Chapter 2 (1/2)
「A Surprise Attack Isn’t Cowardly」Part 1
We continued down a neglected highith considerable speed As the horse-backed guards escorting the carriage travelled alongside it, the sound of the horseshoes echoed The carriage jolts froht on the roadside stones
I quietly watched the rear of the carriage, gazing into the rear vie On the right of the road was the riverbed, with the water’s surface being lit by the fading sun, coloring the surroundings with the glow of dusk A gently inclined hill was to the left, and a herd of aniht ahead, sun to cast their shadows across the land
Only sounds of the carriage wheels and the horses’ hooves echoed through the area, with no abnormality found anywhere However, the escorts seemed to have fallen into a heavy silence It was due to the unexpected situation that the group encountered a while ago
Lauren Ojou-sama, as the representative of the Rubierute household, had attended the ball held by the Diento household As we roup of bandits a, nine of the guards broke for as possible and prevent further pursuit
Only five soldiers and a single knight rens of any of the previous guards catching up from behind
Inside the carriage, watching the passing landscape through the , Lauren Ojou-sa chestnut color hair loosely sways, and appeared to have lost all of it usual luster due to the tension and anxiety She had a siving off a sort of transient feeling
The sixteen year old girl also wore a luxurious light-blue dress, with the glow of the sunset which entered through the carriage’sgiving it a crie
Inside the carriage, the only other person was me, her maidservant While usually it was a place for idle chitchat, now neither of us spoke a word
After a while the speed of the carriage suddenly slowed, then the neighing of a horse was heard The coachy
“Sorry, Ojou-saer, so you will have to walk from now on”
From the time when the bandits a the carriage It appears that they have finally reached their limits As expected, it was a harsh task even for four horses Well, if anything, it was the horse of the knight that suffered the most
When I peered outside the , I saw the e He was one of the knights under the service of the Rubierute household, Maudlin-saathered around him
Maudlin-sa the sweat off his horse’s neck with a towel His hair was short and tidy, and he sported a well-grooht body armor, his stature revealed the toned muscle underneath
“Maudlin-saive up?”
Fro back at him
“I orried because the nuainst the bandits were so few, but since no one has come to pursue, perhaps it’s already safe Convey this, if you please, to Ojou-sama”
In response, Maudlin-sarin
“Is that so? I can finally rest easy after hearing that”
I looked at the highway in front of the carriage
The bushes that were concentrated along the highway further back were now dispersed along the road The hillside that was visible fro distance As I looked at it, I couldn’t help but feel an oppressive aura on the back ofsensation made me furrow my brows
After looking atarea Just as we took notice of so, the sound of the air distorted as multiple arrows fleards us
“Goha─”
With a dull sound as they penetrated flesh, two arrows struck the coache struck a stone on the road, causing the body to bounce and be thrown off The corpse of the coach
Further two of the escorts
“shi+t! There was another a!!”
Suddening appearing fro of hoofbeats, six bandits charged doards the caravan The arrows pinning down the escorts allowed the horse-backed bandits to approach uncontested Two uards were pierced by arrows, and another fell to the bandits in an instant Just as Maudlin knight-sa bandits with his sword, two people eain control of the rider-less horse
“Rita-dono! The carriage!!”
At the voice of Maudlin-sama, I felt e and kicked the body of the coachman out of the wheels’ path With the rear wheels now unblocked, the carriage could ain
I tried to board the bloodstained coachrabbed froround heavily, and all the air in s were forced out Fro onto the ground
The bandit who had pulled ar smile on his face
“GUAAAA!!!!”
At that time, a masculine voice full of pain sounded out When I looked at the direction of the voice, an unbelievable scene unfolded before my eyes
One of the guards behind Maudlin-saaps of Maudlin-sama’s armor Maudlin-sama’s face twisted intensely
“Casuda!? So it was your guidance!!”
After being stabbed in the back, Maudlin-sauard Casuda However, his opponent as similarly on a horse, with a faint sround
Suddenly, a bandit with a slightly better physique than the rest jumped off his horse and stabbed Maudlin-saround around Maudlin-sama was dyed red
“Hey, kindly ree”
The better-built bandit gave instruction to the others while revealing his yellow teeth He had squarish features that are co hair behind his back, with a messy beard that covered his jawline and ed sith an arm that was covered in old scars This man seemed to be the leader of these bandits