Chapter 57 - The Last Moment (1) (2/2)
“The talkative one is called Zenard.”
“Y-your Highness!”
Zenard. He was quite a handsome man with tidy silver hair and turquoise eyes. His shirt was buttoned high on his neck, giving the impression that he was a perfectionist. If Elena wanted to be part Carlisle’s guard from now on, it was not a bad idea to know the faces of his men. Elena spoke, pitching her voice low.
“My name is…”
She gave a rough introduction, and Carlisle, noticing it, cut in.
“Len.”
Her eyes widened. It was a diminutive of Elena. It was what her late mother used to call her.
“Len, be careful not to get hurt.”
She still remembered her mother’s voice calling her name affectionately. Elena did not approve of Carlisle’s introduction. Carlisle might have allowed her to call him “Caril,” but Elena had no intention of letting him call her by a pet name.
The smile on Carlisle’s face simply deepened as he looked at her obvious shock. Only Zenard, not aware of the situation, gaped between Carlisle and Elena and spoke out in utter amazement.
“Is that it? Are you saying he’ll be with us from now on?”
“Didn’t you hear what I said? From now on, Len is my escort.”
“We’re at an important moment here…and you’ll let in an unknown person?”
Zenard gave broad, disapproving look. With so many people already pursuing Carlisle’s life, it was not a good idea bring in an unidentified new recruit with the potential to be a spy.
“Do not question my decisions.”
Carlisle spoke in a commanding tone, swiftly silencing Zenard’s complaints. Zenard knew he could not overturn the prince’s decision, so he protested in a meeker voice.
“I’m just…I’m worried about someone like this joining us besides Kasha.”
Kasha? Not Kuhn Kasha?
Elena stared at Zenard, her eyes shining at the familiar name. She never thought about how Kuhn was treated in Carlisle’s unit. Kuhn didn’t seem well-liked, unexpectedly.
Carlisle replied, his emotion restrained.
“I said stop it.”
“…My apologies.”
Zenard stepped back and bowed lowly, while Carlisle mounted onto his horse again. Carlisle briefly looked down at Elena then to one of his other men.
“Give your horse to Len.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
He bowed his head respectfully, dismounted his horse and handed over the reins to Elena. Then the man walked away and finished the preparations to be on the move again.
Elena already had a horse, but since it was a waste of time to bring it back to where they were she climbed the horse the other man gave her.
Carlisle made a final remark towards her on horseback.
“Tell me whenever you run out of strength. I would be quite happy if you quit.”
All the other men glanced at Elena, finding the prince’s words completely incomprehensible. Elena did not reply, but moved her horse to follow Carlisle. No matter what happened in the future, she would never giving up guarding him.
It was then.
Boom! Boom!
Once again, gorgeous fireworks burst over the sky, then again and again. Immediately after Zenard saw the display, he pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time.
“Your Highness, it’s time to join the festival.”
“Let’s go.”
Carlisle took the lead and dozens of his men followed him. Surprisingly, it was Elena who ended up directly behind Carlisle despite his blistering pace. Zenard began to urge his horse onward even more, shooting Elena a look of displeasure at her excellent riding skills.