If You Wish For A Married Couple’s Duties - Episode 107

“Are you alright? Were you hurt?”

Dooha scanned the princess’s body as she looked at her with surprise.

Fortunately, Julia appeared to be fine.

It seems like she’d arrived on time after urging her horse to gallop at full speed.

“I’m fine, but why are you……”

“I came over because of the unusual sounds. I’m glad I came.”

Dooha helped the princess up to her feet.

Some of the trees behind them were split into half, like someone had wielded an axe.

“What is this……”

Julia gasped at the sight of the wrecked trees.

If the Duchess hadn’t dashed in to save her, the thing that was chopped into half would’ve been her neck, and not the trees.

“I didn’t feel any mana at all. How could something like this be done without magic?”

Dooha’s eye twitched at Julia’s muttering.

Unlike the purely frightened princess, her eyes trembled slightly with doubt and confusion.

“D*mn it, the hitmen are escaping!”

At that moment, the hitmen began escaping in unison.

It was behaviour that was incomprehensible, considering a hitman’s nature of not backing down before the target was eliminated.

It wasn’t like they were losing in terms of numbers, and it wasn’t like they were incapacitated, so why?

“We have to catch them immediately! They just tried to murder Her Highness!”

“But what can we do even if we give chase? Given our numbers……!”

While the knights were caught in a dilemma, someone urged their horse forward to chase after the hitmen.

It was the duchess, Dooha.

* * *

“Duchess, it’s dangerous to go after them alone! Come back!”

The princess shouted urgently at Dooha’s retreating back, but it was to no avail.

She urged her horse forward unbridledly, like she was possessed by something, and quickly disappeared from view.

“Did the Duchess of Esbaden just go after the hitmen now?”

“What can she do by herself? If anything happens to the Duchess of Esbaden……”

While the knights despaired with astonished expressions, the princess’s voice urged them.

“What are you doing! Go after the Duchess right now! And two of you, go and look for the Esbaden family’s knights! Since the Duchess came all the way here, they must be on their way here too!”

“There’s no need for that, Your Highness.”

Julia turned her head at the familiar voice.

It was Sir Baron, the duke’s right-hand man who was escorting the Duchess.

“Where is the Duchess?”

Although Baron committed the discourtesy of not greeting the princess, no one criticised him.

It was because the desperation etched on his face exceeded that of anyone else’s.

In particular, the princess herself didn’t mind it and answered his question.

“She followed the hitmen that ambushed me.”

“…What?”

“They went in the southwest direction. Hurry and catch up to them. It wasn’t a small number of hitmen.”

Baron turned his head without hearing the princess finish responding.

At the same time, he tossed something towards one of the princess’s escorts.

The princess had been weak since she was young, and was unable to do anything without the help of others in the past.

As she grew up, she honed her magic to avoid relying on anyone.

But in the end, she was forced into an unavoidable situation and could only be subjected to this.

It was completely in vain.

“Your Highness, I’ve set off a signal flare. The knights will be here soon.”

At the words of her escort knight, Julia nodded silently.

Perhaps because the tension bled out of her, her resentfully feeble body began to tremble like a leaf.

She held her forehead and stumbled at the ringing in her ears.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?”

“…I’m fine, so don’t make a fuss.”

Julia pushed away the knight that tried to support her and adjusted her posture.

“Go to the headquarters and get the Duke of Esbaden.”

“The duke?”

“Yes.”

Julia muttered in a complicated voice.

“…No matter what, I should let him know in advance that the Duchess may be in danger because of me.”

The princess’s worried gaze remained fixed at the direction the duchess disappeared in.

* * *

Ddak, ddak, ddak—

The loud sound of hoofsteps filled the forest.

It didn’t sound like a hunting contest that’s held for amusement.

“Stop right there!”

Dooha yelled at the group of hitmen that were a distance ahead.

All of them were fleeing on horseback.

It didn’t seem like they were about to stop.

“Stop right there!”

As Dooha shouted, she grabbed her bow.

It was easier for the princess of Bashal to shoot an arrow on a galloping horse than using a fork.

Swoosh, Thunk!

The arrow that she’d shot without hesitation was aimed directly at the back of a hitman, but it failed to reach its mark.

It was because the arrow was blown away in a different direction due to a sudden gust of wind.

As she witnessed the phenomenon that occurred right in front of her eyes, Dooha’s eyes grew impossibly large.

‘I hoped that it wouldn’t be the case.’

