Chapter 204: Under the Hood
“Let’s go home, Leo.”
“Okay. Bye, big sisters!”
Sensing the tension in Hilda and her companions, the man who appeared last decided to carry the boar Leo had killed back into the forest. Leo, without objection, waved goodbye to Hilda and the others as he left.
Though it was obvious from the beginning, it became clear that the two men harbored no hostile intentions against them. Realizing this, Hilda and the coachwoman finally felt a sense of relief. However, it seemed like it was too early for them to be relieved, as Lieselotte, their master, unexpectedly opened the carriage door and stepped out.
“Please wait, both of you.”
Stopped by Lieselotte’s call, Leo and the man paused and turned around. Lieselotte’s appearance, clearly that of a noble lady, could easily inspire wicked thoughts. Hilda and the coachwoman prepared themselves to protect Lieselotte at any cost, and they closely observed the two men’s reactions.
Leo stared at Lieselotte for a while; he was seemingly mesmerized by her. Her elegant and delicate beauty, combined with an aura of nobility that emanated from her every move, was something Leo, a commoner, had never encountered before. He was utterly captivated.
Leo’s reaction was typical of a commoner’s child seeing Lieselotte for the first time. However, the other man’s reaction was peculiar. He stiffened for a moment upon seeing Lieselotte, then shifted his gaze intently to Hilda.
“Could it be… no, she must be someone else.”
“What’s wrong, big brother?”
Leo, who had been mesmerized by Lieselotte’s appearance, eventually noticed something odd about the man’s behavior. He looked up and asked, but the man dismissed it as nothing and stopped pondering further.
Once Leo and his companion had calmed down, Lieselotte performed an elegant curtsy. She then spoke words of gratitude in a voice as delicate and melodious as a ringing bell.
“I have been watching you both from inside the carriage. Thank you for reaching out to help strangers like us. I wish to offer some form of gratitude, but…”
“N-no need for thanks! Right, big brother?”
“Yeah, this guy did it on his own. No need for gratitude… Huh!”
As the two men were about to refuse the gratitude, an arrow suddenly shot out from the forest. This was one of the traps set by the bandits, and it seemed to have been inadvertently triggered by the bandits themselves as they fled in a rush.
Had the bandits been lying in wait instead of fleeing, the four people present would have surely noticed their presence. However, the arrow was launched by a trap that had been set up, and it was triggered by one of the bandits bumping into it accidentally. It would have been impossible to detect this in advance.
“Watch out… Whoa!?”
The arrow, by sheer coincidence, was headed straight for Lieselotte. However, Leo, who was nearby, quickly interposed his sword, blocking the arrow. This action prevented Lieselotte from being harmed. Yet, although the worst situation of Liselotte being hurt was avoided, his sword snapped in half after deflecting the arrow.
The sword he was using was one he had taken from the bandit he had killed at the start. It was far from a masterwork, and the great melee had put a tremendous strain on it. The moment it intercepted the arrow, it finally exceeded its limits and broke.
“Hihiiin!?”
“Huuuh!?”
“No way!?”
Then, the broken blade of the sword, by yet another stroke of chance, embedded itself into the leg of a white horse tethered to the carriage. The horse cried out in pain, and Hilda and Leo exclaimed in disbelief. The other three were so shocked that they were at a loss for words.
However, just being surprised wouldn’t improve the situation. Hilda and the coachwoman hurried to examine the horse’s injury. The broken blade had deeply pierced the horse’s right front leg near its base, making it impossible for the horse to pull the carriage, let alone walk.
“This is bad… We need to stop the bleeding now!”
“Isn’t there anyone who can use healing spiritual arts?”
“We both can use spiritual arts, but healing is not our specialty.”
In response to the man’s question, Hilda shook her head while administering first aid. They were in danger of being stranded just short of the royal capital. Hilda was at her wits’ end.
“Follow me. Someone in our group can use healing spiritual arts.”
“Big brother!?”
“We are partly to blame for this. We must at least offer treatment. Of course, you can refuse if you don’t trust us.”
The man’s proposal seemed like a godsend to Hilda and the others. However, she hesitated to immediately accept it, uncertain whether the other party could be trusted.
Leo was also an unusually skilled fighter for his age, but the real problem was the other man. Judging from the way he had slain the bandits and the intimidating aura he radiated, he seemed like a monster who could easily overpower both Hilda and her companion.
He seemed like someone who should be making a name for himself on some battlefield. Why would such a person appear from a forest by a road far from any battlefield? The reason was so unclear that it even felt ominous to Hilda.
“No, we will gratefully accept your offer.”
“My lady!?”
“I believe these people are not evil-doers. Therefore, Hilda, you should trust them too.”
