Ch.60Escape Under the Moonlight (1)

It’s like a scene from a fairy tale.

Dieta suddenly had that thought.

You know, there’s that common story in fairy tales. The cliché, childish tale of a princess trapped in a tower and the handsome knight who comes to rescue her.

Of course, Dieta doesn’t particularly like such stories.

She’s long past the age of finding charm in fairy tales that simply string together pleasant scenes without considering cause and effect. But that’s only when encountering these stories as fiction.

…When fairy tale stories are pulled into reality.

Well…

Dieta had to admit that her heart was, quite unexpectedly, fluttering. She had been imprisoned in the duke’s villa. And then a handsome knight extended his hand to rescue her without hesitation.

‘Well, he’s not actually a knight, but he is handsome…’

Dieta gazed at Najin with dreamy eyes.

Though his face was partially hidden by his robe, looking up at him from below allowed her to make out his features somewhat.

…Was he always this handsome?

Was it because of the situation, or because her mind was hazy? Or perhaps the moonlight and starlight pouring from the sky acted as a filter. Najin’s appearance seemed more attractive than usual, causing Dieta to gulp.

Her heart pounded inappropriately for the situation. It must be from surprise, she thought. With this in mind, Dieta curled up a little more. The night breeze was quite cold. Her body kept shaking, making her dizzy.

Making such flimsy excuses, Dieta clutched Najin’s collar tightly. Under the brilliant moonlight, their escape continued for quite some time.

* * *

“Let’s rest here for a moment.”

At a place quite far from the villa.

Najin entered a small cave in the dense forest along the territory’s border. After carefully setting Dieta down on the ground, he removed his robe.

“A proper pursuit won’t be possible until sunrise anyway. Even with their night vision capabilities, it will take them time to assess and manage the situation. We should have time to catch our breath, even at the fastest.”

To begin with, the knights don’t know which direction Najin fled or where he’s heading. He was already skilled at concealing his presence and confusing his trail.

“So let’s rest for now.”

Najin glanced at Dieta.

While he himself could run all night without issue, Dieta’s condition didn’t look particularly good. She was sweating and her complexion was pale.

Najin handed his removed robe to Dieta.

“Wrap yourself in that at least.”

“What? Oh?”

“It’s cold. I can endure it, but it will be difficult for you.”

Najin looked at Dieta.

She was wearing thin, flowing nightclothes. It wasn’t weather one could endure in such light attire. Dieta slowly nodded and draped the robe Najin offered over her shoulders.

“As for treating your ankle… unfortunately, I couldn’t bring anything for that. Since it’s not an injury that can be fixed with a potion, we’ll have to put that on hold for now.”

Najin muttered while rummaging through his adventurer’s bag that he always carried. He then pulled out a rolled-up blanket and a mineral lamp. After spreading the blanket in front of Dieta, he gestured toward it.

“Get some rest, even if just closing your eyes. You look tired.”

“…I’m still fine.”

“Don’t be stubborn. Rest while you can. We’ll have to run for our lives once dawn breaks anyway.”

Muttering this, Najin struck the mineral lamp with his fist. The impact caused the lamp to flicker. Soon, a dim sunset-like glow illuminated the cave.

Only then could Dieta properly see her appearance. Her nightclothes, damp with sweat and clinging to her skin, revealed her body’s contours. Her hair was disheveled. And though she couldn’t see her face, it was surely stained with tear tracks.

Dieta tightened the robe around herself and wiped her face with her sleeve, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“Are you very cold?”

“What? No? I’m fine…”

Dieta hiccupped.

She wasn’t particularly cold. If anything, she felt heat rising to her face. But to Najin, Dieta’s tight grip on the robe looked like she was shivering from cold.

Plus, wasn’t her face strangely flushed?

Could she have caught a cold? Well, it made sense. She had been confined for days with an injured ankle, likely without proper meals or sleep. It wouldn’t be strange if her immunity had hit rock bottom.

‘Is she dizzy? She can’t even make eye contact properly.’

Dieta’s eyes were spinning, and her ears were bright red. To Najin’s eyes, she simply looked like a patient, but the reality was somewhat different.

Thump, thump, thump.

