Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped - Chapter 110

Returning to the Imperial palace, Ian hurried to his office and to Rachel, who was hiding there. He told her to be careful not to be caught by others, so she was probably still in the office.

 

All of a sudden.

 

“Rachel.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty.”

 

When he opened the door of the office, Harmond and Rachel, who were sitting on the sofa, jumped out of their seats.

 

“Harmond, you were here too.”

“Your Majesty, where are you hurt…”

 

Harmond hurriedly shut his mouth when he realized Ian was looking only at Rachel, even as he poured out questions out of concern.

 

It seemed that he shouldn’t take Ian’s time right now.

 

“I’m glad you seem to be okay. Well then, Your Majesty, Lady Oates, I’ll just leave.”

 

Harmond bowed politely and turned away. Then Ian opened his mouth as if thinking of something.

 

“Ah, Harmond.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Thanks to you sending the Imperial knights, I was able to finish my work.”

 

He probably wrote the edict as the Emperor to move the Imperial knights. Ian knew that Harmond was quite straightforward in his work.

 

He didn’t expect that he would be willing to impersonate the Emperor to send them out.

 

No matter how good it was for him. Disciplinary action was unavoidable on the day this was discovered.

 

Ian knew very well how determined Harmond was before he forged that document, and sent the Imperial knights.

 

“Thank you.”

“Ah, that’s because Lady Oates told me to send the knights. If it wasn’t for the lady, I would still be waiting for His Majesty.”

 

Harmond nodded at Rachel again. Ian turned his head and looked at Rachel when he heard the unexpected fact that came out of Harmond’s mouth.

 

“I was embarrassingly troubled, but the lady asked me to help her because she would take full responsibility. Thank you so much.”

 

Harmond acknowledged Rachel politely once more, and left the office.

 

“Rachel, you sent the Imperial knights to me.”

“Aide Harmond helped.”

“If it weren’t for the knights, I would’ve been at a loss. Thank you.”

 

Ian pulled Rachel into his arms.

 

He was always worried about Rachel because she was so small and delicate. He was afraid Rachel wouldn’t be able to meet Harmond, and that she would be worried about him.

 

Ian was both surprised and grateful to Rachel, who acted more courageously than he expected.

 

“No, I was safe here alone.”

 

Rachel shook her head as if she felt sorry that she was the only one hiding in a safe place.

 

Rachel buried her face in Ian’s hard chest.

 

His scent was faint, mixed with the smell of the cold night wind. As if Rachel didn’t like that fact, she dug into his arms even more.

 

Even though Ian’s body odor wasn’t a warm scent at all, she felt relieved at his scent.

 

Rachel gave herself over to Ian’s hand gently patting her, then slowly raised her head.

 

“Is your Majesty really all right? You didn’t get hurt.”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

 

Rachel hesitated for a moment after Ian’s answer, then she opened her mouth.

 

“…Was everyone okay?”

“Mike was hurt. His thigh was hit by an arrow.”

“Oh….”

“I’m sorry, Rachel.”

 

He promised to protect him without getting injured, so he felt uncomfortable.

 

However, Rachel shook her head and grabbed Ian’s hand as if he wasn’t to blame.

 

“No, it’s not something Your Majesty should apologize for. Then, where is my brother?”

“He’s resting after he received treatment from a doctor. He couldn’t come up with me because I was worried it would be too much for Mike.”

 

Ian had Rachel take a seat as she looked up at him. Then, he explained what had happened.

 

“Thanks to the Duke, we also caught Diana Avery. We were able to solve this easily. Now that it’s over, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“That’s a relief. So, Diana Avery did this all by herself?”

“No, she had Count Blackbore’s help.”

“The Count of Blackbore?”

 

If it was the Count of Blackbore, Rachel knew him well. He was from the family of the former empress.

 

In Rachel’s memory, the Count of Blackbore hated Ian Dakendov.

 

“Yes, I think I roughly understand why he joined hands with Diana.”

 

Ian Dakendov lowered his gaze, a little forlorn.

 

“Was there anything that made you uncomfortable other than that?”

“No, Sir Harmond took care of me.”

“Yes, but you’ve been waiting for me all this time?”

“Well, yes.”

“It’s all over, so get some sleep. After you take a nap, you’ll meet the Duke and Mike again.”

 

Ian took Rachel to a small room off of the office, and had her lay on a small bed. It would be a while before the Duke and Mike arrived in the capital.

 

He also had to go find out how Count Blackbore was related to this.

 

“What about Your Majesty?”

“I have something to talk to Harmond about. I’ll be back when the Duke arrives.”

 

Ian didn’t want to worry Rachel. He carefully swept Rachel’s hair away from her face, just as he did when they were growing up. Ian arranged Rachel’s quilt, and hurried away.

 

***

 

Mike didn’t arrive at the Imperial palace until the afternoon.

 

Upon hearing the news of Mike’s arrival, Rachel hurriedly opened the door of the drawing room.

 

All of a sudden.

 

“Brother!”

 

Rachel’s eyes hurriedly scanned Mike, but there were no visible wounds.