While Hilda was still unsure, Lieselotte quickly gave her response. Hilda was obviously caught off guard and she raised her voice in surprise, but Lieselotte firmly told her to trust them, leaving no room for argument. Hilda found herself unable to argue and she fell silent.
Lieselotte was a kind-hearted girl with a delicate appearance and an ethereal aura. However, she also possessed the resilience to withstand her uncle’s harassment and the courage befitting the head of a noble family. It was this courage that led her to trust the suspicious pair.
Lieselotte was also known for her stubbornness once she made a decision. The coachwoman, who had quietly moved next to Hilda, placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head as if to say, “Give up”. Hilda let out a heavy sigh and muttered tiredly, “Alright, I understand.”
“If my lady trusts you, then I will too. But there’s one thing I want to say.”
“What is it?”
“Show us your face. If you’re so troubled that you can’t even show your face, then, regardless of your kindness, I can’t let my lady follow you.”
This was the least Hilda was willing to compromise. If the person was so dangerous that they couldn’t even show their face, then, regardless of what Lieselotte said, trusting them was out of the question.
However, the moment the man was asked to show his face, Leo who was beside him tensed up. Could he really be a criminal or a dangerous fellow? Hilda braced herself, but the man casually lowered his hood.
“Is this enough?”
Underneath the hood, the man’s face surprised Hilda. Aside from his short black hair, his skin was tanned, and his piercing eyes, reminiscent of unsheathed blades, were a fiery red.
Such a tan was rare enough, but she had never seen red eyes like his. Ah, it makes sense why he would want to hide them. Hilda found herself oddly convinced.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t show you the lower half of my face. I have an old injury that’s not fit to be seen by others.”
“Th-that’s right!”
However, Leo’s still nervous behavior was troubling Hilda and the others. There was certainly more they were hiding.
But by revealing his face, he also demonstrated his sincerity. Hilda knew they couldn’t fully let their guard down yet, but it was clear their intentions were genuine and deserved to be accepted as such. She relaxed her shoulders and let out a light laugh.
“Heeh, you’re a better-looking man than I expected.”
“Thank you for that.”
“Hey, hey, isn’t the big sister over there going to show her face too?”
The man responded casually to Hilda’s lighthearted comment. Meanwhile, Leo addressed another figure who had been concealing their face and had remained silent until now. This person was the coachwoman, who had not spoken a single word until now.
The coachwoman, her face hidden beneath the hood, turned towards Hilda, seemingly waiting for instructions on what to do next. Hilda then instructed her to remove her hood.
“It’s not proper to hide your face from those you’ll be depending on. Isn’t that right, Chris?”
“Understood, Miss Hilda.”
When the coachwoman, who was called Chris, smoothly lowered her hood, it was Leo’s turn to be taken aback. Hidden beneath was a woman of stunning beauty, her flaxen hair cascading in gentle waves and her eyes a deep blue, reminiscent of the sky.
However, her beauty was quite different from Lieselotte’s. While Lieselotte’s was a demure and delicate floral beauty, Chris’s was more akin to the beauty of a finely crafted sword.
Despite her somewhat unapproachable air, her beauty was undeniable. She would certainly stand out if not concealed.
It should be noted that Hilda was not unattractive herself. Though her features were hidden under a helmet, she was a healthy and appealing woman with strong, determined eyes. It was just that Lieselotte and Chris were exceptionally beautiful.
Although Leo was surprised upon seeing Chris, he didn’t become utterly dumbstruck as he had with Lieselotte. Part of this was due to the shock he’d already experienced from Lieselotte, but a significant factor was that he had previously witnessed Chris’s martial abilities. Or perhaps it might have been simply because he preferred Lieselotte’s appearance.
Even if the other party wasn’t an enemy, Leo never let his guard down in front of a strong opponent. Even though he was still a boy, he had already adopted the mindset of a first-class warrior.
As for the other man, he showed no sign of surprise whatsoever. Hilda, seeing a man display complete indifference upon seeing Chris, began to wonder in her mind if he might swing the other way.
“So, you’re going to take us to where your companions are, right?”
“Before we go, we need to hide the carriage. While it’s rare for anyone to pass through here, it’s not impossible, just like you ladies did.”
“Indeed, our carriage definitely looks like it belongs to the wealthy. Ah, before hiding it, let me gather and take out all the valuables. It’d be a hassle if they got rummaged through.”
“That would be wise. I forgot to mention, my name is Antares. Call me whatever you like.”
After saying this, the masked man, Antares, ventured into the forest to find a space to conceal the carriage. Meanwhile, Hilda and her companions, musing over his unusual name, busied themselves with packing valuables like money and jewelry from the carriage’s cargo into their bags.
Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on freew(e)bnove(l).𝓬𝓸𝓶