Dieta pressed down on her loudly beating chest and lowered her head. For some reason, making eye contact with that man wasn’t easy. Avoiding Najin’s gaze, she crawled under the blanket.

Why am I acting like this?

And why is my heart pounding so loudly?

She had lived her entire life wearing a mask, focused solely on growing her merchant company. For someone like her, the emotions she felt now that her mask had been removed were utterly unfamiliar. Without even recognizing what these feelings were, Dieta pulled the blanket over her head.

Thoughts that made her think, “Surely not…”

But Dieta soon shook her head.

There’s no way she would feel such emotions, and she certainly wasn’t such an easy woman… No, isn’t it natural for one’s heart to flutter a bit in this kind of situation?

A strange denial and equally strange self-rationalization.

Inappropriately for the situation, Dieta pressed down on her pounding heart and closed her eyes.

2.

Just before sunrise.

In the early dawn as daybreak approached.

Blink.

Dieta opened her eyes. She had worried she wouldn’t be able to sleep with her pounding heart and throbbing ankle, but contrary to her concerns, she had slept soundly. Rubbing her eyes, Dieta looked across from her.

There sat Najin, his sword cradled in his arms, head bowed as he leaned against the cave wall.

Had he kept watch like that all night? Blinking her still drowsy eyes, Dieta stared at Najin. How long had she been staring?

“You’re awake.”

“Eek!”

Najin, whom she thought was asleep, raised his head.

Startled by the sudden voice in her ear, Dieta’s shoulders jumped.

“You, you were awake?”

“I don’t need much sleep. I was just thinking I should wake you soon, but you woke up right on time.”

Najin exhaled deeply and stretched his shoulders.

“One night should be enough to organize your thoughts. Do you have a plan in mind?”

The guard knight Pashion had said:

If Dieta had a plan prepared and he just needed to act as a messenger, she would be able to navigate the situation capably. Though he had ended up bringing her along instead, it didn’t seem to make much difference.

“Thanks to you.”

Dieta smiled.

Najin was right. After a good night’s rest, her mind had started working properly again. Still, she found it difficult to make eye contact with Najin, so she lowered her gaze slightly.

“I have many options available now.”

“For example?”

“It might become a complicated and troublesome battle of justifications, but I can overturn the entire situation. I didn’t want to resort to this, but… given how things have turned out, I have no choice.”

Dieta exhaled deeply.

“My merchant company is among the top three in Cambria, City of Opportunity. It’s a large-scale operation. Normally, when a duke’s family tries to arbitrarily swallow up a company of this size… there’s bound to be backlash.”

However, there wasn’t much opposition in this case. The reason was simple.

“The reason there wasn’t backlash this time, why the opposition wasn’t strong… is because I belong to the Albania family. The duke has justification. Who would object to a duke taking over a company raised by his own child?”

Dieta laughed bitterly.

The name Albania. A name she couldn’t completely let go of due to lingering attachment, now becoming her shackle in this way.

“Then the solution is simple.”

She said.

“We inform the Central Guild, or even higher up, the Cambria Foundation, about this entire situation. And while we’re at it, I’ll change my surname too.”

“What happens then?”

“The Albania Duke’s family won’t be able to swallow up my company anymore. They’ll have to be cautious about touching me due to external scrutiny.”

Knowing this, Ottoman had imprisoned Dieta. If he could progress matters to a point where Dieta couldn’t take action, even the Foundation wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“It’s ultimately a battle of justifications.”

And, Dieta continued.

“The Cambria Foundation’s justification is certainly not inferior to that of the Albania Duke’s family.”

The Cambria Foundation.

It was established by several nobles who united to preserve the traditions and special characteristics of Cambria, the City of Opportunity, where King Arthur’s journey began. The Foundation’s authority was directly guaranteed by the Empire’s Emperor.

No matter how powerful the Albania Duke’s family might be, they couldn’t directly confront a foundation backed by the Emperor’s guarantee.

Above all, the justification was on her side. If a large-scale company in the city were to be swallowed up in such a manner, and if such a precedent were established, it would also damage the reputation of the Cambria Foundation.

“Besides, I’m in good standing with the Foundation.”

“What does that mean?”

