Like a Dry Branch in the Wind

“W, wait a second!”

Shouted Rietta urgently. She ran out in front of Killian with her hands trembling. After staying in Axias for some time, she had forgotten about that one fact. The man in front of her was Killian Axias—the most notorious cold-blooded person in the Empire.

“T, that’s too… That’s too!”

The fragments of gibberish words spouted by Rietta did not create a proper meaning. However, her intention was clearly conveyed. A cold reply came back from him.

“Why?”

Why? because I would not have said that he was suspicious so easily if I knew he was going to kill someone just like that.

Rietta urgently lifted her eyes and looked at Killian. A gentle voice came out from the face of a beautifully smiling man.

“I didn’t order him to kill you.”

A cold wind blew through her spine from his expressionless face. Neither Lana nor Leonard looked particularly flustered.

Am I the weird one here?

“Maybe…maybe I misjudged him.”

Rietta forced out her stuttering voice.”

“How, how can you easily believe me and order something…”

Killian smirked.

“You’re at least more trustworthy than the Queen’s delegates. You’re sincerely grateful to me.”

Rietta’s body froze at Killian’s unexpected answer, on the other hand, Rietta’s mouth was moving quickly to save a stranger. She did not even know his name, yet, his life was at stake because of her.

“He just had an energy that was not of a priest.”

“You said he was feeling your body with that.”

“He just scanned through with that energy!”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Rietta grabbed her chest, she felt like she was suffocating.

“How can you kill someone so easily…”

“If you don’t kill first, you might be the one getting killed.”

Killian dismissed her pleas coldly.

“Even if I’m okay, you will be in danger. You, Rietta.”

His red eyes looked directly at her.

“Can you protect yourself from enemies as much as I, Leonard, or Lana can?”

A delegation sent by someone who opposed him. A man who investigated if the women by his side were either just a sorcerer, a mere plaything, or a priest with an energy that was not one of a priest. Why was he even in a priest’s attire when he was not one?

“We are going to go on a five-day journey together with their ‘escort’. There is no reason to keep someone who is clearly dangerous.”

Besides, Killian was thinking of another possibility in his head. It was quite possible when the delegation said that they came across bandits. Recently, there have been quite a few bandits attacking travelers. There were not many cities that accepted migrants from villages ravaged by the plague. But for them to arrive this late, making them have such little time to prepare, was it really their fault?

Rietta belatedly asked back with blank eyes.

“We…?”

 “Yeah, you’re coming with me. Erne.”

“Yes, master.”

“I’m going to the Grand Temple Havitus. Prepare for the trip, offerings for the grand temple, and gifts for the Queen.”

“Yes, master.”

“Leonard, prepare 12 knights in the best condition, including you.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Rietta could not get a hold of herself and was terrified. She held onto Killian again.

“How are you going to kill the priest that the Queen sent without any reason?”

“That’s nothing for you to worry about.”

A cold answer returned. Killian dismissed Rietta and disappeared out of the door.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Less than two hours later, a large party headed to the Grand Temple Havitus was formed. About forty priests, the delegation sent by the Queen, and twelve knights and attendants who were to accompany Killian lined up in front of Axias Castle. Each riding on horses or carriages.

There was a limit to the number of armed personnel Killian could bring along. Besides, if the Emperor was watching, he could not take more troops than the one sent by the Queen. It could be interpreted as disrespect and distrust.

Normally, the Archduke of Axias would not care about that. But since it was a serious issue, Killian was required to follow the custom. Meaning, only twelve knights followed Killian. It was less than half of the number of knights escorting the delegation sent by the Queen.

A regular carriage carrying six women, including Rietta and Lana, and six wagons carrying numerous loads also followed. The priests frowned at Killian for taking a division of his concubines even though he was on the way to the temple with the call of his stepmother, a woman of the highest class in the Empire. But no one was brave enough to object to him. He already did his best by keeping his manners by limiting the number of security personnel accompanying him.

Giselle, Rachel, Elise, and Seira were called without knowing anything and rode the carriage. They found Rietta and called her pleasantly.

“Oh my! Riet…ta?”

Rietta looked at them blankly, not even thinking of greeting them. The four women looked at each other, blinking their eyes in bewilderment when they saw Rietta’s pale expression. Rietta thought it was something she should not have said recklessly so she could not open her mouth and just stayed quiet.

At that moment, Lana raised her hand and put a blue barrier around the carriage. Then, she began to explain to them where the carriage was heading to and what had happened in a clumsy accent of the imperial language.

Lana seemed to have already known the women of the East Annex. Rietta thought it must be okay after seeing Lana tell them about what had happened as she seemed more familiar with this situation than herself. She blankly tore off the tip of her fingernail. After the women learned of the situation, they looked at Rietta with pity. 

“Rietta… You must have been shocked.”

Giselle offered her consolation. However, their feelings were different from saying that his measure was too much. Rather than thinking Killian’s order was excessive, they were sorry for her because Killian was not considerate enough to make sure she did not directly hear about his order. 

However…

Rachel stayed still and stared at Rietta’s pale face. Rachel knew that Killian trusted her to be someone who would never betray him, so she could see his intentions behind bearing such excessive stress on Rietta and suddenly including her in the delegation. And now it seemed that he was testing her abilities.

“But, Rietta, I don’t think His Lordship’s order is wrong.”

Rachel cautiously opened her mouth.

“Because the person indeed did something threatening. Why would someone who was not even a priest be wearing a priest’s outfit? If someone who had a history of threatening my life had sent someone suspicious to escort me, then even I would not want to go on a trip that would require me to spend days and nights with him.”

