Chapter 023. Let’s Go, to the Land of Anata! (4)

“I overstepped! Please forgive me, Your Grace!”

Gardner dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

“I will never turn back. I’ll follow you to the end!”

“Wherever Your Grace goes, I will go with you!”

Following Gardner, the knights began kneeling one by one.

Rosalyn narrowed her eyes and looked around at them. Her gaze settled on Aaron, who was kneeling at the center.

“Aaron Vanil, that goes for you as well.”

“Your Grace.”

“If you leave now, I’ll overlook it this time under my authority. But if you choose to go to Anata, you must accept whatever punishment comes your way.”

Without hesitation, Aaron raised his head. His eyes brimmed with desperate determination.

“I will follow.”

“…”

“I will accept whatever punishment my crime deserves. So please… don’t abandon me, my lord.”

Rosalyn looked at Aaron for a moment in silence. Then she turned away and gave her order.

“Aaron Vanil will walk to Anata—armed.”

* * *

After the judgment, the atmosphere among the Anata group grew tense. The knights stood with more rigid posture, and the servants became increasingly cautious.

Whether that was a good sign or not was hard to say.

But one thing was certain—their pace had noticeably quickened.

“Once we pass that forest, we’ll be in the territory of Anata.”

Rosalyn nodded at Jacob’s report, then turned her gaze toward the towering coniferous forest in the distance, its treetops seemingly piercing the sky.

A gray sky with little sunlight, barren land, sharp and sturdy trees.

‘This is Anata.’

The north truly felt different from the capital and the southern regions.

Just then, a knight ran up to Jacob and whispered something. As soon as Jacob confirmed the report, he quickly approached Rosalyn.

“Your Grace.”

Once their horses were close enough for discretion, Jacob spoke in a lowered voice.

“There’s been suspicious movement detected up ahead.”

Rosalyn’s brow arched slightly.

According to the map, the path ahead cut directly through the forest. Thick conifers lined both sides of the trail.

If enemies were hiding behind those trees and launched an ambush, the party would be completely exposed.

“Who is it?”

Rosalyn asked to deduce the nature of the threat.

There were two possibilities: either hungry bandits from the local territory, or assassins sent by her political enemies.

“From the way they’re masking their presence, it’s likely a group with professional training.”

Jacob answered without hesitation.

“What shall we do?”

“…”

To reach Anata, they had to go through the forest. But aside from the central path, there was no viable alternative.

They could bypass the forest by looping around the west, but then they’d have to cross a marshland on the other side. And the narrow eastern trail… that posed its own risks.

“Any signs of movement on the outer trail to the east?”

“None, but…”

“Then we take the outer trail.”

Jacob hesitated at her decision.

He knew his lord had a natural gift for strategy. They’d survived hopeless situations more than once thanks to her.

But every time she laid out a plan, it always caught him off guard.

“There’s a cliff near that path.”

“Yes, I know.”

“It’s too dangerous. What if we launch a surprise attack first instead?”

“We’ll see.”

Rosalyn pulled her reins and moved out of the formation. Her horse gave a soft snort and came to a halt.

“The central forest path is already a trap they’ve set. We can’t just walk into it without knowing where the snares are.”

She leapt down from her horse with ease.

“We need to lure them out. They’ll follow us, knowing we’re avoiding the cliff.”

Then she added under her breath, ‘Setting the woods on fire would be fastest, but now that it’s my domain, I can’t do that.’

“Split the group into front and rear. Post knights on both ends, more in the front than the back.”

“Understood.”

“Tell the servants to load the last carriage with only the most valuable items. Quietly move them to the rear.”

Rosalyn gave instructions to Jacob, who had followed her off his horse.

“The rest of the carriages go with the vanguard knights. Carriages on the left, knights on the right.”

Jacob nodded, having grasped her strategy. Using the carriages as a shield would help protect them from arrows or crossbow fire.

“And assign Aaron Vanil to the rear. He’s to follow from the very end, and if the ambush starts, strike the enemy from behind.”