“Do you know how diligently I’ve paid my taxes? Tax evasion, ledger manipulation, false merchandise… I’ve never played such tricks with the Foundation. Of course, some might say that’s just expected.”

Dieta shrugged.

“In our industry, if you pay all your taxes properly, you’re called a sucker. But with the Foundation, it’s better to be known as a sucker. The fact that I’ve grown to this scale in five years without any issues is all thanks to being a faithful taxpayer.”

So if she asked for a favor, they would listen.

Dieta asserted this confidently.

“But there’s a small problem.”

Dieta sighed.

“Informing the Central Guild would delay matters, and I need to meet directly with nobles affiliated with the Cambria Foundation… high-ranking ones at that. But I doubt they’d open their doors just because I showed up unannounced.”

She laughed bitterly.

“In my current state, I have no means to prove my identity.”

No nameplate, no merchant guild leader’s uniform, not even a messenger bird to send in the name of the guild leader. All that was present here was just a mere girl named Dieta.

“So I think we need to stop by Cambria first, but Duke Ottoman won’t just stand by and watch. He’ll likely block our path by any means necessary, which complicates matters.”

“About that.”

Najin, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

“What are the names of the noble families that form the core of the Cambria Foundation?”

“The Ostrum Count family, the Kloepsch Count family…”

Among the three noble families that formed the core of the Foundation, Dieta named the most renowned one last.

“And the Trebache Marquis family.”

Trebache.

It was a familiar name to Najin. Listening to Dieta’s story, Najin smiled.

“Then I don’t think we need to stop by Cambria.”

“What? What do you mean…?”

Najin pulled out a letter from his chest.

It was a letter he had kept deep in his bag. Dieta’s eyes widened as she recognized the emblem on the letter. After all, it was the emblem of the Trebache family.

As if to say that the surprise didn’t end there, Najin unfolded the letter and handed it to Dieta.

Inside was a letter written by the hand of Eldelmar, the Marquis of Trebache. It stated that Najin was welcome to visit anytime and would be treated as an honored guest at the marquis’s residence.

“How did you…?”

“During the Fallen Knight subjugation, I met a knight there. I established some connections while delivering his last words.”

Knight Gilbert of the Trebache family.

Najin hadn’t known that the connection that began with their conversation would be helpful in this way, but regardless, this invitation was quite useful in the current situation.

“Really…”

Looking at the invitation, Dieta burst into laughter.

“You truly are a unique person.”

3.

“Still, I can’t deny that I made an inefficient choice. It would have been better if I had remained captive in the villa. I’m sorry. I misjudged then.”

That emotional outburst from before.

Dieta felt somewhat embarrassed about her past self who had asked to be taken out of that cage-like place that surrounded her.

Of course, thanks to that, she had been able to rest and felt good. She couldn’t deny that she was glad to have experienced her heart fluttering…

But it wasn’t a rational decision.

She knew it wasn’t a judgment her usual self would make.

“I was a bit emotional. There could have been a more rational, efficient, optimal method…”

“How can anyone always be like that?”

Najin interrupted Dieta.

While gathering his equipment and erasing their traces in preparation to leave, Najin looked at Dieta.

“Who can always move efficiently and rationally? Sometimes you just have to go for it, act on emotion. If you only consider efficiency, it gets tiring.”

Najin smiled.

“And you know what?”

Bending his knees, Najin turned his back to Dieta. It was a signal for her to climb on. Dieta smoothed her hair, then carefully climbed onto Najin’s back.

“Who’s to say this isn’t the best option?”

“What?”

“If we reach our destination like this, isn’t that the best outcome? Isn’t this better than being confined in that villa and enduring such treatment?”

As Dieta wrapped her arms around Najin’s neck, he stood up. With the sudden movement, Dieta pressed closer to Najin’s back.

“Don’t you think?”

“I… suppose you’re right.”

Whether it’s the best option or not can only be known after seeing the results. Najin was saying that if they reach their destination like this, wouldn’t that be the best outcome? Faced with such refreshingly straightforward logic, Dieta couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you confident? Escaping while carrying someone on your back doesn’t seem easy.”

“You’re not that heavy, and besides…”

Najin chuckled.

“Escaping is my specialty.”

As if being chased was an experience he’d had more than once or twice.