The Duke's Arrival
The tip of the blade was aimed directly at her left wrist. The moment the sword came crashing down, time seemed to slow, as if caught in the grip of some colossal hand.
In that brief yet endless instant, Canna realized what was about to happen.
In a few seconds, her wrist would be severed.
She would have to live the rest of her life as a cripple.
It’s okay. I can still live like this. It’s okay. Don’t cry.
Canna clenched her fist tightly. She forced strength into her eyelids, refusing to let them close. She would not shut her eyes. Instead, she widened them, staring straight ahead.
She intended to witness the final moments of her perfectly intact left hand with her own eyes!
This was the end. The moment the blade would slice through her—right now!
“Ugh!”
But in the next breath—thunk!
Cassil’s sword plunged into an entirely different spot. At the last second, its angle had twisted strangely.
“Khh… ugh…”
Canna sat there in a complete daze, utterly stunned, before slowly lifting her head. And what she saw was an arrowhead buried deep in the back of Cassil’s hand.
“Aaaargh!”
At that exact moment, another arrow came hurtling in, slamming into Cassil’s shoulder.
“Your Highness!”
Only then did the knight fling Canna aside. He caught Cassil’s collapsing body.
“Ugh… khh…”
“Y-Your Highness! Are you all right?!”
The knight quickly shoved Cassil behind his back. Then he glared in the direction the arrows had come from.
“Who goes there?! Stop hiding like a coward and show yourself!”
As if obeying his command, the opponent finally revealed himself. In truth, he had never been hiding at all.
Step. Step. Calm footsteps echoed through the silence.
Even in the midst of this chaotic situation, the gait was unnervingly composed. A strange sense of déjà vu washed over Canna, and she narrowed her eyes.
Was she imagining it? In the darkness, it seemed as though a faint silver gleam was sparkling.
“Oh dear.”
No. It wasn’t her imagination.
Finally, moonlight poured down over the approaching man’s head. In that instant, his silver hair became strikingly clear. So too did the blue eyes that always carried a faint smile.
“Was it Your Highness the Imperial Prince?”
It was Sylvien Valentino.
He approached with a perfectly relaxed smile. He walked past the utterly frozen Izek, past the Lord of Venecia, and came to a stop right in front of Canna.
Yet his gaze was not directed at her.
“As expected. It really was Your Highness the Imperial Prince.”
“You…”
“It has been a long time, Your Highness.”
“……”
Even the knight was left speechless. At that moment, a groan slipped from between Cassil’s clenched teeth. Despite trembling violently from the pain, he glared at Sylvien.
“What the hell are you doing?! How dare you—how dare you commit treason?!”
“Treason, you say?”
Sylvien tilted his head with an expression of mild puzzlement.
“As a loyal subject of the Empire, how could I possibly harbor such beastly intentions? I merely—”
He smiled softly as he looked down at Canna.
“—came to retrieve my wife, who appears to have been kidnapped.”
“……!”
“That is all.”
The air froze solid. Cassil, his knight, Izek, and even Balix all stopped breathing at the same time.
Wife? His wife? Sylvien Valentino’s wife?
Cassil’s face twisted in dismay. So that nonsense the woman had been spouting was actually true?!
“Do you really think that excuse will work?! Duke Valentino, you have dared to attack a member of the imperial family! Do you honestly believe His Majesty will forgive this?!”
“Yes.”
Sylvien nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“I believe he will.”
“W-what did you just say?”
“I simply attacked a kidnapper in order to rescue my wife. However—”
Sylvien let out a soft, almost sighing laugh. It was the tired smile of someone dealing with a child’s tantrum.
“—who could have possibly imagined that the naked brute in question would turn out to be Your Highness the Imperial Prince?”
At those words, Cassil’s face flushed a deep, furious red.
“And do you think His Majesty will forgive you, Your Highness?”
“What?”
“A man currently in exile for the crime of assaulting a baroness has now—”
“……!”
Cassil’s eyes shook violently.
“—attempted to kidnap and murder a duchess.”
“……”
“I find myself in quite the dilemma over how to report this to His Majesty.”
Cassil was rendered completely speechless, as if his tongue had been cut out. Only now did the reality of the situation—the consequences he would have to bear—finally sink in.
