TLFR 10

Chapter 10

“Speak.”

“Around afternoon, the knights deployed in Hiran City obtained one more piece of information about that… person.”

At those words, his master’s green eyes snapped to him. The knight swallowed dryly and reported.

“It seems there was an incident in the market during the day where a young woman was beaten by her husband. The story is that she hid her pregnancy with a child of the Aiger count family, whose main house is in Hiran, and remarried…”

“Get to the point. Briefly.”

“Yes. The woman who was beaten in the market…”

“Beaten?”

A blade edge entered the voice that had been without inflection. Unable to endure even that brief moment before the sentence was finished, he asked again, his face betraying a crack in its composure.

“Who?”

Who beat whom, or who was beaten. It was a question containing both meanings.

Normally a master famous for patience like iron tendon, but these days he was not like the man the knight had served.

The knight hurriedly continued.

“The injured party is the young woman beaten by her husband. They say Lady Ines took that woman and her daughter to the place where she currently stays.”

So, she had taken in the bastard of the Aiger count family. The murderous intent that had surged momentarily with no target slowly subsided.

According to the documents, her health was poor and she had barely risen from her sickbed three months ago. After that, there had apparently been frequent days when she did not leave the house at all.

It seemed that even in her own weakened state, she could not pretend not to see a woman in the same situation. Still foolish.

The knight, watching his master’s mood, cautiously added.

“However… the man who is her husband appears to have reported the woman to the security force.”

“Reported?”

“Yes. They say he accused her of adultery… So the security officer of Hiran has been dispatched.”

Anyone who protected the subject of a report was ripe for being implicated as an accomplice. If she had not sent the mother and daughter out in time, there was a high chance Ines and the herb room owner would be dragged away as well.

If that happened… then there would be no need to go find her—he need only order the woman brought before him after she was arrested.

If he ordered them to drag her here without delay, she would probably be sent to the capital by tomorrow morning.

…That would be easy.

Rayeon’s gaze traced the letters of the document he had crumpled moments ago.

<October 3. Fourth day without leaving the house. According to the herb room owner, she collapsed after being exposed to the cold wind outside, and he is greatly worried…>

What flashed through his mind was her thin frame, in which not an ounce of flesh could be felt when he met her again in front of the Lezan imperial palace.

Then the memory of her small, rat-like body from eight years ago in Genear surfaced as well.

“…Damn it.”

The knight startled at the harsh curse his master spat out and straightened his posture further.

Rayeon roughly swept his hair back and rose from his seat.

“Troublesome bastard. That phrase fits perfectly. I’ll go myself. Follow me.”

If something broke while she was being dragged here, the thorn of irritation would surely only grow larger.

Better to go and bring her himself. Rayeon swallowed the curses he could not finish uttering and left the royal castle.

The woman Ines had brought was named Naea, and the girl’s name was Ronya.

Naea said she had been a maid in the Aiger count household. Ronya was the child born from a single night she had spent after catching the count’s eye.

“They said if it was known I carried a noble house’s child, my neck might be cut… So I ran before the child could be erased.”

“I see.”

Ines saw the scab on Naea’s lip about to fall off and quickly stopped her from speaking further.

“I think you should rest for now. Don’t worry about anything tonight. I’ll feed Ronya dinner, wash her, and put her to bed.”

Naea, lying in bed, looked up at Ines with her swollen eyes. Ines smiled as brightly as she could to reassure her.

“…You have the same eyes.”

But something behind that smile seemed visible to Naea. She muttered in a fading voice.

“I’ve seen… what happens to the count’s other illegitimate children. Many times.”

“I’m sorry if it’s my imagination. I don’t mean that you’re Aiger’s bastard… I just meant the feeling is similar.”

“…I see.”

“I’m sorry. And, and… thank you for bringing us with you.”

Those driven into the same circumstances seemed able to understand without words. Ines smiled whitely.

“There’s no need to apologize. No need to thank me either. I can’t do much myself.”

Even she was living off Robert’s goodwill. The one who should be thanked was him.

Ines squeezed out some ointment and applied it to Naea’s split lip.

“Still, I hope you can be comfortable tonight. Tomorrow’s problems—I’ll think about them with you.”