Dooha frowned and gritted her teeth.

It was because she had an ominous hunch that her prediction would turn out to be true.

In the meantime, the group of hitmen was steadily widening the distance and gradually moving further away.

If that’s the case, there was nothing she could do.

“If you don’t stop……”

She’d have no choice but to make them stop.

Dooha shot another arrow.

The second arrow was embedded in the back leg of the leading horse.

Neigh—! 

With a piercing whinny, the horse fell.

At last, a hitman fell onto the dirt floor.

He got up immediately and tried to escape, but it failed.

“I’ll cut you immediately if you move.”

It was because Dooha, who’d already jumped off her horse, placed a dagger near the hitman’s neck.

“Who are you?”

The murderous look in Dooha’s golden eyes was more apparent than ever.

“What the hell are you…”

The strength in the duchess’s hand, which was holding the dagger, strengthened.

“You’re a hitman using the power of the wind, right?”

“…….”

“Answer me!”

When Dooha threatened him for an answer, the hitman’s eyes narrowed.

And he immediately hit the wrist of the hand that wielded a dagger instantly.

“Ugh!”

As soon as Dooha dropped her dagger, the hitman tried to escape once again.

However, she wasn’t the type that would let an opponent she’d barely managed to catch slip.

She gripped the escaping assassin’s waist and tackled him into a roll on the floor.

“I know that you’re a Bashalian! Tell me the truth now! As long as you’re acting according to your master’s orders, I will do whatever it takes to save your lives.”

Within imperial soil, only slaves from Bashal were capable of using the power of nature.

Slaves had no choice but to do as their masters ordered, so there must be someone behind the hitmen that attacked the princess.

At least, that was what Dooha wanted to believe.

She shouted earnestly in Bashal’s language.

“I am also a Bashalian! I’m the Princess of the Wind Tribe! So trust me……”

Smack—

The hitman didn’t allow Dooha to finish speaking and kicked her in the abdomen.

Nevertheless, Dooha didn’t let out a groan and held onto the assassin like a leech, while reciting.

“…I heard that most of the Bashalians in the empire were slaves. You guys must be one of them. So tell me that you’re doing as your master ordered.”

Dooha gritted her teeth, uncaring about the pain from being kicked.

“Just tell me that you were only acting as ordered. Tell me that you didn’t know your target was a member of the imperial family, come on.”

This was a matter of trust.

If it was ascertained that the people trying to kill the princess were Bashalians, cracks would appear in the peace between Bashal and the empire that they’d finally attained.

Then, all Bashalians in the empire would be persecuted.

Additionally, the honour of the Duke of Esbaden, who took a Princess of Bashal as his wife, would also be tarnished at the same time.

Dooha’s eyes were inadvertently filled with sadness and anger.

At the sight of her eyes, which were on the verge of tears, the hitman stopped moving for the first time.

Dooha didn’t miss that moment.

Riip—

The sound of ripping cloth was exceptionally loud.

With the hitman’s mask, which she’d ripped off, in hand, Dooha became dazed.

Her silvery hair slowly fluttered away.

“You…”

Shock dyed Dooha’s eyes.

She’d guessed correctly that he was a Bashalian.

However, the identity of the masked man wasn’t that of a slave.

It was indeed, unfortunate.

“Where are you, Duchess!”

“Please respond, Duchess!”

She could hear the sound of knights, led by Baron, galloping over, from a distance away.

At the sound of the approaching knights, the hitman pushed Dooha as hard as he could.

He then turned around and escaped into the bushes.

The dazed Dooha sat on the floor helplessly without even thinking of chasing after him.

“Duchess, are you alright!”

Baron only appeared when the hitman had completely disappeared.

He discovered the contemplative-looking Duchess that was slumped on the floor.

“Are you hurt? I heard you chased the hitmen by yourself. What happened?”

Dooha didn’t answer.

She just sat in a daze, her mouth unmoving.

“Duchess?”

Baron sensed the peculiarity of the situation and examined her complexion.

At the same time, someone moved towards them urgently.

It was the duke, Leonhart, who rushed over as soon as he heard the news from the princess’s party.

“Madam!”

Dooha, who didn’t respond no matter who tried to talk to her, slowly turned her head towards the urgent voice that was looking for her.

When his worry-filled sky blue eyes approached, her countenance turned even gloomier.

The knuckles of the duchess’s hand, which was clutching the ripped hitman’s mask, turned white.