Rosalyn mentioned Aaron. Though he was still under punishment, this time would be an exception.

She handed her horse over to a nearby soldier and walked toward her carriage.

‘No way…’

Seeing this, Jacob hurried after her.

“Then shall I move Your Grace’s carriage to the rear as well?”

“…Sir Jacob, where exactly in all my words did you miss the point?”

Rosalyn frowned, clearly exasperated.

“How can the bait be placed at the rear during a decoy maneuver? It has to be in the front.”

Jacob’s face stiffened the moment he realized he’d been right. As he feared, she intended to use herself as bait again.

“You can’t. We can’t use Your Grace as bait.”

“Huh?”

Rosalyn quickly realized she hadn’t explained herself fully.

“Don’t worry. The bait isn’t me—it’s the carriage.”

Only after she clarified—saying she would step out of the carriage before it turned toward the forest, so she wouldn’t be visible—did Jacob’s expression ease.

“No matter who I am, I have no intention of using people as bait, Sir Jacob. So just bring me two sets of knight uniforms in the carriage.”

* * *

“You’re saying I should change into this here?”

Sionne looked at the knight’s uniform in his hands with clear displeasure.

Since the Anata knighthood had yet to be formally established, its uniform was no different from that of the Hernia Empire.

‘Even if I’m playing the part of the enemy’s consort…’

He still didn’t want to wear the enemy’s uniform.

“Why do I have to wear this?”

“So many questions. Must I explain everything to you?”

Rosalyn snapped irritably as she began undressing without hesitation.

“W-Wait a second!”

Sionne quickly turned his head and covered his eyes with one hand.

“You can’t just undress all of a sudden.”

“Ah.”

Rosalyn glanced down at the clothes in her hands and let out an awkward sound. She must have forgotten herself, being so used to undressing in front of maids and attendants.

“The time is—”

She started to explain herself, but caught sight of the tips of Sionne’s ears and bit her tongue.

His large hand covered his eyes, but his ears were flushed red. Somehow… the sight stirred something cruel in her.

And yet, at the same time—

‘What is this.’

Rosalyn furrowed her brows. Suspicion about Sionne Feitan was beginning to rise again.

‘I’ve seen his body plenty of times before, so why is he reacting like this?’

Still, this wasn’t the time to be doubting her consort. Rosalyn continued changing and began to explain the situation.

“I’ll blend in with the knights in case of an ambush.”

“So there really are enemies nearby.”

Sionne, eyes still closed, responded calmly.

“Exactly. So when the carriage turns and slows down, I’ll dismount.”

Now dressed, Rosalyn called out to him.

“You should hurry and change, too.”

Sionne slowly lowered his hand and looked at her.

In front of him stood a woman unmistakably dressed like a knight. Of course, she was far too beautiful to be mistaken for a man.

“…You’ll need a cloak.”

“Hm?”

“Your hair color stands out too much.”

Rosalyn nodded at his comment.

“I brought one. Don’t worry about that—just get changed.”

“You’re going to stand there and watch?”

Sionne pointed out her obvious staring.

“Yes.”

At her shameless response, Sionne let out a quiet sigh of resignation. He couldn’t keep playing modest forever if he was pretending to be her lover.

‘Even earlier, I wasn’t convincing enough.’

He scolded himself as he pulled off his upper garments.

As his underclothes lifted slightly, his abdomen was briefly exposed—defined muscles, neatly lined. But they disappeared as he quickly adjusted his clothing.

‘…’

Rosalyn watched his fumbling hands, lost in thought.

“Are you going to give me a sword too?”

Having quietly finished dressing, Sionne asked her.

“Hm?”

“I may not look like it, but I’m fairly skilled with a sword. I can be of use.”

He was planning to use this opportunity to earn her trust.

“I’ll consider it. But Sionne Feitan—”

Rosalyn tilted her head toward the item in his hand.

“You still need to change your pants, don’t you?”