Chapter 8
Chapter 8
“Me? Accompanying the princess on her outing?”
“That's right. After seeing your skills yesterday, I thought you and Cecilia together would be more than enough to escort me.”
The next day after my effortless victory in a duel against Orge, I was ordered by Yuria Rosehill to accompany her as her escort on an outing.
It seemed she had been satisfied with what I showed her yesterday.
“Wouldn’t I be a burden to Senior Cecilia?”
“I’m fine with it, Sir Damian. Your skills are definitely not at a level where you would become a burden to me. I saw that clearly yesterday. Above all, you defeated two assassins and someone of equal rank, so your abilities are already proven.”
That was generous praise.
Cecilia Sylvester was known for being quite strict in her evaluations, so it seemed she had taken a liking to me.
“I understand. I will do my best to serve as your escort.”
“Then shall we go?”
With light, graceful steps, Yuria Rosehill began walking ahead.
Behind her, Cecilia Sylvester walked on the left, and I followed on the right.
After a short while, we arrived at the imperial carriage that would take Yuria Rosehill out.
“Huh? Something’s off with the carriage wheels.”
The moment I saw it, I immediately noticed something strange.
There was a problem with the wheels.
“It’s subtle, but there are cracks. And the iron support bars holding the wheels have slight burn marks.”
I knew exactly what this meant.
My hand naturally moved toward my sword hilt.
And in an instant, I drew it and pointed it at the imperial coachman’s neck.
Sreung. Clack.
“There’s been tampering with the carriage. You’d better speak honestly.”
“Hiiiek!?”
Thud.
The coachman, with a blade at his throat, fell backward onto the ground.
“Sir Damian, what are you doing!?”
“I found critical damage on the lower structure and wheels of the carriage, Your Highness.”
“Your Highness, as Sir Damian said, upon closer inspection, even a slight increase in speed would cause the carriage to collapse.”
At my words, Cecilia Sylvester also checked the carriage and strongly agreed with my assessment.
As a result, the coachman’s face turned pale in an instant.
“I-I swear I know nothing, Your Highness, knights! Why would you say such a thing about me!?”
“You are the one assigned to this carriage. Of course you should be conducting safety checks, especially when Her Highness is riding it.”
“I’m innocent! I swear! Yes, I drive this carriage, but until yesterday during inspection at the imperial carriage storage, there was nothing wrong at all!”
It didn’t seem like he was lying.
His expression was a mix of shock, panic, and fear, and his trembling voice and shaking body made it clear he wasn’t involved.
Still, it was possible he was acting.
But even the best actors cannot fully control human emotion.
The slightest movement of facial muscles reveals whether it’s real or fake.
And from what I could see, the coachman’s reaction was genuine.
There was no doubt in my mind.
It was simply experience gained from my time working as a mercenary.
“What should we do, Your Highness?”
“He is not lying.”
Before his fate was decided, I stated my opinion.
“Why do you think that?”
“While I was working as a mercenary during the academy break, I learned to read human emotions. Because of that, I can tell whether he is speaking truth or lies.”
“So according to Sir Damian, this coachman has been falsely accused?”
“That is correct, Your Highness.”
Of course, that did not mean he would be completely cleared of responsibility.
As the person in charge of an imperial carriage, he still had a duty to ensure proper maintenance.
Still, it likely meant he would avoid execution.
That was all I could do.
The rest was up to Yuria Rosehill.
Whether to punish him or not.
“…Hmm.”
Yuria Rosehill looked between me and the coachman in thought.
Then she spoke.
“I will not punish you. I was already aware, after the assassination case involving an imperial knight, that there are those within the palace who wish me harm. …Still, be more careful next time, coachman.”
“T-Thank you, Your Highness! I will never forget this kindness!”
The coachman bowed deeply, repeatedly hitting his head in gratitude.
“Sir Knight, thank you as well for believing I was not guilty! You are my lifesaver!”
“It was nothing. I simply had sharp eyes. If I had been even slightly slower, I would have believed you were trying to assassinate Her Highness.”
The coachman also thanked me.
If not for me, he would have been executed as an assassin of the princess, and if he had a family, they would have suffered the same fate.
“Was that a subtle insult toward me, Sir Damian?”
“Senior Cecilia, that’s not what I meant…”
My words had slightly put me in an awkward position.
Cecilia Sylvester had immediately asked Yuria what to do with the coachman earlier, so she likely felt she had been less capable than me.
Because of that, she may have misunderstood my words.
But—
“Pfft. I’m joking, Sir Damian. I’m not the type to get petty over things like that.”
It seemed she had only been teasing me to see my reaction.
“Y-You scared me, Senior Cecilia…”
“You’re just too perfect, Sir Damian. You need a little more humanity, you know?”
It was almost like Cecilia Sylvester was a completely different person.
The Cecilia I remembered was a cold, serious knight who devoted herself entirely to protecting Yuria Rosehill.
During their brief conversation, the coachman brought over a backup carriage.
This one was properly inspected and showed no issues.
After confirming it myself, I nodded to Yuria Rosehill and Cecilia Sylvester, signaling that everything was safe.
Then I mounted my horse to escort the carriage.
Normally, when a princess goes out, at least five imperial knights accompany her, along with at least two maids inside the carriage.
But Yuria Rosehill never trusted others, so she usually only traveled with Cecilia Sylvester while hiding her identity.
Now, with me added as a second knight, her outing had finally become properly protected.
Though originally, Justin Kalbrium was supposed to be the one in this role.
The problem was that this proper escort route had originally begun after Justin Kalbrium was assigned to the imperial palace.
In the original timeline, he would have resolved the imperial knight assassination case by chance.
But due to the Third Prince’s interference, the captured assassins were handed over to him, altering events.
In this timeline, thanks to Yuria Rosehill’s intervention, the assassins were not taken away as they were in the past.
Afterward, like me, Justin Kalbrium would face battle with a “hound” and suffer severe injuries before managing to capture it.
While he was bedridden, Yuria Rosehill would personally take care of him out of guilt, and from that awkward beginning, their romance would slowly form.
But now, because of me, that path had already changed.
More precisely, my accidental involvement at the academy had already broken their connection.
After all, I was supposed to be the new knight who connected with her first.
Still…
‘Well… they’re a fated pair anyway. Surely this won’t stop them from getting together.’
◈
“Good work today, everyone. Go get some rest.”
“Should at least one of us stay—”
“No. Father has already assigned imperial knights to me. My safety is not an issue. So rest when you can.”
After returning from her outing, Yuria dismissed Cecilia and Damian, who had escorted her.
It took courage for her to send away the two people she trusted most.
Until recently, she had felt uneasy without Cecilia by her side.
Even after her regression, that feeling still lingered.
Damian… Damian, huh.
She had never seen him before.
His sudden appearance had greatly eased her anxiety.
In a situation where her life was slowly being cornered by the imperial knight assassination case, he had removed a major threat and even created the opportunity to expel the most dangerous figure, Maximus.
And even today…
Yuria hugged her knees tightly, resting her chin on them.
Honestly, she hadn’t expected him to do this well.
She had only casually suggested he become her knight out of curiosity after his identity was revealed.
A faint smile formed on her lips.
‘He’ll keep protecting me like this, won’t he? Along with Cecilia…’
Filled with anticipation, she quietly looked out the window.
‘The sky is really beautiful today…’