 

Rachel’s fast-moving gaze stopped at Mike’s thigh. His wounds weren’t visible through his clothes.

 

So, she became even more concerned. How hurt was he?

 

When Rachel was about to open her mouth, Mike approached her and hugged her.

 

“Rachel, I heard from His Majesty. I heard you sent the Imperial knights. Good job.”

 

Even though he’d been injured by an arrow, Mike’s voice was no different from usual. Rachel almost cried at Mike’s mischievous touch as he tousled her hair.

 

“Are you really okay, brother?”

“Yes, they said I should take a few months off. There’s nothing to worry about.”

 

Mike smiled playfully, and nodded.

 

“You’re not seriously hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

 

Was he sure he was okay?

 

“If I was seriously hurt, I wouldn’t be able to walk. But look, I’m walking quite well. It’s not a big deal.”

 

He didn’t have much trouble walking towards her.

 

“If you’re really that worried, should I show my wound? Would that make you feel at ease?”

“Oh, no. It’s alright.”

 

Rachel let go of her worries a little when Mike said he was fine.

 

“What about Father?”

“He must’ve gone to see His Majesty. Father was very worried about you, so he’ll probably be here soon.”

“I was safe in the palace.”

 

Mike led Rachel to the sofa as if he was feeling uncomfortable standing. He had a small limp.

 

She definitely didn’t see him limping when he first approached her.

 

Rachel helped him. Maybe he’d walked with strength because he didn’t want her to worry.

 

Mike sat on the sofa with a small groan, he bent his upper body slightly as if he cared about the people around him.

 

“Oh, what about the Prophet?”

“He took me to the Imperial palace, and left quickly.”

“Rachel, have you met the Prophet before?”

“Yes.”

 

Rachel nodded. After she contemplated for a while whether it was okay to tell about the day the Prophet came to visit her at the Oates’ Duchy, Rachel opened her mouth.

 

However, Mike raised his hand to silence Rachel, and the words she was unsure about saying didn’t continue.

 

“Did you meet the Prophet after we traveled down to the territory?”

“…Yes.”

“On the day your maid fell asleep in the hallway?”

“…That’s right.”

 

Rachel nodded.

 

“As expected.”

“How did you know it was that day?”

“Similar things happened not only to your maid, but also to the family knights. Something like that has never happened before. Everyone outside was sleeping.”

 

Mike let out a small laugh.

 

All the servants who were working that evening fell asleep in their seats, as if they had fainted all at once. Not just one or two, but everyone who was on duty that evening.

 

The Duke and Mike searched for weeks to see if someone was targeting the Oates Duchy and trying to cause them harm. However, no matter how much they searched all over the place, there was no record of anyone suspicious entering the territory.

 

Even if someone had broken into the castle, there was something strange about it. There were no objects, documents, or people who had gone missing.

 

They couldn’t tell anyone for security reasons, but it was really strange.

 

What a headache the Duke and Mike had suffered for a while because of that incident.

 

“So, that’s what it was. I understand now.”

 

Mike laughed at the situation that he finally understood.

 

“Then, was that the first time you met the Prophet?”

“Yes, and thanks to the Prophet I was able to clear up the misunderstanding with His Majesty.”

“I see. No wonder you seemed to be alright after that.”

 

Mike was lost in thought for a moment.

 

Huh

 

The Prophet solved the misunderstanding between the Emperor and Rachel.

 

Why did the Prophet, who only appeared occasionally to the emperors of the past, decide to so deeply intervene this time?

 

All of a sudden.

 

At that time, the drawing room door opened hastily, cutting off Mike’s thoughts. Rachel and Mike hurriedly turned their heads, wondering if it was who they’d been waiting for.

 

“Rachel, are you okay?”

 

The Duke, who opened the door and entered, hurriedly approached Rachel and checked on her.

 

The Duke only released Rachel after he examined her face and body carefully.

 

Even though he’d heard that the Prophet had taken Rachel out before the attack, the Duke inspected Rachel carefully, as if he would only feel relieved if he saw it with his own eyes.

 

“It’s okay, Father. I wasn’t hurt in the slightest.”

“Haa, that’s good.”

 

The Duke hugged Rachel.

 

“Did the Prophet not do anything to you?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a relief.”

 

Only then did the Duke let out a deep sigh at Rachel’s reply. Even though he was grateful that he saved Rachel from danger, the Duke’s wariness toward the Prophet didn’t disappear easily.

 

The Duke didn’t have a good feeling about the Prophet because of his fear of the unknown and the sense of helplessness he felt in front of him.

 

“Rachel, it’s all over. Diana Avery has also been captured. The mercenaries we captured unharmed are set to testify. Also, an investigation has been started into Count Blackbore’s family, they won’t be able to escape anymore. So, you don’t have to worry about anything anymore.”

 

The Duke’s hand that held Rachel’s trembled slightly.

 

The Duke was trying to reassure her, but in reality it seemed that he was more anxious than Rachel.

 

“It was a lot of hard work. Let’s go back home now.”

 

The Duke hugged Rachel again.

 

***

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