Additionally, there were Erina and other members of the knights. Sefic, as requested, brought chamomile, panting as he handed over the flower basket. Scheuer reached out with her arms, still embracing Raygrain. Sefic momentarily paused upon seeing Raygrain.
Thinking he would be released, but he stubbornly clung on,
“Your Grace, please let go?”
Only then could his feet touch the ground. Erina did not hide her anger with a distorted face.
“Did you not hear the orders? Although non-intervention is a principle, I will report this situation to Her Majesty.”
While she barked or spoke nearby, Scheuer shared flowers with the injured.
The condition of the knights affected by the unexpected words was not as good as expected. It was the anticipated result.
“If it proceeds like this, the evidence against the retaliating faction will be damaged, making tracking unfavorable…”
The reason she clung to the ankles of the regent, even delaying the announcement on the stone slab.
“Erina, shall we call Her Majesty?”
All the flower bouquets received over the past three days had to be filled with chamomile… The doors of the palace opened. Already, five horses, like skeletons, were accompanied by more similar steeds. The only difference was that they seemed to have reason compared to what Raygrain had revealed. Knights, barely clinging to life, were hanging by the words.
“Smile Love”