The last thing she took out from the deepest part of her bag was a bow named ‘Shard’, a memento of her father Galle 5th, which she had carefully wrapped in a thousand pieces of cloth.
Shard, which had been kept in a secret space behind the king’s office bookshelf, was the item that Galle 5th cherished the most.
He repeatedly emphasized that if a fire broke out in the palace, a member of the Planus royal family should always save Shard.
In fact, Arien had never used the bow ‘Shard’, even in several crises she encountered while on the run.
No, to be precise, she didn’t know why this bow, which looked horribly ordinary and worn out, was sealed as a royal relic and handed down from generation to generation.
Its shape and material were not much different from that of a common bow, and it was a little small without an arrow. She never had the chance to see Galle 5th using it on the battlefield.
Nevertheless, Arien, as a royal family member, didn’t forget to bring this bow, a royal treasure. With the swordsmanship she learned from the royal academy since she was young, she managed to escape this far.
She decided to meet Duke Demidhel, whom she judged to be the most powerful in the north, to find out what kind of person he was, and use her sword as a shield if necessary.
“I will clear my father’s false accusation, find out who the real culprit is, return to my position as a princess, and set the Planus royal family right!”
Arien gripped Shard once again.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves got closer to the cave.
Arien jumped up, pressed her body as close as possible to the cold wall, and held her breath.
Thinking that she couldn’t rest comfortably that night either, she tried to calm her thumping heart.
“Please just pass by today. Please.”
The sound of the approaching horse hooves stopped. It indicated that someone had come right in front of the cave.
“Come out and identify yourself right now and I won’t take your life!”
It was uncertain whether it was the mountain thieves who preyed on the goods of the traders crossing the mountain, the northern barbarians from across the border, or the Black Storm Tarakion Knights.
Of course, neither side was very scary and uncomfortable for Arien.
As an anxious Arien bit her lower lip and racked her brain, there was nothing she could do in this narrow cave facing an unidentified enemy.
“It’s going to be tough to get through today.”
She quickly packed her belongings, gathered her fallen silver hair into one, and firmly twisted it upwards,
Then, pulling her robe’s hood as deep as possible to halfhide her face, she took a deep breath.
When she cautiously went outside, she saw around twenty people on huge war horses looking down at her.
“Black horse and black armor… The Tarakion Knights?”
She had barely come this far overcoming numerous dangers. As always, she will survive today.
But even without looking up at their faces, the hostility and suspicious glances emanating from them naturally caused her shoulders to shrivel and her nerves to feel on edge.
“I am a humble healer who collects and studies herbs while traveling the continent. I just got lost while crossing the mountain and was staying in the cave for a while.”
After all, Arien was on her way to meet their lord, Duke Demidhel.
But meeting them in such an unexpected place was not part of her calculations.
It was totally unpredictable whether they would listen to a stranger’s circumstances and help her.
She couldn’t simply reveal her identity and ask for help.
But the knights suddenly started murmuring among themselves at something Arien said.
“A healer?”
“Lilvane, if she’s a healer, we should take her to the lord.”
One of the redhaired knights at the front whispered to a blonde knight next to him.
The two handsome men were discussing something, occasionally glancing at Arien, but no matter how much she strained her ears, she couldn’t make out their conversation.
‘Is it that they need a healer? Or is Duke Demidhel sick? There should be healers in this region, what could it be?’
Arien concluded, although she was not sure, that they were in a situation that required a healer.
‘This is a crisis, but if well utilized, it could be an opportunity.’
She thought it might be an opportunity to meet him naturally as a healer.
Just then, the blond knight who was called Lilvane nodded slightly, and the young knight with red hair dismounted from his horse and came up to Arien.
“I am Theo Hayden, we are knights belonging to Tarakion. This mountain is dangerous, so you should come down with us.”
“I have a destination. I can take care of myself, so I don’t need an escort.”
Arien deliberately showed discomfort, knowing it wouldn’t pass.
“It would be best if you come with us.”
The blond knight Lilvane, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, cut in.
His tone was not rough, but his voice was cold and emotionless.
Arien could feel that Lilvane’s words were not a suggestion but a polite threat.
“Lilvane, there’s no need to be so forceful with the lady.”
After reprimanding Lilvane, Theo kneeled down to make it easier for Arien to agree with his words.
But Arien ignored him and jumped onto her horse by herself. She didn’t want to readily accept such favors in a situation where she didn’t know exactly who they were.
Taken aback by her swift action of getting on the horse, Theo soon mounted his horse as well.
“Rest assured. We are not the bad people you think we are.”
Theo’s words, seemingly trying to reassure her as he sensed her apprehension and unease, reached her ears.
“Well, I usually know that line as a regular sentence of villains.”
She said, haughtily, without looking back.
Theo laughed quietly, wondering if she was interesting for firmly suppressing her dissatisfaction and responding even among these fierce knights.
He secretly looked forward to whether she could show such courage in her meeting with his lord, Kias, whom she would meet shortly.
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]Clip clop. Clip clop. Clip clop.
Arien glanced around at the knights who surrounded her, galloping and cutting through the deep darkness.
Wellmaintained black armor, the vividly engraved eagle emblem on their chests, and longswords at their waists that seemed impossible to wield with the skill of an ordinary knight.
Judging by their thickness and length, they appeared to be specially customized for them.
After running for a while, all of a sudden, a loud shout from the front made the knights draw their swords and start moving swiftly.
Swish!
The sharp sounds of iron weapons ripping through the tranquility of the night air in the cold, dark forest echoed.
“It’s a wood goblin! Theo, start protecting the front!”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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