Seira looked into Rietta’s eyes with a slightly worried look.

“Still… Killing is too much. He has not even done anything yet.”

“But His Lordship can’t just wait until he does something. His scanning through Rietta already means that he is planning to do something. He must have been prepared in case he was found out.”

“Can’t they just lock him up somewhere or just leave him out of this trip?”

Elise let out a short sigh and leaned against the carriage wall.

“They don’t have a reason to do so. Is there even a way to leave him out without being blamed? The most efficient thing to do is to remove him in secret. It can’t be helped. It might be safe if they didn’t get caught removing him.”

Giselle found Rietta, who was spacing out and looking pale. 

“Rietta? Are you uncomfortable somewhere? Rietta.”

“Get a grip!”

Seira clapped her hands in front of Rieta.

“Oh.”

Rietta, who had been out of her mind with a pale face, lifted her trembling eyes and looked at them. Unknowingly, she squinted her eyes and grabbed her dress. Rietta relaxed her expression with force and lowered her hand.

“I’m fine.”

Her attempt at trying to be calm with an absent-minded look made the other women feel rather sympathetic.

“It’s going to be hard, but forget it. Even if it was not because of you, he would have found something strange and the man would not have been safe. I don’t think even the Queen is expecting all her people to come back alive.”

Rietta nodded her head, but her expression was still unconvinced. Seeing her, Elise continued.

“Rietta, it might not look like it, but His Lordship’s position is not very stable. The Queen is always threatening his life. There have been times when a delegation sent by the Queen suddenly attacked him. But of course, there was no one left and they all died at the hands of the knights.”

Another lady added.

“I heard when he nitpicked the Queen about that, she said she had never sent such a delegation. Even His Lordship said he knew she would come out like that so he just overlooked it.”

Rietta looked quite surprised by what they said. It was the first time she had heard about that.

Something like that happened between the Archduke of Axias and the Queen? If that’s true, shouldn’t the Empire be turned upside down with the news? The Queen’s delegation conducted an open attempt to assassinate the Emperor’s son, and the Emperor’s son killed them without a blink… and he just moved on when the Queen said that she did not do it?

“Actually, His Lordship leaves the vicious rumors about him without denying them and lives his life like a lazy playboy to avoid becoming a threat to the current Crown Prince. His appeal is that he is not someone that the Emperor will pay attention to.”

Rietta blankly repeated.

“Threat?”

“It is speculated by the public that the Emperor still has lingering feelings for His Lordship, and that speculation would intimidate the Crown Prince’s mother, the Queen.”

“His Lordship doesn’t even think about that. It would be nice if His Majesty could just give up on that feeling.”

“Well. Even if he is not a threat to the Crown Prince, the Queen would still probably hate him. To the point where she wants to kill him.”

“That’s why when people are about to forget about it, she starts doing crazy things like this.”

The women began to worry around.

“What is it this time? I’m really anxious. She even said she would reinstate him. Is something big going to happen?”

Rietta embraced her cold body with a disturbed mind. Giselle looked at her.

“Rietta, what’s that in your sleeve? It’s going to fall.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Rietta fixed the position of the dagger. When Giselle saw her, she tilted her head and asked.

“A dagger? Why do you have such a thing?”

Rietta replied awkwardly.

“…I was wondering if he’d spare him if I proved that I could protect myself…”

Elise shook her head, covering her mouth with a surprised face.

“Oh my God. Rietta… You still have not given up yet?”

“That’s nonsense. His Lordship will never take back his order.”

Seira smiled bitterly. 

“You could not even keep a dagger properly in your sleeve. Forget protecting yourself, can you even hold it, let alone swing it?”

She was right. Rietta smiled helplessly as if she accepted the words. It was indeed a silly idea. Even she thought the words that came out of her mouth sounded stupid.

Rietta was not the only one who was incapable of self-defense. There were five more women like her. Even if she excluded Lana, there were still four women. If he was a really dangerous person and if something did happen, not only Rietta, but many others could be in danger. Rietta stared blankly at the corner of the carriage.

Safety and threat—those words did not relate well to the Archduke of Axias.

Power, wealth, and status that everyone feared. Since he was a member of the Imperial family, he had no reason to fear the nobles and no reason to fear the law… So she thought that he would never face any threat in his daily life.

“Rietta, don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault. That person came with a hostile status and did something suspicious.”

Someone comforted Rietta. 

Rietta looked out of the carriage window with a hollow look on her face. She just wanted to see another place, but he was there in her view.

The man whom she pointed at. The man who would die today. He was still alive.

No matter how much she convinced herself that he was a threat to the Archduke of Axias, she did not want to believe that he would soon die because of one word from her. She could not bear the weight of the words that came out of her mouth.

“…I will see what I can do.”

A small voice rang out from inside the carriage. Giselle let out a light sigh.

“Leonard was the one who got the order anyway, right?”

Rachel whistled.

“Oh, are you going to use your chance as a girlfriend?”

“I’m not his girlfriend.”

Elise asked with a puzzled face.

“What are you going to do?”

Giselle moved her sleeve once, then pulled out a small vial from her sleeve. Incomparable to Rietta’s clumsy skill, the carefully hidden object came out of nowhere and was caught between Giselle’s index and middle finger.

“I will give him very bad diarrhea for a few days. He will give up the journey himself before his neck will fly away.”

Giselle winked her eyes.

“Have I ever told you that I can deal with medicine?”