“Even so, this person is still Your Highness the Imperial Prince. He is the Emperor’s direct descendant!”
The knight growled threateningly.
“How dare you shoot an arrow at an imperial grandson?!”
“I had no idea.”
Sylvien smiled shamelessly.
“It is rather dark tonight, is it not?”
“You call that a defense?!”
Sylvien tilted his head once more. He stared at the knight with a look of genuine confusion and asked,
“Who could have possibly known that the one attempting to murder the Duchess of Valentino—the eldest daughter of House Addis—would turn out to be Your Highness the Imperial Prince?”
“……”
“Moreover, had I not fired that arrow at that exact moment, my wife would have died.”
Sylvien spoke with impeccable composure. Then he smiled.
“Surely this is more than enough justification to present to His Majesty, wouldn’t you agree?”
What more could they possibly say?
Neither Cassil nor his knight could utter another word.
“Well then.”
Sylvien walked past them. He knelt on one knee and effortlessly lifted Canna into his arms.
“The hour is late. Let us discuss this matter another time.”
He offered a gentle, courteous smile.
“I wish you all a pleasant evening.”
It was only after they were inside the carriage that Sylvien finally set Canna down.
“Haa…”
He sat across from her and loosened the cravat that had been tightly knotted around his neck.
The motion was slightly irritated. He ran a hand through his disheveled silver hair and let out another long breath.
Only then did he turn his composed gaze toward her.
“……”
But he said nothing. He simply stared at her disheveled state with quiet intensity.
His eyes traveled from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
Her black hair was a tangled mess. Her neck, arms, and hands were covered in cuts and scrapes. It was only after feeling his gaze that Canna became aware of her own condition.
I must have gotten hurt while climbing that tree.
She had been so frantic that she hadn’t even noticed the injuries.
“……”
The silence stretched on for a long time.
She had expected him to bombard her with questions. The fact that Sylvien wasn’t asking anything at all left Canna feeling strangely unsettled.
How did he even know to come here?
He had probably noticed that the escort knight assigned to her had been taken down and anticipated a kidnapping.
But how had he located her so quickly?
Had he truly not known it was the imperial prince when he fired those arrows? How did he plan to handle the aftermath?
And most importantly—
Why did he save me?
Of all the questions swirling in her mind, that one loomed the largest.
Why go so far as to harm a member of the imperial family just to save me?
She was genuinely curious.
Until now, he had never once intervened in whether she lived or died. He had simply watched from the sidelines. So why would he suddenly risk everything—including committing the grave offense of shooting an arrow at an imperial prince—just to rescue her?
One thing, however, was certain.
“I’m sorry.”
She had to apologize.
“It looks like this is going to become very complicated because of me. I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”
“……”
Sylvien did not respond. He simply continued to watch her in silence.
Yet his eyes had darkened considerably. Sensing that his mood had soured, Canna carefully observed his expression.
Had her apology been insufficient?
It was then that she noticed his hand resting quietly on his knee.
His large hand was clenched into a tight fist. The veins on the back of it stood out prominently.
“Lift your head, Lady Canna.”
Sylvien spoke in an incredibly soft voice.
“Please, look at me.”
His tone was so gentle that the moment almost felt like an ordinary, peaceful evening. Yet for some reason, a strange sense of unease gripped her. Canna tensed inwardly and slowly raised her head.
Fortunately—or perhaps predictably—
The face that met her gaze was as calm as a lake without a single ripple. A faint smile even graced his lips.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Well…”
Canna answered cautiously.
“Because I made you do something you didn’t have to do. I’m sorry.”
At that, Sylvien, who had been sitting perfectly upright, shifted his posture. He leaned back deeply into the seat, crossed his long legs, and tilted his head slightly as he continued to study her.
“You owe me no debt, Lady Canna. Since you have caused me no inconvenience, there is no need for an apology.”
“…Pardon?”
“It was I who brought you here despite knowing there was a dangerous individual like Prince Cassil in this place. I didn’t even give you a single warning.”
“……”
“In other words, I am the one who led you into this situation. Therefore, I should have ensured your safety and well-being without fail. I assigned you an escort knight, but it was not enough. That was my mistake.”