She patted the back of Naea’s hand one last time and left the room.

When she came down from the third-floor bedroom to the second-floor living room, Robert was not in the house.

‘Did he go down to the herb room…?’

It was as she turned her feet toward the stairs leading to the first-floor herb room in puzzlement.

“Ah, I tell you! There’s no one here! What is all this commotion coming to a respectable house in the middle of the night!”

Robert’s harsh voice of protest came from the first floor.

Ines drew a small breath. Robert was arguing with someone.

“I tell you, I know nothing about this!”

“There is a witness who saw the young woman from the herb room taking them in. If you keep denying it, we will have no choice but to search the entire house.”

“How rude…!”

From that conversation alone, it was not difficult to guess the situation.

Those intending to drag away Naea and Ronya had descended upon them.

Listening to their words, they were security officers—which meant Naea’s husband had reported her to the security force.

Ines bit her lip hard.

‘I should have kept Kian attached to him until the end…’

Even if it cost another half year, she should have held that man until it was over. Regret rushed in.

“Uh, Unnie…”

Ronya, who had come close, clutched at her skirt.

The girl’s face, still not fully recovered from the day’s shock, was covered in anxiety.

“…It’s all right. I’ll just go downstairs for a moment and come back.”

Ines soothed the child and sent her up to the third floor where Naea was sleeping.

She had hoped they would sleep soundly for even one night. She had even promised it was all right. She wanted to protect that promise tonight.

If that was what it took, it was not impossible.

‘…About half a year, the amount I saved during the day—that should be enough.’

Whether she had ten years left, or nine years and six months. It was not a great difference.

Ines hurried down the stairs. The old man who had been blocking the door and pouring curses at the security officers turned around.

“Ines?”

He frowned and gestured to her with his eyes.

“You go up. It’s late.”

“No. It seems they came in the middle of the night because of me.”

Ines smiled peacefully and stepped toward the door.

“From what I hear, it seems you’ve come about the people I helped during the day.”

There were three security officers outside the door. The one standing at the front asked bluntly.

“Black hair and blue eyes. You’re the woman who took them in. Are the mother and daughter inside this house now?”

“No. I’m sorry, but I guided them to an inn near the plaza.”

“An inn nearby?”

“Yes. If you need, shall I guide you? And please let my grandfather go now.”

A slender hand was laid over the sword sheath pointed at Robert. And she pushed it down as if it were nothing.

Robert let out a small groan.

“Ines. You…”

“I’ll just be a moment. I’m fine.”

Ines smiled lightly. It was not a deliberately forced smile. She was not particularly afraid.

Being dragged away was something she had experienced sickeningly often, so she was used to it.

Compared to Genear’s knights, the men before her were not even particularly threatening.

“I’ll be back before midnight.”

“What are you trying to…”

“It’s late. Go up and sleep first.”

Ines pulled the pale-faced Robert into a tight hug. Then she turned to face the security officers with a resolute expression.

‘Kian.’

Her heart pounded uneasily. Ines stepped outside the door with a smile.

A light drizzle was falling.

“Shall we go, then?”

A calm voice spread through the falling rain. With a clatter, the door of the herb room closed.

Robert stared blankly at the closed door.

He had a bad feeling.

“…Ines!”

When he came to his senses and hurriedly opened the door again, neither Ines nor the three sturdy security officers were outside.

“Child! Ines!”

As Robert frantically looked left and right down the rain-soaked street, something silver brushed his vision.

When the startled old man turned back to the right, the glittering silver that had been far away had come right up to a step before him.

Beneath the robe the man wore, a splendid uniform embroidered with gold thread was briefly revealed.

“Ines.”

Heavy emotion was loaded into the child’s name as he pronounced it. It was not in a good sense.

“That woman. Is she not here?”

The highly saturated green eyes swept Robert up and down. The man, who soon grasped the situation, let out a breath as if in disbelief.

“She keeps being sickeningly persistent to the end.”

“W-Who are you?”

Rayeon did not answer that.

The irritation and anger, impatience and thirst that had been steadily accumulating all this time shot to their limit at once.

He turned his back on the old man and commanded in an irritable voice.

“Find her. Even if you have to turn every street upside down.”